014: Ambition, The Final Farewell_1

Why is this person's mouth so venomous?

Li Jiayang, "...", hugged his adorable self with heartache.

The group of people fell silent, continuing to move forward with their luggage in tow.

Their host family for this exchange was one of the village's impoverished households.

There were only three adobe houses in the entire home.

There were two left-behind children and a grandmother who had gone blind.

Su Zhenzhu was standing in the yard playing with her phone.

Suddenly, she received a message from a classmate.

"Zhenzhu, I heard that the 'Transform' film crew has come to your village, and the exchange family is staying right next door at Daxiaoting's place. Remember to take lots of photos for me, xoxo."

Upon receiving this message, Su Zhenzhu couldn't stay calm any longer. She hurried outside to look, and sure enough, she could see the crowd with the cameras from afar.

This was something she usually only saw on TV; she never expected to experience it firsthand today!

Su Zhenzhu felt her entire heart racing.

"Thump, thump, thump."

She saw that the group of people was about to come this way.

Quickly turning around, Su Zhenzhu went back into the house, changed into her favorite dress, layered on foundation over her face, applied cheap lipstick, loosened her ponytail, and then ran quickly toward the door.

Reaching the corner, Su Zhenzhu, too excited, accidentally bumped into Zhu Cuiping, who was walking in.

Seeing Su Zhenzhu like this, Zhu Cuiping expressed her discontent, "What on earth have you smeared on your face? You look like a ghost! All you know is running around like crazy all day! If you don't get into college next year, see if I don't break your legs!"

In Zhu Cuiping's eyes, studying was the only way out. Only if she went to university could Su Zhenzhu go to the Imperial City to seek refuge with Mu Qingli and then find a good family to marry into.

For a girl, marrying well is all that mattered. How could she marry into a wealthy and distinguished family without any education?

So, the reason Zhu Cuiping told Su Zhenzhu to study hard was so that she could marry into a good family in the future.

What could you expect from an uneducated peasant woman's vision?

"All day long it's 'college this, college that'! Aren't you tired of it? Mind your own business!" Su Zhenzhu retorted, fuming.

Su Zhenzhu was the only daughter in the family and had been doted on since she was young, so she spoke without much regard for respect or politeness.

Zhu Cuiping, accustomed to Su Zhenzhu's way of speaking, gave her a disdainful look, "I'm your mom, if I don't care about you, who will?"

"Then I'd rather not have you as a mom!" thought Su Zhenzhu as she bit her lip and ignored Zhu Cuiping, heading straight for the door.

This mother, not only uneducated but also incessantly nagging as if going through menopause, had to meddle in everything.

She really envied Mu Qingli...

She was about to become a rich young lady.

Thinking of this, Su Zhenzhu let out a deep sigh.

Zhu Cuiping also knew what her daughter was thinking. Although they'd grown up together, one of them would soon be living the good life in the city, while she was still stuck in the village. It was a tough situation for anyone, and she still needed time to digest it.

Su Zhenzhu stood under the jujube tree at the entrance of the house, gazing at the crowd that was drawing closer, her heart pounding with excitement.

If "Metamorphosis Record" really did shoot at Daxiaoting's place next door, she might even get on TV.

With her looks, she might even have a shot at becoming a big star.

The more Su Zhenzhu thought about it, the happier she became, her smile almost reaching the sky.

Also, these kids from Beijing were all rich. If she could take this opportunity to meet a wealthy young man, that would be more than great.

It's not like she wasn't pretty.

Su Zhenzhu felt that her chance to turn things around had come.

One day, she would, on her own strength, resolutely trample Mu Qingli underfoot.

In that moment, Su Zhenzhu was brimming with confidence in herself.

**

On this side.

Mu Qingli and Yi Cai came to a pear tree.

It was summer, and the tree was laden with green fruit.

A light breeze stirred, bringing with it wafts of the sweet scent of the fruit.

"Xiaoyu, do you really have to leave this place?" Yi Cai crouched on the ground, plucking a blade of grass, her tone light, revealing neither sadness nor reluctance, but the forlorn look in her eyes betrayed her feelings at the moment.

For seventeen years, from a little girl to a proper young lady, she had grown up with Mu Qingli, played in the mud with her, gone to school with her, walked home from school with her, and during the summer holidays, they would work on the farm together, herd the cows together...

Their relationship was like sisters, with no secrets between them...

Yi Cai never imagined that one day, Su Xiaoyu would become Mu Qingli and leave this place forever for a strange city.

In such an unfamiliar place, what if someone bullied her?

Yi Cai understood Mu Qingli all too well—she was smart and open-minded, handled things with a generous spirit, disliked quibbling over trifles, but precisely because of this disposition, she was ill-suited for a cutthroat wealthy family.

With a nature like Mu Qingli's, she was bound to suffer sooner or later!

Yi Cai, though young, was very mature and had a broad understanding of the world.

Mu Qingli nodded slightly, having seen through Yi Cai's concerns, and patted her hand, smiling as she said, "I'm okay, you don't need to worry."

"Have you met them?" Yi Cai raised her eyes to look at Mu Qingli and continued to ask.

Before Mu Qingli could speak, Yi Cai, filled with indignation, stood up. "Why should they? Why do they get to take you with them? They didn't care about you when you were little, almost letting you starve on the streets, and now that you're just about to come of age, they show up! What kind of parents are these? This must be some kind of scheme of theirs! Otherwise, why didn't they come to acknowledge you sooner? Xiaoyu, listen to me, once you get there, you have to be careful, don't be fooled by others so easily..."

Mu Qingli looked up at Yi Cai, her eyes suddenly warming up. She remembered Yi Cai had advised her the same way in her past life, but she had not taken it to heart then; now, looking back, every word Yi Cai said came from the heart...

At this time, everyone was telling Mu Qingli, once she went to the city, not to forget her roots, to remember to repay kindness.

Only Yi Cai was genuinely worried about her.

Even more, in her past life, Yi Cai had died because of her...

Looking at the very much alive Yi Cai in front of her, Mu Qingli couldn't control her emotions, and her tears started to overflow.

She clenched her fists in secret, determined not to repeat the same mistakes in this life. She wanted to personally see Yi Cai get married, settle down, have children...

"Silly! What are you crying for? You're an adult! You're not allowed to cry! Aren't you ashamed?" Yi Cai frowned slightly, taking out the handkerchief she always carried and wiping away Mu Qingli's tears.

But as she did so, Yi Cai couldn't control her own emotions, feeling a tight lump in her throat.

"Why are you crying too?" Mu Qingli laughingly brushed away the tears on Yi Cai's little face.

"Nonsense!" Yi Cai awkwardly turned her head away, "I'm not crying! The wind is just too strong, got some sand in my eyes!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Our little Yi Cai would never cry!" Little Yi Cai was her nickname.

Yi Cai had not spoken until she was 3 years old, and the family thought she was a bit slow, hence the nickname...

"Scram!" Yi Cai gritted her teeth at the mention of her embarrassing past.

"..."

In the small village approaching dusk, a golden sun hung in the sky, casting a glow over the place, low tile-roofed houses sent up wisps of cooking smoke, and everything looked as beautiful as a painting.

Beneath the imposing pear tree, two young women in the prime of their youth were sharing their final farewell, the setting sun stretching their shadows long...