I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 213: Keep up the good work next year

This was the first time Chen Yumei had looked at Yuan Xiu properly since they met.

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "I've never eaten it before, but I don't think it's difficult. It's all done with your hands and mouth. As the old saying goes, even if you haven't eaten pork, you've still seen a pig run. You demonstrate and I'll know."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yumei's smile froze. What did this mean? What pig running? Who's the pig?

This country woman is so vulgar!

Uncle Chen glanced at An Hui sitting next to him, cleared his throat, and said to his daughter, "Your sister-in-law has your brother to teach her, so don't worry about it."

Xiao An's daughter-in-law is no pushover; she's like a mother-in-law, always carrying thorns.

Jiang Zhou nodded: "My wife is smart, she can learn it after watching it once. My wife said something very true: it's just eating Western food, what's there to learn? Isn't it all done with hands and mouth? When Western food comes to our country, who says we have to follow their eating habits? There's a saying, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' If I want to use chopsticks, then we should use chopsticks to eat."

An Hui smiled and clapped her hands gently: "That makes sense."

Chen Yumei looked at An Hui in surprise, "Aunt An? You're the one who taught me to eat Western food, how come you think my brother is right? It's clearly a fallacy! My brother is just biased towards my sister-in-law and that's why he said that on purpose!"

As she spoke, she glanced at Jiang Zhou with a mournful look.

Yuan Xiu: ...I understand.

Jiang Zhou felt a chill run down his spine. "...Why are you staring at me like that?"

Yuan Xiu curled the corners of her lips: "Wait until you teach me how to eat Western food. Tell me, how do you use all these knives and forks?"

Jiang Zhou swallowed hard. "How about we use chopsticks?"

"What kind of chopsticks should we use?" Yuan Xiu glanced at him. "There are other people in this restaurant. Don't let them laugh at us. You already said I'm smart. You only need to tell me once and I'll understand."

Jiang Zhou: "...Didn't we say we wanted to watch pigs run?"

Yuan Xiu rolled her eyes at him.

"Left hand holding a fork, right hand holding a knife..."

"What are you two whispering about?" Chen Yumei interjected.

Yuan Xiu wanted to look up and speak, but Jiang Zhou whispered, "Ignore her."

An Hui continued the conversation, deliberately glaring at Chen Yumei, "You're married now, how can you still not understand? It's just the young couple having a private conversation; we 'outsiders' shouldn't interfere. Anyone who doesn't know better will think we're being inconsiderate!"

The word "outsider" was pronounced particularly clearly.

Uncle Chen nodded: "You're a mother now, how come you still have the mentality of a child?"

Chen Yumei felt aggrieved. Everything the family of four across from her did was an eyesore. Jiang Zhou didn't even like her, so why should he like a rustic country girl?

Look at her wearing that cotton-padded coat, you can't see her figure at all.

And then there's Aunt An. She's figured it out: once a daughter-in-law is around, her stepdaughter is left out in the cold!

Aunt An had never spoken to her like this before.

And her dad...

Thinking of this, Chen Yumei glanced at her biological father, who was pouring water for her stepmother.

Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore!

When the food was served, the two little ones were already asleep and had been placed in the stroller next to them. Yuan Xiu settled them in before sitting down again.

Jiang Zhou picked up the napkin in front of her, unfolded it, and laid it on her lap.

Yuan Xiu had never eaten Western food in her previous life, but she had seen pigs run before, and quite a few of them. So she naturally knew how to eat them. She said she didn't know, just to avoid arousing suspicion.

After all, how could a country girl who hasn't left her small village for over a decade have such knowledge?

It's unreasonable to blame it on the educated youth; Western food isn't as ubiquitous as it is now, like it was ten or twenty years later.

When she picked up her knife and fork, she skillfully cut the steak, effortlessly spread butter on the bread, and drank the soup with a spoon without making a sound...

Chen Yumei would glance at her from time to time.

She didn't want to praise Yuan Xiu and began to suspect that Yuan Xiu was lying.

Who eats Western food like this for the first time?

Even when Aunt An took her to eat Western food for the first time, she was flustered and confused.

"No wonder my brother praised my sister-in-law for being smart. Anyone who didn't know better would think she had eaten this before."

"It is indeed my first time." Yuan Xiu gently put down the soup spoon. "I don't have any other strengths, except that I'm a little bit better at learning."

"I can tell, my sister-in-law must have done well on the college entrance exam this year," Chen Yumei said with a smile. "What's your educational background, sister-in-law?"

"Me?" Yuan Xiu blinked, sensing the malice, "I only went to junior high school."

"Oh—" Chen Yumei's eyes flickered, and her "oh" carried a clear hint of sarcasm.

Yuan Xiu realized that her stepsister was more educated than herself.

I suppose they've graduated from high school.

really.

"Your sister-in-law must be having a tough time studying. I found it difficult to study even after graduating from high school."

Yuan Xiu nodded. It was indeed quite hard work, having studied for a whole year.

"What's more, my sister-in-law also has to take care of the child. It's just a coincidence that we ran into each other. I feel so sorry for her."

Chen Yumei smiled and said, "If you don't pass this time, don't be discouraged. You can try again next year. I'm sure you'll succeed next year."

Uncle Chen glanced at his daughter and said, "You can also use this to comfort yourself. If you don't pass the exam, try again next year."

"Dad!" Chen Yumei said angrily, "How could I not pass the exam? I graduated from high school, after all!"

Uncle Chen snorted coldly, very disappointed with his daughter's behavior today.

Whether Xiaozhou's wife can pass the exam is another matter, but he knows his own daughter's academic performance very well. If she can pass, it would be a stroke of good luck.

She was able to get into high school not because of her grades, but because someone gave her a spot out of respect for him.

Since graduation, when has she ever opened a book?

I did study for a month before the exam, but following my son-in-law's advice, I only studied sporadically, thinking that my high school diploma would be enough to surpass most people.

They are better than those educated youth who went to the countryside to provide support.

Innocent!

The educated youth regarded the college entrance examination as their last chance to change their fate, so they naturally tried their best to seize it.

What about her?

In terms of spirit alone, she is far inferior to others.

It's embarrassing to make such a big promise and then fail the exam!

"The results should be out soon, right?" An Hui wiped her mouth. "Xiao Mei is so confident. Once the results come out, you must tell everyone so your brother and sister-in-law can be happy for you."

Chen Yumei raised her chin: "Soon! The results come out at different times in different places. In our area, it'll be in the next couple of days. If we haven't left by then, Xiao Zhou will call the hotel to let me know! I've already talked to him about it. Aunt An, don't worry, I'm sure I'll pass!"

An Hui smiled and glanced lightly at her lover beside her. "Then I'll wait."