booktalesy Chapter 20: Dry them to death!
Chapter 20: Dry them to death!
In the afternoon, the whole class knew Li Chao's grades, and the homeroom teacher, Zhang Xiangsong, posted the class list on the wall by the door.
Qin Nuanyang sat in the corner of the last row, watching the exclamations of many classmates and the admiring, envious, and perhaps even jealous looks they gave Li Chao.
Qin Nuanyang was quite happy.
She even had a similar dream: that she would excel in her exams, get the highest score in the whole school, and make everyone look at her with new eyes, especially that guy Li Chao, who would come to her specifically to ask her for help.
That feeling was amazing!
It turned out that it was just a dream. Back in reality, she was still a 400-point performer.
"Wen He, do you know? The son of my dad's comrade-in-arms scored 658 points this time, the top score in science by a wide margin. And that's even with his English score not being good. If he had performed normally in English, he could have scored over 680."
Wen He quickly replied, "I've heard about it too, but Sister Nuanyang, you shouldn't be so happy, right? If he goes to Tsinghua or Peking University, and you want to go to school in Beijing, 400 points might not be enough. I've seen the cut-off scores in Beijing; the normal cut-off score for junior colleges is close to 500."
Qin Nuanyang: "...What does this have to do with me?"
"Is it okay? I've noticed you mention him all the time, Nuanyang, and I thought you liked him."
"How could that be! You have no idea how much he hates me. He called me a pig brain."
"Huh? When did you say that?"
"Just last night, they called me saying they were being bullied. I was thinking of going to help them, but I ran into him at the school gate. He grabbed my phone, wouldn't let me go, and then started yelling at me..."
"Oh, I see. It's a good thing you didn't go."
"Yeah, if I had gone, I don't know how I would have ended up like this. Actually, what he said is true. If I were even a little smarter, after all these years in the elite class, I could have scored over 500 points."
Wen He: "Sister Nuanyang, if you really like him, why don't you tell him not to go to Beijing to study? Jiangzhou University is not bad either. There are many regular undergraduate programs there. You can go to a regular undergraduate program and it won't be far from him."
"Do you really think I'm an idiot? If you can get into Tsinghua or Peking University, why don't you go? And let me emphasize again, I have nothing to do with him!"
"Really, it's okay? Can you introduce me to someone? I'd like to find someone who's good at studying to tutor me."
"You? You're not even as smart as me. We're not even on the same planet. You're at least a galaxy below him. If you want tutoring, I'll give you some... I know you two rent apartments together, but don't bother him, understand?"
Wen He: "..."
Is this what it means to go both ways?
Qin Nuanyang was desperately protecting Li Chao, and Li Chao was also trying to find a way for Qin Nuanyang in private. Even though the two of them didn't say anything to each other on the surface, many things happened to converge on him, making him see things more clearly than anyone else.
……
Qin Zhiguo was very happy that day. Although he had stayed up until midnight the night before because he knew that there had been a fight among the students at school, all his negative emotions vanished when he learned that Li Chao had scored 658 points in total, even though he had performed poorly in English.
He specifically asked the proctor that day, who knew Li Chao and said that Li Chao had no problems answering the English questions and didn't seem to have scored 96 points. It was a paper with a score of 120.
The other party didn't know why the grades were so bad; perhaps the answer sheet was mixed up.
Qin Zhiguo looked through the answer sheet, but he hadn't looked through the exam paper since it had already been handed out.
There were indeed many wrong answers on the answer sheet, but considering Li Chao's previous English level and the invigilator's verbal description, Qin Zhiguo had every reason to suspect that Li Chao had deliberately made mistakes on the answer sheet.
After all, English was the last subject, and he probably knew he had performed very well in the previous subjects, so he deliberately lowered his score.
He knew Li Chao too well. This guy was quite sensitive. If he could consistently score above 680 points, many people would seek him out, and he would receive some extraordinary treatment from the school, which might make him feel uncomfortable.
Yes, that makes sense. The most important thing is to maintain a good mindset and not be disturbed by external factors.
"Just giving us living expenses isn't enough. The food in the school cafeteria is so-so; its only advantage is that it's cheap. Eating out isn't necessarily good either; the hygiene of those small shops is questionable..."
He planned to go home and have a serious talk with his wife about it, and then make some new plans.
Over the years, his wife has been very understanding of him, which makes him very happy.
However, before I even got home, I received a call from the police station.
"Director Qin, it's like this, the investigation into last night's incident is almost complete. There's something I need to discuss with Qin Nuanyang. Would it be convenient for you to come over here?"
"No problem, no problem. Should I take Qin Nuanyang with me?"
"No, no, there's no direct connection."
"Okay, I'll be right there..."
Qin Zhiguo's good mood soured again after hearing that the fight last night was related to Qin Nuanyang.
He knew that for the police station to single out Qin Nuanyang's name, even if Qin Nuanyang wasn't involved in the fight, there must be some other strong connection.
However, out of respect for him as the director of the academic affairs office of a key high school, they put it rather tactfully.
……
Qin Zhiguo returned after spending more than an hour at the police station.
My wife, Liu Min, has already prepared the meal; she didn't study tonight either.
After Qin Zhiguo sat down, he said, "The results of the first mock exam for senior high school students came out today. Li Chao scored 658 points, even though he didn't perform well in English and scored more than 20 points less."
"Wow, that tall?" Liu Min looked somewhat surprised.
"Yes, the school has done a special study and determined that Li Chao has the potential to get into Tsinghua or Peking University, so I wanted to discuss something with you..."
"What is it?"
"I'll rearrange your evening study schedule so you can cook dinner when you get home. You know the school cafeteria doesn't have much oil in it, and Li Chao is a bit thin. I'm worried he's not getting enough nutrition."
Liu Min hesitated slightly, after all, no matter how well Li Chao studied, it had nothing to do with her.
Over the years, she has tolerated her family giving Li Chao living expenses because of Qin Zhiguo.
She respects and understands the camaraderie between Qin Zhiguo and Li Chao's father.
Even though Qin Zhiguo privately said he would give Li Chao some money for a down payment on a house in the future, Liu Min did not object, seeing that he was not biased and also considered his daughter's dowry.
But now...
My daughter still eats in the cafeteria all the time. I can only let her eat at home on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Now I have to cook for Li Chao every day?
After thinking for a while, she said, "Let's ask Nuanyang what she thinks when she gets back."
"She has no ideas whatsoever! When she gets back, I'll beat her to a pulp!"
"What's wrong with her now? Didn't what happened last night have nothing to do with her?"
"It's alright? Those seriously injured people are now insisting that Nuanyang ordered them to beat them up, and the police station has also checked the call records from that time... If they hadn't been stopped, the consequences would be unimaginable!"
As he said this, Qin Zhiguo took out his phone and opened a voice file.
Soon, Qin Nuanyang's voice came from inside.
"Hold on, I'm almost there! Kill them!"