However, Chu Xia brought other items for Grandpa Jiang, such as clothes, shoes, snacks, and tea she bought from the department store.

She had figured out Grandpa Jiang’s preferences, so everything she brought, whether snacks or other items, were things he liked.

When Grandpa Jiang saw her carrying a large number of items, he pretended to be angry. “I told you not to bring anything when you come, yet you bring so much! Take it all away. I don’t need any of it.”

Chu Xia took out the clothes she bought and showed them. “Grandpa, these clothes suit you so well. If you don’t want them, I’ll have to give them to Zhengnian. Although they might not fit perfectly…”

Before she could finish, Grandpa Jiang looked at the clothes and said, “Alright, I’ll keep these clothes. Zhengnian won’t fit them.”

Chu Xia smiled and managed to leave the other gifts as well in the same manner.

“Grandpa, I sincerely thank you,” Chu Xia said seriously. “Without the papers you helped me find, I wouldn’t have achieved such good results.”

Grandpa Jiang looked at the clothes, imagining how he would look in them. He responded casually, “You relied on yourself, not on me. When Dazi was preparing for the college entrance exam, I tutored him personally, but what happened? Hmph, it took him three years to pass!”

Chu Xia thought: Fortunately, Jiang Zhida isn’t here; otherwise, Grandpa would be criticizing him again.

Cen Huai’an, who was nearby, immediately looked at Grandpa Jiang and asked, “Great-grandpa, isn’t my mom amazing?”

His eyes were full of admiration for Chu Xia. In his little heart, a mom who goes to college is the most amazing thing.

“Yes!” Grandpa Jiang agreed with Cen Huai’an.

Chu Xia then visited Uncle Jiang, only to find him and Aunt Jiang giving Jiang Zhida a hard time.

Hearing the knock on the door, Jiang Zhida’s eyes lit up.

He rushed to the door, opening it with a look of relief as if seeing a savior.

“Cousin-in-law! You’re my lifesaver!”

Chu Xia was puzzled by Jiang Zhida’s reaction and even more so when she saw Uncle Jiang and Aunt Yang Mei with a broom and a feather duster behind him. What was going on?

At that moment, Cen Huai’an tilted his head and peered through the gap beside Jiang Zhida, blinking his eyes as he looked at Jiang Zhida. “Uncle, are you being punished?”

“No, no. You’re mistaken.” Jiang Zhida glanced at Uncle Jiang and Aunt Yang Mei with a sly look and quickly turned back to Cen Huai’an. “We’re just cleaning. Right, Dad, Mom!”

Uncle Jiang didn’t want Chu Xia and An An to know that they were scolding his son, especially Jiang Zhida’s embarrassing matters.

He cleared his throat, and Aunt Yang Mei, holding the feather duster, smiled through gritted teeth while sweeping the table. “Yes, we’re cleaning. Zhida, why are you blocking the door? Hurry up and let Chu Xia and An An in!”

Jiang Zhida immediately stepped aside.

Of course, Chuxia knew that the Jiang family’s situation wasn’t as they described, but since they said so, she naturally believed them.

“Chuxia, what brings you here today? It must be the eastern wind of the Battle of Red Cliffs; otherwise, how could it be so timely?” Yang Mei teased.

Yang Mei gave Jiang Zhida a playful smack. “Stop showing off your limited cultural knowledge and speak properly!”

Turning to Chuxia with a warm smile, she said, “Chuxia, An’an, come and have some watermelon.”

Chuxia took the watermelon Yang Mei handed her and placed it on the table, saying, “I came to thank Uncle Jiang, Auntie Jiang, and Zhida.”

Yang Mei and Uncle Jiang were puzzled. What was there to thank for?

They hadn’t really done anything for Chuxia, except for a bit of help from Uncle Jiang before Chuxia arrived, but that had already been thanked by Chuxia and Zhengnian.

It was Zhida who suddenly realized and looked excited. “Cousin-in-law, is your college entrance exam score out?”

“Yes,” Chuxia confirmed, sharing her exam score.

Uncle Jiang and Yang Mei were silent for a moment, while Zhida leapt up from the sofa, exclaiming, “Wow, cousin-in-law, you’re amazing! Your score is even higher than estimated. I remember the last teacher said you might be the provincial top student. With this score, there shouldn’t be anyone higher, right?”

Chuxia nodded. “Yes.”

Uncle Jiang looked surprised and excited, his gaze becoming especially kind.

Working in the Ministry of Education, he especially appreciated outstanding students.

Seeing his father’s reaction, Zhida was taken aback. “Dad, what’s with that look? It’s a bit scary!”

Uncle Jiang gave Zhida a pat on the back, making Chuxia wince in sympathy.

Zhida shrugged it off nonchalantly.

“Chuxia’s score is indeed very high. It’s rare even in Beijing. By the way, this year Zhiyi also took the college entrance exams. Which schools did she apply to?” Uncle Jiang asked Yang Mei.

Previously, when Zhiyi was estimating her score and selecting schools, Uncle Jiang had helped her choose suitable universities based on her estimated score and the recent admission cutoffs for good universities in Beijing.

Zhiyi hadn’t made a final decision yet, and Uncle Jiang didn’t know which universities she actually applied to.

Yang Mei shook her head. “I don’t know either. My sister-in-law didn’t tell me.”

Recently, with students taking exams, Uncle Jiang had been busy at the Ministry of Education and had forgotten to ask Zhiyi’s father about it.

But right now, Zhiyi was not the focus.

He turned back to Chuxia. “With your score, you could get into either Jinghua or Jingyan. Which school did you apply to?”

“Neither,” Chuxia shook her head.

“Neither?” Uncle Jiang was surprised and frowned, asking, “Did you underestimate your score and didn’t dare to apply?”

Although Zhida knew Chuxia’s estimated score and the schools she applied to, he had kept it a secret, thinking it would be awkward if Chuxia didn’t meet the estimated score.

Zhengnian had specifically told him not to share this information.

After Chuxia returned to Beijing, she only told Zhengnian and didn’t mention it to anyone else, including Grandfather Jiang.

“It’s not that,” Chuxia explained why she didn’t apply to Jinghua and Jingyan and shared the names of the universities she did apply to.

Uncle Jiang looked somewhat regretful. “It’s a pity that your score isn’t used to its full potential.”

Yang Mei, on the other hand, had a different view.

For her, personal preference was more important than which university she attended.

Like her preference for foreign languages and wanting to enter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she valued a university with a stronger foreign language program over Jinghua or Jingyan.

She countered Uncle Jiang, “What’s the pity? Chuxia can go to the university she likes and study the major she loves. Isn’t that the best thing?”

Uncle Jiang nodded. “The Imperial Capital University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is also very good. It has a great academic atmosphere.”

In reality, at this stage, all universities had good academic environments.

The college entrance exams had only recently resumed, and with the difficulty of getting into university, students who got accepted cherished their time studying.

Zhida was more concerned about when the admission letters would arrive, but Chuxia didn’t know either.

As they were talking, the door of Uncle Jiang’s house was suddenly knocked again. Zhida went to open it and saw Uncle Jiang’s younger brother and sister-in-law, with Zhiyi, who had red-rimmed eyes, standing outside.

“Uncle, Auntie, what happened to our cousin?”

Uncle Jiang sighed, “She overestimated her score.”

The three entered and were surprised to see Chuxia and An’an.

Uncle Jiang’s face showed some discomfort.

He felt embarrassed that his own child didn’t perform well, but since he had asked his elder brother for help, it wasn’t too bad.

However, being seen by Chuxia, his younger relative, made him feel awkward.

Chuxia understood Uncle Jiang’s feelings and stood up with An’an, smiling, “Since Uncle and Auntie are here, I don’t need to make another trip.”

Chuxia had brought gifts for both families, and she couldn’t give gifts to Uncle Jiang without giving any to Uncle Jiang’s younger brother.

“This is for you, Uncle. Since my college entrance exam results are out, and they’re pretty good, I came specially to thank Uncle and Auntie for your help before.”

Chuxia didn’t mention her score, sensing the mood of Zhiyi’s family and guessing from Uncle Jiang’s profession that they might already know the general situation.

Mentioning her score might provoke them further.

Uncle Jiang’s younger brother felt even more embarrassed receiving the gift.

He sighed and sat down on the sofa, lowering his head. “I’m not afraid of losing face anymore. Zhiyi, tell your uncle how much higher your estimated score was.”

“Thirty points,” Zhiyi sniffled, disappointed that her actual score was much lower than her estimate.

She and her parents had checked her exam papers, and her score was correct.

Chuxia wanted to excuse herself and leave, not wanting to be involved in what was to come.

She couldn’t help Zhiyi, and Auntie’s gaze was quite intimidating.

She had intended to leave after handing over the gifts to Uncle Jiang’s younger brother, but now she found herself stuck as he didn’t give her a chance to leave.

“Cousin-in-law, I have something to ask Zhida. Could you and An’an come with me?”

At that moment, Jiang Zhida opened the door to the study and naturally invited Chu Xia and An An in.

Chu Xia smiled at Uncle Jiang and Aunt Yang Mei and quickly led An An to the study.

Once the door was closed, cutting off the noise from outside, Chu Xia sighed in relief. “Dazi, thank you.”

“Cousin-in-law, don’t thank me just yet. I actually have something to ask you.”

“Hmm?”

An An, curious, looked at Jiang Zhida. “Uncle, what do you need my mom for? Do you want to visit Mom’s university too?”

Jiang Zhida ruffled Cen Huai’an’s hair and smiled. “As someone who’s been to college, I know what a school is like. I’ve also been to your mom’s university.”

“Really?” Cen Huai’an’s eyes widened with curiosity. “What’s Mom’s university like? Does it have a big library? A big cafeteria? Are there many college students?”

“Yes, it has all of that! It’s very beautiful and there are a lot of people,” Jiang Zhida said, and Cen Huai’an’s eyes brightened even more, eager to see Chu Xia’s university.

“Let’s stop talking about the university,” Chu Xia said as she sat down in the study. “Dazi, what is it that you need help with?”

“Cousin-in-law, I want to borrow some money.”

Chu Xia was taken aback; she hadn’t expected Jiang Zhida to come to her for money.

She smiled and asked, “How much do you need?”

“1,000, no, 1,500,” Jiang Zhida said, gritting his teeth. “If that’s too much, 500 would work too.”

He was truly at his wit’s end.

He wouldn’t be asking Chu Xia for money otherwise.

He had asked his older brother for a loan, but his brother said he had already lent him too much money.

Every time Jiang Zhida tried to do business, it failed, and now he had no other options.

Uncle Jiang and Yang Mei had also wanted to beat him up because of this issue, accusing him of being idle and resorting to shady dealings.

Jiang Zhida had helped Chu Xia, An An, and Cen Zhengnian many times, so she would surely lend him the money.

However, she needed to know what the money was for.

“I want to start a business in Yangcheng.”