"Nianhua, let’s just pretend we’re elders. We don’t say, and others just guess that we have a good relationship, no need to gossip." Jiang Wanru reluctantly held onto Xu Nianhua. She and Su Jinrong respected Xu Nianhua’s wish to remain discreet for now, but she still wanted to see Nianhua off to school.
"Mom, really, it’s not necessary. I’ll go with Xiaoxi for the school registration. We’ll have dinner at home tonight." Xu Nianhua held onto Su Xi, signaling Su Xi to help out.
"Uncle, Aunt, we’ve always gone to school on our own. If you come with us, it’ll seem too special."
Su Xi chipped in to help, suggesting, "Why doesn’t Nianhua stay at home this year instead of living on campus? Look, we aren’t far apart, and it’s not far to school either. We could even carpool."
Jiang Wanru’s eyes lit up instantly, but Xu Nianhua quickly said, "I want to stay on campus. Traveling home every day costs time, plus I’ve got a great relationship with my dorm mates, and suddenly not living on campus would feel unfamiliar."
Xu Nianhua was explaining that after school started, she had books to translate, classes to attend, French courses were particularly tight, and she also needed to visit the library. She wished she could make every day twice as long, and she was reluctant to waste even a bit of time on traveling.
"University coursework isn’t that heavy; staying at home is better. You’ll have Xiaoxi for company. From here to school is only half an hour by car," Jiang Wanru argued passionately, realizing she had not considered the dormitory situation before. Now that she thought about it, she hoped Nianhua would be home daily.
"We have a driver at home who can drive you both back without any hassle," Su Jinrong also hoped his daughter would stay at home. They had just reunited, and there was hardly any time to bond.
"Nianhua, stay at home. Look, we’re just next door, and if there are any academic matters, we can discuss them." Fei Meishu joined in on the persuasion, saying, "Your mom’s had it tough all these years; now that you’re finally reunited, you should spend more time together."
"It’s okay, Nianhua, if you want to stay at school, that’s fine too. Just come back to see us during the holidays." Despite saying this, Jiang Wanru’s eyes showed a clear reluctance.
Xu Nianhua: "..."
She realized, under Jiang Wanru’s expectant gaze, this mother’s heart full of love for her daughter was something she couldn’t refuse.
Su Jinrong specially drove them to school, repeatedly reminding them to come home for dinner that night, stuffing a wad of cash into Xu Nianhua’s hands as pocket money, even niece Su Xi benefited.
"Uncle is really generous." Su Xi looked at the wad of money happily, saying, "I’m really benefiting from you. In the past, except for holidays and festivals, uncle wouldn’t give pocket money."
"He is very generous!"
Xu Nianhua looked at the wad of money, thinking that in the past when they were poor, the whole family didn’t have this much money. But now, incredibly, her real dad casually gave this much as pocket money!
A solid wad of cash, estimated to be four or five hundred yuan, and this isn’t like future times. With current purchasing power, four or five hundred yuan can buy a lot of things.
"How about after we finish registering, we go buy some clothes to celebrate?" Su Xi suggested. No one dislikes buying clothes; most of her clothes were bought at Sister Manyin’s store, where she liked to browse every month.
"We still have to go to the translation studio. I’m afraid we won’t have time." Xu Nianhua shrugged helplessly. Su Jinrong sent someone to take Xu Nian’an to school, and she planned to visit her second brother’s place that afternoon to see if they needed help.