Chapter 128: Course Exemption

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Course Exemption

"I’ll bring Tuantuan over to play during the two days we’re celebrating Xiao Yin’s birthday. I hope we won’t be a bother."

"Not at all, not at all! You’re welcome here anytime," Wei’s mother said with a smile, though it didn’t reach her eyes.

Deng Yuyuan’s underlying message was that apart from those two days, she wouldn’t be visiting anymore. Whether she came or not was her own prerogative; Wei’s mother couldn’t interfere. She only felt it was a pity, wondering if she could also send Little Shu over to Jing City University.

Wei Yin draped a small blanket over Deng Yuyuan. "Just come. No gifts allowed, okay? It’s the thought that counts. Don’t waste your money. Even if you buy something, I won’t accept it."

Deng Yuyuan lifted her chin, letting Wei Yin tuck in the edges of the blanket. She smiled and replied, "Alright, I won’t bring anything. I’ll come over early those two days and bake you a birthday cake. I promise it’ll be delicious."

"Deal," Wei Yin agreed to the proposal.

Deng Yuyuan changed back into women’s clothing at the Wei family’s home, leaving her belongings in Wei Yin’s room. After dinner, Mr. Wei drove the two of them back.

Watching Mr. Wei’s car drive away in the distance, Deng Yuyuan narrowed her eyes. Very well. Now it was time to settle the score.

Deng Yuyuan set Tuantuan down, dodged her reaching hands, and took a few steps forward. "Didn’t Tuantuan say during the day that she was an orphaned little piglet without a mom? Hmm? I guess Tuantuan doesn’t have a mom anymore."

"I do, I do! Tuantuan has a mom!" Tuantuan anxiously trotted after her, her little face etched with panic. Sweet words poured from her mouth as if they cost nothing. "Mom, Mom, wait for Tuantuan! WAAAH, Tuantuan was wrong!"

Right before the child completely broke down, Deng Yuyuan stopped, allowing Tuantuan to catch up. Tuantuan threw her arms around her mother’s calves and buried her face into them. Deng Yuyuan’s pant legs quickly grew damp with tears.

"You’d better sleep with one eye open tonight. I’m going to kill you," the system threatened.

"...I just wanted to scare her a little," Deng Yuyuan replied in her mind. "I didn’t expect the child to react so strongly."

"Oh, go repent in hell, you scumbag," it retorted.

Deng Yuyuan crouched down, hugged Tuantuan, and wiped her tears. "Mom is sorry, Tuantuan. I ignored your feelings. Even though you were having fun at the Wei family’s home, Mom shouldn’t have kept leaving you there.

"From now on, if you want Mom to keep you company, just tell me directly. Don’t sulk all by yourself and curse yourself like that, understand?" Deng Yuyuan touched her nose against Tuantuan’s. Only after confirming that the little girl’s eyes were filled with smiles again did she pull back.

"Mom only wants a chubby, happy little piglet. I don’t want my little piglet thinking she’s an orphan. I won’t send you to the Wei family’s home tomorrow. How about you stay at school and keep Mom company?" Deng Yuyuan asked.

Tuantuan nodded vigorously, leaning affectionately into her mother’s embrace. "Tuantuan missed Mom so much. Tuantuan loves Mom so much! Tuantuan always remembers."

"Remembers what?" Deng Yuyuan asked curiously.

"Remembers to love Mom properly." Tuantuan giggled foolishly, cupping her little cheeks again.

"Tuantuan’s forehead and knees still hurt."

"Then Mom will apply some medicine when we get back, okay?"

"You have to blow on them too."

When Deng Yuyuan returned to the ground floor of her dormitory building, Chu Tiankuo was taking a walk outside with the counselor.

"Deng Yuyuan, what a coincidence. Oh, did you just pick Tuantuan up?" The counselor stepped forward to greet her.

Deng Yuyuan exchanged a few brief words with him. Meanwhile, Chu Tiankuo had already taken the initiative to step closer, wanting to hold Tuantuan.

Tuantuan returned to his embrace and showed Uncle Chu her little injuries. Their eyes met, and hers welled up with tears. "Uncle Chu, Tuantuan missed you so much."

Tuantuan had it all figured out now. The Wei family’s home was nice, but it was *too* nice! Her mom would absolutely never let Uncle Chu take care of her overnight. Which meant if she played with Uncle Chu instead, she would be able to see her mom every single day.

Chu Tiankuo was completely oblivious to Tuantuan’s hidden calculations. He only felt that all his usual doting on the child hadn’t been in vain. A faint smile rippled across his usually frosty face as he rubbed Tuantuan’s head. "Uncle missed you too."

"Uncle Chu, can Tuantuan play with you tomorrow?" Tuantuan asked him.

Chu Tiankuo glanced at Deng Yuyuan. She was currently chatting with his father, not sparing Tuantuan a single glance.

He lowered his head and asked near Tuantuan’s ear, "Did your mom agree to that?"

Tuantuan nodded. "Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after that! Tuantuan isn’t going out at all."

"What a good baby."

Tuantuan cupped her little cheeks. "Uncle Chu, say it again."

Chu Tiankuo paused for a moment before continuing to praise her in a gentle voice. "Tuantuan is such a good baby."

It wasn’t until Deng Yuyuan finished talking with the counselor—and Tuantuan had been thoroughly satisfied by the endless stream of compliments—that Deng Yuyuan finally took Tuantuan back to their room. Tuantuan had barely skipped onto the first step when Deng Yuyuan hoisted her up by the collar, forcing the little cub to behave as she was carried up the stairs.

The counselor shot his son a sidelong glance and asked, "Are we still taking a walk, you brat?"

Chu Tiankuo smiled and shook his head. "Dad, what did Xiao Yuan say to you?"

"She said she wants to apply for course attendance exemptions." The counselor glared at him in exasperation. "You never ask her yourself, but the moment I start chatting with her, you eagerly hover around. Men who don’t take the initiative will never find a wife."

Chu Tiankuo fell silent for a moment. "Men who are too proactive won’t find one either. Xiao Yuan is highly guarded. She already rejected me at school, and we agreed to just be friends."

"You should have chosen a science major back then. That way, the two of you would at least have some common topics," the counselor said. "Xiao Yuan came to ask me if she could apply for exemptions partly because she wants to devote herself entirely to her experiments, and partly so she can take better care of Tuantuan.

"She told me she has been self-studying the university curriculum all along. She can still submit regular assignments and take the final exams, and she guaranteed she would achieve excellent grades. I need to discuss this with the higher-ups, but it’s highly likely to be approved. Xiao Yuan truly is... a young prodigy."

The counselor sighed, holding little hope for his son’s romantic pursuit. "Her experiment has achieved a massive technical breakthrough. It just so happens that the higher-ups highly value this field. I estimate that tomorrow, when the workweek starts, Deng Yuyuan will receive notice that she has become one of the rising talents secretly protected by the state.

"However, because she’s a young woman, the higher-ups don’t value her as highly. Very few women achieve success in this field; they are assumed to be far less talented than men. Moreover, Deng Yuyuan has a daughter. They believe she will inevitably return to her family in the future and be unable to commit to scientific research. The higher-ups feel that investing too many resources in her wouldn’t be worthwhile."

Chu Tiankuo stared blankly in the direction of Deng Yuyuan’s room. "Then I think you’ve all misjudged her."

"You don’t understand. Many female comrades have soaring ambitions in their youth, but once they get married, the way things unfold becomes completely out of their control. Whether willingly or by force of circumstance, they all end up supporting their husbands and raising their children. Unless—"

"Unless she has a supportive spouse," Chu Tiankuo softly finished his sentence. "With me to help her, she can wholeheartedly focus on her career."