Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ye Tianxin looked at Li Xiaohui, who was clad in her school uniform and sporting a pair of plaits.
She vaguely remembered that Li Xiaohui had gone on to study at a special training college.
After she started working, someone played matchmaker, resulting in her marrying a local civil servant.
Life after marriage wasn’t ideal, as Li Xiaohui was often subjected to abuse by the civil servant.
In one particularly violent incident, Li Xiaohui ended up dying from the physical abuse.
2
At the time of her death, she had been six months pregnant….
After Li Xiaohui’s death, her family kicked up a big fuss, and the incident blew up and became the talk of the town.
In the end, the civil servant paid Li Xiaohui’s family a large sum of money.
4
Li Xiaohui’s family used the money to renovate a three-story house for her younger brother, bought him a car, and arranged for him to get married.
Her family carried on living happily and harmoniously, and the sad story of their departed daughter seemed to have been intentionally forgotten.
“My mother says what’s the point of studying so hard? A girl will eventually be married off once she’s twenty!” Li Xiaohui announced, objecting to working too hard for the exams.
Silently, Ye Tianxin felt sorry for Li Xiaohui and resolved to help change her destiny too.
“Xiaohui, your mother’s right. All women will eventually get married, but think about it. If you go to university, you could marry someone who holds a degree. If you’re just a high school graduate, what kind of man will you be able to marry? People say that to a woman marriage is like being born again. Don’t you want to be able to marry well?”
2
However, Li Xiaohui didn’t seem to understand what Ye Tianxin was trying to say.
“But just because I want to marry well doesn’t mean I’ll actually be able to, right!?”
“But why not? Xiaohui, think about it. What if you were able to earn ten thousand a month? Would you be willing to marry someone who earned just one thousand a month? If you made ten thousand, you’d be able to marry a man who made ten thousand…. We don’t have to look too far away to see this. Just look around us. Just look at our music teacher. She’s the type of woman every man dreams about. Check out who she’s married to—someone in the provincial city who owns a house and drives his own car. And she’s also been transferred to work in the provincial capital…. If you’re content with how things are, you can’t see the forest for the trees. Think about it. Do you see any good men around you?”
1
Deep in thought, Li Xiaohui seemed to have understood her. Ye Tianxin didn’t interrupt Li Xiaohui. Instead, she felt sympathy for her. She had been given a chance to start over again, but Li Xiaohui hadn’t gotten a second chance….
If she could only somehow give Li Xiaohui a hand, she’d be doing a good deed and would build up her treasure trove of blessings.
8
Ye Tianxin had originally planned to return to the classroom, but halfway there she stopped, having decided that she should have a back-up plan.
What should she do if she didn’t do as well as expected on the college entrance exams?
Ye Tianxin remembered that some art academies didn’t have exceptionally high entrance scores for subjects on culture.
So she should definitely try to sit for the entrance exams for the art academies.
Standing in front of the door to the teacher’s office, Ye Tianxin gave a quick rap on the door, to which someone responded, “Come in!”
“Mr. Chen, I have a question.”
Ye Tianxin looked respectfully at her homeroom teacher Mr. Chen.
Nodding, Mr. Chen asked, “Ye Tianxin, what is it?”
“Sir, I wanted to ask if I could apply to the Capital University and the Capital Film Academy at the same time?” While Mr. Chen was contemplating her question and not responding, Ye Tianxin continued, “Mr. Chen, as you know, I realized my mistake too late, and although I’ve been working really hard, I’m not confident that I’ll make it into Capital University. So, I’m thinking, would it be possible for me to apply to sit for the entrance exams to the Capital Film Academy?”
Jiameng High School, Ye Tianxin’s alma mater, was just a small school located in a small, ancient town. And the teachers there definitely weren’t as knowledgeable or worldly as those in the city. In fact, her teacher hadn’t even heard of the Capital Film Academy.
“Ye Tianxin, you’re right to be concerned. Of course you may apply to sit for the entrance exams to Capital film Academy if you wish to do so. Let’s do this. How about I call the Education Department later to find out if they know what to do and how to apply?”