Vol. 1 - Ch. 84 - Favoritism

It's rare to see HuMing still awake at this hour.Han LiTian frowned slightly, his expression far from pleasant.

After all, HuMing had classes the following day. If he wasn't asleep yet, how would he possibly have energy for class tomorrow?

He walked up to HuMing's door and knocked.

At the drop of a hat, Hu Ming opened the door, and Han LiTian could catch a glimpse of surprise on his face as he saw him.

With a stern expression, Han LiTian peered over HuMing's shoulder. The desk lamp was still on, with what appeared to be worksheets and a pen on the desk.

It didn't look like he was staying up late to play games. Instead, he was studying!

Han LiTian was a bit surprised---he hadn't expected HuMing to be still studying at this hour!

"HuMing, why are you still up so late? You have school tomorrow!"

"Ah, I'm going to bed right soon."

HuMing scratched his head; he hadn't expected Han LiTian to show up at this time.

Han LiTian patted him on the shoulder and then asked, "Still studying this late?"

"Yes, I wanted to finish some questions."

Hearing HuMing's response, Han LiTian felt somewhat relieved. But he could also guess it might be because ShuYi's presence had pressured him.

ShuYi's grades were indeed great, and by the looks of it, he was far more popular in class than HuMing.

Although HuMing has changed quite a bit, grades are something that only pays off with consistent effort over time. Given how much HuMing had fallen behind, catching up now wasn't impossible, but it would take time.

Thinking about this, a smile appeared on Han LiTian's face.

"HuMing, don't put so much pressure on yourself. As long as you improve your grades a little each time, we'll be delighted."

However, upon hearing this, HuMing's expression turned a bit odd.

"Improving grades is possible, but the rankings... that might be a bit more challenging."

HuMing turned around, walked over to his backpack, and pulled out a test paper, handing it to Han LiTian.

As Han LiTian took the paper, the first thing he noticed was the bright red score!

He froze, utterly stunned.

That bold 140 points caught his eye, and if HuMing's name weren't written at the top, Han LiTian would have thought he was showing him someone else's paper!

"Was this a class test?"

"Yep, 140 points, first in the class!" HuMing exclaimed, unable to hold back the smile on his face.

Looking at HuMing, Han LiTian seemed to have snatched back to the past, with the same eager child, the one who just wanted his approval.

First in the class---this was a ranking Han LiTian never imagined HuMing could achieve, but there he was, proudly showing off his accomplishment.

The score on this test paper seemed to speak directly to Han LiTian, showing him all the effort HuMing had put in during this time.

But how much pressure had he been under all this while?

WenLi was still thinking about how to send him back to his biological parents, but was she truly not aware of what kind of people they were?

For the first time, Han LiTian felt that his wife's focus on ShuYi had caused her to neglect HuMing.

This realization brought a subtle sense of guilt towards HuMing that Han LiTian couldn't quite shake.

Everyone outside assumed that HuMing staying with the Han family meant he was eyeing their inheritance. But how many people in real believed the Han family would give HuMing any of it?

Even WenLi wouldn't think so!

But who could say what was on HuMing's mind?

What if he just wanted a simple life?

Han LiTian felt a mixture of emotions---some choices were harder to make than closing a big business deal.

"Great job! I'm truly happy for you."

Han LiTian gently patted HuMing's head, and the look of satisfaction on HuMing's face made Han LiTian's internal conflict even harder to resolve.

"Dad, you should smoke less. It's bad for your health," HuMing pointed to the almost burnt-out cigarette in Han LiTian's hand.

Han LiTian nodded, telling HuMing to get some rest before he turned and headed back to his room.

Hearing the sound of the door closing behind him, Han LiTian tossed the cigarette butt into the trash.

He returned to his bedroom. Seemingly sensing someone's movement beside her, Zhou WenLi groggily opened her eyes.

She saw her husband lying back in bed, but unusually, he carried the faint smell of smoke.

"What's wrong?" She couldn't help but ask.

WenLi couldn't remember when she'd seen her husband smoking at night.

"Do you know what place HuMing ranked in this quiz?"

"Oh right, ShuYi mentioned there was a quiz. I haven't even asked him how he did yet!"

Zhou WenLi's response made Han LiTian furrow his brows. Sᴇaʀᴄh the N0vᴇlFirᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

He was directly asking about HuMing's score. How did the conversation suddenly shift to Han ShuYi?

This blatant favoritism; it was no wonder HuMing was under so much pressure!

Seeing her husband fall silent, Zhou WenLi finally sensed something was off.

She looked at him curiously and continued to ask, "What? Did something happen?"

"HuMing ranked first in the class on the quiz. Even ShuYi wasn't ahead of him."

"What? How is that possible? ShuYi's grades are so good, and HuMing's have always been so poor..."

"Listen to yourself! Can't HuMing do well?" Han LiTian's tone grew more intense as he spoke.

Zhou WenLi seemed to realize she had misspoken and hurriedly tried to explain.

"That's not what I meant. It's just that HuMing's grades improved so fast; it's a bit unreal.."

"You might as well just accuse him of cheating!"

Han LiTian suddenly sat up, looking at his wife with displeasure.

"Do you know what I saw when I went to HuMing's room just now? Even at three in the morning, he was still studying! His hard work is cheating in your mouth? No wonder YunXi also said you've been ridiculously biased lately!"

"I didn't know..."

Faced with her husband's angry expression, Zhou WenLi instantly shrank back.

But Han LiTian turned away from her, lying back down with his back facing her, fuming about what had just happened.

Zhou WenLi looked helplessly at the ceiling, her expression tinted grudgingly.

Who would have thought something like this would happen tonight?

She even began to feel that the person who had sent her those photos was basically trying to stir up trouble for her!

'So frustrating!'

Zhou WenLi cautiously moved closer to her husband, afraid of upsetting him further.

...

After Han LiTian left, HuMing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He hadn't expected Han LiTian to still be awake at this hour!

It's just that the timing is a bit odd. If he hadn't been tutoring Kang Xin just now, he might not have had a good excuse!

Initially, Kang Xin was sitting at HuMing's desk studying. But the moment she heard the knock on the door, she moved with lightning speed, flipping onto HuMing's bed and tightly covering herself with the blanket, leaving no trace of her presence!

Just thinking about her reaction made HuMing want to laugh.

'Why did it feel like she moved on instinct?'