Chapter 105

Mom got it wrong.

The six words struck Shi Jin's chest like a needle's point, making his pupils shrink sharply for an instant.

…

Shi Jin grew up hearing his mother repeatedly say, "My little Jin is amazing, truly making Mom proud." As long as he was smarter, more outstanding, and more disciplined than his peers, his mother would be very pleased.

To win the English speech contest, he would cut into his mealtime to practice speaking; to achieve good grades, he would sacrifice sleep and study until dawn.

That way, he could see his mother's happy expression and receive her praise.

It's easy to imagine how heavy his mother's words "Mom got it wrong" weighed on Shi Jin.

"Xiao Jin, I saw your monthly exam report from An Shi School." Shi Qing said, her tone neither cold nor hot but strict: "You can't even hold onto first place in your grade anymore; Mom is very disappointed in you, so she doesn't want to answer your calls."

"I also had your sister block you; this is Mom's lesson for you."

"But Mom, haven't you seen? My scores in every subject haven't declined; in fact, some have improved." Shi Jin instinctively wanted to explain, that he hadn't slacked in his studies: "I didn't get first place because——"

Shi Qing directly cut off Shi Jin's words: "Not getting it means you didn't get it; don't make excuses for your incompetence."

"Little Jin, you yourself say—from childhood to adulthood, which decision Mom made for you wasn't correct?" Shi Qing simply opened the talkbox: "If you had listened to me back then, gone to the Pei Family, told your Pei grandmother about transferring schools, you would now be a formal student at Elegant Bamboo, and back then Mom would have been beside you supervising you—would your rank first still not be secure?"

"……"

Shi Jin opened his mouth, but then silently closed it.

"Until you regain first place, there's no need to call Mom again."

This call was then hung up.

Shi Jin placed the hand holding the phone on his knee, letting his neck droop dejectedly.

The half spoonful of extra food the serving aunt had given in the plate before him—originally he thought the stir‑fried meat was delicious—became tasteless in an instant, and though the white rice was clearly soft, swallowing it felt terribly rough on his throat.

In the end, Shi Jin mechanically finished the meal, put down his chopsticks, rose to return the tray, and then left the cafeteria.

…

From the nearby basketball court came the thumping of a ball being bounced, and on the empty road a girl was playing badminton.

During this time on campus, there's always a somewhat leisurely yet lively atmosphere.

Laughter and chatter, people pairing off.

Only Shi Jin walked alone silently down the road, the sunset's afterglow stretching his quiet shadow long; he had no particular aim, just wanting to walk.

When he reached the vicinity of the sports field,

Suddenly.

He heard a somewhat familiar male voice reciting English words.

Listening closely, Shi Jin realized it was the same‑year‑level lesson content, but before the person could recite much, he let out a painful "ow," and immediately a female voice sounded.

"—Shu Lingchen, you're supposed to be out for a post‑meal walk to digest, why are you still carrying that vocab book?"

Shu Shu took the item from Shu Lingchen's hand and slipped it into her own uniform pocket: "Confiscated—I'll give it back to you next class."

"No way." Shu Lingchen covered his head, stared at his mom's pocket, and said: "I'm only missing a few words on this page to finish; give it back."

"Nope." Shu Shu zipped it up, indicating no negotiation: "I know you've been fired up lately, but hold off—now's walk time."

Shu Lingchen looked pleadingly: "But I want to study."

Shu Shu raised an eyebrow: "How so? When have I ever sleep‑walked, brandishing a kitchen knife at Turkey Baby's neck, forcing Turkey Baby to rank first, threatening that if he didn't make it he wouldn't see tomorrow's sun?"

"……" Turkey Baby·Shu Lingchen: "No."

Shu Shu asked the girl beside her: "Then Muyin Baby, did you sleep‑walk and threaten Turkey Baby?"

The girl blinked her watery peach‑blossom eyes, spread her hands innocently: "I don't sleep‑walk at night."

Shu Shu nodded, then looked at her son, feigning understanding as she raised her brows: "Oh, I get it—aliens forced you, threatening to take you away to Mercury to explore Saturn's secrets if you didn't rank first."

"……" Shu Lingchen: "Ah, no, nobody's forcing me."

The boy looked as if he could hardly speak, stammering, quite embarrassed: "It's me myself—you two are both first‑ranked, and I feel huge pressure walking alongside you."

Pei Muyin weakly hinted: "Brother, you could just say you two are both first‑ranked."

"Oh oh." Shu Lingchen scratched his head: "That's right—you two are both first‑ranked. Although I did improve in this month's exam, I'm still far behind; I want to pick up the pace, earn a ranking, prove myself."

Shu Shu asked doubtfully: "Who said you have to prove yourself with your report card?"

Shu Lingchen blinked: "You, uh, you've tried every way to make me study hard—wasn't it just so I could raise my grades?"

"Does studying hard necessarily have to raise your grades? Otherwise, wouldn't it not count as studying hard?"

Shu Shu sighed and told Shu Lingchen: "Studying is for learning principles, broadening horizons, opening one's eyes—not for you to bitterly chase scores."

"If you have scores but understand nothing of the reasoning, I think those scores are useless."

Shu Shu's original intention in having Shu Lingchen study hard was just to make this silly kid smarter, boost his IQ! Don't later run into another pair of 'Chu Family mother‑daughter' and get fooled by their foolishness!

"Besides, you said you wanted to prove yourself with your report card—I think you've already successfully proven yourself."

"Even a one‑point improvement is a great improvement."

"Look at you—you haven't just improved by one point; you've improved by many points, which shows you have many, many great achievements."

Mom's calm, clear voice entered Shu Lingchen's ears, making him blink in surprise again and again, his jet‑black pure eyes flickering.

For some reason he felt both happy and moved.

After a while.

Shu Lingchen suddenly asked: "Um, those words you just said are so philosophical—can I post them on my friends' circle?"

"Yes."

All right, Shu Shu added calmly: "Mm, but remember to add a dash and my name at the end, or else I'll sue you for copyright infringement."

Shu Lingchen: "Ah?"

Pei Muyin covered her mouth, unable to suppress a giggle.

The three of them walked together, their leisurely strolling figures gradually fading away.

On the steps.

Shi Jin watched their backs, lowered her eyes, and her eyelashes hid the bewildered emotion in the depths of her gaze.

As it turns out, you can receive praise even without placing first in the grade?