The pushover offended a top-tier boss

Professor Zheng was a male teacher in his fifties with half-gray hair, but he was in good spirits and spoke in a loud voice.

"Zhenzhen is here."

"Professor Zheng."

He introduced Ye Zhenzhen to her classmates in the same group. Two were first-year doctoral students: one named Sun Qing, with delicate features, wearing thin-rimmed glasses, and a scholarly air; the other named Wang Jiayu, with a petite and charming appearance, a round face, almond-shaped eyes, and a cute, slightly naive demeanor. There was also Shang Yunheng, and a slightly older senior student named Jiang Li. Jiang Li looked to be in her early thirties, with short, neat hair.

The workload for a literature PhD isn't actually that heavy; her focus is on classical literature, and she spends most of her time reading academic documents.

Ye Zhenzhen spent most of the first day in the library, but she still thought about her children at home from time to time. She opened the monitoring on her phone and saw her parents and the nanny around the crib. The two little ones seemed quite happy, lying on the bed holding rattles and shaking them back and forth, making giggle noises. Only then did she feel relieved.

When get out of class ended, Ye Zhenzhen approached Shang Yunheng: "Senior, how much did it cost to repair your car? I'll transfer the money to you."

Upon hearing this, Shang Yunheng waved his hand and said, "No need, it's just a minor scratch, nothing serious."

Ye Zhenzhen felt it wasn't right to owe someone such a favor on the first day, and she was thinking of treating them to a meal, but it would seem abrupt to treat them individually. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Then I'll treat everyone to a meal."

On the first day, you still need to get along well with your classmates. The rules in school and the workplace are actually the same; you should maintain your interpersonal relationships.

There are many restaurants near the school, but she didn't know which one was good, so she simply picked the most expensive one per person, thinking that this way she couldn't go wrong.

As they went downstairs, the group paused for a moment when they saw her car. The ice-berry pink Porsche gleamed warmly in the setting sun, standing out conspicuously among the ordinary cars around it.

Sun Qing and Wang Jiayu stared at the car for several seconds before their gazes shifted to her, on the Hermes Millennium Doll bag.

"That bag she's carrying costs hundreds of thousands."

"No wonder Senior Brother Shang was so attentive."

"Have you ever seen a PhD student get accepted midway through their studies? And if someone as strict as Old Zheng could handle it, he must have pulled some strings behind the scenes."

This newcomer has great prospects.

At the dinner table, several people sat together.

Sun Qing suddenly asked, seemingly casually, "Zhenzhen, why did you only start your doctoral studies this semester?"

Ye Zhenzhen smiled and said, "I worked at a school for three years before, and I was thinking of improving my education so I could have better career prospects."

She spoke casually and was unwilling to reveal too much.

"Oh, so you're older than us, we have to call you 'older sister'," Wang Jiayu chimed in from the side.

Ye Zhenzhen nodded: "Yes, I'm twenty-eight this year."

Jiang Li chuckled beside her, "I'm the oldest, my child's already in kindergarten. Unlike you guys, being unmarried and childless is the freest thing to do."

Ye Zhenzhen smiled and replied, "I'm married, and my baby is over two months old."

The entire audience was shocked.

"My God, you really can't tell, she doesn't look like she's ever given birth."

Wang Jiayu's gaze swept over her, then landed on the bag she had placed on the corner of the table. Her lips twitched slightly.

"Sister Zhenzhen, what does your husband do?"

Ye Zhenzhen thought for a moment and then simply said, "Him? He's a civil servant."

"Which department are you from?" the other person asked curiously.

Ye Zhenzhen had no choice but to say, "From the New District Committee."

The two wanted to ask something more, but just then Ye Zhenzhen's phone rang; it was Zhou Huaijin calling.

She answered the phone, and a familiar voice came through the receiver, tinged with a hint of dissatisfaction: "Why aren't you home yet?"

Ye Zhenzhen lowered her voice: "I'm having dinner with some fellow disciples, I'll be back soon."

"The child misses you," Zhou Huaijin said.

She heard the child's babbling on the other end of the phone, and her heart softened instantly.

After sitting for a while, she stood up and explained, "I have children at home, so I'll be leaving now."

Everyone had finished eating and went their separate ways.

Back home, Ye Zhenzhen changed her shoes and walked into the living room. Zhou Huaijin was breastfeeding one child, while another lay in a rocking chair nearby, babbling and kicking its legs. Seeing her return, her tone carried a hint of sarcasm or displeasure: "You're back later than me on the first day?"

Ye Zhenzhen snorted, walked over and took the child from his arms, and kissed the fluffy little head: "I'm just inviting a few fellow disciples to dinner, we should always keep good relationships."

"I'm not the pushover I used to be anymore; now I'm a person with high emotional intelligence."

Zhou Huaijin couldn't help but laugh out loud. Ye Zhenzhen was so angry that she reached out and pinched him, but he grabbed her hand and squeezed it in his palm.

She turned to look at the two little ones on the bed and was surprised to find that they could roll over and were lying on their stomachs, trying to lift their little heads as if they wanted to see the bigger world.

"You're so great, baby."

She bent down and kissed the chubby cheek.

"Oh, I really missed them today. I've never been away from them for so long before."

Ye Zhenzhen smelled the milky scent on them and couldn't help but kiss them again.

The two people leaned back on the sofa, each holding a child. The two little ones nestled in their arms, babbling in words only they could understand, their little hands flailing about in the air.

"Old Zhou, I hope the child will take after you."

She has a high IQ and is calm in the face of adversity. Don't be like her, who panics and cries easily when something happens.

Zhou Huaijin looked down at the one in his arms and said, "I have a bad temper, so you can have whatever you want."

Ye Zhenzhen was taken aback for a moment: "What's wrong with it? I think it's all great."

She had completely forgotten how she had cursed him back then.

Now that ownership belongs to me, the disadvantages have naturally become advantages.

She showered him with compliments, praising him from "calm and collected" to "strong work ability," from "family-oriented" to "handsome," making him beam with admiration.

Zhou Huaijin looked down at her incessantly talking mouth and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

He lacked parental companionship growing up, which fostered his withdrawn and aloof personality. Therefore, he insisted that his own children grow up in a normal family, surrounded by love.

It would be best if she were like her mother, like a little sun, lovable to everyone.

Life seemed to move forward smoothly. Ye Zhenzhen went to class, Zhou Huaijin went to work, and the children grew up day by day, learning to grasp things, sit, and crawl. Every day brought new changes.

The group members usually spend their time reading literature, attending meetings, listening to various lectures, and occasionally having meals together with their fellow students.

Sun Qing has a boyfriend who comes over often; he's supposedly a rich second-generation. Wang Jiayu is still single, and according to her senior, Jiang Li, she seems to have feelings for Shang Yunheng.

Ye Zhenzhen and this senior colleague would occasionally chat. Jiang Li used to work at a large company, and her husband was a programmer at the same company. They had worked for many years and had a good income. After giving birth, she became a housewife for three years, but when her child was sent to kindergarten, she couldn't find a job.

The family currently has some savings, and her husband also supports her returning to school.

Jiang Li said, "Now there are so many graduate students, the academic qualifications are very competitive. After getting a doctorate, you can go to university to teach, the job is stable, and you will have extra time to spend with your children."

Ye Zhenzhen thought this senior sister was really farsighted. However, the two junior sisters didn't seem to interact with Jiang Li much, probably because they felt there was too much of an age gap and a generation gap.

However, they always seemed to be curious about Ye Zhenzhen, and every time they had a meal together they would say, "Sister Zhenzhen, call your husband over."

Ye Zhenzhen always made excuses, saying, "He's busy with work."

"Civil servants have it the easiest job, how busy can they be?"