Relying on her own strength to raise the brother and sister, Director Ruan had never expected anything in return. Yet, they had done something like this!
Wiping away tears of sorrow, she looked at Qin Xiaoyun, who had already gone astray, and her anger flared. She slapped her across the face.
"If you don't go and apologize to Zhenzhen, you can get out with Ruan Jichiu!"
However, Cheng You was determined to pursue responsibility for this matter, and it was not something that could be resolved with a mere apology and compensation.
Before they could escort Ruan Jichiu out, the military had already sent people to arrest them.
Although Qin Xiaoyun was young, she was old enough to distinguish right from wrong and was taken away as well.
Coupled with the鉴定 result provided by Cheng You, it was completely confirmed that Zhenzhen had no relation to the Yuan family.
This rendered Yuan Yongguo's claim of "bringing his granddaughter home" unconvincing.
Cheng You felt as if she had forgotten something. It wasn't until two days later, when she went to school for her final exams, that she realized.
She had forgotten to participate in the competition!
Busy taking care of Zhenzhen, she had completely put the matter out of her mind.
She asked Cao Yanyan and Fang Yunbao, and learned that they had come in fifth place.
The ranking wasn't too bad, after all, without Cheng You, they felt their abilities were only good enough for this.
"Teacher Su is very angry. You should be careful today," Fang Yunbao warned.
Cheng You rubbed her nose. "I had something important to attend to yesterday, a matter of extreme urgency, otherwise I wouldn't have missed the competition."
Cao Yanyan glanced at her feet. Cheng You was wearing sandals, and her feet were visibly swollen.
"What happened? How did your feet get like this?"
Cheng You then recounted yesterday's events to them. She felt fortunate that she had missed the competition.
Otherwise, it might have been Zhenzhen who was missed.
"By the way, what was the prize for first place in the competition?"
Cao Yanyan replied, "It was an entry pass to the exchange meeting hosted by the Chinese Medicine Association."
This was actually more practical than money.
The participants in this exchange meeting were all big names in the field of Chinese medicine and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Their academy had managed to secure one spot, which was given to Su Jinwen.
Students who won first prize in the competition could accompany her as assistants.
Perhaps, if they were pleased, they might even take you as a disciple.
The students were extremely envious upon hearing this.
Cao Yanyan was relatively unaffected, as she could accompany her father.
Fang Yunbao was a lazy person and didn't care about it.
Cao Yanyan just felt it was a pity that Cheng You had missed out.
With her abilities, winning first place would have been a certainty.
Cheng You understood. No wonder Su Jinwen attached so much importance to it; she likely intended to bring her along.
"What is this exchange meeting primarily about?"
Cao Yanyan shook her head. "I've never been inside either. My dad said there would be traditional Chinese medicine practitioners from all over the country, as well as exhibitions of various medicines and medicinal materials."
She wanted to gain knowledge, and she heard there would be rare medicinal materials brought from different regions.
She wondered if the research institute would send the Muxi grass there.
After finishing her morning exams, Cheng You was indeed dragged to Su Jinwen's office and severely reprimanded.
Cheng You humbly admitted her mistake and explained Zhenzhen's situation to Su Jinwen, whose expression softened a little.
Cheng You said with a smile, "Teacher, I missed this opportunity, but I will definitely work hard next time."
Su Jinwen shot her a look. "Do you think this exchange meeting is like common cabbage, that anyone can get a spot? How long has our academy fought for this invitation?"
It was only because of her qualifications that she managed to secure this spot.
Many teachers were envious of her for it.
And now, she couldn't bring her most promising student, but had to bring a student from the neighboring class.
"Alright, you can go back now. Let's count this as a one-time thing, but there can't be a next time."
Cheng You repeatedly promised, "If there's a next time, I will definitely cherish the opportunity."
The head teacher of the neighboring class, Teacher Yang, chuckled. "Cheng You, cherishing it alone is not enough; you need to have the ability."
Su Jinwen snorted, "Teacher Yang, if our Cheng You had actually participated, the champion would still be up for debate!"
Teacher Yang smiled and stroked his chin stubble. "It's a pity, but the fact is she didn't participate, and the champion is Ying Xun from our class."
Su Jinwen curled her lips and stopped responding.
But Teacher Yang had seized an opportunity and felt he could finally hold his head high.
He continued, "I've said it before, women like you should just be obedient factory workers in textile mills and not dabble in pharmaceuticals!"
Cheng You smiled. "Teacher Yang, since you look down on women so much, why didn't you emerge from your father's womb?"
Teacher Yang's smile vanished. "I won't argue with you. In any case, the fact is set in stone. You are destined not to have a chance to attend the exchange meeting."
"Teacher Yang is so confident, you almost made me think you got the spot," Cheng You said innocently.
Su Jinwen almost burst out laughing.
Cheng You knew how to hit people where it hurt.
"Teacher Yang, if I had known you valued this exchange meeting so much, I, a woman, should have given you the spot back then, so as to avoid others thinking you are not as capable as a woman."
Teacher Yang's face turned green and then red. He snorted heavily through his nostrils and stood up, leaving in indignation.
Su Jinwen pouted. "That's just how he is, ignore him."
...
The final exams concluded in two days, and with them, this year's college entrance examination.
Cheng You called home in a timely manner. Cheng Wenyu stated that he had performed relatively steadily and his score should not differ much from his estimated one.
"Treat it with a normal mindset. When filling out your college applications, besides your target school, add two more with slightly lower scores. Regardless, your sister believes in you! Once the results are out, I'll come back to pick you up."
"Okay!"
Cheng You thought of something and asked, "How did your little classmate do on her exam? Is she also coming to Yancheng for university?"
"Who?"
"Ruan Qingqing. You've all graduated from high school now, so attending university won't be considered premature romance."
Cheng Wenyu on the other end of the line was silent, then said in exasperation, "Sis, we're not like that!"
Cheng You's eyes were full of mischief. "Okay, not like that. I was just asking."
Cheng Wenyu said awkwardly, "She thinks she did quite well, her performance should be acceptable."
"That's good. I've mailed some things back to you, remember to sign for them."
They chatted for a few more minutes about the situation at home before hanging up.
Coincidentally, as she turned around, she saw Feng Xianxu.
"Brother Xu, what a coincidence! Were you making a call too?"
Feng Xianxu shook his head. "No, I came specifically to find you."
"Find me?"
He nodded. "It's about Zhenzhen's parentage. I heard you mention Wen Yan's name last time, and also heard that you are from Yongcheng, so I wanted to confirm a few things with you."
Cheng You looked up at him, her eyes wide with surprise. She wondered if he was Zhenzhen's unknown father.