Qiao Nan refused to take in any more students once she had ten students. The parents regretted that they had missed out on a good chance due to not making a decision earlier.
All of the parents who came looking for Qiao Nan had children who were about the same age. They were in junior high school and would sit for the middle school examination at the same time.
In the event that their children had a weaker foundation and lagged behind others as they did not take the tuition class, it would affect their performance in the middle school examination and even the college entrance examination!
Qiao Nan had just finalized the students for her first class when the second class was already fully booked.
To Qiao Nan, she had spent a quarter of her time during summer break to spot questions for the third-year students.
If she had to tutor so many students, she would not be able to cope with her own studies.
Hence, she insisted that she would only take two classes of ten students each. She would not start another class.
Among the large number of parents who wanted to sign up for Qiao Nan’s class, only twenty slots were given to them.
Those parents who signed up successfully for the tuition class were proud of themselves, especially when they saw for themselves how the other parents were rejected by Qiao Nan.
However, these parents were worried when they realized that Qiao Nan did not have the habit of giving homework to her students.
Those who did not know what was going on would behave like the mother who was doubtful of Qiao Nan’s abilities and worried that they had wasted their money. Those who knew what was going on would be able to tell that Qiao Nan was capable from the small habits and changes in their children.
Therefore, Qiao Nan had a busy and eventful summer break, dealing with all these parents.
Other than the tuition classes, Qiao Nan also had to worry about Zhai Hua and Wei De. In the blink of an eye, half of the summer break had passed. She was so busy that she had almost forgotten that Qiao Zijin sat for her college entrance examination this year as well.
“By the way, if Uncle Qiao has not brought up Qiao Zijin, I feel that you should keep quiet as well. Uncle Qiao has been very happy recently. Bringing up Qiao Zijin will only be another source of worry to him. Although you are busy with lessons, you still remember that Qiao Zijin sat for her exams this year. As a father, how could Uncle Qiao have forgotten about it? Since he keeps quiet about it, you should not bring it up as well.” Shi Qing gave suggestions on how to deal with Qiao Zijin.
Shi Qing felt that it was better not to have any contact with such a troublesome pair of mother and sister.
It was a good thing for Qiao Nan that those people did not appear in her life now. It would be unlucky to bring them up.
Qiao Nan smiled bitterly. “Don’t bring it up? I’m afraid my dad is waiting for me to mention it.” Her father was waiting for an excuse to talk about them. He was worried that Qiao Nan would be angry if he took the initiative to show concern for her mother and Qiao Zijin.
Once she brought it up, her father would be able to show his concern for Qiao Zijin and ask about her results in the college entrance examination, or even which university she planned to study at.
“Since that is the case, all the more you have to keep quiet. Even if Uncle Qiao has been particularly uneasy recently, felt uncomfortable or listless, you have to hold yourself back. You must not bring it up.” Shi Qing insisted that Qiao Nan pretended that she did not know anything and kept silent since Qiao Dongliang did not say anything as well.
“I understand.” Qiao Nan had a grim but firm look on her face. She sucked in a long breath. “Since I don’t want to be cruel to myself, I can only be cruel to others. If my dad is having a good time, it means I have to suffer.”
She had been suffering for years. This time around, she had decided to be selfish. She wanted to lead her own life. She had no wish to take care of other people’s benefits and well-being, especially when it came to her mother and Qiao Zijin.
Shi Qing tapped Qiao Nan’s shoulder. “I am relieved that you understand. Although I have not seen your mom and sister, these two women are clearly no saints. To sympathize with them is equivalent to being cruel to yourself. Uncle Qiao is different from you. His actions will naturally be different from yours. These are two different matters.”
“Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Have you finished your homework for the summer break?”
Shi Qing rolled her eyes. “It is impossible to finish so much homework. Are you kidding? Moreover, don’t treat me like you would your students. I won’t fall for it. Are you addicted to being a teacher? Do you want to supervise me as well? Dream on!”
“Fine, I won’t supervise you. Anyway, I am not paid for it.” Qiao Nan smiled happily at the thought of the money that she earned from tutoring. She had the crazed look of a gold-digger.
She had wanted to use the money to repay the debts that she owed Zhai Sheng. However, it was not enough.
But Qiao Nan must get her priorities right. It was good that she repaid what she owed Zhai Sheng so that she would not owe him anything. However, her studies were more important.
She should save the money to go to university in the future.
“You stink of money.” Shi Qing snorted, giving her a disdainful look.
Qiao Nan was not angry. Instead, she laughed at Shi Qing. “I stink of money, while you smell of sweat!” Nobody was better than the other. What was Shi Qing being smug about?
Shi Qing lowered her head to sniff at herself. It was true indeed. “Crap, I won’t talk to you. I will take a shower.”
“Don’t wash now. Take your shower some time after dinner so as to digest the food well. Do you know how to stay healthy?” Qiao Nan grabbed Shi Qing. “Wait a minute. Your dad should be back from work. What is he busy with recently? He seemed to be coming home later than usual. You should show your concern for him. Don’t forget, your dad is not in good health. He finally left the army to have a good rest, but he seems to be busier than before after working in the government.”
Director Shi was working as hard as he was in the army. Did he intend to have a good rest after discharging from the army or did he intend to work his guts out?
“My dad is such… Forget it. Let’s not talk about this.” Shi Qing looked frustrated at the mention of her father. “My dad may have been discharged from the army, but I feel that he is busier now than when he was in the army. There is not much difference. I tried to persuade him to take things slowly to no avail. He said he must be responsible for his job no matter which position he is in. He must be accountable to the country, the party, and the people and their trust in him. Crap!”
The country and the party wanted her father to have a good rest, but he did not heed their words.
Qiao Nan said after a moment of silence, “It is the fortune of the country and people to have your father as an official. You can’t stop him from doing his work, but you can keep a watch on him, especially during the summer break. You must make sure that he takes three meals a day. He must not go without a meal or have late meals. It is hot at noon, so it’s impossible for you to go to his workplace. But you can make a phone call to him. Call him every three minutes to make sure that he has his meals. He will have to eat his meals with you keeping a check on him. At noontime, he can have half an hour of nap. When he is back at home at night, you can make sure that he goes to sleep early after his dinner and shower as long as he has digested his food.”
