"Don’t work too hard." Mo Siyu looked at her sympathetically, since the college entrance exams, Tang Yue had barely stopped.
Tang Yue’s eyes lit up and she quickly said, "Then I’ll only make clothes for Aunt Mo."
"No way." Mo Siyu said dominantly: "We can skip my mom’s, but I insist you make mine."
"I want to wear the clothes you make, just as if you’re by my side." Mo Siyu looked at Tang Yue intensely, as if asking: Are you really not going to make clothes for me?
"Aunt Mo would be heartbroken if she knew you said that," Tang Yue responded unkindly.
Mo Siyu looked at her intensely and said, "How so? If my mom knew, she would only think that I should marry you quickly."
Tang Yue thought about it seriously, and indeed, like he said, Aunt Mo wouldn’t mind not having clothes made for her. She would warmly say, "Xiao Yue, marry my Siyu soon."
The news that Tang Yue had become the provincial top scorer spread as if it had wings, flying into every household in Qianjin Village and Shuanghe Town.
Granny Tang, proud of her son’s achievements, now found his stepdaughter equally accomplished, earning everyone’s praise. Granny Tang walked around the village beaming with joy every day.
When Xu Zhenzhen returned and accidentally heard the news, her mind went blank.
Xu Zhenzhen asked incredulously, "Tang Yue got the top scorer? How is that possible? Her grades are just a bit better than mine."
From elementary to middle school, Tang Yue’s grades were above average, and getting into key schools was not too difficult, but also just average.
"This news is everywhere, how could it be false?" Mrs. Xu sighed, looking at her daughter dressed maturely, and said, "Zhenzhen, you could have taken the exam with her, but..."
"It’s all my fault." Mrs. Xu blamed herself, saying: "If I hadn’t let you get so close to your aunt, this wouldn’t have happened."
Mrs. Xu hugged Xu Zhenzhen, sobbing. She really didn’t expect her daughter to follow Liu Li’s path.
"What’s the use of crying now?" Xu Zhenzhen said impatiently, visibly annoyed by her mother’s tears. "I’m not in a bad position now."
Xu Zhenzhen took out a cigarette and started smoking, coughing from the smoke.
Mrs. Xu grabbed the cigarette away, exclaiming, "Zhenzhen, why did you start smoking?"
"Mom, it’s just a cigarette," said Xu Zhenzhen, as she lit another one, hanging her head feeling unreal, How did Tang Yue become the top scorer?
As Xu Zhenzhen was reflecting, Tang Yue had already made plans with Zhang Tingyu and Zhang Minmin.
Both Zhang Tingyu and Zhang Minmin chose schools in Jing City. Zhang Tingyu would attend Jinghua University with Tang Yue. Zhang Minmin, although not qualifying for Jinghua University, could go to other universities in Jing City.
"Xiao Yue, let’s meet in Jinghua," said Zhang Tingyu reluctantly holding Tang Yue’s hand. Being able to spend high school with Tang Yue, she felt fortunate; otherwise, it would have been as boring as middle school, making a close friend wasn’t easy.
"Sure." Tang Yue nodded affirmatively. For a moment, she thought about telling Zhang Tingyu about Mo Siyu, but felt embarrassed just to say directly, as she was about to be engaged.
She didn’t plan to have a big engagement party, just inviting family.
So, Tang Yue hesitated to bring it up.
"Minmin, which university are you planning to go to?" Tang Yue asked, unsure if Zhang Minmin could get into Jing Ying, although she liked filming advertisements and might have a talent for acting.
"I don’t know, any will do," Zhang Minmin said lightly. "As long as I can continue filming advertisements."
In the past two years, although she hadn’t done many ads, her dream of becoming a star was well and truly alive; she believed she would film TV dramas one day.
"Minmin, you could check Jing Ying; those who graduate from there usually work in TV dramas and movies," Tang Yue suggested, seriously evaluating Zhang Minmin’s looks, which weren’t bad.
"I already checked; my grades don’t qualify," Zhang Minmin said listlessly, leaning on the table with a defeated tone, "I wish I had worked harder in high school."
"If I scored a few dozen points higher," Zhang Minmin lamented. She had set her sights on Jing Ying and strived for it, but with her grades, even getting into any university was good; not having a solid foundation from before and trying to make it up in two years of high school was...a far-fetched dream.
Tang Yue moved her lips, eventually saying nothing but, "Minmin, no matter which university, study well. It will always come in handy."
"Yeah." Zhang Minmin went back and started searching for universities near Jing Ying; she was not ready to give up, even if she couldn’t attend classes there, just being near Jing Ying University was satisfying enough.
After saying goodbye to Zhang Tingyu and others, Tang Yue walked home, pondering if Zhang Minmin should just quit school and start acting right away; sometimes, opportunities arise unpredictably. However, it was very uncertain and unlike future times, there was no dedicated film and television base for filming TV dramas and movies.
So, Tang Yue did not bring up this topic.
Just as she arrived at the store, she saw Tang Zhengde and Zhang Hualian hurrying out. She approached and asked, "Dad, Mom, what’s going on?"
"Your uncle sent a letter; your grandmother is sick," Zhang Hualian said anxiously. Elder Mrs. Zhang had not been truly healthy over the years, frequently ailing but never seriously.
"Grandmother is sick?" Tang Yue’s heart skipped a beat, hastily adding, "Mom, then you and dad go back and bring grandmother to the county hospital for a check-up."
"Okay," Zhang Hualian responded, agreeing that it was better to check at the county hospital as the town hospital might not detect certain issues.
"Mom, I’ll wait at the hospital then," Tang Yue said, reassuringly adding, "Mom, don’t worry, grandmother will be fine."
"Right, Hualian, rest assured, if there’s an illness, we’ll treat it," Tang Zhengde was very proactive about this matter.