Chapter 67
The parent-teacher meeting arrived as scheduled, and the entire grade fell into a deathly silence.
After school, nearly half the number of students lingering and laughing are gone; they all go home after the bell rings.
After most of the parents from Class 13 had arrived and everything was settled, Zhong Mei began the conversation.
She welcomed the parents and then analyzed the overall situation of the midterm exams.
Chen Zhoujing, Lin You, and four other top students from each class stood at the door, waiting for Zhong Mei to call them.
He lowered his eyes slightly, and slowly rubbed his right fingers back and forth on his left thumb.
The evening glow streamed in through the corridor, and a warm breeze brushed against his face.
Gradually, applause filled the classroom.
He turned sideways and slowly looked into the classroom.
In a nearly full house, he found an empty seat. After lingering there for a while, he looked away from his empty seat, turned around, and leaned against the glass window.
Lin You glanced at him and said casually, "You beat the second place by fifty points, that's pretty impressive."
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow, looked at her, and said casually, his tone rising, "Thank you."
She chuckled, "Smug."
Chen Zhou smiled and said, "It's really impressive that the class monitor is consistently in the top 20 of the grade."
"I gladly accept, but I also have to thank you for the test paper you gave Jian Sheng, and for teaching me the problem-solving methods." Lin You smiled slightly, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
"You two are being too modest," Zhao Chengyang said casually, his hands in his pockets.
Chen Zhou looked at him in surprise, coughed awkwardly, and then said, "They're all awesome, they're all top students, okay?"
"You too, you managed to get sixth place." Lin You raised his chin.
Zhao Chengyang shook his head slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
He studied diligently for half a semester without playing any games, and only improved his ranking by four places.
“He’s not good enough. His parents are terribly strict. They just came to check his grades and gave him a good scolding…” Xu Yanghe interjected.
They started chatting, and two other girls joined in.
The group tacitly moved a little further away from the window and began discussing their midterm exam results, eventually moving on to their grade rankings.
Chen Zhou was shocked by the ranking and silently calculated the distance between himself and Jian Sheng in his mind.
Huai'an University's cutoff score was nearly 700 last year. His score was good, but Jian Sheng might have a tough time.
He frowned, took out his phone, turned his back to the window, and began checking Huai'an University's admission status.
When Jian Sheng arrived home, she lingered downstairs for a while before carrying her schoolbag upstairs.
Ye Hua went to her parent-teacher conference. She opened the door, ready to take Maitian for a walk.
The door opened, the lights came on, and as I walked through the entryway, I heard a few casual conversations in the living room.
She took a few steps inside, and when Jian Qingyao saw her, she looked away.
She slowly walked to Yang Shao's side: "Why are you here?"
Jian Sheng put his backpack on the sofa and sat down.
"I need to talk to your brother about something." He raised an eyebrow and moved her backpack to his left, making a small space for her.
Jian Qingyao frowned as he watched the two of them interact: "When did you two become so close?"
Yang Shao curled his lip: "Isn't your sister my sister too?"
"Does it need to be cooked?" He gestured with his chin toward Jian Qingyao, who sat opposite him like a lord.
Jian Qingyao lowered his eyelids and asked Jian Sheng, "Why did you come back?"
Jian Sheng hesitated for a moment: "The teacher told me to come back."
She originally planned to stay until the parent-teacher meeting ended and then come back with Ye Hua, but Zhong Mei called her back.
Ye Hua waved his hand, not letting her stay, and had no choice but to go home first.
Jian Qingyao said "Oh," and then added, "I'm going out to eat with him, are you coming?"
Jian shook his head: "You guys go."
"Are you really not going?" Yang Shao asked softly.
Seeing that Jian Sheng refused, he added, "Shall I bring you one?"
Jian Qingyao stood up, walked to his side, and pulled him up: "If a girl says no, then she means no. Let's go."
"Go down to the wheat field later." She said, taking out her phone. "I transferred some money to you via WeChat. Just eat whatever you like. Grandma ate before she passed away."
"No need!" Jian Sheng sat up straight, her voice rising.
Jian Qingyao put his phone away and said expressionlessly, "If you keep being polite to me, I'm going to get you."
Jian Sheng gritted her teeth and glared at him.
Yang Shao punched him lightly: "Why are you being so fierce?"
"Isn't it true that if a girl says she doesn't want it, she doesn't want it?"
Jian Qingyao laughed in exasperation: "That depends on the circumstances! Let's go!"
After saying that, he took Yang Shao and left.
Jian Sheng sat back down and was just about to turn back to him when Jian Qingyao's message arrived.
If you dare delete me again because I transferred money to you, I'll really mess with you.
.........
Jian Sheng stuffed his phone back into his pocket and went downstairs with Mai Tian, who was nestled in the corner.
After circling the neighborhood twice, it got dark. She stood at the entrance for a while, glancing at her phone every now and then.
As the parent-teacher meeting was about to end, I took Maitian home and hurried towards the school.
The gate was wide open, and students with red armbands stood at the entrance.
Many people had already come out of the building intermittently. Jian Sheng ran against the flow of people to the second-year high school building. At the entrance of the third-floor staircase, he tidied his hair and slowed down to walk to the classroom door.
She stood by the glass window and looked inside. Ye Hua was standing on the podium talking to Zhong Mei. Some parents were gathered around Zhong Mei, while others were sitting in their seats.
Jian Sheng looked at Chen Zhoujing's position again. He had his back to them and was tidying up the lists on everyone's desks.
She watched for a while, then moved closer to the white wall, waiting for Ye Hua to come out.
A warm evening breeze swept through, and the pale lights in the corridor shone especially brightly in the quiet, dark campus.
The front and back doors opened, and parents from Class 13 began to emerge, chatting in twos and threes as they walked toward the stairwell.
Looking left and right, I didn't see any parents who looked like Chen Zhoujing.
Thinking of what He Shang had said, my heart felt heavy.
She slowly stomped her feet and leaned towards the window to look at Chen Zhoujing, who was busy cleaning inside.
She glanced around again; every table had a nameplate, except his.
She rubbed her fingers on the windowsill, her brow furrowing.
Suddenly, the sound of arguing came from the side back door.
She turned her head; the noise arrived before she even saw anyone.
"What use is it for me to support you? Huainan University had the lowest score of 687 last year, and you only have 584 now. You'll have a hard time even getting into a decent key university."
"If you were half as worry-free as your brother, I wouldn't have to worry about you so much!"
"Say less..."
"It's all your fault! You spoiled him and raised such a wretch!"
"All you do all day is play on your phone and play games. With grades like yours, you'll end up like your dad, a useless factory worker!"
"When have I ever spoiled him? It's all your fault! You're the one who bought him the phone. Stay away from Cheng Jin from now on, don't lead him astray!"
Slowly, the person inside came out.
A couple who looked to be over fifty years old walked out of the house, cursing and swearing. Their backs were not very straight, whether from years of hard work or something else. Their hair and temples were covered with white hair. A few seconds later, Jian Sheng saw Zhao Chengyang follow them out.
She was about to look away when he looked over.
He didn't speak, but lowered his head, bent over, and walked quietly behind the chattering couple.
Jian Sheng watched his figure slowly disappear into the light and turn into the dim stairwell.
"What are you looking at?" a deep voice asked.
Jian Sheng turned her head sharply and saw Ye Hua standing behind her with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless.
"Grandma," she called out.
Ye Hua snorted: "What are you doing coming all this way so late at night?"
"I'm not so senile that I can't find my way back." She walked past Jian Sheng and, seeing her standing there motionless, said, "Aren't you going anywhere?"
Jian Sheng quickly stepped forward, standing a step behind her, and slowly walked forward.
"It's too late, it's not safe..." she murmured.
She wasn't as articulate as Jian Qingyao, and kept many of her unexpressed emotions bottled up inside.
Ye Hua could tell, but she didn't say anything and walked slowly with her back bent.
“Zhong Mei said you’ve made great progress,” she said after walking a short distance.
"I don't expect you to do very well on the exam; just assess it for yourself."
Jian Sheng hummed in agreement, then looked at her hands behind her back, hesitating whether to go up and help her.
Ye Hua continued, "Qingyao is taking the college entrance exam this year. You can ask him for advice next year. His grades are pretty good, within the top 100 in his grade."
"I don't expect him to get a high score; I just hope he can take control of his own future."
“I’m getting old and sometimes I get confused. You two don’t need me to worry too much, but Qingyao is emotionally unstable and easily agitated. He always says things that are explosive and doesn’t have a good temper with anyone except me.”
"I...I can't control him anymore. You're family, so you should spend more time together. I've already disciplined him several times to teach him to behave himself..."
"Actually, many of his words are unintentional. If they really hurt you, don't hold back."
"But... don't let other people's gossip sway you. He's a good person."
"And then there's you, you never eat, sigh."
Ye Hua glanced at her and sighed again: "The body comes before everything else."
"As long as you live, hope will follow."
As they reached the stairwell, Jian Sheng lowered his head and listened intently while turning on the side light switch, instantly brightening the view.
Ye Hua added, "I've said a bit too much..."
As soon as she finished speaking, she swayed, startling Jian Sheng. She exclaimed and quickly steadied her, asking, "Grandma, are you alright?"
Ye Hua straightened up, withdrew her hand and waved it: "It's nothing, I just lost my balance."
She gripped the handrail: "Simple."
Ye Hua called her name, then suddenly laughed, and called her name twice more, his tone tinged with a gentle, lingering affection.
Jian Sheng smiled as he looked at her face, which was full of the marks of time. Without her noticing, she seemed to have developed quite a few more fine lines around her eyes.
Ye Hua turned his head, looked at her carefully for a few moments, and said, "Do you know the origin of your name?"
She was a little uneasy, but shook her head, waiting for her to continue.
Ye Hua began, “That year when I went to university, the weather was bitterly cold. For some reason, when you came out, your crying was so loud that it shook the entire clinic.”
"Your dad, that brat, kept yelling and babbling, but your grandpa finally shut him up with a whack on the head."
“Your grandfather saw you were such a tiny little thing, and you cried for days. You only smiled at him. He spent days flipping through the dictionary, and in the end, he still chose this character for you based on your cries.”
"May your birth be marked by great fanfare, and may your life be marked by great fanfare."
This was the second time Jian Sheng had heard the origin of her name. The first time was when Jian Zihua said that he gave her this name because she was noisy.
She didn't speak, a momentary shock rising within her, then subsiding. Her brows furrowed unconsciously as she looked at Ye Hua's face; she seemed so unusual tonight.
He smiled and talked to her for a long time.
She was worried, her hand always behind her back, a hand's width away, maintaining a protective posture.
As they arrived at the school gate, Ye Hua waved and asked, "You haven't had dinner yet, have you?"
Jian Sheng's furrowed brows relaxed when she looked over: "Not yet."
Ye Hua pointed across the street from the rows of towering trees and said, "Go eat something over there, I'm going back to walk around the wheat fields."
Jian Sheng stepped forward and grabbed her arm: "Let me take you back. I've already passed through the wheat field."
"You don't want to eat again?" she said seriously.
Jian Sheng quickly shook his head: "No, I'll take you home and then we can eat out."
Ye Hua didn't say anything more. Jian Sheng escorted her all the way home before leaving the residential area, his mind heavy with thoughts.
She picked up her phone and sent a few messages to Jian Qingyao, but after waiting a while, she didn't receive a reply.
Jian Sheng put his phone back in his pocket and continued walking towards the school along the original route.
School.
After seeing the parents off, Zhong Mei kept the six of them behind for a short meeting before driving home.
Chen Zhoujing sat in his seat, staring blankly at the empty classroom.
Zhao Chengyang passed by the back door on his way back from the office and glanced at him: "Aren't you leaving?"
Chen Zhou turned his head in surprise: "You should go back first."
Zhao Chengyang was about to say something when he suddenly caught sight of someone coming up the stairs. He pursed his lips, said "Oh," and walked away with his schoolbag.
After everyone left, Chen Zhoujing lowered his eyes and flipped through his phone.
The silence was broken by footsteps. He said, "Didn't I tell you to go back first?"
He didn't get a response, and the footsteps grew closer and closer. He realized something was wrong; he was very familiar with that casual voice.
Chen Zhou turned his head in surprise and met Jian Sheng's somewhat bewildered expression.
"Why are you here?" He stood up abruptly, walked towards her, and bent down.
"You came all this way just to see me?" he asked.
Jian Sheng blinked, her cheeks flushing: "No."
"Oh." Chen Zhou was surprised and disappointed.
“Yes,” Jian Sheng said again.
"Huh?" His eyes widened. "Is it or isn't it?"
Chen Zhoujing tugged at her sleeve, shook it a few times, and softened her voice: "Isn't that right? Then I'm so disappointed."
“Oh, yes.” Jian Sheng withdrew his hand. “I’m leaving.”
After saying that, she turned away, not giving him a chance to speak.
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