Chapter 107 - 105: Discussing University
"Do you trust me that much? Aren’t you afraid I’ll go to college and trade up for someone better?" Zhou Lian said, exasperated. This man was always the same. No matter what they talked about, he always managed to twist it back to his possessiveness.
"Bao’er, would you do that? My darling Bao’er isn’t that kind of person, so why wouldn’t I trust you?" Seeing the unhappy look on his wife’s face, Li Xiu understood what was irking her and said with a smile, "Bao’er, I’m not deceiving you. I really have no interest in going to college. Look, I’m not going to join the civil service, and I’m not going to work in a factory. My education is good enough as it is. Wouldn’t going back to school just be a waste of time?"
"Why not join the civil service? Don’t all you men have that complex? To wield power over the world by day and rest your head in a beauty’s lap by night?" Zhou Lian asked curiously. She had never been able to figure out Li Xiu’s thoughts. She hadn’t understood him in their last life, and in this one, she only knew his feelings for her. Everything else about him was still a mystery.
"I have my Bao’er now, so what do I need to rest my head in a beauty’s lap for! As for wielding power over the world, Bao’er, think about it. Is that even possible? I’m just a boy from a farming village with no connections and no network. Even if I’m smart and capable, wouldn’t I have to slowly work my way up for years? It’s hard to rise from humble beginnings; that’s not just an empty saying. Besides, I just want to be with you, to have a good life together. Once you enter the system, your life isn’t your own. I wouldn’t have time for you or our child, and that’s the one thing I could never do. I know what I want in this life, and I won’t let anyone or anything destroy my faith, my treasure!" Li Xiu was amused by his wife’s words. Hadn’t he had enough regrets in his last life? In this one, he would hold onto his treasure tightly and not let anything disrupt the life he had dreamed of.
"Faith? What is your faith?" Zhou Lian knew he was certainly referring to her as his treasure, but what about his faith?
"Bao’er, my faith is Bao’er!"
Zhou Lian was silent for a long time. The man’s faith was her. Hearing his calm tone, Zhou Lian knew he wasn’t lying. But for one person to be another’s faith... with what kind of mindset was he treating her? He said he liked her, loved her, and Zhou Lian believed him. The way Li Xiu doted on her and cherished her could not be faked. But to see her as his faith... wasn’t that a bit too much? ’In my last life, I knew his feelings for me were a little abnormal. That kind of obsession, that madness, it could send a shiver down your spine. It’s just that I didn’t feel it so deeply back then. In this life, there’s no ugliness between us, so I can accept his excessive affection, but this...’
"Bao’er, would you abandon your husband and child?" Li Xiu asked suddenly.
"Of course not. Why do you ask?" Zhou Lian knew he didn’t mean anything else by it and looked at him calmly.
"You won’t leave me. So what’s wrong with me making you my faith, the most important and precious person in my life? I love you, I love you very, very much, and you love me. We’re a husband and wife who are mutually in love. We will grow old together, together in life and in death. You don’t need to worry about these things. Just relax and let me cherish you and spoil you. Isn’t that good?" Having figured out what was on his wife’s mind, Li Xiu began to speak, as if trying to brainwash her.
Zhou Lian thought about it for a moment, then smiled. ’This man is really something. If I were a young girl, his sweet talk would have me over the moon. But then again, I was never a so-called career woman. Even after living two lives, I’m just an ordinary woman. All I’ve ever wanted is a loving husband and well-behaved children. If Li Xiu dares to give it, I dare to take it. I don’t understand so-called life-and-death love, but Li Xiu is my husband, and now, he’s also the man I love. So, he must never betray me.’
"Wait, Li Xiu, weren’t we talking about you going to college?" Zhou Lian asked, puzzled. How did the conversation get so sidetracked?
"Nothing’s wrong. Bao’er, let’s just settle it like this. Leave everything to me, alright?" Li Xiu resolutely avoided her question, speaking to her in a soft voice.
"Fine! You’re my husband, anyway. I’m not going to worry about anything. You can do whatever you think is best!" Zhou Lian was more carefree than anyone. She was confident Li Xiu would never betray or hurt her, so she was happy to let him handle everything. They say people who don’t worry about a thing age slower, after all!
Li Xiu was overjoyed by his wife’s response. His wife trusted him. What a wonderful feeling! He kissed Zhou Lian excitedly, feeling as if he were floating on air. The wish he had held for two lifetimes had finally come true.
Looking at Zhou Lian, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, Li Xiu gently stroked her hair. His heart was racing, and he couldn’t calm down for a long time. Unable to sleep, he decided to start planning. ’After the wheat harvest is done, I’ll go to the city to ask around. I wonder if there will be restrictions in two years for married people taking the college entrance exam. For now, though, there are none.’
’It’s better to go to the Capital City sooner. This messes up my previous plans, but that’s okay. I was originally thinking of taking advantage of the new policies to make a fortune next year, but this won’t get in the way. The college entrance exam questions are all very simple right now. In my last life, my grandson and I looked at them online. And my wife spent more than ten years learning from our daughter’s mother-in-law in our past life. Later, our granddaughter pestered her to teach her English. If it comes down to it, I can just spend money to hire a tutor for her.’
The more he thought about it, the more excited Li Xiu became. He suddenly remembered that in his last life, age restrictions were implemented starting in the 1980s. ’No, I should go to the county town tomorrow to ask. It’s rare for my wife to be interested in something. It’s my fault, why didn’t I think of this sooner? The college entrance exam was only reinstated two years ago. I should have had her go last year.’
Before dawn, Li Xiu was on his bicycle, heading for the county town. He found Wang Yuan before he started work, dragged him to a restaurant, and treated him to breakfast. He also got all the information he needed. It seemed the policies were likely to change, so the sooner his wife could go to college, the better.
After seeing Wang Yuan off, Li Xiu went straight to the county middle school. Wang Yuan knew the principal and told Li Xiu to go find him for the details. The principal was very direct and told Li Xiu that given Zhou Lian’s situation, she could still take the exam this year. As for next year, that was uncertain, as policies were always subject to change.
After bidding farewell to the principal and leaving the school, Li Xiu went to the bookstore. He swept up every book in the store that Zhou Lian could possibly use. There were still three months left. The principal had said there were six subjects on the exam, and his wife would definitely be taking the liberal arts track. That meant Politics, Language Arts, Math, Foreign Language, History, and Geography. The five subjects other than math should be no problem. The key was math. But that was fine; he had specifically asked the principal, who had given him a way to solve that problem.
As long as he made good use of these three months, with what his wife had learned in her previous life and her own intelligence, it should be enough. Most importantly, he remembered the exam questions from these three years in his last life. He had lost a bet to his two grandsons and had to go online to download the test papers from the first three years after the exam was reinstated. He did every test paper twenty times. His grandsons had totally scammed him. He was originally supposed to do them ten times for losing, but his grandsons argued that since there were two of them, he had to do double. But it was a good thing he did them twenty times. He remembered every single question on those tests without fail.
Carrying a large bag of books, Li Xiu rushed home. Zhou Lian was in the kitchen cooking, and Nuonuo was still asleep on the bed!
"Bao’er, you should take the exam this year!"