A College Student's Maternal Love Has a Shelf Life of Only Three Days

The counselor sent the message at eleven o'clock at night.

Mr. Zhou: Chen, your regular grades for the semester are full. According to the 50/50 ratio, you only need to score 20 points on the final exam to pass. However, you basically haven't attended any classes all semester and don't even know the professors. Are you sure you can get 20 points?

Chen Zhi stared at the message and leaned back in his chair.

Slander. This was naked slander.

He was the top science student in the entire province, the poster boy of the Yuanpei Program. Even if he hadn't opened a book in half a year, he could cross a 20-point threshold with his eyes closed.

He replied with two words: Rest assured.

Mr. Zhou was silent for a long time, eventually replying with just a period.

On the day of the exam, Chen Zhi entered the exam room right on time, found his seat, and opened the test paper.

Chen Zhi actually couldn't really understand it.

But he was quick on his feet. Learning on the fly and relying on his high school foundation, he stubbornly managed to fill out most of the multiple-choice and essay questions within two hours.

For the subjective questions he couldn't answer, he just piled on the steps, hoping to get whatever partial credit he could.

When the results came out, Chen Zhi specifically logged into the academic system to take a look.

Exam score: 21 points.

Chen Zhi closed the webpage in satisfaction.

21 points, one point more than 20. Safe and sound.

The counselor's message followed closely behind.

Mr. Zhou: ...Chen Zhi, do you know how you got these 21 points? I ran to four different professors and begged them one by one to give you as many points as possible on the subjective questions.

Mr. Zhou: You got two steps right on that essay question, but the final answer was completely wrong, so they gave you 5 points. Your logic on the discussion question was somewhat clear, so they gave you 3 extra points for the presentation. Added together, you barely passed.

After reading it, Chen Zhi replied with two words.

Chen Zhi: Thank you.

Mr. Zhou: ...

At least he didn't fail, and that was worth celebrating.

As for the counselor saying he only passed because of pity points, Chen Zhi decided not to acknowledge it.

The version of events he chose to remember was: the top science student in the province relied on his impromptu performance to crush the exam with sheer skill.

Right after the finals came the winter break.

Train tickets for the Spring Festival travel rush were incredibly hard to get. Zhang Tianyang had four ticket-snatching apps running with speed-up packages, but he couldn't even grab a standing ticket.

Guo Yang even mobilized all his aunts and relatives back in Tianjin to click his ticket-snatching links right on the dot every day, but the progress bar remained stuck at ninety-nine percent.

Li Zicong didn't care at all. He just bought a first-class plane ticket to Sanya, ready to lie on the beach for half a month.

"Brother Zhi, you haven't even tried to grab a ticket these past few days. Are you planning to walk back?" Guo Yang asked, staring at the ticket-snatching page.

Chen Zhi picked up the water cup on his desk and took a sip.

"Who actually grabs tickets the normal way nowadays?"

Not only did Chen Zhi not have to grab a ticket, but he was also currently facing some troubles.

As a famous master juggler of relationships and a well-known Casanova at Peking University, his current schedule was packed.

Just last night, three girls had sent him their respective plans for going home.

The first was Li Zhiyi.

This girl had bought her ticket early on. She called him late last night, wanting to go home with him, her voice soft, sweet, and pitiful.

"I'm just afraid of getting lost inside, and then I won't be able to find you."

She practically described herself as a stray kitten.

Chen Zhi had to harden his heart, coaxing her with sweet words for half an hour, promising to personally walk her to the security checkpoint today before she was finally pacified. After all, the tickets had sold out ages ago; he couldn't exactly cling to the roof of the high-speed train to follow her back.

The second was Pei Ningxue.

Just one sentence on WeChat.

My family's chauffeur is coming to pick me up tomorrow. Grab your luggage and just come with me.

The third was Lin Wanwan.

She sent a huge pile of messages, accompanied by a bunch of pitiful emojis.

Chen Zhi! I just finished recording the show here, and Sister Su arranged a Coaster minibus to drive straight back! It's just me and Sister Su in the car, and there's heating, snacks, and a huge screen! Come keep me company, please!

Three chat windows sat side-by-side on his WeChat homepage.

Chen Zhi quickly calculated the current situation in his head.

His relationship with Li Zhiyi had been heating up, so her front was stable. He had just laid his cards on the table with Pei Ningxue at the Wanliu Estate recently, so she was reasonably pacified.

The only exception was Lin Wanwan, his official childhood sweetheart. He had been so busy securing financing for his company lately that he had indeed neglected her for too long.

The risk of a fire in the backyard was too great.

He would choose Lin Wanwan.

Chen Zhi opened Pei Ningxue's chat window and quickly typed out a line.

No need, I have some official business to handle here and have already arranged a car. You go ahead first.

Less than three seconds after the message was sent, a call came right through.

Chen Zhi cleared his throat and pressed the answer button.

"Hello."

Pei Ningxue's voice came through the receiver, clear and articulate.

"Scumbag."

Beep, beep, beep...

The call was hung up immediately. Chen Zhi looked at the blacked-out screen and rubbed his chin.

One handled, still got to deal with the next.

The next morning, Chen Zhi accompanied Li Zhiyi to the Beijing South Railway Station.

The train station was packed with a sea of people. Li Zhiyi wore a white down jacket and fuzzy earmuffs. Her hands tightly gripped the hem of Chen Zhi's jacket, terrified that he would run away if she let go.

Squeezing all the way to the security checkpoint, Chen Zhi pushed her suitcase in front of her.

"Go on in, keep your ticket handy, and send me a message when you get on the train."

Li Zhiyi stood rooted to the spot, looking at him with clear, teary almond eyes.

"Can you really not go with me?"

Chen Zhi reached out and rubbed her fuzzy beanie. "Be good and hurry inside, don't miss your train. I'll come find you when I get home in a few days."

Li Zhiyi bit her lip, suddenly took a step forward, and hugged Chen Zhi, rubbing her head against his chest. Only then did she drag her suitcase through security, looking back at him with every step.

It wasn't until that white figure disappeared into the crowd that Chen Zhi let out a long sigh of relief.

Turning to leave the South Station, Chen Zhi headed straight for the South Gate of Peking University.

Outside the South Gate, a Coaster minibus was already parked by the road.

Chen Zhi pulled his suitcase over, and just as he reached the side of the vehicle, the door slid open with a whoosh.

Lin Wanwan, wearing a hoodie, leaned halfway out and grabbed his arm with both hands, pulling him up.

"Hurry up, hurry up! It's freezing out here!"

Chen Zhi got in the car. The heater was on inside, making the temperature perfectly comfortable.

The interior of this Coaster had been modified to be spacious and luxurious. Lin Wanwan pulled him toward the connected seats in the very back, pointing at a large bag of snacks next to them.

"Duck necks, potato chips, and hot milk tea!"

Sitting in a front-row aviation seat was a woman with neat short hair, holding a tablet computer. It was none other than Lin Wanwan's manager, Su Man.

Hearing the commotion, Su Man turned her head and nodded at Chen Zhi.

Su Man didn't say any polite pleasantries; her gaze lingered on Chen Zhi for two seconds.

In the eyes of the outside world, Lin Wanwan was now a rising star with a lot of buzz on variety shows, while Chen Zhi was just an ordinary college student at a prestigious university. The gap in their statuses had already widened.

But Su Man was very smart. Seeing the way Lin Wanwan looked like she wanted to glue her entire body to Chen Zhi, she simply turned her head back around, put on her noise-canceling headphones, and continued staring at the data on her tablet.

The vehicle started smoothly and drove onto the highway.

Lin Wanwan tore open the duck neck packaging, skillfully picked out a meaty collarbone piece, and stuffed it right up to Chen Zhi's mouth.

"I've been recording shows lately and eating those tasteless fat-loss meals every day. My mouth is about to fade to nothing," Lin Wanwan complained in a low voice, though her eyes were sparkling as she stared at him. "What about you? Have you been eating well at school? Why do I feel like you've lost weight?"

Chen Zhi took a bite of the meat and casually pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands.

How could he not lose weight? Between handling a multi-billion dollar financing project and dealing with the few of you.

Even the donkeys on a production team wouldn't dare take on such a packed schedule.

"I've been eating, but I'm just about drained dry by a bunch of messes," Chen Zhi sighed, half-joking and half-serious.

Lin Wanwan looked at the dark circles under his eyes with some heartache and reached out a delicate finger to poke his cheek.

"Then lean on me and take a nap in a bit."

Saying that, she proactively adjusted her sitting posture, freed up her shoulder, and patted it.

Chen Zhi turned his head, looking at the bright and beautiful face so close at hand. His recent anxiety over his career and studies eased quite a bit.

Lin Wanwan just had this magic that could make a person completely relax.

Soothing light music played in the vehicle. Chen Zhi leaned back, resting his head on Lin Wanwan's shoulder.

This girl's shoulders weren't broad; they were soft and squishy.

Lin Wanwan didn't care at all if the posture was tiring. She freed up one hand to take peeled tangerine segments from a bag nearby and fed them into Chen Zhi's mouth.

"Is it sweet?"

Chen Zhi chewed a couple of times. "Not bad, just gets a bit stuck in the teeth."

In the front row, Su Man, who had been wearing noise-canceling headphones to look at data, turned her head and took off one earbud.

Chen Zhi glanced at her, and the web novels he had read suddenly popped into his head.

According to the standard trope, wasn't this the time when the top-tier manager should pull out a check with a filled-in number, throw it in the face of a poor student like him, and sneer: "Here is a million bucks. Leave Wanwan. Your statuses are worlds apart now. She is destined to be a big star, and you are not worthy of her."

Or perhaps the company had arranged for Lin Wanwan to form a fake couple with some greasy, pretty-boy idol, and that guy would be a top-tier manipulator sitting right next to them, mocking him with passive-aggressive remarks.

Chen Zhi waited for a long time.

Su Man did not take out a check. Instead, she poured a cup of warm water from her thermos and handed it over. "Wanwan, it's getting cold. You guys should drink more hot water."

"Got it, Sister Su!" Lin Wanwan took the water cup and brought it up to Chen Zhi's lips.

Chen Zhi did a tactical lean back.

This script was wrong.

Su Man looked at their intimate behavior and rubbed her temples helplessly. "Chen Zhi, Auntie needs to talk to you about something serious."

Su Man even changed her form of address, instantly closing the distance between them.

"Go ahead, Sister Su."

"Wanwan's new song is currently pushing into the top three on all major charts. Her fan base is growing very fast, and she can already be considered a near-A-list singer. The company's plan for her is to take the route of both talent and idol appeal."

Su Man paused. "I won't interfere with you young people dating as an auntie. After all, Wanwan is a pure-hearted girl, and she has known you since childhood, so I feel at ease."

"There is just one thing." Su Man's expression turned serious.

"In the future, when you meet in public, or go out shopping and eating, you must be careful to stay hidden. Hats, masks, and sunglasses must be worn properly."

"The paparazzi follow closely nowadays. If a secret romance is caught on camera, it will have a huge impact on her current rising career phase, and it will be hard for the company to handle the PR."

Chen Zhi nodded.

He didn't want to end up on the gossip headlines either. Otherwise, if the paparazzi caught him with Pei Ningxue or Li Zhiyi, Lin Wanwan would blow a fuse.

His reputation as a master juggler of relationships would be smashed to pieces on the spot.

Hearing this, Lin Wanwan was unhappy and pouted. "Sister Su, dating like a thief is so frustrating."

She turned to look at Chen Zhi and patted her chest in assurance. "Chen Zhi, don't worry. Next year, when I win the Golden Melody Award and become a pop diva, I'll immediately post a photo on Weibo and go public!"

"When that time comes, I can kiss you however I want, hold your hand however I want, and let all those fans know that you are my husband!"

Su Man shook her head as she listened from the front, completely unable to hide the smile on her face.

Having managed Lin Wanwan for over half a year, she had long since treated this carefree, energetic girl like her own daughter.

The Coaster minibus drove straight to the gate of Chen Zhi's residential community in the provincial capital.

Chen Zhi returned home.

"Oh my! My top-student son from Peking University is back!" Zhang Guifang, wearing an apron and holding a spatula, rushed out of the kitchen with a glowing face.

Chen Jun was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper. At this moment, he threw the newspaper aside and hurried over to take the suitcase from Chen Zhi's hand. "You brat, haven't seen you for half a year, you've gotten sturdier!"

Chen Jun patted Chen Zhi's shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.

A rich aroma of meat wafted from the kitchen. "Mom stewed pork rib soup for you, and also made your favorite braised pork and oil-braised prawns."

Zhang Guifang circled Chen Zhi twice, her eyes full of distress. "You definitely couldn't eat well in the capital, right? Look at this face, you've lost so much weight you barely look like yourself. Hurry up, wash your hands and eat!"

Chen Zhi was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.

For exactly three days, Chen Zhi enjoyed excellent treatment at home.

As soon as he took off his clothes, Zhang Guifang would immediately take them to wash.

After eating, he just reached out to grab a bowl, but Chen Jun directly swatted his hand away. "Those hands of yours are for holding pens. Why are you washing bowls? Go watch TV!"

Three meals a day, all hearty dishes, feeding him in every possible way.

Chen Zhi sprawled on the sofa, drinking the cola his mom brought over, feeling like the parental love was practically overflowing.

However, beautiful things are always fleeting. The shelf life of a college student returning home is usually only three days.

At 12:30 PM on the fourth day. Chen Zhi, sporting a bird's nest of bedhead and wearing long johns, yawned as he pushed open his bedroom door.

In the living room, Zhang Guifang was mopping the floor.

Chen Zhi picked up the water cup on the table and had just taken a sip.

Zhang Guifang walked over with a broom, glaring at him with a cold face.

"Waking up so late, you might as well just eat dinner at the same time! All you know is playing on your phone every day. Your clothes are washed, but you don't even know to go hang them on the balcony to dry."

Chen Zhi put down the water cup, just about to defend himself.

"I ask you to wash a bowl and you even forget that. Did you come back for the holidays just to make me suffer?" Zhang Guifang swept vigorously near Chen Zhi's feet with the broom. "Lift your feet! You're just in the way at home all day long."

Chen Zhi swallowed hard, trying to look for reinforcements.

Turning his head, he saw Chen Jun holding a rag, wiping the TV cabinet. Noticing Chen Zhi's gaze, Chen Jun directly turned his head away, pretending not to see, and even rubbed the completely dust-free surface hard with the rag.

He was doomed. Once the three-day shelf life passed, the daily routine of being despised by everyone officially began.

Chen Zhi hurriedly held his water cup, wanting to slip back into his room to take refuge.

At this moment, the sound of a fingerprint unlocking came from the security door. "Beep beep—"

Lin Wanwan, wearing a set of fluffy pink bear pajamas and shuffling in a pair of bunny cotton slippers, swaggered right in.

After they changed to a fingerprint lock, Lin Wanwan had even registered her fingerprint for their house.

As soon as she walked through the door, the girl expertly collapsed onto the sofa. Auntie Zhang, what's for lunch today? My mom went out to play mahjong, so there's no food at home.

Lin Wanwan rubbed her belly; she already treated Chen Zhi's mom as her own.

Zhang Guifang, who had been acting like a fierce tigress just a moment ago, instantly did a complete one-eighty.

Oh, Wanwan is here! Auntie Zhang made sweet and sour ribs today, and I saved them especially for you!

Zhang Guifang wiped her hands on her apron, hurried over to the coffee table, grabbed a large apple from the fruit bowl, and stuffed it into Lin Wanwan's hands. Are you hungry? Have an apple to hold you over first. Auntie will go serve you some rice right now.

After saying that, Zhang Guifang turned her head and caught sight of Chen Zhi, who was still standing there in a daze. The smile on her face vanished instantly.

What are you still standing there like an idiot for! Go to the kitchen and get Wanwan a bowl and chopsticks! You have no initiative at all, I really don't know how you're ever going to find a wife!

Chen Zhi looked at the water glass in his hand and fell into deep self-doubt. Whose biological mother was she, anyway?

Sitting on the sofa, Lin Wanwan took a bite of the apple, winked at Chen Zhi, and flashed a wicked, gloating smile.

At the dining table, Zhang Guifang kept putting food into Lin Wanwan's bowl, placing the largest sweet and sour rib right on top of Lin Wanwan's rice. Wanwan, eat more. Look how skinny you are, you won't look good on TV.

Lin Wanwan smiled sweetly. Thank you, Auntie Zhang. Auntie Zhang's ribs are the best.

Those words left Zhang Guifang absolutely beaming with joy.

She turned to look at Chen Zhi, who was silently shoveling plain white rice into his mouth, and got angry all over again. Look at how sensible and sweet-talking Wanwan is. Then look at you, I couldn't beat a single word out of you with a stick!

Zhang Guifang tapped the edge of Chen Zhi's bowl with her chopsticks. If you dare to bully Wanwan in the capital, I will absolutely break your legs, do you hear me?

Chen Zhi nodded in resignation. I hear you, I hear you.

After dinner, Lin Wanwan pulled Chen Zhi back to his room.

As soon as the door closed, Lin Wanwan pounced over with a grin and threw her arms around Chen Zhi's neck.

Chen Zhi, you have it so rough. Auntie Zhang just wants to scold you the moment she sees you now.

Chen Zhi naturally wrapped his arms around her and pinched her rosy cheeks.

It's all your fault. Come hang out at my house more often from now on, it'll save me from being scolded by my mom every day.