“It just so happens, so let’s just meet,” Mr. Young spoke without much preamble, his expression stiff. “The reason the two of us came this time is actually for Grace’s matter of staying at the school. We just met with your principal yesterday. Well, it’s already decided, I’ve seen the list of those staying… Grace’s name is on it, but yours isn’t.”

“Mm.”

Just “Mm”? Evan Ford’s calmness was clearly unexpected for the family of three across from him; all three were momentarily stunned.

“Young people shouldn’t get too discouraged. Actually, it’s the same wherever you go, you’re all contributing to the Four Modernizations.” Mrs. Young chimed in from the side, a bit stiffly, probably a line she had prepared in advance and forced in.

“That’s how I see it too.” Evan Ford smiled brightly.

In this life, things were no longer so predictable, no longer so “cooperative.” Evan Ford completely disrupted the The Young Family’s early preparations.

The three exchanged glances for a moment, and finally Mr. Young stepped forward and got straight to the point:

“Our view is, as for you and Grace, just let it go. From now on, you’ll still be classmates, but as for anything else, let’s not mention it. At this point, as a man, you should really think about how not to cause her any negative impact—that’s the right thing to do.”

Evan Ford looked up into Grace Young’s eyes and said calmly, “What about you? What do you think?”

Grace Young was momentarily taken aback—not because she was hesitating, but because this Evan Ford suddenly felt a bit unfamiliar to her: his reaction, his gaze, even his tone and smile…

“It’s too far.” In the end, she said just those three words. It was unclear whether she meant physical distance or the gap in their future circumstances.

Mr. Young added from the side:

“That’s exactly it. After you graduate, you’ll go back to the countryside. Ten years, twenty years, you still won’t be able to transfer to Linzhou, you know? This is the provincial capital.”

“Isn’t everyone advocating for seeking truth from facts and respecting reality these days? The reality now is, not only will you not be in the same place in the future, you won’t even be on the same level. One’s a rural elementary school teacher, the other’s a vocational school teacher, still in the provincial capital… So what’s the point of continuing, or if you insist on clinging to our Grace? There’s no point, is there?”

“To be honest, we were actually against this from the very beginning.”

Three sentences in a row, but Evan Ford ignored him. He looked at Grace Young, thought for a moment, and asked again, “You’re not going to wait and see? There’s still one semester left, after all. Maybe a lot of things will change, including me.”

This time, Grace Young shook her head urgently and firmly:

“There are two female teachers in the student affairs office who are pregnant and about to go on maternity leave, so they can’t work next semester. The leadership has already talked to me; I’ll have to start participating in some work next semester, start transitioning my role. Some things, the leaders said, they’re afraid it’ll have a bad influence.”

“And, Evan Ford, there’s really no point in dragging this out, you understand? Let’s both be rational about this, okay?”

Grace Young tried to take control of the situation. For some reason, not seeing any reluctance from Evan Ford made her feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

“That’s true, I understand. I agree.” Evan Ford thought to himself, good, let’s make it final, let’s put an end to it—this matter could finally be completely let go.

At this moment, Grace Young still felt strange about Evan Ford’s composure, which was beyond her expectations. After thinking for a while, she finally said slowly:

“Then… let’s not go back together. I’m sorry, Evan Ford, I have to stay. I can’t go to the countryside, and I don’t have time to waste. You’ve always known, I’m not willing to settle for this kind of life. I still want a chance to compete for a government-sponsored opportunity to go abroad.”

He remembered now, these were the years when going abroad was all the rage. Grace Young’s qualifications weren’t quite good enough, but she had indeed been working hard for it.

So, it was understandable… It’s just that this plot was so cliché, the kind that would be overused in TV dramas and movies in the future.

Evan Ford nodded, turned around, and walked forward.

In his previous life, leaving from here was a turning point that changed the direction of his life; this time, perhaps it was a brand new starting point.

Chapter Three: Fate Is a Mudslide

The sound of footsteps came from behind after Evan Ford had only walked a short distance.

Evan Ford’s heart tightened slightly. That didn’t happen in his previous life… Could it be she’s really changed her mind? What should he do?

“Evan Ford.” It was Grace Young’s voice; she had stopped behind him.

“Yeah, is there something else?” Evan Ford didn’t turn around.

“Next semester, remember to find a way to get out of that teaching support assignment… Make a fuss if you have to, even if it means giving gifts or money. Every school has a quota for teaching support now, and not many people signed up this year. If you don’t find a way, pull some strings, you’ll really have to go.”

With his back to her, Evan Ford nodded. “Got it.”

“Don’t just say it, you have to take it seriously,” Grace Young finally showed a bit of emotion. “Do you understand? Your spot to stay at the school was squeezed out by someone with connections. For a lot of things, if you don’t have a background, if you don’t keep an eye on it, if you don’t fight for it, it really just comes down to someone else saying a word.”

What she was talking about, Evan Ford had actually heard about much later in his previous life, but he hadn’t been able to change anything, nor did he have the mindset for it at the time.

And back then, Grace Young hadn’t told him the truth like she was now, because logically, she herself could have been the one squeezed out…

So, deducing from this, she probably knew about it earlier, but chose not to tell Evan Ford.