Free Web NovelChapter 375: Chapter 375: Yue Ming 25
"Hello, is this Liuu Min’s mother? I’m a teacher from the admissions office of XX University..."
Liuu Yuming’s mind went blank. She only managed to catch the name of the university; not a single word after that registered.
Xu Jia, sitting beside her, had clearly overheard the call. Seeing Liuu Yuming’s completely dazed expression, he couldn’t help but smile. "The college entrance exam scores should be out around now."
Liuu Yuming listened in a daze as the person on the other end introduced themselves. She struggled to gather her runaway thoughts. "Excuse me for interrupting, sir, but my daughter, Liuu Min... what was her score?"
Hearing the word "daughter," the expressions of the men in the room didn’t change, but everyone fell silent, eager to overhear the conversation.
The person on the other end was a bit evasive. "Liuu Min’s performance was excellent, Ms. Liuu. Your daughter certainly wouldn’t be making a mistake by choosing our university... Our school’s programs..."
After a long spiel, Liuu Yuming finally managed to hang up, using the excuse that she had to respect Liuu Min’s opinion. But no sooner had she ended the call than another one came in.
The six men in the private room watched as Liuu Yuming took call after call. As soon as one ended, another one from a different person began. Each man was lost in his own thoughts. Even the slowest among them could tell that Liuu Yuming’s daughter was exceptional. For so many universities to be contacting her in advance, just how outstanding must she be? freewēbnoveℓ.com
"What are you thinking?" Seeing that Liuu Yuming’s phone had finally gone quiet, Xu Jia opportunely handed her a cup of tea.
Liuu Yuming cradled the cup and suddenly burst out laughing. "My mom used to tell me a joke. She’d ask, ’If you got into college one day, would you choose between the top two universities in the country?’"
Everyone laughed, and Xu Jia’s smile was particularly warm. "And how did you choose?"
"Me?" Liuu Yuming said, amused. "Obviously, I couldn’t choose. I was never a good student. Oh, right, I need to call Little Min. I never imagined that old joke would actually apply to my daughter. Now she’s the one who truly gets to choose."
Liuu Yuming stepped out to make the call, leaving Xu Jia and his friends in the private room. One of the men nudged Xu Jia’s arm. "Her daughter is about to go to college, but she looks like she’s several years younger than you, doesn’t she?"
Xu Jia said, "Her daughter is brilliant. She skipped several grades and is only fourteen this year."
"Whoa, that’s incredible!" one man exclaimed with a hint of jealousy. "How did you get so lucky to meet someone like that?"
Xu Jia hid a trace of smugness. "Purely fate."
"Come on, tell us how you two met!" one friend, the biggest gossip of the group, urged, dying to know every last detail of how Xu Jia and Liuu Yuming met.
Xu Jia gave a helpless sigh. "It was a complete coincidence. The land their school is on belongs to me. I went over to sign a contract renewal and just happened to run into her."
"The school has been open for several years, but this year was truly the first time we met. Before, my special assistant always handled the liaison work. This year, I happened to go for an inspection, and her partner was away on a business trip. That’s how we met."
"So it really is fate!" the men all exclaimed. "Think about it, she’s been renting your property to run her school for years, but you two only just met this year..."
Xu Jia also sighed with emotion. "That’s why I said it was all fate. If I hadn’t gone to the school that day, or if her partner hadn’t been on a business trip, we never would have met. She doesn’t usually handle these things."
After he briefly explained, Liuu Yuming finally re-entered the room. At this point, everyone started asking her for her parenting secrets. After all, who didn’t have kids these days?
Liuu Yuming looked bewildered. "I really played a very small role. It was all my daughter’s own hard work..."
"Study materials... If you need them, I can ask Little Min’s opinion later, but the textbooks in S City are different from ours, right? They might not be applicable."
"Hah, it’s not like we’d actually use them! We’d just take them back as a good luck charm! A student that universities are fighting over like this must have incredible grades!"
Xu Jia’s friends each had their own motives. As businessmen, they valued money, but they were also very serious about their children’s education.
"Which university does Little Min want to apply to?" Xu Jia’s question was much more to the point. If Little Min didn’t choose a university in S City, he figured Liuu Yuming wouldn’t stay in S City for long.
"She doesn’t want to go to the universities in the Capital City; she thinks it’s too far from home," Liuu Yuming said, taking another sip of tea. She had really been talking too much. "She wants to choose a university in S City, study biology, and go straight through grad school for her doctorate. I’ve done the math—even if she doesn’t earn credits in advance and goes straight through to her PhD, she’ll only be 24 when she graduates."
"A doctorate, huh? That’s tough. But Yue Ming is right, the girl is still young. It’s not a bad thing for her to spend a few more years in school learning more." One of the more enthusiastic men had started calling her Yue Ming directly. He rubbed his hands together. "We have the utmost respect for scholars, especially those who are exceptionally good at their studies."
Hearing that Liuu Min was going to choose a university in S City, Xu Jia’s heart settled back into his chest. It seemed very likely that Liuu Yuming would settle down in S City in the future, which would make it much more convenient for him to make his move.
The rest of the meal was spent with everyone asking Liuu Yuming for parenting advice. Liuu Yuming was at a loss. What was she supposed to say? ’If you want your children to be successful, you should have their long-deceased grandparent suddenly reappear to supervise and accompany them every step of the way?’
How many people would believe that?
So, Liuu Yuming could only attribute it to her daughter’s own hard work and ambition. Of course, she herself really hadn’t helped much with the studying—all the help had come from her own mother.
Xu Jia’s friends were very perceptive. They ended the gathering early, leaving Xu Jia and Liuu Yuming alone. They had seen it long ago—if it weren’t for them, Xu Jia would have wanted to be alone with Liuu Yuming much sooner.
Perhaps it was true that good news lifts the spirits. The fact that Liuu Min was being courted by universities in advance had washed away all of Liuu Yuming’s fatigue. Now she was glowing with energy, her steps were exceptionally light, and she was nothing like she had been just moments before.
"I heard you say you were planning to drive back tonight?" Xu Jia asked, effortlessly carrying the spoils of Liuu Yuming’s shopping spree as he walked beside her.
"That’s right, it’s only a three-hour drive. I switched classes with another teacher, moving my morning class to the evening, so it won’t be a problem. It’s a shame Jun couldn’t get away, or I would have asked him to come with me."
Liuu Yuming was in an excellent mood, and the ends of her sentences seemed to lilt upwards as she spoke.
Xu Jia suggested, "Let me take you back. You’ve had a long day; driving while tired is a bad idea. My driver is downstairs. It’s safer to travel with a chauffeur anyway."
Liuu Yuming was indeed tempted. "Wouldn’t it be too much trouble?"
"Of course not," Xu Jia said with a smile. "I’ve never been to your hometown. It’ll be a nice chance to relax and get away."
Liuu Yuming said, "Well, thank you then. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime to pay you back."
As she spoke, she counted on her fingers. "I said I’d treat you to a meal last time, but that never happened. And I ended up mooching a meal off you today, too. I’ll treat you back for both at once."
