Chapter 400

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

On the surface, this meal was eaten in a harmonious and joyful atmosphere.

But Wang Xiaohua felt stifled inside.

By the time they finished eating, it was just past seven in the evening.

Wang Xiaohua didn't want to stay here any longer.

It wasn't that he had any opinion of Niu Chunsheng and his family.

Rather, he simply didn't want to stay together with Wang Zhanggen, this old man, any longer.

As long as he stayed with him, at least one out of every three sentences took a dig at him.

He really couldn't understand.

What good did those words belittling his own son do for himself, ultimately?

So after Wang Xiaohua finished eating, he found an excuse, saying the homeroom teacher still had important things to say at evening self-study tonight, and then left.

Before leaving, he also told his parents that he would stay in the school dormitory tonight, because tomorrow early morning they still had to take a group photo, and told them to go back first, he might return a bit later.

Wang Zhanggen was somewhat annoyed by Wang Xiaohua's behavior of wanting to leave as soon as he finished eating, feeling that Wang Xiaohua doing this was disrespectful to Niu Chunsheng and his family, and was causing him, the father, to lose face.

So he immediately opened his mouth and scolded Wang Xiaohua a few sentences:

"Don't you know any manners? Coming as a guest to someone's house, eating and then leaving — I see you've really ruined your brain from reading too much!"

Niu Chunsheng hurriedly came to dissuade him:

"Brother Changgen, don't talk about Xiaohua like that. Didn't Xiaohua say so? The homeroom teacher still has something to say, just let him go."

"The exams are all finished, what else could there be?" Wang Zhanggen spoke thus, with absolute certainty.

In his cognition, once the college entrance exam was over, there definitely wouldn't be anything else to do.

Next, one only needed to wait to go to university.

Yet he didn't know that after the college entrance exam, one still had to fill out volunteer applications, still had to choose a major.

These things can't wait until the scores come out to understand; by then it would be a bit too late.

Additionally, among classmates there was still mutual reluctance to part and blessings.

Everyone studied together for so long, it counts as a fateful connection; mutually lingering after the college entrance exam, giving final blessings, that is also human nature.

"Xiaohua, you hurry and go. I'll talk to him about your dad!"

Niu Chunsheng hurriedly urged Wang Xiaohua to leave.

He actually saw everything in his eyes.

He knew Wang Xiaohua was anxious to leave, and a large part of the reason was because of Wang Zhanggen.

But this kind of thing, he naturally saw through but didn't speak through.

After all, he was an outsider; family matters, he couldn't say too much.

"Then I'm leaving, Uncle Chunsheng goodbye, Aunt Xiaofang goodbye."

Wang Xiaohua turned to leave.

Niu Chunsheng also said to Niu Lin Xin:

"Lin Xin, you go see Xiaohua out."

"Okay Dad!" Niu Lin Xin stood up, bringing Wang Xiaohua out the door.

When the two took the elevator downstairs, they were silently wordless.

The atmosphere appeared somewhat embarrassed.

Wang Xiaohua was thinking how to open his mouth and express his attitude to Niu Lin Xin.

Niu Lin Xin was thinking how to open her mouth and explain clearly that she actually still wanted him to come be a tutor.

She wanted Wang Xiaohua to come be a tutor, not only for herself, but also for her best friend Wang Xiaoqian.

"Ding! First floor arrived!"

The elevator arrived at the first floor.

Wang Xiaohua and Niu Lin Xin walked out of the elevator together.

Only now did Wang Xiaohua open his mouth and say:

"Rest assured, I won't come be your tutor for that ten thousand yuan. Tomorrow I'll go contact your dad, just say I have other things to do, can't spare the time to teach you."

Niu Lin Xin heard this, her little nose wrinkled slightly, then said:

"Why don't you still come be my tutor? Last time what I said to you were angry words, truly sorry."

Wang Xiaohua was stunned, his face revealing a trace of surprise:

"Don't you hate me very much? Why still let me come be your tutor?"

Niu Lin Xin then frankly said:

"The main reason is my best friend likes you."

"Ah?" Wang Xiaohua was dumbfounded.

"Don't misunderstand, it's not that kind of like. My best friend wants you to teach her studies. You come to my house to be a tutor, I'll bring her along to come study with you together. Your main task is to teach her, not teach me. If she can't get into high school next year, she'll have to go to technical school or go work in a factory. So, help her out."

Niu Lin Xin explained thus.

"For real or fake?" Wang Xiaohua looked at Niu Lin Xin's eyes, "If you're being forced by your dad and mom, you can tell me directly. I have a way to make them not blame it on your head."

Niu Lin Xin however said:

"Really, my parents won't force me. It's mainly for my best friend. I'm begging you, please come be my tutor."

Wang Xiaohua laughed dryly:

"Didn't expect you to be quite righteous. For your best friend, you're willing to wrong yourself and face someone you don't want to see every day. Aren't you afraid my ugly appearance will nauseate you?"

Niu Lin Xin hurriedly apologized:

"You are a bit short, but you're really not that ugly. I'm sorry, I spoke out of line before. Don't take it to heart. You wouldn't still be angry with me, would you?"

They say short people care deeply when others call them short, and ugly people care deeply when others call them ugly.

Wang Xiaohua was both short and ugly, yet Niu Lin Xin had told the truth to his face before.

She truly feared Wang Xiaohua would hold a grudge against her for a lifetime.

Unexpectedly, Wang Xiaohua just laughed it off:

"I stopped caring long ago. What you said is fact, not slander. Since this is a fact that cannot be changed, why would I get angry?"

Niu Lin Xin was stunned.

She completely didn't expect Wang Xiaohua to actually be this open-minded.

"Then will you still come be my tutor?" Niu Lin Xin asked.

Wang Xiaohua just said:

"If you're willing, I'll do it. If not, forget it. I don't want to force someone who doesn't want to learn to study. That's like forcing a pig to climb a tree — the pig suffers, and the person driving the pig up the tree suffers even more."

"Hehe, your analogy..." Niu Lin Xin laughed dryly, but didn't refute anything, because she knew that in a top student's eyes, an academic slacker like her probably really wasn't much different from a pig.

"Then when I start summer vacation, you come be my tutor!"

Niu Lin Xin said this.

It was just after the college entrance exam now; high school hadn't reached final exams yet, and summer vacation hadn't started.

So even for tutoring, she had to wait until after her summer vacation started.

"Deal, no problem."

Wang Xiaohua agreed.

Niu Lin Xin laughed happily:

"I'll go call a tricycle for you, to send you back to school!"

Wang Xiaohua said: "No need, I'll just walk back."

But Niu Lin Xin insisted:

"Yes, yes. My dad said to respect every person who provides help to you. You wait here a bit; tricycles often pass by the residential complex gate!"

Before long, there really was a passenger tricycle passing by.

Niu Lin Xin flagged down the tricycle and gave the driver uncle five yuan:

"Master, send him to the No. 1 High School gate!"

Wang Xiaohua got on the tricycle and said to Niu Lin Xin with a smile:

"Thanks! You're actually a pretty good person."

Niu Lin Xin looked at Wang Xiaohua's smile. When he smiled, he revealed uneven teeth.

His facial features were actually quite good; it was just that his teeth dragged down his looks too much.

So she couldn't help but say a sentence:

"Actually, if you just went and corrected your teeth a little, you'd be a little handsome."

Wang Xiaohua didn't know whether to cry or laugh at this, and didn't say anything more.

The tricycle started up and headed toward No. 1 High School.

On the way, Wang Xiaohua's mind kept recalling Niu Lin Xin's last sentence.

Before, it wasn't that he hadn't thought about correcting his teeth, but the family economy was what it was, plus his parents' notions — they were very unconcerned about correcting his teeth, even thinking it unnecessary. This led to him having no choice but to put the matter down and stop wild thoughts.

And now, he had this opportunity.

Tutoring Niu Lin Xin for two months could earn ten thousand yuan.

This ten thousand should be enough for his teeth correction costs.

If he went to correct them now, would his teeth be fixed before university?