Tang Mingli took the design draft and immediately showed it to Deng Lanhua. Deng Lanhua, fearing that she would not do a good job, examined it very carefully. Tang Yue’s handwriting was delicate and neat, and the markings on the drawing were very accurate. The size was based on her own measurements. Since no one had placed an order yet, they decided to make a batch of samples first.
Nowadays, most people are on the lean side. Not only are they not well-off, but they also have a lot of work to do. As a result, on the streets, there are many women with body shapes similar to Tang Yue’s. Only in terms of height, there are significant differences.
"How should I embroider this?" Deng Lanhua was hesitant about the trademark; she had never embroidered one before and was afraid of not doing it well.
Tang Mingli, looking at the trademark, relayed exactly what Tang Yue had said. Deng Lanhua nodded and did not ask any further questions.
After paying the deposit, Tang Mingli told Deng Lanhua not to rush and hurried back to the shop. Nowadays, business was booming in the shop. Having closed the door for so long over noon they lost customers, and with fewer customers came less business, meaning they earned less money.
"Tingyu, want to come over for dinner at my place this Saturday evening?" Tang Yue invited warmly, saying, "My dad won’t have time to cook at noon, but he’ll be able to in the evening."
"Sure." Zhang Tingyu smiled and agreed, saying, "Then I’ll come over tomorrow afternoon. Oh, by the way, Xiao Yue, I just got a set of papers. Do you want it?"
"Yes." Tang Yue nodded firmly. "Absolutely necessary." Although her grades were good, they relied on her photographic memory. Besides, she had some recollection of the Senior High School questions from before. Now, after revising for half a year, she naturally outperformed others.
The further she progressed, the deeper the topics and knowledge points became. If she wanted to maintain her good grades, she naturally wouldn’t be able to reduce the time she spent studying.
"Tingyu, come over tomorrow afternoon, and we can compare our answers," Tang Yue said. When she was with Zhang Tingyu, their time was mostly spent comparing their work; they looked to see who completed the questions both quickly and correctly. Sometimes they would discuss different approaches to solving problems.
Sometimes they would chat in English, improving their English and speaking skills. Of course, if something was wrong, they could point it out to each other.
Zhang Tingyu enjoyed Tang Yue’s company the most. They were evenly matched, neither stronger nor weaker than the other. The feeling of progressing together genuinely delighted her. From elementary school to high school, Tang Yue was the first friend whom she earnestly wanted to become close with.
"Okay, it’s a deal." Zhang Tingyu grinned, her already outstanding demeanor coupled with her bell-like laughter instantly becoming a beautiful highlight.
While standing next to her, Tang Yue felt in no way overshadowed by Zhang Tingyu’s presence. Tang Yue had a serene demeanor, and in terms of appearance, she was on par with Zhang Tingyu; perhaps even better, due to her expressive eyes. They often stuck together, and the students at Wangjiang First Middle School called them the "Wangjiang Beauties."
When Tang Yue first heard this nickname, she found it quite novel. Being called the Wangjiang Beauties was, to some extent, a form of recognition.
In the past, she had been an ordinary student at school, but now, wherever she went, classmates recognized her. This made Tang Yue feel very happy. Being reborn, things were finally getting better, and she believed that they would continue to improve.
Xu Zhenzhen, who had entered Wangjiang First Middle School at the same time as her, had been isolated by many people after her last exam cheating incident. In school, Xu Zhenzhen was like an invisible figure. Even though her grades had improved significantly through hard work, when compared to Tang Yue who shone bright like the sun, she was still far behind.
Every time Xu Zhenzhen saw Tang Yue, the jealousy in her heart grew stronger and stronger.
Why couldn’t she match Tang Yue when they both came from the same village?
On Friday, Tang Jun arrived in the county on the last bus, and when Tang Yue went to pick him up, he was bursting with excitement, adamant that he could definitely get into Wangjiang First Middle School.
Tang Yue praised him, "Xiao Jun is really awesome. Did you bring your homework?"
"I did." Tang Jun nodded. After returning from the county, he wouldn’t go back to the village but directly to the town’s school. If he didn’t bring his homework, he wouldn’t be able to submit it to the teacher on Monday.
"I bought you some test papers. You can do one every week," Tang Yue said on the way back with him.
Tang Jun readily agreed. One test paper could be easily finished, but when he got home and saw the papers Tang Yue was talking about, he was stunned. What she called one test paper was actually three—Chinese, Mathematics, and English—none omitted.
"Xiao Jun, isn’t there just one paper for Chinese? And only one for Mathematics and English too, did I say anything wrong?" Tang Yue retorted with a raised eyebrow.
The excitement in Tang Jun’s eyes instantly dimmed. What his sister said seemed not wrong after all. She mentioned doing one paper, but she didn’t specify how many subjects, did she?
"Xiao Jun, as long as you do the test papers every week, I guarantee your grades will improve a lot," Tang Yue said with a smile. These handcrafted test papers were obtained through Zhang Tingyu and naturally had to be put to good use.
Now that Tang Jun could study seriously, Tang Yue naturally hoped he would continue to improve. Better grades would lead to different friends in the future, preventing him from hanging out with those from town who only knew how to play. He wouldn’t end up like he did in his past life, becoming a thug in the county with hair dyed in all sorts of messy colors.
Having changed her clothes, Zhang Tingyu was about to head to Tang Yue’s house. Before leaving, Mrs. Zhang packed a Peking duck from Jing City, brought back during Zheng Yue. Mrs. Zhang naturally did not want her daughter to visit someone’s home empty-handed.
Mrs. Zhang advised Zhang Tingyu not to trouble others when visiting their home and mentioned that Mr. Zhang would come to pick her up in the evening.
Zhang Tingyu tenderly agreed and was about to leave when she bumped into Zhang Minmin. Seeing the Peking duck in her hand, Zhang Minmin immediately drooled with desire. "Tingyu, I want to eat Peking duck."
Zhang Minmin came today with the intention of pestering for some Peking duck. Now that it was within reach, she naturally couldn’t wait to dig in.
Zhang Tingyu promptly hid the duck behind her back and said, "Minmin, this can’t be eaten."
"Why not!" Zhang Minmin looked at Zhang Tingyu with a sense of grievance.
"I have to give it to someone else," Zhang Tingyu said straightforwardly, greeted her mother, and left.
Zhang Minmin followed right behind, incessantly questioning Zhang Tingyu until she finally couldn’t take it anymore and admitted she was going to Tang Yue’s house.
Zhang Minmin immediately became displeased and said, "Tingyu, I want to go too. If you’re worried I’ll freeload, I’ll buy some apples to take later."
"You... don’t you dislike her?" Zhang Tingyu asked in response.