Chapter 135, Chapter 6: The Academic Genius in Campus Novels
Since Xu's father spoke first, Xu Qingzhou didn't exchange any more pleasantries.
He pulled a thick envelope directly from his schoolbag.
A thick stack of brand-new banknotes was placed on the worn wooden table, standing out conspicuously in the twilight light.
Xu's mother gasped, covered her mouth, her eyes widened, and her voice trembled.
"This... Qingzhou, where did all this money come from? You..."
Yu Wanwan and Xu Qingzhou were both secretly observing the expressions of the couple.
Upon seeing the money, their first reaction was not joy, but fear and worry.
Even Xu's father, who had been sitting as still as a mountain, suddenly stopped smoking.
Those cloudy yet sharp eyes were fixed on the stack of money, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
Where did you get so much money?
Xu Qingzhou was somewhat satisfied with their reactions.
He breathed a sigh of relief and calmly met his father's questioning gaze.
"Dad, Mom, don't worry, this is the prize money I won in a school competition, ten thousand yuan."
Mr. and Mrs. Xu didn't understand what the competition was, but they could understand the prize money.
But they still don't quite believe it.
"A competition? What kind of competition can offer so much money?"
Mr. Xu's face darkened completely, and he even stood up from the stool.
"Tell me the truth, have you been doing something bad outside?"
"Formal math and physics competitions, organized by the school."
Xu Qingzhou calmly explained.
"Lin also participated in this competition. She did better than me and won more prize money."
Mr. and Mrs. Xu stared blankly at Yu Wanwan, who had been standing quietly to the side.
Yu Wanwan raised her eyebrows slightly and nodded obediently.
"Uncle and Aunt, don't worry. This is indeed the prize money that Xu Qingzhou won in the competition. It's legitimate and its source can be traced."
Perhaps it was her gentle and approachable nature that made Xu's parents unconsciously believe her words.
The two breathed a sigh of relief, their brows furrowing with joy.
Mr. Xu was alright; even when he was happy, he still kept a straight face.
Xu's mother was much more direct. She was so excited that her eyes reddened, and she reached out to touch the money, but then pulled back for fear of getting it dirty.
He kept staring at Xu Qingzhou and smiling.
"That's great! That's great! I knew our Qingzhou was going to be successful! He's only in high school and he can already earn so much money!"
She raised her hand and wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.
"Dad, when you go to town tomorrow, deposit this money into the savings account. This money needs to be saved for Qingzhou's college education, and he'll need it when he gets married in the future. We can't spend it!"
Even Xu's father managed a small, uncommon smile.
"Okay, I'll go to town first thing tomorrow morning!"
Looking at these parents, who are clearly not middle-aged but already show signs of aging, and who are wholeheartedly planning for their son.
Xu Qingzhou felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
These parents may not be very good parents; they are the typical type who treat their son like a treasure and their daughter like trash.
But they had done everything in their power to give the original owner everything they could.
But the original owner...
He tilted his head and took a deep breath.
"Dad, Mom, I want to use this money to let Qinglan come back to school."
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Mr. Xu frowned again, and Mrs. Xu's smile froze.
She looked at the stack of money, then at her son, as if she hadn't understood.
"Let Qinglan come back to school? Why?"
"Nonsense!"
Xu's father's voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.
The pipe bowl slammed heavily against the stool leg, making a dull thud.
"She's just a girl, she'll belong to someone else's family sooner or later, what's the use of her studying so much? You just focus on your studies, you don't need to worry about things at home!"
Xu's mother stood by, somewhat at a loss, but still nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Xu's father's words.
These words made Xu Qingzhou feel very uncomfortable.
But he knew very well that these were Xu's father and mother.
He has not received much education and is a typical male chauvinist who prefers sons to daughters.
Xu Qingzhou didn't confront him directly, but instead changed his approach and softened his attitude.
“I know you mean well, but think about it, what if I become successful in the future and people point at me and say, ‘Look! That’s Xu Qingzhou! He’s only where he is now because his family sold his sister for money!’ What kind of person would I be? Wouldn’t that be shameful?”
He didn't expect to change the deeply ingrained ideas of Xu's parents overnight.
Let's just hit their sore spots.
Mr. Xu was a man who cared a lot about his reputation and was most afraid of being talked about behind his back.
The words "sell my sister" were like a needle, deeply piercing Xu's father's heart.
His action of tapping his pipe suddenly stopped.
Xu's mother turned pale and waved her hands repeatedly.
"Oh, Qingzhou! What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean by selling? That sounds awful! How could our family sell our daughter? She didn't marry that cripple Zhang, did she? She went out to work willingly!"
The more Xu's mother spoke, the uglier Xu's father's face became.
Before the New Year, the whole village knew that Zhang the Cripple had sent a matchmaker to their house to propose marriage.
If Xu Qinglan hadn't run away after hearing the news, she would already be married to Zhang the Cripple.
The more he thought about it, the more panicked Xu's father became.
"fart!"
He let out a sudden, low growl, his voice filled with a fierce but cowardly anger.
"Who dares to say that? I'll tear their mouth off!"
Xu Qingzhou took advantage of the situation and descended, his expression carrying some of the original owner's dissatisfaction.
"What do you know? Things outside aren't like they are in our village now. Even the smallest thing can be spread like wildfire online. There are no secrets left."
He simply sat down on the stool, his face showing the spoiled and irritable attitude that his parents had instilled in him.
"Anyway, I'll still have to save face when I go to university and start working. I can't afford to lose face like this! Xu Qinglan has to come back to study!"
The arrogance of Xu's parents was suppressed by his "bratty" appearance, and they remained silent for a long time.
Xu Qingzhou seized the opportunity and deliberately kicked the leg of the stool next to him, making a screeching sound.
"Are you all just jealous of my success? You only feel happy when people talk behind my back later?"
These words are very harsh and seem unreasonable.
However, it precisely hit the soft spot of Xu's parents.
"Nonsense!"
Mr. Xu slammed his hand on the table, the sound even louder than before, but his confidence was clearly not as strong as it had been.
Yu Wanwan had watched the show long enough, chuckled twice, and then spoke up at the opportune moment.
"Uncle and Aunt, aren't you curious why I came here with Xu Qingzhou?"
Only then did Mr. and Mrs. Xu remember that there was an outsider in their home.
Thinking that she had witnessed everything that had just happened, her face flushed red and then turned pale, and she couldn't utter a single word.
Yu Wanwan didn't mind and just continued speaking with a smile.
"The school's award is not given for nothing. According to the rules, this money must be used properly to help family members improve their studies. That is the most proper way."
Her voice was gentle and soft, and her tone was neither hurried nor slow.
"I came back with Xu Qingzhou this time as instructed by the school to supervise and investigate, to see if what he said is true, and if your aunt and uncle disagree..."
Yu Wanwan stepped forward, placed her slender fingers on the stack of money, and gently tapped it.
"I have no choice but to keep this money and return it to the school."
Mr. and Mrs. Xu's expressions changed drastically.
Neither of them was very knowledgeable and didn't know whether Yu Wanwan was telling the truth or not, so they could only look to Xu Qingzhou for help.
Xu Qingzhou nodded with a sullen face, maintaining the demeanor of a mischievous child who was quite angry.
"She's right!"
He was sullen and annoyed, his face showing the displeasure of being laughed at.
Mrs. Xu was so frightened that her hands trembled, and she instinctively tried to grab the money on the table and hide it in her arms.
Yet he dared not actually touch the stack of money that Yu Wanwan's fingers were pressing down on.
She could only look at her husband helplessly.
"His father...this...this..."
Mr. Xu's lips trembled, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
What he feared most in his life was dealing with "above" and "the government".
Moreover, what if this female classmate really gets the money back?
Let alone the future, just look at his son now that he's back at school, will he still be able to hold his head high?
Mr. Xu swallowed a few times, his eyes filled with awe and fear as he looked at Yu Wanwan.
"Young man, this...it's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! We didn't disagree! We didn't disagree!"
Yu Wanwan simply smiled noncommittally, without saying a word.
Xu's father quickly looked at Xu Qingzhou.
"Qingzhou! Tell her quickly! We promised! We will definitely let Xu Qinglan come back to school!"
Seeing his parents, who were instantly stunned and completely flustered, Xu Qingzhou felt a mix of emotions.
He didn't expect her to pull such a stunt.
But the effect... was truly immediate.
Xu Qingzhou lowered his eyes, a troubled expression on his face.
"Lin, look..."
Yu Wanwan tilted her head, seemingly deep in thought.
Xu's parents dared not utter a sound, holding their breath as they looked at her with urgent pleading.
After a long while, Yu Wanwan shook her head.
He spoke slowly the instant his parents' faces turned pale.
"To prevent you from using the money for other things after I leave, I have to personally watch Xu Qinglan return to school."
Although he was still unwilling to give the 10,000 yuan to Xu Qinglan, he was still reluctant to do so.
It's better to give the orchid to Xu Qinglan than to have it taken back by the school.
Mr. and Mrs. Xu reluctantly nodded in the end.
"Of course, of course!"
With Yu Wanwan's actions, the matter is now completely settled.
To prevent any unforeseen complications, before dawn the next day, Xu Qingzhou asked his father to take him to the place where Xu Qinglan worked.
Yu Wanwan, being a supervisor sent by the school, naturally had to go along as well.
Xu Qinglan didn't go far; she worked at a restaurant in town.
She is three years younger than Xu Qingzhou, and is only in her third year of junior high school, not yet fifteen years old.
At that age, without an ID card and with no money, no one would dare to take him in another place.
It's only because this town is relatively underdeveloped that restaurants are willing to accept her.
The restaurant had a small storefront, but it was very clean and tidy. It wasn't lunchtime yet, so there weren't many people inside.
A middle-aged woman wearing an apron was sitting at the door picking vegetables.
Upon seeing Xu's father, he paused for a moment, a hint of displeasure in his eyes, but still managed to put on the smooth smile befitting a businessman.
"Hey! Isn't this Old Xu? What brings you here?"
Her gaze swept over the clean-cut, refined-looking man and woman following behind Xu's father, a hint of doubt and scrutiny in her eyes.
Mr. Xu rubbed his hands nervously.
"Boss lady, I... I'm here to see Qinglan..."
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