Pretty and charming, dressed in the 90s, she's good at everything from making money to causing

Comrade Lin's one ill-timed moment of pleasure resulted in a lifetime of guilt.

He coughed twice, turned to look at his wife, and silently pleaded for help with his eyes.

Lin's mother didn't get involved in the father and daughter's argument. She got up and went to the kitchen on her own: "You two talk, I'll go heat up a cup of milk for Ting'er."

Lin Ting: "There's no one better than Mom in the world!"

Lin's father: "...!"

"Ahem, honey," Lin's father forced himself to move closer to his daughter, "You see, I was just thinking that once you go abroad, it could be a year or two, or even seven or eight years, and your mother would definitely miss you terribly. I'm just trying to ease the tension in advance!"

Lin Ting asked blankly, "Why haven't we seen each other for so long?"

Lin's father was even more bewildered: "Otherwise what?"

It's not like he hasn't studied abroad before. Mid-Autumn Festival and New Year in a foreign land are the hardest to endure. He still remembers that he and Lin's mother huddled in a room of about ten square meters. Because they didn't have money to pay for heating, they could only cover themselves with all their clothes and blankets...

As he thought about it, Lin's father felt sorry for his daughter and couldn't bear to let her go out and suffer like that.

or……

Before he could come up with a solution, he heard his daughter say, "Me, the principal of a tutoring school who earns 10,000 yuan a month, an outstanding young entrepreneur who has been featured in the provincial newspaper, even if I study abroad, can't afford to fly back and forth two or three times a year?"

Lin's father: "..."

Good news: His daughter doesn't have to suffer when she studies abroad.

The bad news: the reason he just found is no longer valid.

Mr. Lin was quite generous: "If you push me too far, I'll commute."

Lin's father: "..."

His happiness was gone.

When Lin's mother returned with a cup of hot milk, a glance at her husband's expression told her that he hadn't even had a chance to introduce Lao Liao to his daughter, nor had he resolved his own happiness issue.

Lin's mother handed the milk to Lin Ting and then changed the subject: "Ting'er, your Uncle Liao used to be a teacher at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Later, some things happened, and he stopped teaching and returned to his hometown. I heard that he can teach children to draw now, but I don't know if he can go to the students' homes to teach."

Lin's mother spoke somewhat vaguely, but it didn't seem like she didn't know.

Lin was intrigued when she heard about Uncle Liao's background. A teacher at the Central Academy of Fine Arts—how prestigious must he be?

But can a teacher like that be a private tutor?

Lin Ting thought it was unlikely.

Lin's mother wrote down an address and handed it to Lin Ting: "He lives here. You can take Grandma Li to visit and ask, but..." Lin's mother's tone became more serious, "Don't tell him you are my daughter."

Lin Ting was taken aback, her eyes blazing with gossip.

Lin's mother didn't explain to her, and after seeing that she had drunk the milk, she urged her to go to sleep.

Lin Ting dared to show off in front of her father, but dared not pester her mother. Seeing that her mother did not want to talk, she obediently went back to sleep.

After Lin Ting returned to her room, Lin's father whispered a complaint: "Honey, our daughter said she wants to commute to school while studying abroad."

Lin's mother was stunned: "Day school? How do you mean day school?"

"Traveling by plane, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth..."

Lin's mother had a splitting headache: "This girl... I need to instill a proper view of money in her."

Lin's father smiled broadly.

Lin's mother suddenly turned to look at him: "As parents, we should set an example... Don't think I don't know that our daughter has been giving you a lot of pocket money."

Lin's father: "...!"

If time could be reversed, he... would definitely not have spoken of his happiness.

Lin's father secretly vowed that from now on, he would become a shrewd and reserved person who kept his thoughts to himself.

Lin's mother: "What are you thinking about?"

Lin's father blurted out, "Honey, you can't take away my allowance! I still want to buy you clothes!"

It can't be hidden at all.

The next day, early in the morning, Lin's mother woke Lin Ting up.

Lin Ting was lost in thought, relying entirely on instinct to wash and eat. It wasn't until she finally came to her senses that she remembered to glance at her watch: "Hmm?"

She was stunned: "It's only seven o'clock? Mom, why did you wake me up so early?"

Lin's mother put away the plates and said matter-of-factly, "You have to go to school, don't you have class this morning?"

"But..." Lin Ting said, feeling wronged, "But it only takes ten minutes to get from home to school!"

Lin's mother tapped the table lightly: "That's taking a taxi, today we'll take the bus."

Lin Ting: "...!"

Lin's mother had a good reason: "It's spring now, so it's not so cold in the mornings. There's a bus stop right downstairs from our house that goes directly to your school, and the bus fare is only 50 cents."

Lin Ting was bewildered and shocked, not knowing why the world had changed after she took a nap.

She is a well-known young entrepreneur in Shenyang, featured in the provincial newspaper... and they even let her take the bus when she goes out?

"Sweetie, you can't just waste money you've earned." Lin's mother rubbed her daughter's head. "Mom will ride the bus with you."

What else can be said?

Then let’s go.

Downstairs, Monk watched helplessly as his boss looked at him with an incredibly sorrowful gaze, then... boarded the bus with the Empress Dowager.

Monk: "..."

His current task should be following the bus, right?

I'm not sure, I'll call Brother Liang and ask.

Upon hearing this question, Zhang Liang paused for a moment, then quickly crawled out of bed: "Drive faster, go to the school and buy the boss a strawberry milk tea first. And remember, absolutely, without fail, even if the sky falls, you must tell her that the mining company has started work today."

Monk was puzzled and subconsciously asked, "Why?"

"Because the boss is sure to be incredibly grumpy this morning, this news is a timely help."

Monk seemed to understand, but replied, "Okay, I understand."

Zhang Liang was right; Boss Lin's head was buzzing after being bombarded with a bunch of money-related ideas by his mother early in the morning.

Countless times she wanted to interrupt her mother, to confront her directly, to stop pretending, and to tell her that tutoring was nothing compared to what she had in store for her to do...

She had just opened her mouth when she was interrupted by a classmate who was also on her way to school: "Auntie, you know so much, and you're so gentle and beautiful. I wish you were my mom."

Could she tell her that her mother had been nagging her since she opened her eyes all morning, scolding her from the moment she left the house? No, she didn't want to say; that memory was too painful…

She looked longingly at other people's wonderful mothers and really wanted to ask one of them to be her mother.

Lin Ting grabbed her mother's arm and said, "You've seen this perfect mother, haven't you?"

The female student nodded repeatedly, her eyes sparkling.

Lin Ting: "Mine."

Fortunately, the bus arrived at the station in time, and the female student got off; otherwise, the first battle to take her mother's place might have broken out.

The bus continued to sway forward, and Lin Ting's legs were getting numb from standing.

After finally arriving at Beiliao University, she struggled to move her legs, said goodbye to her mother, and got off the bus.

Monk waited until the bus had driven far away before approaching and, taking the advice he was told, "Boss, we received news from Boss Yang that the mining company officially started operations today."

Lin Ting's eyes brightened slightly, but he stared in the direction the bus had gone and did not answer.

Monk handed over the milk tea: "Boss, what... are you thinking about?"

Lin Ting: "If I were to suddenly reveal my true colors now, my mother would make me copy the Analects hundreds of times... no, thousands of times."