Chapter 345
In less than a minute, he walked out.
Si Nian didn't know what the test was about, but seeing him finish so quickly made her a bit worried. "How was it? Was it difficult?"
Zhou Zedong shook his head and said, "Mom, it wasn't hard."
When he went in, the two professors only asked him one question. He answered it correctly without even having to think, and then he passed.
Si Nian breathed a sigh of relief.
The first round took an entire morning. Out of about fifty students, only twenty remained.
Si Nian had a class to teach in the afternoon, so she asked Wang Xiaoli to help keep an eye on things.
Wang Xiaoli carried Yaoyao to the competition venue.
A group of children was lining up to go inside.
Seeing her brother, Yaoyao immediately gestured that she wanted to be put down.
Wang Xiaoli knew Zhou Zedong was Yaoyao's brother, so she let her go over to play. Just as she was about to follow, she was held back by a parent. "Oh, if it isn't Teacher Wang! Thanks to your recommendation, my son was able to participate in this competition. If he gets into the genius cultivation class, I will definitely have to thank you properly."
Wang Xiaoli saw that it was the parent of one of her students and immediately smiled and exchanged pleasantries.
Having someone from her own class make it into the genius cultivation class would be a matter of great pride for her as well.
After exchanging just a few words, she turned her head, only to find Yaoyao was gone.
Meanwhile, the students had all lined up and entered the classroom.
Yaoyao followed behind them, but even standing on her tiptoes, she couldn't see her brother.
She had clearly just seen him.
As soon as she was squeezed inside, she heard the teacher telling the children to find a seat, sit nicely, and not run around.
She wasn't much taller than the desks. She stood there blankly for a moment, and seeing everyone else sit down, she mimicked them and found a seat for herself.
She sat at the desk with her little arms crossed, her back perfectly straight, and her chin lifted—a very proper posture.
Zhou Zedong was checking his paper and pen when he heard people murmuring, "Isn't that Teacher Si's daughter? How did she get in here?"
"Is she taking the test too?"
"No way, isn't she only three years old?"
The students didn't dare to speak up loudly. The professors were older and gave off a strong sense of authority, so they only whispered.
If Zhou Zedong hadn't been sitting close by, he wouldn't have heard them. He looked up and saw that in the very first seat of the first row, his little sister was sitting perfectly upright with her small chest puffed out.
Zhou Zedong: "..."
Just as he was about to speak, the two professors at the front spoke up: "Quiet, quiet! No talking!"
It was the professor in the front who spoke.
Everyone immediately shut their mouths.
They had come to participate in this competition specifically for the reputation of these two professors.
Their families had repeatedly emphasized that they needed to behave well.
So, they instantly fell silent.
The two professors swept their gazes across the room. Seeing that everyone was present, they began handing out the test papers.
Just as the papers were distributed, a milky, childish voice rang out: "Old Teacher, is this for me?"
Only then did the two professors notice that right under their noses sat a tiny little munchkin.
Yaoyao held up a large test paper to show them.
The two of them adjusted their glasses and looked closely. Something wasn't right.
Why was this child so small?
Was this child here during the morning assessment?
He remembered there were a few seven or eight-year-old children in this batch of candidates.
But the little bean in front of them looked no more than two or three years old.
However, seeing her perfectly straight posture, the old professor felt a bit bewildered for a moment. He let out a sound of surprise, "Little girl, where did you come from? Whose child is this?"
Yaoyao tilted her head and answered somewhat blankly, "Old Teacher, I am my mommy's child."
Someone in the room let out a snicker.
Zhou Zedong hurriedly stood up and said, "Teacher, she is my little sister."
Although he was very confused—shouldn't his sister be with their mom right now? Why was she here?
But to prevent any accidents, he needed to get her out of there first. Zhou Zedong asked, "My sister might have walked into the wrong classroom. I'm sorry, Teacher, may I escort my sister out first?"
The old professor looked at the little dumpling in front of him, then looked at Zhou Zedong. He still had some impression of this boy; when he came in that morning, he had answered the question they gave him in just a few seconds.
He was one of the fastest to answer among all the participants today.
Hearing that this was his little sister, the professor was a bit surprised, but he still said, "No, the exam is about to start. No one is allowed to leave. Let your sister sit here for now; her parents can come and pick her up later."
After saying that, he patted the little girl who was staring at him with her big, blinking eyes, thinking to himself that this child was absolutely adorable.
His voice softened by a few degrees: "Little one, do you want to wait here until your brother finishes his exam?"
Yaoyao tilted her head and asked, "Can't Yaoyao take the test?"
The old professor was amused by the little one's well-behaved demeanor and laughed heartily. "Of course not. You're still too young. You have to grow at least this tall and know how to read before you can participate in the competition."
The surrounding children snickered out loud.
Yaoyao pouted her lips and said unhappily, "I know a lot of words, and I can also sing and draw~"
The old professor burst into laughter and teased, "Oh my, that's quite impressive! You're such a capable little kid."
The surrounding children laughed even louder.
Yaoyao's appearance had eased everyone's nervous tension.
Being laughed at, the little girl's face flushed red. Extremely upset, she emphasized angrily, "I really do know how to read! I know a lot of words."
"Alright, alright, the teacher knows. You sit nicely and wait quietly for your brother to take his exam. No making noise, okay? Otherwise, the teacher will have to send you out."
Yaoyao pouted her lips high. She knew that the Old Teacher in front of her didn't believe her at all.
She wanted to prove herself.
So, she pointed her little finger at the fountain pen in the old professor's breast pocket and said, "Then, Old Teacher, let me play with this."
The old professor had a granddaughter of his own and had little resistance against cute little girls. Without hesitation, he handed her the expensive fountain pen from his pocket to play with.
Only then did he turn a stern gaze toward the others and continue distributing the test papers for the exam.
Yaoyao scribbled and drew on the test paper. She thought these questions were really simple—not nearly as hard as the ones her brother read at home.
If she solved them, everyone wouldn't laugh at her anymore.
She looked left and right, mimicking the surrounding students by pretending to read the test paper seriously.
She even nodded slightly, as if she already knew how to do it.
Her little act was incredibly amusing.
Seeing that she wasn't talking, the two professors didn't chase her out.
They actually found the little girl quite entertaining.
Everyone else also shifted their attention away. Because Si Nian often brought Yaoyao to class, and sometimes other teachers who helped watch her would bring her into their classrooms, several of the children taking the exam had seen Yaoyao before and didn't find it particularly strange.
They sat up straight and focused on their own work.
Only Fang Bowen, sitting not far away, stared at Yaoyao for quite a while.
Others might not know, but he did.
Zhou Zehan's little sister was very good at English—perhaps even better than him.
...