When Will My Childhood Sweetheart Marry Me?-Chapter 130: Progress Award

Jiang Shuyao stared at the email, lost in thought.

The Capital she had longed for was now also shrouded in the clouds of the pandemic.

Though she was still standing on the land of Rong City, the thought of her mother’s indefinite return and her own departure to the distant north in a few months overwhelmed her so intensely that it nearly drowned out the joy brought by the email from Yangjin.

Lost in thought, her phone was snatched by someone next to her.

Without understanding why, she looked toward Pei Yan and saw him glance at the screen indifferently and asked softly, "Why aren’t you happy?"

Jiang Shuyao didn’t know how to explain it to him.

After a long moment, she whispered, "I’m worried the test result might be positive."

At such a time, she rarely joked so seriously.

But who wasn’t worried?

Recently, there had been several asymptomatic cases, and nobody on-site could guarantee they were completely healthy.

In troubling times, girls tended to be more emotional and sensitive than boys.

Pei Yan brushed his hand through her hair and chuckled, "What’s there to fear? Even if you end up in the ICU, I’ll be there with you."

His casual tone, though heard in her ears, made her nose tingle.

"The hospital hasn’t sent any information about the support staff for a long time. When do you think my mom can come back? The last video call was ten days ago. It’s been so long, I don’t even know what it’s like over there now."

Apparently touching on a sensitive topic again, she mentioned that she had been having bizarre nightmares lately, all related to her mother.

Pei Yan was not good at comforting people; after a silence, he analyzed, "No news is good news. You see, how many of the messages sent back by Huaren are ever good?"

Watching his calm demeanor, Jiang Shuyao suddenly felt an illusion.

Sometimes, the sense of security this guy beside her provided felt even stronger than her own father’s.

For no reason, she felt that what he said was very rational and convincing.

It was as if, like always, whatever he said or did eventually became reality.

She hoped, just as Pei Yan said, that her mother could safely return in March when spring was blooming.

The atmosphere of the school opening temporarily shelved all negative emotions.

The new semester’s award ceremony was held as usual; students sat neatly on the playground, spaced a meter apart from each other, all wearing masks, quiet and extraordinarily focused.

No student would complain about a holiday being too long.

But this year’s winter break, every senior year student hoped would end soon.

The end of the holiday meant the end of the pandemic and the preservation of more lives, without falling into paranoia over recent minor ailments.

What truly broke the silence on the playground was the announcement of an award for most improved students.

The name Pei Yan instantly stirred a thousand waves.

This semester’s award for most improved was personally presented by Principal Lu, a great honor that made everyone gasp in astonishment.

It was indeed an unusual year, for even Boss Pei to receive a most improved award was simply incredible.

As for Pei Yan himself, surprise outweighed his joy.

Qin Ming had told him he needed to improve his ranking by at least a hundred places, and he missed it by just one position.

When Principal Lu handed him the certificate, he smiled and said, "Keep up the good work, Chairman Pei would surely be very happy today."

That moment, Pei Yan probably understood something.

A mere improvement award seemed, in his heart, as light as a feather.

In his view, something that Chairman Pei could get with just a word wasn’t much different from something bought with money.

Ever since Yunzhong established a special scholarship for the graduating class sponsored by the Zhizhen Group, almost everyone knew that Boss Pei’s father was the largest shareholder of the school.

Everyone tacitly understood that beneath the glamorous facade, dark secrets lurked.

In the last term of senior year, Boss Pei grabbed the improvement award and then threw himself back into studying. He woke earlier than the chickens and slept later than the dogs, his grades skyrocketing like a rocket.

It truly confirmed what He Qingzhou had once said about "joining the prince in his studies."

Boss Pei set an example, leading the lazy students to flock together and follow suit, especially Class 2, whose performance over just one month had astounded all the school leaders.

That day, during a meeting in the administrative building, Qin Ming was singled out for praise.

Being able to lead such a class to its current success, his role as a homeroom teacher was undeniably illuminated by that Little Demon King.

After the meeting ended, Qin Ming came downstairs with a glowing face, surrounded by sounds of congratulation.

Only Class 6 homeroom teacher Yu Zhengqing sauntered past indifferently, the underlying reasons well known to them both.

Qin Ming awkwardly touched his nose and quickly caught up to call Yu Zhengqing back.

"Mr. Yu, about the improvement award, I really didn’t rig anything. Don’t always look at me like I’m your sworn enemy. If you don’t believe me, ask the Academic Affairs Office whether Pei Yan really qualifies for that award."

Yu Zhengqing snorted through his nose neither too lightly nor too heavily, "So the improvement of Class 2’s students counts as improvement, but Class 6’s doesn’t, right?"

In the end, it only proved that the school’s system was flawed.

They clearly could set up several more improvement awards, but they insisted on highlighting its value by creating a scenario where only one person could excel, leading to homeroom teachers fighting each other bitterly every year.

Coincidentally, last semester a student in Class 6 had also improved dramatically, jumping from around one hundredth to the top ten in the grade.

What does top ten mean, if not deserving of an award? It’s downright unjust to deny it.

Yet, the award ended up in Pei Yan’s hands, which inevitably led Yu Zhengqing’s thoughts astray.

It’s justified for homeroom teachers to fight for their students’ honors, but Yu Zhengqing’s persistence was unparalleled across Yunzhong.

This term, due to the pandemic, the newfound exchange system between classes had also been put on hold.

Unable to attend Class 6, Xu Kanfeng complained endlessly, believing the pace of each subject in Class 2 was far behind the preview speed he had experienced in Class 6.

Pei Yan was facing the same issue.

However, Brother Yan was much more composed, doing what he needed to in each class without a hint of losing interest.

"Brother Yan, the class notes Sister Yao gave you—lend them to me someday," Xu Kanfeng approached, his face full of eagerness.

Pei Yan was busy solving a physics problem and didn’t have time to deal with him.

Not giving up, Xu Kanfeng continued his fervor: "It’s not for nothing, Brother Yan. Just name any condition you want."

Hearing this, He Qingzhou couldn’t help but laugh.

"What you have, Brother Yan has, what you don’t have, Brother Yan also has. Kanzi, your sincerity isn’t enough."

Not enough?

Xu Kanfeng couldn’t think of anything sincerely meaningful.

After pondering left and right, a sudden idea struck him, "How about this, Brother Yan, if you still haven’t won over Sister Yao after the college entrance exam, I’ll eat that pile of shit for you."

Pfft.

Chen Jin burst into laughter, flipping over in his seat.

Now that, was truly full of sincerity.

Pei Yan scoffed and dropped his pen, lifting his eyelid to look at the confident Xu Kanfeng, "Where do you get the confidence to assume that after the exam I’ll definitely have her?"

Uh.

Xu Kanfeng’s eyes slowly shifted towards He Qingzhou.

On Sister Yao’s birthday night, the strategist had calculated and mentioned that the boss’s good days were near.

Could he bet on it?