I Might Have Fallen in Love With My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 57 - 53 Measuring the Exact Distance

Chapter 57: Chapter 53 Measuring the Exact Distance

Wednesday was the day when Qingran finally figured out the specifics: her test scores crumbled within ten meters of Wen Shiyi, but were stable beyond that range.

She was somewhat relieved; coincidences like this were uncommon during the college entrance examination, and familiar faces were hardly ever seen in the same exam room. She couldn’t care less about the regular mock tests if they went poorly.

If poor exam results meant she’d be leaving class one, it would suit her just fine, as now she hoped to stay as far away from the female lead as possible.

Ruan Ruan had been rather cheerful these days, having one more person around to order about.

In the afternoon, Old Wu walked in with the chemistry test papers looking quite upset, the first copy in his hand being Qingran’s.

Despite being mentally prepared, Qingran felt a pinch in her heart seeing the stark red 61 marks.

This time Wen Shiyi did very well, scoring 98 along with Xie Ying’an, both tied for first place.

Xie Ying’an glanced at his deskmate Qingran; the girl’s lashes, thick and long, drooped down, shielding her eyes which hinted she was somewhat upset.

He then casually stuffed his own test paper into the desk.

In the faculty office, Old Wu was browsing a book titled "What to Do When Students’ Grades Drop?".

The class teacher of class two, clicked her heels audibly as she approached, paused when she saw the title of the book in Old Wu’s hands.

She seemed somewhat pleased and asked with a hint of concealing her emotion, "Oh, Brother Wu, which student from your class has had a decline in performance?"

Though Old Wu was incredibly patient, even if internally frustrated, he didn’t show it.

He closed the book, removed his glasses, smiled, and changed the subject: "With so many students in a class, it’s normal for some to experience drops in their performance. Liu, don’t you have such students in your class too?"

"It’s normal," Teacher Liu nodded and agreed: "I indeed have a few in class two whose grades have slipped, but they are hopeless cases. As long as the top three students maintain their grades, I’m kind of powerless about the rest."

Should a teacher really talk like this?

Being a teacher himself, Old Wu knew they tend to favor good students. However, underperforming students also put effort into their studies, maybe even more than the high performers, but sadly couldn’t match them. As educators, they couldn’t deny these students’ effort and had no choice but to continue encouraging and guiding them.

Clearly, Teacher Liu of class two didn’t share this view; her attitude was to only support the top-performing students, letting the others fend for themselves.

Seeing Old Wu speechless, Teacher Liu couldn’t help but dig more: "Brother Wu, none of the students whose performance declined are in the top ten of the grade, are they?"

Old Wu gave a non-committal grunt.

Teacher Liu probably guessed who it was; lately, she had used Li Qingran’s grade deterioration from class one as a disciplinary example for her class several times.

Fortunately, during these recent tests, the top students in her class did not falter. Teacher Liu felt a secret triumph - having been outdone by Old Wu for so long, it seemed it was her turn now due to shift in fortunes.

Teacher Liu even "kindly" reminded Old Wu: "A sudden drop in student performance usually has a reason, either they’ve fallen in love or there’s been a family issue. You should really look into it, Brother Wu."

After saying that, she picked up her teaching plan and walked out of the office in her high heels.

Through the glass, Old Wu could hear her humming a tune cheerfully.

Compared to the covert strife between class one and two, the class seven teacher was much more easygoing since he didn’t expect much in terms of academic performances from several slackers in his class.

He patted Old Wu’s shoulder from behind, "The new transfer student in your class has pretty good performance, right? This time, class one might not lose to class two."

"What honor or dishonor—I’ve never really cared," Old Wu sighed heavily and picked up the book he was halfway through before, "It’s mainly because Li Qingran’s performance has significantly deteriorated lately. Although her grades might not get her into Q University, F University would be feasible, but if she continues to slide..."

Old Wu furrowed his brow, "No, I have to contact Li Qingran’s parents and find out about her family situation recently."

——

Mr. Li returned home on a Friday, arriving at nine in the evening.

Qingran and her brother Li Qingmo were huddled together doing their homework, with heaps of exam papers piled up like small mountains, covering half of their faces.

Before he even put down his luggage, Mr. Li saw this and his eyes suddenly reddened.

A couple of days ago, while on a business trip, he had received a call from Qingran’s class teacher, who subtly inquired about the family’s situation. After receiving his response, the teacher seemed relieved and informed him about Qingran’s recent decline in academic performance.

Actually, Mr. Li didn’t care much about the children’s grades. They were very thoughtful children. Since the age of thirteen, during the days without their mother, they had barely caused him any trouble.

But his indifference didn’t mean the children wouldn’t be hurt, so he hurried back to console his daughter’s wounded heart.

Li Qingmo was the first to see Mr. Li. Boys always had a kind of reverence for their father at any time; he called out "Dad" and ran over after putting down his pen.

Qingran lifted her head from the exam papers and ran over to Mr. Li as well.

Li Qingmo took his father’s luggage, "Dad, why didn’t you call us before coming back?"

Mr. Li smiled, "I was busy over there and decided to come back at the last minute, didn’t even have time to notify you."

Mr. Li hadn’t eaten yet, so Li Qingmo volunteered to go into the kitchen and make some late-night snacks for his father, leaving Qingran and Mr. Li alone in the living room to talk.

Li Qingmo was smart, he knew that his sister’s grades had slipped a bit during this critical period in her second year of high school, and the teachers would definitely inform the parents right away.

Mr. Li, sipping water and glancing at the mountain of exam papers on the desk, then looked at his daughter sitting quietly beside him, the affection in his eyes undeniable: "Has studying been hard these days?"

Qingran shook her head and smiled, "Studying isn’t as hard as Dad’s work."

Mr. Li was completely moved, comforting Qingran, "Dad doesn’t need you to have good grades; even if you don’t get into a good university, it’s okay. You are still young, don’t put too much pressure on yourself, Dad will work hard to take good care of you."

Qingran didn’t want to become emotional, afraid she might cry, so she joked with her dad, "But when dad gets older, and his hair turns white, won’t my brother and I have to take care of Dad?"

Li Qingmo came over with a steaming bowl of noodles and placed it in front of Mr. Li.

Mr. Li buried his head and ate the noodles greedily, tears mixing into the soup unnoticed, feeling completely unworthy—how did he deserve such well-behaved children?

After finishing the bowl of noodles, Mr. Li went to the restroom to wash up.

Li Qingmo winked at Qingran, "You believe me? It’s definitely your class teacher who called Dad."

Qingran nodded, "My grades have slipped recently, and Teacher Wu is very worried."

But what can be done? The reason for the decline in her grades was known only to her.

"Ah," Li Qingmo patted Qingran’s head, asking her, "Didn’t I hear that Xie Ying’an’s grades also dropped a lot in the last exam?"

Qingran shrugged, "Brother, it’s not that Xie Ying’an’s grades dropped, he was feeling unwell that day and only completed half of the paper. How could he not fail?"

Li Qingmo rubbed his chin thoughtfully, after a long time he concluded, "Recently, I felt he was avoiding me. Tsk! I can’t understand him these days."

Qingran thought to herself: You haven’t seen what’s been going on between you two at the school forum; if you saw it, you’d understand why Xie Ying’an has been avoiding you recently.

But ever since the posts about "The Untold Stories Between the ’School Hottie’ and the ’School Bully’ " stopped appearing on the school forum, Ruan Ruan, who used to browse it often, now hardly checks it twice a day.

"Since Dad is rarely home, let’s behave well these next few days," Qingran hinted to Li Qingmo, pointing at the empty noodle bowl on the table.

Li Qingmo stared at her, "Be real! I cooked the noodles, now you want me to wash the dishes too?"

Qingran turned and ran back to her desk, "Brother, my grades have seriously slipped recently, don’t distract me from my papers."

Li Qingmo: "..."

Damn, is this really my sister?

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