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“Dad, I ranked eighth,” Xu Miaomiao proudly lifted her chin, “I’m within the top one hundred in the entire school. The teacher praised me and told me to work hard next year to get into the top five of the class.”

“Where’s the report card?” Her father still couldn’t believe it.

His child was certainly well-behaved, but she was not good at studies. That wasn’t the child’s fault; it could only be said that she hadn’t quite comprehended the importance of education yet. But how could she afford not to study? How could she get into high school? How could she attend college without a high school diploma? And without a college degree, where would her opportunities lie? The most nerve-wracking issue for him had always been his daughter’s studies. With her being his only child, he had placed all his hopes on her. He would be devastated if she ended up being unintelligent.

How could he face his ancestors for having such an unintelligent daughter?

But now, holding Xu Miaomiao’s report card filled him with exuberance. She ranked eighth, haha, eighth! That’s a great achievement! If she keeps it up next year and makes it to the top five, his family could hold their heads high in front of their relatives and friends.

Didn’t his sister-in-law always brag about how good her daughter, Xu Lili, was at studying? She only ranked tenth last year and that was enough for her to gloat for an entire year. She never missed an opportunity to demean them. But he intended to show her who the real laughingstock was this year.

“Let’s take your mom and go out to celebrate!”

Mr. Xu nudged his daughter. They weren’t eating at home today. Such good news deserved proper celebration! Oh, and he had to buy something to send to the Tang Family. They had done his family a big favor and deserved heartfelt gratitude.

When Mrs. Xu in the kitchen heard the noise outside, she lost interest in cooking. Her daughter’s academic improvement was more important than anything else. Now she could finally hold her head high in front of others.

After all, both their families had daughters. There was no need for one-upmanship; they should be on equal footing. They didn’t care about their sister-in-law constantly making a fuss about their children’s studies.

It was one thing to belittle them, but it was entirely another to needle their child openly, making their child feel uncomfortable. As a child, how many times had Miaomiao sobbed because of mean comments?

This year, just as Mr. Xu predicted, let’s see who would dare to disparage their Miaomiao; she was ready to give them a piece of her mind.

The three of them went out for a lavish meal, with Miaomiao’s report card securely tucked in Mr. Xu’s pocket. Every now and then, he would take it out to look at it, and that would stir up a mix of contentment and excitement.

He had finally seen the day!

He had always dreamed of his daughter getting a good score—one that would earn his family some face in front of their relatives. This time, his dream had come true. Why not celebrate it properly?

Having just returned from collecting herbs on the mountain, Tang Yuxin noticed that there seemed to be guests at home. There were two motorcycles outside, and only the rich could afford such vehicles. Most people had to make do with ordinary bicycles.

She put away the freshly collected herbs, planning to brew them into a concoction for her family in the evening. These weren’t medicinal herbs, but they sure were good for strengthening the body. Including Sisi, none of her family members had fallen ill with cold or fever last winter, so she’s kept up the habit this year to boost their immunity.

“Aunt, do we have guests?”

Tang Yuxin walked into the kitchen and asked Zhang Xiangcao.

“Yes,” replied Zhang Xiangcao, who was busy preparing dinner, “Your uncle went out to buy meat. We have guests at home, the parents of your two classmates have come.”

Tang Yuxin blinked her eyes.

“They both came over?”

“Everyone?”

“Yes,” Zhang Xiangcao laughed, “They came to thank you.”

Tang Yuxin sighed. What she dreaded the most was this. In truth, she didn’t believe she had done much. By helping Xu Miaomiao and Chen Lidong, she was actually helping herself. If she hadn’t agreed to tutor them, her chances of bagging the second rank this year would have been slim. It was tutoring them that solidified her foundation and etched certain problems deep into her memory.

Just as she was about to step inside, she heard Chen’s father roaring with laughter.

“Lidong has grown so big, but he has never made it to the top five in class. His grades can only be counted backward, haha…” The others didn’t laugh at first, but he himself already did. It was definitely a grim laughter, a self-mocking laughter. “Wouldn’t any parents be worried if they had such a dumb child?”

Listening to this, Tang Yuxin couldn’t help but shed a sympathetic tear for Chen Lidong.

Poor boy, being put on the spot again.

Chen Lidong only responded with a foolish smile, clearly he had become accustomed to it.

“Zhinian, we really owe thanks to you.”

Just like Miaomiao’s father, Chen’s father, too, was so excited that he hadn’t even come to terms with it yet. His son was now in the top twelve of the class and made it within the top hundred in the school. With this momentum, getting into high school becomes a real possibility. As long as he keeps at it, getting into college would not be tough at all.

“Why thank me?” Tang Zhinian was a little embarrassed by the showering of gratitude. “I didn’t do anything. It’s the children who worked hard.”

“Still, we should thank Yuxin.”

Both Chen’s father and Mr. Xu glanced at each other. Perhaps the most correct decision they had ever made was to send their children to Tang Yuxin. Initially, they just wanted their children to do homework with a good student. They hoped that their daily interactions would motivate their children to pursue academic excellence, sparing them the headache of dealing with homework. However, they hadn’t anticipated how responsible Yuxin would turn out to be. In just half a semester, the children’s grades improved significantly, they helped with house chores, and were no longer glued to the TV every day.

Apart from the grades, this was what really matter to them.

Because their children’s mentality had improved significantly compared to before. They had grown more mature and empathetic towards adults.

“Hehe…” Tang Zhinian gave a chuckle, “My Yuxin didn’t do much, it’s all thanks to the children’s efforts. If they themselves weren’t hardworking and were just trying to while away the time, no matter what, they wouldn’t have been able to improve their studies. Both kids are smart; as Yuxin once said, they were just not studying effectively before. As long as they adopt the right studying methods henceforth, naturally, their grades will improve quickly.”