June 30th.
Compared to last sumr break, this year’s ca a few days earlier. As Liu Xiazhi’s father, Liu Changqing was, of course, expected to attend the usual end-of-term parent-teacher eting.
But things were clearly different from last year.
Last year, his daughter had been timid and reserved. This ti, she ca out swinging.
On the way to the classroom with her dad, Liu Xiazhi radiated confidence from head to toe. That little face of hers wore a smug little grin.
She’d been like that since they left the house, and as her father, Liu Changqing had definitely noticed.
Normally, he might’ve asked why she was in such a good mood.
But these days... he just didn’t have the energy.
For several nights now, the twins’ constant crying had left him severely sleep-deprived. Probably because they slept too much during the day and saved all their energy for nightti.
It had been absolute tornt for him and his wife.
Felt like he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep all night.
Yawning, Liu Changqing gave his head a little shake, trying to wake himself up.
Because of the lack of rest, he didn’t even drive to the eting today. He took the bus instead. In his current state, driving felt too risky.
As they neared the classroom, Liu Xiazhi, who was leading the way, suddenly picked up the pace and darted in ahead of him.
Seeing this, Liu Changqing had no choice but to speed up as well.
Most of the parents were already in the classroom. Since there were parent etings every term, many of them had beco sowhat familiar with one another. While waiting for the teacher, a few had already started chatting.
Once inside, Liu Changqing imdiately spotted Feng Qian’s face.
And Feng Qian saw him too.
He raised a hand and called out,
“Hey, Lao Liu! Over here!”
Hearing his na, Liu Changqing followed his daughter over.
He pulled out a chair and sat down.
Leaning back in the seat,
he looked completely drained.
Feng Qian clearly noticed this.
After a brief pause, he asked,
“What’s up? You look wiped out.”
“Would you be full of energy if you didn’t sleep all night?”
Rubbing his temples, Liu Changqing looked a bit dejected.
“The twins sleep like logs during the day, and then they torture and my wife all night... Every ti I close my eyes, all I hear is their crying echoing in my head, over and over...”
“Hahaha!”
Feng Qian couldn’t help but laugh at Liu Changqing’s misery.
“That’s totally normal. It gets better when they’re a little older.”
“I’m not sure I’ll survive that long...”
As he spoke, Liu Changqing glanced at Feng Shuyan, who was sitting on her father’s lap. His mind wandered back to last year’s scene.
He let out a sigh.
“Sigh... No need to even check this year. Your girl’s probably one of the top students again.”
As he spoke, he reached out and gave Feng Shuyan’s cheek a quick squeeze.
Just a quick pinch—he pulled his hand back before she could react.
But Liu Xiazhi wasn’t too thrilled to hear what her dad said.
Her face turned serious as she glared at him from the side.
She raised her small hand into a tight little fist and said,
“Dad, stop underestimating ! I studied really hard for the finals this ti!”
“Oh yeah?”
“Hmph, of course I did!”
Liu Xiazhi’s voice was filled with pride, and she stood next to her dad with her hands on her hips, chin raised high.
Confidence oozed from her entire being.
Liu Changqing, who’d barely slept last night, was clearly a bit surprised by her attitude.
Thinking back, he realized he hadn’t seen his daughter watching TV in the living room much lately.
This made him—who had long accepted his daughter’s poor academic performance—suddenly feel a flicker of hope.
Could it be... his daughter was going to surprise him today?
His drowsy eyes opened wider, and he sat up straight.
He scooted over to make space for her and patted the seat beside him.
“Co on, sit here.”
“Hmph!”
Liu Xiazhi let out a huff and sat down next to her dad, arms crossed.
“I didn’t do well in the past because I hadn’t found the right way to study. But after working hard this term, I’ve realized studying isn’t that hard at all! You just need the right thod!”
“That’s my girl!”
Liu Changqing was stunned to hear sothing like that coming from his own daughter. But when it sank in, he was thrilled.
Could it be... his daughter had finally awakened? Was she about to leave behind the world of failing students and step into the ranks of the top perforrs?
Just thinking about it got Liu Changqing excited.
His daughter’s poor grades had always been a sore spot for him.
Though she had extraordinary talent in dance, she’d always struggled with academics.
It wouldn’t matter so much, except that her brother happened to be a stellar student, which made the contrast even more obvious.
But judging from the confident look on her face now, it was clear she had high hopes for her test results this ti.
What kind of surprise would she give him this ti?
Maybe... he should finally buy her that computer she’d been asking for.
She’d been bugging him about it for ages...
As these thoughts swirled in his mind,
he realized that even if he said he didn’t care about grades, that was just for show.
Truthfully, no parent could be indifferent about their child’s performance.
With that, Liu Changqing closed his eyes.
His heart was filled with mixed emotions.
Looks like... his silly little girl had finally grown up...
And gotten smarter too...
Sitting beside her dad, Liu Xiazhi looked calm and composed.
“Thinking back, I used to be so naive. I actually thought math was the hardest subject. But really, math is the easiest one! I was just... so dumb before.”
She sighed dramatically and gave her own forehead a light slap, as if regretting her past self.
Feng Qian and Feng Shuyan watched the whole scene quietly.
Neither said a word.
They just exchanged a glance.
Soon after, the horoom teacher arrived, and the previously noisy classroom quickly fell silent.
Feng Qian’s eyes seed to light up a little as well.
He straightened up right away.
Standing at the podium, Xu Yisheng scanned the crowd of parents below.
Her eyes paused briefly on Feng Qian. She dipped her head slightly, a faint smile touching her lips.
But she quickly masked it and looked up again.
Just as she was about to speak…
Suddenly, loud snoring broke the silence of the classroom.
“Zzz… zzz… zzz…”
Xu Yisheng froze for a second.
And with the room completely quiet, every other parent heard it too.
Those sitting in the front row couldn’t help but turn around, eager to see who had the guts to fall asleep during a parent-teacher eting.
All eyes turned toward Feng Qian’s side.
Realizing this, Feng Qian glanced over at Liu Changqing, who was dozing off with his head down.
“Heh…”
He gave an awkward smile and nudged him, whispering under his breath,
“Lao Liu… Lao Liu…”
With a few shakes from Feng Qian, the exhausted Liu Changqing woke up.
He blinked his eyes open in a daze, raised his hands, and started clapping.
“Great… That was amazing.”
“...”
His words echoed through the classroom.
Feng Qian’s face changed the mont he heard it.
The atmosphere instantly turned... awkward.
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