Chapter 57

Lu Nong ultimately couldn’t bring herself to tell Pei Zheng the harsh truth. As a result, Pei Zheng ended up bringing Huaihuai to school almost every day.

At just two years old, Huaihuai was already auditing university courses and had become the darling of the law department, earning the title of the youngest auditor.

Later, when Pei Zheng’s classmates and professors discovered Huaihuai’s remarkable memory, they began to observe him during classes. They found that the little guy was absorbing the material, making those university courses his early education.

Time flew by, and before they knew it, the semester was coming to an end.

Lu Nong managed to complete all the final exams for her junior and senior years in one breath, achieving top scores in both grades. She finished her undergraduate studies in just one year and would graduate alongside the senior class this year.

Cheng Duoduo was even happier than Lu Nong about this achievement, excitedly telling her, “You should have seen the looks on everyone’s faces when they realized you topped both grades. Their eyes nearly popped out!”

After the exams, the scores would be posted on the bulletin board, making it clear who scored what.

“It’s about time we taught those people a lesson, so they understand that there are always others who are better than them. They need to stop gossiping about others every day.”

Cheng Duoduo also did well this time, coming in third in her grade. Throughout the year, she had worked hard alongside Lu Nong, learning an important lesson: while talent might not be enough without hard work, one should never mock those who do put in the effort. After all, if someone is both hardworking and talented, the one with an egg on their face will be you.

The other three girls in the dormitory also performed well on their exams, but they tried to avoid Lu Nong whenever possible. If they couldn’t escape, they were as meek as little chicks in front of her.

They were genuinely frightened of Lu Nong, especially Jiang Zhenzhen, who had the heaviest course load assigned to her. The studying felt endless, and she didn’t dare oppose Lu Nong’s strict regime.

She had no choice but to study every day and night, with no time to dress up, socialize, or even eat properly. She became so pale and thin that the originally pretty and delicate girl turned into a disheveled mess.

Even slacking off was impossible. Lu Nong, the “devil,” would casually quiz Jiang Zhenzhen during mealtime conversations. If she couldn’t answer, it would be disastrous. Lu Nong would sigh and shake her head, saying, “Looks like you’re not sincerely apologizing.”

The consequences of insincerity in apologies… Lu Nong would mention her husband’s high-ranking position.

Jiang Zhenzhen: “…” Game over.

After a few days of keeping up with Lu Nong’s pace and intensity, Zhang Shuying and Wang Zhu realized that this workload was far from normal. They all decided to act as if nothing was happening.

Jiang Zhenzhen found herself in a dire situation, feeling utterly hopeless. She broke down in tears, begging Lu Nong for forgiveness.

It dawned on her that Lu Nong had assigned her a grueling class schedule as a form of punishment.

Seeing Jiang Zhenzhen struggle for the past few months and realizing her mistakes, Lu Nong decided to be magnanimous. She forgave her and gently admonished her for not speaking up sooner, reminding her to prioritize her health in the future.

Since Lu Nong made this announcement in front of everyone, curiosity sparked among the students. They learned that Lu Nong was not only diligent in her studies but also took it upon herself to create a study plan for her three roommates, each pursuing different majors, helping them stay on track and supporting their academic growth.

Everyone was deeply touched by Lu Nong’s selfless spirit.

Jiang Zhenzhen: “…”

In just a few days, Lu Nong’s good reputation spread throughout the school, even reaching the principal’s ears. After knowing the information, the principal handled the Zhao Shucheng matter more cautiously and seriously.

He learned that both Pei Zheng and Lu Nong were committed students, completely focused on their studies, yet faced jealousy and slander from others.

The principal understood that failing to address this injustice could negatively impact the school and its students, leading to misconceptions that he wished to avoid.

This led to a series of chain reactions. The principal issued further instructions to take the matter involving Zhao Shucheng seriously, prompting Zhao Shucheng’s teachers to pay closer attention to the investigation.

During the investigation, it became evident that Zhao Shucheng’s appearance did not match the photo in the education bureau’s records. The photo showed a person with a noticeable mole, while Zhao Shucheng did not have one.

When they received Zhao Shucheng’s father, the teacher was taken aback to see Zhao Shucheng’s older brother accompanying him. The brother looked exactly like the one in the photo, complete with the mole.

After some inquiries, they discovered that this was indeed the real Zhao Shucheng, while the student known as Zhao Shucheng at school was actually Zhao Shuxiu, the younger brother.

The two brothers were three years apart, sharing the same father but different mothers. Their biological father and stepmother had delayed sending the older brother to school for three years, hoping he would care for his younger brother. They only sent both brothers to school together once the younger brother reached the appropriate age. This led to the unusual situation of brothers attending school and taking the college entrance exam at the same time.

In school, the older brother excelled while the younger brother struggled academically. However, when the college entrance exam results were released, the older brother failed while the younger one was admitted to Peking University. The family felt disappointed for the older brother but was immensely proud of the younger brother’s achievement.

After failing the exam, the older brother became an apprentice worker with his father. Their paths diverged, with one heading towards a bright future and the other destined for a life of mediocrity like their predecessors.

The older brother’s unexpected visit to the school came when a letter from the school arrived just as the stepmother was visiting her sick mother. The school letter included two train tickets, stressing the urgency of the situation. To avoid wasting a ticket, the father decided to take his older son to the capital.

Upon arrival, before they could discuss what had happened to the younger son, they were bombarded by the teacher’s words.

What? The younger son Shuxiu is pretending to be the older son Shucheng to go to college?

“Impossible!” The father’s first reaction was disbelief. He thought, how could his younger son have the capability to pull that off?

But as he reconsidered, he remembered the younger son’s poor academic performance and that his wife was a teacher with connections in the education bureau. His uncertainty grew.

Upon hearing the teacher’s explanation, the real Zhao Shucheng’s eyes quickly turned red, filled with resentment towards his father.

The teacher, full of sympathy, reassured the real Zhao Shucheng, “Don’t worry. What belongs to you will always be yours, and no one can take it away!”

Turning to Father Zhao, the teacher frowned, saying, “You stated that this person in school is called Zhao Shuxiu, not Zhao Shucheng. Look here, the admission letter is crystal clear. It says the one who got admitted is Zhao Shucheng.”

Father Zhao could not meet his older son’s gaze, stammering, “I was mistaken. My son is indeed Zhao Shucheng. I made an error.”

He realized that defending the younger son would betray the older son. However, at this point, he felt compelled to protect the younger son. If he did not, the younger son’s life would be ruined. Both sons were his flesh and blood, and he couldn’t bear to see either suffer. He thought he would just make it up to the older son later.

The teacher felt even more sympathy for the real Zhao Shucheng. He slammed his hand on the desk, saying, “You get to decide what name to use? Is this school run by your family? Do you get to decide which son attends?”

“Rest assured, this is no longer just a family issue. It involves your local education bureau and high school. The school will definitely get to the bottom of who is behind this and who replaced whom!”

Father Zhao shrank back in fear, trembling. Despite being over six feet tall, he appeared weak and timid, avoiding his older son’s gaze.

The matter of the fake Zhao Shucheng slandering others was temporarily set aside. The teacher swiftly reported the case of the real Zhao Shucheng appearing in place of the fake one to the principal.

Upon hearing this, the principal was furious and reported the incident to the education bureau that very night. The bureau sent a telegram to the local education department, ordering an investigation into the Zhao Shucheng case.

While it is easy to cover things up, it is also simple to mobilize the state machinery to get to the truth.

Within three days, the truth came to light.

The truth was straightforward: Zhao Shucheng’s stepmother was a teacher, and her family had a relative working in the education bureau. Together, they intercepted Zhao Shucheng’s admission letter and falsely claimed that Zhao Shuxiu was the one admitted to Peking University. They changed Zhao Shuxiu’s name to Zhao Shucheng and sent him to college with the admission letter.

Throughout this process, the admission letter never reached Zhao Shucheng. Whenever Father Zhao wanted to see it, the stepmother always found excuses to prevent him from doing so, let alone allowing Zhao Shucheng to see it.

Once the truth was revealed, the fake Zhao Shucheng was expelled from school and returned home with his father in disgrace. The real Zhao Shucheng had a falling out with his father and chose to stay in the capital for his studies. The school arranged accommodation for him and allowed him to attend classes with the new students the following year, bringing a satisfactory conclusion to the ordeal.

Lu Nong learned the entire story from Pei Zheng and also heard about the aftermath. After the fake Zhao Shucheng was exposed, he stubbornly refused to leave the dormitory, leading to his father dragging him out in utter humiliation.

Pei Zheng relished the story, saying, “Zhao Shucheng—no, wait, Zhao Shuxiu has grown tall and strong. His father is even taller. He carried him out of school like a chick. Zhao Shuxiu didn’t dare make a sound. What a scene! It seems every son across the country fears their father.”

Lu Nong was unconvinced. If a father truly educated his son well, how could the son behave so poorly? Zhao Shuxiu had the audacity to ruin his own brother’s bright future. At home, he must have been spoiled and never properly taught right from wrong.

“The most unfortunate is the real Zhao Shucheng. Zhao Shuxiu has been using his name to chase after girls and cause trouble everywhere. Now that he’s gone, the name ‘Zhao Shucheng’ is tarnished.”

Pei Zheng felt sorry for Zhao Shucheng. If it weren’t for Zhao Shuxiu’s crime, in four years, he would have become the real Zhao Shucheng. The true Zhao Shucheng would never know he once got into the best university or had the chance to experience a different life.

It can only be said that karma is real. Good deeds bring good rewards, and evil deeds bring punishment. If you owe a debt, you will eventually pay it back.

After the Zhao Shucheng incident, matters concerning the Shen family were also settled.

Shen Congnian was expelled from the party. Considering his military contributions during the war, he was granted a life sentence at the most difficult labor farm, even though his merits and demerits were hard to weigh against each other.

All his subordinates who had received his protection were investigated one by one. Justice was served according to the severity of their offenses—those deserving execution faced execution, those who needed to be suspended were suspended, and those who should be expelled were expelled.

Mother Shen and Father Shen divorced. She took their daughter, Shen Yimei, back to their hometown in Yazhou. Shen Yimei didn’t want to leave, but Shen Yiming had someone forcibly escort her onto the train.

As Pei Ji’an had anticipated, Shen Yiming requested a transfer to the south. Due to the hasty transfer, the couple even left before the New Year.

Only Shen Jiming, who was still in university, remained in Beijing.

Eventually, Pei Zheng learned about the Shen family’s situation. After finishing his final exams, he completed two years of coursework. Although his grades weren’t as exceptional as Lu Nong’s, they were still impressive. He was proudly sharing his results with Grandma Wu when Pei Ji’an called him into his study.

After talking for a few hours, Pei Zheng knew everything. When he came out, his eyes were red and he was confused. His grandfather was reported by his grandmother and his father was involved. But his father did this because of the evil deeds done by his mother and uncle more than ten years ago. His grandfather protected and threatened his father…

Pei Zheng didn’t know who to blame. He felt he had no right to blame anyone.

No wonder his father had never been close to him, even… indifferent. He realized he had always been a symbol of his father’s shame.

Pei Zheng moped for several days. It wasn’t until the day his grandmother and mother left for their hometown that he finally got out of bed, threw on some clothes, and went to the train station.

On the train, Shen Yimei was unable to move under watchful eyes. When she saw Pei Zheng, it was as if she had seen a savior. She struggled to shout out the window, “Pei Zheng, you have to help me! Go and beg your Grandma to let me go. I don’t want to go back to Yazhou. If I leave, you will never see Mom again.”

“Pei Zheng, can you really stand by and watch them tie up Mom? You’re a college student. You should know this is a violation of my personal freedom. Tell them to stop!”

Pei Zheng looked at her sadly. Even now, she didn’t understand that Grandma wanted to take her back home to protect her. The Shen family had fallen, but their enemies were still around. There were also many debts left from the years when his grandfather sheltered his subordinates. These people were watching the Shen family closely.

With his Grandma and Uncle gone and without Pei Jian’s protection, if only Shen Yimei remained in Beijing, the revenge from these people would target her without mercy.

Seeing Pei Zheng unresponsive, Mother Shen sighed with relief, touched his head, and said tearfully, “You’re doing well. I’ve blamed you for not being close to your mother and the Shen family over the years. I realize now I was wrong to treat you coldly. I’m grateful you haven’t gotten too close to them or to us.”

“Your father has taught you well. Don’t blame him. He has done enough.”

“Go, go home. The train is about to leave. Listen to your father and visit Grandma in Yazhou when you have the chance.”

With tears in her eyes, Mother Shen waved goodbye as the train headed south, leaving Pei Zheng standing alone.

When he got home, Pei Zheng buried himself in his pillow, crying. He was only sixteen years old. Even if he was emotionally mature, he was still just a boy on the brink of adulthood.

Almost overnight, his world turned upside down. The Shen family had fallen, and his grandmother, uncle, and mother had left him. He had once taken pride in being Pei Ji’an’s son, but his birth came with such disgrace. Pei Zheng began to question life and himself.

He didn’t dare go out, didn’t want to see his father, and avoided Lu Nong, fearing she would laugh at or look down on him.

Initially, Lu Nong didn’t pay much attention to him. The blow was too great. She figured he needed time to process it. However, after days of hiding in bed without going out, he was bound to make himself sick.

After launching both the Huaihuai attack and Xiao Bai attack in turn, but to no avail, Lu Nong became impatient and kicked open Pei Zheng’s door, “Pei Zheng, get up quickly and accompany me to inspect the workplace.”

After graduating, some of Lu Nong’s teachers had suggested she pursue graduate studies, while others recommended job opportunities. With her impressive grades, several state-owned enterprises had reached out to her.

Continuing her education was no longer feasible. The year 1965 had arrived, and 1966 was just around the corner. Lu Nong wanted nothing more than to leave the school and its troubles, urging Pei Zheng to study hard. There was no way she could continue graduate studies.

Lu Nong wanted to tell the professors everything that was going to happen in the future, but she couldn’t. Instead, she hinted at it privately as a way to repay their tireless support.

Fortunately, a few professors were perceptive enough. Having experienced the hardships of rural labor in the 1950s, they became thoughtful about their future.

As for the others, they could only take things one step at a time and deal with whatever came next.

Returning to work, after receiving offers, Lu Nong decided to conduct field research before making her decision. She boldly brought Pei Zheng along under the pretense of helping him relax.

Pei Zheng: “…” Thank you!

Although he appeared unwilling on the surface, for some reason, Pei Zheng felt a sense of relief in his heart. It was the first time he willingly accompanied Lu Nong outside.

°.✩┈┈∘*┈˃̶୨୧˂̶┈*∘┈┈✩.°

The author has something to say:

Pei Zheng: Another day moved by my stepmother.

Lu Nong: No need to thank me. Hehe, it’s another day of capturing Pei Zheng, my strong companion.