Chapter 456 Su Taotao Steals the Spotlight Again

**Chapter 456: Su Taotao Makes Waves Again**

Zhou Linglan was thrilled: "Tao Tao..."

Su Taotao, however, remained calm and nodded with a smile. "Thanks for making the trip. I’ll be down in a minute. Mom, give Auntie some candy."

Su Taotao had bought plenty of candy—after all, they were local specialties—intending to take it to the capital as gifts.

The operator waved her off. "No need, no need. This is part of our job. Besides, someone in our family works at the factory too. We got more than enough candy for New Year's."

Su Taotao didn’t insist. She went back to her room to change before heading to the telephone booth.

She'd only been there a minute when the phone rang. The operator, beaming, answered and after a few words, handed the receiver to Su Taotao.

It was indeed the admissions office of Capital University calling. The gist was that Su Taotao had the highest scores in the province and was being offered early acceptance. They asked if she was interested in attending their school—with a full tuition waiver, a substantial scholarship, and even housing arrangements, considering she had a family and child.

The offer was undeniably tempting.

Capital University had originally been Su Taotao’s first choice—after all, it was the university she had dreamed of attending in her past life.

But at the last moment, she had changed her preference to Tsinghua University, as its architecture program was the top-ranked program in the field.

She had hesitated and wavered but ultimately chose to let go of her dream school from her past life in favor of Tsinghua.

When the operator heard Su Taotao politely decline Capital University’s offer, her jaw dropped so far you could’ve rolled an egg through it.

"D-D-Director Su, y-y-you’re not going to Capital University?"

Su Taotao smiled. "I have my heart set on another school."

The operator gulped. "I may not be highly educated, but even I know Capital University is the top university in the country. Director Su, you're really turning it down? No regrets?"

Su Taotao shook her head, her gaze firm. "No regrets."

The operator took a deep breath and pounded her chest a few times. "Then, Director Su, which university do you want to attend?"

If she wasn't going to Capital University, she could probably get into any other school, right?

Su Taotao chuckled. "Let’s wait until the acceptance letter arrives."

She had prepared in advance, listing Grandma Song’s address in the capital as the mailing address for her application. Fu Zhengtu had also arranged for them to receive the admission notice on her behalf.

Grandpa Hu had even teased, “Were you that confident that Su Taotao would definitely get accepted?”

Watching Su Taotao walk away, the operator kept pounding her chest.

"My heart—it's about to pound out of my chest! If I hadn’t heard it with my own ears, I’d never believe someone would turn down Capital University. Director Su really is extraordinary."

The news that "Director Su rejected Capital University" spread like wildfire. In less than an afternoon, it had spread throughout the entire base.

Once again, Su Taotao became the talk of the town.

...

The next day, Xia Zhiqiu came running as soon as she heard the news, with little Xia Zhi in her arms.

"Tao Tao, did you really turn down Capital University’s offer? Have you received the acceptance letter yet?"

Xia Zhiqiu knew she hadn't done well in the exams, but people always hold onto hope—what if others performed even worse? Maybe she'd get lucky and have a chance.

Su Taotao said, "Yes, I rejected them. My first choice was Huaqing University, not Capital University."

Xia Zhiqiu stared at her, speechless for a long moment before finally blurting out:

"How can the gap between people be so huge? How do your family's brains even work?"

While others got to choose between Capital and Huaqing, she might not even make it into a community college. Comparing oneself to others could really make you crazy.

Logically, those who work as scientists aren't lacking in intelligence, but few are as insanely smart as Su Taotao's family.

Su Taotao playfully poked fun at little Xia Zhi: "You've got too much going on. If you review more, the next exam won't be so hard."

Xia Zhiqiu sighed. "You, a factory director juggling ten thousand tasks a day, say I have too much to worry about? Don’t you feel guilty?"

Su Taotao shook her head. "It's different. I don’t have to worry about household matters—all my time after work goes into studying. You’re pulled in two directions."

Xia Zhiqiu pinched her little daughter’s cheek. "What can I do? The child is still too young—I just can’t relax. This year, I’ll try sending Xia Xia to preschool. I’ve already applied for a one-year leave without pay. Whether I pass or not, I’m taking another shot at it."

Su Taotao shook her head. "Didn’t I say before that the exams might be held in the summer this year? You might only have a few months left to prepare. Use your time well."

Xia Zhiqiu: "I’ve been reviewing all along. I’m not aiming for a top-tier university—just getting into the city’s teaching college would be great. I could even come back on weekends."

Su Taotao handed her the neatly organized study materials: "Everything’s here. Take what suits you and use it."

Xia Zhiqiu: "This is incredible, Tao Tao! With your materials, I’ll definitely get twice the results with half the effort."

Su Taotao: "It’s not that dramatic. I’ve sorted them from basic to advanced—just go at your own speed."

Xia Zhiqiu treated them like treasure. "I know. Thank you, Tao Tao!"

...

Fu Zhengtu returned from the post office with Chenchen, who was loaded down with bags of all sizes.

Su Taotao massaged her forehead. "Chenchen, we’re supposed to be mailing things away—why are you bringing more home?"

The kids had their own pocket money to spend as they pleased.

Chenchen: "Mom, these are gifts for Pangpang, Dongdong, Dun Dun, Xia Xia, and Xiao Chuyi! I’ll deliver them right away—they're not coming on the plane!"

Chenchen couldn’t wait another second. He called out to Bai Bai: "Bai Bai, let’s go! We’re delivering gifts and telling them we’re flying to the capital!"

Alright, understood—he just had to show off to his little friends about taking a plane, didn’t he?

Fu Yuanhang also came downstairs, carrying an account book and a bag full of cash.

Yes, a bag of cash.

Over the years, Fu Yuanhang had acted as "money manager" for Uncle Mu and Bai Hua, managing their work-study earnings. He'd saved up who knows how much for them!

"Sister-in-law, I’m going to return the money to Uncle Mu and Bai Hua. We’re also having lunch together—I won’t be back for the meal."

Su Taotao looked worriedly at his stuffed backpack.

"Be careful carrying that much money. You should’ve gone with your brother this morning. Want him to go with you?"

Fu Yuanhang smiled and shook his head. "There's a whole group of us—Kang Zi and Yadan are coming too. It’s not that much money, really. I also got them some small gifts."

Su Taotao smiled and said, "Go on then, have fun together. Bring Xiao Meizi with you." Xiao Meizi and Bai Hua are inseparable.

Su Taotao had already asked Auntie Zhong to look after Xiao Meizi while they were away.

Of course, no problem.

Fu Yuanhang thought for a moment and said, "Su, we’d like to stay at our teacher’s place overnight and come back tomorrow."

Since staying there for their exam two days ago, it had been a while since they visited Mr. Tang’s house. Before leaving, they needed to check on it again.

"Should we bring food from home?" Su Taotao asked.

Fu Yuanhang shook his head. "No need, Taotao. We’ll get food in town."

Even so, Zhou Linglan packed a cured duck and a large bag of roasted shrimp chips for Fu Yuanhang:

"A pack of growing boys, all with bottomless stomachs. Take this along for a proper meal."

"Alright."

Fu Yuanhang didn’t refuse and took the food, heading to Uncle Mu’s house.

...