Chapter 28 Letter
That was when Fu Guanshan was still called Zhong Wenyue.
As soon as the head teacher walked into the classroom, he immediately clasped his hands together, muttered something, and prayed devoutly to all the gods from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign, that he knew, as well as all the protagonists in martial arts dramas.
“Please bless me,” he closed his eyes tightly, “Please don’t…”
"Take this test paper back and have your parents sign it."
Finished!
He failed in a second, his head drooped, and he looked at the test paper in front of him with a sad face. The bright red score clearly revealed his tragic fate.
"Zhong Wenyue!"
He was startled: "Yes, teacher."
"You are not allowed to imitate my parents' signature! How dare you show me your handwriting? You need talent to lie, you know!"
How come he has no talent? He was in tears and when he apologized to the teacher, it was so natural that the teacher was softened by his tearful eyes and didn't even call his parents.
With his acting skills, he should at least win an Oscar. Isn’t this called talent? It’s the props that hold it back! If my brother had been willing to help imitate the handwriting, things wouldn’t have turned out like this!
Thinking of this, he said with full energy: "I promise to complete the task, teacher."
There was laughter in the classroom, and the head teacher looked at him helplessly and shook his head.
He was about to put the test paper into his schoolbag, but he was afraid that his father would scold him. Not only was he stupid, but his study attitude was also bad. The test paper was in tatters. So he folded it in half and put it between his books.
"By the way," the head teacher continued, "the students who participated in the charity event last time have received a thank-you letter from Jiangning Primary School. Please go to the podium and pick it up."
If the teacher hadn't told him, he would have almost forgotten about it. Last month, a charity organization made a connection with him, saying that some students in rural primary schools did not have enough reading resources, so it launched an activity to help them subscribe to magazines. He participated in it on impulse.
He went up to get the thank-you letter from the beneficiary, and the teacher said, "It just so happens that you are about the same age as those students. The school encourages you to become pen pals, practice your writing skills, and learn about life in different regions. Go back and write a reply letter. If you are willing to have long-term exchanges, the institution will help you forward the letter."
He suddenly wilted.
He donated his pocket money to buy books for others, but what did he get? Write an essay!
What a world!
The teacher gave him a pointed look: "Zhong Wenyue, you must participate. Look at your composition. Is there a coherent sentence?"
He scratched his nose: "Teacher, I don't have time to do my homework, let alone write a letter..."
"You should communicate well with others. They are not as well off as you, but they still study hard. You..."
The rest of the words were automatically filtered out by him. If preaching was useful, he would have gotten full marks eight hundred years ago. He is just a slow learner, so what can we do?
After school, he returned home and first assessed the situation.
Mom just picked up my brother and Dad isn't home yet.
He immediately perked up, ran into the living room, and gave his mother a hug.
Fu Lanying was pounced on by the child who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She staggered and almost lost her balance.
"Mom," he took out a paper flower he made in art class, "you've worked hard!"
Fu Lanying squinted her eyes and looked at him for a while, then spread out her hands: "The test results are out."
His momentum dropped instantly, but he still held the small flower stubbornly.
Fu Lanying took the flower, found a book, put it inside as a bookmark, and opened her hands to him: "Give me the paper."
He slowly opened his schoolbag, took out the test paper, and handed over a pen: "Mom, the teacher asked us to sign here."
Fu Lanying glanced at her grades, then at the wrong questions, and managed to find a good point: "Well... there are fewer blank questions than before."
"Yes, yes, yes." He wished his mother would sign it immediately, pointing to the blank space below the score.
Fu Lanying glanced at him, signed her name, and said, "Aunt Zhang recommended a math teacher to me before, who teaches arithmetic using games. Mom went to listen to a class and thought it was good. Do you want to give it a try?"
“Okay, okay, okay.” Although he felt that even God—or some math god—could not save him, the signature was the most important.
After Fu Lanying signed her name, he quickly stuffed the test paper back and used his killer puppy dog eyes again: "Mom, don't show this test paper to Dad."
Fu Lanying raised her hand to cover his eyes: "Do you think you can keep it a secret?"
He took his mother's hand and squeezed it with tears in his eyes.
"That's enough," Fu Lanying was so disgusted by his words that she got goosebumps all over her body and quickly pulled her hand out. "I won't say anything, okay? But you have to go to class well."
He nodded vigorously. Fu Lanying brushed off his clothes helplessly and took a towel: "Hurry up and wipe the dust off your head. Physical education class is like rolling in the mud."
He picked up the towel and wiped it randomly. Fu Lanying asked again: "What do you want to eat tonight?"
"Tomato scrambled eggs! But don't put coriander in it! Pork rib soup! But don't put wolfberry in it! Braised lamb chops! But don't put cinnamon in it!"
"It's really tasteless."
“It tastes really weird!”
His mother left with a sigh, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Finally completed the mission and escaped temporarily.
However, accidents happen all the time. When he walked into the restaurant at dinner time, the scene before him made his heart sink.
Zhong Yuan sat at the dining table, holding chopsticks in one hand and flipping through the test paper with the other. Judging from the score, it is obvious that it belongs to my younger brother.
Zhong Wenqi sat upright opposite him, eating mutton quietly.
He walked over quietly, trying his best to reduce his presence. As soon as I sat down, my father's voice rang out: "Zhong Wenyue."
He raised his head.
"I heard from Wenqi that you guys also took the test?" Zhong Yuan asked, "Where are the papers?"
"I...we haven't reviewed it yet." He glanced at his mother.
"I can call your teacher."
"Let the child eat first." said Fu Lanying.
"Bring it here." Zhong Yuan said.
He knew he couldn't escape, so he handed in the paper anyway. Zhong Yuan glanced at him and frowned, "Haven't I taught you this question several times? Why don't you know how to do it?"
He was familiar with the disappointment in the tone, but familiarity did not mean that he was not afraid or discouraged.
"You're only in elementary school and you can't keep up. What will happen in the future?" Zhong Yuan slammed the test paper on the table. "If you continue like this, you may not even be able to get into high school, let alone college. What will you do in the future?"
"Hey, hey, hey," Fu Lanying said, "You know you're only in elementary school, why are you talking about these nonsense?"
"You're the one who spoiled him," Zhong Yuan said to his wife, then turned to him, "On these questions, if you let your brother do them, he would do better than you."
He stared at the rice in the bowl. He was very hungry, but now he had no appetite at all. Besides, he didn't dare to pick up his chopsticks. If he did, he would just eat all day long.
Fu Lanying put the test paper away: "How can you be like this, scolding the children as soon as you get home." She wanted to say a few words to her husband, but the company was very busy recently and it was rare for them to have dinner together. She thought about it and softened her tone: "The food is cold, eat quickly."
He ate in silence, feeling his father's disappointed gaze on him.
After eating, he went back to his room to do his homework. When he passed by the study, he saw his father holding his younger brother's hand and teaching him to practice calligraphy. My father's handwriting is very beautiful. He won my mother's heart with a stunning love letter.
He hid beside the door frame and watched his father explain every stroke.
Two years ago, his father tried to teach him, but found that he was a piece of useless wood and gave up.
He looked at the big hand holding the pen, and felt a surge of resentment.
If his younger brother hadn't been comparing himself with him everywhere, he wouldn't have looked so stupid. He even blamed his younger brother for today's test paper issue.
Originally, mom had promised to keep it a secret, but his younger brother insisted on showing off his perfect test paper and betrayed him, which led to him getting scolded.
He returned to his room in frustration, turned on the desk lamp, glanced at his homework, and his head started to hurt again.
I can’t do it.
But when dad is at home, he always has to act like he's studying hard. He thought about it and decided to write the letter first.
He took out the thank-you letter, the handwriting on it was childish but neat. The format of the letter was very neat. I first greeted him and then introduced myself.
The other person is the same age as my younger brother, but he can write such a long letter without even using a few pinyin.
In order to show that his donation was worthwhile, the other party also highlighted his own achievements.
"I scored 100 points in both midterm exams and won first prize in the math competition..." He frowned and threw the letter angrily, "Isn't this another Zhong Wenqi?"
There is a good student at home who can show off, but there is another good student thousands of miles away who is throwing his grades in his face!
This person’s dream is to become a scientist, just like Zhong Wenqi!
He doesn't want to be pen pals with Zhong Wenqi!
He was angry for a while before continuing to read.
"The books you gave me have benefited me... What's the point? Every time I read those interesting stories, I am very happy. Thank you for bringing me a wider world." When he read this, his expression relaxed. It is always a pleasure to be thanked.
"Looking forward to receiving your reply," he read to the end, "I hope you are happy every day."
He put down the letter and began to pretend to think. People are looking forward to a reply, so he should write something, otherwise the head teacher will nag again.
He picked up the pen, bit the eraser at the end for a while, and wrote: Hello, I am a fourth-grade student at the primary school affiliated to Lincheng No. 1 Middle School.
Then, he got stuck.
It's not enough to just write one sentence. But the number of words is so hard to come up with!
He also took the other party's letter as a sample. Others wrote about their dreams, so he also wrote about his dream: I want to be a big star in the future.
Having written this, he paused again.
From childhood to adulthood, countless people have asked this question, relatives, parents, and teachers. His answer was always the same: I want to be a big star.
Another addition: make a lot of money and become famous.
He still remembered his father's expression when he heard the answer for the first time - this kid is daydreaming again, he has watched too much TV and has been thinking about these nonsense all day long.
He did watch it on TV, and he just thought those stars were cool, handsome and awesome.
When I started writing about my dreams, everything suddenly became smooth: stars can wear beautiful clothes every day and dye their hair in various colors. There will be a lot of people who like you. Wherever you go, people will look at you and ask you for autographs...
Moreover, once you become a star, you no longer need to study!
Finally filling up a page, he put down his pen and breathed a sigh of relief.
Then I saw the crooked handwriting on the paper.
He put the other party's letter aside, compared it with others, and felt a sense of envy.
If he could be like the other person, study well and write beautifully, his younger brother probably wouldn't have taken away his father's favor.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
