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Join the ServerThe next day, Xiang Chen was ready for battle. From the moment he entered the principal’s office, which served as a temporary examination room, his face remained solemn, devoid of any smile.
The adults, assuming he was nervous, didn’t think anything else of it.
The exam began, and the teacher handed Xiang Chen the prepared test papers. The principal, with his watch, timed him, and a group of adults watched Xiang Chen grip his pencil and answer the questions.
Xiang Chen wrote slowly, thinking his handwriting wasn’t good. But that was only compared to his brother; as a student who had been writing for over ten years, no matter how ‘ugly,’ it was still better than a first-grader who had just learned to write.
After he finished one paper, he handed it to the teacher for grading. The school leaders also gathered around to watch.
Upon seeing the results, they were astonished—a perfect score!
Their gazes towards Xiang Chen shifted, realizing he truly had the ability to request skipping to sixth grade.
After Xiang Chen completed all the third-grade subject papers, the teacher handed him the sixth-grade ones.
Xiang Chen first scanned the paper, feeling that the leap from the previous second-grade one seemed quite significant. He remembered that the third-grade curriculum wasn’t this in-depth!
‘Perhaps the placement exam papers are slightly more difficult,’ Xiang Chen thought, his hands swiftly continuing to answer the questions. He still remembered promising his uncle that he would do well on the exam to bring him honor.
So, Xiang Chen, who had initially planned not to score perfectly on the second set of papers, changed his mind. He not only gave his best effort but also checked his answers several times, aiming to impress everyone with a perfect score.
He wanted to make them understand that underestimating him was wrong, and ideally, they should apologize to his uncle.
He indeed stunned everyone. Not to mention the school leaders, even Song Wenbin, despite his confidence, had thought Xiang Chen would only manage a mediocre score, perhaps eighty or ninety points, for sixth grade.
He never expected a perfect score across the board.
The principal, holding the graded papers, looked at Xiang Chen as if he were a precious treasure. This child was truly born to study!
He passed the papers to the others to see, then gripped Song Wenbin’s hand, saying earnestly, “Director Song, you have raised a genius! Our school will fully cooperate with the grade skip. We will transfer him to sixth grade immediately.”
Song Wenbin’s face glowed with pride. This was such an honor! Such prestige!
He clasped the principal’s hand, trying hard not to appear too smug, and feigned modesty. “It’s all thanks to the school’s excellent teaching. Actually, I haven’t taught him much; he reads on his own and learns a bit from his brother…”
Upon hearing this, the principal also beamed with joy. ‘Did you hear that?’ he thought. ‘With that statement, our school will share half the glory of educating this little genius!’
The principal was overjoyed; his gaze at Xiang Chen was almost parental. Hearing Song Wenbin mention Xiang Chen’s brother, he asked a couple of questions.
Song Wenbin seized the opportunity, mentioning that the elder brother was in sixth grade and expressing hope that both children could be in the same class. After all, Xiang Chen was very young, and having a family member look after him would be reassuring.
Such a small request? Of course, it was permissible! The principal immediately agreed, promising that the two brothers would be in the same class.
Song Wenbin and the principal chatted warmly for a while longer, then suggested taking Xiang Chen to see the class. The sooner he started school, the better, so as not to delay the child.
Thus, the principal personally led the way, with Song Wenbin carrying Xiang Chen behind him.
Even after being picked up by Song Wenbin, Xiang Chen’s mind was still reeling. ‘Wait, Uncle, shouldn’t you explain this to me? Wasn’t I skipping to third grade? How did it become sixth grade?’
And so, Song Wenbin carried a bewildered Xiang Chen into the sixth-grade classroom. The principal personally introduced the new genius student who had skipped grades, sternly warning everyone not to bully him.
The students below, ranging from twelve to seventeen, stared blankly at the little child still cradled in his parent’s arms, all feeling as if they must be dreaming.
After the principal clarified who the elder brother was, he asked the teacher to adjust the seating, placing Xiang Chen next to Xu Hengzhou.
Xiang Chen was placed on the stool beside Xu Hengzhou by Song Wenbin. He turned his head, met his brother’s expressionless face, and instinctively returned a docile smile.
After setting Xiang Chen down, Song Wenbin and the principal left directly. The teacher was still lecturing, and the elder nephew would take good care of the younger one.
A moment of silence fell over the classroom. The teacher at the podium cleared his throat and resumed his lecture.
The two young Song brothers sat side-by-side, listening to the lesson. In their second month since transmigrating, the brothers had become classmates and deskmates.
From then on, they wouldn’t even have to separate during class—truly a cause for celebration and widespread joy!
***
On the way home from school, Xiang Chen dutifully recounted the day’s events at the placement exam, not even omitting his inner thoughts.
Xu Hengzhou analyzed his words, confirming that the issue wasn’t with Xiang Chen. It meant Song Wenbin had registered him for sixth grade.
Although a subtle annoyance stirred within him, he considered the benefits of Xiang Chen skipping to sixth grade. First, he could look after him at all times.
Second, in a few months, Xiang Chen could take the junior high entrance exam with him, so they wouldn’t have to separate for middle school either.
Otherwise, the factory’s affiliated middle school was further from home and not on the same route. Since he finished school later, Xiang Chen, who finished earliest, would have to walk home alone, which he wasn’t comfortable with.
Having weighed the pros and cons in his mind, Xu Hengzhou looked down at Xiang Chen. The child sensitively perceived his less-than-cheerful mood, not daring to laugh or cause trouble, always secretly glancing at him.
A pang of guilt arose in Xu Hengzhou’s heart, but apologizing verbally was unlikely for him. Instead, he simply pulled out a White Rabbit candy, peeled the wrapper, and popped it into Xiang Chen’s mouth.
Ever since learning about his spatial ability, Xiang Chen had reverted to some of his old bad habits. For instance, the candy Xu Hengzhou gave him: he used to save it, only daring to eat one after a long time.
Later, knowing there was a spatial dimension, he devoured it all at once. Clearly, he knew there would be more, so he saw no need to hoard it.
Xu Hengzhou wasn’t afraid of him eating it; it was just that with such consumption, what about his teeth?
Furthermore, because he loved milk, and Xu Hengzhou always felt he wasn’t getting enough nutrition, he not only had a bottle during his daily snack time but also before bed at night.
If Xiang Chen said he wanted milk, Xu Hengzhou would give it to him.
However, over time, Xiang Chen’s frequency of asking for milk increased, and Xu Hengzhou discovered he practically had a milk addiction, drinking as much as he wanted, never enough.
Xu Hengzhou dared not give it freely anymore; everything required moderation. What if he got a stomachache?
From then on, Xu Hengzhou restricted Xiang Chen’s snacks. While the daily small snack time remained, the evening milk was halved. Other small snacks were provided in limited quantities, only once in a while.
After his tantrums proved ineffective, Xiang Chen had no choice but to accept.
So now, when Xu Hengzhou gave him a White Rabbit candy, Xiang Chen immediately brightened. He secretly glanced at his brother, who smiled and patted his head.
Finally happy! Xiang Chen breathed a sigh of relief, savoring the candy as he held his brother’s hand and walked home.
As they neared the residential area, they encountered some neighbors who looked at Xiang Chen as if he were something extraordinary.
One young mother even insisted that Xiang Chen bump heads with her one-year-old baby, as if performing some mysterious ritual.
Xiang Chen: “…”
Xiang Chen experienced his second moment of bewilderment today. Xu Hengzhou looked at the child’s utterly confused face and could no longer hold back, turning away to laugh.
This wasn’t the end. The young mother’s action seemed to remind everyone else. Instantly, Xiang Chen was surrounded by adults carrying children, all wanting him to bump heads with their little ones.
Xiang Chen looked at some of the children’s tangled hair, which looked like it hadn’t been washed in ages, and firmly refused.
Seeing the situation take a turn for the worse, Xu Hengzhou picked up Xiang Chen, shielding his head, and rushed towards home.
Finally breaking free from the encirclement, Xu Hengzhou, panting, set Xiang Chen down. He immediately added physical exercise to his plan, deciding to wake up early tomorrow to exercise with Song Wenbin.
Catching his breath in an uninhabited corner, Xu Hengzhou took Xiang Chen’s hand and walked towards home. Just as they approached the residential building, they heard Song Wenbin shouting something at the top of his lungs.
As they drew closer, they saw a large crowd gathered downstairs at the residential building. Not only were there neighbors from their building, but also people from other areas.
Xiang Chen instantly recalled the terror of being surrounded by a crowd and almost wanted to turn back and run. It was too terrifying—had they blocked his doorstep?
But before he could run, a familiar neighbor spotted him. The auntie’s eyes lit up, and she shouted, “Quick, the little genius is back!”
The crowd surged apart, then rushed towards Xiang Chen. He didn’t have time to run and was surrounded again.
He quickly clutched Xu Hengzhou’s hand, burying his face in his brother’s arms, desperately hoping his brother would once again burst forth and lead him out of the encirclement.
Xu Hengzhou’s body tensed, holding Xiang Chen, poised to act.
Just then, the dense crowd suddenly parted from behind, and Song Wenbin emerged from the opening.
Xu Hengzhou breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to have an adult there. With Song Wenbin present, he and Xiang Chen wouldn’t suffer any disadvantages.
Indeed, Song Wenbin walked to his children’s side, patted Xiang Chen’s somewhat startled back, and then announced loudly, “Quiet, everyone quiet! If you have questions, ask one by one. Don’t scare my children. Anyone who makes noise again won’t be allowed to ask questions.”
Being a cadre, his imposing demeanor quickly brought order to the scene. The surrounding crowd dispersed, instinctively forming a line. Although there were minor disputes in between, they were quickly resolved under Song Wenbin’s stern gaze.
Once the first person asked a question, Xu Hengzhou and Xiang Chen understood what these people wanted.
The first in line was none other than the mother of Xiang Chen’s little friend, Xiaohuzi.
Auntie Zhang looked at Xiang Chen with eager eyes and said, “Chenchen, how do you study so well? Teach my Huzi, please! You two are good friends, aren’t you?”
Before Xiang Chen could answer, Song Wenbin interjected,
“Didn’t I just tell you all? He just reads books himself. Let me tell you, my child is so smart! He learns everything after just one look, and he doesn’t even need to count on his fingers for math. The answer just pops into his head, balabala…”
Xiang Chen: “…”
Xu Hengzhou: “…Pfft.”
Xiang Chen listened blank-faced as his uncle boasted wildly, feeling like he might be praised into the heavens.
Could he not learn those simple characters after one read? His former teachers would weep. As for addition and subtraction within ten, if he still counted on his fingers, he wouldn’t be ‘not smart,’ he’d be ‘mentally challenged’!
And mental arithmetic was only for two-digit addition and subtraction, not even multiplication. He had just interjected once when Song Wenbin was doing accounts, just that one time!
The problem was that the listening adults all looked completely convinced!
At this point, the true protagonist had been forgotten. Song Wenbin was now answering questions about what a genius should eat.
Then Xiang Chen heard Song Wenbin utterly praise their family’s diet: “Eat well, preferably meat! How can a brain be smart without good food? My child, balabala… What? No meat? Then stew bone broth. You can at least afford bones, right?”
Xiang Chen watched blank-faced as Song Wenbin lectured, the image of a steady and reliable soldier crumbling bit by bit in his mind…
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read The Moon Reflected In The Water! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : The Moon Reflected In The Water
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