Chapter 978: Farewell

She felt reluctant to let go, but she could not let her daughter see it.

So she put on a very happy expression: "Send word when you arrive in A Country, and video chat with your grandparents often when you have time, so they don't miss you."

"Don't forget what you said; you are going to A Country to fulfill filial duties for me and your aunt, so you must keep your word."

Shi Ran: "Don't worry, I will definitely keep my word."

Her younger brothers also came over to say goodbye to their sister.

Sheng Zichen: "Sister, you must eat on time while you're away. A Country is great in every way, but the food isn't refined enough. I'll write a cookbook and send it to you, and I'll hire a highly skilled chef to go over and cook for you specifically."

Sheng Zichen was young, but he had already joined the Chef Association; of course, he did this secretly behind his parents' backs, and they couldn't know.

Shi Ran flicked his nose and whispered: "You should focus on your studies and stop thinking about those irrelevant things. I've been too busy with my own affairs these days to manage your homework; how are your grades?"

Zichen dodged his sister's gaze and urged: "Why talk about homework on such a happy day of farewell? What a mood killer. Have a safe trip!"

Shi Ran:...

No need to ask; his homework must have fallen behind again during this period.

She wanted to say more, but her brother pulled Litian in front of her: "You say goodbye to sister."

"Sister, call often when you get to A Country."

Litian was a bit afraid of this sister; the halo around Shi Ran was too dazzling, and he felt pressured.

"Mm, study hard."

When it was the twin brothers' turn to say goodbye, it was simple.

The two little ones usually had different personalities and did things differently, but now they were unexpectedly in sync.

The two of them, one on each side, grabbed their sister's hands and shook them: "Sister, can you not go?"

"We don't want to let you go. Don't leave; if you leave, there will be no one to stand up for us when our brother bullies us later."

"You two stop talking nonsense. When have I ever bullied you?" Sheng Zichen glared.

In fact, he was truly being wronged.

He didn't actively bully his brothers; rather, the brothers actively provoked him.

Sheng Zichen liked to run to the kitchen after school, and the twins thought, what could be fun about that place?

They wanted their brother to play with them, but he wouldn't listen, so the two conspired and came up with a good idea—go tell on him to their father!

Sheng Zichen would be dragged out of the kitchen by his father, and naturally, he would vent his frustration on the twins, spanking them twice, which happened to be seen by his sister, who scolded him, and then the twins remembered—when brother hits us, go find sister to uphold justice!

Now that their sister was going abroad, the twins felt their backer was running away, so they cried miserably.

The farewell scene was very lively, but throughout it, only Sheng Hanyu kept a straight face, glaring at Qi Heng from time to time.

He gritted his teeth inwardly: You little brat, I misjudged you. I originally wanted you to stay in Jiangzhou to accompany my daughter, but you ended up whisking my daughter away.

Qi Heng took the initiative to walk toward Sheng Hanyu: "Please rest assured, Uncle. I will take care of Ranran in A Country, and even if I have to risk my life, I won't let her suffer the slightest grievance."

"A man must keep his word. Remember your promise." Sheng Hanyu's expression softened a little.

"A real man's word is his bond; what is said cannot be taken back." Qi Heng promised solemnly.

Although he was not old, he had the demeanor of a Vice President, keeping his promises and being a man of his word.

When Shi Ran and Qi Heng boarded the plane and left, it was as if Sheng Hanyu's heart had been hollowed out.

He felt empty and remained unhappy for several days, video calling his daughter every day, and finding his sons an eyesore no matter how he looked at them, with the words always on his lips: "Look at your sister, look at you lot."

It scared the boys so much that they were like mice seeing a cat; they would run whenever they saw their father.

But on this day, something happened.

The teacher called Shi Youxuan: "Zichen's mother, please come to the school when you have time. I have some things I'd like to discuss with you."

"Teacher, did Sheng Zichen cause trouble at school?"

"It's not exactly causing trouble... you'd better come over, and we can talk in person."

"Alright, I'll be there soon."

At school.

The teacher's expression was a bit complex: "Zichen's mother, are you aware that Sheng Zichen is doing business at school?"

Shi Youxuan:...

She did not know.

"Doing what business? I don't know about this."

The teacher told her that Sheng Zichen brought some uniquely shaped small snacks and treats from home to sell at school.

It wasn't just simple selling; he also issued membership cards and recruited agents...

He was only in the third grade of elementary school, with his curriculum gradually deepening, yet he didn't think about studying hard and instead got into these "unorthodox" things at school, which made the teacher feel very pained and disappointed.

Actually, Shi Youxuan didn't feel there was anything wrong with it; instead, she felt a little secretly pleased.

The family was in business, and having a business mind at such a young age—could this be considered inheriting the family business?

But what the teacher said next made her realize the seriousness of the matter.

The teacher said that children today are different from children in the past; times are progressing, and theoretically, we should progress too.

It's no big deal for classmates to sell small cards or similar things; it can exercise a child's financial intelligence, but it's not right for everything to be measured by money, as it easily fosters the bad habit of being mercenary.

If there is only money in a young heart, and everything must be measured by money, the child's values will deviate seriously, which is detrimental to their future growth.

Living conditions are good now, and children bringing food from home to school to share among classmates should have been a very good thing, but it's not good that Sheng Zichen is now selling it.

Shi Youxuan humbly accepted the criticism; as long as the teacher was right, she would listen.

This matter was only one kind of problem.

There was also their academic performance.

During this period, the two children's grades had plummeted, and they had even learned to forge signatures, signing each other's homework books and report cards!

Shi Youxuan had been away for half a month, and with their sister having no time to manage them, they had let themselves go and only focused on playing during this time; their already mediocre grades were now too miserable to look at.

Fearing their poor grades would be discovered, the two children signed for each other and told the teacher at school that their parents had signed them.

With their handwriting looking like flying crabs, the teacher quickly discovered that the parent signatures were forged.

……

School was over, and the two boys were very low-key today; instead of playing and making noise like usual, they snuck along the edges without making a sound!

The two of them hugged the wall, preparing to quickly sneak back to their rooms, when Shi Youxuan spoke up: "Stop."

The brothers exchanged a look; Sheng Litian turned back, while Zichen continued to sneak toward his room, hunched over.

"Sheng Zichen, where do you think you are going?"

She was his mother; how could she not understand him?

He was just trying to get Litian to come out and provide cover so he could sneak off to find his grandparents to act as a shield.

However, his wishful thinking was destined to fail today; Shi Youxuan had bought two tickets to a stage play, and the old couple had gone to watch it.

"Hehe, Mom, my stomach hurts, I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be back very soon."

"Fine, go ahead."

Not letting him go to the bathroom would be unreasonable.

Sheng Zichen successfully snuck away.

Litian came before her.