Chapter 18.1 Dream

Zhou Sisi was a little embarrassed. “Reading these books at your age is quite…” It’s normal.

“I didn’t read it!” Lu Xi hurriedly defended himself. “I haven’t turned a page!” His handsome face flushed and it spread to his ears.

“Don’t be nervous. I mean,” Zhou Sisi said thoughtfully, “you’re in adolescence now, so it’s normal to be curious about this.”

Lu Xi frowned: “This book really doesn’t belong to me.” He threw the hot magazine into his schoolbag.

“Well.” Zhou Si’s thinking was very pure. She was nearly two years older than him; she was half his sister and half his teacher at this stage, when she bumped into this, she thought it was necessary for her to lead the way. 

“Physical development is rapid in adolescence, teenagers are interested in the opposite gender, and will develop curiosity about their bodies, etc. These are natural growth processes. You can, um, we can accept scientific sex…”

“My mother called you to eat fruit.” Lu Yi felt that if he stayed here any longer, he would suffocate to death.

Crazy. When the teachers and elders said these words, he could listen normally; but when she said these words, his face could not bear it.

In addition to embarrassment was more embarrassment.

He would rather have Ms. Xu Xuelin catches him reading the yellow book, then Zhou Sisi finds it.

—Fuck, he didn’t even have time to look at it.

I shouldn’t have listened to Huang Zhou’s rant yesterday, and shouldn’t let Huang Zhou, an idiot, stuff this foolish thing into my school bag.

Even after splashing two handfuls of cold tap water, the heat on Lu Xi’s face only dissipated seventy-eight percent.

In the living room.

“The strawberries freshly arrived this morning, eat more.” Xu Xuelin pushed the fruit plate in front of Zhou Sisi.

“Sisi likes to eat fresh cherries, right?”

Zhou Sisi politely accepted the offer: “Thank you, Auntie.”

Wiping her hands clean with wet tissue, she picked up a bright red cherry.

“You’re welcome. By the way, Sisi, No.1 and No.3, which high school do you think is better?” Xu Xuelin asked.

Zhou Sisi swallowed the pulp. “The admission score of these two middle schools are similar.”

Huali No. 1 Middle School and No. 3 Middle School were the first batch of key high schools listed in the province, and they were equally strong.

Xu Xuelin said: “Lu Xi’s father said that the first high school is fine, and he plans to send Lu Xi to high school there. As for me, I don’t know how this school is. His father is in the operating room all year round, and he doesn’t know much about it. He probably listened to his colleagues, or what the patient said.”

“It just so happens that you are here, so I thought of asking.”

Zhou Sisi knew that uncle and aunt would choose early school activities for Lu Xi. In her previous life, the high school that Lu Xi attended was Huali No.1 Middle School.

“No. 1 Middle School requires students to live on campus and attend classes every week until Sunday noon. There is a vacation once a month, and the monthly vacation is Saturday at noon. The management model is relatively strict.”

Xu Xuelin: “Can students use mobile phones at school?”

Zhou Sisi: “Like No. 3 Middle School, mobile phones cannot be brought into the classroom. They can be used in the dormitory during break time.”

“I thought it was strictly forbidden to bring cell phones to the school.” Xu Xuelin was a bit regretful. “So the work and rest time is the same as the third middle school?”

“No.1 Middle School has less spare time and long study time. In the spring period, you have to get up at six in the morning, and night self-study after the class ends at 10:10.” When Zhou Sisi’s class teacher held a class meeting, she talked about the situation of the first middle school as a way to motivate the students to study actively.

“Every morning, after breakfast, students in No. 1 Middle School have to study in the playground for half an hour. The last class is in the afternoon, and the evening class time is only an hour and five minutes apart, the students have little time for sports activities, eating and bathing is more rushed.”

Xu Xuelin’s eyes lit up. “Yes, No. 1 middle school can do it. It is more suitable for Lu Xi.”

Lu Xi, who came out of the bathroom, didn’t care about anything and said, “I’m not going to No. 1 Middle School.”

“Where would you go if you don’t go to No. 1 Middle School?” When talking to her son, Xu Xuelin would automatically switch to the special mode. “Don’t want to go to high school?”

Lu Xi stubbornly said. “I want to study in the third middle school.”

“Didn’t you take a look at your poor grades, is it your turn to pick?” Xu Xuelin was full of anger. “If I want you to attend No.1 middle school, you have to read!”

“No.” Lu Xie clenched his fist. “Why is the No.3 middle school inferior to the No.1 middle school?”

Xu Xuelin stood up with her hands on her hips. “You have been in the No.3 middle school for three years, you have the nerve to ask? Are you planning to study in high school for another three years?”

“If I don’t want to study, I won’t be able to study even if I go to No 1 middle school!” After speaking, Lu Xi returned to his room with a cold face.

Before leaving, he looked at Zhou Sisi’s eyes.

“…” Zhou Sisi was a little embarrassed.

In her last life, she did not have much interaction with their family, and there was no Aunt Xu asking her about the two schools.

She didn’t expect that Lu Xi would resist going to No. 1 Middle School…

“You little punk!” Xu Xuelin rolled up her sleeves to pat the table, but saw Zhou Sisi sitting quietly with her eyes lowered and promptly withdrew. “…I made Sisi laugh.”

Zhou Sisi hesitated. “Auntie, the No.3 middle school is pretty good. Lu Xi is used to the No.3 middle school, and it may take time to get used to it when going to the No.1 middle school.”

“It must take some time to get used to it.” Xu Xuelin said, “No. 1 Middle School is stricter, it’s suitable for him. Am I not doing this for his good? It’s better this way or else he’ll only annoy me all day.”

Zhou Sisi thoughtfully handed a glass of warm water as she said. “Auntie, I’ll say one more thing.”

“You can find time to chat with Lu Xi calmly. Don’t… um, try not to get too excited. Maybe he will listen to you and can appreciate the good intentions of you and uncle.”

Xu Xuelin gave herself a complement: “Why, I rarely get angry.”

“…Well. Anyway, try to communicate.”

⸙ ⸙ ⸙ 

The stocks that Zhou Sisi bought three months ago had gained momentum.

In an English speech contest she won a few thousands worth of prize money, and invested in it.

The second semester of sophomore year was nearing its end.

Zhou Sisi was determined to move out of Chen Chui’s house. These days she would use her spare time to search for a suitable rental house on the Internet after school.

She contacted two landlords.

But as soon as they heard that she was a high school student under the age of 18, they immediately rejected her, without any room for negotiation.

She did not give up, while building up momentum and looking for a way.

The students in the third grade of the junior high school take the high school entrance examination, and the students of other grades in the third high school had three days off.

Saturday, the last day of high school entrance examination. In the morning, Zhou Sisi was browsing local real estate information on her computer.

Chen Cui knocked on the door twice, “Sisi…” hurried in.

Zhou Si Si had just closed the webpage and was caught off guard when Chen Cui hugged her tightly.

“Sisi…” Chen Cui cried out.

The unaware Zhou Si Si struggled.”You, what’s wrong?”

“I… uh…” Chen Cui, who started to say a word, couldn’t help crying.

Hot tears kept streaming down and soaked into her daughter’s hair.

Zhou Sisi frowned uncomfortably.

“Last night…I…had…a dream…” Chen Cui sobbed and said, “Dream…I…”

She dreamed that she was possessed playing mahjong and lost a lot of money. Dreamed that she invested all her savings to boss Li, who was introduced to her by a friend, and Li boss ran away with money and whereabouts were unknown, the investment was a scam. She dreamed that she had a car accident on the way to her friend’s house and died on the spot.

Dreaming of her only daughter carrying huge debt and working desperately to pay back the money, and even…..

Chen Chui trembled all over while closing her eyes, she let out a heart wrenching cry.

In the dream, Chen Cui’s hearing, vision and touch were no different from those in reality, and all the scenes were very realistic. It was so realistic that it terrified her.

After waking up, she immediately rushed over to find her daughter.

Fortunately, fortunately ……

Zhou Sisi barely understood the content of her dream from Chen Cui’s intermittent description.

…….. a visionary dream for the future.

Zhou Sisi was speechless.

Her whole person was empty all of a sudden, and even the air was full of confusion.

Chen Cui cried for a long time, and finally let go of her embrace, and looked at her daughter’s face with tears in her eyes, “Just wait…I’ll retreat…that Boss Li…”

“In the future… I will never… gamble again.” In fact, Chen Cui rarely gambled and mahjong after Zhou Sisi convinced her to let go and showed her the video of the consequences of gambling.

Zhou Sisi didn’t know what to say.

She tried hard to see the small scratches on the floor tiles, but couldn’t see it clearly because there was a layer of teary mist in front of her eyes.

“Mom is sorry, I haven’t spent much time with you in recent years.” Chen Cui’s guilt piled up.

Zhou Sisi pursed her lips. There was nothing wrong with her, she had fulfilled her basic duties as a mother.

“I can’t help but dad.”

“I… I’m sorry about Chuang Su…” Chen Cui burst into tears again. “I lost… Add up… I’ve lost nearly 20,000 yuan in a few years…”

“You lost more than 20,000, and the house that dad bought before he died.” Zhou Sisi said almost coldly.

She felt that she could no longer control the resentment that she had suppressed for a long time, and could not control the malice that came up from the bottom of her heart.

“What…lost the house?” Chen Cui, who was crying, choked after hearing this.  “I didn’t…”

Zhou Sisi pressed her fingernails against her palms, her nose was sore. “What about the house that Dad bought?!”

“You think …… I lost it?” Chen Cui’s weeping face was filled with incredible injury, and both hands hung down.

“Then what else?” Zhou Sisi still didn’t look at her and continued, “Or else why would you sell the house?” Why else would we have to rent someone else’s house to live in now.

Chen Cui wiped her eyes, “The reason for selling the house is…to see a doctor for your grandma…”

“Your grandmother’s heart and cerebral blood vessels have not been very good. Chuang Su… After she left, her health deteriorated and she had to go to the hospital every three days.”

“You were young and just lost your father… I dare not tell you too much of these things. Your grandmother has been in the hospital since then.”

“I need money for medicine, hospitalization, and surgery. Our family has no savings… I have no choice but to sell the house urgently. After more than a year, your grandma can’t stand it…”

Zhou Sisi’s eyes lost focus.

The emotions that had been flooding in her body shriveled like a heavy rain, slamming on the brakes.

The laptop screen on the table had long since fallen asleep.

In a daze, Zhou Sisi stepped out of the room with a stuffy chest and a confused head.