Why was Song Shao here of all places?
Wen Ying completely lost her mood to watch Shu Lu’s spectacle. Clinging to the car window, she wanted to get out, worried Song Shao would be fooled by Shu Lu.
Wen Dongrong, quick-eyed, pushed her head back inside the car.
“What’s going on? You know him?”
“Of course, he was our junior high class monitor…”
“Song Shao.”
Chen Ru cut in, calling out Song Shao’s name before Wen Ying could finish. Wen Dongrong turned, surprised.
“Why are you looking at me? If you’d ever attended a single parent-teacher meeting or joined any school activities, you’d recognise him too. Song Shao’s always been the outstanding student representative at the weekly flag-raising speeches.”
Song Shao was the quintessential “other people’s kid.” Chen Ru had a deep impression of him.
Wen Dongrong, thick-skinned, promised, “I’ll go to the parent-teacher meeting this year.”
Chen Ru rolled her eyes hard. Dream on!
In the past, parent-teacher meetings were all about hearing praise for top students like Song Shao. Now, Wen Ying was among those praised by teachers. Chen Ru relished the satisfaction, so why would she let Wen Dongrong take that chance?
Wen Ying, ignoring her parents’ banter, suddenly thought to text Song Shao a warning.
She sent several messages, but they sank without a trace. She called him, but he didn’t pick up. Had Song Shao left his phone at home today?!
Wen Ying wanted to get out, but Wen Dongrong squinted, observing for a moment, and told her to wait.
“No rush for a few minutes. Let’s see. Song Shao seems pretty capable.”
Song Shao was, of course, capable.
A top student who, during junior high, founded a “study mutual aid group” and saved several near-dropouts, even taming a free-spirited poet like Song Foxiang, who defied worldly rules. Dealing with Shu Lu was no challenge for him.
In the crowd, Song Shao was like a justice-wielding hero from a hot-blooded manga, bombarding Shu Lu with questions that left her dazed.
Shu Lu found Song Shao vaguely familiar but stammered, avoiding his questions directly.
Song Shao was patient. “I’m a student at Rongcheng No. 9 Middle School. You may not know, but I’ve been helping students like you, facing dropout due to poverty. Rongcheng is the provincial capital; there are plenty of kind-hearted people willing to sponsor education. As long as you meet the criteria, you can definitely continue studying.”
The reputation of ‘Rongcheng No. 9’ was nearly on par with provincial key schools. Hearing Song Shao’s background and his calm, logical speech, the crowd was half-convinced, urging Shu Lu to seek his help.
“Maybe he can really help you?”
“Exactly, just say what’s troubling you. It’s more reliable than blocking your aunt’s shop!”
“Rongcheng has plenty of big bosses. We don’t know them, but this kid does. You’re lucky today!”
At first, Shu Lu only thought Song Shao looked familiar. When she heard “Rongcheng No. 9,” she instantly recalled him. What terrible luck to run into Wen Ying’s former class monitor!
Shu Lu had heard of Song Shao’s deeds and knew he wasn’t bluffing. If he wanted to help, he could definitely find a kind boss to cover her school fees.
But Shu Lu wasn’t excited; she lowered her head even further.
It was 2006, and with society’s high information access, dropping out due to poverty was rare in greater Rongcheng, though common in remote mountainous areas.
For poor students with excellent grades who couldn’t afford school, teachers would visit their homes repeatedly, persuading both parents and students.
If the family truly faced hardship, the school could waive some fees. For truly outstanding students, not only were fees fully waived, but the school would provide monthly living expenses.
Shu Lu had heard of such cases in junior high.
A poor student with grades good enough to aim for Tsinghua or Peking University had all fees waived, received regular living stipends, and teachers cared deeply about their physical and mental health, worried they’d overstudy. Teachers took turns jogging with the student to ensure they stayed healthy. Such cases were rare, but even for less stellar students, as long as they had a serious attitude, teachers wouldn’t let them drop out.
Shu Lu had no interest in studying. Teachers, learning of her past decent grades, talked to her multiple times, but she didn’t take it to heart. Over time, they deemed her beyond saving.
When she couldn’t pay her school fees and faced dropping out, Shu Lu panicked, playing pitiful in front of her homeroom teacher, hoping they’d cover the fees.
It wasn’t that she suddenly wanted to study hard; dropping out left her nowhere to go.
So young, with such low education, she couldn’t find decent work. She wasn’t about to work in a southern factory, exhausting and low-paying!
School was Shu Lu’s safe haven.
Staying a student meant delaying the burden of supporting a family. Shu Lu had that bit of cunning.
She was skilled at playing pitiful, and her teacher had wavered, but the teacher’s wife was firm, saying Shu Lu wasn’t worth sponsoring.
With teachers’ salaries still modest, they’d rather fund poor students who studied diligently.
After failing with her teacher, Shu Lu approached Shu family relatives. None were willing to sponsor her, deeming her grades too poor. Funding a weak student was a losing investment, and no Shu relative wanted that deal.
Shu Lu’s final choice to block Zhu Meiqun’s fruit shop was planned with Wen Hongyan.
Initially, they targeted Wen Ying’s family, but Wen Dongrong had hardened his heart. Working at a government office and having sent Shu Guobing to jail, the mother-daughter pair was wary of him.
Zhu Meiqun, after scolding Wen Hongyan back in their hometown and refusing to let her husband help her, earned Wen Hongyan’s grudge. So they decided to cause trouble for Zhu Meiqun.
If Zhu Meiqun caved under pressure and paid Shu Lu’s fees, would she cover living expenses too?
Not only could Shu Lu spend Zhu Meiqun’s money, but Wen Hongyan could keep leeching off her.
Unfortunately, Zhu Meiqun wasn’t falling for moral blackmail anymore.
The crowd wasn’t easily swayed either.
Some even wanted to call the police for Shu Lu, which she barely managed to stop.
Hungry and cold until nightfall, Shu Lu had stirred the crowd’s emotions, thinking Zhu Meiqun was close to cracking, when Song Shao, the meddling do-gooder, showed up!
Shu Lu lowered her head, thinking of a plan, while Song Shao frowned. “Why aren’t you talking? You don’t want sponsors I could introduce, yet you block someone’s shop. It doesn’t look like you want money to study; it seems more like you’re here to cause trouble!”
“I, I’m not…”
Shu Lu mumbled a weak defence, looking like a bullied, pitiful girl about to cry.
“Not what? Wanting to study isn’t shameful. You’ve gone this far; can’t you tell us your school and name?”
Song Shao, full of righteousness, spoke calmly but hit every one of Shu Lu’s sore spots. “Only the guilty fear verification. A liar like you doesn’t deserve anyone’s sympathy!”
