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They stayed up late last night, causing Fang Yuwei to be unable to get up the next morning.
Both children had already gotten up, but Fang Yuwei was still lying in bed, tossing and turning while hugging the blanket.
“Mom, time to get up.” The child climbed beside her, patting her with chubby little hands and leaning close to her ear, persistently calling out again and again.
Fang Yuwei furrowed her willow-shaped eyebrows, reaching out to push the two little ones away, and dragged out her voice as she called, “Lin Yaaaan~~~”
Lin Yan came out from the bathroom, carrying one in each hand, and said softly, “Mom needs to sleep, don’t make noise.”
“But, but it’s already time to get up.”
“Yeah, no more sleeping.”
The two of them rebutted in soft childish voices.
Lin Yan took them to the bathroom to get ready. To avoid disturbing Fang Yuwei, the door outside the kitchen was closed, and the bathroom door inside was also shut.
When they came out again, the children had finished washing up. Lin Yan planned to let Fang Yuwei continue sleeping while he took the children to school.
Fang Yuwei half-opened her eyes and sat up, “I still have to go supervise their morning reading.”
She used to be just a subject teacher, but now it was different. She was the homeroom teacher, and her responsibilities were much greater.
The two children, all ready, sat obediently to the side waiting for their mother.
They watched as their mother went into the bathroom, and their father followed. He even helped Mom squeeze toothpaste and fetch warm water.
“Mom doesn’t know how to squeeze toothpaste?” Xiao Yangyang tilted his head, peeking over curiously and asking.
Fang Yuwei didn’t want to answer him.
So Xiao Chaochao answered for her. He nodded seriously, “Mom doesn’t know either!”
If Mom knew, how could she let Dad help?
When Fang Yuwei came out, her sleepiness had eased quite a bit. She sat lazily at the foot of the bed. Lin Yan took a pair of socks from the drawer and a new pair of cloth shoes, then walked over to put the socks on her.
Lin Yan sat on a small stool, lowering his head and slowly helping Fang Yuwei put on the socks.
“Dad, Mom doesn’t know how to put on socks?” Xiao Yangyang looked at Lin Yan, his little eyebrows knitted together, “Yangyang can already put on socks.”
Fang Yuwei turned to look at her son, her face full of pride, then turned back again.
Xiao Chaochao looked at his mother, his small face showing worry, “Yeah, Mom doesn’t know how to put on socks anymore.”
After Lin Yan finished helping Fang Yuwei put on socks and shoes, he took her and the children out.
As soon as they went out, he held her hand.
Fang Yuwei struggled a bit, trying symbolically to pull away, but he held on tightly. Her expression softened, so she let him hold her for now.
When they arrived at the shop, Mother Lin saw her dear grandchildren and walked over smiling, “You’re a bit late today. Did you all sleep in?”
“No, it was Mom.” Xiao Chaochao answered.
Fang Yuwei was still feeling a little sleepy, but now she instantly sobered up. Just as she was about to stop them, Xiao Yangyang said, “Mom can’t even squeeze toothpaste or put on socks. Dad had to help.”
…
Fang Yuwei felt like the air suddenly became quiet.
Her fair and delicate face turned as red as a ripe apple. She was extremely embarrassed.
Fang Yuwei didn’t dare to look at Mother Lin’s expression. She felt like she wanted to burrow into the ground.
However, she didn’t know that children always speak without thinking.
After the two little ones went to kindergarten, they even told Fu Xia. In their world, they simply wanted to share this, and also to say that they were more capable than Mom.
They could put on their own shoes!
Mom needed Dad to help with socks and shoes, and even needed Dad to hold her hand while walking!
Fu Xia had always thought that Fang Yuwei looked down on Lin Yan and that their relationship had long since fallen apart. After hearing this, her expression changed repeatedly.
Could it be that their marriage wasn’t like the rumors?
Do they actually have their own sense of romance?
“Mom also lets Dad carry her.” Xiao Yangyang dropped a shocking line.
Fu Xia’s expression turned awkward, and she quickly told the two of them to go outside and exercise.
She became even more certain that these two were secretly passionate. Luckily, her husband, Principal Wang, hadn’t made her meddle in their household affairs.
Fang Yuwei had no idea about all of this. She only felt that Fu Xia’s attitude toward her had changed quite a bit. However, ever since the open class, many people’s attitudes toward her had changed.
With the final exams approaching, Fang Yuwei was even more occupied.
She not only had to review the later lessons but also needed to make sure the earlier lessons were thoroughly covered. The workload was heavier.
The final exams arrived as scheduled.
Every teacher had to invigilate, but they couldn’t invigilate their own class.
Fang Yuwei was assigned to invigilate the first and second grades.
Invigilating was relatively easy. She just had to sit, though it made her feel a little sleepy.
There were only a few subjects in primary school, so the tests went quickly.
After the tests, there was still a week before the summer holiday. The school would distribute the vacation homework, and the teachers would use this time to grade assignments and write end-of-term comments for each student.
While Fang Yuwei was grading assignments, the math teacher, Teacher Min, suddenly said, “Yang Liyu scored ninety-nine in math this time. How did it get so high?”
Although she had just taken over the class, she knew who Yang Liyu was.
That student was a troublemaking poor performer.
“My side too. He only lost one point on the English essay,” Su Yue added, “He can’t even recite the twenty-six letters. How did he cheat?”
“Without any proof, how can you be so sure he cheated?” Fang Yuwei stopped what she was doing and looked at Su Yue with displeasure, then continued, “Shouldn’t you be encouraging a child’s progress? If you falsely accuse him, what would he think?”
Especially for a child who had just started to work hard and make progress, this kind of accusation was undoubtedly a devastating blow.
Su Yue fell silent, but judging by her expression, she still believed her own assumption.
Principal Wang and the others thought Fang Yuwei taught quite well. She herself did not think so. Anyway, the day Fang Yuwei would abandon her husband and children and she would have to take over was not far off.
Fang Yuwei spoke slowly. “He did it himself.”
The two of them looked over but still did not quite believe it.
Fang Yuwei explained. “His foundation is very poor, but he has been diligently memorizing and reading. All those exercises and workbooks, he memorized them. Especially the English and Chinese essays, they were all model essays.”
Elementary school questions were not difficult. As long as one memorized the related question types, grades could improve significantly.
Su Yue took a look and indeed found they were model essays. Even though she still had doubts inside, she said no more.
However, she was not completely convinced. So when handing out the test papers, she deliberately skipped Yang Liyu. But then she thought about how he would drop out and go mix on the streets later. Fearing trouble, she still gave a symbolic praise. “You improved quickly this time. Keep working hard.”
Whether sincere or not, people can feel it.
Yang Liyu lightly said, “Thank you, teacher.” After taking the test paper back, he set it aside without a second look and lay on the desk to sleep.
When Su Yue explained the paper, he did not listen.
In the second period, Fang Yuwei came in.
Yang Liyu lifted his head slightly. Fang Yuwei happened to look over and pointed at him. “Sit up straight.”
He immediately sat properly.
Fang Yuwei’s lips curved with a faint smile. Yang Liyu’s mood improved instantly, and he sat properly and attentively.
Afterward, Fang Yuwei handed out test papers one by one. At first, the highest score was only ninety-eight. When it came to Yang Liyu, she paused.
Yang Liyu’s heart lifted as well. On the surface, he still pretended not to care.
He had put in a lot of effort and needed recognition badly, so he could continue to push himself.
“One hundred points!” Fang Yuwei raised her voice and held up the paper with a smile, praising, “Not bad. You’ve made great progress.”
The whole class erupted in astonishment, all looking at Yang Liyu with disbelief.
Yang Liyu used to be the worst in the class, and now he got full marks in Chinese? How did he manage that?
Yang Liyu carefully observed Fang Yuwei’s expression and, after confirming she had no suspicion of him, subtly curled his lips and stood up to collect the paper.
Fang Yuwei did not hand over the paper immediately. She looked at the class. “Yang Liyu memorized a model essay, so I gave full marks without hesitation. Effort will always pay off. This proves that the difference between you and top students is just who works harder.”
The students felt ashamed, but at the same time, confidence rose.
If Yang Liyu could do it, they could too.
Fang Yuwei handed the paper to Yang Liyu, glanced at it again. “This paper’s answers are very standard, but your handwriting, don’t you think it needs improvement?”
“Mm——” Yang Liyu rarely listened to a teacher’s lecture so seriously.
This final exam saw the fastest progress from Yang Liyu. Although he did not receive much recognition from the other two teachers, Fang Yuwei’s affirmation was enough to reignite a great deal of motivation in him.
That Friday, the school held the end-of-term assembly to present awards to top-performing students.
Besides awarding the top twelve in the grade, they also awarded the top three in each class, top three in each subject, as well as various “Three Good” students and most improved awards.
In the past, prizes were procured by the school, usually notebooks, simple and clear. This year, Fang Yuwei suggested giving them things they needed more.
For example, backpacks or some study supplies.
Many students’ backpacks were worn out or torn, some with broken zippers held together by safety pins.
The class taught by Fang Yuwei had excellent results in this final exam.
Among the top twelve students by total score in the grade, eight were from her class.
When Principal Wang read out the third-grade rankings, he began with the top twelve. “First place, Class 1, Tian Yuxin. Second place, Class 1, Chen Shuang. Third place, Class 1, Wang Tao. Fourth place, Class 1, Yang Liyu…”
The top four all came from Fang Yuwei’s Class 1, making the other teachers turn their heads repeatedly.
When Fang Yuwei returned to the classroom, Yang Liyu had not gone home yet. He was repeatedly examining his new backpack like a child with a new toy. Beside it was a set of pens and rulers, and two notebooks. These were all the rewards he had received.
Of course, quite a few teachers, even Principal Wang, were somewhat skeptical. But Fang Yuwei addressed all doubts alone. She believed that a student’s effort should not be denied lightly.
“Teacher Fang.” Yang Liyu showed a smile and called out to her.
Fang Yuwei smiled and walked over, handing him a booklet. “This is my reward for you.”
Yang Liyu happily took it and found it was a handwriting practice book. His smile gradually faded.
“Practice well at home. Next semester, I want to see improvement.”
“……” Yang Liyu held the calligraphy booklet like a deflated ball, quietly replying, “Got it——”
This was not a reward. It was clearly a “punishment.”
Seeing him deflate, Fang Yuwei felt quite pleased. “Go home now.”
“Teacher Fang.” Yang Liyu called out to her just as she was leaving the classroom.
“Mm?”
“Will you still be teaching us next semester?”
“That, I’m not sure yet.”
“Oh——”
Fang Yuwei turned back and saw his head hanging low. She smiled and said, “I’ll try my best.”
She had already proposed to Principal Wang that frequently changing teachers and homeroom teachers was not good. She wanted to lead a full graduating class.
Hearing this, hope reignited in Yang Liyu’s eyes. He solemnly promised her. “I’ll practice my handwriting well.”
After the assembly, summer vacation began.
However, Fang Yuwei was not as relaxed as other teachers because she was about to take the self-study exam for junior college.
Studying was already tiring. At night, Lin Yan’s antics tired her out even more.
The child slept right next to them. Every time, Fang Yuwei bit her lip tightly. He wouldn’t even let her bite. When she was watching the child, he suddenly pulled the curtain inward, isolating the child’s bed outside the curtain.
Fang Yuwei lightly pounded on him. “You’re too much.”
“Focus.”
Lin Yan was dissatisfied with her distraction. He placed his large hand firmly on the top of her head to steady her. Fang Yuwei’s whimpering sounds returned and she had no thoughts for anything else.
After it was over, she lay boneless in Lin Yan’s arms. He gently stroked her back and spoke. “I want to buy a house.”
Fang Yuwei lazily lifted her eyelids and dragged her voice. “Where are you buying a house?”
It wasn’t as convenient as living at the school.
Lin Yan said. “The supermarket next door is about to be transferred. Ninety-eight square meters. Two and a half floors. They’re asking thirty-eight thousand. We’ll keep the supermarket running. Mom and Dad along with the child will live on the second floor. We’ll live on the third floor.”
Before he even finished speaking, Fang Yuwei looked up. She felt it was too expensive but compared to the housing price surge later on it was actually cheap.
“As the children grow up, they still have to live separately.” Lin Yan believed that the current arrangement was definitely not a solution.
“……” Fang Yuwei blushed and raised her hand to hit Lin Yan twice. “Can you talk properly?”
His mind was always stuck on that kind of thing.
Ayalee[Translator]
＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚