Chapter 36: Fang Zhi Takes First in the Finals

During finals week, Fang Zhi truly claimed first place.

First in the entire grade.

She even aced every single bonus question.

Chen Nian, who had already kicked off her “I’m just an ordinary kid” plan, deliberately skipped the bonus questions and settled for a perfectly average pair of perfect scores.

On the day they handed out the report cards, Chen Junjie took the day off and showed up alongside Liu Chunhua.

The two of them lingered in the second-floor hallway, exchanging greetings with this teacher and chatting idly with that student. Only when the class meetings were about to kick off did they finally split—one heading to each classroom.

The teachers naturally lavished praise on Chen Nian and Fang Zhi. One remarked that Fang Zhi was too introverted and didn’t mingle much with her classmates, while the other noted that Chen Nian was too outgoing, always off chatting with kids from other classes.

Liu Chunhua and Chen Junjie just beamed with pride, brushing off those hardly-even-flaws as nothing at all.

Once the parent-teacher conference wrapped up, Liu Chunhua emerged from Class 1 with Fang Zhi, while Chen Junjie came out of Class 3 with Chen Nian. The four of them converged at the hallway junction. Liu Chunhua sighed, “Aiya, we got held up. Those other parents kept dragging me aside to swap study tips. What study tips do I have? It’s all my girl—she taught herself.”

Chen Junjie chimed in, “Exactly, exactly. My girl picked it all up on her own. Running? She figured that out herself too—no training needed. Just went out there casually and snagged first place. Must take after me.”

Liu Chunhua went on, “Aiya, the teacher wants my girl to prep a speech for the new semester awards ceremony. So rushed—it’s months away!”

Chen Junjie nodded vigorously. “Right? Total overkill. My girl’s got that go-getter streak. Homework isn’t even home yet, and she’s already finished. And she doesn’t stop there—she previews the lessons too. Teacher says there’s nothing left to teach her…”

Liu Chunhua’s eyes widened. “My girl’s first in the grade.”

Chen Junjie grinned. “My girl’s double perfect scores.”

Liu Chunhua: “My girl’s pretty.”

Chen Junjie: “My girl’s healthy.”

Liu Chunhua: “My girl’s quiet and refined.”

Chen Junjie: “My girl’s lively and spirited.”

Liu Chunhua shot back, “Talking like my girl’s not healthy and lively.”

Chen Junjie: “Talking like my girl’s not pretty and refined…”

Liu Chunhua glanced at Chen Nian, who was clutching her stomach and laughing so hard she looked ready to do the splits right there on the spot. Her features had scrunched together into an ugly mess.

Chen Junjie added, “Girls change after eighteen—they’ll be beauties soon enough…”

Fang Zhi murmured quietly, “Pretty…”

Chen Nian slapped her thigh. “Hahahaha! Talking like your girl isn’t your girl! You two done bragging yet? If not, save it for home—this is too embarrassing, hahahaha!”

She took a swat to the head from Mom and another to the back from Dad.

Chen Nian reined in her laughter, her face flushed beet red. “Dad, Mom, I was wrong.”

Liu Chunhua asked, “What do you feel like eating today?”

Chen Junjie declared, “We’ve gotta hit a restaurant today.”

Liu Chunhua raised an eyebrow. “Restaurant food as good as mine?”

Chen Junjie hemmed and hawed. “Well… each has its own flavor. It’s a special day, so let’s do something special.”

Chen Nian piped up, “Dad, you should say, ‘Ms. Liu Chunhua, raising two outstanding daughters must be exhausting—you feel for her, so no cooking today.'”

Chen Junjie: “…”

Liu Chunhua: “…You’re not even as smooth as your daughter.”

Chen Nian grabbed Fang Zhi’s hand. “Last time we saw that seafood feast on TV—today…”

Chen Junjie barked, “Niannian!”

Chen Nian: “Hahaha, can’t hear you, can’t hear you…”

The family bickered and laughed their way down the stairs. Wen Can had just packed up her things and stepped out of the classroom when she ran smack into Class 1’s homeroom teacher, Teacher Zhao.

Wen Can let out a sigh. “Aiya, Teacher Zhao, you owe me big time.”

Teacher Zhao adjusted her glasses, grinning from ear to ear. “Owe you? Please—clearly you owe me. But you were the one who insisted on sticking Fang Zhi in my class.”

Wen Can replied, “Wasn’t I just thinking of that Chen Nian in my class? That girl was going nuts over her—afraid it’d mess up her studies if they were together. And look what happened: split them up, and she still runs over to your class every day.”

Teacher Zhao countered, “What were you thinking? Back then, she was dashing off to the Welfare Institute every day after school. Class 1 and Class 3 are right next door—she suddenly stop running?”

“Ai—” Wen Can sighed again, long and heartfelt, with real regret this time. “Never thought I’d hand over the grade’s top student.”

“Hahahaha…” Teacher Zhao burst into delighted laughter.

Truth be told, given Fang Zhi’s background, it was only natural for the homeroom teachers to have some reservations when she transferred into North Temple Elementary School.

The four classes had been divided up evenly by academic performance from the start. Come finals, they tallied averages for evaluations—everyone wanted another star pupil, and no one wanted to take on a weak link.

Fang Zhi’s entrance exam results were quite impressive, but since it had been a private test, no one really knew how the questions had been devised. Her family situation was unique—her parents had passed away only half a year earlier, she’d spent time in the orphanage, and she hadn’t attended school at all. Freshly adopted into a new family, her emotional state was bound to be fragile.

Homeroom teachers weren’t worried about kids with mediocre grades; what they dreaded most was disobedience. A seven- or eight-year-old could stir up chaos so awful that even pigs and dogs would steer clear—and without parents to rein them in, you’d have another Li Gousheng on your hands.

That explained why Wen Can had pushed to send Fang Zhi away in order to protect Chen Nian. And Teacher Zhao’s decision to take her on was a bold gamble.

When the mid-term results came out, Teacher Zhao felt like she might worry herself bald. The silver lining, though, was Fang Zhi’s adoptive family—they doted on her, faithfully driving her to and from school for over a month straight. After that, her improvement was plain for anyone to see.

The gamble paid off spectacularly, flipping her fate and landing her first place in her grade.

The ways of the world… who could say for sure?

Cicadas shrieked noisily from the treetops for a spell until the students and parents upstairs had all cleared out and the homeroom teachers headed downstairs.

The building janitor ambled over, peeking into each classroom and bellowing, “Anyone still around? Locking up!”

And with that, summer vacation kicked off.

Anliang City’s summers weren’t scorching, especially through a child’s eyes.

Vacation meant freedom to run wild whatever the weather—to dash under the sun, burrow into sand piles, let loose without a care.

Chen Nian fretted over Fang Zhi’s porcelain skin and tried to keep her out of the peak heat, but Fang Zhi couldn’t have cared less. Wherever Chen Nian went, Fang Zhi tagged along; whenever Chen Nian played, Fang Zhi stuck to her like glue.

They hit bookstores and plazas, the riverside, darting through streets and alleys.

Solo adventures, duo escapades, group romps with friends—and whenever possible, roping in the parents too.

Other kids might catch an earful from their folks over bad grades, stewing under the pressure.

Not these two. Their scores were unbeatable—the whole compound knew the Chen girls had swept first place, doing their parents proud.

So play they did, utterly without restraint. Homework no longer got polished off early like before; Liu Chunhua would sometimes lose track of them for entire mornings or afternoons.

No great cause for alarm, though—they always materialized at mealtimes.

Play was a child’s birthright, and Liu Chunhua had never once found her girls disobedient.

Chen Nian had her head screwed on straight, Fang Zhi stayed cool-headed. Together, they might occasionally lure the adults into some oddball line of thinking or peculiar mishap, but they never stumbled into the major blunders other kids did. Safety first, wherever they roamed.

And just like that, more than half the summer slipped away in a blur of fun.

Ten days before school resumed, Chen Nian enlisted Liu Chunhua’s help to corral Fang Zhi in her room and make her tackle her homework.

Truth be told, Fang Zhi didn’t put up much fight—if she said she’d do it, she meant it. What puzzled her was why Chen Nian wasn’t joining in.

Chen Nian scratched her head. “I’ve got stuff to do.”

Fang Zhi eyed her. “What stuff could you possibly have?”

Chen Nian grinned. “Hey, don’t sell me short.”

Liu Chunhua backed her up. “Auntie’s got a client today—needs to bring Niannian along to meet them.”

Fang Zhi cocked her head, pondering long and hard, but the logic escaped her.

Still, she could let it slide. Secrets between Chen Nian and her mom, outings just for the two of them—it was perfectly normal.

No jealousy, no tantrums. She just let her brows droop, her voice laced with unmistakable pathos. “All right.”

Liu Chunhua stepped over and tousled her hair. “Be a good girl and do your homework, Zhizhi. Auntie’ll bring you something yummy when she gets back.”

“Mm.” Fang Zhi nodded, lips pressed tight.

At the doorway, Chen Nian doubled back for a quick, awkward hug around the chair before grabbing her mom’s hand and heading out.

Their destination: Lin Tianyi’s home.

Tomorrow was Fang Zhi’s birthday.

They might not share a household registry, but the family of three had committed the date to memory from the moment they first laid eyes on her.

Mother Lin was a whiz with desserts. She’d once baked simple cookies just for her son, but after quitting her job, she had time on her hands and money on her mind. She poured herself into her hobby.

These days, she could whip up breads and cakes—anything the local dessert shops offered.

She just hadn’t saved enough for her own storefront yet, so she made do with word-of-mouth sales to friends and family.

Fang Zhi’s birthday called for cake, and Liu Chunhua was more than happy to support her good friend.

A few days earlier, she had mentioned the matter to Lin Huiling, who agreed without hesitation and insisted on not taking a single cent.

In her words, this could count as her birthday gift to Fang Zhi. And a cake alone was far from enough. Lin Huiling had delivered desserts to other families before and had seen the birthday parties they threw for their kids—she envied them terribly.

No matter how different these two mothers were in personality, they shared one core belief in child-rearing: if other kids had a certain joy, their own kids should have it too.

The wealthy had their way of living richly, the poor had their way of living simply, but happiness wasn’t necessarily determined by money.

So this time, Liu Chunhua brought Chen Nian along not just to check on the cake, but to get everything ready together for Fang Zhi’s birthday party the next day.

Chen Nian, of course, supported the idea wholeheartedly—and she was thrilled about it.

Lin Tianyi was thrilled too. Ever since the four of them had met up, the adults hadn’t stopped bustling about, and the two kids hadn’t stopped chattering either.

The day flew by in a rush, and by evening when darkness fell, Chen Nian finally went home with her mother.

They both carried the sweet scent of desserts on them, so upon arriving home, they tacitly headed straight to the bathroom first. Only after washing up and changing clothes did they appear before Fang Zhi.

Liu Chunhua hadn’t forgotten to pick up some tasty treats to placate Fang Zhi. Fang Zhi munched on the bag of boneless chicken feet, but without much enthusiasm.

Worried that staying too long might spoil the surprise, Liu Chunhua made up a quick excuse and left. Chen Nian grinned foolishly and asked Fang Zhi, “How’s your homework going? I don’t wanna do math—let me copy yours, okay?”

Fang Zhi stuffed a chicken foot into her mouth, silencing her with the spiciness.

The evening passed uneventfully.

Dinner was light that night, and no one went to bed fully satisfied.

At nine-thirty, Fang Zhi went to bed on time.

At ten, Chen Nian tiptoed out of her room. She pressed her ear to Fang Zhi’s door for a good while, confirming no sounds from inside, before beckoning to her parents.

They had clear roles: Chen Nian kept watch, Mom tidied the room, and Dad went downstairs to pick up Auntie Lin.

Auntie Lin’s Sanmo carried Lin Tianyi, the birthday cake, and all the balloons they’d blown up that afternoon, plus the paper cranes they’d folded all afternoon.

There was a lot of stuff, but everyone stayed completely quiet.

Lips pressed tight, faces beaming with irrepressible joy, no one felt sleepy despite the late hour. They worked together to set everything up before finally sitting down.

In her parents’ master bedroom with the door firmly shut, they spoke in hushed tones—Fang Zhi surely wouldn’t hear.

Lin Tianyi let out a long breath. Lin Huiling stroked his head and whispered, “Tired?”

He shook his head vigorously. “No, no, no…”

Chen Junjie looked apologetic. “Sorry to drag you all out so late…”

Liu Chunhua cut him off. “You don’t know the half of it—this was our sisters’ plan…”

The two women exchanged a glance and smiled happily. “No child should miss out on anything.”

Exactly. No child should miss out.

Chen Nian had a happy, complete family. Lin Tianyi had only his mom, no dad.

And Fang Zhi had lost her own home.

Everyone faced different fates, scripted by heaven in the first half of life, unchangeable.

Like a thin sheet of paper—some colorful, some black-and-white, some torn.

But fortunately, we could still draw on it.

Once we gained life, as our lives formed souls, and those souls tangled and resonated with others…

We gained a brand-new pen.

You hold that pen, the people who love you hold that pen, and we can still draw.

As the clock neared midnight, everyone held their breath.

When it struck twelve, Chen Nian knocked on Fang Zhi’s door.

“Zhizhi, Zhizhi~” she called. “Open up quick.”

Just like their first meeting, Fang Zhi could sense the kindness in that knock, no matter how reluctant she felt. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she shuffled over in her slippers and opened the door.

“Happy birthday!!!!” everyone shouted.

Happy birthday. Fang Zhi’s eyes flew wide as all the world’s beauty rushed toward her.