Chapter 11: The children of the poor take on family responsibilities early.
Listen to that tone, it's clear she didn't want her to leave any message. Xie Wanying naturally shook her head.
"See, she doesn't like it." Hu Hao chuckled, unconcerned about her not writing as if it was no loss to him.
The daughter of a truck driver, even if she got into a first-tier university, still faced a big problem without her family's support in finding a job. Only those children from poor families who had top-notch grades, who stood out nationally, could possibly earn a second glance.
Xie Wanying's grades were mediocre, not top-notch, and her family's financial situation was just so-so, so nobody valued her.
Thinking back to her past life, when she took her yearbook to exchange for signatures, not a single person had approached her proactively like Zhang Wei. This time, after rebirthing, Xie Wanying kept her yearbook away, and if nobody asked her to write in theirs, she was not going to embarrass herself by asking.
"Which bank in the United Kingdom are you planning to work for in the future?" Hu Hao eagerly pursued the topic with Zhang Wei, "London is the global financial center."
"You seem to know quite a lot," Zhang Wei twirled a ballpoint pen in her hand, "I don't know. I'll wait for my mom to arrange it."
Hearing Zhang Wei say this, Xie Wanying recalled the life of her former deskmate. Zhang Wei hadn't finished her undergraduate studies in finance in China before she went to the United Kingdom to study finance, yet she failed to land a job in a foreign bank as she had wished. This was because Zhang Wei's parents, who were executives in domestic banks, couldn't afford the outrageous sums required to secure their daughter a position in a foreign bank.
Xie Wanying wouldn't tell her deskmate the truth at this moment because her whole family was infatuated with foreign things, and nobody could stop them.
"Zhang Wei, when is your birthday?" Hu Hao asked, clinging to Zhang Wei's shoulder.
Zhang Wei glanced at him out of the corner of her eye: "Do you also want to study abroad?"
"My dad did mention letting me go abroad, but we don't have relatives overseas, not like your mom. Maybe we should keep in touch more often," Hu Hao suggested.
Zhang Wei turned her head back, showing no interest in Hu Hao.
She didn't think much of Hu Hao, who was short and stocky like a dwarf winter melon. Instead, it was Zhao Wenzong with glasses who was somewhat more handsome. But Zhao Wenzong, who had already quietly returned to his book, knew his family's situation was only a bit better than Xie Wanying's. He admired her, sure, but he wasn't delusional enough to think he could climb up high enough to study abroad with Zhang Wei.
As Hu Hao moved on to chat aimlessly with other classmates, Zhang Wei told Xie Wanying, "If he asks you about my birthday, don't tell him."
Xie Wanying nodded; she had no interest in participating in such nonsense.
Zhang Wei went to talk to other people.
Seeing that the two had left, Zhao Wenzong sneakily took out his yearbook from his backpack and handed it to Xie Wanying: "Could you write something for me?"
Even writing in a yearbook had to be done with such trepidation, as some people's mouths were just stinky. Anything could be connected to the contempt chain.
Xie Wanying took his yearbook, and thinking that this was the first person who had asked her to leave a message since her rebirth, she earnestly wrote a meaningful blessing for Zhao Wenzong. After finishing, she handed it back to Zhao Wenzong with a mysteriously curved smile on her lips.
Seeing her smile, Zhao Wenzong couldn't help but mutter, "You're much more beautiful than Zhang Wei."
Beautiful as she might be, the elite school's boys all knew the truth that a pretty girl couldn't be eaten for sustenance.
Xie Wanying turned back, rebirth had made her understand these truths early on, and Zhao Wenzong's compliment merely breezed past her ear like a gust of wind.
Looking down at the yearbook she had signed, Zhao Wenzong's eyelids twitched, and he was stunned.