I was forced to start the second round because I was raised in poverty

Chapter 263 I Will Win!
Su Cheng pushed open the door and entered her mother's room, immediately greeted by a musty, stale smell.

This room contains my mother's belongings, and it's not usually opened easily at home.

Su Cheng first opened the window to ventilate the room.

My mom's bed sheets have a vintage feel to them; they're the kind of striped, large fabric sheets.

The wardrobe has old-fashioned sliding doors, and the wood has stripes. Although it looks old, it is very durable.

The mirror on the cabinet door was blurred with age.

The room is only cleaned once or twice a year, so it's basically covered in dust.

Su Cheng fetched a basin of water from outside, wet the rag, and then began to clean up.

The closet contained clothes left by her mother, but they were all wrapped in plastic like those from a dry cleaner, so Su Cheng didn't touch them easily.

Old Deng usually cleans the room, and Su Cheng probably hasn't been in this room for more than ten years.

The other things in the room, however, touched Su Cheng deeply.

He found the Go board and the accompanying black and white Go set in his mother's room.

There were also writing brushes, inkstones, and inkstones in the drawer, and Su Cheng also saw a stack of characters that her mother had once written.

One of the calligraphy pieces was particularly eye-catching: "福寿康宁" (blessings, longevity, health, and peace).

This character for "longevity" is better than those written by Tian Manman, Tian Rui, and even my grandmother.

According to Su Cheng's vague memory, this calligraphy should have been written for her.

See things and miss people.

Su Cheng suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

In stark contrast are the words that Old Deng had him paint at the client's house.

What about the saying "Of all virtues, filial piety is the most important"? "Alas, my parents, who bore me with such toil"? "A person who is not filial to his parents is worse than grass and trees."

Old Deng even came up with the saying, "When your parents call, answer them without delay; when your parents command you, act without laziness."

It left him speechless.

Let's see what Mom left behind!

None of the words mentioned anything about future prospects, passing the imperial examination, wealth, or anything like that.

I simply hope that Su Cheng can be happy, live a long life, be healthy, and live in peace.

Su Cheng cleared out her mother's old-fashioned writing desk and cleaned the dust off the surface and inside.

The sliding door to the left of the desk contains my mother's teaching materials, mostly textbooks, lesson plans, and teaching notes.

Su Cheng glanced at the book and found that her mother's penmanship was also very good, not much worse than her calligraphy.

The notebook's structure resembles the bamboo of Xiangfei, with delicate yet resilient strokes. The vertical hooks are slender and upright like bamboo joints, while the left-falling and right-falling strokes are as graceful as bamboo leaves, exuding a refined and elegant charm.

My mother's brushstrokes for each character begin with the subtle hint of an orchid in bloom, and the strokes flow with a slight undulation of the brush tip, ending with a dewdrop-like tip of a leaf—skillful yet full of vitality.

There's the same sentence in every one of my mom's notebooks:
By studying history, we can understand the rise and fall of dynasties; by studying people, we can understand our own gains and losses.

The lesson plan covers ancient policies, and history exams will also test how these policies have had a positive or negative impact on the present day.

This is from the textbook.

My mother's lesson plans would cover ancient traditions, customs, traditions, laws and regulations, and the like.

It is basically written based on 'understanding', aiming to help each student understand history as much as possible, rather than imparting knowledge points for exams.

Once you understand this concept, you'll remember it and won't forget it for twenty or thirty years; it will influence you for a lifetime.

Su Cheng felt that her mother, Tian Xiangwei, was the real teacher, and a famous teacher who could be featured in newspapers and reported by the media!

In this era, there are famous teachers everywhere, this famous teacher and that famous teacher.

He's not even worth a single hair on my mother's head.

Su Cheng opened her mother's small box and saw the photos of her mother before she passed away. Only then did Su Cheng truly understand the meaning of the phrase "the handwriting reflects the person".

Most of the photos are group photos of her with her students, with each graduating class surrounding their mother in the middle of the photos.

The photo is a bit yellowed, but my mother's delicate face is still clearly visible.

My mom doesn't look like my maternal grandparents or uncles at all.

He was actually quite reluctant to describe his mother's appearance using other people's features, but... to be fair, his mother looked a bit like Gao Yuanyuan, although she had a more heroic air about her than Gao Yuanyuan.

Su Cheng couldn't find any photos of him when he was a child. After tidying up for a while, she finally discovered that they were stored separately in another small box.

Most of them are photos from travels around the world.

"Huh? I've been to Tiananmen Square?"

Su Cheng stared blankly for a long time at a photo of her mother holding her in front of Tiananmen Square.

My mom was so cool back then!
"Oh, so I was a handsome guy when I was little Cheng."

Su Cheng saw a photo of herself riding on Lao Deng's shoulders with Tianmen Mountain in the background and exclaimed in surprise, "WTF? I've been to Mount Tai?"

"Oh my God!"

Su Cheng had absolutely no recollection of it.

These photos can't be fake; old people wouldn't use photoshopped images on this.

But when it comes to the photo of riding a horse on the western grasslands, Su Cheng has absolutely no recollection of it.

Back then, Su Cheng was just little Cheng, and she didn't remember anything at all.

It turns out that Su Cheng's mother had taken him to almost all the famous tourist attractions in the country.

But apart from the one of Mount Tai, Lao Deng is not in any of the other photos.

Each photo has a handwritten note from my mom on the back.

Some entries consist of a single sentence, while others contain more than ten sentences, primarily recording the author's feelings at the time and interesting anecdotes.

Some photos even show Su Cheng being frightened to tears by a small dinosaur, and no amount of coaxing could soothe her.

Su Cheng laughed and cried at the same time.

This was the first time Su Cheng had ever seen these photos; he had never seen them even in his previous life.

He really liked one of the sayings.

You are truly dead when the last person in the world forgets you.

After seeing these photos, Su Cheng suddenly felt that she had gained several more years of happy memories in her life.

Although he was just a little Cheng at the time and didn't remember anything.

But seeing these photos allows him to fully unleash his imagination!
Imagine yourself in that environment, with your mom taking you on a trip across the country.

For Su Cheng, this was a beautiful memory that was both false and real.

I was loved well by my mother.

The old man simply never showed himself these photos in order to promote his succession plan and portray himself as coming from a poor family.

But why did I show it to him now?
Su Cheng felt there was only one reason.

That's because the old man used the Tian family connection. In order to prevent Su Cheng from feeling alienated from the Tian family, he took the initiative to hand over the key to his mother's room so that Su Cheng could see it while cleaning the room.

That old bastard deserves to die!

Su Cheng took photos of each of these pictures and backed them up to her cloud storage immediately.

These are his precious memories.

After saving the photo on his phone, he carefully put it back in its original place.

Su Cheng also found many greeting cards and letters in the drawer, all sent to her by her mother's former students.

Only after reading the contents did he learn that his mother had sponsored meals for many students when she was in school, providing them with a lot of help.

This also shows that Mom is a very loving teacher who is highly respected and loved by her students.

With a sense of awe, Su Cheng meticulously cleaned her mother's room until it was spotless.

Even the dust on the top of the cabinet was wiped clean.

After tidying up, Su Cheng locked the door again. He stretched, sat on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and looked intently at the photos on his phone, savoring them.

……

Nothing much happened in the next few days.

Su Cheng was either at the market preparing for the New Year or minding the shop at Lao Deng's behest.

He also took a day to attend Han Yu and Fu Zihan's wedding with Zheng Jiawei.

Soon it was Lunar New Year's Eve.

Before cooking dumplings that evening, Su Tianyan took Su Cheng to the cemetery to pay respects to his mother's grave.

Under the cover of night, Su Cheng used a shovel to clear weeds from her mother's grave and replaced the old offering paper with new ones.

Su Tianyan first arranged the offerings neatly, then took out a large pile of sacrificial items and lit them with a lighter.

Old Deng burst into tears while burning the paper money.

"Weiwei, I wasn't good enough to you before."

"You haven't enjoyed any happiness since you've been with me!"

"Weiwei...I'm so sorry!"

"I miss you so much!"

"If only you were still here."

At first, Old Deng only shed a few tears, but later his voice and movements became louder and louder.

"Weiwei, I promised you, I would raise our son."

“Our son has made something of himself now; he just bought me a car this year.”

"It would be nice if you could sit down too."

Su Cheng was completely stunned.

Su Cheng had already shed the tears she needed to shed a few days ago when she was cleaning her mother's room.

What's going on with Old Deng right now?
Why are you crying at the grave in front of him?

Su Cheng didn't believe that Lao Deng was being genuine; he was the kind of person who wouldn't show any emotion outwardly.

If it is indeed exposed, then it is purposeful.

Was Lao Deng crying at his mother's grave in front of him to highlight his own loneliness and desolation by using Su Cheng's feelings for his mother?
It wasn't easy for one person to raise Su Cheng.

As we get older, we'll become less and less able to do anything?

You fucking dare tell my mom how you raised me?!
Su Cheng grew angrier the more she thought about it.

Su Cheng had tolerated it all before.

Even though the old man used the Tian family to suppress him, Su Cheng could still pretend that nothing had happened.

but now.

You fucking used your white moonlight, my deceased mother, just so I would be filial to you in the future.
Is there anything in the world that you wouldn't dare to use?

Su Cheng couldn't take it anymore.

All the emotions he had accumulated in his past and present lives were completely ignited by the old man's actions at this moment.

Su Cheng exhaled heavily through her nostrils.

His emotions had reached a breaking point.

If a person only has 100 points of energy in their lifetime, at least 50 points of energy are non-renewable.

Setbacks can boost morale, but they can also deal a fatal blow to it.

It can destroy a person in 10 seconds.

Everyone should carefully protect their spirit.

The old man's actions were all aimed at suppressing Su Cheng's spirit, yet he himself felt good about it.

Even the old man in my past life never used this method.

In this life, the old man is even worse.

You old bastard!
Fuck you!
Grass!
Su Cheng did not try to dissuade Lao Deng.

He knew that Old Deng was putting on an act for his own benefit.

He no longer has the energy to put on an act with his father, saying things like "Dad, don't cry," "Dad, let's go home," or "I'll take good care of you from now on."

Su Cheng used all his strength to hide his emotions, trying not to let them be captured by any potential cameras.

The two didn't go home until Old Deng was exhausted from crying.

On the road.

Su Cheng had been secretly observing Lao Deng, and he discovered that Lao Deng was also secretly observing Su Cheng.

Is Old Deng trying to determine if his crying scene was effective?
Excuse me.

I won't let you know.

Su Cheng was completely withdrawn at this moment, and even with his six eyes, Lao Deng could not make an accurate judgment.

Finally, Old Deng had no choice but to probe Su Cheng: "Xiao Cheng, Dad just lost his composure."

Su Cheng's response was flat, consisting of only one word: "Mm".

The two barely spoke during their New Year's Eve dinner.

Su Cheng casually ate a couple of bites of dumplings and went back to his room; he didn't really want to see Old Deng's face.

Messages kept popping up on my phone.

It was Ye Li and the others who posted it in the group chat, tagging Su Cheng and asking if he had eaten New Year's Eve dinner yet, and praising the roast chicken that Su Cheng sent them as delicious.

Su Cheng simply replied with a few emojis; he wasn't in the mood to joke around with them in the group chat.

Even when Ye Li and the others sent red envelopes in the group chat, Su Cheng didn't bother to grab them. She only sent two red envelopes as a token gesture to wish them a Happy New Year.

Su Cheng sat on the edge of the bed, watching the fireworks outside the window.

Despite the loud noise of firecrackers and fireworks outside, Su Cheng's mind was surprisingly quiet.

He didn't want to continue like this any longer.

Continuing under my father's control means endless suffering.

Even if he could cooperate with Old Deng in acting, even if he had enough energy to play a double role.

Su Cheng opened the window, letting the cold air and the smell of cooking fires outside blow in and fill the entire room.

Su Cheng gazed downstairs.

He was wondering if he would die if he jumped from here.
If I die, then all this trouble will be over, and I won't have to deal with all this mess.

But what if you don't die from the fall?
If Su Cheng hadn't died, but instead became a vegetable, or was paralyzed but still retained her consciousness, what would Lao Deng's attitude have been?

He guessed that Old Deng would most likely start practicing a new account immediately, while he himself would move into the big villa he had always dreamed of, just like Zhang Shiyuan, and then hire several nurses to take turns taking care of him, feeding him, wiping his body, and helping him urinate.

At first, Old Deng might still come to see me, but once my skin ulcerates and my body is covered in pressure sores, Old Deng probably won't come even once.

That is to say, my mother is no longer alive.

Su Cheng doesn't need to consider her mother's feelings.

If Mom knew that Su Cheng was living like this, she would cry her heart out for days and would definitely divorce Lao Deng.

My mother definitely wouldn't want me to do something so foolish.

Su Cheng took deep breaths of the air blowing in from the window, and after thinking for a few minutes, he closed the window again.

Jumping down would be a lose-lose situation.

Su Cheng cannot lose.

He wants to win!
(End of this chapter)