Reborn in 2006, I met Mr. Zhou from the past.

Su Fengxia hesitated upon hearing this, but she knew in her heart that her sister genuinely cared about her. Her sister had never cared about her studies before, but now that she had expectations of her, she felt a little happy.

Seeing the thoughtful expression on her younger sister's face, Su Fengnan knew she was pondering something, so she said no more.

After breakfast, the two sisters walked out of the alley and used a public phone at a small shop a hundred meters away to call their parents.

After a few beeps, the call connected, and a gentle female voice came through.

"My children, are you all doing well?" Su's mother, Wen Xiaofen, asked in her native accent.

These heartfelt words of advice resonated deeply with Su Fengnan, bringing her happiness in both her past and present lives. No matter what her life was like, her parents would always love and care for her. In contrast, because she was a left-behind child from a young age, unable to be by her parents' side during the years when they needed her most, she became sensitive and harbored resentment and bitterness deep down. As a result, after dropping out of school, especially after learning that her father had recovered, she rarely called her parents proactively; she only responded with a few words when they called her.

In her past life, she was bad at expressing her emotions, keeping everything bottled up inside, which made her life extremely tiring. In this life, she wants to try to change that.

Not receiving a response, Su's mother spoke again: "My little one, can you hear me?"

Another familiar accent pulled Su Fengnan back to reality.

"Oh, I heard you, Mom. The signal was a bit unclear just now," Su Fengnan quickly replied.

"Oh, it might be due to poor long-distance signal."

"How are your studies going lately? Xiaoxia is taking the high school entrance exam. You're the older sister, so please take good care of her. Buy her whatever she wants to eat," Su's mother instructed patiently.

"I understand, Mom. By the way, how is Dad's health?" Su Fengnan asked with concern.

"Same as always. I recently heard about an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor, and I'll take him to see him after this batch of goods is finished."

"Mom, my sister and I will come to visit you during the summer vacation. We miss you."

Su Fengnan was a little nervous, afraid that her mother would not agree, so she quickly added a few more words.

"Mom, I'm an adult now. I can work a summer job during the summer vacation to earn money for next semester's tuition. You can't discourage me from this opportunity for social practice. My sister can also help take care of Dad. Please agree." Su Fengnan said with a hint of slyness.

The idea of ​​"social practice" was enough to persuade Su's mother. She knew that many underage children worked in her factory, doing just as much work but earning less than adults. She thought it would be good for her eldest daughter to go out and gain experience; if she experienced hardship, she would better understand the importance of studying.

A few seconds later, Su's mother agreed, but on conditions.

"If you both get good grades on your finals, come over; if not..."

Upon hearing the word "not good," Su Fengnan quickly interrupted.

"Mom, don't worry, we'll definitely be fine!" Su Fengnan assured confidently.

"Okay, then we'll wait for your good news."

"Where's Xiaoxia? Let Xiaoxia answer the phone..."

Su Fengnan took two steps back, handed the phone to her younger sister, and turned to wait under the tree in front of the convenience store. She could hear her younger sister's voice responding to her mother from time to time.

Standing under the tree, Su Fengnan gazed at the sky bathed in the morning light, lost in thought, as if she were completely immersed in the gentle picture of the early morning.

"Sis, let's go."

When Su Fengnan heard her younger sister's voice and turned around, the person was already standing behind her.

"The money hasn't been paid yet?"

"I've already paid."

"How much?"

"Ten yuan. Long-distance calls are one yuan per minute, that's really expensive."

"Okay, let's go back then. I'll give you some more money later; you can't go to a classmate's house empty-handed." As they spoke, the two sisters slowly started walking back.

Half an hour later, the two finished packing and left together with their schoolbags on their backs. When they reached the west street entrance, Su Fengnan bought a bag of fruit candies, shared half with Su Fengxia, and then the two went their separate ways to their respective destinations.

Before going to Ning Xiaojun's house, Su Fengnan got her bangs trimmed again, making them look much thinner and more like wispy bangs. Her previous neat, straight bangs were really unsuitable for summer. Passing a stationery store, she also bought a fountain pen as a gift for her classmate who was celebrating her birthday today.

When I arrived at Ning Xiaojun's house, she was already ready and waiting.

As soon as Su Fengnan entered the room, she found it unusually quiet, so she asked softly, "Is your father home?"

Ning Xiaojun stared at her for a moment, then nodded.

"So your brother is home too?" Su Fengnan asked again.

Ning Xiaojun simply nodded.

Su Fengnan immediately became cautious and dared not say anything more. She knew that Ning Xiaojun's father was a serious person, and both siblings were afraid of him. Whenever he was home, the house would be as quiet as a mouse seeing a cat.

"Wait a moment, I'll go tell my dad before we leave," Ning Xiaojun whispered in her ear.

"Okay." Su Fengnan nodded in agreement.

A minute later, Ning Xiaojun came out of the study and said, "My dad said he wants to meet you."

Su Fengnan was taken aback, and silently mouthed, "Why?"

Ning Xiaojun shrugged and replied softly, "I don't know."

Left with no other choice, Su Fengnan could only follow Ning Xiaojun into the study. Ning's father was sitting in front of the computer, seemingly working. Ning Xiaojun gestured for Su Fengnan to sit on the sofa, gave her a "I'll go out first" gesture, and then quietly left.

Su Fengnan immediately became a little nervous, lowering her head and gently fiddling with her fingers.

However, upon further reflection, she realized that in her previous life, when she returned after her divorce and began seeing Ning Xiaojun again, Ning's father was a very kind person. It was only during this period that he was strict with the children, which was why the siblings were so afraid of him.

To put it bluntly, this is just a pretense of seriousness. Once Su Fengnan understood this, she gradually relaxed.

"You're Xiaojun's good friend?" Ning's father's voice carried a hint of pressure. "She often mentions you."

Su Fengnan looked up at Ning's father, nodded, and replied in her local accent, "Yes."

Even though she could sense the oppressive tone in Ning's father's voice, with her current spiritual experience, she naturally wouldn't be afraid.

Then, Ning's father asked about Su Fengnan's family situation, and she answered them all calmly, without backing down, and in a generous manner.

Finally, Ning's father asked, "Do you think you can get into university?"

Su Fengnan met Ning's father's gaze, her eyes clear and firm, as if she could see her future self standing at the gate of a top university: "I can, and I will definitely get into a top university."

Ning's father stared at her for a moment, and seeing her clear eyes and resolute gaze, his expression softened instantly. He said repeatedly, "Okay, okay, okay. It's alright, you two go and have fun."

The three consecutive "good"s left Su Fengnan completely bewildered.

Once the two were on the street, Ning Xiaojun explained her father's unusual behavior that day. Her parents had argued again that morning, and the siblings wanted to go out, but without a proper reason, they couldn't leave the house. Therefore, when Su Fengnan was almost there, Ning's father insisted on seeing her.

"So, your dad wants to see me to verify because he's afraid you're lying?" Su Fengnan asked.

"Yes! You have no idea how awful his face looked before you arrived," Ning Xiaojun said, feeling wronged.

"What did your parents... argue about again?" Su Fengnan asked hesitantly.

"It seems my dad got a little too close to an aunt, and my mom got jealous. Sigh, I just don't understand adult stuff."