novelraw Chapter 97: First in the School
Chapter 97: First in the School
She stared at Shanshan’s back, her voice squeezed out through clenched teeth.
"So prim and proper! Who needs your phony kindness? Who do you think you are?"
She hadn’t taken Shanshan’s words seriously in the slightest. She just felt utterly annoyed and sick of it.
"Whatever. Think what you want," Shanshan heard her but didn’t break her stride, just shrugging lightly. "I don’t care anyway."
After speaking, she turned and left.
「Final exams were just around the corner.」
She had no time to waste on such an unreasonable person.
Even though she had no doubt she would nail a perfect score.
But her family was a nervous wreck; every one of them was more invested than she was.
Every night, Ding Qin would personally join the nanny in the kitchen.
Ling Zhiwei stood at the kitchen entrance, watching this scene, his eyes red with envy.
"Shanshan, you’re getting treated better than a senior drowning in exam prep like me!"
He clutched his chest dramatically.
"I’m about to cry from jealousy! I’m stuck eating bread every day, and you’re over here getting ginseng chicken soup on rotation!"
"Hee hee," Shanshan blinked. "If Fourth Brother really wants some, how about Shanshan shares a bite with you?"
She deliberately drew out her words, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"But—"
Her tone shifted, and she added with a grin.
"You’ll have to ask Grandma first."
The moment Ding Qin heard that, she blew up, her eyebrows shooting up.
"Absolutely not! I made this for Shanshan with my own two hands! I poured my heart into every single step. How could I let just anyone touch it? You brat! Don’t you eat enough normally? What’s the problem today? Now you’re even after Shanshan’s portion?"
Hearing this, Ling Zhenkang pursed his lips and chimed in, his tone full of reproach.
"You’re a grown young man, almost as tall as your father, and you’re still fighting with your little sister over food? How improper! If word got out, we’d be a laughingstock! A son of the Old Ling Family fighting with his little sister for a bite of food? Aren’t you ashamed? You don’t show any sign of giving way to her. We really raised you all these years for nothing."
After scolding his grandson, he turned to Shanshan, and the stern look on his face instantly melted away.
"Shanshan, honey, don’t mind him. Don’t take it to heart. He’s just got a smart mouth and loves to cause a ruckus for fun. You just focus on your exams. Go in there without a care in the world and do your best. It doesn’t matter what score you get in the end. Even if you just get a passing grade, you will always be the treasure of our Old Ling Family, the apple of my eye. No one can ever compare to you in your grandpa’s heart."
"Grandpa," Shanshan blinked, tilting her head and laughing. "Why are you all more anxious than I am? Every one of you is as nervous as if you were taking the test yourselves. I’m not nervous, so why are you? It’s not my first exam, and I’m not walking into a lion’s den. It’s just a few tests. Besides, I know all the material. The questions will be a breeze. Is all this fuss really necessary?"
As soon as she said that, the whole family burst out laughing.
Ling Zhiwei’s laughter was the most exaggerated. He slapped his thigh, leaned back in his chair, and his shoulders shook with laughter.
"Oh my god! Shanshan hit the nail right on the head. That’s exactly it! You’re the only one taking the exam, but you’d think the whole family is being marched to the execution grounds."
Ling Anxun couldn’t help but laugh as well.
"Yeah, I think I’ve gone a little overboard myself. But Shanshan, your grades are always so consistent. You’re always in the top ten of your grade, and you’ve never placed below third in the mock exams. Just do what you normally do; there’s no need for any pressure. I believe in you, from the bottom of my heart. No matter the result, you will always be the daughter that makes me the proudest."
"Mm-hmm."
Shanshan nodded lightly, her expression serious.
"I’ll do my best on the exam. I won’t let you down."
But in the next second, the corner of Ling Anxun’s mouth quirked up, and he added half-jokingly.
"But hey, even if you bomb the test, it’s no big deal. Our family doesn’t believe one exam decides your whole life. At worst, you can just repeat the year. I can afford it."
"Dad!"
Shanshan’s eyes flew wide, and her cheeks puffed up instantly.
"How could you say something like that? How could I possibly do poorly? Don’t you believe in me? Or do you think all my hard work has been for nothing? Let me tell you, I’m completely prepared for this exam! I’ve gone through my notes three times, reviewed my mistake log five times, and I’ve even been reciting formulas in my dreams! Saying something like that is an insult to my effort!"
"Whoa, whoa, it was a slip of the tongue! I misspoke! A total slip of the tongue!"
Seeing things were going south, Ling Anxun immediately threw his hands up in surrender, his face plastered with an appeasing smile.
"How could my daughter possibly do poorly? Of course she’ll be number one! First in the grade, first in the whole school, first in the city! Competition awards, scholarships, special recommendations—we’ll get them all for our Shanshan! In the future, whether it’s Tsinghua or Peking University, you pick! I’ll support you even if I have to sell everything I own! If you like a certain professor, I’ll help you get in touch! If you want to go abroad, I’ll fly with you!"
But the next second, Shanshan’s lips curved into a smirk.
"Dad, you can’t go back on your word, okay? So does that mean everything you just promised is off the table? After all, you’re the one who said, ’it’s no big deal even if you bomb the test.’ You said it in front of the whole family, and that carries more weight than any written contract."
"What are you smirking about?"
Ling Anxun froze, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.
"That look on your face... Something about what you said doesn’t sound right."
"Hahaha! You took the bait!"
Shanshan roared with laughter, bending forwards and backwards. She clapped her hands together with a crisp, loud sound.
"A gentleman never goes back on his word! A promise is a promise, you can’t take it back! All those benefits you just promised—the scholarship, the special recommendation, studying abroad—I’m writing them all down in my little notebook, and not a single one can be missing! You have to keep your word, Dad!"
This sudden, playful trap sent the whole family into fits of laughter.
Ling Zhiwei also took the opportunity to join in the fun, getting up from the sofa with a grin.
"Uncle, did you hear that? A promise is a promise! Don’t you dare try to back out later and say your daughter tricked you! You promised her yourself, and we all heard it!"
Ling Anxun sighed helplessly.
He reached out and ruffled Shanshan’s soft hair, messing up her previously neat ponytail.
"Alright, alright, I’ll keep my word. I won’t go back on it. I’ll give you whatever you want. I’m just afraid your appetite will be too big for me to handle."
"Awesome! Hooray!"
Shanshan cheered, hopping and spinning in a circle.
The exam didn’t give Shanshan any trouble at all.
She had practiced all the question types, and she knew the material inside and out.
It was just like the practice tests she did at home.
After two days of exams, Shanshan already knew the outcome.
’First place was in the bag.’
Not just first in her class—she would likely have the top spot in the entire grade firmly in her grasp.
But she had always been composed and low-key, and she didn’t like to show off.
So, before the results came out, she just said nonchalantly to her family,
"It was okay. I did alright. The questions weren’t too hard, so I probably didn’t do too badly."
When the report cards were posted, the entire school erupted.
The dean of studies nearly dropped his glasses, and her homeroom teacher was stunned silent for a full three minutes.
Shanshan was first in the entire school for total score. Her average across six subjects was near-perfect, and she’d even gotten two perfect scores in Math and English!
Her total score was far ahead of the competition, leaving the student in second place behind by a full twenty-plus points.