Hu Qian returned home and found the living room dark and devoid of any light. She hesitated for a moment, then turned towards her grandmother's house with her schoolbag on her back.
She never liked going to her grandmother's. She hadn't liked it originally because her grandmother was too stingy. Every time she visited, her grandmother would only let her eat fruits and snacks someone else had given her, and would only give her ten or twenty yuan, never a hundred.
Now, she disliked it even more. Every time she went, a strong smell of urine would greet her as soon as she opened the door.
But she had no choice. She needed to talk to her mother about the parent-teacher conference. In the past, her mother always let her father go to parent-teacher conferences, and she preferred that because she liked seeing the envious look in Liu Chen's eyes.
It was like being a stray dog nobody wanted.
Taking out the key her grandmother had given her, Hu Qian opened the door.
The living room light was on, and a prime-time drama was playing on the television.
Upon hearing the door open, Zhang Lili quickly tore off the face mask, threw it in the trash, mussed up her hair a bit, and then got up from the sofa to go to the entryway.
"Qianqian, why are you here?"
Hearing her mother's question, Hu Qian pursed her lips and then said,
"Mom, can you come to the parent-teacher conference tomorrow?"
Seeing Hu Qian's nervous expression, Zhang Lili frowned, placed her hands on Hu Qian's shoulders, and gently pulled back, forcing Hu Qian's head to lift up.
"Why? Can't your father go?"
Hu Qian dared not look at her mother's face, but the hands on her shoulders continued to exert pressure. It hurt a little, so she could only continue to answer,
"Because I didn't do well on the exam."
Upon hearing this answer, Zhang Lili released her hands, stood up straight, and began to examine the daughter she had doted on for over a decade.
Her daughter had many flaws, she knew that. Her only advantages were her good looks, her decent grades, and her sweet talk. With Hu Xingfa around, she would likely marry well in the future.
But now…
Never mind, the immediate priority was to keep Hu Xingfa stable and focused on that little vixen. Six months left, the last six months, she just had to endure.
Hu Qian saw her mother's face darken like that of Teacher Yan Yan, who had slapped her own hand in broad daylight, and her hand instinctively flinched back.
"Slap!"
Zhang Lili couldn't hold back. A loud slap landed on Hu Qian's face. The spot where she was hit immediately turned red, as if she were wearing blush.
Hu Qian clutched her cheek, still finding it hard to believe her mother had slapped her.
Zhang Lili paid no mind to Hu Qian's incredulous gaze. If Hu Xingfa found out the child hadn't performed well, it wouldn't be as simple as a slap to resolve, unlike how she handled it.
"What time tomorrow."
Hu Qian felt a burning sensation on her face but dared not cry. She forced back her sobs and said,
"Ten in the morning, in the gymnasium. The new homeroom teacher will bring parents to sit in our class seats."
"New homeroom teacher?"
Hu Qian nodded. Seeing Zhang Lili about to raise her hand again, she quickly explained about the homeroom teacher and the vice principal's affair, and that the current homeroom teacher was the vice principal's wife.
"Heh, then your homeroom teacher probably isn't very good-looking." Zhang Lili, having confirmed the time, let Hu Qian go. She still wanted to continue watching her drama.
Hu Qian lay on her bed, her face swollen on one side, crying and fuming.
Her father had become fierce, and her mother had also become fierce. Her grades had dropped. All of this was because of Liu Chen, all her fault for suddenly posting that sentence in the group for no reason.
It was all her fault that she was ostracized by her classmates, which was why no one gave her answers, leading to such poor results.
Lying in bed, Hu Qian locked the door, then opened QQ to reply to her netizen from Tsinghua High School in Beijing. In Hu Qian's words, she was a very beautiful, well-off, and academically strong high school senior. She had even promised her netizen that they would both get into Shuimu University together.
As they chatted, the moon moved to its zenith, and then began to set.
—
October 5th,
While office workers were still at home watching the National Day Golden Week and the thrilling Olympics programs, major high schools in C City had already begun fervent college entrance examination mobilization rallies.
Liu Fang woke up particularly early today, and her spirit was exceptionally high from the morning onwards. She was the kind of person you could tell at a glance had experienced some happy event.
Uncle Li also noticed, but he was slow with words. Fearing he wouldn't know how to respond if he asked, he simply buried his head in his work.
It was Xiao Zhu, who came to restock, who saw Liu Fang's beaming face and smilingly asked the boss's wife if anything good had happened.
After waiting all morning, Liu Fang, who finally had someone ask, wanted to appear more composed when she announced Chenchen's grades. But she couldn't help it; as soon as she opened her mouth, her lips seemed to have a mind of their own, curving upwards uncontrollably.
"Oh, it's not a particularly big deal. It's just that in this joint exam for the third year of high school across the city, my Chenchen, that child who used to help me at the shop every morning during the summer vacation, she came first in her grade at their school. They say she scored over seven hundred points. The child is very happy."
While saying the child was very happy, her face showed wrinkles that were etched by smiles. However, Xiao Zhu didn't mock her.
"Sister Liu, you've finally seen the light. Your child is so promising and filial. You won't have to worry about her in the future; you can just enjoy your life. Unlike us, our children haven't even started kindergarten yet; we still have a long way to go!"
Flattered to the point where her eyes were squinted shut with smiles, Liu Fang quickly returned the compliments and generously gave Xiao Zhu a trial pack of a new flavor of rainbow tangyuan from the tangyuan manufacturer.
The conversation between the two, though not loud, was enough for their neighbors on both sides to hear. This was no small matter. For adults, if one's business was a little better, so be it; they sold different products. But a child's academic performance was different.
First place in the grade!
Next door to "Sister Liu's Frozen Goods," in "Niu Niu Frozen Goods," Li Hui's child was now in the second year of high school. The teacher had repeatedly mentioned, both openly and subtly, that the child's current performance was very precarious. If it continued like this, they might not even get into a third-tier university for the college entrance examination.
If she remembered correctly, that girl from "Sister Liu's Frozen Goods" seemed to have had average academic performance before? How could she suddenly be first in the grade now?
Cheating? That was impossible. How could someone cheat to get first place in the entire school? Copying from the second-place student? That would be insane!
Li Hui sat in her office chair, feeling like needles were pricking her behind, unable to sit still. In the end, she resigned herself. Fine, for her child's sake, what was face worth? She would go and flatter Sister Liu, and ask about Liu Chen's study experience!
Who knew, as soon as Li Hui walked into Sister Liu's Frozen Goods, greeted her, and exchanged a few pleasantries, the other female bosses on the street began to arrive one after another.
Now it was Liu Fang's turn to be flustered. In all these decades, she would never have dreamed that one day she would be the mother of the top student in the entire school, giving parenting advice to the neighbors in the market.