Is someone peeking?
To be honest, Gu Jianing really hadn’t noticed.
Strolling with Sheng Zexi, Xingxing, and Yueyue was such a relaxing and leisurely activity that Gu Jianing was completely at ease, enjoying the moment without paying attention to anything else.
But now that Amber mentioned it, Gu Jianing took a closer look.
Sure enough, she caught a glimpse of a young woman from the corner of her eye.
Soon, Amber filled Gu Jianing in on Zhang Qiumei’s background.
After all, Niu Cui had brought Zhang Qiumei to their doorstep before, and Zhang Qiumei herself had sneaked over to catch a glimpse of Sheng Zexi.
Amber felt that during its sister’s absence, it had a duty to “protect” the male head of the household.
It absolutely couldn’t let scheming women get close.
And Zhang Qiumei was exactly that kind of scheming woman.
After hearing Amber’s explanation, Gu Jianing suddenly understood.
So, this was a stray admirer drawn to her Brother Xi?
With that thought, Gu Jianing nudged Sheng Zexi with her elbow and motioned for him to look in the direction where Zhang Qiumei was hiding. Then she asked, “Did you do something to lead her on?”
Sheng Zexi also noticed the young woman from the corner of his eye.
Thanks to his excellent memory, he recalled having seen her before.
But!
“Darling, that’s so unfair. Don’t you know what kind of man I am?”
“Other than you, would I ever give another woman the time of day?”
Sheng Zexi wore a slightly aggrieved expression, feeling wronged by Gu Jianing’s question.
Gu Jianing couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, alright, I was just teasing you.”
“But it’s probably true that she likes you.”
Sheng Zexi scoffed lightly. “So many people like me—do I have to pay attention to each one and respond to them all?”
“Who others like is their business. Who I like is mine!”
As he spoke, he gazed at Gu Jianing, his eyes filled with deep affection.
Gu Jianing was both amused and exasperated.
She didn’t actually doubt Sheng Zexi—after two lifetimes, if she still didn’t trust him, that would be inexcusable.
She’d only said it to tease him.
As for whether that girl might act out of love?
Gu Jianing wasn’t worried. After all, she had her Malice Detector.
For now, she said nothing more, and the family of four continued their stroll.
Meanwhile, Zhang Qiumei, watching Gu Jianing act so intimately with Sheng Zexi up ahead, gritted her teeth in frustration.
Over this period, Zhang Qiumei’s fantasies about Sheng Zexi had reached an extreme.
She’d even come to think of him as her possession.
Now, seeing Gu Jianing felt like watching a homewrecker stealing her beloved. She was filled with resentment.
“Hmph, once my college entrance exam results come out, it’ll be time for me and Brother Sheng to be together!” Zhang Qiumei muttered to herself.
…
Originally, Gu Jianing had planned to go to the local hospital to complete her employment paperwork after returning to Huansha Island.
After all, she should have done it over two months ago, but her trip to the capital for the exam questions had delayed things.
Now, she couldn’t put it off any longer.
Unexpectedly, the hospital reached out first.
They said Gu Jianing had worked hard on the college entrance exam questions and should take some time to rest. The hospital also intended to adjust her position.
As for what it would be, that hadn’t been decided yet.
Once it was settled, they’d invite Gu Jianing to start work.
Since the hospital had said so, Gu Jianing was happy to take some extra time to rest at home.
As for Huansha Island Hospital, they were eagerly anticipating Gu Jianing’s arrival.
After all, her reputation was stellar, and her skills were exceptional.
If not for Dr. Gu’s husband being transferred to the Huansha Island military base, she wouldn’t even have come to their hospital.
With her abilities, hospitals across the country were probably vying for her.
So, having her join their hospital was an honor.
But!
Originally, they had planned to assign her a position as department head.
However, after learning that Gu Jianing had participated in setting the college entrance exam questions and had earned doctoral degrees from prestigious universities in the capital, they felt that a department head position might be too low for her.
It didn’t quite match her stature.
Thus, they decided to discuss further and assign her a more fitting role.
This, Gu Jianing didn’t know.
If she had, she would have said: Actually, any position is fine—I’m not that particular about it.
Time quickly flew by, and soon it was January 1978.
The college admissions process was about to begin.
For the first college entrance exams after their reinstatement, applicants had filled out their preferred schools before taking the test.
So, by the time the exam results were released, their fates were already sealed—they just had to wait and see if they got in.
“I wonder if Third Brother and Sister-in-law have received their admission letters yet?” Gu Jianing murmured to herself.
After returning to Huansha Island, she had contacted her family and learned that both her third brother and sister-in-law had done well on the exams.
Her third brother had applied to Capital University (Beijing University), majoring in computer science—a choice he made after considering Gu Jianing’s advice.
Meanwhile, her sister-in-law, Yang Manman, had applied to Haicheng Normal University, as she was interested in teaching.
…
Meanwhile, in Huaihua Village…
With the arrival of the new year and the start of January, the entire village was gripped by a tense, nervous atmosphere.
Everyone knew that college admissions were rolling out nationwide this month.
Although the process would continue until March, the later it got, the slimmer the chances of receiving an admission letter became.
Those who got in would receive their notifications early.
If no letter arrived in the early stages, it essentially meant they hadn’t made the cut.
So, as soon as January began, even the elderly and children in Huaihua Village—those who hadn’t even taken the exams—were caught up in the tension.
At the Gu household…
The family was eating dinner while discussing the admission letters.
“The admissions process has started—I wonder who in our village will get their letter first!”
“I heard that those who applied to nearby schools might receive theirs earlier.”
“In our family, one applied to the capital, and the other to Haicheng—both pretty far.”
“Guess we’ll have to wait a bit longer.”
Just then, a sudden commotion erupted outside.
“The postman is here!”
“There’s an admission letter!”
The Gu family shot to their feet, abandoning their meal as they rushed out the door.
And it wasn’t just them—every household in Huaihua Village that had heard the news came running out.
Even toothless elders leaning on canes and snot-nosed toddlers with holes in their pants scrambled to see.
At Wu Meili’s house, Gu Baozhu was dragged out by her mother and her son, Niu Niu.
“Come on, girl! Let’s go see if it’s your admission letter!”
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