Chapter 129 Torture of the Report Card
The woman in the photo is beautiful and innocent-looking, and seems to be very young, but that's only an impression. The fact that she is holding the hand of a boy who looks like Li Chen makes the relationship between the three in the photo obvious.
He also found a small iron box. He tried entering his own birthday, Liu Yunjuan's birthday, his parents' wedding anniversary, etc., but none of them worked. After thinking for a while, he remembered that Yunxia had eaten cake and vomited violently that day. He tried entering that date, and with a snap, the lock automatically opened.
Li Chen blinked slightly. He knew that the ice cream was just an excuse and the cake was the real culprit. From that day on, all the food sent from home was fed to the hospital's garbage can. He picked up the paper in the box and carefully read its contents. The more he read, the more shocked he became.
It turns out that the reason he had been confined to the hospital since childhood was not because of some incurable disease, but because his food had been poisoned for a long time. What a terrible culprit that was ginkgo extract, which caused him to pant after walking a few steps and suffer from various diseases whenever the weather changed, was the ginkgo tree that could be seen everywhere.
The young boy already had a guess in his mind about who had poisoned him. After restoring everything in the safe to its original state, he left the room, picked up a classic book, and lay on the bed to slowly savor it, as if the scene of exploring the secret just now was an imagination.
Bringing his thoughts back to reality, Li Chen smiled faintly and said, "I'm new to Jiangcheng and don't know many people. I really hope you can come to my house to wish me a Happy New Year."
"Don't worry, Aunt Wu calls Aunt Liu 'Little Sister Liu,' and Aunt Liu calls Aunt Wu 'Sister Wu.' In Jiangcheng, we would have to visit each other as relatives for the New Year."
Hearing her say that, the boy's smile deepened, almost reaching his eyes.
"Li Chen, where do you live? Let's all go to your house for a visit before the New Year!"
Here they come again, like a leech. Yun Xia rolled her eyes inwardly, lowered her head to tidy up the table, and handed the main battlefield over to them.
"I'm sorry, my mother doesn't like to interact with other people, let alone let a group of strangers come to our house and make a scene."
Anyone else would have tactfully walked away upon hearing this, but the people in front of them were potential gossips, notorious pests in the class, desperately trying to curry favor with Li Chen for personal gain.
Although it's unclear what benefits teenagers can gain, this person is incredibly generous, giving the whole class expensive gifts during holidays.
If they could get involved and become close friends, their families would benefit. In their eyes, the Jiang family, which Yunxia was fostering, was doing better and better because Jiang Chao had climbed up to the eldest young master of the Feng family.
"Oh, that's alright. We can book a place outside and get together. How about an amusement park?"
"Sorry, I'm afraid of heights and have a heart condition, so I can't do anything thrilling. Oh, and by the way, I can't even watch. You wouldn't want to see me spending the New Year in the hospital, would you?"
"Then...how about the park?"
"Sorry, I have social anxiety. The park is too crowded, and it's the middle of winter. All the leaves have fallen, and the only thing that can be considered a tourist attraction is the frozen lake. But... you're not planning to make me go ice skating, are you?"
After speaking, he coughed a few times, sat down weakly, and his wet eyes were filled with reproach.
"It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. How could I possibly let you participate in such a dangerous activity as ice skating? Going to the movie theater is quiet, fun, and safe, is that alright?"
Upon hearing this, the boy's eyes widened, and he crossed his arms and hugged himself tightly. "Good heavens, going to the movies isn't something you can just casually book. If my mom hears this, you guys will probably have to switch classes."
When she said the last sentence, her expression was particularly serious, and the men were indeed taken aback. Fearing that her words would reach the ears of the 'lady,' they quickly smiled apologetically and said that they had not thought things through.
At this moment, Yunxia noticed that the young boy had also finished packing and asked, "I'm done packing, can we go now?"
"Of course, wait three seconds."
Li Chen smiled at the group for three seconds, then slung his backpack over his shoulder and left the classroom with the girl.
"Heh! She's just proud of being classmates with Li Chen, what's there to be so arrogant about!"
"Stop being so sour. That rich kid doesn't even care about us. We've been trying to win his favor all semester, and what progress have we made? Instead, we should be thinking about how to change our grades without our parents finding out!"
Mentioning this made them all frown and feel genuinely resentful of those with excellent grades. It was their existence that made them feel so incompetent.
"That's easy. A few days ago, I spent a fortune on a high-tech ballpoint pen. When heated, the ink evaporates. Change '3', '4', and '5' to '8', and '2' and '1' to '7'. Before school starts, use a hot spatula to heat it for a few minutes, and the teacher won't be able to tell anything."
"Hey, you're so smart. Here, let me use the pen."
"One cent per use, pay me and you can use it."
After saying that, he opened his palm. Upon seeing this, the others pursed their lips, but ultimately, fear of their parents' scolding and beatings prevailed, and they all handed over a dime.
On the other side, Yunxia declined Brother Zhang's invitation to drive her home. After Jiang Chao and the others arrived, they made a lot of noise and went home together.
The shop was busy before the New Year, and Aunt Wu wouldn't be back until 9 p.m. Fortunately, Yang Zhaodi from the same street was there to keep her company, which made Yunxia and the others feel much more at ease.
"Mom's been busy these past few days and hasn't had time to take care of you. So, tell me, what were your scores?" Jiang Chao sat upright at the table, his demeanor as the head of the family perfectly in control.
"Hehe, Ah Chao, you've already seen my report card, haven't you? I passed every subject and ranked 35th in the class."
"Heh heh, you still have the nerve to talk about rankings? There are only 60 students in your class. I told you to study science, but you wouldn't listen and insisted on studying humanities. Don't you know how much your brain can hold? Now look what's happened, you memorized the second part but forgot the first part. Humph, memorize one essay every day during winter break. Don't even think about slacking off, recite it to me!"
"Didn't you tell me to say that?" The boy pouted, his eyes darting around as he devised a plan. He said, "Ah Chao, I'm afraid it won't be as you wish. My parents will be returning from abroad in a couple of days, and we're destined to spend this year's New Year at the Feng family's house."
After saying that, he couldn't help but smile and silently gave himself a thumbs up for his cleverness.
"Hehe, then I'll change it to writing one essay every day, 800 words. I'll check it at the end of winter break, so don't try to pull any tricks. I know your handwriting and writing level inside and out!"
After failing to find a way to borrow ideas or have someone else write for him, the boy became depressed. He would squat in the corner and draw circles on the wall, occasionally turning his head to stare at the 'head of the household' with a resentful look.
Jiang Chao took a sip of tea, glanced at someone, and said, "Just say what you have to say, don't mumble."
"In the autumn of the year Renxu, on the sixteenth day of the seventh month, Su Shi and his guests went boating on the shore beneath the Red Cliff..."
Good grief, he started reciting classical Chinese aloud right away, earning a death stare before quickly shutting his mouth and continuing to draw circles.
"An'an, it's your turn."
Jiang An shivered when he was called on. He crumpled his report card in his hand and took several deep breaths before mustering his courage to say, "Chinese 62, Math 60, English 64. Brother, I will study hard during the winter break. Please don't scold me, okay?"
His eyes were wet, and tears seemed about to fall, which broke anyone's heart, but Jiang Chao still kept a straight face.
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