Chapter 21

That was when I saw Shasha again after so many years apart.

I discovered that all her luggage was just a small suitcase.

Inside were three summer outfits and two winter coats.

Her clothes, shoes, and socks were all very old.

Why was she so reluctant to buy anything new?

Because of me.

And now, why am I so unwilling to treat myself well?

Because of her.

She really has fallen behind for too many years.

Maybe one year of repeating her studies won’t be enough.

I need to save more money and be prepared for her to repeat another year.

I was afraid she wouldn’t spend on food or drink, so every once in a while I’d go see her and buy her milk and something to eat.

Besides that, I went to the school computer lab every week to go online.

I searched all the major websites for missing person notices, and I also posted on Tianya.

Helping Shasha look for her parents.

Weibo didn’t seem to exist yet, and Tianya and Mop were the biggest platforms.

Everyone said the chances were slim.

But even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, I didn’t want to give up.

Shasha was truly smart. She had roughly gone through the textbooks I sent her.

After entering the repeat school, her initial ranking was near the bottom.

But she was clever and hardworking.

Slowly, she moved up to around fiftieth, then fortieth, thirtieth, twentieth in her class.

In the monthly exam before May Day, she ranked fifteenth in her class.

Her teacher said that as long as she could hold steady, getting into a Second Tier university wouldn’t be a problem.

Back then, May Day was still a seven-day holiday.

I deliberately set aside a day to visit her.

But I never expected to run into Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao causing a huge scene at the repeat school.

A boy from the neighboring village was also at the repeat school. He wanted to pursue Shasha, but after being rejected, he got angry and told Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao about Shasha’s whereabouts.

Life is just that messed up.

Even though Shasha was already an adult.

Even though Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao weren’t her biological parents and had never truly loved her.

But because they held the title of parents, they could control Shasha’s life.

They accused the school of accepting Shasha without their permission.

They claimed the school was cheating them out of money.

They demanded the school refund the tuition.

They made a scene at the school gate, rolling on the ground and cursing Shasha for being ungrateful and heartless…

The police came and took them away for a lecture.

After being released, they came back to the school gate to wail and cry.

They held up a loudspeaker, demanding the school return their money and give their daughter back.

Crowds gathered at the school gate to watch the commotion. The Dean of Students couldn’t take the pressure and wanted to persuade Shasha to leave.

I swallowed my anger and pleaded.

“We paid the fees, and Shasha is already an adult.

“They can’t do anything to Shasha… Shasha is working so hard, she can definitely get into college, I beg you.

“She’s suffered so much, endured so much pain, and made up her mind and put in her best effort to get this far.

“This is her only hope to change her life.

“Please, please give her a chance.

“I can pay more, I still have money. I still have three thousand yuan.”