Shortly after waking up, Xiao Man obtained Xiao Yu’s contact information from Han Shuangshuang.
She felt pity for this niece, as they shared similar circumstances.
She personally informed Xiao Yu that she had fully recovered, and the young girl excitedly sent a voice message in response.
Not long after Xiao Man was discharged from the hospital, it happened to be the weekend.
Xiao Yu, following the address provided by Xiao Man, arrived at her apartment.
The young girl’s eyes were red, and seeing Xiao Man’s frail appearance, she didn’t even dare to touch her, sitting cautiously on the sofa.
Although Xiao Man and Xiao Yu were aunt and niece, they hadn’t seen each other for many years and weren’t very familiar.
Xiao Man slowly opened the conversation by asking about Xiao Yu’s studies.
Xiao Yu was somewhat embarrassed to talk about her grades.
She was average in school, ranking in the upper middle, and found it somewhat difficult to get into a good high school.
But after saying this, she added, “Now my mom is busy taking care of my brother and worrying about my dad’s issues, so she doesn’t pay much attention to me. I can work harder and be more diligent in the last few months!”
What could Xiao Man say?
Of course, she encouraged her.
Xiao Man also shared some interesting stories from her university days to give Xiao Yu more motivation, emphasizing that getting into a good high school would bring her closer to a good university.
That day, Xiao Yu stayed for lunch and left in the afternoon after sitting for a while.
Not long after she left, Xiao Man received a long message from Xiao Yu, detailing how she had reported her father, leading to his imprisonment.
At the end of the message, she asked Xiao Man if she had been too cruel to her father.
The young girl, still very young, was unsure about her actions.
Xiao Man, of course, praised her greatly and thanked her, while also advising her to keep it a secret, especially from her parents.
Unbeknownst to Xiao Man, on the other end of the phone, the sixteen-year-old girl cried her eyes out on the bus because of Xiao Man’s affirmation.
Since Wan He was indifferent to Xiao Yu, Xiao Man, acting as Xiao Yu’s guardian, visited her school to listen to the teachers’ advice and helped Xiao Yu fill out her application based on her recent grades.
In June, Xiao Yu took the high school entrance exam and performed exceptionally well, achieving good results and securing her first choice.
Xiao Man took Xiao Yu out to celebrate, with Xu Yan, Han Shuangshuang, and Lin Ci also present.
Xiao Yu, being shy, obediently greeted everyone and then focused on eating.
Lin Ci and Xu Yan, who were respectively called “brother” and “uncle,” exchanged glances.
Despite being of similar age, they were of different generations.
Han Shuangshuang couldn’t stop laughing and was pinched on the palm by Lin Ci.
Xiao Man sat upright, trying hard to suppress a smile.
Later, regarding Xiao Yu’s high school education, Xiao Man specifically went to see Wan He.
With Xiao Teng not at home, Wan He was much more pliable, and they eventually agreed that as long as Xiao Man covered Xiao Yu’s high school tuition and living expenses, Wan He wouldn’t interfere with her education.
Xiao Yu later privately wrote an IOU to Xiao Man, promising to repay the money once she started working.
Xiao Man thought about it and accepted it, letting the IOU serve as motivation for Xiao Yu’s studies.
During her three years of high school, Xiao Yu worked extremely hard.
She knew that this opportunity for education was hard-won.
While her classmates were chasing stars, dramas, and novels, she devoted most of her time to studying.
Her father, sentenced to at least three to four years in prison for multiple crimes, meant she had to get into university before he was released.
Her aunt had told her that her family situation might make it difficult to apply for a student loan, but universities offered scholarships, and the better the university, the more affordable the tuition fees.
Additionally, there were work-study positions and various part-time jobs available for students.
Moreover, her aunt assured her not to worry about university expenses and to focus on getting into a good university first, as money matters were trivial.
Whenever Xiao Yu felt tired from studying, she would look at the photo of the IOU she had written to her aunt, and it would fill her with renewed motivation.
Her aunt had also done the math for her, explaining that although the cost of three years of high school seemed like a lot, she could repay it with just a few months’ salary after she started working.
Xiao Yu knew her aunt was trying to ease her financial worries.
Xiao Yu was grateful that she had visited her aunt that day; otherwise, she might have ended up like one of her middle school classmates who went straight to work after graduation.
In her senior year, she learned from other classmates that the girl had already had a child.
She felt a pang of fear, realizing how close she had come to a similar fate.
During the college entrance exams, she didn’t let her three years of hard work go to waste and successfully got into her dream university.
By then, she was already an adult and no longer bound by her family’s constraints.
That same summer, she became her aunt’s bridesmaid.
Her uncle was the same as before, and his parents, sister, and brother-in-law were all very kind.
She had met them a few times before, but she hadn’t expected her seemingly down-to-earth uncle’s family to be so wealthy.
She had even seen her uncle’s sister in the news!
At the wedding, her aunt, standing beside her uncle, looked incredibly happy.
Xiao Yu’s eyes welled up with emotion.
It was wonderful.
She had gained a new family, and so had her aunt.
They were both happy now.
[The End]