Zhang Hongyan quickly found a loophole in Gou Dan's statement: "The final exam results haven't come out yet, how do you know you can be in the top three of the class?"
Gou Dan choked for a moment, then quickly retorted, "I...I'm confident in myself. If I can get into the top three, you'll have to agree to let me keep a dog."
"Alright, we'll talk about it when your results come out," Zhang Hongyan compromised.
If Gou Dan can really get into the top three in his class, then she will have no choice but to agree to him getting a dog.
After all, you can't break your promise in front of the child. Otherwise, you'll lose all authority in front of Gou Dan, and most importantly, it will damage your image in Gou Dan's mind.
"Great!" Gou Dan jumped up and down happily. Although he wasn't sure if he could get into the top three in his class, at least he had a better chance.
The next day, Gou Dan and Da Niu went to their grandmother's house again.
Gou Dan told Grandma Dan Niu about his agreement with his mother, and pitifully pleaded, "Grandma, could you please keep the puppy for a few more days?"
“Yes, Grandma, please give Gou Dan a few more days,” Da Niu also chimed in, speaking up for Gou Dan.
Grandma Da Niu nodded kindly: "Okay, but it can't be more than a week."
"No problem, thank you Grandma," Gou Dan said happily.
If he's not mistaken, the Red Army should have already mailed the letter, and he'll know his final exam results in a few days.
Thinking of this, Gou Dan suddenly felt a little nervous. In fact, he wasn't 100% confident in himself, but he had no other way to get Zhang Hongyan to agree to let him keep a dog.
Xia Qingqing taught Gou Dan for three consecutive days, and he finally learned how to ride a bicycle.
It's supposed to be three days, but it's only about an hour of study each evening, which is still pretty fast.
Gou Dan was so happy he could hardly see his eyes. Xia Qingqing gave him a thumbs up without hesitation: "Not bad, keep practicing, and next time we go out together, you can pick me up."
“Sure, no problem,” Gou Dan said with great confidence.
Xia Qingqing practiced with him for a while longer until he stopped wobbling while riding the bike, and then she felt relieved enough to let him ride alone.
"I'll head back now. Be careful not to ride too far, it'll get dark soon," Xia Qingqing said before leaving.
Dog Egg stood on one foot, leaning against the bicycle at an angle, and nodded obediently: "I know, don't worry, sis, I'll ride for a little while and then come back."
As soon as Xia Qingqing left, Gou Dan immediately rode his bicycle to Da Niu's house.
Hehe, he learned to ride a bike, such a big thing, of course he had to share it with his good friend!
Looking at Gou Dan riding his bicycle so imposingly, Da Niu couldn't help but show an envious expression: "Wow, Gou Dan, you're so amazing!"
Upon hearing Da Niu's words, Gou Dan immediately stopped his bicycle in front of him, patted his chest, and said, "I'll practice for two more days, and once I'm proficient, I can teach you."
"Okay," Da Niu nodded happily.
Dog Egg played at Da Niu's house for a while, teasing Da Niu's little yellow dog. By the time he got home, it was already half dark.
He wasn't very skilled at riding, and when the front tire accidentally ran over a small stone, the bike instantly tipped to one side.
With a thud, he and his bike crashed to the ground, and Gou Dan's face immediately scrunched up like a bun: "Ouch~ What bad luck."
He fell on his first day of driving lessons, but was fine for the next two days. He thought he would never fall again, but now that he has learned to drive, he has fallen again.
And coincidentally, he injured his left hand and left foot last time, but this time he injured his right hand and right foot, so all four limbs are intact.
When Xia Heping came out of the bathroom after taking a cold shower, he saw Gou Dan limping back, pushing his bicycle.
He quickly stepped forward and took the bicycle from Gou Dan's hands: "What happened? Did you fall and hurt yourself again?"
Dog Egg nodded with a pout: "The tire ran over a stone on the road and I fell."
"It's okay, you're not skilled yet. You'll get the hang of it after riding it a few more times," Xia Heping comforted him by patting his head.
Xia Heping pulled Gou Dan into the room and asked Zhang Hongyan, who was lying on the bed, "Wife, where did you put the gentian violet? Gou Dan fell again, I want to put some gentian violet on him."
"Fell again?" Zhang Hongyan's eyes widened suddenly as her gaze swept over Gou Dan's hands and feet.
While applying the medicine, Zhang Hongyan couldn't help but feel sorry for her son when she saw the wounds on his knees and elbows: "You have to be more careful when riding your bike next time. It's only been a few days and he's already injured like this."
Gou Dan glanced at his mother with some surprise, thinking she was going to scold him.
The area where the medicine was just applied should not be exposed to water. Xia Heping was worried that it would be inconvenient for Gou Dan to take a bath, so he simply had him sit in the tub and gave him a quick bath.
It wasn't until the next day that Xia Qingqing found out that Gou Dan had fallen again.
Looking at his limbs covered in gentian violet, Xia Qingqing felt a mix of sadness and amusement: "Does it still hurt? I should have practiced with you yesterday."
"It doesn't hurt anymore. I was just careless while riding my bike. It has nothing to do with whether you practice with me or not. I was going to fall anyway," Gou Dan said with a grin, sounding completely unconcerned.
Because of the injury, Gou Dan has been forbidden from riding a bicycle for the past two days. He needs to recover first, otherwise he won't have anywhere to fall again.
Gou Dan simply stopped going out to play and stayed home obediently to do his summer homework. Zhang Hongyan was quite pleased to see him so well-behaved and specially asked Xia Heping to go to the county to buy bones to make soup for him to nourish himself.
Three days later, Gou Dan finally received the letter from Tian Hongjun and eagerly opened the envelope.
There were three sheets of paper inside the envelope. The first two were Tian Hongjun's greetings and his sharing of his summer vacation, which Gou Dan ruthlessly skipped.
He flipped directly to the third sheet of paper, and after a moment he cheered happily: "Hahaha, I can have a puppy now!!!"
Seeing how happy he was, Xia Qingqing knew he must have achieved his goal: "What rank did you get in the exam? The letter said so."
"Third place," Gou Dan gestured to her.
Although he tied for third place with another classmate, he was still a genuine third place winner.
"Great job!" Xia Qingqing gave Gou Dan a thumbs up and gave him a reward—2 yuan.
Gou Dan smiled so hard his eyes narrowed as he held the two yuan: "Hehe, thank you, sister."
Then, with her bright, sparkling eyes, she looked at Zhang Hongyan and asked, "Mom, can you keep your promise now?"
Zhang Hongyan was happy about her son's academic progress when she heard his words and coughed lightly twice, feeling uncomfortable: "Cough...cough, go and bring it back, but there's something I need to tell you in advance. If the dog bothers the neighbors after we get to Beijing, it must be sent away immediately."
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