Anning, when she first started studying at Shengcao Middle School, did not spend all of the one hundred thousand yuan awarded to her.
Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu were usually very frugal, and they had used a portion of that one hundred thousand yuan for Mr. Gu’s medical expenses. Some amount was still left.
Plus, with the sixty thousand yuan Anning had managed to gather recently, the family had, after scraping together from all sources, finally managed to amass enough money.
The next day, Mr. Gu did not go to his street vending stall; instead, he headed to Shengzhe Middle School around eight o’clock in the morning.
He went there to help Anning withdraw from the school.
Meanwhile, Anning did not accompany Mr. Gu; she went to First Middle School.
First Middle School is one of the best middle schools in the entire City, it is a long-established school which has always had a high matriculation rate. It has been fiercely competing with Shengzhe Middle School in recent years.
In the past few years, the competition between First Middle School and Shengzhe Middle School had been fierce, with both schools pulling out all stops in recruiting students.
Initially, when Anning was named top scorer in the city’s middle school entrance exams, both First Middle School and Shengzhe Middle School had extended offers to her.
At that time, Anning chose Shengzhe Middle School over them because they offered more money.
Now, however, Anning intended to transfer to First Middle School.
Fortunately, Anning had a good habit; she had saved the contact numbers of many people in her phone, including the number of the First Middle School’s admissions teacher who visited her home.
Standing at the gate of First Middle School, Anning called Teacher Fu, the admissions officer.
The call was quickly answered, and Teacher Fu’s voice came through: "Hello, who is this?"
Anning smiled and said: "Hello, are you Teacher Fu? I’m Gu Anning."
Teacher Fu took a moment to remember who she was: "Ah, it’s you. What can I do for you?"
Anning hesitated for a while and then said somewhat sheepishly: "I, I would like to transfer to First Middle School."
Teacher Fu was startled. It sounded like he was in his office with other voices in the background. Worried that he might have misheard, he quickly left the office and asked nervously: "What did you say? You want to transfer to First Middle School?"
Anning affirmed, "Yes. I’ve realized I’m not suited for Shengzhe Middle School. I want to transfer to First Middle School, but I’m not sure if I’m still welcome."
Anning looked around: "I’m right at the entrance to First Middle School, by the security booth."
Teacher Fu hung up and ran outside.
Halfway there, he happened to meet Principal Lan of First Middle School. He grabbed the principal saying: "Principal Lan, Gu Anning just called me wanting to transfer to our school."
Principal Lan dug at his ear, suspecting a problem with his hearing: "The top scorer in the entrance exams? Didn’t she go to Shengzhe?"
Teacher Fu, while walking with Principal Lan, explained: "She said she’s not adapting well there. You know the students at Shengzhe generally come from wealthy families, and Gu’s family isn’t well-off. I think she might be getting bullied there."
Teacher Fu was quite astute, guessing the situation accurately.
Principal Lan laughed in response: "That’s good, good indeed! I’ll quickly... actually, let’s go together. Gu is a promising student. I was disappointed when she chose Shengzhe; I feared such a good seedling would be ruined there. It’s clever of her to seek a transfer as soon as she sensed something amiss. She’ll definitely adapt well to our environment."
The management at First Middle School was incomparable to that at Shengzhe.
Here, the management was strict, and students are valued based on their academic achievements, not the wealth of their families.
This was also why Anning chose First Middle School.
Teacher Fu and Principal Lan arrived at the school gate, spotting Anning from afar.
Approaching quickly, Anning greeted: "Teacher Fu, Principal Lan, hello, I’m Gu Anning."
Principal Lan beamed: "Yes, yes, I know. You even scored second in the city-wide assessment recently."
Anning smiled: "I’m surprised you remember me. Actually... initially I chose Shengzhe to lessen the financial burden on my family. But lately, I found myself incompatible with Shengzhe. My parents also mentioned that under your leadership, First Middle School consistently has high matriculation rates, and your fair and strict management of the school prompted them to advise me to transfer here."
Principal Lan was even more delighted upon hearing this, he patted his balding head, no longer so concerned about his thinning hair: "Welcome, welcome!"
Teacher Fu, listening to Anning’s words, felt a mix of emotions.
He thought to himself how he, as a teacher, couldn’t suck up to his leader, Principal Lan, nearly as effectively as Anning did with her flattery.