Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The caterpillar that was ugly and would always be stepped upon by people would spread its beautiful wings and soar to the sky!
No, Qiao Nan was not a caterpillar. Right now, Qiao Nan should be described as the gold hidden in the sand, its dazzle hidden from others.
When the sand and huge waves were gone, the gold would dazzle brilliantly.
Qiao Nan felt uncomfortable at Shi Qing’s gaze. She could not help but look at herself in the mirror. “Do I have wings?”
“Hehehe…” Shi Qing was overcome with emotions for a short moment, but it turned into nothing the next instant. “Qiao Nan, I just found out that you are still a fool. Sure enough, people with high intelligence and emotional intelligence would have times when they are foolish!”
With that, Shi Qing felt much better.
Though Shi Qing was overcome with emotions, Qiao Nan, who was like a fool at times, proved that, like Shi Qing, she was just an ordinary person. In other words, Shi Qing was not too far behind Qiao Nan. They were actually similar to each other.
Shi Qing finally felt at peace.
Since young, Shi Qing had good grades and was a genius as compared to others. It was natural for her to feel somewhat upset when she met her peers who had better grades and was more outstanding than her in every aspect.
Shi Qing had been dealt with a strong blow from the first formidable opponent she had met in her life.
“It’s nine o’clock. It doesn’t matter that you are not going to sleep. I will sleep first.” Shi Qing yawned and lay on her bed. She covered herself with a thin blanket and fell asleep in no time.
Qiao Nan went according to her study plan. She did her reading until ten o’clock before she went to bed.
Qiao Nan stood up from her chair and noticed the mathematics exercise sheet that was placed haphazardly on Shi Qing’s study table.
Qiao Nan took the exercise sheet and looked through it randomly. Among all the test papers that the teachers gave her to practice, Shi Qing did not complete a single test paper. She would pick certain questions or question types to do. For the same type of questions, she would either do one of them or pick a question according to its difficulty level. She would do the difficult questions and leave the easy questions empty.
Shi Qing left many questions empty in her exercise sheets.
But only those who understood mathematics would know that Shi Qing was a clever child. It did not matter that she did not finish all the questions. After all, this was just for practice. It was not a real exam. It was brilliant of Shi Qing to choose the challenging questions to tackle and to spend her time on other more important work.
Qiao Nan sighed after a long while. People like Shi Qing were the real genius. Her winning factor was her intelligence. As for her, she had to rely on her diligence.
Even though Shi Qing was no longer in the same class as her, Qiao Nan could not help but feel tremendous stress when she saw her exercise sheet.
No matter what, she would do her best to complete her high school and cherish the learning opportunity that was rare to come by.
The next day morning, Qiao Nan and Shi Qing both woke up at six o’clock. Nobody had the habit of sleeping late. They got up early in the morning and ran around the community.
“Did both of you buy the breakfast today?” It was already seven o’clock when Qiao Dongliang woke up. By then, the dining table was already filled with soybean milk and deep-fried dough sticks.
“Well, Shi Qing and I went for a run. Dad, have your breakfast before going to work. Don’t be in a hurry. Go slow on the bicycle.” Qiao Nan took a bowl for Qiao Dongliang and poured the salty soybean milk into the bowl.
Qiao Dongliang took in the fragrant smell of the beans and the sight of the white and smooth soybean pudding. He was in a good mood this morning. “Will Shi Qing and you stay at home to study today? You should relax and go out for a walk once in a while. You should not keep staying at home.”
“No, I won’t be studying today. I will have a rest this weekend. I will do some handiwork and relax.” It was rare that Qiao Nan did not have any study plans for the day.
“That’s good. Since it’s the weekend, you should have some fun with Shi Qing.” After drinking the last mouthful of soybean milk, Qiao Dongliang stood up, getting to leave. He took half a stick of deep-fried dough sticks with him. “I woke up slightly late today. There is work to be done in the factory. I have to finish them by today, so I will probably come home late tonight. Nan Nan, Shi Qing and you can decide what you want for dinner. Just leave some for me. I will reheat them when I am back.”
“Okay.” After Qiao Dongliang finished eating, Qiao Nan put away the dishes, washed them, and put them to dry.
After Qiao Dongliang left, Shi Qing stood next to Qiao Nan. “What are you doing today? Why didn’t you mention it previously? Did you change your mind and intend to look for Brother Zhai and go on a date with him?”
“No, I won’t be going out today.” She was not joking with Shi Qing. She really had something on today.
“What do you intend to do?” Qiao Nan had decided not to go out, not to date, and not to study. What did she have in mind? “Qiao Nan, do you want to watch television?”
Qiao Nan knocked on Shi Qing’s forehead. “Have you forgotten that Brother Zhai gave me a lot of fabric last time? I received them during the weekend, but I haven’t been doing anything with them since then.” If left for a long time, the fabric might turn moldy.
“Do you intend to make clothes?”
“Well, haven’t you bought me a sewing machine? We can’t possibly waste it.” Qiao Nan took her hat off to Shi Qing. In fact, she was just joking in the beginning. If it did not work out, she would simply spend some money to borrow a sewing machine from someone else.
Children from rich families were indeed different. At the mention of it, Shi Qing bought the sewing machine straight away. But in this way, it would be easier for Qiao Nan.
“Do you really know how to do it?” Shi Qing had indeed asked Shi Peng to buy her a sewing machine and send it to the Qiao family’s residence. However, she did not have high hopes that Qiao Nan would be able to make clothing using the sewing machine.
“Of course.” Qiao Nan shot Shi Qing a disdainful look and took out all the fabric that they bought last time.
Qiao Nan shot a few looks at Shi Qing before she used the chalk to mark neat lines on the fabric.
“Do you really know how to do it?” Shi Qing could tell that Qiao Nan was indeed skilled in making clothes and she felt more at ease. “But from what I see, other people will usually measure the shoulder width, the chest, and the waist. Why didn’t you do that?”
“There’s no need for that.” Qiao Nan smiled. In the future, the clothes were manufactured in batches in the factory. Nobody would make fitting clothes that were tailored to someone’s build. They would make the clothes according to a general guideline and the clothes came in different sizes, S, M, and L. She had a rough idea of the body build of the person she was making the clothes for. Even though it would not be very fitting, it would not be far off.
After making the markings on the fabric, Qiao Nan cut the fabric into her desired size. Her movements were natural and deft, as if she was a seamstress who had years of experience. She did not have any hesitation at all.
Qiao Nan was fast with her hands. Shi Qing, who sat by the side, was dizzy from the quick movements of her hands. She was completely shaken by her skills. “Qiao Nan, are you the snail girl 1 written in the story?”
