Chapter 26

  From that day on, Yu Cai made up her mind to stay as far away from He Qi as possible. If she were to unfortunately run into He's mother again, she would try her best to make herself invisible.

  Soon, the head teacher began to count the number of students in liberal arts and science. Yu Cai told her parents and chose liberal arts without hesitation. The head teacher was reluctant to leave because he had to lead the science class, but as soon as Yu Cai pointed out that she had never passed chemistry and physics, he immediately fell silent.

  Class division is a big deal, and classmates can't help but ask around. Seeing Qiao Jia busy everywhere, Yu Cai suddenly discovered a major problem: her friendships with Mo Fei, Yang Jun, and others all developed after the second year of high school, and now they're all going to the science class - what will she do?

  Yu Cai cried and turned around to ask Yang Jun, "Do you want to learn reason?"

  Yang Junze nodded and smiled, "What's wrong, can't bear to part with me?"

  Yu Cai nodded very seriously, "You are the one I will miss the most in this whole class".

  Although Yucai is a bit different now from before, Yang Jun has quickly adapted to her way of speaking. The two have also slowly established their friendship over the past half semester. When Yucai said with a straight face that she would miss him the most, he didn't react much and just laughed, saying "That wouldn't be fair to you, it's all for our beautiful future!"

  Qiao Jia listened from the side and was dissatisfied, "Yu Cai, are you too fond of beauty and light on friendship?"

  Yu Cai still had a stern face, "Strictly speaking, you look better than Yang Junze. If I valued appearance over friendship, I should have favored you over him."

  Qiao Jia and Yang Jun both burst out laughing.

  "But honestly, Yucai, you went to the liberal arts class and nobody is left to tell me jokes and relieve boredom".

  Yu Cai angrily said, "Have you always thought of me as just a way to alleviate your boredom?"

  Yang Jun didn't care about the smile, "Of course not, every time I help you sweep the classroom is fine too. What I hate most is wiping the blackboard, except for you, no one else is willing to take over that task."

  "Did they add another cleaning worker?"

  "So, Yucai, you have many advantages, it's really a pity that you're leaving, I'm very sad about it!"

  Yu Zhai picked up the book on the table and threw it at him, he stretched out his hand to catch it, "Hey, you know that my books are more important than my life, if you want to hit me, don't use my books, or consider your patented blackboard eraser".

  At this side, Yu Cai and Yang Jun were chatting and laughing, only separated by Qiao Jia's He Qi, who also overheard them. He had felt Yu Cai's coldness towards him since that day, and he thought about it for a long time, concluding that he must have accidentally called her a country bumpkin. But he was just joking, and she didn't look down on him, so he should be grateful, how could he dare to look down on her?

  He is still a good kid at heart, knowing his mistakes and making amends, so he tried to make nice with Yu Cai for several days. However, Yu Cai was unmoved, which made He Da angry. He thought to himself: "What's so special about you, Yu Cai? If it weren't for the fact that you're Ah Shi's cousin and Uncle Qi likes you, I wouldn't bother with you! You have such a small mind, not as good as Qiao Jia, not as good as Yang Xi, and even worse than Xia Yunyun. If you don't want to talk to me, then I won't bother talking to you either!"

  So, He Qi didn't pay special attention to Yu Cai for a while, and high school boys and girls didn't interact much anyway, unless they sat very close together. Only when he was with Qiao Jia or Yu Cai was with Yang Junze would they exchange a few words. Since Yu Cai and He Qi were separated by Qiao Jia, it was inconvenient for them to talk, so they just went their separate ways for half a month.

  At this time, He Qi saw Yu Cai and Yang Junxian chatting and laughing together, but he felt uncomfortable in his heart. Yang Junxian was not as good-looking as him, not as good at studying as him, and not as good at playing as him. He had also heard Yang Junxian say that Yu Cai was not good-looking without any mercy, saying that Yu Cai was petty-minded. Why didn't Yu Cai get angry with him? The more he thought about it, the angrier he became!

  He Dashi, still fuming with anger, couldn't help but say, "You also chose liberal arts? We might end up in the same class."

  Yu Cai was taken aback, and after discovering that she couldn't be in the same class as Mo Fei Yang, she found another major problem - she had previously escaped him by going to the liberal arts department because of his pretty face, but now she also had to go to the liberal arts department?

  Of course, due to the exchange student event and half a year of unfamiliarity, Yucai was able to calmly look at this matter. After being stunned for a moment, she laughed and said, "Yes, maybe we can even be in the same class. By the way, why did you choose liberal arts? Your science grades are very good, and don't boys usually like science?"

  He Jici was still relatively satisfied with Yu Cai's performance this time, and replied, "Studying is too tiring, I want to relax a bit, and in the future I want to be a lawyer."

  "Lawyers," Yu Cai thought of her younger uncle who later became a lawyer and did quite well, "lawyers are great, they make a lot of money."

  "I don't want to make money."

  Yu Cai thought of his family's situation and shrugged. His family didn't need him to make money, as long as he wasn't a prodigal son.

  "I think lawyers all have a special temperament," Qiao Jia said.

  "Uh-huh," He Qi nodded in agreement, "and be able to protect the interests of good people with civilized methods. I think there are many things that our country's laws do not do well, and it is not something that one or two people can change, nor is it something that can be changed in a year or two, but I hope I can do my best."

  Yu Cai couldn't help but look at him, and indeed the upbringing of these young masters was not something those country girls could compare to. If she had said this ten years ago, she definitely wouldn't have been able to say it, and might not even have understood it.

  Qiao Jia was also stunned by these words and looked at He Qi with admiration.

  "What do you want to do in the future?"

  Yu Cai reacted after a while and realized he was asking himself, hesitated and said, "I used to be determined to become a teacher, but now I want to study Chinese. Language teachers can't make much money, so I'm hesitant again."

  "What's wrong with you, always talking about money?"

  Yu Cai gave him a meaningful look, "Classmate, being noble requires a strong backing."

  He Qizhen suddenly felt a bit regretful when Yu Cai came up with such a sentence, and didn't know what to think of this young lady's temperament...

  "I want to be a doctor in the future, but I've also heard that studying medicine is very tough."

  Yu Cai knew that Qiao Jia didn't become a doctor afterwards, but Li Miao did. She glanced in Li Miao's direction and said, "I think being a doctor is the best, it's good for oneself and one's family, but studying medicine seems to be really tough, not to mention anything else, just like cutting up corpses like chopping cabbage, awful..."

  Qiao Jia was also nauseated by Yu Cai's analogy of chopping white radish, and she shuddered. "Don't say such terrifying things, okay? I really don't want to study medicine."

  Yu Cai laughed, "Is that scary? I've heard that the first thing medical students do when school starts is to spend a night alone in a morgue filled with corpses."

  Qiao Jia smiled and patted Yu Cai, "Don't say that, it's terrifying to death".

  Yang Jun sighed and said, "What's there to be afraid of in the mortuary? Haven't you heard that it's not the dead who are scary, but the living?"

  Yu Cai said seriously, "If you ask me, the dead are not scary, what's scary is a dead person who gets up at night to find something to eat, eh——" Yu Cai exaggeratedly shrugged her shoulders.

  He Qi looked at Yu Cai's smiling face and was confused again. Logically speaking, his previous sentence was much heavier than that of the countryman the other day, but why did she seem to have no reaction at all?

  With May approaching, Yu Cai decided to go home for a visit. The college entrance exam was just around the corner for Yu Xian, and she had to go back to boost his morale. Most importantly, she wanted to bring back some delicious food and fun things for him. Besides, it had been a long time since she last went home.

  On Saturday morning, Yucai wandered around for half a day and couldn't think of what to buy. If she bought toys, she would definitely be scolded by her parents when she got home. If she bought clothes, Yucai wasn't there, and she didn't know what style suited her. In the end, she could only go to the supermarket to buy a backpack of strange snacks. Before going to the station, she remembered that Yucai had mentioned wanting interesting hamburgers and fried chicken last time, so she went to get them.

  It's interesting that he didn't disappoint the reputation of being a big shot, and when Yu Cai went in, she had the honor of seeing He Qie again, who was idle.

  He Qí was still very enthusiastic and greeted her, also inviting her to sit together. Yu Cǎi said she had to go home, so He Qí offered to pay the bill for her, but she refused, and he didn't insist.

  Yu Cai found out that Qi Shi was not there and asked casually, "Qi Shi, didn't he come with you?"

  "He went to his second uncle's home, and his second aunt gave birth to a son."

  Yu Cai thought back to the first time she saw Qi Shu Fan, when Qi Shu Fan said he had gone to his second uncle's house with Grandpa and Grandma Qi. He nodded slightly.

  Yucai didn't know that Jiexi's second aunt had a habit of miscarriage, so this time she was finally pregnant and solemnly invited the two elders to come over. Although the two elders were not at ease with Jiexi, their youngest son still hadn't had any children until now, which was really worrying, so they went.

  Bought some good stuff, Yu Cai thanked him and refused his kindness to send himself to the station, and said goodbye to everyone with a package.

  Yu Cai returned home when the weather was already very hot, and the atmosphere on campus became even more depressing as the college entrance examination was approaching. Yu Cai thought of Zhao Ye, so she took advantage of the last day of self-study in the third year of high school to send a cake over and wish him good luck on his exam.

  This year, Zhao Ye often helped Yu Cai with math problems and never got impatient, which made Yu Cai very grateful. He always felt like he owed him something, especially since Zhao Ye was in his third year of high school and would probably not be seen again after going to college. With a hint of reluctance, they chatted for a while before leaving the classroom.

  During the Gaokao, Yu Cai took a three-day break and naturally couldn't go to class, so she spent her days holed up in the library, which was comfortable even if it didn't have air conditioning like university libraries.

  After the college entrance examination, it was immediately followed by the high school entrance examination. Yu's father and mother accompanied Yu to the county town. Yu remembered that in the past, the four members of his family had crowded into a rented house for several days. Anyway, the weather was hot, so sleeping on the floor was fine, but now he lived in a dormitory, this method naturally didn't work. Yu's father could only endure the pain and book a hotel room.

  The mid-term exam had to borrow the venue of xx High School, so Yucai took another four days off. It just happened that he accompanied his parents to run around with Yupei. After running for a few days, Yucai's originally not-so-pale face became even darker.

  Yu Zhen liked to play, but this year was forced by his parents and also forced out some achievements. Later, he was admitted to the No. 1 Middle School, which is second only to XX High School, and it's very close to Yu Cai's school, less than 100 meters away.

  Yu's parents began to plan for Yu Cai to move out of the dormitory next semester and live with Yu Xian, which would be convenient for taking care of his younger brother, and mainly supervise his studies.

  In the past, Yu Cai was also with Yu Xian, but basically did not play a role in taking care of and supervising. Now I should be different, right? At that time, I was too young to have the energy or knowledge to understand Yu Xian's situation. Now that I have the opportunity, I should take on the responsibility of being an older sister, so as not to let my younger brother repeat my own confusion when I first arrived in a new environment. Although it's hard to give up the extremely cheap dormitory rent, Yu Cai reluctantly agreed.

  After finishing the middle school entrance exam, he asked to play in the county town for a few days, but was ruthlessly rejected by his mother, because he had no place to live, and his older sister lived in a school dormitory which was inconvenient.

  Yu's thoughts turned to her distant relative "brother-in-law". She mentioned it to Yu Cai, who was already extremely afraid of getting entangled with the Ji family, so Yu's request was once again ruthlessly rejected.

  However, Yu Zhen's classmates have never been easy to defeat. He suggested going to a restaurant with meaning, hoping to run into Qi Shi again. This small request was naturally not refused by Yu's parents, so the whole family went to the restaurant with meaning, including Yu Cai, who thought that Yu Zhen was just greedy and didn't realize his little thoughts.

  However, Yu Fen was disappointed again this time. After taking the test, he had lunch and then went back to the hotel to pack his things. He then strolled around the street to buy some stuff, and by that time, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. Neither ahead nor behind, none of He Qi's group were to be seen anywhere.

  He had been sulking all the way, but just before they parted, Yu Cai secretly slipped him a hundred yuan to buy something for himself, and only then did he slightly brighten up.

  After the graduation ceremony, the final exam began. Yucai started thinking about how to spend her summer vacation. She had never given up on the idea of buying a house, and even with a mortgage, she could guarantee her standard of living after graduating from graduate school in ten years. The problem was that she couldn't get a loan, so Yucai had to earn the money herself.

  Although the salary from Qishu Fan Na can make one's life quite comfortable, it is just a drop in the bucket. Yu Cai thinks of the red-hot Han Han and the soon-to-be-popular Guo Jingming, selling books should be very profitable, right?

  Yu Cai has become familiar with the editors of several youth magazines this semester, and they have also written to express their desire to write a novel. They are all very supportive, but whether or not they will accept her manuscript depends on the quality of her writing.

  When crossing the red half of the sky, Yu Cai herself had written a 400,000-word article. Although it wasn't very good, it was probably average. At that time, her manuscript was really old-fashioned and even she didn't have the interest to submit it. But now it's different. If that manuscript were placed in today's world ten years ago, it would be absolutely refreshing. If today's readers' acceptance ability is the same as ten years later, selling fire would be absolute. The key is that I don't have time or conditions now. This summer vacation can be used well, but let her stay in an internet cafe for a whole summer...

  Yu Cai was thinking, Qi Shu Fan was also calculating. His second brother's family had a child after such a long time, and they were so treasured that they would not let their parents return to the county town. With summer vacation approaching, could he let Shi Zhe stay alone in the county town? Let him come to the city to live with himself, but he certainly wouldn't agree. Although Shi Zhe didn't need much care, he was only sixteen years old after all. If he stayed alone in the county town for two months without anything to do, what if he picked up some bad habits...

  It occurred to him that Yu Cai was naturally inclined, if she would accompany Xi Ze for a summer vacation, it wouldn't be bad, but since he wasn't at home, Yu Cai certainly wouldn't agree. What if he were to bring both of them back to the city?

  Qishu Fan was considering going back to deal with this matter when he received a call from Yu Cai.

  Yu Cai's emotions were very contradictory, after asking Qi Shi Zhi Fan for his phone number, he hesitated for two days before finally gathering the courage to dial the number.

  A warm and gentle male voice came from the other end of the receiver, "Hello, may I ask who is speaking?"

  Yu Cai hesitated again, and was so frustrated that she wished she could just hang up directly.

  The person on the phone didn't make a sound, and he wasn't in a hurry. He calmly asked, "May I ask who's speaking?"

  Yu Cai thought that this wouldn't work out either, so she steeled herself and spoke up, "Mr. Qi, hello, I'm Yu Cai".

  "Xiao Cai, is the exam over?"

  "There are two more, and it will be finished the day after tomorrow, sorry to disturb you."

  "Xiao Yu teacher is being polite again," said Qi Shu Fan with his usual teasing tone.

  Yu Cai hesitated before speaking, "Mr. Qi, the gifts that He Auntie and Xia Auntie gave me last time, can I sell them online?"

  "Are you short of money?"

  "Uh, I want to buy a computer, but I'm still short two thousand. If I add that on top, it should be just about enough. I know this is very impolite, but I really need it."

  Qishu Fang couldn't help but laugh softly, "Xiao Cai, since it's a gift for you, you naturally have the right to decide how to deal with it."

  "Maybe..." Yu Cai felt a bit hypocritical, knowing that as long as she said it out loud, Qi Shu Fan would definitely not refuse, and if she really didn't want to, she shouldn't have opened her mouth in the first place.

  "In that case, I have many social engagements and can't avoid giving gifts to this person and that person. Xiaoye, you don't need to bother selling online, just sell it directly to me."

  Yu Cai was shocked, "This won't do, Mr. Qi..."

  "Anyway, I'm going out to buy something, you don't have to be embarrassed, just say it's settled. Let me see if I can ask for leave and go back for a couple of days."

  "No need, really no need, you're making me feel embarrassed, it's like I'm selling your own stuff back to you."

  Qishu Fan couldn't help but laugh again, "Alright, it's settled then. It's hard to discuss over the phone, let's talk more when we meet in person."

  After hanging up the phone, Yu Cai regretted it and wanted to swallow every word she had said. If she had known that Qi Shu Fan would react like this, she might as well have secretly sold it, anyway he wouldn't have noticed...