Chapter 121: Rock Band Club

Even among parents, even within just a few short hours, small circles quickly form.

During the school tour, the parents of Class Eight clearly divided into three or four distinct groups.

Among them, the group led by Li Guohong was by far the largest.

A dozen or so parents enthusiastically surrounded Li Guohong, praising him at every turn and seeking his advice on raising children.

Li Guohong knew his own limits—he had no idea how Li Luo had suddenly become so impressive—so he could only repeat the same tired platitudes over and over.

Yet even so, anything Li Guohong said was treated by other parents as golden law, worthy of serious study.

But the same advice had been heard and seen countless times by everyone; it was merely the speaker that changed, producing entirely different effects.

"My daughter Xiuxiu often mentions our class monitor at home," said Xiuxiu's parent. "She used to think she was a great monitor herself, but after seeing how Li Luo handles it, she realizes she still has much to learn."

"Our child is much the same," said Xu Yinghuan's parent. "They constantly praise the monitor at home—I finally understand why."

"That's for sure," Jin Yuting's parent couldn't help interjecting. "You don't know—my daughter Tingting was in the same class as Li Luo back in middle school."

"Back then, Li Luo's grades were average, but guess what? He stunned everyone in the high school entrance exam—ranked 86th in the entire district!"

"Now he's ranked 27th overall in our affiliated No. 1 High School. You can only say this boy was a bit mischievous and playful when he was younger, but once he got serious about studying, nothing could stop him."

Surrounded by this atmosphere, Li Guohong found it impossible not to smile; he could only restrain his grin to stay just below glee and just above humble propriety.

Aside from this central circle, the rest of the Class Eight parents formed several smaller groups.

Some parents were simply introverted and quietly followed Hua Xiuxiu as she introduced the school—about a dozen in total.

Others disliked flattery and walked apart, occasionally chatting casually, mostly just observing.

Some, like Yuan Wanqing, stood out as solitary figures, walking alone and carefully studying the school—this was her first time visiting Affiliated No. 1 High School; even during enrollment, Yan Zhusheng had come alone.

Then there were those like Zhang Xuefen, who simply couldn't stand Li Guohong's smug demeanor.

Thinking of Li Luo's 27th-place ranking while her own son ranked over three hundred, she felt a bitter pang.

Back in middle school, Li Luo had been far worse than Wei Chun.

Every Lunar New Year, when relatives visited, Zhang Xuefen had never missed a chance to tease Lin Xiuhong about it.

Fortunately, it was Li Guohong who came to this parent meeting for Li Luo—otherwise, Zhang Xuefen could easily imagine the look on Lin Xiuhong's face in front of her.

Just thinking about it made her feel sick.

But watching Li Guohong bask in all that glory, Zhang Xuefen couldn't help inching closer.

When the others grew tired of praising and finally began genuinely admiring the school's scenery, Zhang Xuefen seized the moment, sidling up to Li Guohong and feigning casualness:

"Li Guohong, I heard you bought a school district house nearby? That must've cost a fortune?"

Li Guohong had been in good spirits, but hearing Zhang Xuefen suddenly bring this up, he frowned. "Yes, it's more convenient for the kid's schooling—nothing wrong with that."

He had no idea why she kept bringing this up—she'd already chattered about it nonstop right at the school gate.

Sure enough, Zhang Xuefen went on: "That's already a two-million-yuan expense—huge pressure. Your breakfast shop is already exhausting; you really should make sure Xiuhong takes better care of her health."

As expected, upon hearing Li Guohong's family ran a breakfast shop, some parents' eyes flickered, a hint of change creeping into their expressions.

People are like this.

When someone excels in one area, polite praise is easy—but if you outshine them in another, it brings quiet comfort.

All the parents here came from decent households.

Perhaps their incomes weren't much different from those of a breakfast shop.

But a breakfast shop? That's manual labor—suddenly, the status level shifted.

Just then, Shao Heqi's father suddenly turned to Li Guohong with interest and asked: "Did you buy your house nearby because you heard some rumors?"

"Huh?" Li Guohong, still slightly annoyed by Zhang Xuefen's remark, paused. "What rumors are you referring to?"

"I wouldn't have dared say it before," Shao Heqi's father chuckled, "but now… the city just released a draft plan for Yuhang City's Metro Line Nine—our Yinjiang District is expected to extend the line."

"That's why I bought a house here last year—I heard the whispers."

"After all, Affiliated No. 1 High School has dormitories. I figured if you weren't paying in full, you wouldn't have focused so hard on houses in this area."

Li Guohong glanced at the man in surprise. "Excuse me, which student's parent are you?"

"Oh, sorry—I forgot to mention." Shao Heqi's father extended his hand and shook Li Guohong's. "I'm Shao Heqi's father. Our kids were in the same middle school class."

"Yes, yes! I remember now—I recall!" The reminder instantly triggered Li Guohong's memory.

Last summer, Li Luo had urged his wife and him to buy a house, saying Shao Heqi's father had inside information.

Now it seemed this rumor was genuinely credible!

Thinking of this, Li Guohong smiled warmly and gripped the man's hand tightly. "Ah, we heard a little whisper too. Since we had to buy a house for the kid anyway, we figured we'd give it a shot."

Hearing the two parents' conversation, the other parents instantly forgot the breakfast shop and flocked into this new topic.

Shao Heqi's father wasn't worried about the rumor spreading.

After all, Yuhang City had indeed issued official documents—though still only in draft proposal stage, not yet finalized.

But it was a highly plausible direction.

According to his estimate, the news would be confirmed by year-end at the earliest, or mid-next year at the latest.

His family had already bought their house, so he didn't mind doing a favor for others.

More buyers would help drive up prices faster.

As a result, the discussion grew even more heated, leaving Zhang Xuefen completely sidelined, looking bewildered.

How did this turn into a real estate forum?

And more importantly—was the metro really coming to Affiliated No. 1 High School?

Zhang Xuefen's face darkened.

Regardless of how Li Guohong's family fared, if this rumor was true, her family simply didn't have the cash left.

After Wei Dongrong raised the funds, his real estate projects had already begun booming.

There was no spare money left for property investment.

Fortunately, this idle chatter only lasted a short while. Once the tour moved on to the club activities, the parents' attention gradually drifted back.

At every club, there was basically a parent who could spot their own child, and so they'd smile and share with the parent next to them.

When Zhang Xuefen followed the group to the Calligraphy Club, she saw her son Wei Chun bent over his desk, writing with complete concentration.

Logically, this was the moment to show off a little, but for some reason, the moment she laid eyes on Wei Chun now, she just got angry.

Why couldn't her son try a little harder and at least place 27th in the whole school, give her some face?

In the end, he just wasn't studying hard enough!

She'd been wavering before over whether to sign Wei Chun up for extra tutoring classes, but now it was clear: you really can't skimp on the money.

Thinking this, Zhang Xuefen was already considering canceling Wei Chun's weekend calligraphy class, then using the time on Saturday evening and Sunday morning to sign him up for several subjects to catch up.

Naturally, Wei Chun in the classroom had no idea about any of this.

He only noticed his mother's figure, and lowered his head even further, writing hard on the xuan paper.

Only after the parents' group had left did Wei Chun finally let out a long breath and wipe the sweat from his forehead.

As time went on, the club activities on the teaching building side were all finished being toured.

The parents then came out to the field and toured the sports clubs — Basketball Club, Table Tennis Club, Badminton Club, and the like.

Watching the kids unleash their energy on the field, the parents felt themselves growing a little younger too.

And when they crossed the field and arrived at the entrance to the gymnasium, Hua Xiuxiu, who was walking at the very front, smiled and announced:

"Next up is the last stop of our day."

"Our school also has a club called the Rock Club. The students in it each specialize in a different instrument, and they coordinate seamlessly to form a school band."

"Today, they've been preparing for a long time, and they're going to bring all you uncles and aunties a wonderful performance."

"Oh, right."

o￠〇

At this point, Hua Xiuxiu cut in with an exclusive piece of news from Class Eight: "In this Rock Club band, there are five members, and two of them are from our class."

Hearing this, Li Guohong was immediately moved to remark.

The students of Affiliated No. 1 High really are something else.

It's not just that they study well — their various interests and specialties are also incredibly rich.

By comparison, their own Li Luo, although his grades had picked up, in terms of specialties… well… would writing an Online Novel count as one?

But just as Li Guohong was thinking this, Hua Xiuxiu continued: "One of these two students is our class's PE representative, Yan Zhusheng, who handles lead vocals."

"The other one," Hua Xiuxiu's gaze turned toward Li Guohong, and she said with a smile, "is our class monitor, Li Luo. He handles the guitar."

At these words, Li Guohong was instantly stunned.

And Yuan Wanqing beside him raised an eyebrow at this, and at last a flicker of interest surfaced on her face.