Chapter 55

When Cang Ling told her it wasn’t a big deal, Xue Miaoyun didn’t pay much attention to the matter and had no idea how her teaching aid book was selling outside. Cang Ling’s friend was very sharp and, after reviewing the material, immediately saw a huge business opportunity, so they started mass printing the book right away.

It was distributed at the fastest speed across major cities. No matter where it was, the book was extremely popular. Schools with connections bought it in bulk, while those without connections required students to buy it themselves.

These days, there were long lines outside Xinhua Bookstore, all parents buying books for their children.

This made the author, Xue Miaoyun, a name that many people remembered.

However, this was all in the future. At this moment, Xue Miaoyun was conducting intense training for her students. Her space was full of practice papers, papers she had taken herself, and many others, like “Five-Year College Entrance Exam, Three-Year Simulations” and “Huanggang Test Papers.” Most of them, however, she had never done herself.

“…There are only a little more than twenty days left. We need to go over the knowledge points and practice the problems. Starting today, we will complete three practice papers every day: one for math, one for physics, and one for chemistry. After finishing today’s papers, tomorrow we will review the questions most frequently answered incorrectly. As for individual students who make mistakes, you can ask your classmates or me, but I won’t be explaining them in class. As for Chinese and English, I’m not particularly good at those subjects, so you’ll need to study those on your own,” Xue Miaoyun explained.

Her class ended at 4 p.m. every day, leaving the rest of the time for other subjects.

From then on, Xue Miaoyun kept her word, and the eight students lived in intense pressure, completing three papers every day.

“I can’t take it anymore, I can’t!” Cao Lisheng slumped into a chair in the cafeteria. The mealtime had become the only rare free time in their day.

“Yeah, me neither. My head is full of all those knowledge points. My mom said I was mumbling formulas in my sleep last night,” Jiang Cong waved his hand, also looking exhausted.

“I’m fine. It’s my mom who’s more nervous than I am. I have to act calm, like everything is under control. Otherwise, I’m afraid my mom will collapse before I do.”

“Tell me about it. My dad doesn’t even dare to speak loudly at home.”

“Shengsheng, come eat,” someone called out.

“Liu Xi, have you finished eating?” Cao Lisheng and Liu Xi weren’t familiar with each other, but they had seen each other a few times since they lived in the same complex.

“Yeah. I heard you guys do a practice paper every day, so I wanted to ask if it’s true,” Liu Xi said, a look of envy and longing on her face.

Upon hearing this, Cao Lisheng and the others exchanged glances. They did have three practice papers every day, but after completing and discussing them, the papers were collected by Xue Miaoyun. She hadn’t hidden anything from them, and they knew that the papers were going to be printed and sold.

Xue Miaoyun didn’t let them take the papers with them, not because she didn’t trust them, but because she didn’t want them to be put in an awkward situation. If someone came asking to borrow the papers, would they give them out or not?

They felt this arrangement was fine. It saved them the trouble, and they were getting the papers for free anyway. They had already taken advantage of their teacher, so they couldn’t let others do the same.

“We do have the papers, but don’t worry, soon there will be simulation papers available for sale. Just make sure your family keeps an eye out,” Cao Lisheng said awkwardly. He thought Liu Xi didn’t have much self-awareness.

“Yeah, I heard that the nearby middle schools sell them through the school. Liu Xi, aren’t you from that school? How lucky! Can you buy one for me?” Jiang Cong asked lazily.

He really wanted a copy, even though he had already completed the questions, because it seemed like a nice keepsake.

“I want one too,” Cao Lisheng obviously shared Jiang Cong’s thoughts.

“I want one too.”

“Me too.”

All eight students wanted one.

Liu Xi’s expression changed, her face darkening. She felt like they were mocking her. She hadn’t passed the exam and clearly wasn’t in the same league as them.

“Hmm? Why did she leave? Did she agree or not?” Jiang Cong asked curiously.

Cao Lisheng realized what was going on. “She didn’t agree. Buying so many definitely isn’t possible. After the exam, we’ll go to the bookstore ourselves. By then, there probably won’t be too many people buying, and we can just keep one for ourselves.”

Jiang Cong thought for a moment and agreed. “If she says no, then so be it. It’s fine to refuse. Am I supposed to force her to buy it for us?”

Cao Lisheng gave Jiang Cong a speechless glance. This was exactly what Teacher Xue had called a typical “straight man.”

“Let’s eat, we still have so much homework waiting for us,” Cao Lisheng quickly changed the topic.

The impact of her words was undeniable. Everyone’s expression immediately fell, and they quickly lowered their heads to focus on their food.

By 4 p.m., the eight students, thoroughly exhausted, leaned on each other for support as they walked home.

People they encountered along the way were already used to seeing them and knew that these eight were probably the most likely candidates in their neighborhood to get into a university. The looks they received were filled with envy and admiration.

Once they arrived at the residential compound, several mothers were already waiting.

Upon seeing their children return, the mothers quickly rushed to greet them.

“Shengsheng, Shengsheng.” When Cao’s mother saw her daughter resting on another girl’s shoulder, she quickly pulled her into her arms.

“Mom, I’m tired.” Cao Lisheng felt that her brain had been overworked. In Teacher Xue’s class, each one of them had to be fully alert. But once school ended and they relaxed, the fatigue from the day hit them.

“I know, I know,” Cao’s mother said, feeling sorry for her daughter. “You take a rest. I’ve made chicken soup for you.”

The other parents didn’t linger to chat; they quickly helped their children home.

As soon as Commissar Cao stepped into the house, he instinctively lowered his voice.

Seeing his wife sitting on the living room sofa, he walked over and sat down.

“How’s Shengsheng? Is she asleep?”

“Not yet, she’s still reading. I think she’s about to lose her mind,” Cao’s mother replied, looking at her daughter’s room with concern.

“‘When Heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility upon a person, it first makes their mind suffer, and their bones labor…’”

“Alright, enough with the quotes. I don’t have such big expectations. My only wish is that my daughter lives a peaceful and happy life. She doesn’t need to bear some great mission,” Cao’s mother sighed, expressing her desire for a simple and stable future for her daughter.

“I understand, but this college entrance exam is crucial to Shengsheng’s future. We can only focus on supporting her from behind,” Commissar Cao replied.

“Yeah, but can Teacher Xue be a bit more lenient? If she gets sick, it would be a total loss.”

“Too much pampering ruins the child. In the past, students read by wall light, hanging by their thumbs. Our daughter’s situation is already better than 99% of others. Besides, they say that Mencius’ mother moved three times to ensure he studied. If a mother doesn’t push, how will her child succeed? There’s only about twenty days left. We have to help her push through.”

“There are so many people wanting to join Teacher Xue’s class. You should be secretly happy about it.”