Healing His Paranoia

chapter 10 : grade

Atin's class is Class Three, located at the end of the third-floor corridor.

“This is your class,” Wang Jun escorted Atin to the classroom door, feeling like a righteous hero from a martial arts novel, fearlessly protecting the young lady.

But she didn't forget her true identity as the soon-to-be boss.

So she reiterated, “I scored higher than you, starting tomorrow, you'll be my little brother.

If you score higher than me, I'll give you the position of boss of the Tiger Gang, and I'll be your little brother.”

Atin nodded in incomprehension.

“Lying is for little puppies, woof woof woof like that.”

Wang Jun proudly raised her chin.

“You say it too.”

“Lying is for puppies.”

Atin imitated a real little puppy, woof woof, sounding about eighty percent like it.

Then he was patted on the head by Wang Jun.

“You fool.”

“Wait for the boss after school.

Wang Jun walked confidently towards the neighboring class, with seven or eight boys and girls hooking arms with her, all shouting loudly.

It turns out her gang is so big, quite impressive.

Atin walked into the classroom with a childlike admiration and found a seat in the fourth row by the wall.

Coincidentally, it was also by the window.

His gaze leaped through the glass and he could see the bright sunshine, towering trees, and many parents under the shade.

They were chatting in groups of threes and fours, some holding fans, others pacing anxiously.

Atin looked over slowly, searching for her tall and thin father.

Suddenly, the old desk was knocked on, Atin turned his gaze and met a face with almond-shaped eyes, slightly upturned at the ends.

A high nose and full lips, a tall figure with budding curves.

“Is your head better now?”

she asked.

Atin nodded.

She smiled and said, “I heard you forgot a lot of things after the fall.

Do you still recognize me?”

Atin shook his head.

“I am your cousin, Song Tingting.”

So, this is the female lead who will become a famous household name in the future.

Atin thought hesitantly and then heard her say, “I didn't mean to do that in the field.”

“But if you think it's my fault and it affected your exam grades, I can apologize to you.”

Cannon fodder Ating couldn't hold it in anymore and yelled at Song Tingting.

Now, Ating carefully pondered and realized that she didn't know the truth about the fall in the field.

She had no relevant memories, the novel only briefly mentioned it, without revealing the culprit.

Maybe Song Tingting needed to apologize, maybe not.

Either way, she wasn't involved and didn't have the right to speak up.

Thinking this, Ating politely smiled and said nothing.

Ating's desk mate hadn't arrived yet, there was an empty chair, but Song Tingting never sat down.

She just stood there, looking down at Ating, observing all her subtle expressions and movements.

“I hope you can achieve good results.”

Not getting the expected reaction, Song Tingting flicked her bangs and when she turned around, she heard Ating's non-malicious 'thank you'.

She furrowed her brows almost imperceptibly and returned to her seat.

The girl on her left immediately leaned over and asked, “Tingting, what did you say to Ating?”

“Nothing.”

“I didn't expect the girl in the yellow dress to be Ating, she looks so much better with fair skin.

No wonder my mom says fair skin makes up for three uglinesses.”

“...”

“Her clothes look nice today too.

My mom said that before Ating was born, their whole family lived in Beitong.

Is that true?

Why did they come back?

And do you know when Dongzi will come back?”

Ating, Ating.

This name lingered in my mind like a haunting ghost.

Song Tingting turned to the side, exposing her deep blue trousers, which immediately caught the attention of her female companion.

“Wow, you're wearing bell-bottoms?

Will the teacher scold you?”

Bell-bottoms were considered rebellious fashion because they accentuated the waist and buttocks, with the zipper placed in the front regardless of gender.

Two years ago, the school even said that anyone who dared to wear bell-bottoms would be punished.

Even the adults' factories didn't allow this strange pair of pants in.

“It's okay, my mom altered it.”

And on the last day of school, it didn't matter if she offended the old-fashioned countryside teacher.

Song Tingting said nonchalantly, “These pants are a bit short, I plan to buy two new pairs during the summer vacation.

Do you like these pants?

“I can get it for you.”

“Really?

!”

The girl in front turned around.

“When are you going to a city, Tingting?

What kind of pants are you going to buy?

Can you get me a pair too?”

“And me too.”

“Are there any berets for sale in a city?”

“What kind of hat is a beret?”

“Just like this, my aunt wore one when she went back to her hometown, and it looked great!”

The surrounding classmates gathered around, enthusiastically discussing fashion that was far away from them.

Song Tingting was surrounded in the center, staring at the straight and slender figure in front of her with deep eyes.

Twenty years ago, people said that there were two blooming flowers in the Rimo Village.

They were referring to the two daughters of the Song family, Song Gu and the daughter-in-law Lin Xuechun.

The two women disliked each other, even as sisters-in-law, and always exchanged sarcastic remarks whenever they met.

Unexpectedly, the world changes, and their daughters become the new blooming flowers, continuing to compete with each other tirelessly.

Originally, Song Tingting didn't care about Atin.

Just a bad-tempered black girl with a dull mind and a sharp tongue, even if she practiced for another five thousand years, she wouldn't be able to compare to Song Tingting with just one finger.

What's there to care about?

But recently, Atin has changed too much.

“Atin,” she asked loudly to the figure, “do you want anything?

I'll buy it for you.”

“No need,” Atin thanked her kindly.

“Thank you, cousin.”

Song Tingting's mouth drooped, her face expressionless.

At this moment, the teacher walked into the classroom holding a stack of papers, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, his expression showing a hint of excitement that couldn't be suppressed.

The classmates immediately quieted down, their round eyes fixed on the podium.

“As you all know, the high school entrance exam is very difficult.

I've said before, out of about a hundred people taking the exam, only five can get in.”

The teacher cleared his throat.

“We have a total of fifty-three students in our class, and this time, two scored above five hundred, and three scored above four hundred.”

“These five students, as long as they can pass the exam, will definitely be able to attend high school!

They might even have the ability to compete for prestigious high schools!”

Only five.

Unlike the teacher's excitement, the children were all in a daze.

Especially the rural children, all they could think of was feeding chickens and working in the fields.

“Students who have called their names, come up and get your report cards and graduation certificates.”

The test papers were distributed from low to high scores, and the departing homeroom teacher carefully looked at each child's face, and gave them a meaningful final words.

Perhaps the teachers and students both knew that, unless something unexpected happened, this would be the last time they would see each other in their lives.

So even the mischievous troublemakers who usually caused trouble in class became calm today, obediently accepting their report cards.

Among the top three students in the four hundred point range, Song Tingting was one of them.

She had scored the highest in the entrance exam with 560 points, and was once regarded as a little prodigy.

Even the principal paid a lot of attention to Song Tingting.

But unexpectedly, the difficulty of the high school entrance exam was so high that she only scored 400 points.

Her mediocre score was saved by her previous exam results.

The teacher patted her shoulder and comforted her as someone who had been through it before, “It's normal to underperform.

Don't be too sad.

You should concentrate more and work harder in the future.”

Song Tingting bit her lip, and as she passed by Atin's desk, her eyes froze.

She hadn't received her report card yet?

Could it be...

?

It's impossible!

Atin was always daydreaming and doodling during class.

Even scoring 400 points in the entrance exam was a stroke of luck for her.

How could she do better than her?

She couldn't believe it even if she was beaten to death!

Song Tingting crumpled her graduation certificate in her hand and stared at the few report cards on the teacher's desk.

One was missing, and there was an extra one.

Only two remained in front of the teacher.

He supported himself on the desk with both hands and looked around the classroom, asking, “Who hasn't received their report card yet?”

A boy in the back raised his arm, and a girl in the front row half-raised her hand.

“I have the best and the worst grades in the class, but I never dreamed it would be you two.”

Do you have any thoughts about your grades?”

The bookish class monitor remained silent as usual, while Ating sat obediently like a primary school student, unconsciously fidgeting with his fingers.

In the eyes of Song Tingting, the class monitor was undoubtedly soaring with excellent grades, while Ating had completely fallen behind.

The rest of the class had the same thoughts.

“Class monitor, you go first,” the teacher said solemnly, looking at him with deep eyes.

“I will always support you, but I hope you won't regret your decision.”

The class monitor folded his report card without even looking at the specific scores.

Before he could figure out what the teacher meant, all fifty-two pairs of eyes watched as Ating walked up and unfolded his hands, revealing two empty palms.

“Song Qianxia,” the teacher sighed deeply, but smiled and said, “Congratulations on your score of 526.”

With a crisp sound, Song Tingting tore her graduation certificate in half.

“No way?”

“Ating is the best in the class?

What about the class monitor?”

“I heard that the class monitor's father passed away, and his family didn't let him continue his studies...”

“How is it possible for Ating to get over 500 points?”

“Did he cheat on someone else's test?”

The teacher glanced faintly and then announced even more significant news:

“Song Qianxia, congratulations!

You have become the top student in several village-run junior high schools.

If there are no higher scores in the county schools, you will be...”

“The top student in the county!”

“I couldn't even cheat my way to this score.”

“The city folks look down on us rural kids.

If we have the top student in our school...”

“Can we aim for the top student in the province?”

The more they talked, the more outrageous it became.

The teacher tapped the table to signal them to be quiet.

Then, he handed the report card to Ating.

“I hope you won't become conceited and complacent.

In the future, treat every exam with the same seriousness and dedication as you did this time, do you understand?”

He thought Ating was the kind of smart kid who intentionally didn't study hard, but would surprise everyone by excelling when it mattered.

“Thank you, teacher,” Ating took the report card and quietly glanced at it, then looked at it again.

Her clear almond eyes couldn't help but curve up.

“Dad!”

Ating ran towards Song Yuqiu.

“How did it go?”

Seeing her so happy, he asked for the first time.

Ating said very softly and low-key:

“Five hundred and twenty-six points.”

“Five hundred and twenty-six points?”

It was still heard by the parents who were with him.

He patted Song Yuqiu's shoulder, looked at the score sheet and exclaimed:

“Old Qiu, you two are amazing, your son is great and your daughter is even better!”

“How many points?”

Someone nearby couldn't believe it.

“Over five hundred!”

“Who is that?

Lin Xuechun's family?”

“The kids these days are amazing, they can score over five hundred points on a six hundred point test?

My son said this year's English test was very difficult, just this one subject could deduct fifty points!”

Everyone was talking, and the parents who were with him hurriedly urged:

“Hurry up and make a call, all those women are waiting for a call at your parents' house, I don't know how anxious they are!”

Phones are a rarity, there might not be one in a village.

However, the small grocery store near the school specifically set up a landline, for when students' parents were in a hurry to send a message, they could make a lot of money from the bits and pieces.

The annual graduation day was even more business booming, with a long queue.

But in those days, meat only cost a few cents, tofu and youtiao a few cents, a minute's call cost nearly fifty cents, which was astonishingly expensive.

Ating pulled her dad's sleeve and said:

“Let's go home.”

Ating felt that the school was only a forty-minute walk from Daybreak Village, and it would be quick to walk back and save money.

Who knew that Song Yuqiu took out fifty cents.

“Go ahead.”

“Let your mother be proud in front of them for once.”

He gently pushed her, his silent eyes hiding a touch of softness.