Chapter 1161 The Future is Long
After emerging from the basement, Lassie stood outside, taking deep breaths of fresh air, trying to dispel the suffocating pain in her heart.
But it was no use. Her heart still ached uncontrollably.
Sensing her distress, Carter wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his embrace, and gently comforted her, "I know you're hurting. I'm hurting too. But what's done is done, and no amount of pain will change that. From now on, let's shower Violet with all the love she missed out on."
Lassie leaned against her husband's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. "I get it, but every time I see Lisa, I get so angry. I can't help but picture Violet being abused by her. You have no idea what I saw when I entered Violet's dreams. Lisa was pinching her, actually pinching her! Our precious daughter, whom I wouldn't even let a hair on her head be harmed, and she dared to pinch her right in front of me. She even framed Violet, making everyone scold her. Thinking about it makes my heart ache. I would rather suffer in her place. She's just a teenager, and she had to endure such inhumane torture."
Carter hadn't seen it firsthand, so he didn't feel it as viscerally as she did. Hearing about it and seeing it are two completely different things.
If Carter had seen Lisa abusing Violet, he would have killed Lisa on the spot, and he would have been even more furious and distressed than Lassie.
Carter reassured her, "I understand, I really do. That's why I'm so angry too. But we have time on our side. Lisa is in our hands now, and we can make her pay for every bit of pain she inflicted on Violet."
Lassie silently shed tears, saying nothing.
What was done was done, and no amount of heartache or words could change it. Since it couldn't be undone, they could only do their best to make amends.
Meanwhile, after several hours, the plane finally landed at the airport in Country D. Since Oliver wasn't attending high school in the capital of Country D but in a small town, they drove to the town after landing.
Wyatt had already arranged for a car to wait for them at the airport. After they got off the plane, they were taken to eat first, and then they headed straight to Oliver's high school.
Before Quentin and Lisa went to Sunset Bay, they had anticipated that they wouldn't be able to return for a while and didn't want to leave Oliver alone at home, so they arranged for him to stay at the school temporarily.
When they arrived at the high school, classes hadn't been dismissed yet.
Charles pushed Hannah around the area for a bit. Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings, Hannah took a deep breath and sighed, "You know, I graduated from this high school too!"
Hearing this, Charles couldn't help but take a closer look.
It was a very old high school. It had been renovated a couple of years ago, so from the outside, the school environment looked decent, with two large sports fields and dedicated basketball and soccer courts. There were two rows of osmanthus trees planted outside the school, and in the fall, even the wind carried their fragrance. Although it was far from the environment of a private high school, it was quite good for a public high school.
"The school environment isn't bad!" Charles said.
Hannah laughed, "It was renovated the year before last! They started renovating right after I graduated! You have no idea how bad the environment was when I was studying here! The restrooms were the old-fashioned kind, with several pits in a row! Two-thirds of the tiles on the walls had fallen off. These osmanthus trees were planted later; we had camphor trees back then. There were several holes behind the school, and some students would sneak out through them after evening self-study and sneak back in the next morning."
Thinking back, high school days were actually quite wonderful.
Although Lisa treated her poorly and often abused her, the teachers and classmates were very kind to her.
Charles was surprised, "There are still schools with such poor environments?"
In his mind, such school environments should have been from his parents' generation. And even then, only in rural areas. Cities had long since gotten rid of such restrooms.
Hannah closed her eyes, took a deep breath, lazily leaned back in her chair, stretched, and smiled, "Yeah! I found it hard to believe too. But..."
She paused, slowly opened her eyes, and continued, "But this high school is the best in the city, with the strongest faculty. Despite the poor environment, everyone still fought to get in.
Lisa didn't want me to continue studying, thinking it was a waste of money, and wanted me to drop out after middle school. I didn't want to drop out, so I told her I could get a scholarship. If I could get a full scholarship and have my tuition waived, she would let me continue studying.
She agreed! And I did it. Not only did I get my tuition waived, but I also received a scholarship every semester. And I didn't even take the high school entrance exam; I was directly admitted in the second semester of my third year of middle school.
Lisa was so angry that she almost fainted. She never cared about my studies and always thought that, as a girl, my grades must be poor! She never expected that I would be directly admitted to the best high school. She even accused me of using some underhanded means.
What a joke, I was just a teenager, what means could I have used? I got in through my own efforts, winning first place in a physics competition."
Thinking about how angry Lisa was back then still made her want to laugh. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a bit sad.
She had participated in so many competitions, but Lisa never knew. No one knew how low her spirits were back then.
Listening to her, Charles didn't feel happy at all; instead, his eyes were full of heartache.
Others might not know, but he did.
Hannah's grades in middle school weren't great, especially in math, which was always her weak point.
But she managed to get into the best high school through her own efforts and later got into the best university in Country D.
The hardships she endured, even if he hadn't experienced them himself, he could imagine.
Charles gently rubbed Hannah's head. He didn't hold back his praise, "I've always known that you aresmart and amazing! From the first time we met, when you came to interview me on behalf of the journalism department, I knew you were incredible!"
Being praised by the person she loved, Hannah happily stuck out her tongue.
She took his hand off her head, held it in her palm, and gently rubbed her cheek against the back of his hand.
"I'm so glad I persevered; otherwise, I wouldn't have met you. Back then, I always thought that since Lisa and Quentin liked Austin, marrying him would mean that even if we didn't have a passionate love, we could still live a respectful life together. It wasn't until I met you that I realized my life shouldn't be like that. I have the right to pursue my own happiness."
Charles's heart melted, and he pulled her head to his chest, gently stroking her hair with his large, warm hand. "Stella is always so impulsive! Sending you to me was the best thing she ever did! Looks like I need to thank her properly for being such a great matchmaker."
Hannah couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Send her a few sets of exam papers, and she'll be very grateful to you!"
Far away in Sunset Bay, Stella sneezed hard, rubbed her nose, and muttered to herself, "What's going on? I'm not catching a cold, so why am I sneezing?"
Just then, the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Moments later, kids started trickling out of the school gates.
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