Rebirth begins with studying hard

Chapter 34 We are like the same kind of people

When Zhong Muqing lost her midterm exam bet and hoped he could accompany her to Shanghai for a competition during the summer, Lu Jie had heard her mention her father.

He could sense that something was off between her and her father; they seemed to live apart and their relationship wasn't very good.

Upon seeing that she called her mother's parents "grandparents" and that they lived together, his first thought was that her father and mother might be separated.

Even a worse divorce cannot be ruled out.

But she certainly didn't think about it in the direction of her mother's death.

So after seeing her mother's photo, he thought about how he should greet her if she came that evening, and whether there was anything he needed to be careful about, so he mentioned her mother's situation.

When he saw her silently pick up the photo frame on the table, his heart skipped a beat.

I realized that I might have said something I shouldn't have.

Upon hearing her mention her mother's passing, Lu Jie immediately said, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's alright." Zhong Muqing put down the photo frame and shook her head.

Although she seemed indifferent, Lu Jie could tell that she wasn't.

She thought about how she lost her mother when she was twelve, and how her father seemed unable to be there for her.

He then understood why Zhong Muqing displayed such a strong personality, even acting like a tomboy and getting into fights.

Because she has to be strong.

After a moment of silence, Lu Jie noticed the densely packed medals hanging on the bookshelf and smoothly changed the subject:

"Are all these awards you won in sports?"

Zhong Muqing also looked at the bookshelf: "Yes, um... not entirely, there are also awards from piano competitions I participated in before."

"But most of them are."

"Impressive, impressive." Lu Jie praised, "Once you get your national first-class athlete qualification, you can go to a good university as a high-level athlete, maybe even Tsinghua or Peking University."

"Oh, being good at running can get you into Tsinghua or Peking University?" Zhong Muqing asked in surprise, then asked in confusion, "What is a high-level athlete... I think my uncle mentioned this before."

Lu Jie was taken aback: "You don't know what a high-level athlete is?"

"Those who reach the level of a national first-class athlete, or win a national or world-class medal, can be specially recruited."

"Top universities, including Tsinghua and Peking University, are usually qualified to conduct special admissions."

He added with some doubt, "You train in sports to compete, get national first-class qualifications...isn't that to pursue a career as a high-level athlete?"

Zhong Muqing shook her head: "Because my health wasn't very good before, my uncle often took me to exercise and run."

"As I kept running, my uncle discovered that I had a real talent for long-distance running, and that's how I started running."

"In addition, my uncle is in the sports industry and knows a lot of sports coaches and people. He felt that I could continue to develop in sports, so I got to where I am today."

"Actually, I haven't thought that much about it... The title of National First-Class Athlete is just something I'm trying to achieve as a stepping stone because I'm close to reaching it."

"However, my uncle did mention this high-level athlete you mentioned, but he didn't say much at the time, so I didn't pay much attention to it."

Lu Jie suddenly realized that her uncle knew about the path to becoming a high-level athlete, but she hadn't paid attention to it.

That's right. The prerequisite for becoming a high-level athlete is to at least reach the level of a national first-class athlete.

Before achieving that goal, all the talk is just empty words.

Once she gets the qualification, her uncle will probably discuss with her which university would be suitable for her.

"It's definitely too early to talk about this now."

"It's not too late to figure out how to get into university after you get your national first-class qualification."

"University..." Zhong Muqing lowered her head and thought for a moment before saying, "If you had the opportunity to study at Stanford University in North America, would you be willing to go?"

"Stanford is one of the world's top universities, how could I possibly get in?" Lu Jie said casually with a smile.

"If we don't consider whether you can get in, well... let's assume someone writes you a letter of recommendation guaranteeing you'll be admitted, would you be willing to go?" Zhong Muqing thought for a moment and changed her question.

Without much thought, Lu Jie shook his head and said, "I'm not going. North America is too far away."

"Really..." Zhong Muqing was silent for a moment, "Then where do you want to go to university? Have you thought about it?"

"I want to study at a university in Feicheng, I don't want to go to another city." Lu Jie had actually thought about this. "My goal is Feicheng University of Technology or Anhui University."

"Feigong University and Anhui University..." Zhong Muqing mused.

"What's wrong?" Lu Jie asked, noticing that she seemed a little distracted.

"Oh, it's nothing." Zhong Muqing smiled. "I'm just a little curious. Don't all boys want to study in other cities? I've heard quite a few boys in my class say they want to go to other cities because they feel free."

He used to think that Feicheng was too small and hoped to try his luck in a big city.

I also find it too annoying to have my mother constantly nagging me, so I want to get away from her.

But only after losing something do you realize what is most precious.

Lu Jie shook his head and said seriously, "Of course I can and need to go to big cities, but they are not places I want to stay for a long time."

"I want to stay in Feicheng. I'm more familiar with it here, and I can also take care of my mother."

"Um..." He hesitated for a moment and thought for a while before saying, "My father died in a car accident when I was very young, and my mother raised me all by herself."

"If I go to study in another city for a few years, my mother will be alone at home, and if something happens, there will be no way to take care of her."

"Besides, I'm more familiar with Feicheng, so I think it's more suitable to study locally."

He rarely talks about his family situation with others, partly because classmates rarely mention family to each other, and partly because, as a single-parent family member, he subconsciously avoids this topic.

But he felt that since Zhong Muqing had been honest about her mother, and they had already brought up the topic, there was no need for him to deliberately hide it.

It's fair to be honest with each other about a secret.

However, to his surprise, Zhong Muqing did not have any obvious reaction.

"Well...actually, I overheard one of the teachers mentioning your family's situation when they were discussing some kind of subsidy in the teachers' office once," Zhong Muqing explained, guessing what Lu Jie was thinking.

She then said somewhat shyly, "I overheard it by accident, I didn't mean to ask... You won't be upset that I already knew about it but didn't tell you, will you?"

Lu Jie smiled and shook his head: "How could that be?"

It's understandable that Zhong Muqing thinks this way, because children from single-parent families are indeed more sensitive about their family situation and don't want others to know.

Only those from single-parent families could have this idea.

Hearing him say that, Zhong Muqing felt relieved and smiled, saying:

"Every time I saw you before, I felt a strange sense of closeness."

"Hmm...it's partly because you look a lot like my favorite celebrity."

"But I think there's another reason, which is that we're very similar, we're the same kind of people."

It's normal for boys and girls to like each other during their school years. Sometimes, this liking doesn't have any reason; it might just be a feeling of instant attraction.

Lu Jie had always thought that Zhong Muqing's affection was just that kind of inexplicable.

Although he sometimes wondered if Zhong Muqing's affection for him was a little too deep, he didn't think too much about it since it was during their student days and anything could happen.

But now he understands a little.

She once said that Shu Panpan was quite lonely, and in fact, she was also very lonely inside.

His carefree demeanor was merely a facade to mask his inner loneliness.

Because his family situation was similar to hers, she considered him one of her kind.

She might even have seen him as some kind of emotional support.

Indeed, everyone's personality traits stem from their family environment.