Chen Ru quickly glanced at the report card.
She scanned the scores for Chinese, Maths, and English, then the total of 602 points, landing on the year ranking.
289th.
When Wen Ying first got into the provincial key school, Chen Ru never imagined her grades would improve this quickly.
From over 600th to the top 300 in the year, as long as Wen Ying maintained this ranking without slipping, her college entrance exam score should at least match Wen Kai’s this year.
So, doing business, writing novels, and screenwriting really didn’t affect her academic progress?
It must have had some impact, more or less.
But with Wen Ying’s final exam report card slapped down in front of Chen Ru, she couldn’t find a single word of criticism.
After all, Wen Ying’s improvement was so obvious!
Wen Ying seemed nonchalant but was secretly watching her mother’s expression.
Chen Ru didn’t know how to react at first, after a long pause, she finally acknowledged the report card, “You did alright.”
When those four words left Chen Ru’s mouth, Wen Ying didn’t feel the thrill of winning a battle, only a wave of relief.
The woman sitting in the living room was her mother, not her enemy, Wen Ying didn’t need to force her mum to admit fault, that was how she dealt with adversaries.
To lighten the mood, Wen Ying twitched her nose, “What’s for lunch? I’m starving!”
“Fish! You don’t like pork anymore, do you? Fish doesn’t make you fat and it’s good for your brain,” Wen Dongrong said.
Knowing his wife’s temper, Wen Dongrong knew pressing further would likely make Chen Ru defensive, so he quickly followed Wen Ying’s lead to change the topic, sneaking in his own agenda, “Go wash your face before eating, it’s so hot you’re sweating just moving around. Earlier, before you got home, your mum and I were discussing getting an air conditioner for your room, I’m going to buy one this afternoon.”
The house did need air conditioning, Wen Ying, like Wen Dongrong, was sensitive to heat, if it got too hot, she’d feel irritable and unable to focus on studying or working.
Wen Ying didn’t think much of it, casually saying, “If we’re buying, get two units, aren’t you and Mum getting one for your room?”
“I’d love to buy two,” Wen Dongrong said.
His wife’s sharp glance swept over, and Wen Dongrong quickly flattered, “Your mum said we should prioritise you, we’re at work most of the time, but you’ll be home all summer.”
Wen Ying caught on.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want two units, they couldn’t afford two, with the house renovation ongoing.
Wen Ying slipped into the kitchen to bring out the fish, carefully showing her loyalty, “Mum, I’ve saved up some manuscript fees, I don’t need to spend much lately, how about you hold onto it for me?”
Wen Dongrong almost answered for his wife.
But Chen Ru didn’t jump at the money, instead seriously asking Wen Ying how much it was and how long she’d need it held.
“About twenty thousand, maybe until I start university?” Wen Ying discussed with Chen Ru.
If she outright said she was giving the money to Chen Ru to use, Chen Ru would never accept it.
Saying it was for safekeeping carried a different meaning.
It wasn’t that Wen Ying was reluctant to give more, most of her savings had gone into Tianjiao’s film production, the twenty thousand was scraped together from Yuan Fenghui’s part-time wages since April, plus *Aige*’s earlier serialisation fees.
With *Aige* terminating their contract, the later serialisation fees were gone, handing over the twenty thousand to Chen Ru meant Wen Ying would be counting pennies until *Youth Idol* was published.
Oh, when *Youth Idol* hit the shelves, Zou Weijun would pay a 30,000 yuan advance royalty, that would be Wen Ying’s only significant income in the next three or four months.
Wen Ying deliberately said “until university” to signal she wouldn’t need the money soon.
With the family’s finances tight, her parents could use it, she still had two years before university, by then the family’s finances would have recovered… this was the olive branch Wen Ying offered.
Wen Ying never expected her parents to repay her.
But Chen Ru was meticulous, when Wen Ying handed over the bank card, Chen Ru checked the balance and recorded it in her ledger.
The date and amount were noted clearly.
That afternoon, the couple went to buy air conditioners, Wen Dongrong returned smug, Wen Ying didn’t need to ask to know he’d got his wish.
Though one unit was expensive and the other cheap, even the cheaper air conditioner was better than a fan!
Wen Ying’s 289th-place final exam result completely dispelled the lingering gloom in the household.
…
At the Li household, Li Zhentao and his wife were equally shocked by their daughter’s progress.
Her grades didn’t slip this semester, they improved?
“It’s all thanks to Xie Qian and Wen Ying,” Li Mengjiao said, puffing out her chest, adding, “And a bit of my own smarts.”
Li Zhentao nodded in agreement, “You made good friends with those two.”
Without knowing Wen Ying, she wouldn’t have gotten close to Xie Qian.
Li Zhentao saw it clearly, Xie Qian wasn’t one to care much about others, he was smart but kept to himself, it was entirely due to Wen Ying that Xie Qian was drawn into Li Mengjiao’s friend circle.
Li Zhentao told his wife to reach out to Zou Weijun more, but Li’s mother waved it off, “Don’t mention it, Weijun’s been busy lately, seems like she’s fighting some lawsuit, “
“For Wen Ying!” Li Mengjiao said indignantly, “The magazine refused to communicate, and now they’re saying Wen Ying delayed drafts and raised prices, not only did they terminate her contract, they reserved the right to pursue legal action against her. Aunt Zou is suing the magazine on Wen Ying’s behalf!”
Li Zhentao was hearing this for the first time.
His work kept him busy, he had no time to read youth magazines.
“Tell me more,” he said.
Li Mengjiao explained what she knew, and Li Zhentao, instead of getting angry, laughed, “Silly girl, what’s there to be upset about? Xie Qian’s mum suing the magazine is the right move, the bigger this gets, the better. This is Wen Ying’s challenge, but also her opportunity.”
What opportunity?
A golden chance for fame and fortune, of course!
As for “challenge,” Li Zhentao just said it casually.
Wen Ying’s mindset was more mature than her peers, this level of adversity hardly counted as a real challenge.
That said, knowing someone was bullying Wen Ying, Li Zhentao was still displeased, he asked Li Mengjiao, “Aren’t you and Wen Ying good friends? She’s always been genuine with you, how are you going to help her?”
Li Mengjiao shared her earlier ideas, and Li Zhentao nodded with a smile, “Good, go with your plan.”
“Dad, things have changed, “ Li Mengjiao said anxiously.
Li Zhentao laughed heartily, “What’s changed? Did Wen Ying suddenly lose her ability to write? I don’t know the publishing industry, but I know any market values quality above all. As long as Wen Ying’s book maintains its quality, she won’t lose out this time, she’ll come out with a full harvest. Tell her not to worry, just focus on finishing her manuscript!”
Li Mengjiao was half-convinced.
Thinking back, at school today, Xie Qian and Wen Ying didn’t seem too anxious?
Then her worrying was pointless.
Smart people surely knew what to do.
Sure enough, just as Li Zhentao predicted, Wen Ying ignored the outside noise, with air conditioning creating a comfortable environment for writing, she finished her manuscript early on July 10!
Now, the rest was the publishing editor’s job, Wen Ying could finally roll up her sleeves and take on Editor-in-Chief Han!
Then Wen Ying discovered that in the few days she’d been holed up writing, she’d somehow gone viral?!
, No, not her, “Fish Against the Current” had gone viral.
