The elders wrote in every letter saying they missed the children, and now that Jiang Chengzhou had finished his exams, it was the perfect time to send them to the capital.
Jiang Chengzhou laughed. “Is Li Li going too? Won’t he throw a tantrum?”
Lin Zhilan gave a sly smile. “Teacher Zhuang and Zhuang Nuo are also going back to the capital for the summer to visit family.”
So that was it.
But there was still one thing Jiang Chengzhou was worried about.
“Aunt, what if Grandpa tries to set me up with someone again?”
Lin Zhilan shot him a look. “What are you afraid of? If you don’t want to be set up, it’s not like Grandpa can force you.”
Jiang Chengzhou rubbed his nose. “I’m just worried he’ll play matchmaker recklessly. What if the girl takes a liking to me and insists on marrying me, but I don’t want to marry her? Wouldn’t that be wasting her time?”
Lin Zhilan took two steps back. “Jiang Chengzhou, just how thick is your skin?”
Little did she know, her words would come true.
Jiang Jinzhu really did set him up with someone.
And sure enough, the girl’s family took a liking to him.
Her family had heard he grew up on a sea island and assumed he’d be some rough, unrefined boy. But when they met him, he had looks, he had height.
Born into a military family, he carried a restrained, rugged air about him — none of the restless, flighty energy typical of boys his age.
Especially when they heard his college entrance exam scores were good and he had a real shot at getting into the Capital University, their interest in him only grew.
Jiang Chengzhou had no interest in dating, so he made a quick escape.
Unfortunately, the girl’s family not only knew Jiang Jinzhu — they also knew Xu Yueyun and Su Bingcheng, and came to persuade the two elders as well.
Jiang Chengzhou simply took his younger siblings and hid out at Cheng Qingshan’s place.
Cheng Qingshan lived in the General Staff compound, a fully enclosed residential area that required a pass to enter or leave.
After Jiang Chengzhou finished explaining, Cheng Qingshan laughed heartily. “No problem, no problem. You all stay here with me — I guarantee no one will find you.”
Tu Jing had been transferred to work in a southern province, so the big house was just Cheng Qingshan alone. Usually, aside from his guard, only the housekeeper came by to cook.
Now, with three kids in the house, things livened up instantly.
Especially with Su Li being so rowdy. On his very first day, he already got chummy with Cheng Qingshan’s dog.
He wasn’t shy around strangers and was naturally forward. The first time Cheng Qingshan met him, he thought the kid was something else.
Jiang Chengzhou stayed at the Cheng residence for a few days before Cheng Qingshan simply tossed him into military training.
Linlin was picked up by Su Jue and went with Su Yao to classes at the Children’s Palace.
When Cheng Qingshan had free time, he’d take Su Li for walks around the compound.
Some people noticed Su Li looked unfamiliar and asked Cheng Qingshan who he was. Cheng Qingshan answered that he was his grandson.
Everyone living there knew he had no children or grandchildren, so when a grandson suddenly appeared, people started digging into the details.
But Lin Zhilan and Su Lang stayed holed up on the island the whole time.
Even though the pharmaceutical factory and the school were causing quite a stir, the capital was so far from the island that no one bothered them.
Last year, during the first exam after the college entrance examination system was restored, students couldn’t see their own scores.
This year, new rules came out: when the physical exam list was released, each candidate’s scores would also be given to them so they could fill in their volunteer choices again, closing the loophole for backdoor admissions.
Lin Zhilan wasn’t in a hurry, but Su Lang desperately wanted to know how Jiang Chengzhou had done.
As soon as they heard that scores had come out in other provinces, they immediately sent someone to the provincial education bureau to check.
Only then did they find out why it was taking so long for scores to come out on the island.
It turned out that last year, only two people from the entire island had gotten into university. This year, more than twenty people got in at once, and several had extremely high scores. The education bureau thought there had been a mistake and was still verifying.
As soon as Lin Zhilan got the scores, she called Cheng Qingshan’s house.
“Hello?”
Hearing her younger son’s voice, Lin Zhilan smiled. “Li Li, where’s Grandpa Cheng?”
“Mommy, I miss you so much!”
“I miss you too. Are your brother and sister there? Is Grandpa Cheng not home?”
“Grandpa!” Su Li shouted toward the outside.
“Coming, coming,” Cheng Qingshan said, patting the wood shavings off his clothes and hurrying over. “Who’s on the phone?”
“My mom.”
“Zhilan?” Cheng Qingshan picked up the phone.
“Uncle Cheng, why is it just you and Li Li at home?”
Cheng Qingshan laughed. “Chengzhou I sent off to military training, and Linlin went with her second uncle to the Children’s Palace for some model airplane class. Li Li’s just here at home keeping me company.”
“Su Li can be a handful, Uncle Cheng. Don’t spoil him — the more you spoil him, the more he’ll get out of hand.”
“Where’s he being a handful?” Cheng Qingshan said sternly. “At his age, if he’s not a little mischievous, what do you want him to be, all quiet? He and I get along great — don’t you go driving a wedge between us.”
The word “wedge” came out, and Lin Zhilan touched her forehead, where imaginary sweat was forming. “Fine, fine, go ahead and spoil him. When he comes back spoiled rotten, he’ll get a smack from me.”
Cheng Qingshan glanced down at Su Li, who was looking up at him pleadingly, and stubbornly said, “Impossible. He’s perfectly well-behaved.”
It was just that he’d used a slingshot to accidentally break a window at home, and while climbing a jujube tree to pick fruit, he’d scraped his leg. Cheng Qingshan was so angry he cut the jujube tree down… that was all.
All small stuff!
Right now, he was carving Su Li a spinning top. Once the boy learned to play with a top, he’d stop messing with all sorts of other things.
Lin Zhilan asked about his health for a bit, then got down to business.
“Uncle Cheng, Chengzhou’s scores are out — four hundred and forty-six!”
“Excellent, excellent!” Cheng Qingshan instantly beamed. “When he comes back on leave, I’ll tell him the good news!”
This year’s science key line was 350 points.
At 446, that score far exceeded the key line — essentially, he could freely choose from any top-tier school or major, with no worries about being redistributed.
Not just Jiang Chengzhou — Yan Yuan, Li Xuan, and Shen Man all scored close to their own predictions as well. As long as they passed the physical exam, admission was basically locked in.
Lin Zhilan had wanted to tell Jiang Chengzhou herself, but since he wasn’t home, she had to pass the message along through Cheng Qingshan.
After hanging up, Lin Zhilan also called Xu Yueyun and Su Bingcheng, and of course, Su Jue and Deng Jing found out too.
Such a big joy naturally called for a celebration.
Jiang Jinzhu, as Jiang Chengzhou’s grandfather, only found out when Cheng Qingshan invited everyone out to dinner.
He was happy for a moment, then suddenly realized, “Wait, why didn’t Comrade Lin tell me this time?”
Jiang Jinzhu was, after all, Jiang Chengzhou’s grandfather. Lin Zhilan and Su Lang would call him during holidays to check in, and they’d occasionally mention Jiang Chengzhou’s doings. But for something as big as Jiang Chengzhou’s exam scores, Lin Zhilan hadn’t called him.
Xu Yueyun shot him a look. “You have the nerve to ask? How old is Chengzhou? If he doesn’t want to date, then he doesn’t date. Why are you forcing the kid?”
Zhilan was just protecting her own — getting even for Chengzhou’s sake.
Jiang Jinzhu knew he was in the wrong and mumbled, “I was doing it for his own good. That girl from the Wen family is lovely and quite a match for Chengzhou. I thought they suited each other.”
Xu Yueyun, seeing Cheng Qingshan talking with the kids up ahead, gave him a fierce glare. “Is it really what you think is good, or is it what someone’s been whispering in your ear?”
