47 Peking University

With a slow swirl in the boiling pot of pasta, the strappy noodles were finally cooked in its silky glory. Yi Fei carefully grabbed the pot's steel handles and slowly poured out its contents into a metal strainer. As she did, her eyes sparkled with delight seeing the combined steam of the boiling water and pasta blow up into her sweaty face like opening a condensed water bottle. She then hoisted up the strainer and shook the tiny droplets of water off the soft yet firm noodles. Much to her dismay, it was apparent that Yi Fei truly enjoyed cooking.

By the time she finished cooking, it was already 8 o'clock. Her forehead wordlessly glistened with sweat, but a small smile crept up her thin lips. Though she knew she couldn't eat much of what she cooked due to her rumination disorder (a disorder where a person persistently and repeatedly regurgitates food), she was at least able to marvel at the beautiful dish she created this dinner: spaghetti carbonara. The dish was topped with freshly grated black pepper and a dazzling parmesan sauce, while the main content itself contained hints of fried garlic, tiny bits of tomatoes, and a bit of unsalted butter.

"Is the meal ready?" Yi Fan popped his head in the kitchen.

Yi Fei reluctantly turned around, her irked eyes pointing towards the already prepared dinner table with three plates of spaghetti carbonara. She casually crossed her arms and leaned against the kitchen's island, expectantly waiting for him to leave the room.

Yi Fan rolled his eyes and was about to reprimand Yi Fei for stubbornly refusing to talk to him, but the memory of the earlier conversation flashed in his mind and he quickly forgot the flurry of words that was going to come out of his mouth. It was like he had just hit a mental roadblock, and the sight of his sister's scrunched up face in disgust had just reminded him of what a bad brother he was.

"It's not worth it," Yi Fan thought, but he bitterly glared at Yi Fei before leaving the room.

--

After the Mo family gathered at the dining table, it became oddly silent. Mr. Mo silently rolled up some pasta with his fork and ruthlessly took a bite off. After seeing Mr. Mo had started eating, Yi Fei began to pick at her food as if she was analyzing the delicacy of her spaghetti dish, meticulously cutting up a tiny string of noodles as if it would further help her analysis. Just as she was going to cut up the entire string into millimeters, Mr. Mo spoke up.

"Your results for science was good." Mr. Mo calmly glanced up at Yi Fei, still chewing on his meal.

"Yes..." Yi Fei muttered. It was weird that Mr. Mo was complimenting her.

"You want to be a doctor, right?" Mr. Mo continued, this time his eyes focusing on his food. "Yi Fan, what are the good schools for doctors?"

"Um, Peking, Nanjing, maybe Beijing... like that," Yi Fan said.

"Mm, so are you aiming for Peking, Yi Fei?" Mr. Mo's eyes sharply gazed at his daughter, as if waiting for a straightforward nod.

Yi Fei's eyes shakily focused on her plate, unsure of what to stare at to ease her anxiety. Was it the tomatoes, the garlic, the sauce, the noodles?

"Yi Fei, I'm asking you if you are aiming for Peking University." Mr. Mo repeated himself, his tone becoming more grave. "Are you?"

Of course Yi Fei should say yes, enrolling at Peking University was the best prestige you could get as a pre-med student in China. It would guarantee you a good future and give you a head start above some of your peers, though it wasn't guaranteed you could enroll in Peking Uni due to the highly competitive applicants that apply every year. But what was stopping her from simply nodding her head? In reality, Yi Fei already knew. She had only became a trainee of Top Agency Management a few days ago, yet she felt this way. She couldn't even describe her chances at debuting, much less success, but there was an unexplainable happiness that would arise in her chest every time she came to the company to practice. She couldn't sustain this trainee lifestyle forever, but what she had experienced made her feel useful and feel like she has a purpose in life. In truth, she wanted to continue being a trainee, she had never wanted to become a doctor in the first place. It was her father's dream that she initially pursued.

"No."

But it wasn't from Yi Fei, it was from Yi Fan.