The exam date has been set, just half a month away. Xu Mumu has been tidying up the remaining rooms here with Mrs. Liu these days. There are four teachers leading the team and five students, three boys and two girls. The teachers share two rooms, and the students share another two rooms, which doesn’t take up much space.

Luckily, the beds are already there, just needing some quilts, so it’s not very troublesome at all.

Xu Mumu already tidied up the house but hasn’t brought her brother and sister over yet.

"There are five days left until the competition. By now, they should have already set off," Yin Yang said, looking at Xu Mumu’s daily expectant look. He felt a bit helpless and slightly envious, thinking how his wife never missed him this much.

Departing now and getting to Imperial City would mean they could rest for two days before heading to the competition.

Yin Yang wasn’t wrong. Xu Minglei called Xu Mumu to say they were about to set off and would soon board the train.

Xu Mumu felt relieved all of a sudden. It’s better for them to come early since there’s only one train from the provincial capital to Imperial City. She just needed to be at the train station at the scheduled time three days later.

Feeling happy, Xu Mumu was asked out of curiosity by Su Yue’e, "Mumu, what’s been up with you these days, looking so happy? Is there some good news? Are you pregnant?"

Xu Mumu felt slightly embarrassed. Why did Su Yue’e immediately go to pregnancy? She and Yin Yang had been deliberately avoiding that. Her happiness was naturally because her brother and sister were coming to Imperial City.

"You’re overthinking it. My brother and sister are coming to participate in the national English speech competition, and our school’s auditorium will be used for the exam," Xu Mumu said with a smile, genuinely in a good mood and feeling proud.

Su Yue’e was extremely surprised. The national English speech competition carries a lot of weight, and they’ve made it to the finals. "Are your brother and sister really that amazing?"

"They’re alright; they just tend to be diligent," Xu Mumu replied with a smile. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"I think the competition isn’t too far away. I’ll go take a look. Point them out to me when it’s time," Su Yue’e said, stroking her chin. Xu Mumu is quite accomplished, and her siblings aren’t shabby either. It’s impressive. Can excellence really be inherited?

"No problem," Xu Mumu nodded, feeling very proud inside.

"Your brother and sister are so outstanding. My brother, on the other hand, is just unruly and does badly in his studies," Su Yue’e said enviously when bringing up her brother.

She only managed to do well in her exams by sheer determination. As a girl, her parents simply wanted her to marry well when she came of age, to help out the family later on.

She managed to get into Hua University through her efforts.

After becoming a college student, her family saw more value in her, so they weren’t rushing her to marry. Instead, they wanted her to find a wealthy partner at school.

She never really took those words to heart. Once she left home, she felt incredibly free. Currently, she was working in the dean’s lab, earning money each month and occasionally taking on part-time jobs. She has managed to save a bit over the past two years.

The feeling of not being under her family’s control was extremely liberating. Being so far away, they didn’t know how she earned money, and this kind of life was truly comfortable.

Sometimes, she felt a bit envious when looking at Xu Mumu, envious of how her husband treats her so well. She hadn’t yet found someone who shared her ideals, but these things couldn’t be rushed. Now, she could save money on her own, and after graduation, she wouldn’t have to worry about finding a job.

Now she was even more envious of Xu Mumu, listening to her talk about her siblings’ diligent and sensible nature, she felt incredibly envious.

As for her family, she didn’t hope for their help; she just wished they wouldn’t drag her down.

Xu Mumu didn’t comment on Su Yue’e’s words. There were plenty of gender biases in this era; Su Yue’e wasn’t an exception. It was already quite good she had the chance to attend college.

Her family used to be gender-biased too, but things gradually improved after she came along.

It was mainly because the kids achieved enough to bring benefits to the family with good grades, so they began to see the kids’ value, and those gender-biased notions slowly dissipated.

After chatting a bit with Su Yue’e, it was soon time for class.

When Xu Mumu arrived in class the next day, she was once again the center of attention, this time because of her accomplished siblings.

Xu Mumu: "...." Su Yue’e really couldn’t keep her mouth shut; she didn’t want to talk to her. But she couldn’t help it; she didn’t have many other friends to chat with, so she ended up saying too much to Su Yue’e.

Being the focus of the whole class again, Xu Mumu didn’t really mind; she still felt proud of her siblings.

In the afternoon of the next day, Xu Mumu took leave from the counselor and went to the station with Yin Yang to wait.

They didn’t wait long at the station before Xu Mumu saw her brother and Xu Jiaojiao following a few teachers off the train.

The two kids spotted Xu Mumu immediately and waved enthusiastically.

"Big sis, big sis," Xu Jiaojiao, carrying her backpack, ran happily towards Xu Mumu.

Feeling a bit frustrated for being a step behind, Xu Minglei still led the teachers and students over to greet his sister and brother-in-law.

"Sis, brother-in-law," Xu Minglei greeted them with a smile.

"Not bad, not bad. My brother is becoming more responsible," Xu Mumu said with a smile, naturally keeping her eye on her brother’s every move.

Xu Minglei introduced his sister and brother-in-law to the teachers and students, and vice versa. These people had grown somewhat familiar these past few days.

Teacher Tang couldn’t help but take another look at Xu Mumu and Yin Yang. They were indeed good-looking. Upon first seeing them, she had noticed how attractive they were.

So, this was the sister Xu Minglei and Xu Jiaojiao kept talking about. Finally meeting her, the reality was as welcoming as they had heard, even arranging accommodations for them.

"Hello, this isn’t the best place for a chat at the station. I brought a car; let me take you to where you’ll be staying," Yin Yang said warmly.

He had driven over, but with so many people, one car wasn’t enough, so he had Lin Zhengze also come as a driver.

As they were driven away in two cars, Teacher Tang and the others were still a bit dazed. Who were these people, being able to drive cars like that?

Arriving at a small courtyard, they were greeted with a serene environment. Even someone like Teacher Tang, who had seen much of the world, felt the courtyard was quite impressive.