After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Am in a Relationship with My Scummy Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother - Chapter 24

In the end, Old Jiu had still drunk too much. Huo Qingzhuo supported the drunken Old Jiu as they walked out of the restaurant’s private room. She planned to simply arrange for Old Jiu to stay in the hotel integrated with the restaurant and open a room for herself next door. After all, it was already so late, and Old Jiu’s home was quite far away; she didn’t plan on heading back tonight.

As Huo Qingzhuo supported Old Jiu and left, a figure emerged from the corner of the corridor by the private rooms. Standing at the door of the room, Shu Yueqing watched the back of the young girl who had grown up quite a bit, feeling somewhat complicated emotions.

“Yueqing, why were you in the restroom for so long?” In the private room next to the one Huo Qingzhuo had just occupied, Wenren Heyu opened the door and walked out.

“Where was I?” Wenren Heyu didn’t notice Shu Yueqing’s abnormality and continued the previous topic. “Oh right, speaking of Junfu’s recent grades, I have to say, that child’s talent is truly extraordinary. It’s only been half a year since she transferred to Zhuoyun Middle School, and those grades are soaring upwards! She has much of your style from back then; her future is limitless!”

“Also, A University has recently been preparing to extend an olive branch to Junfu. That is your alma mater. I can almost foresee that once Junfu enters A University, she will surely recreate your glory from back then. This child might just be the next you. It’s just that for some reason, the child hasn’t listed A University as her choice school; you really need to persuade her.”

Wenren Heyu spoke with passionate excitement, completely ignoring the fact that Shen Junfu’s grades had been a total mess when she was being taught at his school.

Shu Yueqing cast a glance at Wenren Heyu. “This should be Junfu’s own choice; I will not interfere. Furthermore, Shen Junfu will always be Shen Junfu; she won’t be the ‘next Shu Yueqing.’ A duplicated life has no meaning.”

“You’re letting her be so willful even with such a major matter? How are you acting as a guardian? Do you have any sense of responsibility?” Wenren Heyu had asked Shu Yueqing out today specifically for this matter. He was worried to death, yet Shu Yueqing, the guardian, had this kind of attitude; he felt like he could die of anger.

“This isn’t called being willful. I believe this is the result of Junfu’s own deliberate consideration. This is her life to begin with, and it should be her own choice. As a guardian, my responsibility shouldn’t be to force Junfu to do things in the way I think is right, but rather to give her the support and basic protection she wants after she makes any choice. A parent should be the child’s backup, not the vanguard, and certainly not the commander-in-chief. I believe Junfu is capable of being responsible for her own life.”

Shu Yueqing and Wenren Heyu’s educational philosophies had always been different. If it weren’t for the fact that the two had been friends for so many years, Shu Yueqing wouldn’t have bothered to waste words on him.

“Then what if she chooses to break the law? What will you do then? What kind of judgment regarding life can a child of this age have?”

In a fit of pique, Wenren Heyu let the words slip out.

Shu Yueqing fell silent for a moment. “It will be Junfu’s eighteenth birthday in a while. I plan to give her a complete set of the Criminal Law. If she still knowingly breaks the law, I will try my best to stop what I can; if I can’t stop it, she must bear the consequences of her own choices.”

Wenren Heyu: …Shocked my whole family.

After finally escaping the nagging Wenren Heyu, Shu Yueqing returned home.

After washing up, Shu Yueqing lay in bed. Following her habit, she opened the lullaby that Huo Qingzhuo had recorded previously on her phone.

Unlike before, where she would fall asleep quickly, half an hour passed and Shu Yueqing still felt no sleepiness. That silhouette she saw today kept appearing unconsciously in her mind; that little child from back then had actually grown up so fast.

Giving up the struggle, Shu Yueqing sat up and leaned against the headboard. She took her tablet, opened Weibo, skillfully switched to a side account, and entered a sparsely populated topic group titled Jiu Xuan.

There weren’t many posts inside. It was mostly the official Jiu Xuan crew posting updates—from the initial costume photos to a few snippets of “leaked” behind-the-scenes records—it was meager to the point of being pitiful.

There weren’t many people in the topic group either, just the crew members and some fans attracted by the costume photos. Shu Yueqing clicked on the latest message posted by the crew’s official account: it was about today’s wrap-up party.

There weren’t many photos, and only one featured Huo Qingzhuo. Shu Yueqing clicked to enlarge the image, and her expression darkened slightly.

On that solitary photo of Huo Qingzhuo from the wrap-up party, the male lead of the drama was also present. Not only was he there, but his eyes were slightly red as he hugged Huo Qingzhuo.

Frustrated, she logged out and retreated back into her blanket. She didn’t know why she was inexplicably irritated; she was just annoyed.

Completely unaware of these matters, Huo Qingzhuo took advantage of the wrap-up to give herself a vacation. After finishing only one set of exam papers at the hotel, she went to sleep early. The next morning, after notifying her assistant, she called Old Jiu and returned to his home together.

Now that the film crew’s work was finished, Huo Qingzhuo didn’t plan to continue living at Old Jiu’s house. She had more important things to do.

A University required not only the Gaokao scores and internal assessments but also practical actions. For children from wealthy families who could engage in investment and entrepreneurship early and achieve certain results, the threshold for entering A University would be lower.

To ensure nothing went wrong, Huo Qingzhuo had to make multiple preparations.

The financial management she had done previously with those thirty thousand yuan was just minor play. Later, after receiving her acting fee—though it wasn’t a huge amount—it was still a considerable sum of seed capital after paying taxes.

During this half-year, Huo Qingzhuo had not only been running all over the country with the film crew and squeezing in time to finish exam papers, but she was also learning the market rules of this world and making investments.

It was just that previously there had been restrictions due to her age. Now that she was about to become an adult, it was time to let loose. Monitoring a large number of investments was not something that could be realized in Old Jiu’s isolated home.

After greeting Old Jiu, Huo Qingzhuo packed her things and moved out first.

Although the Jiu Xuan crew had wrapped up, there was still a massive amount of post-production work. The scheduled release date was this summer vacation, so for now, Huo Qingzhuo just wore a casual mask and carried her suitcase down the street, and no one recognized her.

After buying some gifts for the elderly at a nearby mall, Huo Qingzhuo didn’t waste time and went straight home.

She didn’t slack off on her studies, and she was also actively preparing for future matters. She handed over the tasks of finding and decorating a new residence to her assistant. Every day, besides taking classes with private tutors, she was planning the next round of investments.

Although the four elders were old, their minds were still clear and their thinking was open. Seeing Huo Qingzhuo busy every day to the point where her feet hardly touched the ground, they didn’t ask much; they only occasionally reminded her to rest, supporting their granddaughter silently through their actions.

A busy life always passes quickly. Three months flew by in the blink of an eye. When the day of Huo Qingzhuo’s Gaokao arrived, the four elders woke up early, fully dressed and ready, insisting on accompanying Huo Qingzhuo to the exam.

Entering a Gaokao examination hall for the first time in two lifetimes, it would be a lie to say Huo Qingzhuo wasn’t nervous. But looking at the spirited elders, she felt a bit more confidence in her heart.

As she approached the examination center, Huo Qingzhuo looked at the sea of parents accompanying their children and had to be thankful for her foresight in having her assistant park the nanny van there to wait in advance.

After arranging for the assistant to look after the elders, Huo Qingzhuo checked her belongings once more, took a deep breath, and stepped into the examination hall.