Chapter 97: Do you like Zhai Da?

A sudden small family meeting ended successfully. Under Zhai Da's repeated emphasis, Yu Xiaoli still accepted the matter of "the son giving money to his mother."

Of course, Zhai Da knew without saying that his mother was holding the idea of helping him save it.

After washing the dishes, Zhai Da returned to his small room. Lu Wei's tall and slender back was already sitting at the desk.

The light from the 【Undying Light Bulb】 on the ceiling was dim, making the area illuminated by the desk lamp look like a warm campfire in the darkness, and there was someone waiting by the campfire.

Zhai Da tapped Lu Wei's back lightly with his knuckles: "Watch out for hunching."

Lu Wei stood up straight as if she had been pressed by a switch.

"How much money do you have left?"

Lu Wei quickly reported the number: "1589.62."

She couldn't save any money before; she had to rely on a ninja-like ability to endure just to eat, and most of her wages were given to her beast of a father...

Speaking of which, it seemed there had been no news of Wu Yue for a while. What was that kid busy with?

Lu Benqing was about to come out, and he had work to do again.

As for the source of the nearly 1,600 Lu Wei had on her now, it was very simple: it was issued when she resigned from the textile factory. At that time, they had withheld one month of her wages, but when she left, they negotiated well, and not a single cent was deducted.

Plus the tutoring wages that weren't spent in the last judicial auction, Lu Wei's theoretical assets were about 3,000 yuan. With her little mythical beast personality, except for buying groceries for the family, she basically had no extra expenses.

It was enough to last until after the college entrance exam and even until she went to college in September. After that, it would be working during the summer vacation, working in college, work-study, scholarships, student loans...

Going to college in the country wasn't expensive, and as long as one was hardworking, there were many methods. What's more, Lu Wei's grades would definitely amaze everyone, and any school would help if there were difficulties.

Actually, the expenses for her college education could truly be solved by herself.

But Zhai Da naturally wouldn't let Lu Wei be so hardworking.

There was no rush to say it now; let this girl keep thinking that way. Only by believing that "the money for college can be solved by myself" would she be more comfortable and natural in this home.

When it really came time to go to college...

Could he really let her live in a dormitory?

Not disturbing Lu Wei for the time being, Zhai Da lay back on his bed, took out his phone, and started pressing the calculator.

73826.15*0.2.

The result was 14765.12, nearly fifteen thousand.

Zhai Da pursed his lips. This was the portion belonging to the other party according to the previous agreement of an "eight-two split" with Lu Siwen.

It was more than he imagined.

But in the end, he still calmly sent a message to Lu Siwen, notifying her that "the income has arrived, it's time to split the money," and asked her to send a card number over. He would handle it together when he transferred money to his mother later.

When people split money, feeling heartache is an instinct.

Actually, he had countless ways not to split this money. Lu Siwen might not necessarily need it, and teasing the little girl would have let it slide.

He could even dump more miscellaneous matters onto Lu Siwen without spending a cent, or use "enterprise-level" thinking to only give her a return that met the "value of a high school student in the labor market"—throwing 800 yuan in her face, and Lu Siwen would probably accept it very happily.

But that wasn't distribution according to labor.

He could restrain this instinct; after all, he was someone who had made a vow.

If he was trembling over this little bit of money, he might as well return to the textile factory middle school overnight and tear down that sticky note, so as not to lose face.

After the message was sent, Lu Siwen, who usually replied in seconds, was slow to respond. Zhai Da waited for a few minutes without any movement, so he put it aside for now and entered his study rhythm.

Lu Wei felt Zhai Da's participation and moved her chair.

"Send me your card number in a text message later; you didn't spend all the tutoring fees before."

"I don't want it."

"Saying you don't want it means you do."

"Then I want it."

"Good."

"Bullying people..."

——————

At the same time, inside a villa residential area in Dongyang, a dinner was also taking place.

At the dining table, Auntie Liu, who had been busy all afternoon, served dish after dish, then sat at the end of the table, distancing herself somewhat from the family.

She had already served a portion of the dishes in advance and placed them on her own small plate.

Lu Siwen ate quietly, while Lu Zetao held a book in one hand, reading while eating.

Qian Yarong's phone didn't stop. She didn't put it down until she had eaten half, and then chatted with her husband about work matters for a few sentences.

Suddenly she said: "Siwen, the teacher said your mock exam grades this time don't seem to have any improvement?"

Lu Siwen, who was eating, lowered her head guiltily: "I didn't perform well in math..."

Under the '08 new regulation, the "Chinese, Math, English" papers for liberal arts and sciences were exactly the same. Although her math wasn't bad, it couldn't be considered strong either.

Qian Yarong sighed: "Don't have too much pressure. Domestic education is just like this. The college entrance exam is just one of the tools for you to apply to American universities, and it's not the most important tool. I have already asked friends with influence to inquire about your recommendation letters."

"Go to familiarize yourself with the language in July of the summer vacation, August for enrollment, and September for admission—it's just right. We also found a good family for Homestay. Once you stabilize, your father and I will go buy the property."

Their family naturally belonged to one of the wealthiest families in Dongyang, but placed nationwide, it wasn't that top-tier, let alone abroad. So Lu Siwen's path to studying abroad wasn't a smooth one either; like many international students, she had to pass one barrier after another.

Fortunately, money could solve most problems there, as long as one was willing to spend it.

Qian Yarong was talking eloquently about the plans for Lu Siwen, or rather, the plans for the whole family, and her expression already carried some anticipation. At this time, Lu Siwen's phone rang once. She subconsciously glanced at it and saw it was a message from "Classmate Zhai." Without hesitation, she clicked it open.

The content was that the Star Wave share had arrived, asking her for a card number to transfer the money. In addition, it also mentioned the communication results with the publishing house.

Money was a small matter, but Zhai Da rarely contacted her proactively, let alone sent such a long string of content. As Lu Siwen watched, a smile appeared on the corners of her mouth. After a long time, this made Qian Yarong somewhat displeased.

"Whose message?"

Lu Siwen said honestly: "Classmate Zhai's."

Qian Yarong's brows furrowed slightly: "The college entrance exam is coming soon. That Zhai Da's grades are even worse than yours, right? Aren't you afraid of affecting each other's studies?"

Lu Siwen raised her head and said proudly: "Zhai Da is first in the grade."

Qian Yarong paused...

Zhai Da is first in the grade, so what are you proud of? So the only one being delayed is you?

However, that little boy being first in the grade did indeed surprise Qian Yarong; he didn't look like it at all...

Lu Siwen hadn't noticed the change in her mother's emotions, or rather, Qian Yarong was always this serious most of the time, and her mind was still immersed in Zhai Da's text message.

The blog was very popular, with tens of thousands of views and thousands of comments per post. Although Zhai Da had never paid attention to it, Lu Siwen managed it every day, which was a very fulfilling thing.

And publishing was an important step in Classmate Zhai's talent being displayed before the world. This matter happened with her participation, and her joy might be even a few points more than Zhai Da's.

Qian Yarong frowned and said: "Siwen, I think you should focus on your studies during this last period. It's best not to get involved in these things anymore."

This was diametrically opposed to the "don't have too much pressure" she had just said.

Lu Siwen finally perceived the irritability in her mother's emotions: "Mom, I didn't delay my studies..."

"I think you have already delayed them."

"My Chinese grades have improved, and the teacher praised my essay for having made significant progress. Classmate Zhai taught me a lot!"

"Chinese is not important; English is important."

"I am first in the grade in English!"

At this time, Lu Zetao, who had been reading while eating, suddenly spoke.

"Siwen."

The mother and daughter stopped speaking at the same time and turned to look at this head of the family.

"Do you like Zhai Da?" ===== CHAPTER 98 =====