Chapter 10: Showdown

In the rented apartment.

Zhang Chunhua finished cooking two dishes right on time as usual, and after placing them on the dining table, she happened to hear the sound of the door lock turning.

"Xiaoxin is back!"

"Sit down first, I'll dish up your rice."

She called out happily, and before Su Xin could say anything, she returned to the kitchen to dish out two bowls of rice.

"Thanks, Mom!"

Su Xin smiled and sat down to eat obediently.

Halfway through the meal, he suddenly said:

"Mom, have you heard of the 'Qianlong Cup' National High School Programming Competition?"

"No, why?"

"It's the grandest programming competition for teenagers in the country. Our teachers think I have great talent and sufficient skills, so they recommended that I participate."

"There are only two and a half months left until the college entrance exam; you want to participate in other competitions at a time like this? Won't it affect your college entrance exam?"

Hearing this, Zhang Chunhua could not directly refuse, so she asked hesitantly.

Su Xin immediately smiled and said:

"Mom, don't worry, it won't have any impact. All the subject teachers know that I have already finished reviewing all subjects in advance, and there is absolutely no need to review them again."

"Don't be so arrogant. No matter how well you learn, you still have to consolidate frequently so you don't get rusty. I think that no matter how grand this competition is, its importance cannot compare to the college entrance exam. After all, you only take the college entrance exam once, while if you miss a competition, there will be others in the future."

Zhang Chunhua shook her head.

No matter how much she usually doted on her son, she would not let him act recklessly when it came to the college entrance exam.

Su Xin had guessed that his mother would object, but he had already thought of a counter-strategy and said with a smile:

"Mom, how about this? I'll make a bet with you. Doesn't our school arrange a unified grade-level test every week? I guarantee that I will get first place in the whole school every time and keep my score above 745. If I do, you agree to let me come back here to focus on practicing programming and participate in this Programming Competition, how about that?"

Zhang Chunhua looked at her son in surprise.

She usually paid close attention to Su Xin's grades, so she naturally knew how difficult the condition Su Xin proposed was. Because Su Xin was usually in the top five of the grade and had only gotten first place on one or two rare occasions, wanting to get first place every time was not something that could be achieved just by performing well; it required his grades to reach a higher level and to be stable.

As for being above 745 points, as far as she knew, such a high score had never appeared in any official exam or weekly test in the entire Baohe No. 1 High School.

Therefore, this condition was impossible to meet.

Of course, even if he could meet it, that would be a good thing, and she couldn't possibly refuse.

Thus, Zhang Chunhua nodded immediately and said:

"Fine, I can agree to that."

As she spoke, she was still thinking that with Su Xin's personality, the more unattainable the condition, the more he would use it as a goal and work hard to improve his grades.

Being able to use this matter to motivate her son was actually a good thing.

And at this moment, Su Xin suddenly laughed:

"Then from today on, I'll stay home and practice programming with peace of mind."

"Huh?"

Zhang Chunhua was stunned for a moment.

"Mom, I already took the test and got first place, and it was a perfect score of 750. Our head teacher and all the subject teachers have already agreed to let me come home to practice on my own."

"You got a perfect score?"

"Yeah, if you don't believe me, you can call the head teacher and ask."

In fact, for this showdown, Su Xin had communicated with the teacher in advance, so he naturally wasn't worried about his mother asking.

"Really?" Zhang Chunhua looked suspicious.

She didn't blindly believe him just because of her son's confident attitude; instead, she actually called the head teacher to ask.

"Hello! Teacher Wang, I am Su Xin's mother. I would like to ask about Su Xin's recent grades."

"Oh, oh! He really got a perfect score?"

"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher Wang. By the way, let me ask, Su Xin said you recommended him to participate in that, uh, programming competition..."

"Yes, yes, yes! That's the competition!"

"So it is true! That's good, thank you teachers for your concern for Su Xin."

"And about him coming home for self-study..."

"I see! Since the teachers have all agreed, then I won't interfere with him. However, if his test scores drop at any time, please notify me immediately, Teacher Wang."

"Okay, thank you Teacher Wang, goodbye!"

After putting down her phone, Zhang Chunhua breathed a sigh of relief. After composing herself for a moment, she said:

"Xiaoxin, since I promised you, I won't go back on my word. You can come back and practice freely, but you must also remember your promise: you must get first place in every exam and score above 745. Otherwise, you must drop any competition and return to school to review properly, do you understand?"

Su Xin chuckled: "I know!"

"By the way, Mom, do you know why the teachers recommended me to participate in that Programming Competition?"

"Because you are talented?"

"That's not it. Talent is talent, but the competition doesn't care about that; it only compares skills and strength."

"So, it's because your skills are good?"

"Indeed, my skills are pretty good. Also, through my programming skills, while practicing, I helped people write code—that is, writing programs—and earned a little money."

"That's actually very good! Being able to earn money just after starting to learn shows that you really have a lot of potential."

Zhang Chunhua smiled and encouraged him, then asked casually:

"By the way, how much money did you earn?"

Su Xin didn't answer, but chuckled instead. He took an exquisite packaging box out of his pants pocket, handed it to his mother, and said:

"Mom, this is a gift for you, bought with my first pot of gold."

"A mobile phone?!"

Seeing the pattern on the packaging box, Zhang Chunhua exclaimed in surprise.

A mobile phone cost at least over one thousand yuan even for a cheap one; she had completely not expected that the "little bit of money" her son claimed to have earned would actually be over one thousand yuan.

One had to know that she worked at a nearby shop, and her monthly salary was only a little over one thousand yuan.

"Mom, hurry and open it to take a look!"

Su Xin urged.

Hearing this, Zhang Chunhua did not open it, but instead hurriedly pushed it back, saying:

"You worked so hard to earn money, why buy me such an expensive gift? Go return it quickly! It won't be too late to buy me a phone once you've earned big money in the future."

"Mom, don't worry, this money isn't much. I help people write programs, and I can earn over four thousand in a single day; this phone only cost two thousand yuan."

"What? Over four thousand? In one day?"

Hearing this amount, Zhang Chunhua could no longer bother with declining and was momentarily stunned in place.

Su Xin took the packaging box, opened it for his mother, and said at the same time:

"Mom, I remember you've used that phone of yours for at least five or six years. The screen has so many cracks, and the speaker is basically broken too. Every time I call you, I can always hear super loud static; it's really too piercing. Replacing it with a new one this time will make it much more comfortable for me to listen when we talk on the phone later."

After finishing the unboxing, he turned on the new phone, completed the basic setup, and handed it to Zhang Chunhua.

Zhang Chunhua was still somewhat incredulous and asked: "Can you really earn over four thousand in a day? Don't tell me you've been tricked into doing something illegal?"

Su Xin took out his own phone, opened the Agricultural Bank app, and displayed the balance and transaction details in front of his mother.

Looking at the long string of incoming transaction details for hundreds and thousands on it, Zhang Chunhua was momentarily dumbfounded.

Although she hoped her son would become successful and that his future achievements would far exceed her own, she never imagined that while her son was still in his third year of high school, the money he earned would already be more than her salary.

And it was much, much more.