"A-after New Year, I'll be taking the high school entrance exam soon. I want to get into No. 1 Middle School, like you and Zhuang Tunan, but my family won't support me. They want me to go to a vocational secondary school, to apply to Health School or a teacher-training school. I don't know what to do."
After pouring out the words bottled up inside her, Wu Shanshan visibly relaxed.
As she continued, her words came much more smoothly:
"My family wants to save the textile mill job slot for Xiao Min. I never wanted that slot. I only want to go to high school, but they still won't agree. I don't understand why. Zhuang Jingcheng, you're the smartest person I know. Could you help me think of a way?"
Zhou Cheng nodded slightly.
With that explanation, he more or less understood what had happened.
"Your family doesn't want you going to high school, but it's mainly your mother who objects, right?"
Wu Shanshan paused, then nodded anyway.
Zhou Cheng nodded too, wholly unsurprised. "Zhang Min's grades aren't good. Her chances of getting into a vocational secondary school are slim, and she might only get into a vocational high school. So, to play it safe, your mother will find a way to give her your father's job slot. And whether Zhang Min goes to a vocational high school or a vocational secondary school, your going to high school would make your stepmother lose face. So whether your family can afford it or not, she doesn't want you going to high school and standing a head above Zhang Min."
Wu Shanshan trembled slightly. A moment ago, she had thought Zhang Amei was keeping her from high school because she disliked her and worried about spending money on her.
Only after Zhou