It was such a pity that the student with such good results was not their student!
No, there must be some mistakes. It was not elementary exams, so how could it be so easy to score full marks for a few subjects. They must have overlooked or missed out on some parts.
Following this train of thought, several teachers who were in charge of marking the papers went over all of Qiao Nan’s papers several times. They checked every single detail carefully. They were so detailed that they were just a step away from using magnifying glasses and microscopes.
Qiao Nan’s results had been under the strictest examination and marking of many teachers.
Mathematics was more straightforward; there wasn’t much to check. The punctuation Qiao Nan used was just right, not too many and not too little.
As for Chinese, all of the Humanities and Arts teachers were exasperated when they saw her papers.
Looking at the exam paper which had two marks deducted, they wished it had received a full marks score instead.
Qiao Nan scored full marks for her essay, which was a very rare result. They had nowhere to deduct marks from. Sadly, she made a single mistake in the section which tested students on their memory. Those senior teachers could not help but feel frustrated at the mistake. They had nowhere to release the pent-up frustration and almost choked from the anger.
The teachers who were in charge of marking the papers were happy, yet angry at Qiao Nan’s results. They were happy because she had such good results. It was such a pity she was not their student. The teachers were also angry and exasperated, finding it frustrating that she lost precious marks in areas that she could have managed through sheer memorization.
“Xiao Qiao, you are so amazing.” After setting off the firecrackers, Zhu Baoguo patted away the dust on his hands. “You must be the only one who shines the brightest in our school this year. You have such good results; the school will definitely reward you.”
With Xiao Qiao’s results, she might be able to get her scholarship if she was to study at Ping Cheng High School.
“Thank you… Thank you, everyone.” Qiao Dongliang finally believed what he heard after receiving congratulations and well-wishes from people in the quad and the neighborhood. He felt as if he was stepping on clouds, all soft and fluffy. He had the impression he was floating and still had not come to grips with what just happened. “Uncle Lee, come in for a cup of tea. I was so happy that I forgot to invite you in.”
Qiao Dongliang finally realized how impolite he was for letting his guests stood at the door for such a long while.
“This is a piece of good news. I can understand, I can understand.” Elder Lee smiled and walked into the Qiao family’s residence. As for the neighbors in the quad who gathered around just now, some had dispersed, whereas some stayed to discuss Qiao Nan the top scorer.
“Uncle Lee, I must thank you for bringing me this piece of good news early in the morning.” Qiao Dongliang brewed a pot of hot tea for Elder Lee.
“Don’t say so.” Uncle Lee drank the tea and cast Qiao Nan a meaningful glance. “Come to think of it, I should thank Nan Nan. Xiao Qiao, you have raised a good daughter. When you left the army for Nan Nan, I could not understand you. But now I want to tell you that you had made an excellent decision back then. It was worth all the sacrifices to have a daughter like Nan Nan. She is such a brilliant and filial child. Xiao Qiao, there is nothing you could ask for more. You will have good days ahead.”
“Yes, Uncle Lee is right. I have Nan Nan. I would be able to lead a good life in the future.” Qiao Dongliang was lost in happiness.
It was only a year ago when Nan Nan started secondary three and had done badly for her first exams. How did Nan Nan manage to be the top scorer in only a year’s time?
“Xiao Qiao, I heard Nan Nan wants to study in Ping Cheng High School instead of The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China.”
“… Yes.” Initially, Qiao Dongliang was quite relieved by the younger daughter’s decision. He would have a breather while he worked hard for the next two years to earn money for the elder daughter’s college fees.
But Qiao Dongliang could not smile in front of Elder Lee now.
The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China was definitely better than Ping Cheng High School. Nan Nan was so brilliant. If he agreed to let Nan Nan study at Ping Cheng High School so that he could save some money, would it affect her studies?
“Don’t give me that expression, I am not criticizing you. Nan Nan is very sensible. She must have her reasons for making this decision. What I want to say is that for the next three years, I would still need Nan Nan to keep an eye on our Baoguo.” Elder Lee gave a benevolent smile and looked at Qiao Nan who stood by Baoguo’s side.
“Uncle, how did Baoguo do for his exams?” Qiao Dongliang slapped at himself, realizing he had forgotten to ask about Zhu Baoguo’s results.
“Thanks to Nan Nan, our Baoguo did fairly well. He should be able to study at Ping Cheng High School with Nan Nan.”
Ping Cheng High School might not be as good as The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China and the cutoff point was lower, but not everyone can enroll in Ping Cheng High School as well.
From Elder Lee’s words, one could tell that Zhu Baoguo had done pretty well this time. At the very least, he managed to get into Ping Cheng High School based on his abilities, not with the help of the Zhu family or the Lee family.
Just this alone was enough for the Zhu family and the Lee family to be proud of.
As compared to the Zhu Baoguo in the past who would always create troubles, he was now considered very well-behaved.
Zhu Baoguo’s results were way better than a lot of the students who had always done well in their exams. The Zhu family felt proud and elated because of his results.
Elder Lee could stand with his chin up in front of Elder Zhu.
Baoguo was a well-behaved child. It was just that there was no one to supervise him. He took Baoguo under his care for a year, and he had made such tremendous improvements. This showed the Zhu family did not know how to raise a kid well!
“Really?! Congratulations to you as well.” Qiao Dongliang was so thrilled that he made irrelevant remarks.
“Xiao Qiao, did you hear that? We would still be deskmate in the future.” Zhu Baoguo smiled smugly.
“It’s classmates, not deskmates.” Qiao Nan rolled her eyes. “How can you be so sure we would be deskmate in Ping Cheng High School? Besides, don’t mix up the names.”
Elder Lee called her father ‘Xiao Qiao’. If Zhu Baoguo also addressed her as ‘Xiao Qiao’, wouldn’t it sound awkward?
“Hehehe.” Zhu Baoguo laughed but did not explain. No matter what, he would not change his way of addressing her. If there was anyone who had to change, it would be his grandpa.
“Dad, are you still going to work?” Qiao Nan glanced at Qiao Dongliang, reminding him that it was getting late.
“Right, right. I… I still need to go to work.” Qiao Dongliang remembered he had not finished brushing his teeth. “Old Ding, Zijin, both of you must have been so happy and forgot the time. If we don’t get going, we will be late. Uncle Lee…”
“Alright, I understand. I just wanted to let you all know of the good news. Those who need to work should hurry along.”
After patting Qiao Dongliang on the shoulder, Elder Lee left with Zhu Baoguo.
After receiving Elder Lee’s recognition, Qiao Dongliang was excited and full of energy as if he had chicken blood. “Nan Nan, since you have decided, then you will study at Ping Cheng High School. You must work hard. Dad will think of ways to finance you through college!”
“Oh.” Qiao Nan replied lightly.