readytorunbook Chapter 171 Secretly Learned
Chapter 171 Secretly Learned
Zhang Jianjun discovered that whenever Qiao Sanli came to his house, Qiao Simei would come along.
I don't remember when it started. At first, I didn't pay attention, but by the time I realized it, all three of us had gotten used to it.
From then on, Zhang Jianjun rarely had time to spend alone with Qiao Sanli.
Even when Zhang Jianjun tutored Qiao Sanli, Qiao Simei would follow along. She preferred to do exercises, recite texts, and do math problems together. She would even actually ask Zhang Jianjun one or two difficult questions.
After a while, Zhang Jianjun gave up. "Follow me if you want! Anyway, Qiao Sanli is still young and can't do anything."
To Wei Shuying's surprise, her youngest daughter, Qiao Simei, had improved her grades! She had even made it into the top ten in the final exams!
She thought Qiao Simei was the second Qiao Erqiang, because Zhang Jianjun was already a high school student. She heard from Qiao Yicheng that high school students were very busy and had to study until midnight, so she didn't ask Zhang Jianjun to tutor Qiao Simei. She just asked Qiao Sanli to take a look at Qiao Simei's homework after she finished her own.
So Qiao Simei's grades had always hovered in the lower middle range, but unexpectedly, they suddenly improved recently! Considering that her two daughters had been frequently visiting Wu Fenglan's house lately, she wondered: Was Xiaojun still tutoring them? He shouldn't let this interfere with his college entrance exams!
July arrived quickly. School was on holiday again, until the college entrance examination.
Zhang Jianjun's home was unusually lively.
Qi Weimin made a special trip back to share his college entrance examination experience and points to note with Zhang Jianjun.
Before Qi Weimin could finish his rambling with Zhang Jianjun, Qiao Yicheng arrived, with the same purpose as Qi Weimin.
Zhang Jianjun had taken the college entrance exam more times than both of them combined, but he couldn't explain it to them. He could only offer a perfunctory answer.
The next day, Chang Xingyu brought Chang Xingyun to Zhang Jianjun's house, wanting Chang Xingyun to give Zhang Jianjun some psychological counseling to relieve his psychological pressure.
Chang Xingyun didn't know why Chang Xingyu had brought her out. It wasn't until they arrived at Zhang Jianjun's house that Chang Xingyu revealed her purpose. She thought her older sister was very gentle and had even studied psychology for a while, and had recently been reading psychology books frequently, which should be helpful to Zhang Jianjun.
Chang Xingyun reluctantly agreed, but the psychological counseling process was somewhat awkward.
After understanding the two men's intentions, Zhang Jianjun was utterly exasperated! In the entire Yingtian Prefecture, there wasn't a single person with a similar mindset to Zhang Jianjun! Did such a mentality even need guidance? Fortunately, Zhang Jianjun's acting skills were superb, and he managed to smooth things over once again.
That evening, Ding Tongguang also arrived, followed by his senior sister, Ding Jiqing, who was carrying a child.
Zhang Jianjun hasn't been to the hospital for two months. Ding Tongguang won't let him go, saying that these are the last two months and Zhang Jianjun should stay home and practice his skills!
Ding Tongguang and Ding Jiqing's purposes were similar to those of the previous people, but Ding Tongguang was more subtle, mainly focusing on details about Zhang Jianjun, such as how to eat and rest after the exam.
Seeing that Zhang Jianjun was ready, he leisurely left.
Before long, Zhang Jianjun discovered that Wu Fenglan had become a grandmother, and Ding Tongguang had become a grandfather.
Ding Jiqing has been married for several years. Her brother-in-law works in the government and is close to Chen Lixin, considered a young talent in the same faction. With Ding Tongguang as her backer, they are practically a well-matched couple.
Amidst the tense waiting of a crowd and the relaxed waiting of one person, the 7th arrived. It's truly good news that this year's college entrance examination wasn't postponed.
Despite Zhang Jianjun's repeated objections, Qiao Sanli and Qiao Simei still stood outside the examination hall with Wu Fenglan.
None of the three noticed that there was another figure faintly visible not far away.
It's Chang Xingyu.
She saw Zhang Jianjun and Wu Fenglan, but was too embarrassed to go directly with them. However, she knew that Zhang Jianjun had seen her and even waved to her.
For three days, Chang Xingyu left early and returned late, and his unusual behavior was noticed by both Chang Xingyu and Zhao Yelan. Zhao Yelan didn't know what Chang Xingyu was doing, but Chang Xingyun did.
Zhang Jianjun initially didn't know why Chang Xingyu was at the exam hall entrance. It wasn't until the third day, when Chang Xingyu was all alone, that Zhang Jianjun understood.
Chang Xingyu didn't know why he came here, even though he hadn't said a single word to anyone.
After the exam, Zhang Jianjun went from being composed to being even more composed.
As Zhang Jianjun walked out of the examination room, he noticed Wu Fenglan and two others waiting to the side, and Chang Xingyu standing alone in the distance.
He walked over first, greeted Wu Fenglan, and then went to Chang Xingyu's side. "I'd like to invite you to dinner! Dare to come? I'll cook for you myself!"
"Fine, I'll go! I'm afraid you won't be able to poison me!" Chang Xingyu's mood brightened instantly!
Wu Fenglan felt sorry for her youngest son, who was tired from the exam, so she only asked Zhang Jianjun to cook two dishes.
Wu Fenglan took good care of Zhang Jianjun, never letting him go into the kitchen, at most helping him wash dishes and serve food.
When Zhang Jianjun suggested cooking, Wu Fenglan was quite surprised. He explained that he had secretly practiced cooking, and only then did she believe him. Her youngest son was incredibly clever; she believed everything he said! Even if Zhang Jianjun said he had secretly built two satellites, she would believe him.
Zhang Jianjun made two simple dishes, twice-cooked pork and stir-fried shredded potatoes. He probably only used about 60% of Fatty Lao Tian's cooking skills, but he still won everyone over!
Wu Fenglan narrowed her eyes. This brat had secretly practiced cooking so well before; he must have something up his sleeve!
She didn't know that if someone could stir-fry shredded potatoes to Zhang Jianjun's level, they could already be a head chef at a foreign guest restaurant.
Qiao Erqiang's eyes lit up. He never imagined that shredded potatoes could taste so good! He could understand why twice-cooked pork was delicious, since it was meat, but could shredded potatoes taste this good? Qiao Erqiang felt like he had discovered a new world.
Zhang Jianjun finished his exams, and this meal was a celebration, so all five members of the Qiao family were invited!
Qiao Sanli and Chang Xingyu started chatting quietly. The two girls were four years apart, but they got along surprisingly well.
Sanli is also in junior high school now, and will be in her second year after the summer vacation. But Qiao Sanli doesn't show any signs of being a "chuunibyou" (a person with delusions of grandeur) girl. On the contrary, Qiao Simei has already shown chuunibyou characteristics even before she's in junior high school.
During this period, Qiao Sanli and Qiao Simei often watched TV dramas. Girls especially like watching Hong Kong and Taiwan movies and TV dramas.
Whenever Zhang Jianjun was around, Qiao Simei would speak in a high-pitched, affected Taiwanese accent, adding words like "oh," "yeah," and "ah" to the end of every sentence. Qiao Sanli got goosebumps from Qiao Simei's voice.
Zhang Jianjun did not stop Qiao Simei, but instead brought up the history of Taiwan Province and circled the origin of the Taiwanese accent. Qiao Simei thought that she would only have to read it once, but she did not expect that she would have to memorize it!
After that, Qiao Simei stopped learning the Taiwanese accent, and later she stopped imitating the way people spoke on TV. She even dared not express her interests or hobbies. Whenever Qiao Simei liked a celebrity, Zhang Jianjun would bring out a stack of information, from their birth date to their embarrassing past, and make Qiao Simei memorize it.
Qiao Simei had no idea how Zhang Jianjun had done the investigation! The information he found was incredibly detailed, and it seemed to be based on real past experiences. After reading the information, Qiao Simei's hopes were dashed; having to memorize it all was even worse than emptying the toilet herself!
Qiao Simei couldn't swallow this insult! So she opened her mouth and spat it out!
Zhang Jianjun: I'm just trying to help you!