Chapter 33: Are you my real mom?
Mr.Xu was a man of his word.
Shortly after Qi Yun returned to the classroom, he swapped Qi Yun’s and Lian Qingxue’s seats.
Now they were desk mates.
However…
Sitting in his new seat, Qi Yun looked up and saw the podium.
Looking up further, he saw Mr.Xu’s smug smile.
“…”
Mr.Xu actually placed him and Lian Qingxue in the center of the first row of the class, directly facing the podium, right under his watchful gaze.
“Teacher, I think my eyesight is pretty good, perhaps we should leave this great seat for a student with poor eyesight,” Qi Yun tried to argue, hoping he might be able to change Mr.Xu’s mind.
“No need, I think this seat is perfect for you. You wanted to share a desk with student Lian Qingxue, didn’t you? I made that happen! If you don’t like it, you don’t have to sit here,” Mr.Xu said, trying hard to suppress a laugh.
Hoping to hide in the corner of the classroom for a little romance?
Dream on!
What is called ‘the older the ginger, the hotter the spice’, I will make you understand today!
…
Qi Yun glanced at Lian Qingxue, who was quietly sitting next to him.
Seeing Qi Yun looking at her, Lian Qingxue smiled sweetly.
She seemed to have no objections.
To her, it didn’t matter where they sat, as long as she was sitting with Qi Yun.
Well, alright then.
What’s a little chalk dust, right?
For Lian Qingxue’s sweet smile…
He could bear it!
…
Qi Yun changing seats marked the arrival of the weekend.
The school specifically chose this timing, after the exams and the results were out – it was the first weekend of the school year – so the parents could see their child’s exam results.
If the results were not good, the weekend would not be enjoyable.
Qi Yun didn’t mind though.
After sending Lian Qingxue back to the orphanage, he leisurely headed home.
As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted warmly by his mom.
“Son, you’re back?” She peeked behind Qi Yun, “Where’s Qingxue? Didn’t she come back with you?”
“It’s so late, of course she went back to the orphanage! Why would she come to our house?”
“Oh…”
With a poker face, Qi Yun’s mom went back to the sofa, sprawling out, looking bored.
“??? Mom, was your enthusiasm just now all for Qingxue?” Qi Yun was confused.
Qi Yun’s mom raised her eyes, looked at Qi Yun in surprise, “What do you think? I’ve raised you all these years, do I still need to welcome you? What, should I announce ‘the emperor has returned to the palace’?”
Qi Yun: “…Mom, are you thinking of sending me to the orphanage and bringing Qingxue back instead?”
“Is that possible?” Qi Yun’s mom seemed rather hopeful.
“You’re my real mom!”
“What are you talking about, if I’m not your real mom, who has been raising you all these years?”
Qi Yun: “…”
In self-pity, please do not disturb.
Seeing the situation, Qi Yun’s dad who was sitting nearby coughed, “I heard you had exams this week?”
Being in the best middle school in the city, many of their colleagues’ children were also students there, so Qi Yun’s parents knew about the exams.
“Hmm.”
Qi Yun didn’t feel like talking, he was tired.
“How did it go?”
Qi Yun’s dad asked, but he wasn’t particularly concerned.
They didn’t have high expectations for Qi Yun, as long as he didn’t go astray, they were quite satisfied.
To put it simply, it was a laissez-faire style of parenting.
“It was okay, I came first.”
“Huh?”
Qi Yun’s dad almost dropped his teacup, the boiling tea scalding his mouth. Despite his pain, he didn’t forget to ask Qi Yun, “First? What first?”
“First in the class, first in the school, all first.”
Hearing this, Qi Yun’s mom immediately perked up.
“That’s great! Qi Yun, you came first!”
Qi Yun saw his mom’s happiness, and felt a little relieved, thinking, ‘At least my mom cares about me. Look how happy she is for my achievement.’
“What a good teacher Qingxue is! In just a month, she turned you into the top student!”
“…”
Alright, he wouldn’t expect motherly love anymore.
With a tight smile, Qi Yun went back to his room.
…
After a while, he heard the door opening.
Peeking out, he saw his mom dressed neatly, even with light makeup, looking ready to go out.
“Mom, where are you going?”
“Me? I’m going to join the square dance! Need to exercise!”
Qi Yun then remembered that in recent years square dancing had become popular in Spring City, and his mom was part of a dance group.
But he looked at the clock on the wall.
It was almost nine o’clock, past eight-thirty.
Winter hadn’t passed yet, and outside it was pitch-black.
“At this time of the night, you can dance in the square?” Watching his mom rushing out enthusiastically, Qi Yun turned to his dad.
“Heh,” watching TV, Qi Yun’s dad had a knowing smile on his face, “Didn’t you come first? Even if there were knives raining from the sky, she would still go out.”
Qi Yun suddenly realized.
Qi Yun’s dad continued, “You’ll see, if there’s even a single person in the entire neighborhood who doesn’t know you came first in the school, your mom won’t come back.”
Qi Yun looked at the closed door and sneered quietly, “Heh, a woman who pretends.”