Chapter 38: You Are Dad’s Pride
That afternoon, during lunchtime, Wen Xia received a call from Wen De.
“Hey, Dad, what’s up?”
“Cao Jun called. He wants me to come to the parent-teacher meeting this Friday.”
Wen De said this while gripping the phone a little tighter.
Since Wen Xia started high school, he had only attended one parent-teacher meeting. That time, they had an argument, and they didn’t speak to each other for more than half a month.
Wen Xia took a spoonful of rice, thinking about the factory, and asked, “Do you have time, Dad? If you do, you should come.”
“I do. The factory doesn’t have much going on lately.” Wen De’s voice sounded a little uneasy.
“Hehe, then you come to the meeting, and while you’re at it, be my ‘manual labor.’ I’ve got a few thick coats that need washing, and I’m struggling to get them home.” Wen Xia could tell he was lying, and she laughed so much that her eyes squinted.
“Mm, alright.”
Wen De agreed and hung up the phone. Just as Wen Xia was about to ask if he had eaten, she heard the beep beep of the call ending, and she swallowed her words.
Jiang Yan glanced at her and weakly said, “Xia Xia, Uncle Wen is coming to the parent-teacher meeting?”
When Wen Xia nodded, Jiang Yan made a face as if she were about to die. “Oh no, my dad is definitely going to talk to Uncle Wen. If he finds out how much worse my grades are compared to yours, when I get home, he’ll probably ‘beat’ me up.”
Jiang Yan’s dad and Wen De were elementary school classmates, but they didn’t have much of a relationship. Since Wen Xia and Jiang Yan hung out together, they occasionally chatted when they bumped into each other.
“Yan Yan, remember to call me when you’re being ‘beaten,’ so I can hear your pitiful screams,” Liu An’an teased, adding salt to the wound.
Jiang Yan moved her bowl further away from Liu An’an, turning her body to feign anger. “Liu An’an! We’re breaking up.”
“Aiya, come on, come on, here, I’ll give you the last piece of lean meat,” Liu An’an said with a smile, trying to appease her.
Wen Xia watched them banter, laughing so much that she couldn’t contain herself.
Not far away, Qi Yu let out a low laugh, withdrew his gaze, and took a big bite of noodles.
…
After lunch, when Wen Xia returned to the classroom, she noticed a bottle of milk on her desk with a piece of paper underneath it.
I owe you.
Wen Xia immediately knew who it was from—Qi Yu.
A couple of days ago, Qi Yu had asked to borrow her homework, and after copying it, he promised to buy her milk another time.
She quickly handed the milk to the student behind her and whispered, “Please pass this to Qi Yu.”
The student passed the milk to Qi Yu, who looked at it for a few seconds before standing up and walking over to Wen Xia’s desk. He placed the milk on her desk and said, “I’m not drinking it.” Without waiting for her response, he left.
The students around them all glanced over, as if they had discovered some secret affair.
Wen Xia hesitated for a moment before placing the milk in her drawer.
Su Bo nudged the student next to him, Jiang Xu, and whispered, “Could Qi Yu like Wen Xia? I’ve seen him buy things for her several times.”
“Brother, you’re starting to feel the pressure. Qi Yu’s dad works in the Education Bureau, and he’s not bad-looking. Three or four girls in our class like him,” Jiang Xu responded, his voice growing quieter.
Jiang Xu, who had been focused on his game, looked at Wen Xia, then at Qi Yu. He suddenly became irritated and shoved his phone into his drawer. “My dad warned me not to date early. He said if I ever did, he’d transfer me to another school.”
He gritted his teeth and angrily cursed, “Who the hell is reporting things like this? I’ll beat them up if I find out.”
If he were dating Wen Xia and someone reported it, he would accept the blame, but the key thing was that they weren’t even dating. Now, Mr. Cao was keeping a close eye on them, and Wen Xia was deliberately avoiding him.
“Damn it, I need to go out and get some fresh air,” he muttered angrily.
The voice was a bit loud, and the students around overheard, whispering to each other.
“Did Wen Xia and Jiang Xu break up? They haven’t been talking much lately.”
“Probably, I saw Wen Xia crying in the dormitory a few days ago.”
“No wonder Wen Xia’s eyes were swollen.”
…
After the fifth period, the school allowed students to leave early, and the cafeteria didn’t even prepare any food.
Some parents had arrived early and were already waiting outside on the balcony.
Wen De was among them, dressed in a neat black casual outfit, his hair slicked back, clearly having made an effort to look presentable.
Wen Xia, carrying her backpack and a few bags of clothes, happily ran over to him. “Dad!”
“Mm.”
Wen De nodded, glancing at the things in her hands. “The car’s at the school gate. Put your things in the car, then find somewhere to eat.” He handed her the car keys.
“Okay.” Wen Xia noticed he had his hands in his pockets, and could tell he was a little nervous. She walked over to him and whispered, “Dad, I’ve been really well-behaved lately. The teachers have been praising me. You won’t hear anything bad from them.”
Before Wen De could answer, she waved her hand and said, “I’m going now.”
Once her figure disappeared from view, Wen De lowered his head, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
…
It was time for the parents’ meeting.
Cao Jun, holding a stack of report cards, handed them out to the parents one by one. “These are the results from this semester’s exams. I’ve marked the students who showed progress with a red pen, so the parents can have a look.”
When Wen De received the report, his eyes immediately went to the red mark next to Wen Xia’s name—she was ranked third in the class.
A minute later, Cao Jun stood at the podium and began analyzing the results. “As you can see from the grades, most of them are not ideal. If they want to get into a good university, it will be difficult. That’s why the school has organized this parents’ meeting, hoping that parents will help supervise their children at home.”
To help the parents better understand the gap in grades, Cao Jun used Qin Mo as an example.
“Do you all know how much the top student from No.1 Middle School scored this time?”
The parents shook their heads.
“743 points, only missing seven points,” Cao Jun said.
The parents gasped in surprise, and Wen De was also quite shocked. 743 points was indeed impressive.
After talking about several students, Cao Jun mentioned Wen Xia. “Let’s take a look at Wen Xia’s grades. She has shown the most improvement among all the students in Class 8 and is very deserving of praise.”
“Here, I’d like to invite Wen Xia’s father to come up to the stage and share with everyone how Wen Xia studies at home.”
Everyone looked around to see who Wen Xia’s father was, with envious eyes, admiring how other people’s children had such good grades.
When Cao Jun called his name, Wen De was momentarily stunned. Once he recovered, he stood up and walked to the podium. Facing the gaze of dozens of parents, he stood tall and composed, saying, “Hello, everyone. I’m Wen Xia’s father, Wen De…”
After Wen De finished speaking, Cao Jun started clapping, and the other parents followed suit.
Cao Jun said, “For weaker subjects, if possible, you can arrange extra lessons, just like Wen Xia has been doing.”
…
When Wen De left the school gate, Wen Xia had already finished eating and was sitting in the car, completing a physics test paper. Hearing the car door open, she looked up, “Dad.”
“Mm.”
Wen De sat in the car, fastened his seatbelt, and after starting the car, he pressed his lips together. “Teacher Cao praised you, Xia Xia. Keep up the good work.”
You are dad’s pride.
