Born in the 1980s, she was remarried and became a stepmother; a cold, rough man doted on her, pinchi

The rabbit is sculpted so lifelike that every line shows meticulous care, and its soft fur seems almost tangible.

After school, Shi Ning made a special trip to find Chen Yu, her face beaming with a sincere smile and her eyes sparkling with gratitude: "Chen Yu, thank you so much for the wooden rabbit you gave me. I love it so much! It must have taken you a lot of time and effort to carve it. I don't know how to express my gratitude."

Chen Yu scratched his head, smiled a little embarrassedly, and his cheeks flushed slightly: "It's okay, as long as you like it, that's fine. I just thought you would like this kind of little gadget, so I made it."

Shi Ning held the wooden rabbit tightly, as if holding a precious friendship, and said, "This is the most special gift I have ever received, and I will cherish it."

From then on, Shi Ning placed the wooden rabbit in the most conspicuous place in her room. Every time she saw it, a warm feeling would well up in her heart, and she would think of Chen Yu's shy smile.

Time flies like an arrow, and before we knew it, it was summer vacation for the second semester of junior high school.

This summer vacation was filled with planning and reflection for the future for Shi Ning's family.

Qin Yishen and Jiang Man sat on the sofa in the living room, with information about several schools on the coffee table in front of them. Both of them had a serious expression on their faces.

"These three children will soon be facing the transition to higher education, so we need to carefully consider which school they should attend."

Qin Yishen broke the silence first, his fingers lightly tapping on the documents, his eyes revealing the worry and concern of a parent.

Jiang Man nodded, her brows furrowing slightly: "Yes, the provincial key high school is No. 1 High School, so its teaching resources and teachers are definitely the best. As for the city's top high school, No. 3 High School and No. 6 High School are also good. Shi An and Shi Ning's grades have always been very stable. If they perform normally, they should have no problem getting into the provincial key high school."

At this point, a hint of satisfaction appeared in Jiang Man's eyes, and she felt proud of the children's excellence.

"What about Chen Yu?"

Qin Yishen asked, as he also cared a lot about Chen Yu and was happy to see that Chen Yu's grades had improved this semester.

Jiang Man sighed softly: "Chen Yu has indeed made great progress this semester and is studying harder than before, but it will still be a bit difficult for him to get into a key municipal or even provincial key school."

Remembering how hard Chen Yu usually studied, Jiang Man felt a pang of pity.

At this moment, Chen Yu was sitting alone in his room reviewing his lessons.

His desk was piled high with textbooks and workbooks, and his pen was constantly writing on the paper, his forehead covered with fine beads of sweat.

He knew that although his grades had improved, there was still a long way to go to reach his goal.

"I must work harder and not let down my uncles, aunts and Shi Ning."

Chen Yu made a silent vow in his heart.

On the other side, Shi Ning and Shi An were also discussing their plans for further education.

Shi Ning sat at her desk, holding a notebook in her hand, on which she recorded the advantages and disadvantages of several schools.

"Brother, what if we both get into the top provincial schools, but Chen Yu doesn't?"

Shi Ning's eyes revealed a hint of worry. She cared about Chen Yu and didn't want him to be disappointed because of his college entrance exam.

Shi An leaned back in his chair, thought for a moment, and then said, "All we can do is help him review more and cheer him on. Chen Yu has made so much progress this semester, maybe he'll perform exceptionally well."

Shi An's tone was encouraging; he believed in Chen Yu's potential.

In the days that followed, Shi Ning and Shi An took the initiative to help Chen Yu review his lessons.

They would gather together every day to provide targeted tutoring for Chen Yu's weak subjects.

Shi Ning patiently explained the difficult math problem to Chen Yu, guiding him step by step to think about the solution.

Shi An accompanied Chen Yu in reciting classical Chinese poems and English words, and also discussed knowledge points of subjects such as history and politics with him.

Chen Yu cherished this opportunity. He listened attentively to Shi Ning and Shi An's explanations and asked questions promptly when he encountered any difficulties. After each learning session, he would quietly set a new study plan for himself, using his spare time to do more practice problems to deepen his understanding and mastery of the knowledge points.

As summer vacation progresses, the pressure to get into a good school increases.

Qin Yishen and Jiang Man began to inquire about the admission policies and cut-off scores of various schools, and also attended some admission consultation meetings held by schools.

They hope to provide children with the most accurate information to help them make the most appropriate choices.

As soon as the school bell rang, a tense learning atmosphere quickly spread throughout the campus like a tide.

Chen Yu was like a wound-up toy, immersing himself in textbooks and exercises every day.

His efforts soon paid off, and his grades steadily improved.

The teacher praised him in class, and the students looked at him with amazement. Qin Yishen and Jiang Man were also overjoyed, saying that Chen Yu had grown up and was promising.

Shi An and Shi Ning also joined the team to help Chen Yu, taking turns tutoring him every night after finishing their homework.

That evening, it was Shi Ning's turn to explain a difficult math problem to Chen Yu.

At first, everything went very smoothly.

Shi Ning sat at her desk, gently tapping the exercises with a pencil, patiently explaining the solutions.

Her voice was clear and crisp, and her explanations were detailed. Chen Yu listened intently, nodding from time to time, and asking questions whenever he had doubts.

The two were completely immersed in the ocean of knowledge, and before they knew it, more than an hour had passed.

Shi Ning spoke until his mouth was dry and his throat was slightly sore.

She stood up, gently patted Chen Yu's shoulder, and said with a smile, "Think about these questions again first. I'm going to the living room to get a glass of water and I'll be right back."

Chen Yu didn't even look up, his eyes still fixed on the exercises, and replied, "Okay, hurry up."

Shi Ning walked out of the room and into the living room.

She walked to the water dispenser and reached for a cup to fill with water.

Just then, a dizzying sensation suddenly struck her, her vision blurred instantly, and the surrounding scenery began to sway.

She was startled and instinctively reached out to grab the table next to her to steady herself, but her arm felt like it was filled with lead, and she couldn't muster any strength.

Immediately afterwards, her legs went weak, and she fell backward uncontrollably, crashing heavily to the ground with a "thud".

Chen Yu was deep in thought while working on his exercises when he suddenly heard a heavy thud coming from the living room. His heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling washed over him.

He quickly put down his pen and rushed out of the room.

Shi Ning was lying on the living room floor, her eyes closed and her face deathly pale.

Chen Yu turned pale with fright and shouted in a trembling voice, "Shi Ning! Shi Ning, what's wrong with you!"

He ran quickly to Shi Ning's side while calling out to her, squatted down, and gently shook her shoulders, trying to wake her up, but Shi Ning did not respond.

Hearing the commotion, Qin Yishen and Jiang Man also rushed out of the room.

Upon seeing Shi Ning collapse to the ground, Jiang Man's eyes instantly reddened, and tears welled up in them.

She rushed over in a panic, knelt down beside Shi Ning, tightly grasped her daughter's hand, and kept calling out, "Shi Ning, wake up, baby, don't scare Mommy!" (End of Chapter)