"The exam is over, please all examinees stop writing and remain seated while the proctors collect the examination papers and scratch papers." Right at eleven thirty, a sweet female voice came from the broadcast.
Xu Qingfan took the last ten minutes to check his paper one last time and didn't find any mistakes.
The proctor quickly gathered the papers and scratch papers and sealed them separately in kraft paper bags.
"Students, please take your belongings and line up at the door."
Once everyone was messily lined up, the proctor led the group back to the original basketball court.
The Lin and Xia families had already started chatting and laughing under the eaves. Seeing Xu Qingfan's exam group approaching, Lin Wanning excitedly said to the adults, "Brother Qingfan, Brother Qingfan is coming!"
"Our Wanning has such good eyesight," Xia's mother said softly.
The two families walked towards the queue to meet the lone Xu Qingfan. Xia Xiaoxiao, holding her mother's hand, was expressionless as always, but inside she was feeling petulant, [I saw him too!]
"Good morning, everyone," Xu Qingfan greeted, waving his hand.
Since Lin Jing was present, Xu Qingfan didn't dare call Lin Wanning's mother "sister" any longer, as a woman's wrath can be terrifying indeed.
What's the deal, calling me "auntie" and someone else "sister"? Am I really that old?
"Brother Qingfan, I could solve so many math problems!" Lin Wanning walked up to Xu Qingfan with a giggly smile, grabbing his arm and shaking it.
"You've worked hard, Xiao Fan. You've been tutoring Wanning every day for the past two weeks. Tell me what gift you want, and I'll buy it for you," Wen Wanqing said. She knew the hardships of tutoring her own daughter; just the concept of 'borrowing one' in subtraction could drive her to frustration.
Lin Wanning: What if it doesn't want to lend?
Wen Wanqing: I'd also like to know what to do...
Lin Jing looked jealously at Wanqing, [Her child is almost in primary school, and she still calls herself "sister." She's not even embarrassed.]
Xu Qingfan really wanted to say that he'd buy what he wanted with Lin Wanning's "little money", but he also wanted to live a couple more years, so he could only chuckle and said, "I want a Little Overlord learning machine!"
Ever since Jackie Chan became the spokesperson, combined with that incredibly catchy tune, the Little Overlord learning machine was all the rage across the vast reaches of Jiang Nan in the millennium.
"Such a good child, loving to study like that. I'll buy it right away!"
Xu Qingfan: (¬_¬)
"Mhm, mhm, mhm."
After leaving the school, Xia's mother left her electric scooter at the school, at the persistent invitation of the couple, and everyone got into Lin Qiaoshan's sedan.
Xia Xiaoxiao, who had been holding back for a while, finally couldn't help but ask, "Which way is that bus going?"
As a route three bus passed by on the right side, Lin Qiaoshan replied cluelessly, "That's the bus to the sports stadium."
"Pfft~"
Xu Qingfan couldn't hold back and laughed, "Uncle, we were discussing an exam question. The big bus goes to the left."
"Haha, turns out it was an exam question."
"Oh." With her question answered, Xia Xiaoxiao turned her face back to the window, observing the city that still felt somewhat unfamiliar to her.
Xu Qingfan had been ready for her to ask why, prepared to play the teacher once more, but she just said "oh"!
Suddenly at a loss for words, Xu Qingfan exhaled his frustration, "Did you get it right?"
"I got it right."
"Uh... that's great..."
[Hmph! You want to teach, but expect me to ask for help? No way!] Xia Xiaoxiao's lips curved up slightly, but she quickly suppressed it, her subtle expressions unnoticed by anyone.
At that moment, as a bus passed the driveway, Xu Qingfan said, "Look at that bus, can you see how it has windows but no doors visible, so it must be going to the left."
Xia Xiaoxiao's gaze shifted to the bus Xu Qingfan was pointing to. When the two buses were parallel, she suddenly understood what Xu Qingfan meant, her small mouth opening slightly.
"I thought the door was omitted."
Indeed!
Xu Qingfan had initially thought the door was omitted as well. After all, with such a sloppy diagram, who would have guessed that was the key point of the question!
If they had just replaced it with a regular side view of a bus, there wouldn't have been any need to think so hard.
Including Lin Wanning, a group of people listened, completely confused, "Brother Qing Fan, what are you guys talking about?"
The question was the penultimate fill-in-the-blank on the test. Following Xu Qingfan's advice to skip the last two fill-in-the-blanks, Lin Wanning hadn't even looked at the question.
"We're talking about the penultimate math fill-in-the-blank question. What did you fill in, Wanning?" Xu Qingfan couldn't help but reach out and pluck at the tuft of hair sticking up on top of little Wanning's head.
"I don't remember." The little girl's head shook like a rattle.
According to Xu Qingfan's instructions, there should be no blank spaces on the test, so Lin Wanning's test paper was filled out completely, although what she wrote she did not know herself.
"Wanning, in the future, you should learn more from Brother Qing Fan and Miss Xiaoxiao, okay?" Wen Wanqing, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around to speak to her daughter.
"Mum, I am older than Xiaoxiao, I am the sister!"
Xia Xiaoxiao pouted and glared at Xu Qingfan. It was this culprit who had revealed her birth date.
"Then learn from classmate Xiaoxiao!" Seeing that Xia Xiaoxiao seemed a bit unhappy, Wen Wanqing changed her address accordingly.
"What's wrong, is it not good to be the younger sister? Mum really wanted an older brother or sister when she was little." Xia's mum gently ruffled her daughter's hair.
[I certainly don't want to; having the little troublemaker is enough!]
The car stopped in front of a farmhouse restaurant after bumping along a rough stretch of road.
The delicious scent of roasted chicken wafted on the breeze, and everyone who had just got out of the car couldn't help but swallow saliva in anticipation.
Lin Qiaoshan had already reserved a spot. After they took their seats in a private room, it wasn't long before a server brought in the first dish, a soup made of bitter gourd, soybeans, and pork ribs.
"Tidy up this," Lin Qiaoshan pointed at the plastic basin on the table, where the wrappers from the bowls and chopsticks floated on the water from the tea.
Dishes like lychee wood-roasted chicken, roasted pork ribs, and frog claypot followed in succession.
With a chicken leg in the left hand and chopsticks in the right, biting into the juicy roast chicken then shovelling down a few mouthfuls of rice, the chicken flesh carried a subtle hint of lychee wood aroma, while the rice grains were plump and translucent, coated with fragrant pork lard.
When feeling satiated, Xu Qingfan leaned forward and slurped on some bitter gourd soup, eating heartily without any concern for his image.
"Eat slower, nobody is competing with you." Lin Jing smiled wryly and shook her head, reaching out to wipe the grease from his mouth.
"Oyster sauce, oyster sauce!" Xu Qingfan mumbled with his mouth full, his words indistinct.
Compared to the chicken leg before him, he felt the roasted chicken he had eaten in a previous life was rubbish; the skin wasn't crispy, the meat was loose, and most crucially, it was completely flavorless!
Eating roast chicken should be done at a farmhouse, eating a freshly slaughtered free-range chicken and it must be roasted over lychee wood, otherwise, it's soulless!
"Mum told you to learn from your Brother Qing Fan, not to mimic the way he eats." Wen Wanqing helplessly wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and picked up a bowl to facilitate her daughter drinking soup.
"Delicious! Thank you, mum!"
Wen Wanqing extended her index finger and tapped her daughter's forehead, "Silly girl, learn from Xiaoxiao, she's so elegant when she eats."
"Hehe." Wanning smiled sweetly, and Wen Wanqing conceded defeat.
[Being lively is also quite nice.]
Getting praised by the adults for being reserved, Xia Xiaoxiao kept a straight face, but inside, she felt quite happy.
Glancing at Xu Qingfan, who was voraciously scooping rice into his mouth, she thoughtfully helped him refill his empty bowl with soup.