Chapter 510: Seeing Old Tang Again 2
"Oh, right. I ran into your father during summer break, at the Xinhua Bookstore." Thinking of that encounter, Tan You suddenly said, "Teacher, you and your father are really alike."
"Both of you are so stern and serious, but you’re also both cold on the outside and warm on the inside. Did Grandpa Tang mention me after he got home?"
Old Tang was taken aback for a moment. "He didn’t mention you by name, but one time he came home and said he’d met a little girl. He told me I might be in for a surprise when school started. Don’t tell me this was it?"
Tan You gave a faint smile. "Back then, I specifically begged Grandpa Tang not to tell you he’d met me. Until you could see that I had turned over a new leaf, I didn’t have the courage to face you."
Old Tang’s heart ached a little. "When you’re young, you can be foolish. Sometimes, one wrong step leads to many more. Thankfully, you were able to turn things around in time. You must remember this lesson and never make the same mistake again."
Tan You could only nod. This was the teacher who had influenced her the most; she would definitely take his words to heart.
"Looking at your grades, have you decided to major in the sciences? I remember you used to be best at liberal arts." Old Tang felt a little disgruntled. He was a Chinese teacher, and Tan You had been his class representative for the subject. And now she was going to study science in high school?
Tan You said earnestly, "Yes. I’m finding the sciences quite interesting now. It was hard to get started, but once you really get into it, you realize it’s actually very simple. You either know it or you don’t."
Her former math teacher tapped Tan You on the head. "See? It just has to click. One summer break, and suddenly, it all clicked for you."
Tan You just smiled without saying a word. ’My "clicking" was more than just one summer break,’ she thought. ’I’m the quintessential small-town grinder, a product of drowning myself in a sea of practice problems.’
Seeing that the lunch break was almost over, Old Tang urged Tan You to head back. "Study hard from now on. If you miss us teachers, just come by for a visit."
"I know. I’ll come by when I have time." Tan You promised earnestly. Now that she had seen Old Tang, she could finally let go of this psychological burden.
"Go on," Old Tang said, personally pushing open the office door for her. "Everyone is watching you."
Seeing her chemistry teacher, Teacher Li, still sitting there, Tan You shot him a sideways glance. "Teacher Li, your class is next."
"Oh, right away, right away." Teacher Li hurriedly followed Tan You. "I’ll be going then. I’ll come by again when I have time."
Once Tan You and the chemistry teacher had left, one of the other teachers remarked with a sigh, "That girl... I never expected such a huge change. Compared to before, she seems like a completely different person."
"It’s like she’s finally blossomed, right? She was always fair-skinned, but she used to have acne all over her face. Now that it’s gone, doesn’t she look so pretty?"
"She’s developed an inner grace. She used to be such a difficult and awkward student, but now she’s much more poised."
"It’s true what they say. Experiencing setbacks can make a person grow up quickly. It’s just that the price she almost paid was too high."
Evening self-study sessions for high school students ended at ten o’clock. At nine-thirty, the school would have students take an English listening comprehension test. The rural town’s high school had old equipment, so the listening test was broadcast from a single television hanging in the corner of the classroom.
If you were to stand below the academic building at this time, you could hear bits and pieces of different listening tests. From the third year of junior high to the third year of senior high, each grade level had different content.
At 9:55, the listening test ended, and the English class representative came to collect the answer sheets. Cao Haiyan hurriedly checked her answers with Tan You. "Tan You, what did you pick for the last question? I couldn’t hear it clearly."
Tan You twirled her pen. "I chose C."
Hearing this, Cao Haiyan immediately changed her original answer. "I wonder what score I’ll get on the first listening test."
Tan You shook her head. "Just stay calm. It’s not that important. If you don’t do well, you can just try harder next time."
Cao Haiyan rolled her eyes. "Right, ’try harder next time’!"
The bell for the end of class rang, and everyone began to file out of the classroom. Cao Haiyan, Yin Xiu, Gu Haiyan, and the others had already packed their bags and were waiting for Tan You.
Tan You went with the flow and picked up her schoolbag. She usually only took her math competition book home. As for her other textbooks, she had spare copies in her dorm, so there was no need to lug them back and forth.
When she reached the main school gate, Tan You couldn’t help but stop in her tracks. The whole crew was here today—Cheng Wenhui, Tan Lin, and even Tan Yue were all there. Tan Yue even rushed forward and threw her arms around her waist. "Sister!"
Just by looking at the smile on Cheng Wenhui’s face, Tan You knew why she had come. She glanced at Yin Xiu and the others. "You guys go on ahead. My parents are here."
Yin Xiu and her friends waved. "Alright, we’re heading out then. See you tomorrow."
Cheng Wenhui walked over and tried to take Tan You’s schoolbag, but Tan You dodged her. "It’s not heavy. You’ve been at work all day, you must be tired."
"Let’s talk as we walk. Why did you all come at this hour?"
Cheng Wenhui pulled her hand back. "Your dad told me tonight that you got first place in the grade. I didn’t have to work overtime today, so I came to see you. You did well. Keep it up next time."
Tan You was exceptionally calm. "Oh. I’ll try."
Cheng Wenhui was all smiles. "Your dad made some braised dishes tonight, and I brought a container for you. I also restocked the vegetables in your fridge so you don’t have to go grocery shopping so early in the morning."
"Oh. Thank you for the trouble. You’re so tired from work, yet you still worry about these things." Tan You said coolly, "How’s work been for you lately? Is Master Ding Lan very strict?"
Cheng Wenhui was led off-topic. "She is. I’m still learning the very basics..."
Cheng Wenhui, her husband, and Tan Yue stayed in Tan You’s dorm room for over half an hour before leaving. After seeing them off, Tan You felt utterly exhausted. She would rather face life-and-death situations on the Western Fantasy Continent than have to face Cheng Wenhui.
’It’s not that I hold a huge grudge against Cheng Wenhui. It’s that, logically, I can now understand her past hardships and pain. But emotionally, I just can’t bring myself to be close to her anymore.’
’Because I always remember the grievances and heartaches from when I was growing up. Even though I’m much stronger now, thinking about it all still makes me sad.’
Lying on her large bed, Tan You took a deep breath, feeling an unshakeable gloom in her heart. ’Since I feel this way, I might as well go out and distract myself.’ And so, Tan You entered the mission pool.
Ever since it had cleared out all of Tan You’s Energy Points, the Beauty System had been living it up without a care in the world. Seeing that Tan You was about to draw a mission, it sounded a little surprised. "Host, you’re going out to do a mission?"
Just seeing the little system improved Tan You’s mood slightly. "Not happy to see me? In that case, I’ll just go back out and continue resting."
"No, don’t!" the Beauty System hurriedly pounced. "Host, just pretend your dear system didn’t say anything! Host, let’s draw a mission! Do you want to do an intermediate-level mission?"
"It’s like you’re afraid I won’t die fast enough," Tan You said, making a flicking gesture at the small system. The system immediately leaned back, playing along perfectly.