After a long time, Xiao Han released Chen Zihan, and with a bitter smile, he said, "Zi Han, I'm sorry!"
"It's okay!" Chen Zihan, blushing, asked, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Xiao Han shook his head.
"Glad to hear it," Chen Zihan did not pry further, knowing if Xiao Han wanted to share, he would tell her naturally. Chen Zihan smiled, "Let me take you back."
"Okay, I'll take you!" Xiao Han nodded.
"Great!" Chen Zihan giggled.
Xiao Han was riding the bike while Chen Zihan sat sideways on the back seat, her hands instinctively around Xiao Han's waist. They moved quickly through the traffic. However, Xiao Han's home was not far from Lin Hai First High School, and it only took a few minutes to reach by bike.
Arriving at the entrance of Fuxing Community.
"Here we are," Xiao Han got off the bike.
"Then I'll head back," Chen Zihan waved at Xiao Han, her stunning and delicate face capturing the attention of many passersby.
"Right, take care on the road!" Xiao Han nodded.
Watching Chen Zihan's beautiful silhouette, Xiao Han felt somewhat emotional. Chen Zihan was no ordinary girl; living in a high-end area like Fulin Garden clearly indicated extraordinary family circumstances. Therefore, pursuing Chen Zihan would definitely not be easy.
Marriage often demands equally matched social status. Xiao Han wanted to not just win over Chen Zihan but also possess her. To have her, he needed her family's approval, which could be achieved by two means: first, equal family status; second, a successful career.
However, as of now, he met neither condition. Thus, Xiao Han knew he needed to work hard—not just in his studies, but in his career as well. The world values money. Without it, no matter how excellent one is, all talk amounts to nothing. Money proves one's excellence; money demonstrates one's success.
He returned home.
His mother had prepared lunch.
Mother Xiao, having learned of Xiao Han's recent status from Liu Jinmei, knew that Xiao Han had been studying hard, especially since she had received a report on her son's exam scores from Teacher Liu. Initially nervous, fearing a reprimand, she was surprised to learn from Liu Jinmei that Xiao Han had achieved second place in his grade.
Mother Xiao burst into tears and offered several incense sticks at the shrine.
The lunch was very lavish, with braised chicken, steamed fish, and toothpick beef among the five or six dishes. As Xiao Han walked in, he was greeted by the delicious smell of the food. He bent down and immediately saw his favorite toothpick beef on the table.
"Wow, toothpick beef." Xiao Han walked over excitedly and ate several pieces in one go.
"Xiao Han, come here!" Suddenly, a stern voice called out.
Xiao Han immediately trembled, seeing the serious face of his mother behind him. He had never seen her so stern. He was embarrassed; maybe it was because he had snuck some toothpick beef? But that didn't make sense—his mother usually saved the best for him; why would today be any different?
"Mom, I..." Xiao Han walked over, embarrassed.
"Kneel!" Mother Xiao pointed to the shrine on one side with an incense burner, where a box belonged to Xiao Han's father.
Xiao Han quickly knelt down.
"Xiao Han, you've grown up and become sensible," Mother Xiao looked affectionately at her husband and then said, "Today, Teacher Liu called to tell me about your recent condition, and I was relieved. Knowing you scored second place in your grade, I knew my son had returned. Xiao Han, I want you to swear in front of your father that you will definitely get into college!"
"Mom, you can count on me to get into college," Xiao Han said earnestly.
"Good," Mother Xiao nodded and said, "No matter how poor or tired I am, I will make sure you go to college. Even if I have to sell blood, I will make sure you complete your college education."
"Mom, I will work hard to earn money," Xiao Han clenched his teeth.
"Silly boy, come eat!" Mother Xiao hurriedly said.
Xiao Han was helped up, and with a table full of delicious food, he almost felt blissfully overwhelmed.
Mother Xiao smiled warmly, supporting her chin with one hand while watching Xiao Han. Her eyes shimmered with hope. Xiao Han was her only son and her only hope. Previously, when Xiao Han was falling behind and even being bullied at school, she bore the hardship without giving up. Now, as Xiao Han had finally caught up, the hope in her heart seemed like a spark that could ignite a wildfire.
"Mom, this is the three thousand yuan that Teacher Liu and the others rewarded me!" Xiao Han hurriedly took an envelope out of his backpack.
"You keep it," Mother Xiao glanced at Xiao Han and said, "Save this money for your college fees."
"No way, I'll earn the money for college myself." Xiao Han stuffed the envelope back to his mother and then said, "This money is for the household."
Seeing that she couldn't refuse, Mother Xiao carefully took it.
After lunch, Mother Xiao cleaned up the dishes while Xiao Han went into his room.
Back in his room, Xiao Han lay down on his bed, his mind wholly focused on how to make money. Only by making money could he consider himself successful. What good was academic excellence? From birth, all that one learns and does serves the purpose of making money. As long as one can earn money, what does poor academic performance matter?
This world is driven by money; as long as you earn enough of it, you are seen as excellent and successful in the eyes of others.
Xiao Han thought for a long time but couldn't find a suitable investment sector. After all, he only had tens of thousands of yuan. Trying to do something significant seemed a bit unreliable. Putting it in the bank to earn interest was also completely insufficient.
Lying on the bed, he unwittingly fell asleep.
By the time he woke up, it was already one forty in the afternoon. His class would start at two PM.
The afternoon class was relatively easy; the English teacher was reviewing a practice exam paper.
Since Xiao Han had scored full marks, he didn't really listen attentively. Instead, he started preparing for his own lessons. Saturday was coming up, and he hadn't finished preparing his lecture notes. Since he had started the Hanmen Training Class, he definitely needed to be responsible for those one hundred students.
Xiao Han kept his head down and focused on his preparation.
"Xiao Han, what are you writing?" Chen Zihan looked over curiously.
"Oh... Nothing!" Xiao Han quickly shut his notebook, appearing composed on the surface but feeling quite flustered inside. He carefully said, "I got full marks in English, and I understood everything the teacher explained, so I decided to study physics. After all, physics is my weaker subject in the sciences."
Although Chen Zihan was still curious, she had indeed seen Xiao Han working on physics problems.
"Alright then." Chen Zihan nodded. "You should review well."
Chen Zihan flashed a sweet smile. Without knowing when it started, her feelings for Xiao Han had begun to change. This was a sentiment she had never experienced before. Previously, Chen Zihan was somewhat frustrated with Xiao Han, despite often helping him, it was only out of sympathy, out of heartache.
Now, it was different. Her perception of Xiao Han seemed a little off. Especially her eyes that seemed reluctant to reject him and her shy demeanor, which filled Xiao Han with a thrilling secret joy. Being loved by Chen Zihan was something Xiao Han never dared to imagine. Of course, Xiao Han understood that all of this was predicated on his being a good person.
If he wasn't, Chen Zihan certainly wouldn't have shown interest in him. This was an undeniable fact.
The afternoon passed in a flash.
......
Principal Li's office.
Li Hengzhong had been feeling a mix of joy and stress these past days. He appeared very helpless and troubled. This afternoon, highlighted by a visit from the Deputy Director of the Education Bureau, Director Liu, along with his colleagues, who hurriedly made their way to Li Hengzhong's office.
"Old Li, in this joint citywide mock test, your school's performance was far ahead." Director Liu sat in Li Hengzhong's office, with his colleagues seated on the sofa, their faces showing continuous pleasure.
"Is that so?" Li Hengzhong smiled and said, "It's all because the kids are hardworking."
"No!" Liu Dajun shook his head, then said, "Yesterday, I had the staff at the Education Bureau do a data analysis and statistics. We discovered an issue."
"What issue?" Li Hengzhong was slightly startled, his cigarette already half burnt.
"The students who enrolled in the Hanmen Training Class have seen a general improvement in their scores!" Liu Dajun's face turned serious. "There are one hundred students in the Hanmen Training Class, seventy of whom are from your school. Among them, sixty have improved their scores by ten to thirty points compared to before..."
"This..." Li Hengzhong was taken aback, hesitating briefly before saying hastily, "Could this be a coincidence?"
"If it were one or two people, it might be a coincidence, but with sixty students improving, this is no accident." Liu Dajun shook his head and said, "Therefore, all of us at the Education Bureau believe that the Hanmen Training Class really has something special."
Li Hengzhong was completely flabbergasted.
As a national outstanding teacher who had won the national excellent teacher award three times, having devoted his life to education, he had never encountered such a situation. He could hardly believe that in just one month, one hundred students' scores had improved. It was nothing short of a miracle.
Suddenly, Li Hengzhong felt a strong desire to have a serious talk with this young man named Xiao Han.
"So... what does Director Liu suggest?" Li Hengzhong asked, puzzled.
"We at the Education Bureau have two suggestions," Director Liu quickly said, "First, to recruit him, letting him join the educational system; second, our education bureau will finance the expansion of his training institution. Such measures could allow more students in our city to improve their scores next year, thus enhancing our LJ city's college enrollment rate. Additionally, as Linjiang No.1 Middle School and Linjiang No. 4 Middle School are key schools in LJ city, we must ensure the numbers for Tsinghua University and Peking University. This is the wish of the Municipal Committee and also of our department."