Chapter 36

Chapter 36

***

In the blink of an eye, it was already Saturday. Xiang ChangKong didn’t wake up early to go to the vegetable market as usual but hurried to Xiang Nuan’s school instead.

Today was the parent-teacher meeting for the seniors, and when Xiang ChangKong arrived, the school’s parking space was already filled to the brim. Xiang ChangKong had taken the subway for this reason.

Xiang ChangKong stood on the field with the other parents and waited outside.

The parent-teacher meeting was mainly divided into two parts. The first part was in the school auditorium, where all the parents in the grade would listen to the Principal’s speech together. Afterward, each class would hold a small meeting in their respective classrooms.

At this time, the students were still in the middle of class. Hearing the commotion outside, Xiang Nuan began to feel a little agitated.

Her brother should already be outside. He was always punctual, after all.

Her math teacher was currently asking everyone to start solving the problem on the board. But all the students were already too distracted by the upcoming parent-teacher meeting. The math teacher stood on the platform and loudly reminded them: “Class hasn’t finished yet, ah and your attention span’s already flown away? Or maybe you all felt that the test was too easy?”

Just like last year, the school organized a mock test to coincide with the parent-teacher meeting. The test was done on Wednesday, so with two days for marking, the mock exam results would be one of the topics talked about during the parent-teacher meeting.

Although some of the test papers had yet to be handed back, all the students already knew their final score because the class representatives previously announced everyone’s subject scores. When the scores of each subject were added together, one would be able to calculate whether they reached the cutoff score for their target university.

Xiang Nuan still hadn’t been able to reach her target score. There was less than a month left before the first formal examination, and everyone says that the official exams were almost the same as the college entrance exams. If she still can’t reach her desired score, then does that mean she has no hope in the college entrance exams?

(T/N: Basically, Xiang Nuan just took a mock exam for each subject. There will be a more formal mock exam in less than a month that will closely resemble the college entrance exams. The college entrance exams are the real deal, where the marks you get here will shape your future.)

Xiang Nuan knew she wasn’t as smart as her brother from a very early age, and never expected to get accepted in a top university. She was content to attend a regular school. But now, it seems that even this was only her own wishful thinking.

At this time, Xiang ChangKong was sitting in the school auditorium with the other parents, waiting for the Principal to speak. The other parents sitting next to him noticed how young he was, and one man couldn’t help but ask about it.

“Are you also a parent of Class 3?”

Xiang ChangKong nodded. “Sort of, my sister is in the class.”

The man exclaimed: “Ah, no wonder you look so young.”

Soon, the Principal, Vice-Principal, and Deans all came up the stage to speak one by one. It went for so long that Xiang Nuan’s class ended up finishing before the speeches.

Classmate Shen Lin was on duty today and went up to clean the blackboard after everyone left. But when he looked back, he saw Xiang Nuan still on her seat with a sad expression on her face.

After a moment’s thought, he walked up to her and looked at the math test paper she had on her desk. “What’s the matter?”

Xiang Nuan was startled. Seeing that it was Shen Lin who had talked to her, she subconsciously covered her test paper with her hands. “Nothing.”

Shen Lin nudged his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose and said: “Don’t bother covering it, I already saw.”

Xiang Nuan thought of her marks and turned red, her ears becoming hot. Shen Lin didn’t care about her results but was curious about another matter. “You did question twenty-one, but you didn’t get twenty, right? Twenty-one was more difficult than question twenty, ah.”

Xiang Nuan chuckled as she replied: “Question twenty-one was something similar to what my brother taught me before.”

It was because it was similar to something Xiang ChangKong had taught her that she decided to solve it first. She followed Xiang ChangKong’s steps, and she really did end up finding the solution correctly.”

Shen Lin asked: “Oh? Is your brother good at math?”

When it came to her brother, Xiang Nuan was immensely proud. “Un, and not just math, my brother is good in all the subjects. He’s even smarter than you.”

“Really?” Shen Lin nudged his glasses again. “Then why didn’t you get question twenty, right? Doesn’t that mean there’s something wrong with his teaching method?”

Although Xiang Nuan secretly liked Shen Lin, hearing him talk about her brother like this made her very unhappy.”What are you criticizing his teaching methods? Then how about you tell Teacher Luo that he doesn’t teach well!”

“I think a successful education is letting the students learn how to think for themselves so that even if they encounter a problem they’ve never seen before, they’ll be able to find their own way to solve it.” Shen Lin replied. “That’s a lot more useful than making them do a hundred questions.”

Xiang Nuan huffed. “I think your method is just relying on the student’s own intelligence and nothing else.”

Shen Lin thought for a moment, then said: “How about I teach you for a month. Let’s see if your brother’s methods are better, or my methods are better, alright?”

Xiang Nuan blinked. Shen Lin just offered her free tutoring lessons for a month. She wouldn’t lose anything from such a wonderful offer, so in the end, she nodded. “Deal.”

While they talked, the nearby language teacher was informed that the parent-teacher meeting in the auditorium just ended. The headteacher came by to let everyone move the desks and chairs to prepare. The parents began to gather in the corridor outside the classroom.

Usually, when the parent-teacher meeting began, the students could just leave directly. But most of the students stay in school and wait for their parents to finish before going home together.

Xiang Nuan didn’t dare greet Xiang ChangKong and instead sneaked away in the back door with her school bag.

As she walked out of school, Xiang Nuan wore a bitter face. She had bombed last month’s test too. Although Xiang ChangKong didn’t say anything about it, she was still upset. And now, she had failed this test too. What would her brother think when he sees her report card?

She kicked some pebbles along the road as she walked. She didn’t want to go home. She took out her phone, flipped through her contacts, and finally sent a message to Xu Lian. She wanted to ask her future sister-in-law for some guidance.

Xu Lian was in her store at the moment. Xiang ChangKong had told her that he would be attending Xiang Nuan’s parent-teacher meeting, so he wouldn’t be able to cook for her when she comes by this afternoon. So when she saw Xiang Nuan’s message, she thought something had happened.

Xu Lian: Is your parent-teacher meeting over?

Xiang Nuan: No, my brother is still in the middle of the meeting. I left school first.

Xu Lian thought for a moment. She didn’t ask Xiang Nuan why she went home alone but instead told her where she was.

Xu Lian: I’m in the store right now. Why don’t you come by?

Xu Lian: Do you have money?

Xiang Nuan: Yes. I can take the subway.

There was a subway station near Xiang Nuan’s school that could directly go to Starlight Park without needing to do any transfers. Xiang Nuan quickly arrived at Starlight Park and found Xu Lian’s store with the address Xu Lian had sent her.

When Xiang Nuan entered the store, Zhang GuoEr, who was used to greeting the guests, subconsciously said: “Welcome to MONSTER.”

Xiang Nuan followed Xu Lain’s Weibo, but the pictures she had posted were nothing compared to physically being in the store. She had always thought that Xu Lian was amazing for being able to open such a stylistic store in Starlight Park. Xiang Nuan curiously looked around as she said hello to Zhang GuoEr.

Xu Lian came out of her workshop on the second floor and called out: “Xiang Nuan.”

Xiang Nuan raised her head and happily greeted her. “Hello, Sister Xu Lian.”

“Come on up.” Xu Lian waved her hand towards Xiang Nuan, then said to Zhang GuoEr: “She’s here for me.”

“Oh…” Zhang GuoEr, this pseudo-writer, immediately pieced things together. Xiang Nuan…her surname is the same as that little brother.

Zhang GuoEr recalled that he had once said that he had a sister.

“Please wrap this for me.” One of the customers had chosen a candle and brought it to the checkout counter.

“Alright, just a moment please.” Zhang GuoEr took one last glance towards the second floor, then went to help the customer.

Inside Xu Lian’s workshop, Xiang Nuan put down her bag and curiously looked at Xu Lian’s tools. “You use these to make candles?”

“Un. Do you want some water?”

“Yes, thank you.” Xiang Nuan accepted the glass of water Xu Lian had offered and picked up a candle Xu Lian had just made. “Wow. This star-shaped one looks so nice.”

It was dark blue, but when brought under the light, the tiny silver granules mixed in the candle glinted like stars.

“Do you like it? It’s actually quite simple. How about I teach you how to do it?”

“Can I?”

Xu Lian smiled and opened a nearby cabinet where all kinds of sundries were piled up inside. She took a glass and gave it to her. “Just use this.”

“Alright.” Xu Lian taught Xiang Nuan how to melt some jelly wax into a pot, then gave her some paints to color a starry sky.

“The colors underneath should be darker. You can use some purple too. To closer match the night sky, you can dry paint some black.”

“Yes.” Xiang Nuan was intently focused on her candle as if she was doing some sort of chemistry experiment. “Is this alright?”

Xu Lian looked at it and said. “Yeah. You can do it yourself, just pay attention to the temperature. The bottom layer can’t get too cold.”

“Alright.” Xiang Nuan felt that the colors were pretty much done, so she hurriedly added some gold powder and stirred the mixture evenly. Then, she poured the melted wax into the glass.

It was a lot easier for Xiang Nuan when she started the second layer, so while she did the mixing, she began talking with Xu Lian. “Big Sister, I don’t want to go to university.”

Xu Lian, who had been stirring another batch of wax, paused. “Why?”

Xiang Nuan frowned. “I didn’t get the results I wanted in my last test. I tried really hard, and I spent every moment studying. The only time I wasn’t studying was when I was sleeping…” She even shortened her cherished long hair, just so she could save a little time when washing and combing.

Xu Lian didn’t quite understand. She put down her stirring rod and asked: “You don’t want to go to university if it’s not a high-tier one?” Were normal households really this tough? She must be vying for one of the top three universities…no wonder her mother keeps saying her university was nothing but a diploma mill.

(T/N: If it’s not a top university.)

Xiang Nuan continued: “I have never been as smart as my brother. My grades would never be called top-notch, but I always thought that I would have no trouble getting into a regular university. I had always planned to do so.”

“Oh. then why don’t you want to attend university?”

Xiang Nuan bit her lower lip. “But now things are different. Since the accident with mom, my brother has carried the family all on his own. He even gave up on his studies. He’s different from me. He’s so smart…”

If someone was to continue their studies, then it should be her brother.

“I know he gave up graduate school and even a job in a large company for us. He gave up everything to let me continue my studies, but I couldn’t even pass my tests. Although he never said anything about it…I really don’t know how I should face him.”

Her achievements weren’t worth the sacrifices Xiang ChangKong had made.

Xu Lian was silent. She picked up her cup, took a drink, then said: “I think you give yourself too much pressure. Have you ever talked about these burdens with your brother?”

Xiang Nuan buried her face in her hands and shook her head. Tell her brother that she doesn’t want to go to university? She couldn’t even imagine how he would react.

Xu Lian’s phone suddenly rings. She grabs it and looks at the screen. It was Xiang ChangKong calling.

“It’s your brother.”

Xiang Nuan looked at her nervously. Xu Lian answered the call and asked: “What’s the matter?”

“Xu Lian, is Xiang Nuan there? I came out of the parent-teacher meeting and saw that she left. I thought she had gone home, but when I got back she wasn’t there. I can’t reach her phone.”

“Ah, don’t worry. She’s here with me.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.” Xiang ChangKong exhaled. “So, you’re both coming together?”

“Un. I’ll drive her and buy some food on the way.”

“No need, I can go out and buy it.”

“Alright.” Xu Lian finished her conversation with Xiang ChangKong, then looked towards Xiang Nuan. “Come on, let’s get you home. It’s better to talk to your brother about this face to face.”