Chapter 179: Chapter 181: Proud Father
In her previous life, no one had ever attended a parent-teacher eting for Tang Yuxin. Wei Tian ca for his daughter, Sang Zhilan ca for her daughter, and Yuxin rely existed transparently in their corner, no matter her academic performance or ranking, she was always outshone by Wei Jiani.
Wei Jiani’s brilliance had cast her into the shadows, reinforcing Wei Tian and Sang Zhilan’s contempt for her.
She sat there coldly, a distance and coldness emanating from her downcast eyes.
One after another, the parents arrived. The students sat at the back, while the parents took seats at the front.
Zhang Yindi clutched her clothes, her eyes filled with panic. With work to do in the fields back ho and siblings to care for, her parents were absent, despite her tears and tantrums they did not show up.
She bit her lip hard, reminding herself to rember this. As soon as she left this village and her family, she would never co back.
Tang Zhinian walked in with big strides. Seeing Tang Yuxin inside, he smiled at his daughter. He had put on a new set of clothes, and grood his hair. Sharp as always, made even more handso by his deliberate efforts. He looked nothing like a typical villager. He was also wearing a Seagull-brand watch. Those who knew their watches were aware that his watch was worth almost a thousand yuan. Could soone in dire straits afford such a luxury?
Zhang Yindi glanced at Tang Yuxin, her eyes filled with envy.
At that mont, Tang Yuxin turned her face and saw the twisted dissatisfaction that had not yet faded from Zhang Yindi’s face.
Zhang Yindi’s heart tightened in shock, and she quickly turned her face away in an indescribable embarrassnt.
After a while, Wei Tian also walked in. Seeing Tang Zhinian in the room, he tensed up involuntarily, grinding to a halt in stiffness.
“Why aren’t you moving?” Another man walked in behind him, Huahua’s father. Being neighbors, their children had grown up together, and so naturally the parents progressed in tandem. This wasn’t their first parent-teacher eting.
Wei Tian proceeded forward. He initially wanted to sit as far away from Tang Zhinian as possible, but they had arrived too late. The only vacant seat was next to Tang Zhinian, and he reluctantly sat down.
Upon realizing that the Tang Family’s kid wouldn’t have perford exceptionally, he felt slight relief. He knew that Tang Yuxin and his own Nini were in the sa class, and had asked Wei Jiani about Yuxin’s academic performance.
Wei Jiani had always considered Tang Yuxin unsophisticated, naive and ordinary. Wei Tian accepted this characterization without question.
Having daughters themselves, Wei Tian could not accept that the daughter of a farr could be superior to his own.
The teacher made eye contact with the parents, greeted them, and then proceeded with reading the scores. School etings were indeed annoying. Scores were always a point of contention. The high scorers bead with pride, while those with poor performance would hang their heads in sha alongside their parents. The students who ranked at the bottom would undoubtedly feel their heartstrings tightening.
The teacher started reading from the last and moved up. Wei Tian only smiled when the teacher announced that Wei Jiani ranked fifth. He was proud of his daughter ranking fifth.
However, later when the teacher announced that Tang Yuxin was in second place, Tang Zhinian straightened with pride in response.
“What rank did your child get?” The person next to Wei Tian asked.
“Oh, second,” Tang Zhinian replied with a smile. “My daughter’s na is Tang Yuxin.”
“Tang Yuxin?” Hearing the na Tang Yuxin, the other parent was visibly surprised. He shook hands with Tang Zhinian in an overly-enthusiastic display that left Tang Zhinian sowhat overawed.
“So you are Tang Yuxin’s father! I was always wondering, what kind of parent could raise such an outstanding child. How do you educate her? How did she manage to write an essay so well she won the national gold award? I admire you so much, you have no idea!”
The excited words from the parent attracted the attention of the other parents towards Tang Zhinian. Standing in the lilight, surrounded by the praise and good will of the others, Tang Zhinian felt incredibly overwheld. He was, after all, an unassuming farr and not accustod to such high energy situations. His forehead glistened with nervous sweat.
The teacher continued with the scores, leaving no room for those students who perford poorly.
“Now, could Tang Yuxin’s father please share with us how he managed to raise a daughter who won the Middle School Composition Gold Award?”
Tang Zhinian was called upon specifically. With all eyes on him, even if he didn’t wish to say anything, he had no choice. It seed that so aspects of Yuxin’s character were strikingly similar to Tang Zhinian’s own.
Both of them were down-to-earth, guileless, and sowhat naive. Otherwise, in her previous life, she would not have been bullied and exploited as she was.
Tang Zhinian stood up; his mind was suddenly confused, his mouth seed heavy, unsure of what to say.
“I…” He licked his dry lips, and then, silence followed. Nevertheless, none of the others laughed at him. His daughter had ranked second and won the national composition gold award. At this mont, who could laugh at him, who dared to laugh at him, who was qualified to laugh at him?
“I…” Tang Zhinian began again, but after taking a deep breath, he finally found the words to express his thoughts.
“I never really managed Yuxin’s studies because I have no education. I only attended a few days of school, enough to learn to count and write my na. I never demanded my child to rank a certain position. In the beginning, the child didn’t earn high marks in school, but gradually her academic performance began to improve. However…” He paused, his eyes filled with sorrow.
“Previously our living conditions were worse. Yuxin was, at a tender age, not only managing her studies but also helping her uncle and with laundry and cooking. It’s said that the children of poor families take on household responsibilities at a young age. In my family, Yuxin has always been a well-behaved child. I’ve never had to reprimand her. So, what I want to say…”
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