Chapter 76 Unapologetically Stupid

“Lanlan?” An Qinyan called out for her daughter when she received a call from the school. Her daughter was getting obsessed with kittens with each passing day. “Lanlan, what are you doing?”

An Xiulan scratched her head in embarrassment when her mother entered her room. “I lost count of time while playing with Betty and Augustine.”

“I don’t mind you playing with kittens but darling, your monthly tests are just a week away,” An Qinyan sighed. “I heard from your call teacher that you have to appear for last month’s tests too. Are you prepared for it?”

An Xiulan shook her head. “Mom, this time I won’t have a last rank in the exam.”

An Qinyan’s lips tugged to form a smile. “Really? That’s so good to hear. Well done, my darling. I know you are smart, to begin with.”

An Xiulan sighed as she looked at her mother and muttered, “Mom, my rank won’t be last as my name will be on the list of failed ones. “

The smile on An Qinyan’s face froze as she looked at her daughter. Her eyes were blinking continuously as she was trying to let the words sink into her head.

“Wait,” An Qinyan raised her head and asked, “You are saying that you are not prepared for exams?”

An Xiulan nodded her head.

“But I have been seeing you study all the time since you started school,” An Qinyan replied when she thought back to all the time she found her daughter with books whenever she would return from the office.

“Mom, I was studying for sure but I didn’t learn a single thing,” An Xiulan murmured.

“How could that be possible?” An Qinyan questioned. “You spent so much time with books and yet you didn’t learn a thing?”

An Xiulan nodded her head. More than any other subject, she had been reading and studying everything in Chinese so she would be able to get familiar with the language and she could say that it helped her to some extent. But not more than this.

An Qinyan sighed and took a seat on the bed. Sometimes, she tends to forget how An Xiulan seemed to have unique problems just like herself.

“Your school called and they matched you with a tutor,” replied An Qinyan with a sigh. “Although your first monthly test is only a week away, I think you can take help from your tutor to maintain your rank.”

“At all costs, I have to maintain my rank,” said An Xiulan with a nod. “Or I will be expelled from school after failing consecutive monthly tests.”

None in the history of Jingyuan High had ever thought about maintaining the last rank more than An Xiulan.

“You won’t be expelled from school,” An Qinyan said, patting her shoulders. There was no way the school could expel the daughter of a shareholder, right?

“Mom, when can my tutor begin lessons?”An Xiulan asked. She didn’t want to fail the exam or she would have to leave her classmates.

“From tomorrow onwards,” An Qinyan said. “This is your schedule. Since your tutor has a tight schedule, he will teach you two days here and another two at his home. He is only teaching four days a week.”

“I will study hard,” An Xiulan grinned and her mother watched in satisfaction.

Little did An Xiulan know her days of adolescent rebellion were going to begin soon.

____

Han Zixin was lying on his back in his school dormitory when he felt his phone vibrating. He knew who would be calling him at this time. He didn’t want to take the call but he had to take it.

“You boy! Are you ignoring your old grandfather?!” Han Qian’s voice boomed as soon as Han Zixin accepted the video call. “And show me your face. How many days it had been until I hadn’t seen your face! But you have no regard for your old grandfather who had been dying to have a single glimpse of you!!”

“Yeye, did you forget that you video call me three times a day?” Han Zixin said in a sleepy voice.

“Hmmph! How could a dozen of video calls a day count to seeing you for real?” Han Qian said, shamelessly. “Nevermind, I have found a tutor for you and he will begin his classes tomorrow. Don’t forget to contact your tutor.”

“Wait, what did you just say?” Han Zixin asked as he thought that he didn’t hear his old man correctly the first time.

“You heard me fine the first time,” Han Qian said with a huff.

“Grandpa, I don’t want a tutor and if I need one I would have informed you,” Han Zixin said with a scoff.

“You have two choices – come home and not have a tutor or stay at the dormitory but have a tutor, “Old Han said as he twisted his moustache. He has formulated such a wonderful plan to bring his grandson home.

“Yeye–”

“Don’t you Yeye or grandpa me!” Old Han sneered. “It’s either you come home now or you come home when you get the last rank again.”

He had made himself quite clear to his grandson that if the latter got last rank he had to stop living in the school dormitory and come to live in his humble Villa.

“I will not come to your house and neither will I get the last rank this time,” Han Zixin said, smugly. He knew who would have the last rank this time. And it wasn’t going to be him.

“Hah, how dare you be so smug? Have you seen your grades?” Old man boomed over the phone.

“Yeye,” Han Zixin smiled to himself. “I’m not the only stupid person in class and neither I’m the most stupid person in the class anymore.”

“Look at your silly smile,” Han Qian boomed. “Aren’t you ashamed to call yourself stupid?”

“Yeye, I have learned to be unapologetically stupid and also be proud of it,” Han Zixin replied when he thought about a certain classmate of his.