It sounds a bit complicated, but Xie Jinghu’s biological brother and mother are teaming up with his wife to deal with him.
Xie Jinghu himself has no idea about this, Xie Qian is also unaware, and Wen Ying naturally knows nothing about it.
Wen Ying is actually quite worried that something might go wrong for Xie Qian during the gaokao. That’s how it always happens in TV dramas, after all. The villains never play fair, and they love to cause trouble at the most critical moments.
That evening, Wen Ying called Xie Qian to chat about exam tips and deliberately asked if everything was alright.
Xie Qian was extremely calm. “What could possibly happen? Don’t let your imagination run away with you.”
Letting her imagination run away with her?
Wen Ying touched her chin. “Maybe I’ve just got used to them playing dirty. Suddenly they’re being so quiet, and it’s throwing me off!”
As she said this, Wen Ying couldn’t help laughing at herself.
It’s obviously best if no one causes trouble, so Xie Qian can take the gaokao in peace.
Wen Ying doesn’t have wildly high expectations for Xie Qian. If he performs normally, becoming the provincial top scorer shouldn’t be a problem, right?
The two of them chatted idly about this and that. Before they knew it, half an hour had passed. Xie Qian glanced at the time and took the initiative to end the call. “Go to bed early. Rest well tonight and smash it tomorrow.”
Once the exams are over tomorrow, they’ll have plenty of free time to talk. No need to rush!
“Alright… goodnight. Sweet dreams!”
For a major exam like the gaokao, most people can’t help feeling nervous, but Wen Ying was influenced by Xie Qian’s attitude and stayed remarkably relaxed.
It wasn’t that Wen Ying was particularly laid-back. Anyone who has been tortured by test papers for three years without developing exam PTSD would feel the same. No test could scare her any more.
So what if it’s the gaokao? Compared to the papers Xie Qian usually hands out, it’s not much harder!
The only difference is that normally Wen Ying checks her answers once, but during the gaokao, as long as time allows, she will check them over and over again until the bell rings.
That’s exam strategy.
You must neither fear the “enemy” nor underestimate it through arrogance.
The next day, Deng Shangwei was in charge of driving Wen Ying to the exam venue.
All the way there, Deng Shangwei racked his brains to keep the mood light, making Wen Ying laugh out loud.
That cheerful feeling lasted right until Wen Ying finished her final subject, English.
Reborn back to the day of the senior high school entrance exam, Wen Ying had sat the English paper then too.
She had thought it was a dream, yet she still completed the paper seriously, thereby changing her score from her previous life.
Three years later, another cycle, and now here she was again with the gaokao English paper.
Wen Ying looked down and smiled. Her entrance exam score had changed, so her gaokao score would change too, and the university she attended would be different as well.
So be it. Nothing ventures, nothing gains!
After carefully finishing the English paper, Wen Ying walked out of the exam hall feeling light and free. Deng Shangwei immediately handed her a bottle of mineral water he had prepared earlier. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask, and your little aunt wants to know, and your mum and the others too… how do you think you did?”
Wen Ying thought about it seriously, then answered with confidence, “I think I did well.”
Deng Shangwei trusted Wen Ying completely. He immediately felt reassured and, the moment he stepped into the living room at home, announced loudly, “Little Ying says she did well!”
The two Chen sisters looked up. Chen Li rolled her eyes at her noisy husband. “Of course Little Ying did well. Did you need to tell us that?”
Joy surged across Chen Ru’s face, though she tried hard to suppress it.
As a mother, she naturally hoped her daughter would perform well in the gaokao, but the exams had only just finished. There were still many days until scores were released, so it was best not to celebrate too soon.
Hold it in for now. Once the results are out, they could rejoice freely!
These three people trusted Wen Ying completely. Only Wen Dongrong felt a slight pang of unease.
Self-assessment isn’t always accurate!
When it came to this, Wen Dongrong had painful memories.
Unfortunately, no one cared what Wen Dongrong thought. The atmosphere in the Wen family living room was cheerful, and he didn’t dare rain on their parade.
Old Wen bottled up his worries, and the expression on his face looked rather odd.
Wen Ying could roughly guess what her father was thinking. She had been about to say a few words to put his mind at ease, but then she swallowed them.
Across both her lives combined, Old Wen had hardly ever worried about her. Why should she bother reassuring him?
Feeling a little mischievous, Wen Ying deliberately emphasised once more, “I really think I performed well!”
She looked rather pleased with herself, brimming with confidence.
It was over. The black-hearted little cotton ball was getting too full of herself!
Sure enough, Wen Dongrong’s expression darkened further, and Wen Ying nearly burst out laughing.
…
Wen Ying felt her exam mindset was already pretty good, yet compared to Xie Qian, she still fell a bit short.
Wen Ying was merely not nervous.
Xie Qian genuinely felt no difference at all.
To him, the gaokao was no different from any ordinary test. The maximum score per subject didn’t increase just because it was the gaokao. However many marks he usually got was however many he would get now.
Having been tormented by Xie Qian for so long, Wen Ying hadn’t developed PTSD, but Peng Guoqing was showing some symptoms.
Peng Guoqing felt he had done terribly.
Right after the exams, Peng Guoqing received a concerned call from Teacher Liang. Peng Guoqing nearly cried.
“Teacher Liang, can I repeat next year?”
“…!”
On the other end of the line, Teacher Liang’s breathing grew heavy.
Repeat a second time after already repeating once?
Please, no more repeating.
Tutoring a student like Peng Guoqing for one year aged Teacher Liang several years. If Peng Guoqing repeated again, Teacher Liang worried he might not have many years left to live!
“Believe in yourself. This year you will definitely get into a 211 university in Shanghai!”
Teacher Liang’s words were firm and decisive, bringing Peng Guoqing some comfort.
When others called to ask how he did, Peng Guoqing repeated the same line, “Teacher Liang says I can get into a 211.”
His childhood friends, including Tai Wu, were deeply sceptical.
Tai Wu wanted to bet with Peng Guoqing, but Peng Guoqing was magnanimous. “I won’t bet with you. Your pocket money has always been less than mine. Just wait for me in Shanghai!”
After hanging up, Peng Guoqing strode home full of fighting spirit.
When he got home, Peng Guoqing acted like a triumphant general. Mr Peng wanted his academic underachiever son to keep a low profile, while Mrs Peng wanted to throw a full celebration with red ribbons right away.
“Well done, Qingqing. You’ve finished all the exams, so now just relax. No matter how you did, Mummy saw all your hard work.”
Grandpa Peng and Grandma Peng nodded in agreement.
He really had worked hard.
Since the exams were over, the matter was closed. Even if Peng Guoqing hadn’t done well enough to get into a 211, Grandpa Peng would never let him repeat another year.
One repeat was enough.
Another year would be far too much pressure.
Studying shouldn’t be painful. There are still decades ahead. He could always work harder later.
Grandpa Peng encouraged his grandson to go out and enjoy himself, not forgetting to remind Mr Peng to be more generous with pocket money. “The boy is grown now and has his own friends outside. Don’t be stingy.”
Mr Peng nearly spat blood.
What counted as not being stingy? Giving him 20 million at once as pocket money?
If that was the case, Mr Peng didn’t want to be Peng Guoqing’s dad any more. He wanted to be the son instead, let Peng Guoqing be the dad and do all the hard work while he lay back and collected pocket money!
As the family of an academic underachiever, Mrs Peng, Grandpa Peng, and Grandma Peng genuinely kept their expectations low.
Lower the expectations first, then there would be no disappointment when the results came out. If the results exceeded expectations, the joy would be doubled.
As the family of a top student, the Xie family didn’t merely have expectations for Xie Qian. They trusted him completely.
When Xie Qian returned to Xie Yuping’s house, he found everyone gathered there.
Old Madam Xie beckoned to him. When Xie Qian walked over and called her “Grandma”, her eyes reddened.
“Your dad will be here soon. When he arrives, don’t say anything. No matter what I or your uncle say or do, just stay quietly on the side and listen.”
