"She definitely will be—Mianmian is the lucky star of our family. She’ll lead the Old Jiang Family out of being mere peasants," Jiang Dashan said with absolute certainty.
After Jiang Changtao talked with his parents for a bit in the house, he thought of his two sons’ past behavior and decided to stand up and say, "Mom and Dad, I’m going to check on those two boys and see if they’re really doing their homework or, just like before, simply staring blankly with their work sprawled out, daydreaming as usual."
"Go ahead," responded Zhang Guihua, waving her hand.
Jiang Changtao tiptoed to the Third Branch, and peering through the window above the door, he saw Zhiwen and Zhiwu seriously working on their homework with pens in hand.
He stood at the doorway for a good while before returning to the main room, satisfied.
The two-day holiday flew by, and on Sunday afternoon, Zhiwen and Zhiwu, with their small backpacks on and carrying the whole family’s hopes, headed back to town.
Life continued on peacefully and quietly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of September.
The National Day holiday would start tomorrow, and the students at school were riding an extra wave of excitement today.
As soon as the first class that morning ended, Tian Wei couldn’t wait to dash to the entrance of Class 3-1.
"Jiang Mianmian, Zhong Yuan, come out for a second," Tian Wei excitedly called out, looking at the two sitting in the first row.
Seeing her, Jiang Mianmian, with a smile brimming across her face, ran out and asked, "Tian Wei, you’re here?"
"Jiang Mianmian, Zhong Yuan, they’ve opened a new zoo in the city. Let’s go play there on the 2nd. I’ve heard there are a lot of animals there, even elephants and lions—I’ve never seen them before," Tian Wei said, bubbling with enthusiasm.
"I’m not going. I need to study hard at home," said Zhong Yuan, who loved studying and was determined to surpass Jiang Mianmian, outright refusing without a second thought.
Upon hearing his refusal, Tian Wei huffed and turned to Jiang Mianmian with hopeful eyes, "Mianmian, are you going?"
Truthfully, Jiang Mianmian wasn’t very interested in the zoo; in her previous life, she’d grown tired of not just zoos, but aquariums too.
However, seeing the hopeful look on Tian Wei’s face, she couldn’t bring herself to say no: "I’ll go."
"Oh, that’s great, Jiang Mianmian, I knew you were the very best," exclaimed Tian Wei as her face cleared up instantly, just like the sky after a storm.
"Zhong Yuan, if you don’t go, just wait to regret it. Mianmian and I will leave you behind and have our fun," Tian Wei taunted, sticking out her tongue at Zhong Yuan all smugly.
Seeing that Jiang Mianmian was going, Zhong Yuan’s previously firm resolve began to waver instantly.
No, he had to go with them; he couldn’t be left behind by the two girls.
"Tian Wei, I’ve changed my mind, I’ll go with you. After visiting the zoo, I can write a reflection piece. Teacher said our essays must be authentic, not just made up—I need to experience it for real," Zhong Yuan rationalized, speaking like a little old scholar despite his young age. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel[f]ire.net
To Jiang Mianmian’s admiration, what was clearly meant to be a fun outing, he managed to turn into an activity akin to scientific research with his ’learn wherever you go’ spirit.
"See, I told you you’d regret not going. You’re lucky I’m not petty and will graciously welcome you back," Tian Wei said, gloating triumphantly.
After making their plans, the group of friends went back to their classes.
Come evening, when school was out, Jiang Mianmian spotted Zhiwen and Zhiwu waiting for her at the entrance to the school building and asked, "Big brother, second brother, aren’t you supposed to be returning to Stone Bridge Village? Why haven’t you left yet?"