Chapter 118: Class Rank One

Li Guohong sat in the corner seat of the classroom from 7:30 a. m. until the parent meeting began at 8:00 a. m.

At first, he had thought how nice it would be to attend Xixi's parent meeting, resenting this arrangement; but gradually, his perspective shifted, and he suddenly realized attending Li Luo's parent meeting didn't seem so bad after all.

For instance, following Li Luo's instructions, he sat in the boy's seat—and the homeroom teacher immediately came down from the podium to chat with him for a moment.

Though it was only a few polite pleasantries—thanking him for his son's recent help managing the class—the attention from surrounding parents still made Li Guohong feel quite comfortable.

For another, because the teacher had arranged for students to wait for their parents, Li Guohong sat beside a girl named Yan Zhusheng.

She was Li Luo's deskmate; upon seeing him, she politely said "Uncle, hello," and even offered to pour him a glass of water.

Li Guohong chatted with this student named Yan Zhusheng for a bit and discovered she got along well with his son, constantly praising Li Luo in every way.

For another example, some parents even came over to greet him simply because the homeroom teacher had mentioned he was the class monitor's father.

They said their own children often talked about the class monitor at home, describing how outstanding he was, how excellent he was during military training, how witty and humorous he was daily, and how capable he was in critical moments.

The way they spoke made Li Guohong feel embarrassed for Li Luo.

He was almost convinced he'd walked into the wrong classroom—could this really be his own son?

He couldn't be blamed for this.

On one hand, Li Luo had always been mischievous as a child, constantly causing trouble at school, and Li Guohong had always been the one cleaning up after him.

On the other hand, if Li Luo had performed well academically, there'd be no chance for Li Guohong to attend—he'd always been left out, while Lin Xiuhong received all the praise.

So from childhood to now, for Li Guohong, any news he received from school about Li Luo was overwhelmingly negative.

This kind of parent meeting, filled entirely with positive feedback, was something he'd never experienced in his entire life—he was completely thrown off guard.

Just as Li Guohong was immersed in this dreamlike atmosphere, Li Luo entered the classroom through the front door, accompanied by a tall figure.

Even wearing sunglasses and a mask, Yuan Wanqing's aura was unmatched by any ordinary parent.

As soon as she stepped into the classroom, her unique presence instantly silenced the room for a moment.

Especially for male parents, seeing such an elegant mother at a parent meeting naturally drew their eyes toward her.

Even with her face covered by sunglasses and a mask, people couldn't help but assume the face beneath must be beautiful.

"Teacher Kong, hello," Yuan Wanqing greeted the teacher at the podium, Kong Junxiang. "Thank you for taking care of Yan Zhusheng."

"You're too kind," Kong Junxiang smiled politely. "She's always well-behaved and diligent—I should be thanking her for serving as sports committee member and contributing to the class." He then gestured toward Yan Zhusheng. "Mrs. Yan, please take your seat."

Kong Junxiang clearly knew Yuan Wanqing's identity and paid no mind to her mask.

Before greeting him, Yuan Wanqing had already removed her sunglasses, revealing willow-browed eyes and peach-blossom eyes strikingly similar to Yan Zhusheng's.

Seeing her mother walk all the way to her desk, Yan Zhusheng immediately stood up and offered her seat.

Li Luo also took the freshly poured cup of water from Hua Xiuxiu and brought it to Yuan Wanqing.

Then, from the podium, Kong Junxiang said: "Alright, all parents are here. Students may now leave—the parent meeting will officially begin."

The students who had been lingering beside their parents, having given up their seats, scattered immediately upon hearing the homeroom teacher's words.

Yan Zhusheng glanced at her mother, then at Li Luo, pursed her lips, and then left the classroom too.

Only Li Luo and Hua Xiuxiu, as class monitor and deputy monitor, remained in the classroom to assist Kong Junxiang in hosting the parent meeting.

"You must be Li Luo's parent?"

After sitting down and watching Yan Zhusheng leave, Yuan Wanqing removed her mask, turned to Li Guohong, and smiled in greeting. "Thank you for looking after our Zhusheng."

"Oh, no, it's nothing—uh…" Li Guohong was about to offer polite words when he saw Yuan Wanqing remove her mask and froze.

To be fair, in social media, variety shows, and interviews, Yuan Wanqing always appeared in retouched photos or professionally applied makeup, always exquisitely beautiful.

Today, however, she hadn't worn heavy makeup—only a light touch to cover minor skin imperfections.

At under thirty-five, she was still quite young among the parents, and with her good skin care, she looked in excellent condition.

But even so, her real appearance naturally couldn't match the polished stage version.

So when Li Guohong saw her face, he was merely startled for a moment, feeling it looked vaguely familiar.

It looked a lot like Yuan Wanqing.

This Yan Zhusheng's mother really takes good care of herself.

Li Guohong silently marveled, never once considering "this is Yuan Wanqing."

He simply assumed they looked similar.

Even if he had doubts, he couldn't ask outright upon first meeting—it would be impolite if he guessed wrong.

Yuan Wanqing also didn't think any parent would recognize her.

After all, she'd been out of the spotlight for over a decade, only recently returned, and these parents in their thirties and forties likely had no interest in such things.

Besides, they'd all been addressing each other as "Li Luo's dad" and "Yan Zhusheng's mom," never asking for real names—so there was no chance of exposure.

Thus, the two exchanged a few polite pleasantries, briefly got to know each other, and then Kong Junxiang announced the parent meeting was officially underway.

Hua Xiuxiu operated the PowerPoint beside her, synchronizing with Kong Junxiang's pace to play the pre-prepared school materials.

Kong Junxiang spoke for several minutes on stage, briefly introducing the school and class situation.

"Our class performed very well on this midterm," Kong Junxiang said after a broad overview, finally arriving at the meeting's focus: "The test papers and score sheets are inside the folders in your hands."

"You may now take them out and open them."

Instantly, the sound of parents flipping through folders filled the classroom.

Some didn't know how to open them, so Li Luo stepped forward patiently to help.

Meanwhile, Kong Junxiang continued: "This time, two students in our class ranked in the top 50 of the entire school."

"Six students made it into the top 160."

"Our class's average score ranked second among the twelve parallel classes."

"Most notably, our class monitor, Li Luo—yes, the one sitting at the back—scored 27th in the entire school."

"That's an improvement of over three hundred places since the entrance exam!"

In an instant, every parent's gaze locked onto Li Luo.

Zhang Xuefen sat in her son Wei Chun's seat, having just opened the file envelope. Seeing that Wei Chun had ranked a little over three hundred this time, she felt it wasn't bad.

The next second, she heard news like a bolt from the blue, and her whole person stupidly turned her head to look at Li Luo.

She thought she had misheard.

On the other side, Li Guohong was also completely bewildered. After hearing what the homeroom teacher said, he hurriedly tore open the file envelope and took out the report card inside.

When he saw the clearly written school-wide rank of 27th, he finally confirmed the situation; his whole head was buzzing.

Yuan Wanqing beside him also stopped what she was doing, instinctively glancing sideways at the boy named Li Luo, her brows lifting slightly, her expression somewhat surprised.

In the entire classroom, only Li Luo alone stood there, unmoved by favor or disgrace, silently accepting the gaze of the parents.

What he was thinking, though, was—

So this is what it feels like to be first in the class.

Back when Ying Chanxi received commendations in class, it was probably this feeling, right?

Oh wait, Ying Chanxi was probably already used to this sort of thing.

So Li Luo silently reminded himself: keep a low profile, stay humble, press down the curve of his lips.

Stay calm, stay calm.

In the days to come, this kind of situation would only become the norm; he had to adapt in advance.