Lin Anxin was satisfied and took a taxi home.
Lin Rou, who had collapsed to the ground, was helped up by Lin Xi. She had never suffered such humiliation in her life and secretly resolved to find an opportunity to make Lin An kneel down and kowtow to her a hundred or a thousand times.
Lin Haoran urged with a look of disgust, "Hurry up and get in the car, don't embarrass yourself here."
After getting into the car, Lin Rou saw Lin Xia gesturing wildly and said irritably, "I know, stop gesturing, I'll get my revenge sooner or later!"
Lin Xia's face was so swollen that her expression was hidden, but she wanted to say, "Please, my ancestor, can you please not provoke Lin An?"
When Lin An returned to the old house, there were two men in executive jackets discussing something in front of the door while holding blueprints.
With the college entrance exam still in just over three months, has the demolition and relocation been brought forward?
Lin An walked to the door and asked directly, "Are you from the Housing and Construction Bureau?"
The two men were taken aback; this young man seemed to know quite a lot: "Yes, are you from this family?"
Lin An nodded: "Yes."
"When are your parents home? We need to talk to them about something."
"My parents have passed away. I'm an orphan and live alone. If you have any questions, just talk to me directly." Lin An was too lazy to explain the matter of severing ties with people and decided to just say that his parents were dead from now on, to save trouble.
Sure enough, the person who asked the question was taken aback, a look of guilt flashing across his face. It was all his fault for being so talkative. He went to ask the orphan's parents and said softly, "Alright, we'll talk to you then."
Lin An invited the two into the house. When they saw the dilapidated state of the house and thought about his status as an orphan, they looked at each other and understood that he was a pitiful child.
One of them asked a series of questions: "Kid, are you an adult? Is the house in your name? Do you own it alone?"
"Yes, I'm 18 this year, just turned 18, and the property certificate only lists me."
The man visibly breathed a sigh of relief. He was most afraid of encountering cases with unclear property rights, as these often resulted in a group of relatives jumping out to compete with the orphan for compensation.
"Here's the thing, a developer has their eye on the land where your house is located. They've already submitted the land use pre-approval materials and are pressing us very hard. We're here today to conduct a land acquisition survey and ask for your opinion. Do you agree to the land acquisition?"
Lin An had been waiting for this day to buy this old house, so of course he agreed and quickly replied, "I agree to the land acquisition, as long as the demolition compensation is reasonable."
The man immediately said, "Don't worry, we will hold a consultation meeting later, inviting you and the developer to discuss the compensation standards together. We will all be there, and we will definitely not let the developer bully you."
Another person chimed in, "This time, the developer is from Beijing and has considerable financial strength. We can be a bit bolder when negotiating compensation."
The two were practically telling him to stop being polite and just ask for more money.
They pitied Lin An for being an orphan and wanted to help him get as much compensation as possible within their means.
After seeing the two off, Lin An fell into deep thought. This world did not operate exactly as it did in the previous life. Was it his own actions that caused the butterfly effect, or was this a parallel world in itself?
He couldn't understand these things, but the fact that the demolition was brought forward meant that other things might also be different from his memory, so he had to be more careful in the future to avoid making a mistake.
Lin An's thoughts were interrupted by a message notification on his phone. Leng Lin had sent him a WeChat message with a crying emoji.
"What's wrong? Have the monthly test results come out?"
On the day Lin An participated in the competition, the senior high school students took their monthly test as usual. This was not a formal exam, but just a small test to check the students' learning progress.
"Uh-huh."
"Did you fail another exam? How many did you pass?"
"One subject, Chinese. My parents are holding a denunciation meeting."
After more than a month of tutoring from Lin An, Leng Lin's grades have indeed improved. For example, in math, her score has increased from 20 to 40, a full doubling.
Lin An could only comfort her, "It's okay, try again next time."
"My mom is so angry she's crying. Please come to the ramen shop and talk to her."
"Okay, I'm coming right now."
When Lin An arrived, Leng Lin's mother, Tong Jiaojiao, was sitting in the shop wiping away tears, and Leng Feng sat next to her, constantly wiping away her tears.
He comforted her, saying, "Wife, don't cry. There are 360 professions, and every profession can produce an expert. Studying is not the only way out."
"What else can a girl do if she doesn't study? She can't go out and do manual labor."
"How could that be? Our family has such a successful century-old business. She can just inherit it directly, and we'll make sure she's never had to worry about food or drink for the rest of her life."
Tong Jiaojiao, who had helped out at the shop for half her life, burst into tears when she heard her husband say this. She didn't want her daughter to be like her, spinning back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room like a top, never getting a break and not even having a holiday.
Leng Lin apologized, looking aggrieved: "Mom, I promise I'll study hard. Please don't cry. It hurts me to see you cry."
Lin An quickly reassured her, "Aunt Tong, don't worry, I'll give Linlin extra tutoring."
Leng Feng only then noticed that Lin An had arrived.
"Child, you're here. Please sit down. Have you eaten?"
"have eaten."
Tong Jiaojiao wiped away her tears and said:
"Thank you, Lin An. If it weren't for your tutoring, she wouldn't have gotten 300 points. I'm just anxious because the mock exam is coming up soon. What am I going to do with this child?"
Lin An thought to himself, what else can I do? I can just open a company and she can come to work and drink tea. But it's not appropriate to say this at this stage.
Tong Jiaojiao didn't want her bad mood to affect the two children any further. Lin An was still a senior in high school; what problems could he solve? She quickly added, "Alright, don't think about these things anymore. Things will work themselves out. I bought some red date cakes for the shop assistant today; I'll go get them for you."
Tong Jiaojiao went into the kitchen, and Leng Lin breathed a sigh of relief: "Lin An, thank goodness you came, or I would have been dead."
Leng Feng said sternly, "You'd better pay more attention to your studies. If you make my wife cry again, I'll beat you up."
Tong Jiaojiao, a daughter of a prominent family in Beijing, has worked tirelessly with him for so many years without complaint. Leng Feng feels guilty and loves his wife to the core.
Leng Lin knew what kind of person her father was—a henpecked husband with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She made a face and said, "Hehehe."
"Oh, Dad, I've been studying really hard lately. You can ask Lin An if you don't believe me."
Lin An replied earnestly, "Yes, I am quite earnest."
"But I don't know why, those knowledge points that need to be understood, I recognize each word, but when they are put together, I can't understand them. And those knowledge points that need to be memorized, like flowing water, I try hard to stuff them into my brain, but they evaporate without me realizing it."
After listening to his daughter's words, Leng Feng looked up to the sky and sighed, "That's how it is when you raise children. Everyone gets their own retribution."
Tong Jiaojiao brought over some red date cake: "Lin An, try some."
"Thank you, Aunt Tong."
Lin An took a bite of his favorite red date cake. It was soft, with a rich date flavor and a sweet taste. At that moment, Lin An felt a long-lost sense of peace. He thought to himself, "If only Aunt Tong were my mother."
At that moment, Leng Lin's phone started beeping with a notification sound, ringing incessantly.
Leng Lin muttered to herself, "It must be some kind of group message."
"Less chatting, less gossip, focus on your studies," Leng Feng said, frowning.
Leng Lin opened her phone; the message was from the "Senior High School Chat Group" that Lin An had previously left.
With a startled cry, Leng Lin jumped to her feet. Lin An reached out to grab another piece of jujube cake, but was so frightened by her that she pulled her hand back.
Leng Lin exclaimed excitedly, "Lin An, you won first place in the national competition!"
Lin An thought it was something serious, so he took another piece of jujube cake and said casually, "Yes, I know."
Leng Feng quickly stood up and took the phone from Leng Lin's hand: "Let me see it."
The WeChat group was buzzing with excitement. Leng Feng clicked on a picture of a message; it showed a huge bulletin board at the main gate of No. 12 Middle School, with red background and gold lettering, the title of which read: "Congratulations to our student Lin An for winning the National Mathematics Competition!"
"Jiaojiao, come here quickly! Lin An won first place in the national math competition!" Aunt Tong, who was tidying up the noodle shop's bills, hurried over.
Leng Feng scrolled through a few more pictures. Besides the school gate, every floor of the teaching building and the school wall were covered with red banners with phrases like "A genius descended from heaven, Lin An was born, a blessed land for champions, and the No. 12 Middle School has first-class teaching quality."
Since receiving the notification from the Mathematics Committee at noon, Principal Chen has been contacting printing shops to produce these promotional materials, except for making a phone call to Lin An. He wants everyone who passes by No. 12 Middle School to know that the middle school under his leadership has produced the top student in the country.
The No. 12 Middle School is now decorated with a vibrant red theme. Even an elderly man with poor eyesight passing by remarked that the school was so festive that he wondered if the principal had gotten married.
Leng Feng and Tong Jiaojiao were incredibly excited; the number one in the country was now sitting in their shop eating pastries.
Leng Feng immediately took out his phone, stood close to Lin An, opened the camera, and snapped a few photos. Aunt Tong and Leng Lin also happily joined the camera. In the photos, the four of them made peace signs, looking as harmonious as a family.
“This photo is of sentimental value; I must keep it safe,” Leng Feng said with a smile.
He was happy for Lin An: "You're a promising kid, you're guaranteed admission to Tsinghua or Peking University. Have you decided which school you want to go to?"
Lin An smiled and said, "I have to wait for the university to contact me before I can make a decision."
"Okay, either one is fine!"
Leng Feng thought of his daughter, and his previous excitement vanished, replaced by a worried expression: "Oh dear, Linlin is hopeless. You are the number one in the country, and even with this kind of teaching, she still can't pass. It's driving me crazy."
Lin An thought for a moment and said, "Uncle Leng, sometimes changing your study methods might be more effective. I have some organized notes and study methods at home. Why don't you let Linlin come back with me to get them?"
Leng Feng immediately agreed, saying eagerly, "That's great! Let's go now. Linlin, stop eating and hurry up!"
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