I rejected your confession, but you took my best friend home?

Chapter 68 By then, some kid might just take the whole thing away.

Yin Mengran sat up from Liu Wei's embrace, wiped away her tears, and stammered:

"I...I do..."

"That's great! My darling, I love you so much, okay, okay, don't cry."

Liu Wei was overjoyed and hugged Yin Mengran, gently comforting her.

Being in Liu Wei's arms felt like being in her own mother's arms.

This immediately put her at ease. She closed her eyes, seemingly enjoying the moment.

After her parents left, she was left with a lingering effect: the slightest stimulation or fright would cause her heart to pound, as if it were about to leap out of her throat, a feeling of tightness and unease.

But now, her symptoms seem to have disappeared without her noticing... Nestled in Liu Wei's arms, her heart beats steadily and comfortably.

Although Yin Mengran longed for things to continue like this, it was ultimately impossible. She sat up and sobbed softly a few times.

"Auntie, I..."

"Still calling me 'Auntie'?" Liu Wei smiled slightly, reaching out to brush a strand of Yin Mengran's hair aside.

A faint blush rose on Yin Mengran's cheeks. She remained silent for a few seconds, her voice very soft:

"Godmother..."

"Oh dear, 'godmother' doesn't sound right. Don't use the 'god' part. We're all family. Don't call me that so formally. It's not friendly."

Yin Mengran's face turned even redder, and she lowered her head even further. Finally, her voice was so soft that only Liu Wei could hear it:

"mom..."

"Eh!"

Liu Wei responded and gently stroked Yin Mengran's face, her eyes filled with increasing affection.

Tang Zhi tugged at Yin Mengran's arm and whispered, "Let's go, I'll take you to the restroom to wash your face."

"Ah."

Yin Mengran and Tang Zhi went out together to the restroom.

Liu Wei's eyes were still following Yin Mengran's retreating figure, fixed on her, a smile still on her face.

Zhou Heng glanced at his mother and asked, "Is this really a good idea? You seem too eager; won't you scare her?"

"Tsk, you have no idea how envious I used to be of Zhou Yalan!"

Zhou Heng asked in surprise, "My aunt? What do you envy about her?"

Liu Wei rolled her eyes at Zhou Heng and said irritably:

"What do you think? You're just envious of her having such an outstanding daughter! Xiao Zhi has never caused her parents any worry about her studies since she was little. Look at you, sigh, I'm so stressed and anxious about you all day..."

"..."

Zhou Heng lowered his head, regretting asking that question; now he was extremely embarrassed...

Liu Wei sighed and continued:

"I've always loved daughters, and now I have such an outstanding girl right in front of me, I love her so much! She's so good at studying, polite, and so cute and pretty, she's just as good as Xiaozhi, it's such a rare find!"

Zhou Heng said while eating:

"Raising a daughter is like carefully cultivating a flower. You never know when some boy might take her away with the whole plant, and then you'll be in trouble."

Zhou Heng's words silenced Liu Wei. She took a breath, frowned slightly, as if she were seriously considering Zhou Heng's words.

After a while, she suddenly leaned over and asked in a low voice:

"Do you think... you have a chance to get together with Xiaoran? It's good to keep the good stuff in the family. She won't even have to change her address, I won't have to deal with her difficult in-laws, and your dad and I won't even have to prepare a dowry for you!"

"Uh, no... I..."

Before Zhou Heng could say anything, Liu Wei interrupted him, saying:

"Hey, that's unlikely. Xiao Ran probably wouldn't agree. My son is handsome, but his grades are just too bad. If he could catch up in his studies... my son would be perfect."

Zhou Heng was speechless after hearing this, and put his hand to his forehead, saying:

"I'm speechless... I really don't understand why you guys take grades so seriously. It's not like I'm going to be executed just because I have bad grades. Bad grades don't mean I'm doomed. Can't I do other things if I don't get into university?"

Because of his grades, he was constantly talked about as a child, compared to other people's children; he was so used to hearing it that he was practically sick of it.

If it were any other child, they might have become depressed and jumped off the roof.

However, due to his personality, Zhou Heng had a relatively high tolerance for stress and no longer cared about these kinds of words that he had heard countless times since childhood.

Nevertheless, he still couldn't understand why his parents always cared so much about his grades.

The world doesn't necessarily need people who excel in their studies. Does that mean someone who doesn't do well in their studies should die?

Seeing the hint of anger in Zhou Heng's eyes, Liu Wei remained silent for a long time.

After a while, once Zhou Heng had calmed down, she reached out and gently placed her hand on the back of his hand, saying:

“Son, as your mother, I don’t just want to see if your grades are good or bad. Studying isn’t the only way out, and it might not be the most suitable for you, or even the best for you. But I think it’s a relatively simple path. There are many people who are successful without going to school, but are we going to gamble on that? There’s a simple path right in front of you, why don’t you take it?”

"..."

Zhou Heng remained silent, not replying, but that didn't mean he wasn't listening attentively.

“Your father and I think the same way. We don’t need you to earn a lot of money. You don’t need to give us a single penny of what you earn. We just hope you won’t work so hard, that you won’t have to do those jobs that offer the chance to get rich overnight, and that you won’t have to rack your brains to figure out how to make a lot of money. As long as you work hard, support yourself, support your wife and children, and take care of the family, then in your mother’s heart, you will be the most remarkable person.”

Liu Wei held Zhou Heng's hand and whispered,

Zhou Heng could feel that his mother's palms seemed to have become rougher.

More than a decade ago, when he was still a child, he would hold his mother's hand. At that time, he thought his mother's hands were white and soft, and it felt wonderful to hold them.

But now, it's not the same as before; it's much rougher and thicker.

He went from being too young to understand things to gradually realizing that his family was actually quite well-off.

All of this was earned by my parents through hard work and dedication. I've never been worse off than anyone else in terms of spending money since I was a child.

Although he wasn't a good student and was playful, he wasn't the kind of child who wouldn't listen to reason.

On the contrary, it was precisely because he understood his parents' good intentions that he suddenly realized his mistake and began to study hard.

I don't expect to get excellent grades; I just want to live up to my parents' expectations.

Zhou Heng exhaled and said softly:

"Well, I see."