Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“According to the old practices, she is no longer Zhu Qin but Wang Zhuqin. Dad, do you get my meaning?” There was some truth to the saying ‘A daughter married is like water spilled’.
His sister, Zhu Qin, was now biased toward the Wang family.
Although she always visited the Zhu family, it was not to maintain her ties with them but to get Zhu Chengqi to help Wang Qinglin.
“Alright, do as you see fit since you are the one who makes the decisions in this house.” Despite being angry, Elder Zhu had no other choices. “I am tired. I will have a rest on the bed. No one is to disturb me.”
Elder Zhu walked off angrily. Zhu Baoguo scooted near to Zhu Chengqi. “Dad, is Grandpa angry with us?”
Zhu Chengqi glanced at the proximity between his son and him. They had never been so close to each other before. He said nonchalantly, “Are you afraid that your grandpa would be angry with you?”
“What is there to be scared of? I am still angry with him. He praised Wang Yang in front of me, saying he was well-behaved and I should learn from him. What is there to learn? He was simply a bad guy who is full of wicked ideas. I have never liked him since I was little. I hope I will never see him at our house again!”
Zhu Baoguo was pleased with what Zhu Chengqi said just now.
“It is impossible for him not to visit our house.” There was no way they could sever ties with the Wang family. Zhu Chengqi looked at Zhu Baoguo. “Know your limits. After being plotted against by Wang Yang this time, you should learn how to be smart. Look at the way Qiao Nan deals with things. You are older than her, yet you have to learn from a young lady like her. You should keep your wits about you.”
“Hmph,” Zhu Baoguo snorted and walked off to his room.
Back at his room, Zhu Baoguo jumped around happily.
Seventeen years… It had been seventeen years. Not counting the years when Wang Yang was born and was still very young. Since Wang Yang was three years old, he had been pulling all sorts of pranks on him. Today, Wang Yang finally suffered a setback and was knocked down brutally. Thinking about it made him happy.
Apart from Qiao Nan, no one in the Qiao family knew about what had happened at the Zhu family.
The next morning, Qiao Dongliang had just woken up and was brushing his teeth when he heard exploding sounds of firecrackers coming from outside the house. He frowned at the loud sounds. “Who sets off the firecrackers early in the morning? Are they asking for a beating?”
“Who created such a din in the morning?” Ding Jiayi yawned as she came out, putting on her jacket. She did not have the time to comb her hair; it looked very messy.
“No idea, there is no wedding or any other happy occasion in the quad.” Qiao Dongliang shook his head, feeling perplexed. “It is getting late. We must hurry to wash up and go to work.”
Qiao Dongliang had a look of doubt in his eyes when he glanced at Ding Jiayi.
Qiao Dongliang still could not figure out how his wife managed to come up with the money to pay for the elder daughter’s school fees for this semester.
It had been very peaceful and quiet for the past half a year and that made him uneasy.
“Xiao Qiao.” Elder Lee’s voice could be heard from the door.
“Uncle Lee?” Qiao Dongliang was shocked. He quickly rinsed off the toothpaste foam in his mouth, wiped his mouth with the towel, and hurried to open the door. “Uncle Lee, why would you visit us so early in the morning?”
“Set off the firecrackers.” As soon as Qiao Dongliang opened the door, Zhu Baoguo, who was by Elder Lee’s side, shouted for the surrounding people to set off the firecrackers.
Deafening sounds of the firecrackers could be heard all over the quad. Everyone knew it was the Qiao family who set off the firecrackers. What could the happy occasion at Qiao family residence be?
A lot of neighbors crowded around in no time.
“Uncle Lee, what… what is the meaning of this?” Qiao Dongliang was dumbfounded. He did not understand Uncle Lee’s intention.
“Uncle Qiao, Xiao Qiao did fabulously in the middle school exams. She is the top scorer in Ping Cheng!” Zhu Baoguo gave a thumbs-up. He looked so excited and proud as if he was the top scorer.
“What? Our Nan Nan came in at which place?” Qiao Dongliang paused momentarily. The sounds of the firecrackers were too deafening, obscuring Zhu Baoguo’s words. He had a buzzing sound in his ear and was starting to hear things.
Qiao Dongliang knew Nan Nan had pretty good results, but he thought that was only within Ping Cheng Junior High School. There were a lot of other junior high schools in the whole of Ping Cheng. She could not possibly do so well.
“Uncle, I guess I am not fully awake. Did Baoguo just say that our Nan Nan came in first in the middle school exams and is the top scorer in the city?” Qiao Dongliang blinked his eyes in confusion.
“You have heard it correctly. The results were out last night, so we specially came over to congratulate you. Nan Nan is so smart. She did well for her middle school exams and made the quad proud.” Elder Lee smiled. He could understand that Qiao Dongliang must have found the unexpected piece of happy news to be too surreal.
The elders toiled hard for their whole life, and their only wish was for their juniors to be successful.
“What? Did the younger daughter of the Qiao family come in first in the middle school exams?”
“Cannot be, it’s the middle school exams. There are so many students in Ping Cheng; it is not even easy to come in first in the class.”
“Did she rank first in Ping Cheng or the whole province?”
“I have said long ago that the younger daughter of the Qiao family is very smart. I can tell that she is very quick-witted from a single look. I heard from my child she had very good results in her school. She even took first place in the whole province for essay competition.”
“What kind of food did the younger daughter of the Qiao family consume to have grown up to be so smart?”
Comparisons were odious.
If their own child could come in first place in class, not to mention first in the whole province, they would be so overjoyed that they would wake up from sleep with a smile.
All of a sudden, everyone in the quad was discussing how brilliant, well-behaved and nice Qiao Nan was. Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin turned green in anger at their words.
“Uncle, our Nan Nan really ranked first!” Everyone was saying Qiao Nan came in the first place. The news finally sunk in. Qiao Dongliang asked the question again out of happiness and surprise.
“It is true. Nan Nan’s school must have received the notice as well. I suppose Ping Cheng Junior High School will hang the banner today. By then, everyone in this area would know that Nan Nan is the top scorer in the middle school exams.” Elder Lee smiled and nodded. It might have been a good decision for Xiao Qiao to give up on the army and had a second child. “Xiao Qiao, it seemed like your decision back then was right. It is good that you had Nan Nan; she is such a good daughter.”
“Nan Nan, you are up.” Elder Lee looked at Qiao Nan with affection. “Nan Nan, congratulations. You came in first in the middle school exams; you are the top female scorer.”
“The results are out?” Qiao Nan arched her eyebrows in surprise. “That is so fast. First place? Are you sure?” Even though she felt she did well, she did not think she would come in the first place and be the top scorer.
“Definitely. You are not only the first place but also more than 220 points ahead of others. Nan Nan, your results are fabulous.” Elder Lee was all praises for Qiao Nan’s good results.
She had full marks for Mathematics and English. Her Chinese only had a deduction of two marks.
Elder Lee’s heart jumped a beat at the thought of Qiao Nan’s results. How did she do it?
Apart from Elder Lee, the teachers who read the exam papers all had mixed emotions when they saw Qiao Nan’s papers and her marks.
