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Chapter 479: Chapter 469: What is destined to be yours will come to you eventually; what is not meant for you should not be forced.
Unable to procure the Monkey Stamp, Shen Yunfang had let go, no longer doggedly searching for it. These past few days of hustle and bustle seemed to perfectly illustrate that saying, "If destiny wills it, it shall come; if not, then in vain one seeks."
Although she knew the Monkey Stamp would definitely appreciate in value, after trying around with a whopping one hundred and sixty-three moves, she couldn’t acquire a Monkey Stamp to save her life. In the end, she could only sigh to herself—such was fate. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝙗.𝒄𝒐𝒎
If the heavens didn’t wish for her to make this fortune, it seemed all her efforts were to no avail, at least that’s how Shen Yunfang felt at the moment. Since traveling through time, this was the first time she felt she wasn’t the protagonist but merely a supporting character.
But on the flip side, she considered herself quite the little rich lady now, with several million US Dollars already deposited in the bank. Looking at future prospects, her savings would surely continue to increase; there was really no need to fixate on those "trifles". Of course, while telling herself this, her heart bled.
Shen Yunfang was no longer fixated and didn’t need to rush all over to buy the Monkey Stamp. Her life returned to normal. The curriculum of her junior year was already heavy, and she had fallen a bit behind during these busy days, so in the following days, she stayed focused in school, attentively attended her classes, and worked hard to catch up on the professional knowledge she had missed.
Only that was the foundation upon which she could establish herself and stand firm in the future. What she learned and mastered was truly hers.
Seeing that Shen Yunfang had finally returned to normal, her classmates all secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Just the other night, the class monitor had specially taken up one period to meet with the entire class and discuss how to assist Shen Yunfang.
Her classmates had all noticed the changes in Shen Yunfang during this period. Normally, she was a very down-to-earth, studious, and diligent student—she paid close attention during lectures and actively participated in academic discussions with teachers and classmates after class. Even having two such young children at home, nobody had ever seen her arrive late or leave early from school. But recently, Shen Yunfang’s behavior had been very peculiar; she appeared distracted during class and busied herself by writing and drawing in her notebook, as if troubled by something. Everyday at lunch, she was the first to dash out of the classroom, seemingly in a hurry to attend to some matter, and in less than two weeks, she had already taken leave four times—a complete departure from her past.
After meticulous analysis, her classmates concluded that something must have happened at home, leading to these unusual behaviors. As classmates, it was only right for them to offer aid when one was in trouble. Furthermore, Shen Yunfang had taught countless English classes to the entire class over two years. Her classmates in the Agronomy Department’s Second Class remembered her selflessness in serving others, so when the class monitor appealed for them to lend a helping hand, everyone donated generously—five Yuan, ten Yuan, whatever they could afford, hoping to help her. Some classmates even gave up their entire monthly allowance, like the class monitor and Ma Liang.
But just as they were filled with passion to assist Shen Yunfang, they discovered that she had reverted back to her normal routine. Now, what were they to do?
That very afternoon, the class monitor took the time after class to pull Shen Yunfang aside (everyone knew she needed to pick up her children after school, so they made sure to avoid troubling her then), and hesitantly handed her a paper-wrapped package.
"What’s this?" Shen Yunfang took it, somewhat puzzled.
"This is a little something from all our classmates. It’s not much, but we still hope it can help you out in some way," the class monitor said with some hesitation, now unsure if Shen Yunfang really needed their assistance.
Shen Yunfang listened, utterly baffled, but still unwrapped the paper bundle she was holding.
To her surprise, it contained money. "What’s this?" she asked.
"Our classmates noticed you seemed a bit... well, anxious recently, and thought something might have gone wrong at home. So everyone pitched in and donated some money to help you out. We all have our limits, and this is all we could gather. Please don’t look down on it," said the class president, finishing what he had to say regardless.
Holding the money in her hands, Yunfang was inexplicably moved. She had not anticipated that her recent demeanor would elicit such concern from her classmates, who had even spontaneously donated to assist her.
Looking at the one and ten-dollar bills in her hand, the bundle amounted to about forty or fifty dollars in total. To the current Yunfang, it wasn’t a lot, but she knew that for her classmates to save up this amount, many of them would have to make do with just eating plain steamed buns for a week or two.
The amount didn’t matter; the timely friendship and support in a moment of need deeply touched Yunfang. In that moment, she suddenly felt that her selfless contributions over the past two years had been worthwhile; at the very least, she had gained a class of good friends.
However, Yunfang couldn’t accept the money. She looked over and pushed the money back toward the class president, "Class president, please thank everyone for me. I don’t need this money. Could you help me return it?" She noticed the record on the paper wrapping, meticulously inscribed with a fountain pen, noting who had donated how much. She knew it must have been the class president’s doing.
Seeing the class president’s hesitation, Yunfang said with a smile, "Class president, you’ve misunderstood. There were indeed some issues at home recently, but they’ve been resolved now. Everything’s fine. And besides, the problem at home wasn’t about money, so I really appreciate everyone’s kindness, but I can’t accept this money."
Relieved by her explanation, the class president took the money back, "That’s good to hear. Whatever the issue was, it’s good that it’s resolved. If you ever face any difficulties in the future, don’t shoulder them alone. Let us classmates know. ’Many hands make light work,’ after all. If three cobblers joined their wisdom, they would surpass Zhuge Liang, right?" Everyone knew about Yunfang’s situation—a military spouse looking after two children, attending to them while also managing her studies was no easy task. Thus, the class never asked her to do chores like being on duty, a sort of indirect care from her classmates.
"Yes, I understand. I’ll definitely share with everyone if anything comes up. But I still want to thank you, class president, and everyone else for your thoughtfulness," Yunfang said sincerely.
The class president waved it off, "Alright, since there’s no issue now, I won’t take up any more of your time. Go on home. I need to grab some food too." With that, he headed towards the cafeteria.
As Yunfang pedaled her bicycle home, her mind mulled over the recent events.
The class president’s words had resonated with her, leaving her emotions unsettled. She had not expected classmates, with whom she shared merely a nodding acquaintance, to reach out with such eagerness to help when they saw her in distress. Although she didn’t need it, their actions still moved her deeply.
