Qiao Lan sat in her room in a daze for a long time.

Qiao Lan was only 16!

Finding a husband at 16? Was she crazy?

She had thought that the Qiao family would treat her better after she did so well in the exams. Now she understood that for these people, getting into Tsinghua University or Peking University was not as exciting as marrying a rich man.

Qiao Lan suddenly felt a sense of crisis.

No matter how good her studies were, it was useless to them.

If they really found a so-called "good family" for Qiao Lan and Qiao Lan didn't agree, would Qiao Lan's parents stop her from studying?

It was very likely.

No, it would definitely be like that.

She didn't have the money to pay school fees anyway. If the Qiao family stopped paying her school fees, she wouldn't be able to do anything even if she insisted.

Qiao Lan had thought that she would be able to survive until she graduated from high school. Then, she would be able to get into a university outside. That way, she would be able to get rid of them.

Qiao Lan realized that she had to do something.

She had to make a decision as soon as possible.

That night, Qiao Lan struggled to fall asleep while Second Sister Qiao and Mother Qiao were yelling at each other.

The next day, she went to school. When she walked into the classroom, there were only ten or so students in the classroom. A few of them actually took the initiative to say hello to her.

After being ostracized for almost a month, Qiao Lan had forgotten what it felt like to talk to her classmates.

After she replied, she sat in her seat and took out her politics textbook. As usual, she went outside to memorize and do morning exercises.

When she returned to the classroom, she took a glass of water and went downstairs to get some water. When she came back up, she unconsciously looked back and saw Tan Mo slowly rolling his wheelchair.

After almost a month, Qiao Lan subconsciously wanted to say good morning to Tan Mo again. However, she swallowed the words back when they were about to come out of her mouth.

After talking to Tan Mo that day, on the way home, Qiao Lan tried to put herself in Tan Mo's shoes. She wanted to understand how Tan Mo felt when she took the initiative.

People who had not been in contact with outsiders for a long time would be afraid of people taking the initiative to greet them. When the phone rang, they would be very resistant.

For someone like Tan Mo who had Asperger's Disease since he was young, it would only be more serious. Therefore, in her opinion, even a greeting that couldn't be any gentler would be rejected by Tan Mo and would cause him to be at a loss.

Tan Mo also saw Qiao Lan.

He was sure that Qiao Lan had just seen him.

Tan Mo didn't even realize that his hand movements had sped up. However, when he raised his head again, the girl who would have stopped to talk to him when she saw him had already disappeared.

Tan Mo's hand, which was holding the wheelchair, froze for a moment.

No one knew that Tan Mo actually wanted to take the initiative to say good morning to Qiao Lan.

Tan Mo lowered his head. After a while, he rolled his wheelchair back into the classroom and returned to the shadow where he had been sitting for more than two months.

And Qiao Lan was sitting at the door, the seat furthest away from him.

Tan Mo's light brown eyes stared in Qiao Lan's direction. He saw that Qiao Lan, who used to be like him and never interact with others, was now saying something to her new deskmate.

What were they talking about? They talked for a long time. It could have been one minute, or it could have been two minutes.

How many words could be said in two minutes?

Tan Mo didn't know.

After his mother passed away, he hadn't talked to anyone for more than two minutes.

Qiao Lan had talked to him for so many days. Adding up all the words she had said to him, it probably didn't exceed two minutes.

The sour feeling that had welled up in his heart that day came rushing back again. Moreover, compared to that day, Tan Mo couldn't describe the feeling. He couldn't describe what it was. He only knew that he didn't want to see Qiao Lan talk so much to other people.

And it was words that he couldn't even guess.

Tan Mo had been sitting in this seat for more than two months. He had never felt that there was anything wrong with it, but now he felt dissatisfied.

It was too far.

It was so far away that he couldn't even hear Qiao Lan's voice.

Qiao Lan's new deskmate, Pei Ning, was about the same height as Qiao Lan. He was very introverted.

He wasn't as cold as Tan Mo, who kept people away. He was just timid and introverted.

Qiao Lan suspected that Pei Ning might like Song Yao.

Qiao Lan felt a little guilty. If she hadn't insisted on not sitting at the same table as Chen Yaoyang, Pei Ning's deskmate might have been Song Yao.

But now that things had come to this, there was no other way. Pei Ning was introverted, but he would answer any questions he knew.

Qiao Lan was now asking Pei Ning about the scholarships and scholarships at Fu Zhong High School.

Yesterday, Mother Qiao and Second Sister Qiao's words shocked Qiao Lan so much that she couldn't sleep well. After coming to class a few days ago, she quickly asked around.

Pei Ning also didn't know much, but he was much better than Qiao Lan. After Pei Ning finished talking, Qiao Lan had a rough understanding of the situation.

Qiao Lan was a poor student, so every month she would receive 200 yuan in scholarships, which would be transferred to her meal card. Almost half of the students in the scholarships class received this.

But scholarships were different. Fu Zhong High School's scholarship system was set up privately by the school. The criteria for the first-class scholarship was very simple and straightforward. It was awarded to the student with the highest final score in the first two semesters.

It was evaluated once a year, and each time it was awarded 5,000 yuan.

The second prize was awarded to the top four students who didn't qualify for the first prize. The second prize was awarded 3,000 yuan.

Qiao Lan was ready to make a move.

High school tuition wasn't too expensive. It was 800 yuan per semester and 600 yuan for accommodation. If she could get the scholarship, she wouldn't have to worry about tuition. Even if Mother Qiao and Father Qiao didn't let her go to school in the future, she would still be able to afford the tuition and accommodation.

Of course, she wasn't sure if she could get the money. Even if she could, it would be near the end of her first year in high school. Therefore, other than the scholarships, Qiao Lan had to think of ways to save money.

She couldn't rely on the Qiao family. It was better to rely on herself than on others. Qiao Lan decided to work as soon as possible.

Now that she was in her first year of high school, she still had plenty of time. Once she started self-study in her second year, she would have no time at all.

During the weekend, Qiao Lan planned to work part-time to save some money. Otherwise, she wouldn't have any living expenses in the future.

After making up her mind, Qiao Lan felt a lot more at ease. In order to make more time for herself, Qiao Lan became more serious in class. She didn't want to waste any time after class.

Pei Ning was originally very diligent in her studies. However, ever since she sat next to Qiao Lan and saw how motivated Qiao Lan was, she suddenly had the misconception that she wasn't working hard enough.

Therefore, she inexplicably started to work even harder.

Class 13's grades were already at the top of the grade. However, ever since the mid-term exams, Class 13's motivation to study was visible to the naked eye.

Most of the students had this thought in their hearts. Even Qiao Lan, who had such a poor foundation, could get first place in the grade. What else was impossible?

Chen Yaoyang, who was originally smarter than others, didn't want to be suppressed by Qiao Lan again. Recently, he actually learned how to memorize books.

Lao Liu was very interested in the rich learning atmosphere in the class. He was cheerful all day long. The class teachers of the neighboring classes stood on the podium every day and scolded the students in their classes.

"Class 13 got first place last time. Now, they're working so hard. What right do you have to not work hard?"

Therefore, when Qiao Lan woke up early to memorize books, she found that there were many more students memorizing books around her.

The last class in the afternoon was physical education again.

Again, she was in the same class as Class 5, which was Hao Ying's class.

Qiao Lan actually liked sports. She didn't dislike physical education classes. When she was in high school, she had a good relationship with her classmates. During physical education classes, they often sat together and talked.

However, ever since the mid-term results came out, there were gradually people who took the initiative to talk to her in class. However, they just talked to her.

This kind of physical education class was no fun for Qiao Lan at all.

As usual, Qiao Lan planned to go back to the classroom and read books as usual after the class was dismissed.

However, today, the physical education teacher suddenly became interested. He didn't dismiss the class after the activities. Instead, he organized the whole class to do activities together.

A group of boys who had brought basketball and were ready to play basketball with Class 5 started to wail in unison.

The physical education teacher was completely unmoved. He excitedly led the whole class to the field and even excitedly "played games" with the students.

The boys looked at the students in Class 5 on the field. The girls looked at the girls sitting on the field listening to music and chatting. They all protested with all the cells in their bodies.

However, their protests were ineffective.

They didn't know what was wrong with the physical education teacher today. The class lasted forty-five minutes. When the activities finally ended, there were only five minutes left.

Class 5 next door had already finished their game.

Qiao Lan, who originally wanted to go back to the classroom to read, looked at the time. In the end, she didn't go back. She waited for the bell to ring.

There were only five minutes left. There was nowhere for everyone to go. They walked and talked. Especially at this time, there were several campus celebrities on the field.

For example, Song Yao, who many boys liked, and Chen Yaoyang and Hao Ying, who almost all the girls in the class paid attention to. Wherever they went, who they talked to, their every move attracted attention.

However, after the mid-term exam, there was one more Qiao Lan.

The title of the first in the grade always made people curious. Back then, many students directly came to the class to watch. Now that it was the physical education class, they knew that Qiao Lan was there. Many students also looked at Qiao Lan.

"Qiao Lan, the one with the high ponytail over there."

"She's 108 points away from the full score. She's really awesome, but she's not very good-looking."

"It's enough that she's good in her studies. Why does she have to be so good-looking?" someone retorted and glanced at Qiao Lan. "She's not bad looking. Her facial features are beautiful. If she were fairer, she would definitely be beautiful."

"She's so tall. She's about 1.7 meters. Her legs are so long …"

"She's too skinny …"

"God wants me to be so skinny …"

Everyone chattered until the teacher told them to disperse. Only then did they slowly walk back to the classroom.

Qiao Lan followed the crowd into the classroom. Suddenly, a person jumped from behind. Qiao Lan instinctively dodged. When he turned around, he saw Hao Ying's bright smile.

Looking at his white and neat teeth, Qiao Lan's first thought was that this guy could be in a toothpaste commercial.

Hao Ying was still as friendly as ever. He had just finished playing basketball. He took off his school uniform jacket and was only wearing a sleeveless T-shirt. Holding the ball in his hand, he ignored the surprised expressions of the people around him and said to Qiao Lan, "Thank you."

'Thank you?

What for? '

Qiao Lan was confused. "You've got the wrong person."

"How's that possible?" Hao Ying said. Last time, he thought Qiao Lan was lying to him, so he purposely used Qiao Lan's name. This time, Qiao Lan got first place in the grade. How could he be wrong?

Hao Ying was in a better mood when he thought of this. This time, he got 123 marks in Mathematics. His dad gave him a lot of pocket money and his mom bought him the latest iPhone.

Li Fan, Qin Yang, and the others patted Chen Yaoyang. "When did Qiao Lan get to know Hao Ying?"

"I don't know." Chen Yaoyang frowned. He was also surprised. After all, Hao Ying and Qiao Lan were not the same kind of people. Chen Yaoyang did not expect the two of them to know each other.

Some people were talking while others were playing with their phones. No one noticed the young man sitting in a wheelchair on the first floor of the teaching building a few minutes ago.

The pale young man looked at the smile on Qiao Lan's face and looked at the tall and handsome boy next to her.

The boy loved to smile, was bright, lively, and healthy. He was completely different from the gloomy and disabled Tan Mo.

No one knew how long Tan Mo, who never walked out of the classroom of his own accord, stayed there. No one knew what he was looking at or what he saw.

The sun gradually set and the sunlight shone on Tan Mo's empty desk.

Qiao Lan returned to the classroom. Even though she had decided not to disturb Tan Mo, she still subconsciously glanced at Tan Mo's seat.

His brows furrowed silently.

Tan Mo was not in the classroom.

However, Qiao Lan did not think too much about it. Today was the PE class. Tan Mo might have left early when there were fewer people.

When she got home, Mother Qiao kept glancing at Qiao Lan. She sized up Qiao Lan from head to toe and grumbled unhappily, "Our children are all quite fair. Why are you so dark?"

Mother Qiao was a little worried. Previously, Second Sister Qiao had said that she would introduce someone to Qiao Lan. What if that person thought that Qiao Lan was ugly? What would she do?

Qiao Lan was speechless.

She was not fair, but she was not dark either.

Besides, she was malnourished every day. She must be sallow and emaciated. If she ate well, she might even be fairer than Chubby Qiao Yuan.

However, Mother Qiao suddenly started to pay attention to Qiao Lan's appearance. This was not a good thing for Qiao Lan. Qiao Lan could not wait until the weekend. She planned to see if there were any job openings after school on Friday.

The next day, when Qiao Lan went to school, she looked back several times but didn't see Tan Mo even after the first class started.

Tan Mo did not come today.

Why didn't he come?

Was he sick?

Or did something happen at home?

The next day, Tan Mo still did not come. No one in class found it strange. After school in the afternoon, Qiao Lan happened to bump into the homeroom teacher. She asked the homeroom teacher about it, but the homeroom teacher said that she did not know.

Tan Mo was different from other students. He did not need to ask for leave even if he did not come to school.

Qiao Lan went home and ate something. She put down her bag and went out to find a job.

Qiao Lan's high school used to be sponsored by kind-hearted people. She did not have to worry about tuition fees. However, if she had free time, she would still work to earn some money. After all, without a source of income, one would feel insecure.

After she went to university, she worked several jobs to pay for her tuition and living expenses.

In university, she distributed flyers, worked as a waitress, and did all kinds of jobs. After university, Qiao Lan was able to find a better job as a tutor because of her good results in the college entrance examination and the best finance university in the country.

Now, Qiao Lan was only in her first year of high school. She could only work at night and on weekends. It was too difficult to find a long-term job.

Qiao Lan wandered around from 7 pm to 10 pm. She had a bunch of job listings in her hands. She also wrote down a lot of addresses and phone numbers in her notebook. When she got home, it was almost 11 pm. Her ears automatically blocked out Old Lady Joe's nagging. She went to bed early.

The next day, she went out again at dawn.

She took out the job listings from yesterday and went to ask them one by one.

Qiao Lan was only in her first year of high school. It was really inconvenient. She could not find a job even after looking for the whole morning. She was not 18 years old yet. She only had a junior high education.

After walking around for almost a day, she still could not find a job. Gradually, the day passed and it was night time again. The surrounding lights gradually lit up. Qiao Lan went to the store to buy a piece of bread. She sat on a chair next to a small gravel road and looked around.

Nearly ten minutes later, a western restaurant that had been dark all this time finally turned on the lights. The charming lady boss fixed her hair and hung up the "Open for Business" sign. After a while, she pasted a recruitment notice on the glass.

Qiao Lan finished the bread in two bites. She wiped her hands and walked in.

When she passed by earlier, she saw this western restaurant. It had two floors and the decoration was very exquisite. Now that the lights were turned on, it was indescribably unique.

After looking for a day, she could not find even the worst job. Qiao Lan decided to just ask for a better job. It was difficult anyway.

Another reason was that Qiao Lan had worked in a western restaurant before. She learned how to make coffee and passed the English test.

When Qiao Lan walked in, the lady boss glanced at Qiao Lan. "What do you want to eat?"

Qiao Lan pointed at the window. "I'm here to apply."

.....

After a busy day, Qiao Lan finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

The lady boss said that she did not want underage girls. Qiao Lan said that she was already 16 years old. The lady boss said that she wanted someone with a high school education or above. Qiao Lan said that she had good grades.

After arguing with the lady boss for nearly half an hour, the lady boss was getting impatient. However, one of the employees happened to be on leave and there were many customers. Qiao Lan volunteered that she knew how to make coffee. The lady boss was skeptical and let Qiao Lan try it. After she tried it, she worked for the whole night.

The lady boss didn't expect Qiao Lan to be so nimble. Most importantly, she was quite skilled. Whether it was making coffee or ordering, she was very skilled. The lady boss finally believed Qiao Lan's claim that she used to work in a western restaurant.

However, Qiao Lan's time was a problem. Qiao Lan could only come at night and on weekends. Qiao Lan said that she could pay less.

The lady boss stared at Qiao Lan for a long time. Probably out of sympathy, she finally agreed and asked her to come to the restaurant at 11 o 'clock tomorrow morning.

Qiao Lan went out shopping for a whole day and finally found a job. Although it was only a little more than a thousand yuan a month, she was very satisfied!

When she started work the next day, Qiao Lan found that although the restaurant was located in a remote area and the things were very expensive, there were many people who came. Many of them were regulars.

Tan Mo did not like to go out, especially these two days. However, Father Tan came to pick him up personally, so Tan Mo finally went out.

Tan Mo and his mother had always been abroad. Father Tan thought that Tan Mo might like western food, so he took him to a western restaurant that he usually went to. Although the restaurant was not very big, the environment and the taste were top notch.

Father Tan asked Tan Mo what the food here tasted good. Tan Mo's expression was indifferent. He did not have any reaction.

Father Tan then asked why Tan Mo did not go to school these two days. The teacher called to ask him. Tan Mo sat in his wheelchair and said expressionlessly, "I don't want to go."

Father Tan frowned.

He had tried so hard to persuade Tan Mo to go to school. In the end, he did not know what had happened. Tan Mo suddenly did not want to go.

Father Tan happened to have some free time today, so he took Tan Mo out for a meal. He wanted to talk to Tan Mo.

Father Tan was used to being a leader. When he talked to Tan Mo, it was fine at first. However, later on, the tone of his voice became that of a subordinate. Tan Mo was already very annoyed. He wanted to leave more and more. However, when he looked up, he suddenly saw a familiar figure.