135. I do not want to transfer schools.

Although he did not understand why Shen Mo had not transferred schools, Fang Chang'an was undoubtedly happy to see her. He untied his belongings and carried them onto the porch, hearing Cheng Mengfei’s voice drifting down from the hallway: "Is that Chang'an?"

"Yes."

Fang Chang'an replied, and at the same time, he smiled at Shen Mo: "Are you still wearing your hat while at home?"

"I haven't had a chance to take it off yet."

Shen Mo reached out to help him with his things, but Fang Chang'an didn't give her the bag in his hand. He tilted his body to indicate for her to take his crossbody schoolbag instead. Shen Mo reached out and unslung it for him. Fang Chang'an tilted his head slightly, letting her pull the strap off, and asked, "Did you just arrive too?"

"Yep."

Shen Mo winked at him, looking a bit sly and smug. "Guess where I came from?"

"Your grandparents' house, obviously."

"That doesn't count. Where before that?"

"Did you go to the city?"

"How did you know?"

"I guessed."

As they spoke, they walked into the living room. The auntie came out to greet them, and Fang Chang'an handed her the bag, smiling: "Some dried green beans, shredded radish, and a few sweet potatoes."

The auntie took them, and Cheng Mengfei laughed: "You didn't find it heavy? Didn't you bring your bedding?"

"It’s at my Uncle's house; they dropped it off a few days ago."

The bedding had been delivered by the three Fang brothers when they took a tricycle to visit a cousin on his grandmother's side a few days prior, just so Fang Chang'an wouldn't have to struggle with it when school started.

Cheng Mengfei nodded and said, "Go soak your hands in hot water, keep them in for a while, don't let yourself get frostbitten... Is it snowing outside?"

"Just started."

Fang Chang'an went to the bathroom to soak his hands and face in hot water, feeling much warmer afterward. He dried himself with a towel that was specifically his—one Cheng Mengfei had bought after noticing he often used paper tissues to wipe his hands.

Back in the living room, Cheng Mengfei and Shen Mo were watching the snow from the porch. Fang Chang'an walked over and asked, "Teacher Cheng, is Uncle Shen not home?"

"No, he went out this morning and hasn't returned yet."

Cheng Mengfei replied, then patted Shen Mo: "It's cold, don't stand out here."

Shen Mo agreed and followed her aunt back into the living room. Cheng Mengfei closed the door, sat down with the two youngsters, and chatted idly. She said to Fang Chang'an with a smile, "If it weren't for you, Mo Mo would have almost transferred away."

"What?"

Shen Mo was sitting right next to Cheng Mengfei. Hearing her aunt say this, she grabbed her arm and pouted, acting spoiled: "It was clearly because I was good enough myself!"

"What happened?"

Fang Chang'an was genuinely confused. He knew Shen Mo was supposed to transfer, but he had no idea what her staying had to do with him.

"Ah—Auntie, don't tell him! I want to tell him myself! I'll tell him!"

Before Cheng Mengfei could speak, Shen Mo reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shouting excitedly.

She had just returned from the city and hadn't even said a few words at her grandparents' house before running over here. She wanted to show off to Fang Chang'an as soon as possible, and seeing her aunt about to steal her thunder, she panicked, terrified that her aunt would ruin the fun she had been looking forward to all winter break.

"Alright, you tell him."

Cheng Mengfei chuckled and patted her head.

Shen Mo finally let go of her aunt, sat up straight, and began to recount her struggle against her parents to Fang Chang'an like a storyteller...

The time went back to the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month. Shen Mo had taken her report card and returned to her grandparents' home with her aunt. Shen Chengli and Shu Mei had already arrived and were sitting in the living room talking.

The last time Shen Mo had seen her parents was during the summer break, so she was naturally delighted. She threw herself into her mother's arms, acting spoiled and affectionate for a long while before noticing that her father was chatting with her grandfather and uncle, mentioning the incident where Fang Chang'an had been robbed a few days prior.

She had been involved in almost everything that happened after the robbery, even coordinating the interviews herself, so she rushed to show off to her father. Shen Baoguo and Shen Chengyan stopped talking when they saw her, watching her with amused smiles as she bragged.

Shen Chengli had already heard quite a bit about Fang Chang'an over the phone and was aware that his daughter had a good relationship with the boy. However, seeing her eyes dance with excitement while talking about a boy's exploits, he exchanged a look with his wife, and both felt this was not a very good sign.

But fortunately, she was about to transfer schools, so it didn't really matter.

After Shen Mo finished praising Fang Chang'an, Shu Mei asked about her grades, and Cheng Mengfei praised Shen Mo again. The young girl was both happy and shy, though the former definitely outweighed the latter, and the whole family was happy along with her.

This atmosphere lasted until lunch ended. Shen Chengyan brought up the subject of Shen Mo's transfer. Before Shen Chengli and Shu Mei could even speak, the girl, upon hearing she had to transfer, was dazed for a moment before firmly expressing her opposition.

Shen Chengli and Shu Mei were not surprised by this attitude; children, after all, had finally adapted to a new school, become familiar with the environment, and made friends, so they naturally wouldn't want to switch to another school again.

However, if it were anything else, they might have humored her, but this was a major matter concerning her future; they couldn't let her be willful.

Shu Mei hugged her daughter and explained gently: "Mo Mo, Dad and Mom understand how you feel. But the reason we had you study in the town for a semester was, on one hand, because we were both away, and it wouldn't be convenient for you to study in the city alone, and we wouldn't be at ease with you boarding. On the other hand, your aunt teaches at the No. 2 Middle School, so you could have some support."

"Now that Mom and Dad are both back, you naturally have to go to the city to study. You can't keep going to school in the town forever, right?"

Shen Mo had always been obedient, but this time her attitude was firm. She turned her face away and muttered, "Wrong!"

Then, feeling that this seemed too weak, she turned back and asked, "Why can't I keep studying in the town?"

Shu Mei smiled: "Because the schools in the city are better. They have higher-level teachers, better conditions, and students who study harder. If your aunt didn't have to stay in the town to take care of your grandparents with your uncle, she would have gone to the city to teach, too."

Cheng Mengfei knew her own limitations; she could get by in a town middle school, but in a city school, she would only be whispered about as a "connected hire." Shu Mei was clearly looking out for her face and feelings, so she just smiled and didn't join the conversation.

Shen Mo retorted indignantly: "Who says schools, teachers, and students in the city are better than the ones in the town?"

Shu Mei laughed: "No one 'says' it; that's just the reality. It doesn't need to be decreed. You'll see once you transfer to a city school."

The girl actually knew that her mother was likely telling the truth, but she remained stubborn: "I don't want to transfer!"

Shu Mei sighed with amusement and persuaded her softly: "This is a major matter concerning your future. Be good, don't be willful, okay?"

Shen Mo was not the type to be overly headstrong and was usually quite reasonable. Hearing her mother say this, she thought for a moment before arguing: "But I'm doing just fine now. I placed third in my class in the final exams, seventh in the whole school. Next semester, I might even be in the top five or top three."

"Even if you place first in the town's No. 2 Middle School, it's still not as good as going to the city's No. 1 Middle School."

Shu Mei came from a deep family background and was very capable herself. Shen Chengli also had a say in changing his father's decisions. Although the couple was often away, they carried great weight in the family. As Shu Mei debated with her daughter, the others just watched with smiles, in no hurry to help persuade her.

Shu Mei was not annoyed or impatient by her daughter's stubbornness and began to lay out facts and logic for her very seriously.

"Do you know the college entrance rates for the town's No. 2 Middle School every year? Last year, out of about five hundred third-year students, only a dozen or so got into the county's No. 1 High School, I think it was..."

Cheng Mengfei interjected: "Nineteen."

"Nineteen. That's the most in recent years; before that, it was even fewer. Not a single one got into the city's No. 1 High School. The last time someone got into the city's No. 1 High School must have been several years ago, right?"

Shu Mei turned to look at Cheng Mengfei, and Cheng Mengfei nodded: "It must have been three or four years ago."

"Did you hear that? Do you know how many people from the middle school of the city's No. 1 High School get into the city's No. 1 High School every year?"

Shu Mei stroked her daughter's hair and said with a smile: "Half of them. That means out of a thousand students, five hundred can get into the city's No. 1 High School. And the other five hundred won't go to the county's No. 1 High School because the city's No. 2 and No. 3 high schools, while not as good as the No. 1, are still better than the county's No. 1."

"Do you realize how big the gap is now?"

Shen Mo pouted her soft, pink lips and didn't speak. Shu Mei didn't rush her, just watched her with a smile. After a long while, Shen Mo muttered: "The city's No. 1 High School must have bad students, too."

"Every school has bad students."

"Then what if I get to the city's No. 1 High School and my grades get even worse? Worse than now? I'd be the worst one there, while here I'm the best... one of the best two or three. That means staying here is better."

Shen Chengli finally couldn't help but laugh as he interrupted: "Hey, who says you'd be the worst one before you even get to the school?"

The young girl was simply trying to avoid transferring now. She continued to argue: "You never know. When I get to a new school, I won't know anyone, I won't have my aunt, and my studies won't be as good as theirs. I'll definitely feel inferior and won't dare to talk to anyone. If they see my grades are bad, they won't want to bother with me. As time goes on, it'll be a vicious cycle: my grades get worse, I'm even more afraid to talk to people, and the more I don't talk to people, the worse my mood gets, and then I won't be able to study well at all."

She was arguing very seriously, and her grandparents, parents, uncle, and aunt in the living room were all laughing. Peng Shouyu said with a playful scold: "You're getting better and better at twisting logic."

The young girl pouted in dissatisfaction: "It's a real possibility, how is that twisting logic?"

Shu Mei laughed: "It's true that it's a possibility, but the probability of you getting better and better is much higher. We believe in Mo Mo, and Mo Mo needs to believe in herself. Just like in the town's No. 2 Middle School—didn't your grades get better and better there, too?"

"That's not certain. Maybe I'll just get worse and worse at the city's No. 1 High School?"

"Stop being difficult."

Shu Mei laughed as she tapped her daughter's smooth, jade-like forehead lightly. "You're reluctant to part with your classmates, but are you willing to part with your mom and dad? Isn't it good to live with us?"

"You could live in the town, too. There's enough room at my grandparents' house and my uncle and aunt's house."

"We've already bought the house."

"Just leave it there for now! We can move in when I start high school. It's already bought, so it's not like it matters if we wait two years."

The family watched the mother and daughter spar and couldn't help but laugh again.

Shen Chengli sipped his tea and chuckled: "You know, she really has improved. She wasn't this good at reasoning with her mother before. I can't believe she's held her ground for this long without losing."

"Don't cause trouble, I'm talking about something serious with her."

Shu Mei gave her husband an amused look, then continued to try and persuade her daughter: "Let's put everything else aside, Mom just wants to talk about your grades. You just heard about the gap between the city's No. 1 and the town's No. 2. Do you think you'd grow and learn faster at the town's No. 2 or the city's No. 1? Tell me the truth."

"Hmm—"

The young girl tilted her head and thought seriously for two seconds, deciding not to answer directly. "Maybe I'd learn even worse at the city's No. 1. You just said they have bad students too, and since the city's No. 1 is so good, there must be many parents who spend money just to send their kids there."

She glanced at her mother and pouted: "Just like you."

Then, fearing she might get tapped again, she covered her forehead with both hands, leaned back, and continued to argue: "These kids from rich families, whose grades aren't good enough to get into the city's No. 1, will they study hard at school? What if I get led astray by them?"

"Hey, where did you learn all these twisted arguments?"

Shu Mei was both annoyed and amused, but since her daughter was actually speaking some truths, she lowered the hand she had intended to tap her with.

Seeing that her mother didn't refute her, the girl became even more emboldened. She lifted her face and continued: "Those people don't love studying all day. Maybe they'll see that I'm pretty and start talking to me, and since I just transferred and don't know anyone, I'd definitely grow close to whoever talks to me, and then I'd be led astray by them."

Cheng Mengfei burst out laughing and said to Shu Mei: "You have to admit, she actually has a point."

Shen Chengyan also nodded and smiled: "The logic is sound."

Shen Chengli didn't intend to help his wife persuade his daughter either, and he nodded: "Although it's unreasonable, what she's saying does make some sense."

Shu Mei gave the three people joining in the fun an annoyed glare, then looked at her daughter suspiciously: "Now that you mention it, you've really reminded me... these twisted arguments of yours—could it be that you've been influenced by that boy named Fang Chang'an?"