"Song Xia, you've improved again!" Her deskmate shouted at Song Xia as soon as she saw the test paper being handed out.
Looking at her math score of 125, Song Xia smiled slightly, relieved that her hard work of staying up late every day for the past two months had not been in vain.
"How did you study? You improved so quickly!"
"It's probably because I compile a collection of my mistakes for each subject. For the questions I get wrong, I find similar questions and do them four or five times. After that, I basically won't make the same mistakes again."
Her deskmate looked at her with admiration: "Then you must be studying very late every day?"
"I usually study until midnight every day. If I get a lot of questions wrong or don't know the question types, I'll study until about 1 a.m.
"Aren't you tired? You come so early every morning, and I've never seen you dozing off during the day."
"Of course I'm tired," Song Xia sighed. "But I have no choice. If I don't study hard, I won't have any way out. No one will cook me a warm soup when I cry, and there won't be a warm harbor waiting for me to return to when I'm down in the future."
Her deskmate, who had initially been a little jealous of her rapid progress, instantly felt relieved upon seeing her sorrowful expression, and even felt more sorry for Song Xia.
Yes, Song Xia is not like them. They have parents at home who can take care of them no matter what happens. But Song Xia can only rely on herself and even has to take care of her two younger sisters.
The fact that Song Xia can improve her grades so quickly while taking care of her younger siblings every day can only mean that she works hard and can't endure the hardship herself. What is there to be jealous of?
"Song Xia, the homeroom teacher wants to see you." The class monitor walked in, looking at Song Xia with admiration. Although Song Xia's grades were still a few places lower than hers, the speed of her progress had surprised her. No wonder the homeroom teacher looked so delighted.
Moreover, due to Song Xia's hard work and progress during this period, many classmates began to work hard to catch up. In this final exam, the average score was much higher than that of the class next door. Both are key classes, and even a small difference can make a difference.
Song Xia walked into the office, and her homeroom teacher smiled and said, "Sit down. I've looked at your grades in all subjects, and they've all improved quite a bit. Do you feel like you're struggling with your studies?"
"The college entrance exam is less than half a year away, and winter vacation is just around the corner. I want to work harder."
“Your idea is right, but you can’t push yourself too hard. I called you here to tell you some good news. This year, an honorary alumnus donated a sum of money to the school. The alumnus’s idea is to use the donation as scholarships to commend students with excellent grades. You have made great progress this semester and your ranking has improved. I have put your name on the list. What I can confirm now is that you will definitely receive a scholarship, but the amount is uncertain.”
Song Xia looked at her homeroom teacher with surprise and gratitude and said, "Teacher, thank you."
"You're welcome. This is all thanks to your own hard work. You can relax a bit during the winter break, but don't slack off too much. The school also rewards students with excellent college entrance exam scores."
Song Xia knew this, and she was determined to get it. When she went to university, the school was too far from home, so she would definitely need an electric scooter, as well as a computer, a mobile phone, and so on. She didn't plan to use too much of her family's savings to buy these things.
When she got home, Song Jun and Song Jiao weren't there. They had already started their winter vacation and had even finished their homework. She would only preview junior high school material when she studied at home in the evenings. During the day, she would either watch TV at home or go out to play with her friends.
Song Xia wasn't too worried about the two boys' safety. First, they were both very intelligent; second, they were already twelve years old, which wasn't too young; and third, the city had a high level of public security.
Song Jun spends most of his time at the nearby park playing skateboarding or ice skating with everyone. His skateboards and ice skates were bought when his father was still alive. Song Jiao and he each have a set, but Song Jiao doesn't like them as much as he does.
As for Song Jiao, in order to pursue her future career as a star, the clever girl followed amateur dancers to practice. These amateur dancers often practiced their dance steps in a corner of the park. They didn't disturb her, who was just a child, but secretly followed along. They not only didn't chase her away, but would also occasionally give her some pointers. In just a few days of vacation, Song Jiao had already learned to dance quite well.
Song Jiao had asked to enroll in a dance class, but Song Xia refused due to Song Jun's objection. Dance classes in City A were really expensive, and if they continued like this every year, the money wouldn't last until Song Jiao and Song Jun reached adulthood and went to university.
However, she promised that if Song Jiao were to apply to the film academy in the future, she would enroll Song Jiao in a class in her final year to try for the entrance exam. As for how much progress Song Jiao can make now, it all depends on Song Jiao's own efforts.
Although she was unwilling, the money didn't belong to Song Jiao alone, so in the end she had no choice but to compromise. She vowed to learn to dance properly, so in addition to learning from other dance troupes during the day, she would also find videos on TV in the morning and practice on her own.
Song Xia had also explained the injuries she had sustained while practicing to her, so she basically didn't do any difficult moves, only learning the styles and rhythms, trying to find the feel for the dance.
Around 6:30, the two returned one after another. Despite it being the dead of winter, Song Jun was so hot that he wasn't even wearing a coat, while Song Jiao was still humming along to the beat and correcting her arm movements.
"Dinner's ready."
"Sis, are you going to have winter break soon too?"
"Hmm, two more days."
"The New Year is just a few days away, sis, let's go see the flower show in a couple of days."
“Okay.” Song Xia nodded in agreement. “I’ll also buy some of your favorite New Year’s goods while I’m at it.”
“Great!” Song Jun also became interested. “Sis, I want to go to the lantern festival too.”
"Go, but there will definitely be a lot of people, so you must stick close to me and not act on your own."
"Hmm." Song Jun's eyes darted around. "Sis, it's almost Chinese New Year, could you give us a little more pocket money this month?"
Hearing this, Song Jiao looked over expectantly, pleading, "Sister, just consider it New Year's money. Dad always gives us New Year's money."
Song Xia frowned slightly: "I already earned fifty a week, and now that I don't have to eat breakfast outside anymore, isn't that enough?"
"Sis~" Knowing that their previous assertive attitude wouldn't work, the two learned to soften their voices and act coquettishly, "It's holiday time and all the classmates are out playing. Sometimes a day's worth of fried skewers and milk tea costs fifty yuan. Can you add a little more?"
Song Xia hesitated for a moment: "Then we'll give each of you an extra hundred during the winter break. When you go to junior high next year, your allowance will be back to the original fifty yuan. Be frugal with it. If it's still not enough, then stay home and study instead of going out."
The two didn't pay attention to what was said next, and when they heard that it was added by a hundred, they were already beaming with joy.
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