"Uncle, Auntie, after I get this money, I will give it to you," Zhou Siyu sweetly said as she clung to Zhou Lanfang’s arm, swaying and acting coy.
"We don’t want it from you, you keep it and buy what you like," There was no intention in Shen Jianhua’s mind to take his niece’s prize money, but hearing her say she would give it to them, not her own parents, still made him quite happy.
Right after dinner, Zhou Lanfang, without even cleaning up the plates and chopsticks, hurried to take Zhou Siyu to school.
As they left the village, Zhou Lanfang boasted to everyone she met, "Siyu got an improvement award; the teacher asked the parents to come too."
Hearing this, everyone lavished praise upon Zhou Siyu and Zhou Lanfang did not forget to dig at Shen Mianmian in the process.
"Indeed! Siyu has always been good in her studies. If Mianmian were the same, I could worry less. Look, the teacher has asked for her parents to come to the school again, most likely it’s another complaint."
The villagers replied with laughter, "Having one outstanding child is already quite remarkable; not everyone can excel. Even eggs from the same chicken coop come in different sizes."
Villagers tend to speak bluntly without any intention of offending others.
Everyone praised Zhou Siyu incessantly until Shen Jianhua urged them to move on quickly, and only then did Zhou Lanfang lead Zhou Siyu away from the village.
"What about you? Praise Siyu if you want to praise Siyu, but why bring Mianmian into it?" Shen Jianhua did not understand his wife’s behavior at all.
"So I can’t speak if her studies are poor?" Zhou Lanfang rolled her eyes. "If you don’t want others to talk, then when they do, you go cover their mouths, okay?"
When it came to arguing or bantering, he really couldn’t outdo his wife.
He simply shut his mouth and urged her to move faster.
Because Zhou Lanfang had wasted quite a bit of time at the village entrance, they arrived at the school relatively late, with most of the students already gathered.
The classroom was filled with students, leaving only him and his wife, the adults, as the objects of the students’ curious stares; walking in was somewhat embarrassing for Shen Jianhua.
"You go ahead! Your mom and I will just stand outside," he said.
He guessed that the teacher probably wanted to take them to the office for a talk. It didn’t seem right for the two of them to stand around aimlessly in the classroom.
"Dad, I’m going in first then," Shen Mianmian said, seeing that it really wasn’t convenient for Shen Jianhua to enter, and greeted them before going into the classroom.
Seeing her enter, Zhou Siyu also hurriedly said to Zhou Lanfang, "Auntie, I’ll come out as soon as I get the notice."
Zhou Lanfang cheerfully nodded, her mouth quivering with excitement at the thought of the teacher publicly announcing the improvement award winners.
"How come your mom is here too?" Lu Siyuan asked Shen Mianmian with surprise. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝘯𝘦𝘵
This was his first time seeing Zhou Lanfang and Shen Jianhua, but since the two came along with Shen Mianmian, it was obvious who they were.
"She thinks the improvement award is for Siyu," Shen Mianmian said, leaving the rest unsaid, but the implication was clear.
Lu Siyuan snorted, no wonder Lanfang looked so happy.
About five or six minutes later, Li Qiumei arrived at the classroom with a sour look and unhappy expression, noticing two people standing at the door.
She frowned, "What are you doing here?"
"I am Shen Mianmian’s father," Shen Jianhua explained awkwardly, as being summoned to the school due to his daughter’s poor performance was somewhat embarrassing in front of the teacher.