99 Worried
Le Wan’s heart sank at these thoughts.
‘As expected, this must have been the reason why the original plot developed in such a way. Fortunately, I had already canceled my engagement with the Fu family. And it seems that my father and brothers have been nurturing a stomach full of dissatisfaction due to the Fu family’s prior actions. What I needed to do now was to have us keep our guard up and not fall into pits we’ve dug ourselves.’
Le Wan’s mind was filled with these messy thoughts the entire night, which made her seem absent-minded right now. In the end, she only came to when she heard Madam Zhang mention the word “test”.
She didn’t have time to think about these things right now, because she still had an exam tomorrow! Sure enough, every time she saw the original plot’s male and female lead, it’s an unlucky day! She had to make sure that the next time she saw them, she should definitely stay away!
Le Wan stretched out both her hands before patting her forehead with her palms in an effort to clear all the distracting thoughts rampaging in her mind. She had to quickly calm down and go and revise her knowledge points right away.
Mama le happened to see this scene and said to Papa le worriedly, ” “why do i feel like there’s something wrong with the baby’s mental state? the pressure on the third-year students is too great. i’m going to study so much that i’m going to become a little silly.”
Mama Le happened to see this entire scene play out and mentioned it worriedly to Papa Le, “Why do I feel like there’s something wrong with Baby’s mental state? The pressure on third-year students must be too great, making them need to study so much that they become a little stupid.”
When Papa Le heard her say this, he wasn’t happy at all. He quickly stopped Mama Le’s train of thought by saying, “What nonsense are you saying? No matter how you look at it, our daughter is so smart! How could she ever be stupid?!” However, he did notice that Le Wan’s condition that night was not very good indeed, so he also got a little worried.
Thus, the worried Papa Le put down his work and went to see his daughter in her room, “Baby, can daddy disturb you for a bit?”
“Sure,” Le Wan put down the notes in her hand, “What’s the matter?”
Papa Le pulled out the stool beside her and sat down. “Our company is opening a resort in two days. Since you’ve just finished your mock exam, I was thinking, why don’t we go there and relax for a few days as a family? Can you take some time off to spend with us?”
Upon hearing her father’s words, Le Wan couldn’t help but be tempted. However, she knew that time really did not allow it so she declined, “After the mock exam, I need to do a summary and adjust my review plan for the coming month,” she replied apologetically. “We’re already at the final stage of revision, so it’s not good to disrupt it midway.”
“Then there’s no helping it. The National College Entrance Examination* is really too difficult!” Papa Le felt a little sad when he heard her decline, “But always remember, my Baby, that you don’t have to pressure yourself too much, since our family doesn’t really need any more results! We’ve worked hard to get where we are with our conscience clear.”
*Note: If one were to take the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) or more commonly known as “gaokao” in China, the scores you get in it is the SOLE determining factor for the average person to get admitted into any public university in the country. All exam takers have to take Chinese, Mathematics, and a “Foreign Language” subject, which is normally “English”, while the last three subjects depend on what stream you chose to major in. Science stream will take Biology, Chemistry and Physics, while Humanities stream will have to take Politics, Geography, and History. There is an extreme amount of pressure put on exam takers because this exam may very well decide on whether or not you’ll be able to go tertiary education, which is very very important in Chinese culture and society. This isn’t much of a problem for the “richer” people in society, which can always go abroad for study, but if your child is able to get a high score in “gaokao” and is able to go into one of the “elite universities” in the country, it is seen as a badge of honor in Chinese high society.
Le Wan understood her father’s intentions, that he was subtly making her mentally prepared if she doesn’t do too well in her exams, so that she doesn’t get too sad.
“Daddy, stop worrying. I know,” In the end, it was her who needed to console Papa Le, “Besides, I think I’ll be able to do well this time.”
When Papa Le heard her say this, he indeed became much happier, “That’s good then! I’m telling you, my Baby, you can do it!” He thought: ‘If she wasn’t worried about the exam, then what could it have been?’
“Oh, by the way, Yueyue, about your little boyfriend,” her father then changed topics nonchalantly, “Didn’t your little teacher say that his mother was about to go in to have surgery? How did it go?”
“She just had a surgery today and it went quite smoothly.” Le Wan was curious about her father’s unusual behavior tonight, because he isn’t the type to care about such things.
“Oh, then it’s good that the surgery went well. That child can finally breathe a little.” Papa Le took the time to carefully think about things because he noticed that Le Wan didn’t seem to have a big reaction even when he mentioned Zhai Jing. ‘That should mean they aren’t quarreling. So, what was his daughter worried about?’
Le Wan saw him frowning so hard that he could squeeze a fly to death with his brows, so she took the initiative to ask, “Daddy, what is this really about? You can just tell me.”
“Your mother saw that you didn’t eat well tonight and that you didn’t seem to be very energetic, so she got worried about you.”
“Oh, i’m fine,” Le Wan couldn’t tell them what would happen in the future, so she wanted to make it vague. But when she thought of the matter of Fu Sui and Le Yan, she suddenly had an idea and decided to take the opportunity to give these parents of hers something to focus on.
She pretended to be troubled and sighed, “It’s all because I ran into that Fu Sui this afternoon! He kept talking in front of me, and it ruined my mood!”
As soon as Papa Le heard Fu Sui’s name, he got displeased, “Why is he still coming here?! He even has the gall to face you?!”