Ning Shu never expected to see Ning Qin again at the nursery.

“Ning Qin, this is Zhang Ren, who is four years old, but actually three years and nine months old,” Ning Qin said as she walked into Class 3 with her son.

She knew Ning Shu was a substitute teacher at the nursery, as she had been following Ning Shu’s situation.

But how did Ning Shu become the head teacher of Class 3?

With this confusion, Ning Qin approached the desk to register her child.

When Ning Shu heard the voice and looked up, she was a bit surprised to see Ning Qin.

However, she quickly responded in a formal tone, “Please wait.”

Ning Shu found Zhang Ren’s name on the registration form, completed the registration, and said, “The fee is one dime.”

It was now September 1974. Since the incident with Xu Duomei, there had been several other incidents in the family quarters.

People either committed suicide due to mother-in-law problems or due to conflicts between husband and wife.

Perhaps Xu Duomei’s incident had acted as a trigger, giving hope to many people who had previously felt helpless.

As a result, the military leaders had cleaned out a group of people, and the family quarters had quieted down.

Many families were on edge, fearing someone might commit suicide and bring unwanted attention to their homes.

The leaders had issued a strict order: if such incidents happened again, the whole family would be sent back to their hometown, including the men.

For many, being in the military was a hard-earned opportunity, and both soldiers and their families cherished it.

If this job was lost, how would they live?

And what about their dignity if they were sent back to their hometown in disgrace?

Because of this, there were no more such disturbances in the family quarters.

Similarly, incidents of people being bullied decreased, as there was fear that bullied individuals might retaliate.

So now, in September 1974, Ning Shu was substituting for the head teacher of Class 3 for two months due to the teacher’s absence.

Ning Qin’s child was born at the end of 1971, so in September 1974, the child was almost three years old and ready to start nursery.

“Here,” Ning Qin handed over a dime.

Ning Shu took the money and pushed a notebook towards Ning Qin. “Please sign here.”

Ning Qin reviewed the content, saw no issues, and signed.

After signing the form, Ning Shu said, “Please come to report by 8:30 tomorrow. If there are any issues, let us know. Teachers worry if students are not present during class.

The school is not responsible for pick-ups and drop-offs during school hours.

Since the children are still young, if parents are concerned, they need to arrange transportation themselves.”

Ning Qin was aware of this and wasn’t comfortable with her child going to and from school alone. “I will keep that in mind. Thank you for the reminder, Teacher.”

Ning Shu nodded and didn’t say anything more.

Seeing that no one else was around, she started handling other tasks, like calculating the total tuition for the day.

Ning Qin stood for a while, noticed that Ning Shu was not inclined to chat, and decided to leave.

As she exited the classroom, she glanced back, worried about whether Ning Shu might use this opportunity to cause trouble for her son.

Feeling anxious, she decided to visit the nursery’s head office.

Knock, knock, knock…

“Come in,” the head of the nursery greeted with a smile upon seeing a woman with a child. “Hello, is there something I can help you with?”

Ning Qin replied, “Hello, Minister. I wanted to ask if Ning Shu is the head teacher of Class 3.”

“Oh, no,” the head said. “The head teacher of Class 3 is on leave for two months, and Ning Shu is just the substitute for this period. Is there an issue?”

“No, no,” Ning Qin quickly answered. “I just wanted to understand the situation since the head teacher has changed. We’ll be on our way now.”

If Ning Shu had been the head teacher of Class 3, Ning Qin was considering changing her child’s class.

She didn’t trust Ning Shu, even if she seemed overly cautious.

However, since Ning Shu was only a temporary substitute, there was no need to change classes.

Meanwhile, although Ning Shu wasn’t thinking specifically about Ning Qin, she still had thoughts related to her.

Specifically, she was thinking about Zhang Qian.

Zhang Qian and Yang Baozhu, who was the granddaughter of Yang Auntie, were in the same class.

They seemed to be natural rivals—Yang Baozhu was smart, while Zhang Qian struggled academically.

Auntie Yang would often hear about Zhang Qian from Yang Baozhu and would share these stories with Ning Shu because she knew the connection between Zhang Qian’s family and Ning Shu.

In fact, Ning Shu had not thought about the plot for a long time and had forgotten many of the detailed aspects.

Ning Shu had recently “woken up” from the story, and she still had a vivid impression of the plot.

However, she was gradually forgetting the details.

Although she was losing the specifics of the plot, she still remembered some general aspects.

In the story, Yang Baozhu worked hard in school due to her family background and had excellent grades, while Zhang Qian, who was favored by everyone, didn’t perform as well.

Even though the plot’s constraints were gone, the inherent intelligence levels in this world remained unchanged.

So, Zhang Qian’s grades wouldn’t improve just because the plot had disappeared.

There might still be a male lead character appearing later in the story.

Ning Shu kept forgetting who the male lead was, but she remembered that Yang Baozhu liked him, and he liked Zhang Qian.

This created some additional plot involving these three people, with Yibao and Erbao helping Yang Baozhu.

Now that everyone was no longer bound by the plot, the appearance of the male lead no longer affected them.

With Ning Qin’s reappearance and Zhang Qian growing up, Ning Shu began paying more attention to Ning Qin, particularly to see if the male lead would appear.

However, she didn’t find anything unusual even when the college entrance exams were reinstated in 1977.

Over the years, the three children grew up quickly.

Yibao and Erbao grew from eight to twelve years old and became tall.

Ning Shu and Lin Guodong were both tall; Ning Shu was 164.3 cm, which was average for women, while Lin Guodong was 188 cm, standing out among men.

Yibao and Erbao’s height became especially noticeable, transforming from young boys into preteens.

Sanbao also grew from five to nine years old, changing from a cute toddler to a young boy.

During these four years, the three brothers’ academic performance started to show changes.

While differences weren’t apparent in the first grade, they became noticeable in the third and fourth grades.

Despite Lin Guodong’s tutoring, Erbao’s grades were falling behind Yibao and Sanbao.

Erbao’s performance was still outstanding in his class, but he couldn’t keep up with Yibao and Sanbao’s accelerated learning pace.

Erbao was progressing at a normal pace for a child, while Yibao and Sanbao were advancing at an extraordinary pace.

To stay with Erbao and not make him feel sad, Yibao and Sanbao chose not to skip grades and continued to study at a regular pace.

Meanwhile, Lin Guodong had started tutoring them in middle school subjects privately.

“Mom…” The three children ran into the yard like a gust of wind.

Recently, the newspapers announced the restoration of the college entrance exams, and the entire residential area was abuzz with excitement.

The restoration of the exams was a cause for celebration for everyone.

It meant that national knowledge could continue, and the country’s civilization could progress.

“Mom, the college entrance exams are coming back, right?” Erbao asked Ning Shu with a mischievous look.

Ning Shu raised an eyebrow and replied, “Yes, the newspapers announced it a few days ago. Didn’t we talk about it?”

Erbao continued, “Mom, several teachers at our school have resigned. If the teachers are going to take the exams, they won’t be teaching us anymore. Are you going to take the exams too?”

Ning Shu had never considered taking the exams herself, as she had no intention of participating.

While going to college might be a strong draw for others, it wasn’t for her.

She had already experienced the intense pressure of college entrance exams before.

Back then, she would stay up late studying every day, feeling guilty even if she went to bed an hour earlier.

Despite not attending a top university, Ning Shu felt proud and satisfied after a year of hard work.

Her greatest joy wasn’t from getting into college, but from graduating and establishing a successful career with her efforts.

1Her group-buying business had done very well.

“No, I’m not going,” Ning Shu said.

“Mom, is it because of us?” Yibao asked understandingly. “Are you not taking the exams because you’re worried about leaving us behind?”

Ning Shu was surprised. “Yibao, why would you think that? I never considered that.”

“It’s because everyone else is taking the exams, but you’re not,” Yibao explained. “Mom, we’re grown up now. We can take care of ourselves, so you don’t need to worry. You can go ahead and take the exams.”

“Yes, yes, Mom, don’t worry about us. After you get into college, you can wait for us there. We could all be in the same university and be classmates. But, Mom, if that happens, will we be classmates or mother and child?” Erbao asked curiously.

Ning Shu was taken aback. “You really think I should wait for you to enter college? Are you doubting whether I’ll have enough credits, or do you think you’ll be skipping grades?”

“No matter whether we can go to the same university or not, it won’t change the fact that I’m your mom,” Ning Shu said, giving Erbao a look. “Besides, university generally takes four years. You’re in fifth grade now, with middle school and high school ahead. How many years will I need to wait to be your classmate?”

“Hahaha…” Erbao laughed heartily. “Mom, then you must be repeating a year!”

Yibao and Sanbao also covered their mouths and laughed.