Chapter 26: I Hoped My Father Would Become a Great Man, 11

Qin Ye’s handsome image was almost compromised, but fortunately, he managed to maintain his basic composure.

From start to finish, Qin Ye was in high spirits, and once he returned, he couldn’t stop boasting in front of Yang Xiufen, feigning regret that she hadn’t gone along.

Yang Xiufen was so annoyed she wished she could give him a piece of her mind.

Still, for all her irritation, Yang Xiufen didn’t mind hearing Qin Ye praise her son.

Her son’s excellence, she felt, was mostly due to her. After all, Ergouzi had been gone for more than a decade, entirely absent from their son’s upbringing.

If anyone had the right to be proud, it was her, the mother.

During the holidays, Qin Zhan continued working at the barbecue restaurant, but he told the boss he would only work this summer, as he would be starting his final year of high school soon and wouldn’t have time for a job.

The boss understood, and remembering his good impression of Qin Zhan, told him he’d always be welcome back if he ever needed a position.

Final-year students started the school year earlier than those in their first or second years.

Since Qin Ye’s return, Qin Zhan’s popularity had soared, and he gained more friends.

But Ruan Jiaojiao barely noticed any of this; she was busy herself, only seeking Qin Zhan out occasionally when she remembered.

For instance, she would sometimes take her younger siblings to the barbecue place where Qin Zhan worked to get free food.

Her grades had always been mediocre, and her family had ordered her to focus on studying—no phone, no television, no going out.

Ruan Jiaojiao was frustrated to no end and had no time to pay attention to Qin Zhan.

During the summer, her parents signed her up for extra classes, so she had to keep slogging away at her studies with barely a moment’s rest.

As for Qin Zhan, he was busy with his part-time job and hadn’t thought of Ruan Jiaojiao in a long time.

That summer, Huang Mingyuan happened to discover that Qin Zhan was working at the barbecue restaurant, and after that, he made a point of going there whenever he wanted barbecue.

When Qin Zhan offered to treat him, Huang Mingyuan refused.

Qin Zhan did not insist, yet the interaction left him with a comfortable feeling.

After all, whenever Ruan Jiaojiao came, she would eat and take away food without ever paying, always claiming that since Qin Zhan was working there, he must be better off than her, a poor student—so why shouldn’t she take advantage?

When school started again, Qin Zhan officially became a senior. The male lead transferred in, and the story truly began.

Shen Lanzhou had originally been enrolled in an elite private school, but after he was caught fighting in a group brawl, his family found out. The real authority in the Shen family was the patriarch.

With a single command, the old man sent Shen Lanzhou to a public school in a third-tier city.

Shen Lanzhou’s parents were not pleased but were silenced when the old man pointed out that with grades as poor as his, how could they expect him to stay in a top high school in the provincial capital?

Shen Lanzhou’s grades were indeed abysmal, and his parents had spoiled him rotten, leaving him with all the airs of a pampered scion.

Unwilling to see a once-promising grandson ruined by overindulgence, the old man intervened decisively, and thus the plot between male and female leads was set in motion.

Otherwise, Shen Lanzhou and Ruan Jiaojiao would have had almost no interaction.

If Shen Lanzhou’s grades had stayed poor, his path would have been to finish high school at a private academy and then go abroad for a gilded education.

If he’d had good grades, he would have attended a top high school in the capital, gone to a prestigious university, and soared as the sort of outstanding young man everyone admired.

As for Ruan Jiaojiao, she had always struggled with schoolwork—a textbook underachiever.

In the story, both Ruan Jiaojiao and Shen Lanzhou were held back a year, but through hard work, they managed to get into a good university together.

Their love was mutual; from school uniforms to wedding gowns, their relationship won the blessing of the Shen family elders—a happily-ever-after ending.

As for the supporting male lead whom the protagonist supposedly targeted, Bai Juan never wrote about him.

The original character died too early, and Qin Ye had no idea what became of Qin Zhan.

But he guessed it probably wasn't anything good.

Shen Lanzhou’s parents delivered him to school in grand style, arriving in a luxury car worth over a million. Other parents, bringing their children to school, moved aside in awe.

No one could afford to pay for any damage.

After dropping off their son, Shen Lanzhou’s parents looked down on the school, complaining the facilities were antiquated, the buildings shabby, and that it was an injustice to their beloved boy.

Their precious son, meanwhile, spent the whole time with his head bent over his phone, gaming online with his old friends, feeling nothing at all about starting at a new school.

As a condition for enrolling their son, the Shen family donated a whole new building to the school.

The principal: …

He hadn’t wanted to agree, but the offer was simply too generous.

The result was that, by the first day, not only the whole senior class but even the new freshmen all knew a rich young master had arrived.

Most students’ impressions of “young masters” came from film and television.

When they saw Shen Lanzhou for the first time, many watched him out of the corners of their eyes, but came to no firm conclusions.

Until, that is, someone with a keen eye identified all the luxury brands he was wearing.

His clothes, shoes, watch, and accessories altogether cost tens of thousands—mostly from the watch alone. In this small city, it was as if Shen Lanzhou had brazenly worn the price of an entire apartment on his body.

No one quite knew what to say.

Fortunately, the school’s academic atmosphere soon took over, and the gossip died down as the students got swept up in their teachers’ heavy assignments and the slogans urging them to prepare for finals.

Shen Lanzhou transferred into Ruan Jiaojiao’s class.

Ruan Jiaojiao, with her delicate doll-like looks, had always been popular.

Shen Lanzhou carried the aloofness of a noble scion, which proved especially attractive to the girls—this was the first time a boy of his type had appeared at the school.

Ruan Jiaojiao was utterly captivated, but her overtures were rebuffed.

Her greatest strength, however, was her enthusiasm; even after being rebuffed, she quickly bounced back and tried again.

Each time she swore that if she ever warmed up to someone so cold again, she’d write her own name backwards, but the next time she’d still approach Shen Lanzhou with a smile.

Her persistence paid off—Shen Lanzhou, unfamiliar with his other classmates, remembered her distinctly.

Not only was she the prettiest; she was also the most annoying.

Shen Lanzhou spent class time sleeping, impervious to repeated admonishments from his teachers, who were driven to exasperation but gave up trying to discipline him.

After all, everyone knew he was a wealthy young master, here to “experience life.” He would never amount to much, but he’d always live in comfort, so there was no need for the teachers to worry about his future.

Better to focus on their own futures than exhaust themselves over a hopeless case.

The principal, however, having accepted the donation, felt obliged to do something. He asked the top student in the senior year to form a one-on-one study group with Shen Lanzhou to try and help him improve.

Qin Zhan was the undisputed best student, so he was chosen.

Before assigning him, the teacher called Qin Zhan aside for a special talk:

“The principal means well, but we have to know our limits. Don’t let helping others affect your own performance. You carry your family’s hopes as well as your own future. You need to be responsible for yourself, do you understand?”

Qin Zhan nodded.

The teacher nodded too, beaming with satisfaction. “Go on, and if there are any problems, let me know. I’ll help you however I can.”

Qin Zhan nodded again and left, under the teacher’s proud and gratified gaze.

He’s so smart, he’ll surely catch my meaning.

Qin Zhan: …

He felt like the teacher was hinting at something. Was he supposed to complete the principal’s task to perfection?

Unable to figure it out, he repeated the conversation to Qin Ye.

Qin Ye didn’t even look up. “Your teacher means you should just go through the motions, don’t take this ‘one-on-one support’ too seriously, and definitely don’t let it interfere with your own studies.”

“Pairing students across classes like this… Only the principal could think of such a thing.”

“Your teacher is really against it; she just doesn’t want her star student to be affected.”

Qin Zhan was surprised. “That’s what she meant?”

“Of course. Isn’t it the teacher’s job to handle students who are struggling? What’s it got to do with top students like you? Rather than worrying about helping others, she’d rather make sure you keep doing well.”

Qin Ye finished, tossed his phone aside, and looked up at Qin Zhan. “Tuantuan, you’ve finished your homework, right?”

Qin Zhan: “…Yes.”

“Work and rest in balance—come on, play a game with Dad, I’ll carry you this round.”

Qin Zhan: …

At school, the one-on-one tutoring system was still implemented.

Qin Zhan, ranked first, and the second-ranked student, were assigned to a group, each mentoring two struggling students.

Those students were Shen Lanzhou and Ruan Jiaojiao.

In the original story, Qin Zhan’s teacher had directly confronted the principal and pulled him out of this arrangement. Given his difficult family situation, Qin Zhan had no time for such distractions; he was depending on college entrance exams to change his future.

He couldn’t afford to risk his prospects for the sake of a rich boy.

Later, though, Ruan Jiaojiao forcibly recruited Qin Zhan to tutor them.

Shen Lanzhou, never short of money, had planned to pay Qin Zhan for his help, but Ruan Jiaojiao stopped him.

She insisted that Qin Zhan was helping because of her, not for money, and if Shen Lanzhou paid him, it would be an insult to her.

In truth, if Shen Lanzhou had offered money, Qin Zhan would have accepted. He was so short of money that pride was a luxury he couldn’t afford.

He wouldn’t have felt ashamed to take the money, and even if he had, he would have chosen humiliation over letting his mother fall ill from overwork.

But since Ruan Jiaojiao intervened, Qin Zhan never knew about Shen Lanzhou’s intentions.

This time, since Qin Ye had returned and improved the family’s situation, the teacher didn’t object to Qin Zhan participating.

The principal’s request still had to be honored, after all.

But only as long as it didn’t affect their own student.

Hence the teacher’s special reminder to Qin Zhan.