Chapter 31 Teacher's Written Test

Chapter 31

"President Jiang, the public relations department has blocked several tabloid reports and has taken care of them."

Half an hour after leaving the Jin family, Assistant Wang called to report on his work.

"The reporters were brought by Jin Jing. When Grandpa Jin found out, he immediately had them stopped and secretly sent away, and even gave them hush money. However, some reporters were unwilling to leave empty-handed, so after taking the money, they secretly slipped back in."

According to Assistant Wang, those reporters were incredibly audacious. They took a few blurry photos and dared to fabricate stories, portraying his wife as an utterly wicked villain.

Unfortunately, the lady is naturally beautiful, with no bad angles. No matter how many times people took pictures, they could only capture her elegant and composed profile or her warm and gentle smile, and in the end, they could only reluctantly blur her face.

There was a slight noise outside the door. Jiang Mingxu said a few words to his assistant Wang on the other end: "Okay, I understand."

He hung up the phone, went over and opened the bedroom door, and immediately saw Jiang Xuli pacing around outside.

"What's up?"

Jiang Xuli was surprised when he suddenly opened the door, her body stiffened, and she forced herself to stretch her shoulders: "I have something to ask you."

Jiang Mingxu stepped aside: "Come in."

Jiang Xuli didn't dawdle. After his father closed the door, he asked directly, "Was that man my uncle?"

Jiang Mingxu sat on the leather sofa in the bedroom, his face showing obvious fatigue. He rubbed his temples and said, "I told you, don't worry about those people back home."

Jiang Xuli felt terrible when she saw her father's appearance.

It was as if he suddenly realized that even his omnipotent father had his moments of exhaustion: "I just wondered why he did that."

He deliberately pushed people and intentionally embarrassed his father at the banquet.

Why? Isn't he his father's only relative?

In Jiang Xuli's mind, her father, who had lost both parents at a young age, was raised by her uncle. Therefore, her uncle's family was the only remaining relatives in her family. They should have been very close, but the reality was quite the opposite.

Jiang Mingxu never allowed him to contact his hometown. When he was a child, he even drove away the relatives who came to stay with him on several occasions.

Jiang Mingxu repeated his previous statement: "You don't need to worry about it."

Again, you don't need to worry about it.

For a moment, Jiang Xuli didn't know what he was feeling. He felt anger, dejection, and sadness. He remained silent for a long time, until his lower lip bled from biting it, before suddenly asking, "Is it related to my mother?"

Jiang Mingxu stopped moving.

Jiang Xuli raised her head, looking directly at the man in front of her who both respected and feared her, but insisted, "This summer vacation, I want to go back to my hometown."

Jin Ran had just finished showering and was sleeping with her eyes closed when she suddenly heard the sound of a door slamming next door. Her drowsy state vanished instantly, and she sprang out of bed, sneaking to the door to eavesdrop.

And then, that was it.

The villa's doors were so soundproof that she heard nothing but a buzzing sound.

Jin Ran hesitated for a while, but finally decided not to go out. She decided to let the father and son resolve their conflict themselves, as it was not appropriate for her, as a stepmother, to interfere.

The following day is Friday.

The atmosphere at the breakfast table was so strange that Jin Ran couldn't ignore it even if she wanted to.

Although the father and son rarely spoke, they used to exchange a few words occasionally, but today they didn't even make eye contact.

Jin Ran fell silent as well, stirring the porridge in her bowl. She was already curious, and now, seeing the unusual behavior of the father and son, her irrepressible curiosity was like a mischievous kitten scratching at her heart.

Tsk, what's wrong with these two?

Jiang Xuli was unaware of Jin Ran's furtive glances at him. He had little appetite, quickly finished his meal, and left for school without a word.

When they left, they slammed the door shut with a deafening roar.

Only two people remained at the dinner table.

Although an embarrassing misunderstanding had occurred just yesterday, adults can easily move on after a good night's sleep. Jin Ran glanced at Jiang Mingxu, who seemed completely unaffected, and deliberately coughed a few times to get his attention: "Um, Xiao Li seems quite unhappy. Is he alright?"

"It's nothing," Jiang Mingxu said casually, as if he didn't care at all.

Jin Ran: "..."

She became even more curious, and thought that since they lived under the same roof, their arguments would inevitably affect her. For example, she hadn't dared to fight with Jiang Xuli for sweet and sour pork ribs today.

So he carefully said, "Actually, high school students are in their rebellious phase. You can't do the opposite of what they want; you have to communicate with them properly."

She looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated, and Jiang Mingxu, being so clever, immediately understood the deeper meaning behind her words.

A smile involuntarily appeared in her eyes as she put down her chopsticks and asked, "Is Teacher Jin feeling sorry for her students?"

Teacher Jin...

Jin Ran's ears burned as she listened.

Being called that by that name for the first time at home made me feel as embarrassed as someone calling me by my online name on the street, but I forced myself to remain calm: "Yeah, that's our class's math prodigy. I'll be making good use of him as a 'partner' in our studies. If you bully him, I, as his teacher, won't let you get away with it!"

Jiang Mingxu finally couldn't help but chuckle softly.

The man rarely smiled, but at this moment, the corners of his lips lifted slightly, and the corners of his eyes curved into a rare smile. His voice still carried a lingering chuckle, which softened his cold demeanor: "It's nothing serious, he just wants to go on a trip during the summer vacation."

“Huh, traveling is great. It’s a good way to balance work and rest and broaden your horizons.” Jin Ran looked puzzled. “But… it shouldn’t be something to be angry about, right?” With the Jiang family’s resources, they could easily afford to travel occasionally, or even take vacations all year round.

“It’s not about the money,” Jiang Mingxu explained to her. “I agreed to the trip, on the condition that you must be in the top ten of your class in the final exams.”

Jin Ran: "..." Case solved. No wonder that child was unhappy; who wants to go out and play but have to study hard first?

"So I'll have to trouble you, Teacher Jin, to take good care of me these next two months." Jiang Mingxu looked at Jin Ran, effortlessly flattering her, "If the students make progress, your teachers will be happy too, right?"

hehe.

Looking at Jiang Mingxu's ambiguous smile, Jin Ran could only think of four words: cunning and treacherous.

She was unwilling to be so easily manipulated and racked her brains to get back at them: "Is this considered payment?"

Last time, she used a false pretense to get the parents to agree to her teaching method, and she owed the man a favor, which she hadn't figured out how to repay.

Jiang Mingxu's smile deepened, and he actually nodded: "If he can improve, then I should owe Teacher Jin a favor."

"real?!"

"Absolutely true."

In an instant, Jin Ran's eyes lit up, and she forgot the unpleasantness from before.

That's a favor from Jiang Mingxu! Those people outside probably couldn't get it even if they wanted it! Besides, given her status and position, she would never go back on her word once she made a promise. As long as her request isn't too outrageous, this deal seems like a sure win!

With such expectations in mind, Jin Ran began to observe Jiang Xuli's grades while at school.

This observation actually revealed a problem.

She was a math teacher who usually only focused on her students' math scores. Jiang Xuli happened to excel in math, so she always thought of him as a well-rounded high achiever. But after inquiring with other teachers, she learned that the boy had a serious imbalance in his academic performance.

Jiang Xuli excelled in math, physics, and English, while her grades in history and politics, which are humanities-related, were average. Her worst subject was Chinese. Jin Ran had heard the Chinese teacher of Class 3 complain more than once that Jiang Xuli slept in her class and, after waking her up, claimed that the teacher was playing a lullaby.

Jin Ran felt deep pity upon hearing this.

At the same time, I thought of Jiang Xuli in math class. Although he often spaced out, he was generally well-behaved. I couldn't help but feel fortunate that I had a reputation for foresight. I would send him cookies every now and then, so Jiang Xuli felt indebted to me and felt embarrassed to sleep or skip class.

Thinking this, Jin Ran felt a little touched.

In fact, after spending more time with him, you'll find that Jiang Xuli isn't a bad person at heart, and is even gentler than his father.

It was simply because she wasn't valued growing up that she became somewhat rebellious as she grew older. What surprised her most was that, after making a promise with her father to be in the top ten, Jiang Xuli actually started to study hard.

On several occasions when she was at home, she happened to see this boy who used to sleep in Chinese class, now holding a Chinese textbook and pretending to study it—although his frowning and impatient manner could hardly be described as serious.

However, it must be said that Jin Ran greatly admired the boy's stubborn nature.

Sometimes she thinks that perhaps there is some kind of existential struggle in her bones, that the will that is scarred in the struggle against fate, and the soul that has been honed by fate into sharp edges, will always move her more than untested perfection.

She wanted to help, partly for her own "reward," but before she could put it into practice, she was temporarily distracted by something else.

Before we knew it, the day for teachers to prepare written exams had arrived.

At seven o'clock on Saturday morning, the villa was bustling with activity.

Contrary to his usual practice, Chef Wang didn't prepare a fancy breakfast. Instead, he made a light vegetable porridge, along with a grilled sausage and two tea eggs on a celadon plate.

"I wish my wife a perfect score on her exam!" he said with a smile, expressing his hope.

Butler Cheng wiped his eyes and said, "I never thought that a teacher would come from our family in my lifetime. Now our house will be able to have a touch of scholarly atmosphere."

Jin Ran: "..."

I was a little nervous at first, but seeing everyone's exaggerated reactions made me relax immediately.

Moreover, she was too embarrassed to tell Chef Wang that the full score for the teacher recruitment exam in City A was 120, and the total score for general education knowledge and subject-specific knowledge was 240.

However, while the food itself accounts for 100%, the sentiment behind it is equally important. She was moved by the delicious food and gave an exceptional performance, earning her an extra 20 points – that's certainly possible!

Jiang Xuli was determined to study hard, but she couldn't completely change her ways in a short time. She accidentally stayed up all night playing games and it was past eight o'clock when she got out of bed.

During the meal, I didn't see the other person in the family at the table.

At first, he thought she was reading on the second floor, but when he didn't see her by lunchtime, he realized she wasn't home.

What special day is it today?

The butler thought for a moment and said, "It doesn't seem so."

Jiang Xuli Mo.

Seeing the young man's furrowed brows, the butler suddenly understood and tentatively said, "Master had to go on a business trip today and left early this morning. Madam went out to take an exam."

Jiang Xuli remembered that she seemed to have been working on teaching questions and discussing the job placement issue with her father during this period.

Once she gets a permanent position, she will go from being a substitute teacher to a full-fledged public school teacher.

Jiang Xuli suddenly felt that the rice in her bowl didn't taste good anymore. She felt a sense of pressure that everyone in the world was working hard. She returned to her room, looked at her pristine Chinese textbook, and resignedly picked it up to read it.

In the evening, a car horn sounded outside the villa. Jiang Xuli thought it was Jin Ran returning, so he casually took a cup and went downstairs to get water, only to bump into his father coming in from outside, looking travel-worn.

Upon seeing him, his father immediately said, "Get ready, we're going out for dinner tonight."