Chapter 97

Su Ruo, An'an, Li Zhaodi. Also possibly 'Su Ruo An'an' but that's two names.

Adding together two lifetimes, Su Ruo felt the warmth of a family for the first time; she, An'an, and Li Zhaodi were clearly strangers with no blood relation, yet now they have come together to form a family, loving each other and supporting each other.

In this world, it is not those with blood ties who are relatives; it is those who love who are family.

At the stroke of twelve, the three raised their cups together and said, "Wishing us a safe and sound new year and prosperous business."

Firecrackers sounded, bidding farewell to the old year; amidst a scene of flourishing prosperity, people welcomed the new year.

During the New Year period, people are always busy; amidst the heavy snowfall, they are busy visiting relatives and friends, and the cold does nothing to dampen their enthusiasm for the celebrations.

Su Ruo

Bai Xinya and Zhou Feng returned on the fifth day; they brought back many gifts, covering food, clothing, and daily necessities, and they specially brought many specialties from Kyoto for Su Ruo and them.

Bai Xinya missed An'an greatly, holding her for a long time without letting go; An'an obediently allowed her to hold her.

Su Ruo

Wu Qingqing, as soon as she entered the door, emotionally said: "Shi Rou, I just went to the clinic to get medicine, I saw Su Ruo also looking at college entrance exam review materials; she is also preparing to take the college entrance exam."

Upon seeing the book in Su Ruo's hand, Wu Qingqing immediately exclaimed in surprise: "Su Ruo, do you also want to take the college entrance exam?"

Wu Qingqing seemingly didn't notice Li Shirou's emotional change; she still excitedly said: "You don't know, I just at Su Ruo's place saw many college entrance exam review materials; those books I've never seen before, they must have been brought by the County Magistrate's Wife from Kyoto."

But... sigh...

Wu Qingqing also realized she had misspoken; she hurriedly changed the topic, saying: "Right, you didn't know, did you? Li Shirou is also reviewing and preparing to take the college entrance exam."

During this period, Li Shirou has been studying in her room almost nonstop, hardly going out; even when Li Zeyu's leg was injured, she didn't go see him several times, it seems she has made up her mind to attend university.

Su Ruo gestured for Wu Qingqing to sit down, then had her extend her hand; Su Ruo took Wu Qingqing's pulse, then touched her abdomen, and said:

"You have some uterine cold; just taking painkillers only treats the symptom, not the root. It's better to drink some herbal decoction to regulate yourself, and during this period try to avoid cold water as much as possible, otherwise you may develop lingering problems, making it harder to get pregnant later."

I saw that Su Ruo had so many review materials; she couldn't possibly finish them all herself, so I asked her if she could lend you a part first.

After everything was settled, the subsequent production and manufacturing, as well as negotiations with Manager Huang, were all handed over to Li Zhaodi and Bai Xinya; Su Ruo then began wholeheartedly preparing for the college entrance exam.

Upon hearing that, Wu Qingqing's expression grew somewhat despondent; she said: "Forget it, after the New Year I've spent all my money; where would I get money to buy herbal medicine?"

However, Wu Qingqing did not return to her own room; instead, she went to look for Li Shirou.

I don't have your luck; someone helps you wash clothes, cook meals, and take care of you. Even if it's freezing, I have to wash my own clothes. Poor people have a miserable fate; people like me, even if I get sick, can only endure it myself.

However, this has nothing to do with Su Ruo; as long as Li Shirou doesn't provoke her, she also can't be bothered to deal with Li Shirou.

But after she asked two questions in a row and Su Ruo didn't answer either, Wu Qingqing felt rebuffed and returned resentfully to the Youth Work Station.

Only then did Wu Qingqing remember why she came to the clinic; she held her stomach and said: "I've got my period, my stomach hurts a bit; could you give me some painkillers?"

But you also know Su Ruo's temperament; this isn't entirely her fault, after all you're in a competitive relationship, it's normal for her not to lend you the books, Shi Rou, don't be angry.

After hanging up the phone, Su Ruo, Li Zhaodi, and Bai Xinya began researching the spring clothing design drafts; the three of them gathered together and quickly settled on several dozen styles.

That day, Su Ruo was reading when Wu Qingqing suddenly came in, holding her stomach.

Su Ruo detected the sarcasm in Wu Qingqing's tone, she slightly furrowed her brows and stopped advising; anyway, she had said what she needed to say, whether Wu Qingqing listened or not was her own business.

Now, she still has to go take the college entrance exam; once she gets into university, we'll never be able to catch up.

Su Ruo lifted her head and glanced at Wu Qingqing, without answering her question, instead asking in a light tone: "Anything?"

Su Ruo could see that Bai Xinya had gone to great lengths to get her into a university in Kyoto; naturally she wouldn't let Bai Xinya's painstaking efforts go to waste.

Li Shirou was reading when she was interrupted, somewhat displeased; but upon hearing Wu Qingqing's words, her gaze instantly turned icy cold.

After Wu Qingqing finished speaking, she patted her buttocks contentedly and walked off, as if she hadn't seen Li Shirou's extremely grim face.

Bai Xinya brought many reference books from Kyoto for Su Ruo; these books are extremely rare, unobtainable in Black Province, and Bai Xinya had gone to great trouble to find them for Su Ruo.

Not only could she be the village doctor, avoiding fieldwork and eating meat every day, she even got to know the County Magistrate and his wife, and the Public Security Bureau Chief—big shots we wouldn't even dare to imagine.

Li Shirou's eyes were filled with deep resentment; she had always viewed taking the college entrance exam as the sole opportunity to crush Su Ruo, and now Su Ruo actually wants to compete for that too—how could she not hate her?

Among them, An'an also provided plenty of inspiration; Su Ruo deliberately picked a few relatively loose and cute styles, intending to make them into parent-child outfits.

Speaking of which, I truly envy Su Ruo; you say we're both educated youths, so why is her fate so good?

The capital is just great; even the teaching materials are so comprehensive, unlike here where buying a set of review materials is so difficult.

Now that's great; if you both get into the same university, you might end up as classmates later, which would also give you companionship.

In the days that followed, aside from seeing patients, Su Ruo spent basically all her time buried in her studies.

Speaking of which, you both came from Kyoto; if you manage to get into the same university someday, you might end up as classmates.

After Wu Qingqing finished speaking, she kept observing Su Ruo's expression, but couldn't discern any emotional change from Su Ruo's face, and she felt a bit disappointed.

Su Ruo ignored Wu Qingqing's little thoughts; after taking her medicine, she continued to bury herself in her books, while Wu Qingqing originally still wanted to chat a bit more with Su Ruo, to ask about her studies and which university she was preparing to apply for.

Li Zhaodi places almost blind trust in Su Ruo; she won't oppose anything Su Ruo says, while Bai Xinya thinks that if she saw clothing exactly like An'an's, she would definitely buy it.

The three of them hit it off immediately, but since it was their first attempt, Su Ruo didn't dare to make too many.

Su Ruo felt that such clothing didn't yet exist and might sell well; as soon as she expressed the idea, Bai Xinya and Li Zhaodi immediately gave their approval.

Su Ruo was momentarily stunned, but quickly returned to normal; she had been busy lately and hadn't paid attention to Li Shirou, so she didn't know that Li Shirou was also preparing for the college entrance exam.

After leaving Li Shirou's room, Wu Qingqing came out humming a tune in a good mood; some people are like that—when their own lives are bad, they don't think about striving to change their fate, but they can't stand seeing others better off, they think of ways to disgust you, and when they see you doing poorly, they feel happy.

Inside the room, Li Shirou angrily snapped the pen in her hand; looking at the characters on the page, she could no longer study, and directly flung all her books onto the floor in anger.

Li Shirou locked herself in her room for an entire day; that night she went out to find Li Yanhong.

The two of them didn't know what they had been plotting in the room; the next day, Li Yanhong went to the county seat with her big belly, and met her disreputable cousin.