CH 26

Even though he knows it’s all a ruse, the Stand-in can’t help but feel happy at times.

This time, the Stand-in’s grades were released, and he received high marks in all four undergraduate subjects on the self-examination.

The Stand-in was overjoyed and immediately informed the President. The President even sent him a few “!!!” before adding, “I’m proud of you.” 

When the Stand-in saw this message, he was two points happier than when he checked his grades earlier, and he replied, “I’ll go back and cook something delicious for you today.”

The President sent an emoji of a dog wagging its tail.

The Stand-in was thinking about what to cook for dinner and realized that if he invited the President to go shopping with him, the other party would be overjoyed. The Stand-in laughed, imagining the President’s reaction, and quickly sent a message asking if the other party was going. He received the same response he had predicted.

He has to admit that seeing the President happy makes him happy as well.

87

Not only were the results of the self-examination announced, but also the results of the university midterm exams and reports in which the Stand-in took part. The Stand-in did well, earning the old professor’s rare praise.

The Stand-in was overjoyed, and the old professor had just finished complimenting him when he exclaimed “You’re complacent about this!” 

The old professor inquired once more, “What do you want to do after you get your undergraduate degree?”

The Stand-in replied truthfully, and he intended to begin working immediately. The old professor was quite disapproving and said, “It’s worthless! You’ve made so much progress, and you’re going to stop here!”

Despite being chastised, the Stand-in was relieved to have the old professor’s approval.

At the same time, the professor’s interrogation made him nervous about his future. 

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Ktf Vajcv-lc cbvvfv, jcv atf Vfmbcv Xfcfgjalbc rjlv, “Tbe xcbk tf ilxfr W jcv sbe’gf ralii kliilcu ab yf klat tlw?” 

It’s me who he likes now, the corner of the Stand-in mouth slightly curls up. The second generation thought he was obsessed, so he leaned closer and asked, “Don’t be silly, what can he give you? Why not follow me.”

“And what can you give me?”

“I can afford everything he gives.”

The Stand-in said, “What if I want to go to school?” 

The Second Generation said: “What’s so fun about going to school, it’s a waste of time. I let you eat and drink every day, you don’t have time just to play.”

The Stand-in said: “I just want to study.”

The Second Generation said calmly: “It’s simple. I can buy it for whatever degree you want, and I can buy it with a doctorate degree.”

When he got home that day, the Stand-in told the President about the professor’s compliments.

The President was happier than the Stand-in. He hugged the Stand-in and kissed him several times before saying, “You are really great. I knew you were smart.”

The Stand-in was a little embarrassed to be praised, but after being praised by the President for a long time, he gradually realized that they were not so bad.

The Stand-in suddenly thought of the Second Generation and asked, “What if I want to go to graduate school in the future?”

The President released the Stand-in when he heard this, went inside the study room, and then came out carrying a stack of papers.

“I looked up the information before, take a look at……”

The President collected the pertinent data for the postgraduate entrance examination. 

What each school excels at, who the mentors are, what the benefits and drawbacks are, and how to sign up… The information also has the President’s own handwritten notes and he doesn’t know when the President prepared these.

The Stand-in asked, “Aren’t you worried that we’ll have even less time to spend together if I enroll in graduate school?”

The President said: “I can’t say that I’m not worried, but I know you’re a particularly motivated person who likes to learn and wants to get better. It just so happens that I like you, and I am also happy to see your progress.” 

The Stand-in suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

The Stand-in lowered his head and said, “I’m sorry…”

The President thought that he was apologizing for going to graduate school, so he quickly hugged him and said, “What’s there to apologize for? If you want to go to graduate school, you can go abroad. If you don’t mind, I’ll go to graduate school with you.” 

The Stand-in still said, “I’m sorry.”

88

The more guilty the Stand-in is, the better for the President. 

The President thought that the Stand-in who had worked hard without complaining before was good enough, but he didn’t expect that the Stand-in would be better after falling in love.

Needless to say, he makes two meals every morning and evening with all his heart. The Stand-in occasionally gets up early in the morning to prepare lunch for him to take to work. He didn’t want the Stand-in to be too weary, but the Stand-in said, “I like to cook for you.”

The Stand-in also smiled at him more often. Sometimes when he looked back, he would find that the Stand-in was quietly staring at him, without knowing how long he had been staring. 

One night, the President woke up and found that the Stand-in kissed him in a daze.

“What’s wrong?”

“I dreamed that you were unhappy…” The Stand-in was obviously not awake yet, “I’m sorry…” 

“Sorry for what? Sleep muddleheaded you.” The President also kissed the Stand-in, rubbed the Stand-in in his arms, and fell asleep again.

The President’s heart nearly melted when he saw how dependent and attached the Stand-in appeared, and it felt so good to be loved..

On weekends, it’s rare for the two of them to stop studying and watch movies together on the sofa. The two of them have very similar tastes in watching movies, no matter who picks the movie, the other person can watch it with great interest. 

They were having a good time watching when the doorbell rang.

“Who ah.” The President checked the time; it was nine o’clock.

“Express delivery? You go open the door and I’ll get some fruit.” The Stand-in patted the President, and only then did the President let go of the Stand-in. 

The President approached the door and looked at the doorbell display, but it was his mother.

“What are you doing here?”

“Come see what you’ve been up to.” the President’s mother said, motioning for the assistant behind her to carry her carry-on luggage into the house. Her demeanor suggested that she stay for a few days.