Ten months later, Lan He gave birth to Lan Xingchen.
The name was chosen by Lu Yinkong. He didn’t like his own surname and had long decided that any children they had, boy or girl, would carry Lan He’s surname.
Thus, the child was named Lan Xingchen.
“Star sinks beneath the sea, seen from the window; after the rain, the river divides and can be viewed from afar”—a line of poetry he loved, combined with her surname, formed their child’s name.
Lan Xingchen’s birth brought joy to the entire family.
Lan He watched as her parents and siblings lovingly cared for the child. After completing her postpartum recovery, she returned to her mountain village with a complete teaching team. She could leave temporarily because her work would be covered, but she couldn’t leave forever. She wouldn’t feel at ease otherwise.
Lu Yinkong naturally went with her. To him, Lan He would always be the one he loved most, above all, including their child.
They would return home to visit Lan Xingchen during school breaks, then go back to their work in the villages.
Two years later, Lu Yinkong handed over management of the company he and Xu Yang had co-founded, leaving it entirely to Xu Yang.
“I’d love to continue managing the company, but I just don’t have the time. Sorry, brother.”
Xu Yang, like Lu Yinkong, had been lifted out of life’s difficulties by Lan He, but unlike Lu Yinkong, he had not fallen in love with her. He loved her friend, Cao Jie.
They had known each other since high school. Xu Yang had experienced Lan He’s brilliance and couldn’t persuade her to give up her path, nor could he dissuade his good friend from following the woman he loved.
He simply said to Lu Yinkong, “You’re always one of the company’s founders. You can always come back.”
Lu Yinkong smiled, placing an arm around his shoulder.
When Lan Xingchen turned three, Lan He and Lu Yinkong finished their work in the first village, assigned a principal and teachers to take over, and took their team to the second, more remote village they had previously chosen.
This was where Zhou Man, Ning Yuan, and Ning Rong lived—Qiaoyuan Gou.
It was here that they first met Zhou Man, Ning Yuan, and Ning Rong.
At that time, Lan He and Lu Yinkong had just arrived. Preparations had already been made. They contributed funds, and the village chief happily organized the clearing and renovation of the long-neglected school.
Lan He and Lu Yinkong began enrolling students. Their school charged no fees and also provided all meals. Lan He implemented a “milk-and-egg project,” giving each child a bottle of milk and an egg for breakfast every day.
For the poor children of Qiaoyuan Gou, it felt like a miracle.
The villagers revered education, even if they themselves were uneducated. Usually, education cost money, which they couldn’t afford, so they had no choice but to forgo it.
Now, education not only cost nothing—it fed their children. Parents were eager to send their children to the school.
Lan He was not indiscriminate in teaching.
Every student underwent a trial period. Those with good attitudes but poor grades could stay; those with good grades but poor attitudes could stay; but students who had neither attitude nor grades and disrupted others were sent home.
For girls, Lan He was especially patient and gentle. She encouraged them to study seriously, knowing that education was their best path.
Without education, rural girls would likely marry and have children, repeating the cycle, never seeing the world beyond.
Lan He wanted them to go further, so she treated them with extra care and patience.
This mindset also shaped how she treated women in the village who were beyond the age for formal schooling—if she could help them, she would, hoping their lives might be just a little better.
Zhou Man was one of the most exceptional among these women.
Lan He first met her when she brought Zhou Yuan and Zhou Rong to register for school.
At that time, Zhou Yuan and Zhou Rong weren’t yet called by these names; they were Zhou Yuan and Zhou Rong. In Qiaoyuan Gou, most villagers shared the surname Zhou. If you threw a brick, eight out of ten people would be a Zhou.
Zhou Yuan was seven, and Zhou Rong was five. One was a year older than her grade level, the other a year younger.
Zhou Man carefully asked, “Can both children be enrolled?”
“Yes,” Lan He replied with a smile.
Although Zhou Rong was young, she was a girl. Girls needn’t fear starting school early; what matters is that they go to school at all.
Lan He registered both names on the enrollment form.
Looking at Zhou Man, she asked, “You’re…?”
Someone nearby immediately answered, “She’s their stepmother, Teacher Lan.”
Lan He was taken aback. Zhou Man was so young—probably not even twenty. She had expected someone more like an older sister, yet she was already married?
Of course, she knew in some rural areas, people married young. They didn’t fully understand or respect the law; after eighteen, they could hold a small village wedding and consider themselves married.
As for marriage certificates? They didn’t matter. What counted was the marriage itself. If needed, they could get the certificate later.
Lan He hadn’t expected to encounter such a young stepmother so soon. She wondered if she was overthinking, when suddenly Zhou Yuan, indignant, protested, “She’s not! She’s our sister!”
“Your dad married her, didn’t he? How could she not be?”
“But they didn’t get a certificate. No certificate, no marriage.”
“So you want to be an orphan?”
“I am an orphan. So what?” Zhou Yuan glared like an angry little wolf cub.
Lan He was surprised. At his age, he shouldn’t know that without a certificate, a marriage doesn’t count. Someone close to him must have told him.
Who could it be?
Lan He hardly had to guess. A young girl, probably under twenty, marrying a middle-aged man with two children in such a remote village—was this really love? No way.
Moreover, Zhou Yuan clearly didn’t want to acknowledge his father’s marriage to Zhou Man, yet he held her hand and spoke to her affectionately. He clearly didn’t dislike her. His attitude was intriguing.
Lan He completed the registration and watched as Zhou Yuan, still holding Zhou Man’s hand, stormed off in a huff.
She noted Zhou Man’s address and, after finishing the enrollment work, went to visit her.
Zhou Man was washing clothes. Seeing Lan He, she hurriedly invited her in.
She sat stiffly on a bench, nervous. “Teacher Lan, you came here for…?”
She feared Lan He might be telling her that Zhou Rong was too young to enroll; after all, she was only five.
“Don’t be nervous,” Lan He said with a smile. “I just wanted to meet someone well-mannered. Have you studied before?”
Zhou Man nodded. “Yes.”
“To what grade?”
“Grade twelve,” Zhou Man replied. In the village, this was already a high level of education.
“Then why didn’t you continue?”
Zhou Man lowered her head, saying nothing.
Lan He tried another approach. “You don’t seem very old. How old are you this year?”
“Nineteen,” Zhou Man answered quietly.
Her upbringing in a poor family gave her a natural respect for teachers. Though Lan He wasn’t technically her teacher, she was a teacher now, and Zhou Man instinctively answered respectfully, not daring to speak much.
Lan He nodded. She hadn’t reached the legal age for marriage.
“So, you didn’t continue studying because you married Zhou Yuan’s father?”
Zhou Man shook her head.
She looked at Lan He, unsure how to explain.
Lan He was patient. “It’s okay. Just think of it as a chat with me. Take your time, say whatever comes to mind. Don’t be nervous.”
After a long pause, out of respect for the teacher, Zhou Man finally spoke haltingly.
She had been a diligent student, one of the better ones in the village. Her mother loved her and wanted her to have a good future, so she saved every penny to support her schooling.
Zhou Man was sensible. During school breaks, she would help her mother sell fruits and vegetables in town, saving the earnings for next year’s tuition.
Even after her mother passed, she continued to earn and save to attend school.
Her father didn’t really want her studying. School took time that could have been spent planting vegetables, cooking, sewing, or earning money.
But Zhou Man was rare—a student who made it to high school. Villagers even joked, “If Manman gets into college, your old Zhou family is impressive.”
Her father, motivated by this small pride, didn’t stop her. But he wouldn’t contribute money; he could barely afford his own card games.
Her brother shared his father’s attitude, even more indifferent. It wasn’t his daughter, so why care?
Thus, Zhou Man’s path to education was hard but stable.
Everything changed in her twelfth-grade year.
Her brother had found a girlfriend. They liked each other, dated for a few months, and were preparing to marry. The bride’s family requested a bride price of nine thousand…
At that time, for a family like Zhou Man’s, nine thousand was an astronomical sum.
Her brother and father rummaged through the house but still couldn’t come up with it, so they turned to Zhou Man’s saved tuition.
Of course, Zhou Man refused. Her father urged her, saying marriage was a top priority in life and that her brother’s wedding couldn’t be delayed for anything.
“But I can’t stop studying,” Zhou Man argued. “If I lose my money, how can I go to school?”
Her father said, “It’s just for a year, it won’t matter. Besides, many in this village don’t attend school, but if you don’t let your brother marry, do you want him to stay single?”
Zhou Man still refused.
She guarded her tuition fiercely, refusing to give in.
Her stance infuriated her brother, Zhou Xian. Before, he didn’t care about her education, but now he had an opinion.
He thought Zhou Man had grown arrogant from hearing she could get into college and no longer considered the family’s needs.
“You’ve read too many books; you’ve lost all sense of feeling. Can’t you survive a year without school? So many people go without schooling and they’re fine. You’re the only one making a fuss. You really think you’ll get into college? Dream on.”
He went to snatch the money she had hidden in the cupboard. Her father helped him. A seventeen-year-old Zhou Man couldn’t fight two grown men, and she lost the tuition she had saved for the entire semester.
“You don’t need to wait until February to go back to school. When I go to work, I’ll take you with me. We’ll earn double the money together.”
Zhou Man glared at him, tears of anger streaming down her face.
Ultimately, she followed Zhou Xian to the construction site. Without money and still wanting to continue her studies, she had no choice but to work.
But the construction site rejected her frail physique, so she switched to another job and diligently earned money.
She still had some hope for her father and brother, fearing that if she gave nothing at all and Zhou Xian came for it himself, she would lose every penny.
So she always gave him only half of what she earned, pretending that was all she had made.
But working alone could never raise the full sum quickly, so her father increasingly spent his time at the card table, hoping that a few wins could cover her brother’s bride price.
The father and son were busy—one working, one gambling—leaving Zhou Man a few days of relative peace.
When the new school term approached, Zhou Man quit her job to return to school.
She borrowed a bit of money from a fellow girl from the village she had worked with and wrote an IOU.
To get back to school, she had to go home first. Without money for lodging, she could only commute.
On the way home, she encountered a young boy—Zhou Yuan, who hadn’t yet changed his name to Ning Yuan.
He suddenly ran up, blocking her path, asking, “Sister Manman, can you help me with something?”
Zhou Man, of course, recognized him.
They were from the same small village; even if they weren’t close, everyone knew each other.
Ning Yuan had always known of her, though they rarely spoke. When his mother was healthy, she would greet Zhou Man from afar, saying, “Manman, done with school?”
After she ran off, she would tell him, “This is Zhou Man from the old Zhou household at the village’s edge. She’s studying, maybe she’ll get into college one day. You must study too, not like your dad, just playing cards all the time.”
Ning Yuan would eat watermelon and nod, “Okay.”
But now, his mother was sick, and his father left her alone at home, providing only two steamed buns.
At first, Ning Yuan would break the buns into pieces, soak them in water, and feed his mother.
Later, realizing she couldn’t live on just buns, he went to a neighbor aunt’s house, asking if she could spare a bowl of rice for his mother.
He was too young to cook, so this was all he could do.
However, Zhou Jianheng found out and beat him severely, saying he was shaming the family.
Ning Yuan glared, and Zhou Jianheng raised a broom to hit his bedridden mother.
Ning Rong rushed to protect her mother but was struck on the back, tears streaming.
“If you ask anyone else for food again, I’ll kill you, your useless mother, and your sister.”
Terrified, Ning Yuan never sought food elsewhere again.
He could eat casually, but his mother was ill and couldn’t survive on just buns and pickles. So he thought of the small eatery at the village entrance.
It was run by a cook who had returned from working elsewhere, handling small events and selling meals on the side.
Ning Yuan used his saved pocket money to have the cook prepare a bowl of easily digestible soup with vegetables, then brought it home to his mother.
Two days later, when Zhou Jianheng came to ask the cook for a special meal, the owner joked that father and son had the same taste—they both liked to eat there.
Only then did Zhou Jianheng realize that his son had been secretly eating better meals. And he was upset that Ning Yuan hadn’t considered his father, even though the money originally came from him!
Furious, Zhou Jianheng demanded to seize Ning Yuan’s pocket money.
Ning Yuan had been cautious. He split his money into three hiding spots, giving only one portion, which Zhou Jianheng, unaware, happily took to gamble with.
Ning Yuan didn’t dare buy food on his own anymore but couldn’t bear to let his mother go hungry, so he stood at the village entrance, hoping someone could help.
He chose the one who seemed the gentlest—Zhou Man.
Listening to his plea, Zhou Man didn’t refuse.
She took the crumpled money from his hand, bought a bowl of noodle soup at the shop, and went with Ning Yuan to his home.
By then, Ning Yuan’s mother was in very poor condition.
Zhou Man asked, “What’s wrong with your mother?”
“Cancer.”
“What kind of cancer?” Zhou Man pressed.
Ning Yuan looked up, bewildered. He was still too young to understand that “cancer” was a general term; he had only heard his father say it.
Zhou Man looked at the woman lying on the bed, her heart aching. She wasn’t from Miaoyuan Gou, so her surname was Ning, not Zhou. Her maternal family wasn’t here—or perhaps long gone—leaving her bedridden, unable to eat properly.
Zhou Man wanted to help, but even her own tuition had been borrowed from others.
The next day, she prepared a meal and brought it to Ning Yuan.
Ning Yuan thanked her profusely, over and over.
Zhou Man shook her head and returned home. She didn’t know how long she could help Ning Yuan. She packed her school bag, planning to return to school.
But her father returned and, seeing her packing, realized she still had money.
“You didn’t give all your money to your brother?!”
Zhou Man panicked. “I did. This is borrowed!”
“Since it’s borrowed, why not give it to your brother?”
He had just lost a large sum at the card table and, fearing that his son would resent him for not securing a bride, he became obsessed with money, wanting to turn everything into cash.
He refused to let Zhou Man go to school and demanded she hand over the money.
Zhou Man refused, and in the struggle, the money was torn to pieces.
She cried her heart out; now she truly had no tuition and could not continue school.
Her father, enraged, grew to hate her even more.
He resented that she would rather destroy the money than give it to him, locking her away and denying her any chance to attend school.
Her school was in town. Her grades were middling, and in such towns, a few students dropped out each year. Teachers were used to it and assumed she was just another dropout, giving it no thought.
Zhou Man missed the registration and the start of the term, effectively ending her schooling.
Meanwhile, Ning Yuan’s mother finally didn’t survive the winter, passing away at the end of February.
Ning Yuan and Ning Rong wept bitterly.
Released from confinement, Zhou Man went to see them, gently patting their heads. She was there to say goodbye. She still planned to return to the city, work, save money, and find a way to resume her second year of high school.
But she didn’t get the chance. Ning Yuan’s father, Zhou Jianheng, had set his sights on her.
After the card game, he asked Zhou Man’s father, “How’s Zhou Xian’s bride price coming along?”
“Still preparing.”
“Then here’s an idea: I’ll marry Zhou Man and pay the bride price. That way, Zhou Xian’s bride price is taken care of.”
Under normal circumstances, Zhou Man’s father would never have agreed.
His daughter was young, pretty, and educated. Zhou Jianheng had just lost his wife and already had two children. How could this be acceptable?
But now, seeing Zhou Man, frustrated and angry, and having lost too much gambling money, he wanted to fill the gap before Zhou Xian returned and blamed him.
He didn’t want to agree outright, so he came up with a plan: ask eligible men in the village if they would marry Zhou Man and how much bride price they could offer.
Zhou Jianheng became furious but ended up inflating the bride price, and finally “auctioned” her off.
He paid the money, eager to enjoy the results, demanding the wedding be held in March.
Zhou Man’s father didn’t object after seeing the money.
Zhou Xian also returned, smiling, saying, “Fine, fine, double celebration!”
Only Zhou Man felt outraged and powerless.
She glared at her father and brother, coldly stating, “I’m only seventeen, not yet eighteen. I’m below the legal age for marriage; I can’t get a certificate, so the marriage is invalid. If he assaults me, I can accuse him of rape!”
Her father verbally dismissed it, but secretly feared her, knowing she had studied and understood the law.
“Your birthday is in April. Marry in April; then you’ll be eighteen.”
And so, he locked Zhou Man away until April.
She had tried to escape and nearly succeeded.
Ning Yuan had come looking for her the first time she was locked up, but her father lied, saying she had gone to school.
Now he knew the truth: her father and Zhou Jianheng were no good people, and his own father wanted to marry her.
Taking advantage of the absence of Zhou Man’s father and brother, he carefully climbed down a tree and called her name.
Zhou Man approached the door, calling, “Xiao Yuan.”
“Sister!” Ning Yuan ran to the locked room. “Are you in here?”
“Yes.”
“The lock outside—where’s the key?”
“With my dad.”
Ning Yuan was only six, and at a loss.
For a long time, he tried lifting stones to smash the lock but failed, as the father and brother returned.
They threw Ning Yuan out and told Zhou Jianheng, who beat him again as a warning and also struck Ning Rong.
Ning Yuan hated them. He hated that they wouldn’t let his mother stay in a hospital, hated that they denied her proper meals, hated the beatings, and hated that they wanted to marry Zhou Man.
Zhou Man had helped him—she had bought food for his mother, cooked for her, and gone to school herself. How could someone like his father, a despicable man, marry her?
But he was powerless, too young to fight Zhou Jianheng.
In April, Zhou Man was forced to marry.
Zhou Jianheng held a drunken banquet in the courtyard, inviting his friends. Zhou Man wore a red bridal gown but refused to look at him.
Zhou Jianheng sneered, dragged her into a room, and slapped her hard.
“After spending so much on you, if you don’t serve me properly, I’ll beat you to death!”
He humiliated her further by splashing wine across Zhou Man’s face before going back outside to drink with his friends.
Ning Rong ran over with her small towel to wipe her face.
Zhou Man immediately broke down, holding Ning Rong, unable to understand how her life had come to this.
Ning Yuan stood silently nearby, calm and composed on the surface, then turned and left the room.
He went to look for a stick or an iron hoe—anything that could help.
Soon, he found one by the stove.
Quietly, he approached the door, observing his father and the so-called friends and Zhou Man’s father and brother as they drank and feasted, patiently waiting for the right moment.
He had long endured his father’s cruelty. He decided he could not allow Zhou Man to suffer the same fate as his mother, to become his stepmother and new “mother” under such a man.
If that happened, she, like his mother, would not even have a peaceful moment before death.
He fixed his gaze on his father, waiting until they finished eating and left one by one, and then seized his opportunity.
His father, somewhat drunk, stood near a young sapling in the yard and relieved himself without going to the toilet.
A loud “smack” came from behind.
Zhou Jianheng tried to turn, but a heavy blow struck the back of his head, stopping him.
Ning Yuan’s hands trembled, but he gripped the stick tightly.
He vaguely remembered someone saying not to hit the head, so after preventing his father from turning, he struck him hard on the body.
Zhou Jianheng, drunk, stumbled and fell.
Ning Yuan kept hitting him again and again.
When Zhou Man, hearing the commotion, released Ning Rong and stepped to the doorway, she saw the scene and gasped.
She rushed over and grabbed Ning Yuan’s hand.
His body still shook—he was scared, yet strangely calm.
“It’s okay now, sister. It’s okay,” he said.
Zhou Man bent down, hugged him, and ran her hands along his back, feeling his shivers. “It’s alright, it’s alright,” she soothed.
She tossed aside the stick from his hand and led Ning Yuan inside.
Once indoors, Ning Yuan retrieved the pocket money he had hidden, handed it to Zhou Man, and said, “Go on, sister. Go back to school.”
Zhou Man broke into tears.
Her father and brother had sold her to Ning Yuan’s father for money, yet Ning Yuan had raised a stick against his own father for her, even offering his own savings.
She had lost her biological father and brother but seemed to have gained a new kind of family.
Zhou Man was soft-hearted: she could persist in her studies, but her resilience was tinged with vulnerability.
Now, with Ning Yuan pressing money into her hand, urging her to leave, she knew leaving might make things better.
Yet if she left, what would become of Ning Yuan and Ning Rong?
Zhou Jianheng would surely blame them for her departure. He had spent so much, and he would not let them off easily. Would the children survive him?
They were so young, living daily under a father like Zhou Jianheng—how could they grow up normally?
Her heart softened. She wiped her tears and returned the money to Ning Yuan.
She went outside, lifted Zhou Jianheng from the ground—luckily, he was short; otherwise, Ning Yuan might not have reached his head with the stick—and carried him back to the house, laying him on the sofa.
Ning Yuan anxiously asked, “What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” Zhou Man said, looking at him. “Your father was drunk. He fell. We brought him inside. Remember that?”
Ning Yuan froze.
Zhou Man looked at Ning Rong. “Remember?”
Ning Rong nodded. “Yes.”
Zhou Man, too tired to fuss over them, had the two children wash up and then lay down on the bed.
“Aren’t you leaving?” Ning Yuan asked.
Zhou Man smiled and reassured him, “The registration period has already passed this year. We’ll have to wait until next year.”
Ning Yuan, not yet in school, didn’t understand, only thinking, “Then you should leave our house.”
“No,” Zhou Man replied firmly. “A wedding like this without a marriage certificate, without my consent—this isn’t a real marriage. I just turned eighteen. If he dares touch me, I’ll report him. Then he could be arrested.”
Ning Yuan didn’t understand.
Zhou Man patted his head. “Sleep now.”
The next day, Zhou Jianheng woke up slowly, his body and head aching, needing rest in bed.
Angrily, he demanded, “Who attacked me yesterday?”
Zhou Man glared at him. “Why would we? None of the three of us could take you on. Maybe someone was unhappy because you won too much at cards?”
Zhou Jianheng looked at the three of them, seeing no real threat, and chalked it up to his card friends.
He commanded Zhou Man to cook while he lay in bed to recover.
During this time, he discovered, to his shock, that perhaps when he had relieved himself outside he had injured himself somehow—he no longer felt the affected area.
Repeated tests confirmed it—he had lost sensation—and panic set in.
Now he didn’t dare force Zhou Man to sleep in the same bed, fearing exposure.
Holding onto his earlier demands and her clever words as cover, he grumbled:
“I know you’re unwilling. You think a few years of school makes you smart, think since we didn’t get a certificate we aren’t real spouses. You can threaten me all you want, say if I touch you you’ll report me—but it’s only two years. I can wait. I’ll wait for you two years. Then we’ll get the certificate, and I’ll sleep with you properly. Let’s see what you can say then.”
Zhou Man ignored him and went about her own business.
Zhou Jianheng, meanwhile, began trying all sorts of folk remedies and medications, until he worsened his own condition.
By the time the doctor advised him to go home, rest, and keep a good mood, Zhou Jianheng’s health was already poor.
He lay in the bed where Ning Yuan’s mother had once rested. Ning Yuan would sometimes offer him a steamed bun, and if his mood was good, even a cup of water.
Zhou Jianheng scolded him for being unfilial and flailed his arms, trying to strike him, but his weakened body was too heavy to lift.
Before Zhou Man turned twenty, Zhou Jianheng, from his reckless medication, consumed himself into death.
When Zhou Man discovered he had stopped breathing, she froze for a long moment. She called Ning Yuan and Ning Rong over to tell them the news.
Ning Rong blinked but said nothing.
Ning Yuan was silent as well. His face showed no emotion—not joy, not sorrow. His feelings for his father had long since vanished.
With Zhou Jianheng gone, Zhou Man was left to care for the two children alone.
Her father and brother approached her, urging her to abandon Ning Yuan and Ning Rong and marry another man. “How can you, a woman, manage two children alone?”
They calculated that now Zhou Man was free, she could be “sold” a second time. After all, Zhou Xian’s child had been born, needing milk and care—money was needed.
Zhou Man’s cold response shut them down. “I just married Zhou Jianheng and caused him to die. If I marry again, I’d just ‘kill’ the next one too. You don’t care, and he wouldn’t care either, right?”
Her words effectively discouraged them, and even the Zhou family dared not push further.
But Zhou Man worried. She was only nineteen, and Ning Yuan and Ning Rong were still young. None of them were physically strong. Ning Yuan was of school age, but stubbornly refused to go—insisting she go instead.
Given their situation, who would take care of Ning Rong? And if they all went to school, where would the money come from? She could work to earn money—but could Ning Yuan and Ning Rong?
Zhou Man considered enrolling Ning Yuan in a school, but options were scarce. The school she attended as a child in the neighboring village no longer existed. The town school had missed its enrollment period, and money was still a problem.
Zhou Jianheng’s death left no inheritance, only a few IOUs. All his money had gone to marrying Zhou Man and gambling, and later medical costs. It was all gone.
The villagers, seeing a young girl raising two children alone, sympathized enough not to press for debts immediately.
Zhou Man was nearly desperate. Then came Lan He, which felt like a blessing raining down on her.
She was overjoyed: Ning Yuan could attend school, Ning Rong could go with him, and she could use their school time to sell things in town, earn a little, and make life slightly easier at home.
She was truly grateful to Lan He, though anxious that he might judge Ning Yuan or Ning Rong as unfit for school.
Lan He listened quietly to her story. Looking at the young, still-naïve girl, he asked, “And you? Do you still want to study?”
Zhou Man wanted to, of course. But over the past year, she had grown close to Ning Yuan and Ning Rong and instinctively felt responsible for them.
“I won’t go,” she said. “Once they’re in school, I’ll figure out how to earn money.”
“No rush,” Lan He smiled. “You’ll have most of your life to work and earn. There’s no hurry now.”
Zhou Man blinked. “But… but…”
“Life still needs money,” she added, worried.
Lan He nodded, understanding. “Then how about this: tomorrow, when Ning Yuan and Ning Rong go to school, you come along too.”
“Why?” Zhou Man asked.
“I want to see your current level. You’ve been out of school for over two years; I need to know how much you remember. Are you at a first-year or second-year high school level?”
Zhou Man quickly said, “Teacher Lan, I can’t.”
“Can’t what?” Lan He insisted. “At your age, if you don’t go to school, what else are you going to do?”
“Earn money,” she admitted.
Lan He nodded, having already gauged Zhou Man’s character. “Anyway, if you don’t come tomorrow, I won’t accept Ning Yuan and Ning Rong either.”
“How can that be?” Zhou Man was shocked.
Lan He smiled. “If I say it’s okay, then it’s okay.”
He stood, saying, “See you tomorrow morning.”
With that, he walked away confidently, leaving Zhou Man alone in the quiet courtyard.
“Sister, you should go,” Ning Yuan finally stepped out of the house after hiding inside, listening to their conversation.
Hearing Lan He suggest Zhou Man come to school, he exclaimed happily, “You wanted to go to school anyway! Let’s all go together!”
Zhou Man looked at him and finally agreed.
The next day, she brought Ning Yuan and Ning Rong to school.
Lan He led her to a private room, gave her a notebook filled with handwritten exercises.
At that time, technology and communications were far less developed, so Lan He, wanting to assess Zhou Man’s level but lacking ready-made test papers, had contacted Cao Jie to buy exercise books. She read the questions to her bodyguard, who recorded them for Zhou Man.
“Sit,” Lan He said softly. “I’m going to class. Start working on these exercises. I’ll grade them when I return.”
Zhou Man sat upright and obediently got to work.
Half an hour later, Lan He returned with milk and eggs for her.
Zhou Man couldn’t bring herself to eat, wanting to save the food for Ning Yuan and Ning Rong.
Lan He said, “They already have some.”
Indeed, Ning Yuan made sure Ning Rong drank his milk and ate his egg, but he hadn’t eaten his own, saving it for Zhou Man.
Watching them, Lan He found the three of them rather endearing.
She arranged through Cao Jie to have second-year high school textbooks and exercise books delivered, and began tutoring Zhou Man.
Having been out of school for two years, Zhou Man had inevitably forgotten some knowledge. Fortunately, Lan He was exceptionally skilled in teaching, and Zhou Man had a solid foundation, so she quickly caught up—eventually surpassing her previous grades.
By summer, Lan He had arranged for Zhou Man to transfer to a high school in the city.
“I’ve handled the transfer paperwork for you. The city is far from here, so you’ll need to live on campus. Focus on your studies, and in a year, aim for a top university.”
Zhou Man stared at her, stunned, barely processing it.
“As for Ning Yuan and Ning Rong, your teacher Lu and I will take care of them, so you don’t need to worry.”
Lan He remembered something, took out an envelope and a phone.
“This is your living allowance. This phone is an old one I used—if anything happens, you can contact me. I’ll also check in regularly to review your progress.”
“If you need money for study materials, you can call me on this phone.”
“Just remember one thing: you’re here to learn. Your future can be easier, but your final year will be tough—so treasure it.”
Zhou Man looked at her and tears welled up.
It was a kindness she had never experienced—different from Ning Yuan lifting a stick against Zhou Jianheng. Ning Yuan’s anger toward Zhou Jianheng was personal and justified; Lan He, a stranger who happened to pass by, had shone a light on her life.
At that moment, Zhou Man felt a swelling, vibrant excitement. How could someone be so good? She had met such a remarkable teacher.
How could she ever repay her? What could she do for her? She couldn’t think of anything.
Lan He was young, beautiful, wealthy, and capable—the most successful and accomplished woman Zhou Man had ever seen, someone she never imagined she could become.
All she could do was look at her sincerely and say, “Thank you, Teacher Lan. When I get into university, I will repay you properly.”
Lan He smiled lightly. “We’ll see about that when you get to university.”
“I will,” Zhou Man said firmly. She resolved never to disappoint Lan He.
By late August, Zhou Man left the village, escorted by Lan He to the city.
It was a bustling, vibrant place she had never seen before, and a school so vast it seemed endless.
She cherished this hard-won opportunity to return to school, dedicating herself entirely to her studies—listening attentively in class, completing homework diligently, and spending extra time memorizing vocabulary every night after evening study sessions.
Some classmates liked her and invited her out, but Zhou Man refused without hesitation.
She didn’t make friends or pursue romance—she only wanted to study.
She spent Lan He’s living allowance frugally. When Lan He called to check if she had enough money, she happily assured her she did.
After each monthly and weekly exam, she reported her results to Lan He, identified her mistakes, and smiled with joy when she received her approval.
Lan He became, to her, more than a teacher—like a sister she didn’t dare hope for, like the person she dreamed of becoming, a real presence embodying the ideals she cherished.
Lan He wasn’t a god, but to Zhou Man, she was far kinder and more worthy of respect than any deity.
While Zhou Man studied in the city, Ning Yuan and Ning Rong were busy taking care of their new little brother.
Lan Xingchen was three years old. After birth, he had mostly stayed with his grandparents.
Lan He, unwilling for her son to suffer in the mountain village, had left him with her parents instead of taking him along.
Her parents understood, and now that the boy had grown, they felt he could handle a little hardship. So after Lan He and Lu Yinkong finished their summer vacation and returned to school, Lan Xingchen was also handed over to them.
Looking into Lan Xingchen’s bright eyes, Lan He couldn’t bear to part with him and brought him along to Yao Yuan Gou.
The three became minor celebrities in the village. When Lan Xingchen appeared, it caused quite a stir.
Seeing that Zhou Man had left and Ning Yuan and Ning Rong were living at school, they immediately took on the responsibility of protecting and caring for Lan Xingchen.
When Lan Xingchen washed his hands, they fetched water; when he walked, they held his hands. If he weren’t already used to feeding himself, they would have eagerly fed him with a spoon.
Lan He saw the three of them happily playing and allowed it to continue.
During winter break, Zhou Man returned home and learned about Lan Xingchen. Seeing that the holiday had arrived, Lan He and Lu Yinkong took him back for the New Year, leaving her a bit regretful.
“Make sure to take good care of your little brother,” she reminded them.
“Yes!” Ning Yuan and Ning Rong responded without hesitation. “Don’t worry, Sister.”
They indeed followed her instructions. On a rainy day, Ning Yuan worried Lan Xingchen would step into puddles and get his shoes wet. He opened an umbrella for him and carried him back to the school-side residence of Lan He.
Lan Xingchen stayed dry, while Ning Yuan was soaked through.
Lan He helped him wipe his face and said, “Don’t do that next time.”
Ning Yuan beamed. “The little brother didn’t get wet.”
“Then you can’t get wet either,” Lan He said with a chuckle, handing him a packet of cold-prevention medicine. “It’s never good when anyone gets sick.”
Ning Yuan tilted his head and asked, “Teacher Lan, does little brother Xingchen share your surname?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“Then can I have my mother’s surname too?”
“Of course,” Lan He said.
“How do I change it?” Ning Yuan asked, puzzled.
“Give me your household registration book. In a few days, I’ll take you to do it.”
It wasn’t difficult at all. Lan He casually used her connections, and from then on, there were no more Zhou Yuan and Zhou Rong—only Ning Yuan and Ning Rong.
Hearing about Ning Yuan and Ning Rong changing their surnames, Zhou Man also wanted to, but her mother, like her father, had the surname Zhou. So she could only replace its origin in her mind; outwardly, her name remained the same.