1: bright future

"Honey, it's not that I don't want to meet your parents, but my cousin is getting married the day after tomorrow, and I have to go home for his wedding."

On the evening of April 30, 2030, Zhang Sheng saw the message his girlfriend sent. He had actually asked her about her May Day plans a few days earlier, but she had been evasive until he finally received the message at 8 PM.

“She must be quite busy,” Zhang Sheng thought.

"Ruyue, we've been together for two years, and I've mentioned you often to my parents. They really want to meet you. (Sad face)."

A moment later,

"Ding~" The phone vibrated.

"Honey, we're only in our junior year; there's no rush. It won't be too late to meet our parents after we graduate next year. You promised me you'd listen to me in everything. Are you still my Honey? (Angry face)"

"I bought you a birthday cake a while ago, and now I don't even have money for the ticket home. (Pathetic look)."

Zhang Sheng and his girlfriend, Lin Ruyue, started dating during the second semester of his sophomore year. It had now been two years, and they were in the second semester of their junior year.

Perhaps because his parents married early, Zhang Sheng felt it was time for them to meet his girlfriend, but things didn't go as planned.

"Maybe I was too hasty!"

He picked up his phone again and entered, "Transfer: 1314 yuan."

A reminder popped up on the screen: "Insufficient balance. Please change bank account!"

He checked his account balance and saw only 943 yuan remaining.

Zhang Sheng's family background was not poor. Although his parents were farmers, they contracted several hundred acres of farmland in the village, earning hundreds of thousands of yuan annually. While most classmates received living expenses of around 1,000 yuan per month, his parents gave him a full 3,000 yuan monthly.

Before he started dating, he could say he lived comfortably, with plenty of fruit and barbecue and beer on the weekends.

But now, Zhang Sheng occasionally had to work part-time to earn money. Today his girlfriend fancied a bag, and tomorrow she wanted the latest Apple phone. All of these required money.

Out of the 3,000 yuan monthly allowance, only a few hundred yuan ended up being spent on himself. He then had to find tutoring jobs to earn money.

Fortunately, the Huaxia Agricultural University he attended was a relatively famous Project 985 Institution, making it easy to find a tutoring job in his spare time.

"Transfer 888 yuan!"

"Have a safe trip, baby. Remember to text me when you get home (Smiling face)."

Zhang Sheng ultimately managed a wry smile as he transferred 888 yuan to his girlfriend, leaving his account balance with a pitiful few dozen yuan.

"(Heart emoji). Love you, mwah!"

Seeing the message from his girlfriend, Zhang Sheng felt a warmth in his heart and smiled unconsciously.

He immediately opened another page: "Professor Liu, I have an urgent family matter tomorrow and won't be returning home. Have you found a tutor yet?"

"That works out, A-Sheng. You were tutoring my son before, and I haven't contacted any other students. Why don't you come over tomorrow morning? You can spend May Day here and try the braised pig trotters I made."

As a Sichuan Native, Professor Liu was not only excellent at scientific research but also a master chef.

Professor Liu was his Crop Breeding teacher during his sophomore year. Because Zhang Sheng excelled academically, he often sought his advice. Professor Liu would occasionally ask Zhang Sheng to help with some research topics; although most of the work was physical labor, Zhang Sheng was very happy and willing to assist.

Not only did he increase his knowledge, but his relationship with Professor Liu also grew closer, and they became familiar with each other over time.

Although Professor Liu was knowledgeable, his son was extremely mischievous, and his studies were a mess, which gave Zhang Sheng the opportunity to tutor him.

As for why Professor Liu didn't tutor his own child, Zhang Sheng understood the moment he gave his first lesson.

Tutoring the child was truly torture. He couldn't get angry and had to maintain a polite smile the entire time, unaware that Zhang Sheng's heart had long since donned the Mask of Agony.

Meanwhile,

"What the heck! Before, he always transferred 1,314, but this time it's only 888. Could this guy really be out of money?"

Lin Ruyue complained while accepting Zhang Sheng's transfer. She frowned, "Seriously, if he's out of money, he should find a part-time job."

Of course, Lin Ruyue would never mention any of this in front of Zhang Sheng.

Zhang Sheng's contact name was not his own name but the three characters: "ATM."

As if she thought of something, Lin Ruyue opened another chat interface, with a man whose contact name was "Daddy."

"Daddy, the excuse you made up for me worked perfectly! That idiot really transferred me money, hehe!"

"Baby, you're amazing! Use this money to book a hotel. Tonight, let's go three hundred rounds! (Lewd face)."

"Hmph! Let's stick with the Home Inn from last time, and book the Themed Room for two days!" She attached a full photoshoot picture of herself.

"Is this really okay? Why don't you just break up with Zhang Sheng? It feels too much like we're sneaking around!"

"Oh, come on! All I have to do is sweet-talk him a bit, and he loses all sense of direction. Besides~ I actually like this feeling of sneaking around!"

...Zhang Sheng was completely oblivious to all this. Although his roommate had once mentioned seeing his girlfriend shopping with an unfamiliar guy on the weekend, Zhang Sheng hadn't taken it seriously.

He just dismissed it as teasing and jealousy from his roommate, because Lin Ruyue's looks and figure were top-notch, and her playful personality made Zhang Sheng hopelessly infatuated.

The next day, May Day, Zhang Sheng arrived at Professor Liu's house as promised to tutor his child.

At lunchtime, Professor Liu put down his chopsticks and said seriously, "A-Sheng, most of your junior year is already over. I need to remind you that your final exam results are extremely important, as they relate to the quota for Postgraduate Recommendation."

"For the time being, stop working part-time. Focus on your studies. Based on your current GPA, you don't have absolute certainty of securing a Postgraduate Recommendation spot."

Professor Liu was very confused about Zhang Sheng's constant part-time work, even occasionally skipping class because of it.

Zhang Sheng had never applied for the school's financial aid for poor students, yet he won a scholarship every year, so he shouldn't be short of money.

What Professor Liu didn't know was that every time Zhang Sheng received a scholarship, his girlfriend would manage to get the money from him within a week using various excuses.

"You have received a transfer of 5,000 yuan from Professor Liu Quan. Please accept it promptly."

Zhang Sheng's phone suddenly vibrated.

He looked at the professor with a shocked expression.

"Professor, actually I..."

Before Zhang Sheng could explain, the Professor's Wife, standing beside Professor Liu, smiled and said, "A-Sheng, you are a good boy. Consider this five thousand yuan as payment for helping out in the lab. If you truly mind, you can pay it back after you graduate and start working."

"Your Professor's Wife is right," Professor Liu added. "The most important thing for you right now is securing that Postgraduate Recommendation spot, especially one at Qingbei. That is crucial for your future."

After spending so much time together, although this amount of money was nothing to a professor handling multiple research projects, it represented their genuine care.

"Professor, I will definitely work hard to get the recommendation spot. I will pay you back after the Postgraduate Recommendation assessment is complete." Zhang Sheng accepted the transfer.

Seeing Zhang Sheng's reaction, Professor Liu and his wife smiled in relief. They valued not only Zhang Sheng's talent but also his character.

Just like the Plant Breeding research Professor Liu specialized in, his investment in Zhang Sheng was a seed he had sown. Seeds like this were rare, even at a university like Huaxia Agricultural University.

Throughout his teaching career at Huaxia Agricultural University, he had sown several such seeds. Each seed represented hope, regardless of whether it would eventually grow into a towering tree.

On the way back to school, Zhang Sheng rode a Shared Bicycle, fantasizing about the future: successfully getting recommended for postgraduate study at Qingbei University, proposing to Ruyue immediately after graduation, completing his Master's and Doctoral Studies at Qingbei, transferring to a Research Institute, achieving success in both love and career, and reaching the peak of his life.

However, as he passed the entrance of a hotel.

A scene by the roadside instantly dragged Zhang Sheng from his fantasy back to reality.

It was a young couple.

They walked out of the hotel entrance, utterly inseparable and intimate. The girl's legs trembled slightly as she walked, as if she had accumulated lactic acid from doing a large number of squats.

Familiar yet strange, because the girl was Lin Ruyue, heavily made up.