Chapter 53

Xue Miaoyun didn’t find Cao Lisheng’s answer strange. After all, it had only been a few days since the announcement.

“Your father is right. The most important thing right now is to get into college.” At present, a university degree held great value. Even a diploma from a junior college meant a guaranteed job after graduation. So the top priority was to get into a good university—choosing a major could come later.

“Of course, if you have time, you can also start thinking about what you enjoy doing. After all, doing a job you love is much more pleasant than doing one you don’t.” In this era, a college graduate’s first job often became a lifelong career.

Cao Lisheng felt that the beautiful older sister made a lot of sense. She really did need to think it over.

“…I think being a teacher isn’t bad either.”

“Teaching is indeed a good profession for women. But there’s quite a difference between teaching at a primary school, middle/high school, and university. Primary and secondary school teachers have it tougher, since they’re responsible for students’ grades and the school’s promotion rates. University professors, on the other hand, are more focused on academic research.”

“Sister-in-law, you know so much!” Cao Lisheng looked up at her in admiration.

“That’s because I have an uncle who’s a university professor, so I’ve heard a lot from him.”

“Wife.” Cang Ling’s tall figure appeared at the doorway.

Xue Miaoyun immediately stood up and went to greet him. “You’re back.”

Cao Lisheng felt like a balloon deflating when she saw Cang Ling. The pressure he gave off was overwhelming—she didn’t even dare speak and tried to make herself as invisible as possible.

“Hmm. I brought a few dishes back for you. You’ve been working hard lately, you should take care of yourself.” Cang Ling’s eyes were only for his wife, full of affection and warmth.

“It’s not as bad as you make it sound.” Xue Miaoyun smiled sweetly, but luckily she remembered they weren’t alone at home.

“This is Cao Lisheng. Do you know her?”

Cang Ling glanced at the girl. Hmm, she did look a bit like Commissar Cao.

“Commander Cang,” Cao Lisheng greeted nervously. She definitely knew the famous Commander Cang—her father always spoke highly of him.

Cao Lisheng liked attractive people, but she didn’t feel the slightest bit of infatuation toward Cang Ling. His presence was just too overwhelming. Standing before him felt like being summoned by the dean at school.

“Hmm.” Cang Ling nodded. “Commissar Cao asked you to head home.”

“Y-Yes! I’ll—I’ll go now!” Cao Lisheng gathered her things at lightning speed, bid Xue Miaoyun farewell, and practically fled the scene.

Xue Miaoyun was left stunned by her sudden exit.

She looked at Cang Ling with amused helplessness. “Was that necessary? She was a guest.”

Cang Ling didn’t care about that. His wife was about to head off to university—how could he not cherish every moment they had together? Guest or no guest, even the Emperor himself couldn’t interfere with their time as a couple.

“I just want to be with you, Yun’er,” Cang Ling said as he hugged his wife, acting all clingy.

“You’re getting more childish by the day,” Xue Miaoyun said, but being held and spoiled by a handsome man like this—it felt too good to complain. She couldn’t help but kiss the corner of Cang Ling’s lips. “Let’s eat first.”

Meanwhile, Cao Lisheng returned home looking completely deflated.

Seeing her daughter like that, Mother Cao rushed up with concern. “Shengsheng, what happened?”

“Mom… sigh… why do beautiful women have to get married…?”

Mother Cao: ???

Staring at her daughter sprawled out on the couch, Mother Cao was completely at a loss.

“Sit tight, your dad will be back soon.”

Cao Lisheng felt like life was becoming impossible. She adjusted her posture with difficulty.

“So, is Commander Cang’s wife really that impressive?” Mother Cao looked curious. She had quite an interest in Xue Miaoyun too. She’d heard many compliments from Sister Qiu, but since she had a job and wasn’t often at the military family compound, she never had the chance to meet her.

The moment Xue Miaoyun was mentioned, Cao Lisheng perked up. She gave her mother a big thumbs-up.

“She’s amazing. When she explains things, she’s way clearer than our half-baked teacher. Her logic flows really well. I used to be all confused about the subject, but today Sister Xue helped me sort out so much. It was more useful than a whole month of me studying on my own.”

“Really!” Mother Cao was delighted.

“What’s all this ‘really’ about?” Political Commissar Cao strode in with long strides.

“You’re back.”

“Dad!”

“Mm,” he replied, taking the glass of water his wife handed him and taking a sip.

“What are you two talking about?”

Mother Cao explained the situation.

Political Commissar Cao didn’t look surprised at all. “The moment I saw that material, I knew this girl wasn’t ordinary. Lisheng, you need to study hard with her.”

“I know, Dad.” Cao Lisheng nodded. “Dad, today Sister Xue also talked to me about career plans and mentioned becoming a teacher… What do you think about me becoming one?”

“That’s great.” Before Political Commissar Cao could respond, Mother Cao already voiced her support. “Being a teacher is a respectable job. Plus, you get summer and winter breaks.”

Commissar Cao was also very satisfied with the idea of teaching as a profession and agreed with Xue Miaoyun’s analysis. Girls really should pursue more education.

“Teaching is indeed a good choice. If you can become a university professor one day, even better. Whatever you decide to do in the future, your mother and I will support you.” Political Commissar Cao gave his support while also emphasizing their respect for her freedom to choose.

As long as she could get into university, her life would be much more stable.

The next day, Cao Lisheng arrived early.

“Have you had breakfast?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Then let’s focus on math today.”

“Okay.”

It didn’t take long for Xue Miaoyun to notice that math was Cao Lisheng’s weak subject. She took it in stride—math wasn’t exactly her strength either.

But she knew how to study it. After all, this wasn’t advanced mathematics.

It was still possible to improve the scores with lots of practice problems.

Thus began Cao Lisheng’s grueling training regimen.

Mother Cao saw her daughter coming home every day looking completely worn out. While she felt sorry for her, she was also curious about how her daughter was surviving in the Cang household.

So she paid them a visit. After that, she even took time off work and started making nourishing soups for her daughter every day.

Naturally, this caught the attention of other families. Soon, they found out that the study materials their child had received came from Commander Cang’s wife. Apparently, Comrade Xue came from a family of university professors who had sent her a lot of study materials.

Before long, Xue Miaoyun was receiving visits from several parents. They all had the same request: they wanted her to tutor their children.

Cang Ling was not pleased. His wife also needed to study for her own university entrance exams and needed time to review. How could she spare the time to tutor others?

One Cao Lisheng was already enough of an intrusion into their private couple time.

Where did these people get such thick skin?

“Don’t be angry,” Xue Miaoyun said with a laugh. She wasn’t even upset, but Cang Ling was already fuming.

“Honestly, I’ve already finished most of my own review. These days I’m mainly tutoring Lisheng anyway. Whether it’s one student or a few more, it doesn’t make much difference. It won’t affect me.” These people were all Cang Ling’s comrades-in-arms, and they would be working together in the future. Since it didn’t really impact her, lending a hand was also a way to build goodwill.