Chapter Seventeen: Hitting a Wall

Such ideals and career plans struck Ning Shuyi as somewhat naive, but she had no intention of lecturing anyone as a life mentor. She was simply curious. “You’re planning to switch fields and pursue a Master of Law, so your undergraduate degree isn't in law, is it? Since you already have such a clear vision for your ideal profession, why didn't you choose law as your major from the start?”

“It was all because of my mother!” Yu Mengpeng said, clearly frustrated, tugging at a napkin until it shredded into tiny pieces, which she tossed onto the table. “She insisted that studying law would be too hard for a girl, told me to go into accounting instead. She said accounting was good for girls—you’d be in charge of money! But she never considered whether our family has any money for me to manage! Because she was so stubborn and controlling, she ended up influencing my college application choices, and everything after that became chaotic!”

“What were your plans after that? Just grad school?” Ning Shuyi asked.

Yu Mengpeng sighed. “Not just grad school. All the preparations I made for it, all the plans I laid out—it was my blood, sweat, and tears! You have no idea, I really worked so hard and put so much effort into it! When I started university, I already felt I’d made a mistake, that I should’ve studied law, not accounting. So I tried to find out about transferring departments, but it turned out to be too difficult, impossible really. Then I started thinking about graduate school. To make sure I could smoothly apply for a law master’s, I specifically took a double major in law at my university. It meant extra work compared to others, but later I learned that this double major was a program set up internally by the university—it didn’t actually mean I had a law degree! To help myself, I even went out of my way to make friends with students from the law school, hoping that when I changed fields for grad school, I wouldn’t be completely in the dark, that there’d be someone to guide me professionally so I wouldn’t waste too much time stumbling around. If my mother hadn’t messed things up for me from the start, I wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble and put in so much effort! After all that preparation, when it was time for grad school exams, people just said I wasn’t cut out for it, and all my efforts were wiped away in a single sentence! It hurt so much.”

“If you were so determined, why didn’t you try taking the exam before graduation? The registration fee isn’t expensive—why give up just because your family didn’t support you?” Ning Shuyi asked, puzzled.

Yu Mengpeng’s expression became a little awkward at that question. Her restless paper-tearing stopped, and she pursed her lips, a bit embarrassed. “Actually, I did take the exam once in my senior year, but I didn’t do well—I failed. Because I didn’t do well, my mother told me I was never cut out for it. I said that people have their own strategies for grad school exams, I’d never attended a single prep class, it was normal to not beat others. My cousin spent two years in prep classes and still didn’t pass, but she’s going for a third year. My mom told me neither of us were cut out for it, and if my cousin wanted to keep trying, my uncle wouldn’t stop her, so it wasn’t her concern. She told me to give up as soon as possible, that if I had the energy to prepare for a law master’s, I’d be better off getting those accounting certificates. But that’s not where my passion lies—why force me?”

Ning Shuyi didn’t comment much on that, just offered a few words of comfort and then asked some questions about Wang Yuluo. After chatting a while, Yu Mengpeng said she should head home soon, otherwise she’d get nagged, so the three of them got up to leave.

Ning Shuyi glanced at the half-finished fruit tea in front of her and then at Yu Mengpeng’s untouched but thoroughly stirred, now murky drink, saying nothing.

Huo Yan didn’t rush to leave either. He quietly gathered up all the bits of shredded napkin Yu Mengpeng had torn in her agitation, rolled them into a ball, and went over to the trash can to throw them away.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I was so caught up in chatting, I didn’t realize I’d shredded so much paper!” Yu Mengpeng felt embarrassed seeing someone else clean up her mess, especially since it was Huo Yan, whom she’d secretly glanced at for quite a while. Her cheeks flushed. “You really didn’t have to—once the staff comes by, they’ll clean it up anyway!”

Huo Yan glanced at her without replying, as if her words weren’t directed at him.

The three left the dessert shop; outside, the sky had already grown dim. Ning Shuyi offered to drive Yu Mengpeng home, and she gladly accepted, getting in the car and sitting in the back seat, staying rather quiet on the way.

Ning Shuyi watched her a few times in the rearview mirror, wondering if the girl had been discouraged by Huo Yan’s silence.

As it turned out, she was overthinking.

When they arrived at the entrance of Yu Mengpeng’s apartment complex, Huo Yan pulled over and waited for her to get out, but Yu Mengpeng didn’t seem in a hurry. She said a few polite words from the back seat, and only when there was really nothing left to say did she take out her phone.

“Can I add you on WeChat?” she asked, a little shy, gathering her courage to hand her phone toward Huo Yan in the driver’s seat.

Huo Yan shifted slightly, almost imperceptibly, as if the phone carried some virus, and replied resolutely, “No. I’m married.”

His words left not only Yu Mengpeng stunned, but Ning Shuyi was also a bit surprised.

Yu Mengpeng was mortified—she didn’t know whether to pull back her phone or keep holding it out. She hurriedly tried to explain her action, stumbling over her words. “It’s not what you think, officer—I just thought since you work on the front lines of law enforcement, adding you on WeChat might help if I have questions about legal practice, I could ask…”

“Find a lawyer, or add her,” Huo Yan nodded toward Ning Shuyi in the passenger seat. “She knows more than I do.”

Ning Shuyi quickly took out her phone and scanned Yu Mengpeng’s code. “Yes, if there’s anything I can help with, just ask. I’m sometimes busy, so my replies might not be timely.”

With that gesture, Yu Mengpeng managed to save face and immediately accepted, pleased. “That’s great, thank you! I actually just wanted to add either of you!”