Auntie’s so gullible!
With just a few words, Uncle Deng Shangwei made Chen Li forget to press him about what he was rushing back to Rongcheng for.
Deng Shangwei left in a hurry, and Chen Li stayed to look after Wen Ying.
Wen Ying spent five days in hospital, and Chen Li cared for her the whole time. Thanks to Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong, every relative knew she’d fallen ill during the exam. Both the Chen and Wen families visited, mostly to console her.
After all, with Chen Ru at the bank and Wen Dongrong in a cushy government job, their relatives often needed favours from Wen Ying’s family—they paid attention to her affairs.
Perhaps because Wen Ying carried memories from her past life, she harboured a bias against the Wen side.
Wen Dongrong, though a rural lad turned proper phoenix man, had real grit. He’d not only made it in the city but dragged his siblings out of the countryside too, helping them settle down. Now, the Wen brothers all lived in the city—their rural land long abandoned.
Wen Ying recalled tagging along with her dad to the countryside as a kid. In recent years, even stubborn Grandma Wen had moved to town. She didn’t live with Wen Ying’s family, though. Despite Wen Dongrong being her pride and joy, he and Chen Ru hadn’t given her a grandson. So Grandma Wen stayed with Wen Ying’s uncle, whose son—her cousin—was the apple of her eye.
Grandma Wen wasn’t your typical over-the-top rural granny. She tried to be fair, but some backward notions were bone-deep—expecting a sixty-something village woman to change was a tall order!
Now, visitors comforted Wen Ying, saying it wasn’t her fault she’d got sick during the exam and urging her to rest up.
Whether they meant it or not, their words were kind, and Wen Ying took them in stride.
Grandma Wen was different. She held Wen Ying’s hand, telling her not to push too hard—girls just needed a decent high school, uni if possible, but no big deal if not.
Grandma Wen spoke, Wen Ying hummed in response.
Chen Li couldn’t stand it. “Auntie, you can’t say that to a kid—what if she takes it seriously? It’s a new age—girls not going to uni? Come off it!”
Grandma Wen shrugged. “No uni? Her dad can still sort her a job. Why tire herself out?”
Chen Li was gobsmacked.
Just then, Chen Ru returned from sorting Wen Ying’s discharge papers and caught the tail end.
She nearly blew her top.
“Mum, don’t talk rot! Dongrong’s just an ordinary bloke—he can’t magic up jobs for a high schooler. Wen Ying needs to study hard and get into a top uni!”
The ward was full of outsiders, yet the old lady spoke without a care.
Wen Ying wasn’t fussed—she suddenly wanted to laugh.
Back in 2004, she noticed things she’d missed last time. Take her mum, Chen Ru—a control freak, sharp as a tack at work and home, with a knack for lecturing Wen Ying in airtight logic. Yet she was powerless against Grandma Wen!
After years together, Grandma Wen hadn’t budged an inch—still doing her own thing.
The old lady was Chen Ru’s kryptonite!
The thought made Wen Ying giggle aloud.
Cue a fierce glare from Chen Ru.
Last life, that look would’ve left her jelly-legged. Now? Nothing.
Glare away.
Adults can control kids, but not another adult.
To stop Grandma Wen’s ramblings, Chen Ru hustled her out. Chen Li and Wen Ying trailed behind. Chen Li muttered, “You’ve been ill, and it’s like your guts have grown?”
Wen Ying just smiled.
Grown a bit?
No—she was brimming with guts now!
Chen Li drove them home. Grandma Wen kept praising the car’s looks; Chen Li mumbled vague replies.
Then Grandma Wen asked why Wen Ying’s family didn’t get one.
“With a car, you could drive me back to the village so easily.”
Though the Wens had left the countryside, some relatives and old neighbours remained. Wen Dongrong wouldn’t use his work car privately, so Grandma Wen never got her small-town car ride to show off—an obsession of hers.
Chen Ru couldn’t reason with her mother-in-law.
Saying a car now would hurt Wen Dongrong’s prospects? Granny might brag he was up for promotion.
Chen Ru went with, “Money’s tight, Mum. Things aren’t like before—school’s not enough now; kids need extra classes outside. This summer, Dongrong and I are sending Wen Ying to Rongcheng for English tutoring. She can stay with her aunt, but should her aunt pay the fees too? She got sick this exam—if she wants a top Rongcheng high school, we need this much at least. Where’s the spare cash for a car?”
Chen Ru flashed a figure; Grandma Wen gasped.
“That much? I said girls just need a bit of schooling—your Wen Ying’s not cut out for it. Don’t push her too hard. What kid doesn’t play on holiday? Sending her to the provincial capital for lessons?”
Grandma Wen circled back; Chen Ru nearly snapped in the car.
“A bit of schooling? We’ve poured our hearts into her—‘a bit’ won’t do! Mum, why not tell大哥’s Wen Kai to take it easy? They’re sending him to tutoring too. He’s got his uni entrance next month and hasn’t slacked a day!”
Chen Ru thought to herself: Her brother-in-law’s family earned less than her and Wen Dongrong, so Wen Kai crammed locally. With more cash, they’d ship him to Rongcheng too.
Married to Wen Dongrong all these years, what irked Chen Ru most wasn’t supporting his clan—it was that no matter how much they did, Grandma Wen blatantly favoured her son-bearing eldest. Deep down, it was resentment over Chen Ru birthing a girl, not a boy to carry the Wen line!
Chen Ru shot Wen Ying a scorching look—enough to burn holes.
Wen Ying knew her mum’s sore spot had flared again.
Her cousin Wen Kai had long been a whip Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong cracked to drive Wen Ying. They wanted her among the elite—or at least better than Wen Kai.
It formed a twisted logic: They outshone Wen Kai’s parents, so their daughter should inherit their smarts and skills—how could she lag behind him?
Yet Wen Kai met their hopes and Grandma’s bias, landing a 985 uni spot that year.
Then Wen Ying’s nightmare began.
A stellar cousin on one side, her exam flop on the other.
Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong made her feel everything she did was wrong—like breathing was a waste.
Sensing Chen Ru’s rising temper, Wen Ying ventured softly, “Actually, I think I did alright this time—”
Chen Ru wouldn’t hear it, cutting her off sharpish.
