He was a disabled military officer who doted on his research work in the Northwest.

And now—in a different time and space, with a different group of people, the feeling of standing in front of people and saying "thank you" is exactly the same.

Shen Tang suppressed her surging emotions, her face remaining completely expressionless.

"If I had to pinpoint any experience I have—" Shen Tang's voice softened, but every word was spoken clearly—

"That means asking teachers more questions. Don't hesitate to ask if you don't understand. Whether it's the content from class or extracurricular knowledge—teachers are there to ask questions; they impart knowledge, teach skills, and resolve doubts. This is their duty, and it's also our right."

"Some people like to make unfounded accusations and exaggerate their faults. I think this is irresponsible to themselves and an insult to teachers and the school."

There was a moment of silence in front of the bulletin board.

Although she didn't name names, everyone knew who she was referring to.

Everyone's gaze involuntarily drifted towards Shen Yao, who was standing to the side.

Shen Yao clenched her fingers.

That bitch! She remained silent before all that commotion, but now she's spoken out in public, even when the principal was praising her! Isn't she deliberately trying to embarrass herself and make herself lose face?

More importantly, she couldn't lose her composure or lash out. If she said anything now, it would not only prove that she was the one making baseless accusations, but also make her a laughingstock to everyone!

She gritted her teeth, trying hard to keep her expression unchanged, her little face turning red.

Standing behind Principal Zhou, Ma Decai heard Shen Tang's words and saw Shen Yao's aggrieved expression, and the veins on his temples throbbed twice.

This woman is vicious. With just a few casual words, she managed to ruin Shen Yao without getting a drop of blood on her hands.

even……

She also flattered Sun Xiulan.

"I've benefited greatly from Ms. Sun's teaching methods"—once this got out, who in the whole school didn't know that Sun Xiulan had taught a student who got perfect scores in five subjects? This kind of honor definitely boosted her chances of being elected principal.

Ma Decai's fingernails dug into his palm.

He didn't care about Shen Yao's frustration, but Sun Xiulan had made an impression on the principal, and moreover—

Class 2's average score was seven points higher than Class 1's.

This was just a school-wide mock exam, it doesn't determine anything. But if Class 2 still outperforms Class 1 in the next city-wide mock exam—

Then everything he had painstakingly built up would be ruined.

……

By the time the school bell rang, it was already dark.

In mid-November in Northwest China, it gets dark as early as four or five o'clock. The streetlights at the school gate have just come on, their dim yellow light swaying in the cold wind.

Shen Tang walked out of the school gate with her schoolbag on her back, exhaling a puff of white breath.

Several bicycles and a hand tractor were parked at the school gate—parents were there to pick up their children. She was about to walk towards the military vehicle when she suddenly caught a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.

On the steps to the left of the school gate, Shen Guoping and Li Juan stood under a street lamp.

Shen Guoping, dressed in a gray-blue Zhongshan suit, looked spirited despite the cold weather, as the deputy factory director. Li Juan followed behind him, wrapped in a brand-new gold-red cotton-padded coat, her face radiant.

They were waiting for Shen Yao.

Shen Tang scoffed inwardly, glancing over before looking away.

Just then, Shen Yao ran out of the school gate.

"Dad—Mom—" A bright smile bloomed on her face as she ran to Shen Guoping, hooked her arm around his, and said sweetly, "You've come to pick me up!"

"Yaoyao!" Li Juan immediately went to greet her, touching her face with concern. "Are you cold? You're wearing so little—"

"Not cold at all!" Shen Yao shook her head with a smile, her voice sweet and clear. "Dad, I got 408 points on my exam this time! That's a huge improvement from the last entrance exam! My teachers all praised me!"

"Good, good, good!" Shen Guoping nodded repeatedly, his face beaming with pride. "My daughter is so capable! Dad knew you could do it!"

"Will Jianhui be happy for me too?" Shen Yao tilted her head. "That new dress he bought me last time—I told my classmates about it, and they were all so envious..."

As she spoke, she glanced up in the direction of the school gate—and there she saw Shen Tang.

Then he immediately looked away, his smile deepening.

She affectionately linked arms with each of them, and the three of them squeezed even closer together. "Mom, Dad, let's go. Mom, I want to eat your sweet and sour pork! Make it for me!"

Li Juan affectionately tapped her nose. "Okay, Mom's going to buy it, you little glutton. Your brother Jianhui said he's coming over for dinner tonight too."

The family of three turned around and walked towards the bicycles parked, chatting and laughing.

Shen Tang stood in the shadow of the streetlight, coldly watching this scene.

Shen Yao's exaggerated tone and mannerisms were a deliberate attempt to show off her parents' doting love and the warmth of her family in front of her.

But she miscalculated.

As an outsider, she had no attachment whatsoever to Shen Guoping and Li Juan—especially since one was a snobbish woman who sold her own daughter to take the blame for her adopted daughter and then allowed her adopted daughter to curry favor with the factory director's son, and the other was a foolish woman who watched her husband push her own daughter into a pit of fire without uttering a sound. Did she even deserve to waste any emotion on these two people?

Are you kidding me?

But that scene—a family of three, chatting and laughing, the father's hand on his daughter's shoulder, the daughter begging for food in front of her mother—still stung her.

It has nothing to do with the Shen family.

It's related to a past life.

In her past life, she left home at sixteen to attend a prestigious university, pursued her master's and doctoral degrees at twenty-two, and stayed on at the university after graduating with her doctorate at twenty-eight. During her twelve years of study, she returned home only a handful of times. Her parents and relatives were proud of her—they would tell everyone, "My daughter is pursuing her doctorate in Beijing," or "My daughter is doing scientific research"—but they could only see her a few times a year.

She has a home. But her home is in a small southern town thousands of miles away, where her parents are alive and in good health.

She spent her entire youth in the lab, immersed in papers and data. She grew accustomed to this life, taking pride in her strength and independence, and disdaining to call her parents to whine or be affectionate—in her eyes, that was weakness…

She closed her eyes. Because of her personality and her busy academic studies, she had never been in a relationship, never had a best friend to go shopping with, and had no memory of being picked up from school by her family.

The only things she was familiar with were the bottles and jars in the laboratory and her mentor, Lu Yanzhi.

He once jokingly called her an "academic orphan"—having parents but being practically childless, having a home but rarely returning.

She laughed and retorted, "Aren't you the same?"

The old man chuckled and touched his nose, "Who's like you? I'm not a single dog."

Although she was stubborn, her supervisor was even busier than her, and often the two academic orphans would be in the lab together, heads down, continuing their experiments.

So now, looking at the scene at the school gate, she wasn't envious of Shen Yao for having parents who loved her, but suddenly realized that in both her lives, she had never experienced the feeling of being picked up from school.

That feeling of someone waiting for you at the door, asking if you're cold, and letting you act cute.

It wasn't in my last life, and it isn't this time either...

Forget it.

She continued on her own path, silently telling herself: Shen Tang, can't you be a little more sensible? There are gains and losses in everything; you can't have everything.

You've lived two lives, you should understand this basic principle.

What kind of person is this, wallowing in self-pity!

"Comrade Shen!"

Just as she was trying to comfort herself, a voice came from not far away, interrupting her thoughts.

Looking up, I saw Xiao Li.

The military jeep was parked on the side of the road opposite the school gate, with the passenger window half open.

She walked over quickly, opened the back door and got in. She saw Mu Qinghan sitting in the passenger seat with a square cardboard box on his lap.

"What is it?" she asked curiously, peeking out.

Mu Qinghan didn't answer, but asked, "Are you cold?" As she spoke, she untied her scarf and handed it to him.

The navy blue scarf still carried his body heat. It felt warm and cozy, and a thought stirred in her heart—

The question of "whether you're cold" seems to have been answered...

She suppressed her emotions, wrapped the scarf around her neck, and continued the previous conversation, "Thank you, Brother Qinghan. What's that?"

"See for yourself." Mu Qinghan handed the cardboard box to the back seat.

Shen Tang took it. The box wasn't big, wrapped in kraft paper and tied with thin hemp rope. She untied the rope and opened the lid—

A sweet aroma, a blend of jujube paste, red bean paste, and flaky pastry, wafts over.

Daoxiangcun's pastries.

Ox-tongue pastries, jujube blossom pastries, hawthorn potstickers, and pea flour cakes were neatly stacked in two layers, each separated by oil paper, arranged with meticulous care.

"This—" Shen Tang's eyes lit up.

"It was sent from Beijing," Mu Qinghan said, pausing for a moment. "My older brother sent it. I don't like sweets. You can take them all if you like."

These words were spoken casually, but Mu Qinghan knew very well what was going on.

His older brother, Mu Chengyuan, usually sent him things, always tea and internal reports, occasionally clothes or insoles—all practical items. Daoxiangcun desserts? Never.

Mu Chengyuan doesn't like sweets. He doesn't like sweets either. There's no one in the Mu family who likes sweets.

The eldest brother went to Daoxiangcun to pick out a box of pastries and stuffed it into the package—it was obvious who this box was for.

Looking at Shen Tang unpacking the package in the rearview mirror, Mu Qinghan felt a mix of emotions welling up inside her.

I'm happy; of course I'm happy to receive my elder brother's approval.

But at the same time, there's something subtle... indescribable—

He hasn't even officially confessed yet, but the older brother has already admitted it.

Why do I feel like I'm falling behind?