When Lin Xiyue woke up in the morning, the air was already filled with the scent of cooking smoke.
During breakfast, He Mingchu spoke up: “Dad, Aunt Mei, you should go submit your marriage registration materials this morning.”
Bai Xiaomei was taken aback.
“I was planning to look for a job today…”
He Mingchu put down his chopsticks with a smile.
“Dad, Aunt Xiaomei, although we’ve settled in temporarily now, without a marriage certificate, our situation isn’t legitimate. If someone were to report us, our family would be finished.”
He Jianguo frowned: “Mingchu is right. Xiaomei, let’s go submit the materials later. The marriage certificate can be issued in just a day or two at the earliest.”
After speaking, he turned to Lin Xiyue.
“Moon Maiden, do you want to go with Mingchu to check out the school today?”
Both Lin Xiyue and Bai Xiaomei looked at He Jianguo in surprise.
Lin Xiyue: “Uncle Jianguo, I was planning to look for work.”
He Jianguo shook his head: “The college entrance exam has been restored now. Education is a way forward. How old are you? What kind of job could you find? It would be better to focus on studying…”
Bai Xiaomei interrupted He Jianguo.
“Brother Jianguo, I don’t have a job yet, and Moon Maiden’s tuition would be an expense… I can’t afford it.”
She lowered her head in embarrassment.
She had saved some money in the countryside, but being soft-natured, she couldn’t hold onto it – her mother-in-law had taken it all using the excuse that she had caused her son’s death.
He Jianguo disagreed: “Xiaomei, we’re family now. Moon Maiden is my daughter, and it’s only right that I support her education.”
Lin Xiyue felt somewhat excited. This He Jianguo was actually suggesting that she, a child who had just entered their household, should go to school.
There was no nine-year compulsory education in this era. Wouldn’t it cost a lot of money for her to study?
Her first reaction was to look at He Mingchu.
He had warned her just yesterday, and now she would be using his family’s money to go to school. Would he be unhappy?
Noticing her gaze, He Mingchu smiled.
“Why are you looking at me? What else would someone your age do if not go to school?”
What’s the point of having a little pet if it’s not by your side?
Lin Xiyue still felt somewhat uneasy.
“Uncle, doesn’t school cost a lot of money? How about I treat this as a loan? I’ll pay you back after I start earning money, okay?”
He Jianguo laughed heartily: “Moon Maiden, since your mother is going to marry me, that makes me your father. Isn’t it only natural for a father to pay for his daughter’s education? Why worry about such things?”
“Alright, no more discussion. After breakfast, go with Mingchu to check out the school. You should enroll in whatever grade is appropriate. We’ll deal with future matters when they come!”
Lin Xiyue had thought that even after returning to the city, she would need to find work somewhere. She never expected to have the opportunity to attend school.
With the college entrance exam just restored, if she could get into a good school, she could better repay the He family in the future.
She resolved to aim for a higher grade placement so she could save on tuition costs.
On the way to school, Lin Xiyue asked He Mingchu.
“Brother, what grade are you in now?”
He Mingchu walked ahead: “Senior year of high school.”
Lin Xiyue was astonished.
So novel male leads really do have Qingbei-level qualifications as standard!
“Brother, how old are you?”
How was he already in senior year?
Had he been receiving education even before the college entrance exam was restored?
The He family actually had such foresight?
He Mingchu glanced at her: “I’m fifteen this year. How old are you?”
Lin Xiyue: “Thirteen.”
He Mingchu was surprised: “…I wouldn’t have guessed.”
So thin and frail—playing with her wouldn’t be much fun at all. He needed to fatten her up quickly to make things more enjoyable.
Raising a little pet seemed like an amusing idea. He had never done it before, but now he wanted to give it a try.
Lin Xiyue turned her head. Of course he wouldn’t have guessed. In the countryside, malnutrition had stunted her growth, making her look no older than ten at thirteen.
Not wanting to dwell on this depressing topic, she changed the subject: “Brother, how are you so amazing? Only fifteen and already in your third year of high school?”
He Mingchu pursed his lips. Third year wasn’t his limit—it was the school’s highest grade level.
In his own world, he had already reached the pinnacle in his professional field. Even though the academic content of this era was more challenging than in later years, it was still effortless for him.
He glanced again at Lin Xiyue, who didn’t even reach his shoulders. This little pet shouldn’t fall too far behind him—otherwise, where would be the fun in keeping her?
When they arrived at the school, the teacher brought out a test paper.
Lin Xiyue looked over the questions. Though she hadn’t been a top student in her previous life, she had graduated from a 985 university and had worked in the education system ever since, so these problems didn’t pose much difficulty for her.
The teacher collected the test paper and examined it repeatedly with surprise.
“Student Lin Xiyue, did someone in your family teach you before?”
Before the college entrance examination was restored, few families had much awareness about education.
But she had already prepared her explanation.
“My mother received some education before. She taught me.”
The teacher nodded in understanding, then stood up excitedly holding the test paper: “Please wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
With that, she left with the test paper.
Lin Xiyue sat in the office. The school had been renovated, and outside stood an old locust tree. It was early summer, and the leaves rustled in the breeze.
She fiddled with her pencil, bored.
She couldn’t believe she had already survived over a month without her phone or WiFi.
Just then, someone rushed in, sweating profusely.
“Teacher Wang…”
He focused his eyes and realized the person in the office wasn’t Teacher Wang.
The boy looked Lin Xiyue over: “Whose little girl are you? What are you doing at the middle school? Your school is next door—that’s the elementary school!”
Lin Xiyue glared at him indignantly: “I’m thirteen. I should be in middle school.”
The boy blinked, then grinned.
“I’m Pei Huaizhou, a first-year high school student. What’s your name? Are you here for junior high?”
The boy stood rather close. Though his sweat wasn’t unpleasant, the heat radiating from him made Lin Xiyue instinctively shift backward.
“My name is Lin Xiyue.”
Who wants to go to junior high? I’m aiming for senior high!
Teacher Wang—the female teacher who had supervised her test—returned and, seeing Pei Huaizhou, exclaimed: “Pei Huaizhou, why aren’t you in class? What are you doing here?”
Pei Huaizhou straightened up and grinned at Teacher Wang.
“Teacher, I was just talking to our new junior schoolmate!”
Teacher Wang’s eyes moved between Pei Huaizhou and Lin Xiyue before she smiled:
“Lin Xiyue isn’t your junior schoolmate.”
Pei Huaizhou was stunned.
“Isn’t she only thirteen? Shouldn’t she be in junior high?”
Teacher Wang placed the test paper she had been holding on the desk.
“Student Lin Xiyue scored full marks on this test paper. According to standard practice, she should advance to twelfth grade.
“However, I noticed that Student Lin is still quite young. If she takes the college entrance exam this year and enters university, she wouldn’t even be fourteen yet. She might not be able to take good care of herself at school. Therefore, after discussing with the principal, we’ve decided to place Student Lin in eleventh grade—”
Lin Xiyue sprang to her feet anxiously, protesting, “Teacher, I can take the college entrance exam!”
Teacher Wang looked at her in surprise.
Lin Xiyue grew more urgent – why waste time and money at school when she could take the college entrance exam earlier!
“Teacher, my older brother also attends our school. We plan to attend the same university later – he’ll take care of me then!”