"Discuss? What’s there to discuss about sothing like this?"
Feng Mingjie uttered her dissatisfaction loudly, but ultimately, she sat back down in her chair, following Zhou Chuanguo’s urging.
"Xiao Feng, don’t be so hasty. This way, you won’t solve anything!"
Zhou Chuanguo intensified his tone, and Feng Mingjie, feeling her husband’s displeasure, fell sullenly silent.
After pacifying his wife, Zhou Chuanguo picked up the university admission letter again and scrutinized it carefully, ensuring it bore "He Zixuan’s" na, before heaving a sigh.
Ah, how did their family end up in this predicant?
"Tiantian, you’ve already gotten Zixuan’s admission letter and even boarded the train, so why did you co back halfway?"
Zhou Chuanguo tried to keep his tone gentle since the whole situation wasn’t completely clear yet, and he wasn’t sure whether there were any other sches at play.
Thus, he had to grasp all of the details thoroughly.
"I, I—"
He Tiantian struggled to speak, her face showing deep embarrassnt, "Two years ago, I, I found out about my origins, and I feared that you would no longer want and would drive away if the truth ca out!"
"So, I wanted to beco soone successful. The college entrance exam was restored this year, and I thought I must get into a good university and make my parents proud!"
Zhou Chuanguo nodded; he could understand He Tiantian’s thoughts.
A cuckoo who outwitted the host bird—now aware of her situation yet reluctant to give up the good life with the Zhou family—was naturally going to do everything possible to win over Mr. and Mrs. Zhou.
Tiantian’s words were sensible and plausible; they should be free of problems.
He Tiantian continued, her face showing a mixture of sha and dejection, "I really tried hard during the college entrance exam, but I still couldn’t score well!"
"I was afraid, Dad, Mom, I was so scared. Just then, Seo Xiulan sent a letter, saying that Zixuan had gotten into a university in the Capital City and could help !"
"I, I didn’t think too much at the mont, I just wanted to attend university, to make you proud... In the heat of the mont, I agreed!"
Zhou Chuanguo had a stone-cold expression, his displeasure and pleasure inscrutable.
Feng Mingjie, on the other hand, opened her mouth as if to say "Who’s your mother? Your real mother is out there farming in the countryside!" but she held back, afraid of angering her husband.
"Yesterday afternoon, I got on the train, left the Provincial City, and then, I regretted it!"
He Tiantian went on, "Dad, you’ve taught since I was little that one must be honest. It’s okay if one lacks ability, but character must be good!"
"I, I ant to make you happy, to make you like ! But if I really took soone else’s place and beca a thief who stole soone else’s achievents, you would surely be disappointed in !"
"I may not be your biological daughter, but I grew up at your feet, and you taught to be an upright person, I, I—"
He Tiantian’s words were sowhat disjointed, but Zhou Chuanguo understood her intentions.
Zhou Chuanguo couldn’t help feeling a bit of satisfaction.
He did care about lineage, but he also valued benefits.
He suddenly realized that his pampered daughter, whom he had raised for over a decade, was not entirely useless after all.
Besides her striking appearance, the speech she had just made caused Zhou Chuanguo to see her in a new light.
Yes, it’s not a person’s mistakes or foolishness to fear but their lack of integrity and compassion!
"Besides, I was also afraid that if this were discovered, it could drag you, Mom and Dad, into it."
"Although it was Seo Xiulan and I who did this, outsiders don’t know. So people, already envious of Dad, might use this as leverage to fra him in the future!"
It had to be said, He Tiantian’s last two sentences hit Zhou Chuanguo’s core concerns.
Zhou Chuanguo couldn’t help but regard He Tiantian with even greater esteem.
Feng Mingjie, even as an adult, had not thought of these things, yet He Tiantian, a seventeen-year-old girl, had considered them all.
Ah, such an attractive, perceptive child, why isn’t she my own flesh and blood?
Zhou Chuanguo genuinely had no recollection of "He Zixuan," but judging by his and his wife’s ordinary looks, that child probably was not as pretty as Tiantian.
Of course, Zhou Chuanguo was not complaining, after all, his own daughter was not without her rits.
Just the fact that she was able to get into a university in the Capital City on the first year when college entrance exams were reinstated was enough to prove her excellence.
Wait a minute, able to take the college entrance exams?
Hua Country has always valued males over females, and the situation in the countryside is even worse.
Zhou Chuanguo had seen and heard nurous such stories; so families, even with their own daughters, were unwilling to pay for their education.
Yet Zixuan had completed junior high and was even able to take the college entrance exams.
Furthermore, a seventeen-year-old girl in the countryside could already be discussing marriage.
Seo Xiulan actually didn’t use Zixuan in exchange for a dowry, and even let her continue studying?
Although Seo Xiulan secretly intercepted Zixuan’s acceptance letter, the fact that she supported her education up to junior high remained true.
After all, before the official policy reintroducing college entrance exams was issued, no one dared to imagine that the exams, suspended for ten years, would be reinstated.
Therefore, Seo Xiulan did not seem to be evil-hearted; she wasn’t that harsh or unfeeling toward Zixuan.
Upon realizing this, Zhou Chuanguo suddenly felt that the Zhou Family and the He Family really didn’t need to act like mortal enemies, insisting on fighting to the bitter end.
Seo Xiulan certainly had done wrong, but for such matters, even if you take them to the Public Security bureau, as long as Seo Xiulan insists it was an accident, the Public Security wouldn’t really be able to intervene.
Instead, the incident would beco public knowledge.
Seo Xiulan’s child-switching was malicious, but Feng Mingjie’s failure to recognize her own flesh and blood, if known, would also be subject to ridicule.
Forget it, after all, they are relatives, and in the past years, relatives helping each other raise a child wasn’t considered a big deal.
A good scolding of Seo Xiulan and so appropriate compensation from the He Family should suffice to put this matter to rest.
Making a big fuss wouldn’t be good for anyone, especially Zhou Chuanguo, who really did not want to beco a topic of gossip.
What’s most important is, there are still the two children between the families.
Zixuan has no idea about her true background, and having been raised by the He Family for over a decade, she must have feelings for them.
And what about Tiantian—
Zhou Chuanguo glanced at Tiantian, a clean and pretty young girl, still with a bit of childishness and delicacy, yet she had grown into a graceful young lady.
He rembered, the factory director’s youngest son seed quite fond of Tiantian.
Of course, all these matters were for later.
For now, the most important thing is to switch the two children back without drawing too much attention, and if possible, to keep Tiantian at ho—that would be best.
If not, they must not fall out with the child.
Zhou Chuanguo could see clearly that Tiantian held great respect and admiration for him and his wife.
It doesn’t matter if she isn’t their biological child, as long as she cares for them, she will still be able to show filial piety after she gets married!
Zhou Chuanguo’s mind was buzzing with sches, though none of it showed on his face.
He Tiantian, however, was keenly aware of it; she knew that her "confession" had indeed not been in vain...
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