“The class leaders are going to do the budget together. The class will assemble at nine o’clock in the morning. Then, we’ll play some games and have lunch. In the afternoon, we’ll go out to have fun. After that, we’ll have dinner before heading home. We plan not to invite Teacher Lu over until that day comes. Otherwise, Teacher Lu would insist to give us a treat.”
“Fair point.”
Lu Guo was not at all hard up these days. The payment and various benefits Luo Shan gave her were very generous. If she had learned about the celebration in advance, she would definitely pay the bills for those kids, wouldn’t she?
“Time went so fast. In a trice, you’re already going to junior high.”
Zhang Han sighed with emotion.
“I’m full.”
Having finished breakfast, Mengmeng put the tableware down on the table.
“I’m off to school.”
Zhang Han and Zi Yan also stood up.
“Let’s go!”
They all climbed into the old panda car which Mengmeng found pleasant to look at.
They drove all the way to the Dongli Elementary School.
On the way back home after dropping Mengmeng off, Zhang Han smiled and said, “Now, I’m finally allowed to build a magical playground for Mengmeng, aren’t I? The little girl is 11 years old after all.”
“Sure.”
Smiling, Zi Yan suggested, “Let’s do it during the summer vacation. You know, give her a surprise.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Zhang Han put on a big smile.
What did this mean?
Of course, it meant that Zhang Han could start to teach Mengmeng how to cultivate.
Seeing this, Zi Yan’s nose wrinkled.
“It’s been more than five years, but I still can’t cultivate. You always say that I’m quite awesome. But at the end of the day, I can’t even reach the Obvious Strength Stage.”
Zi Yan was a little depressed.
At first, she didn’t mind it much. But later, she fulfilled her wish and became an Oscar winner. Adding that Zhang Han was getting stronger and stronger, she now hoped that she could also become a cultivator and unite with her husband as one.
However, she failed no matter how hard she tried. That disheartened her more or less.
“Why would I lie to you? You gotta believe me.” Zhang Han smiled gently and said, “You will definitely have your epiphany one day. Look, even the ancient cursed roc has had the enlightenment once. It is your intelligent pet, and it often gives me a cold-shoulder. Doesn’t this prove that you are actually more talented than me?”
“Is it simply that Tiny Tot is only into beautiful women?” Zi Yan gave Zhang Han a suspicious look.
“How is it possible?” Zhang Han couldn’t help laughing. “The ancient cursed roc is a strange beast. How can it recognize someone as its master solely by gender? You can bank on my words. I have the knowledge and wisdom accumulated over 500 years. How can I be wrong?”
“But when on earth will the epiphany hit me?”
“I figure it will happen very soon. Let’s wait a few more years.”
“…”
Zhang Han didn’t drive straight back to Mount New Moon because he knew Zi Yan’s spirits were drooping.
So, he took her to a yacht club at the Deepwater Bay, rented a yacht, and had some leisure time with her near the coast.
Soon, a week had passed.
The results of the final exam came out. Mengmeng, who ranked first in the class and second in the grade, had marked a perfect full stop on her six-year study in elementary school.
After all, there was a straight-A student in the school. The one who ranked first in the grade was a little boy. Zhang Han had met him once. He seemed quite shy and taciturn, and wore a pair of near-sighted spectacles with 2.0 diopters.
At the sight of that boy, Zhang Han shook his head repeatedly.
Instead of winning first place, he would rather let Mengmeng play happily and not get such good grades.
However, things went contrary to his wish. Even though Mengmeng loved playing, her grades were still excellent.
Early the next morning.
Under the Thunder Yang Tree, Mengmeng taught Chen Chuan some martial arts like usual. And then she returned to the castle.
“Mummy, what should I wear today? The class will assemble at school.”
Mengmeng ran to Zi Yan.
“Today is the day you go out to celebrate. It’ll be hot outside, so, dress lightly. Also, put on a hat. Mom will spray you some sunscreen spray in a moment. You also need to take a bottle of sunscreen spray with you and spray some on your skin every hour, got it?” Zi Yan cautioned her.
This time, the class would go out on their own. But the school would send a security group to protect them. Since Teacher Lu would be with them as well, all the parents were reassured.
Each student to pay 500 yuan for today’s activities. It was not a big deal, so the parents just let them do whatever they wanted.
Neither the school, Lu Guo, or the parents, cared about this bit of money. Not to mention the 500 yuan, even if some parents were required to pay for the whole class, they would do it without a blink of qualm.
There were many rich people like Li Kai in the school. Of course, no one was as wealthy as Zhang Han.
The students from ordinary families like Ma Fei only made a small part of it.
In fact, Ma Fei’s family was also quite affluent in the past. Ma Fei’s father had a studio with a monthly income of more than 100,000 yuan and savings of several million yuan.
But the wonderful life was destroyed just in one day. Because Ma Fei’s father picked up some addiction and things soon went out of control. In just a year, Ma Fei’s family fell apart.
“I see.”
Mengmeng took the clothes that Zi Yan handed her, which were a white short-sleeved shirt with a red heart pattern, a pair of pale pink shorts, and a pair of white sneakers. She then wore a ponytail and a cap. Immediately, the little girl suddenly looked sort of athletic.
“You’re going to play games on the school playground in the morning, then, have lunch in the Love Molly Restaurant at noon. After that, you’ll go to the Mengdi Children’s Park in the afternoon, and then I’ll go to the school with your father to pick you up at five o’clock,” Zi Yan said after Mengmeng told her about today’s schedule.
Originally, the class planned to have dinner together. But since it would be dark outside at dinnertime, some parents were worried about their safety. In addition, their budget for dinner was running low. The money they pitched in already needed to cover the expenses for the hanging out, the lunch, drinks, snacks, and so on. If they wanted to have dinner together as well, it wouldn’t be enough. If not, there might be some money left.
After the meeting of the class leaders, they finally decided not to have dinner together.
The class would hang out until half-past four. Then, they would come back to school and waited for their parents to pick them up.
“Let’s go,” after helping Mengmeng pack up, Zi Yan stood up and said with a smile.
“We’re off! Daddy, carry me on your back!”
When Mengmeng saw Zhang Han at the door, she stretched out her arms and sprinted to him.
At this, Zhang Han smiled and squatted down with his back to Mengmeng. After the little princess flung herself onto his back, Zhang Han carried her downstairs.
After Mengmeng arrived at school, more than 20 of her classmates had already gathered on the playground.
“Mengmeng!”
“Class monitor!”
“You’re finally here. We all want to hear you singing.”
“Class monitor, class monitor, let’s play the handkerchief game.”
“…”
There was no need to say much about Mengmeng’s popularity in the class. She was adored by all her classmates.
As soon as she arrived, many students came to talk to her.
“I’m coming,” Mengmeng said in a loud voice
But then, she looked back at Zhang Han.
“Daddy, you gotta pick me up on time in the afternoon.”
“Well, I’ll come earlier than the designated time.”
This was a conversation that the father and daughter often had.
After saying goodbye, Mengmeng ran to the crowd.
The large group of students began to chat happily.
Lu Guo was standing next to the students, deeply engaged in their conversations. She was smiling, but there was a trace of sadness for the parting in her eyes.
It had been six years.
She had been the teacher of these students for six years.
How many six years could one have in a lifetime?
Certainly, she had been deeply attached to the students. Whether it was the cute and crafty Mengmeng, the naughty Li Muen, or the other mischievous children in the class, Lu Guo was fond of every one of them. In truth, when she thought that she would not get to see them this often anymore, Lu Guo could not help but feel downcast.
“My granddaughter, in fact, that Elder Meng is a good person. He is not as glib as Instructor Liu, nor is he as serious as Zhao Feng. Although he is a little dull and doesn’t talk a lot, his feelings for you are genuine. He is one of the Five-Tiger Generals on Mount New Moon and so is qualified to be my grandson-in-law.”
Out of the blue, Lu Xiong ran to Lu Guo and whispered those words in her ear.
The grin on his face made Lu Guo’s teeth chatter with anger.
And the sadness also drifted away with the wind.
“Who would like him?”
Lu Guo couldn’t help but snort.
Elder Meng’s figure crossed her mind despite her will.
She remembered that when Mengmeng was in the third grade, that person often looked at her with a stupid smile. She felt that he was a little slow and was not good at words. Later, when he saw her class was dismissed, he invited her to dinner. After rejecting him four times, she finally agreed on the fifth time. But when they had dinner that evening, that man did not manage to utter a word through the date. Nobody could be more slow-witted than him.
Later, Elder Meng finally found something to talk about with her. It was about Mengmeng. Lu Guo also told him things in school. Elder Meng just listened quietly and smiled foolishly from time to time.
But soon after that, Lu Guo found out that the guy had a crush on her. How dumb he was!
Lu Xiong also smiled when he saw that his granddaughter was lost in thought because of his one simple remark.
He was not as protective of his children as Zhang Han. He felt that now that Lu Guo was 27 years old, she was also at the age of finding herself a boyfriend. Although he was reluctant to part with her, he certainly did not want his granddaughter to become a leftover lady.
“It’s time for her to get married. Elder Meng is not bad. At least, judging by his disposition, my granddaughter can totally handle him.”
Lu Xiong had his own ideas and plans. If Lu Guo really started a relationship with Elder Meng, it would also be great. As one of the Five-tiger Generals in the security group that worked for Zhang Hanyang, Elder Meng had a promising future. Lu Guo would also have access to more resources and enter the martial arts world in the future. In that case, he could be able to accompany her for a longer time.
At first, Lu Xiong didn’t want Lu Guo to learn martial arts at all. But as time passed, he gradually changed his mind.
“Grandpa Lu, will you play games with us?”
Mengmeng ran over and invited him to games. “We’re playing the Chicken vs Eagle. Grandpa Lu, can you be the eagle?”
“I’m in. If I am the eagle, then who will be the hen protecting her baby chickens?”
“Our Teacher Lu can do it,” Li Muen came over and chimed in.
“Well, sure.”
Lu Guo smiled. She put her thoughts at the back of her head and began to play carefreely with her students. After a while, the rest of the students arrived in succession. The class spent the whole morning playing on the playground.
“Time really flies.”
Standing in front of the principal’s office in the teaching building, Luo Shan sighed with emotion.
“Director Luo, the school that Mengmeng wants to apply for is the First Middle School, which is a public school. So, it will be much harder to take it over by acquisition.”
Wrinkles already started to sprawl across the principal’s face. He was in his forties. Time had left certain traces on his face.
“Yes, we can’t continue to buy schools anymore.”
Luo Shan nodded.
“After those years, I now had a good relationship with Mr. Zhang and Mrs. Zhang. We’re on speaking terms. They are my most important contacts. Besides them, the Dongli Elementary School and the Saint Kindergarten have also brought me many other connections. I have expanded my league and now have connections in the entire Xiangjiang. I’ve done what I gotta do. Mengmeng will have to go forward on her own in the future. I believe that in the First Middle school, she will still be a beautiful and bright girl. Thus, I’ve decided to let it be. But in your case, do you have any plans of continuing to climb up the social ladder?”
“Hiss!”
Hearing this, the principal gasped and looked a little excited. “Director Luo, are you saying…”
“Currently, in the Luo family, except for the patriarch, I’m the one who calls all the shots. It’s no exaggeration to say that if I want the position of the patriarch, I can take it at any moment. But I don’t want to fight against my older brother for that position. Even so, I still have to leave something behind for my disappointing son. The next generation of the Luo family must learn to rely on their own strength. But I have to do something for him. Yet, you’re still young. You should take a post in the First Middle School. Since you’ve worked for me for more than a decade, I’ll once again give you a promotion,” Luo Shan proposed.
