Chapter 225: Leave the Most Beautiful Memory ②
“It’s okay, I gave Qiu Qiu some money before.”
Nie Aiwen didn’t often give Nie Qiu money, but Nie Qiu never refused it when he did, as if she really liked him giving her money. Before Nie Aiwen divorced, he would only visit Nie Qiu and Nie Aifang during festivals, so he would give a bit more money. Now that they met often, he would give her ten or twenty yuan each time. Although the amount was small, it was enough to make Nie Qiu happy. Like many parents, Nie Aiwen could give Nie Qiu money, but he didn’t want Nie Qiu to waste it, as wasting money was not a good habit.
Hearing Nie Aiwen’s words, Nie Aifang frowned. Nie Aiwen smiled and comforted her, “Sister, don’t worry! Qiu Qiu isn’t someone who spends lavishly; she won’t waste money.”
Nie Aifang still didn’t cheer up after hearing Nie Aiwen’s words. She remembered that Nie Qiu had spent several hundred yuan on a piece of clothing for her, and she called that not spending lavishly? What would be considered spending lavishly then?
After Nie Qiu separated from Li Kai, Huang Yan, and the others, she went directly to the market. Because the place they ate was very close to the market, this was one of the reasons Nie Qiu chose that restaurant. If it were in the past, after eating, they would have had the entire afternoon free, and they would have definitely tried to find places to play. But today was different; everyone was in a hurry to go home because they had achieved their best grades since starting high school. They all wanted to go home and show off, not just to make themselves happy but also to make their families happy.
Nie Qiu was in a similar situation. Because she got first place, she received a scholarship, and her tuition fees were waived. Nie Aifang would be very happy to hear this news, wouldn’t she?
So after eating, everyone had to go home separately, and no one had any objections.
As soon as Nie Qiu walked into the market and reached her family’s vegetable stand, she saw Nie Aifang and Nie Aiwen eating. Nie Qiu walked into the vegetable stand. Seeing Nie Qiu return, Nie Aifang smiled and called out to her, “Qiu Qiu, have you eaten? If not, sit down and eat. Your uncle bought several dishes today. Mom has kept them warm for you in a thermos. I’ll get the thermos for you.”
Nie Qiu put her hand into her canvas shoulder bag and handed the award certificate and the envelope containing money to Nie Aifang, shouting happily, “Mom! I got first place in the entire grade! I don’t have to pay tuition next semester!” Her grades were very good. Yes, her grades had always been excellent since childhood, and she had gotten first or second place countless times. But… when she returned home, she could only say to the empty air, “I got first place, congratulate me!” and then say to herself, “Congratulations.”
That was after she grew up. When she was very, very young, she didn’t understand that her parents had divorced and gone their separate ways. She thought her parents were like a classmate in her class, whose parents had gone to work in another city, a left-behind child. That girl told her that if she got good grades, her parents would reward her with a certain amount of money and take her to play somewhere during the New Year when they came home. She naively thought that if she got good grades and called her parents to tell them, her parents would praise her and reward her like that left-behind child, and then take her to many places during the New Year. But no. In her first year of primary school, she got excellent grades, a perfect score, and first place in the class. She threw her schoolbag on the sofa when she got home and called her parents while leaning on the coffee table.
“Hello? Is that Qiu Qiu? Dad is in a meeting right now. You can tell the nanny anything you need. If you need money, I’ll have someone transfer it to you tomorrow. That’s all for now! Dad is hanging up.” Before her father, who was supposedly in a meeting, hung up, she clearly heard a childish voice calling “dad.” At that time, she liked watching television and knew that “dad” meant father. Many years later, she realized that her father wasn’t in a meeting; he was at home, but he didn’t want to answer her call, meaning… he didn’t want to say another word to her.
At that time, she didn’t understand and only thought her father was too busy. She busily called her mother.
“Qiu Qiu? Why are you calling? Mom is doing a face mask right now and can’t take calls. I’ll call you back when I have time…” Then, there was a busy signal.
Mom will call you back… But she waited and waited, waited until she fell asleep, waited until the nanny woke her up for dinner. After dinner, she continued. That day, she waited until two in the morning. Then, one day, two days, three days passed. She couldn’t help but call her mother again, but no one answered the phone.
Then, her perfect score, the score she had worked so hard for, was unknown to anyone, and no one praised her. At school, although the teacher would praise her once or twice, there were too many students with perfect scores, so she wasn’t special.
Now, holding her grades and award certificate, as the first place in the entire grade, she excitedly and tremblingly told her mother loudly that she had gotten first place in the entire grade, that her tuition fees would be waived, and that she had received an award certificate.
Then she watched Nie Aifang excitedly wipe away tears. Then, she watched Nie Aifang flusteredly take the envelope and award certificate from her hands and hug her.
Nie Aiwen was also happy for Nie Aifang and for Nie Qiu. In fact, the main reason Nie Aifang returned to this big city to find work was for this daughter. After her husband died, although her in-laws wouldn’t tolerate her, she could have taken her daughter back to her maiden home. They had a stone house, and her parents had been kind people back then. It would have been perfectly fine to raise a child and study in the countryside.
But Nie Aifang brought Nie Qiu to this big city. What for? It was so that Nie Qiu could get into a good university, so Nie Qiu wouldn’t have to live a life of toiling in the fields like villagers. But… after coming to the big city, Nie Qiu went from being happy and cheerful to being silent. Both Nie Aifang and Nie Aiwen knew that in such a comparative and competitive city, Nie Qiu had become inferior. Gradually, her outgoing and lively personality also became introverted.
Nie Aifang worked from dawn till dusk. Living expenses and tuition fees left her with no extra energy to care for her daughter.
Now, Nie Qiu getting first place in the entire grade, receiving an award certificate, a scholarship, and not having to pay tuition next semester made Nie Aifang incredibly happy. Actually… she didn’t ask for much. Even if Nie Qiu hadn’t received an award certificate, even if she hadn’t received a scholarship, and even if she had to pay tuition, as long as Nie Qiu was well and could get grades good enough to get into high school, Nie Aifang would have been happy.
