Rebirth of a Top Student's Handbook

"Oh my, the bride looks so beautiful today. Doesn't she, Xiao Bao?"

Many more relatives squeezed into the bedroom, which was less than 20 square meters.

Zhou Min, who was standing at the corner, was so squeezed that she almost lost her balance.

After saying hello, Zhou Min left the room, intending to go to the living room for some fresh air.

The living room was also very lively, with wedding gifts piled up in every corner, and the crowd of people who came to offer their congratulations packed the living room to capacity.

Zhou Min tried her best to maintain a smile, listening to the people around her praising her sister-in-law while squeezing against the flow of people towards the door.

It wasn't until she got downstairs that Zhou Min finally felt like she could catch her breath.

Many relatives gathered at the entrance of the building, all praising the grand scale of the wedding.

Each word of praise was like a knife piercing Zhou Min, because in her eyes, it was all a reminder of her failure.

Life is truly like a play; you never know how it will end until the very last moment.

Zhou Min is a person with a very strong sense of self-esteem. Because of this strong sense of self-esteem, Zhou Min has always been the most conspicuous person in the crowd since she was a child.

Zhou Min was beautiful and academically excellent from a young age. She later attended a prestigious school, joined a well-known company, and then became a housewife.

From then on, it became the subject of ridicule for others.

Whenever something happens, people always like to bring up Zhou Min for comparison.

Over time, Zhou Min grew increasingly reluctant to appear in such lively settings.

Her past glory made it difficult for her to find her place in the ordinary. After the fierce collision between reality and ideals, all that was left was a heart that was unwilling to be ordinary.

However, all of this was of no use. In this small county town, Zhou Min, who was already married and had a daughter, was still unable to escape the influence of public opinion, especially the demands from her parents, no matter what she did.

As for his sister-in-law, just like in the book, fortunes change every thirty years; her past failures only make her current success all the more remarkable.

Zhou Min's past success only fueled malicious comparisons among those around her. She would forever live in the shadow of others' mockery.

Whenever I hear parents who don't value education citing their own experiences, saying things like, "What's the use of good grades? What's the use of getting into a prestigious university? You'll still end up staying home taking care of the kids. Look at Zhou Min from XX's family..."

Zhou Min didn't even have the courage to refute it. Yes, how did she end up like this in her life?

She had no dreams, no ambitions, only a degree and an insatiable sense of pride. And all of this brought her misfortune.

After the lively wedding ended and the festivities faded, I returned home to find myself still facing my mother's endless nagging.

"Look how successful Xichen is! So many students' parents came to give her gifts today. If only you had gone to a teacher's college or a science and technology university, you wouldn't even be able to find a job now..."

"Mom, can you please stop comparing me to others? It's exhausting for me," Zhou Min replied, feeling utterly drained.

“If you’re tired, then go find a job. Your cousin’s wife works in an electronics factory and earns more than 3000 yuan a month. Are you not as good as your cousin’s wife? At least you’ve been to school,” Zhou’s mother said with a look of disdain.

After a long silence, Zhou Min said in a low voice, "It's not that having studied makes you better than them, and besides, my major doesn't lead to a job in our small county."

“You have to do something, at least earn some living expenses. Your father and I are ashamed to live here if we rely entirely on Xiao Chen. We should have never let you go to school…”

.......

Amidst her mother's constant nagging, Zhou Min felt her already fragile heart was about to shatter into pieces.

Call her vain or lazy, but she simply couldn't accept that after studying for so many years, she would end up working as a factory worker in a small private factory for the rest of her life. She would probably be ridiculed even more harshly if she did that.

Sometimes she reflects on whether she has tarnished the reputation of Chinese education.

Because of her own failure, many people around her have come to believe that studying is useless. The greater Zhou Min's reputation was in the past, the more infamous she is now.

Lying in bed, Zhou Min emptied her mind; she had become accustomed to numbing herself this way.

Only by not thinking about anything can you reduce your worries.

Just then, a text message notification drew Zhou Min's attention back.

Husband: [I have something to do today, don't wait for me for dinner.]

After seeing the text message, Zhou Min silently got up, went to the kitchen, and told her mother, "Mom, Chen Sheng won't be home for dinner tonight."

Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother immediately put the dishes she had just prepared back into the refrigerator. As she did so, she complained, "Oh, is that so? Why didn't you say so sooner?! You made me do all this for nothing. Well, let's eat out tonight then!"

After finishing speaking, Zhou's mother didn't wait for Zhou Min's reply. She immediately took out her phone and called Zhou Min's second aunt to ask where they were.

After finding out the location, Zhou's mother hurriedly told Zhou's father to get ready to go out.

Before leaving, Zhou's mother changed her shoes and told Zhou Min, "You and your father go to your second aunt's house first. After the baby wakes up, you can bring the baby over later."

Zhou Min gave a perfunctory reply.

After Zhou's mother left, Zhou Min went to her mother's bedroom, looked at the baby sleeping soundly on the bed, reached out and touched her warm little hand, and then turned the air conditioner down one degree.

Looking at her daughter's sleeping face, Zhou Min felt extremely guilty.

She has always been a rather independent person, dislikes children, and lacks the spirit of selfless dedication.

Later, when forced to marry and have children early, it became difficult for them to make selfless sacrifices for their children like other mothers.

She always found it difficult to find joy in the process of raising children, and she often felt unworthy of being a mother, for which she felt deeply guilty.

Many times, Zhou Min felt like an outsider, and that the child was born to her mother.

After all, Zhou's mother has been taking care of the child since birth, and the child is very close to her. Zhou Min's daily tasks seem to consist only of breastfeeding and putting the child to sleep at night.

Even so, Zhou Min felt exhausted every day. However, in the eyes of her relatives and neighbors, Zhou Min must have been incredibly lucky in her past life to be able to live such a carefree life as a boss in this life.

Because the baby attended her sister-in-law's wedding during the day, she didn't take a nap, so she slept for a long time, not waking up until after 9 p.m.

Although the 11-month-old baby can't speak yet, he can already understand some of what is said. Zhou Min took out puzzles and building blocks and focused on playing with the baby.

It wasn't until around 11 p.m. that Mr. and Mrs. Zhou returned home. As soon as Mrs. Zhou entered the door, she was unhappy to see the building blocks and puzzles scattered all over the floor.

"Why did you bring this out again? Look at the mess you've made of the house."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Min replied casually without even looking up, "It's just a baby toy! We buy it to play with."

“I don’t want you to tidy up, that’s what you’ll definitely say. Don’t buy these little bits and pieces in the future, all messy and disorganized. Look at the toys Chenxi bought, they’re all whole pieces. You should learn from that.” Zhou’s mother said as she stepped forward to tidy up the toys.

After listening to Chenxi's praises all day, Zhou Min took a deep breath, stood up, and explained, "This is an educational toy, perfect for children this age. It can also help develop their fine motor skills while they play with it."

Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother said with a look of disgust, "You believe in this kind of nonsense? You had nothing when you were young, and you still grew up, didn't you?"

Too lazy to argue, Zhou Min just watched helplessly as her mother threw the building blocks one by one into the toy box and put them away.

As Zhou's mother packed up the toys, she said, "Buying so many toys, I think you should hurry up and have another child, otherwise all these things will go to waste. One child is too lonely, without even a playmate. While you're not working now, hurry up and have another one..."

“I’ve already said that my blood type doesn’t allow me to have a second child.” Zhou Min has the rare Rh-negative blood type, which carries a high risk of hemolytic disease in a second pregnancy. Doctors strongly advised against having a second child.

"That's really strange. How come everyone else can have children, but you can't? I've never heard of this condition before. Why don't you just adopt one and raise it from a young age just like your own?"

As Zhou Min heard her mother's words becoming increasingly absurd, she quickly stopped her, saying, "We don't want any more children. One is enough; we're already satisfied."

Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother pursed her lips and said, "Even if you don't want to, Xiao Chen definitely does."

“I asked him, and he also thinks one is enough.”

"He says that now, but he will definitely change his mind later. What man doesn't want more children, especially since the baby is a girl?"

"What era are we living in now? We don't discriminate against girls. Boys and girls are the same."

"They're just saying it, how could they be the same?"

......

Not wanting to continue talking with Zhou's mother, Zhou Min quickly stopped her and made an excuse to go back to her room.

Zhou's mother always found a way to make Zhou Min's already gloomy mood even more gloomy.

Back in her room, Zhou Min washed up and lay on the bed, inevitably replaying the events of the day in her mind.

Thinking about what Zhou's mother had just said, although she was unwilling to believe it, Zhou Min probably still hoped to get some assurance.

Thinking of this, Zhou Min couldn't help but pick up her phone and send Chen Sheng a message: "Do you really think one child is enough?"