"Auntie, long time no see."
Even though she had beaten this woman's son before and sent him to jail for a while, Hua Qingqing had a thick skin and could still greet her calmly.
Standing in front of her was Xu Guangzong's mother, that old aunt with a bit of a penchant for drama.
As soon as Hua Qingqing opened her mouth, the woman's face changed. She angrily shook the towel in her hand as if she had seen something dirty, then turned around and slammed the door.
"Bang!"
It was extremely loud.
Chen Mengshu heard the sound and turned around.
"What happened?"
"Nothing. I just ran into an acquaintance and said hello. Maybe she got a bit excited when she saw me."
"Eh? An acquaintance? Who? Where? Let me take a look!"
Chen Mengshu got interested. She didn't expect Hua Qingqing to have an acquaintance here. What a coincidence!
As soon as she turned around, Hua Qingqing directly turned her back.
"What's there to look at? Let's go. Uncle and Aunt must have been waiting for a long time."
Chen Mengshu followed her action but still couldn't stop thinking about the acquaintance Hua Qingqing mentioned.
"Who is it? Who on earth is it? There's no one in the Cadre's Residential Area that I don't know!"
Hua Qingqing didn't say anything.
When they arrived at the Chen family's house, the door was half - open, and the smell of food wafted out.
Chen Mengshu shouted at the top of her voice.
"Dad, Mom, we're back!"
What a loud voice!
Hua Qingqing silently rubbed her ears behind. Looking up, she saw a middle - aged man and woman walking out with smiling faces. Like Chen Mengshu, they had round faces and round eyes. This identical family resemblance must mean they were Chen Mengshu's parents.
"Uncle, Aunt, hello."
"Hello, hello. Come in quickly!"
"We're just short of one dish. You two go play in the room first. We'll call you out for dinner later."
Hua Qingqing noticed that it was Chen's father who was holding the ladle and took a second look.
Chen Mengshu directly pulled her into the room, shouting that they were going to unwrap the presents.
Immediately, she was grabbed by the head by her mother.
"Such bad manners. Mom just washed some fruits. You take them in."
Chen Mengshu took Hua Qingqing into the room and then went out to get the snacks.
Hua Qingqing looked at the exquisitely decorated room and secretly sighed. It seemed that the Chen family was quite wealthy.
This pink lace bed curtain couldn't be bought in the county's supply and marketing cooperative, and there was a painted and carved desk... With this living condition, in the past, they would have been a landlord family for sure.
Chen Mengshu was really a hidden gem. She seemed like a naive girl!
Hua Qingqing felt her schoolbag and took out a box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates.
This was the birthday present she had brought for Chen Mengshu. She had specially bought some colorful ribbons in the supply and marketing cooperative and tied a bow on it.
Chen Mengshu came in with the fruits. The first thing she saw was the extremely delicate box on the table. Her eyes immediately lit up.
"What's this? Is this for me?"
Hua Qingqing: "No..."
Chen Mengshu pouted, looking aggrieved.
"If it's not for me, why did you bring it here?"
The aggrieved girl's face immediately brightened up. She held the chocolates in her hands and couldn't put them down.
But when she clearly saw the letters on it, Chen Mengshu's eyes widened. "This... this is very expensive! Why did you buy this! It's too expensive. No, I can't take it."
Chen Mengshu recognized the brand at first sight.
Her father always brought a lot of food back for her when he returned to his hometown in Shanghai. Once, he brought this, but there were only two pieces. Later, when she wanted to eat it again, she couldn't because it couldn't be bought.
Hua Qingqing waved her hand indifferently. "This was sent to me by someone. I still have some at home. There's no such thing as expensive or not. Anyway, it's for eating."
"Sent? This kind of candy isn't available in Nan County. It must be sent from a very far place, right?"
It was indeed very far.
From Hong Kong.
Hua Qingqing nodded and didn't say much on this topic. She took out the stack of tied - up materials.
"Actually, this is the main dish. The notes you wanted and other exercise books are all in here."
Hearing this, Chen Mengshu quickly put away the chocolates and reached for the books.
Hua Qingqing moved the books aside so that Chen Mengshu couldn't reach them.
"Wait a minute. Listen to me first."
"You can use these books, but we have to share them. I know you also have a lot..."
Joke. This girl was a real straight - A student. She must have a lot of study materials.
Her family was so wealthy. Maybe she could even get some exercise papers from other places.
Hua Qingqing never missed any opportunity to get something for free. "You must have other ways to find exercise papers, right? Can you help me find some papers for Senior 2 and Senior 3? I want to skip a grade, but I've done too few exercises. I'm a bit worried."
"What?!"
"You still want to skip a grade?!"
"Hua Qingqing, are you even human?!"
Three consecutive questions, each louder than the last.
Chen Mengshu was on the verge of collapsing.
While she was still thinking about how to surpass Hua Qingqing in the next exam, this girl was already thinking about how to skip a grade!
She couldn't compare. She really couldn't compare.
She asked indignantly, "If you're trying to prove that you're the best in No. 1 Middle School, you don't have to do this. I... I admit I've lost, okay?"
Hua Qingqing glanced at her.
"Narrow - minded!"
"Do you think I'm such a shallow person?"
"I don't even care about being the first in Nan County."
This made Chen Mengshu even more confused. She scratched her head.
If it wasn't for this, why did she want to skip a grade?
She had heard from her elders before that No. 1 Middle School once had a bonus program. Students who were admitted to university could get a bonus. Some students from remote rural areas chose to skip a grade in order to get the bonus earlier. Some of them did succeed in passing the exam and became students in higher grades to prepare for the college entrance examination. But soon, they couldn't keep up with the progress, their grades got worse than before, and their mental state was also affected.
After all, true geniuses were very rare.
Later, the school almost prohibited students from skipping grades.
They couldn't ruin good students.
Now Chen Mengshu was worried that Hua Qingqing had the same mentality. She was afraid that Hua Qingqing would impulsively try to skip a grade and end up with nothing.
She didn't want anything to happen to her friend.
Thinking of the chocolates just now, Chen Mengshu dismissed her previous speculation. Although she didn't know where Hua Qingqing got the chocolates from, it was obvious that she wasn't short of money.
Since it wasn't for money, it must be for fame!
Chen Mengshu told Hua Qingqing what had happened in No. 1 Middle School before, trying to stop her from attempting to skip a grade.
She said earnestly, "Qingqing, now the teachers in No. 1 Middle School frown when they hear about skipping a grade. They definitely won't agree. You'd better give up this idea. Build a solid foundation. You'll surely be able to get into a good university!"
Hua Qingqing had no idea that such things had happened in No. 1 Middle School.
But she was already prepared.
What if No. 1 Middle School didn't agree?
...Change to another school?
Chen Mengshu couldn't hear what the girl in front of her was thinking. Otherwise, she would have scolded her for being so daring!
Seeing that Hua Qingqing didn't say anything, she thought that she had probably taken her advice.
Chen Mengshu let out a sigh of relief. She was really amazing. She had saved a future college student who was almost off - track!