All I can say is that everyone has different thoughts and interests.
When he heard Yuan Yuan boastingly say that Qiao Yu was doing well in other subjects and could participate in the high school entrance exam, Lan Jie felt not joy, but displeasure.
It's not that he doubts Qiao Yu's abilities.
Firstly, he's displeased with Yuan Yuan making decisions on her own.
Educating a student who appears lazy but very opinionated is not an easy job? He believes that what is needed now is not hasty results but a gradual process.
Secondly, Lan Jie prefers to play it safe.
He can certainly guess the little calculations in Teacher Yuan's mind and understands them. But Lan Jie is more concerned that if Qiao Yu fails the high school entrance exam for some reason and doesn't meet the standard, it would be hard to remedy.
At least participating in the national competition in November this year on behalf of Railway First Middle School would be difficult, and this is what Lan Jie values most. Moreover, in Lan Jie's view, even taking a year off wouldn't affect Qiao Yu's education. Joining the national training team naturally puts him on the radar of top universities in Huaxia.
The key is the academic record.
As for Qiao Yu insisting on taking the high school entrance exam and failing, is there still room for recovery?
Of course! But it's also a hassle. In the self-media era, who isn't afraid of little essays?
However, Lan Jie didn't blame Teacher Yuan over the phone for meddling. Some things ultimately need Qiao Yu to make his own decisions.
The good news is that from the information he just received, he can judge that Qiao Yu has been persuaded by him, which puts his mind at ease somewhat. At least this guy didn't skip school today to make money at an internet cafe. This made him look forward to meeting with Qiao Yu an hour later.
Today he has to have a serious talk with Qiao Yu again; the kid has some bad habits that must be changed!
...
"Gosh, Qiao Yu, I felt like you were scolding me this morning!" Zhou Shuang suddenly said with a slap on his forehead after the third class in the afternoon.
Qiao Yu, who was planning to report to Lan Jie's office at the high school department, glanced at this guy, noting that his mental state was clearly unstable today.
"You said in the morning that people can play dumb but shouldn't be truly dumb. Thinking about it carefully, you were saying we're truly dumb!"
Qiao Yu's lips involuntarily twitched. He was a bit impressed by this guy's slow realization; it took him several hours from morning to afternoon to figure it out. Truly, the thirteenth class doesn't raise idle kids.
"You overthought it. I was encouraging you to learn more while you're still in school, like English. Even if you really drive an excavator in the future, you'll be an English-speaking excavator operator, easily standing out among the excavator driver crowd."
Having said that, Qiao Yu stood up and patted Zhou Shuang on the shoulder, offering his dashing deskmate an encouraging look, whether he received it or not, he didn't care to know.
...
The high school department is right opposite the junior high department, just diagonally crossing the big playground in the middle leads to the high school building.
As Qiao Yu walked across the lively playground, his mood improved significantly.
Looking at the bustling crowd on the playground, he felt that getting into the thirteenth class was definitely the right choice.
In other classes, after the physical education exam, the PE teacher fell seriously ill.
Only in their class, the PE teacher had never been sick and never took any personal leave, always teaching every class, a model worker indeed.
Soon Qiao Yu followed his memory from yesterday to find Lan Jie's office. The door was wide open, and as he reached the entrance, he glanced inside and saw Lan Jie holding a teacup, talking to another teacher in the office. Probably catching a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye, Lan Jie immediately turned his head and freed a hand to beckon him.
"Qiao Yu, come on in."
"Hello, teacher." Qiao Yu greeted politely, like a different person from yesterday.
This is a principle.
You have to be polite to your financial sponsor, especially potential ones, which Qiao Yu views as common sense. Of course, if the sponsor doesn't give enough but asks for more services, then that's a different attitude.
Unfortunately, Qiao Yu has never seen dad since he was born, so he hasn't gained much experience on how to be a good son to a dad.
Some might find Qiao Yu pitiful, but he thinks it's actually quite fine.
When he was a kid and got into fights, he was mocked for not having a dad. But with one proud statement, he left his opponent speechless.
"So what if I don't have a dad? I'm naughty, but no one beats me at home. You guys are different. If you're naughty, you'll be severely beaten, maybe even beaten by both parents! Hmph!"
Anyway, after the fight that day, even though Qiao Yu was in a sorry state, there were plenty of kids crying loudly in the neighborhood.
After all, expecting a group of kids to understand the differences between being beaten and growing up unscathed at home, and being hit by a small hooligan with a brick outside and ending up in the hospital, is hard.
Yes, Keke was brave that day too. Although not good at fighting, she threw two handfuls of sand from a nearby pile, successfully blinding a group of kids.
When the image of that little girl appeared in his mind, Qiao Yu subconsciously shook his head, trying to shake that silhouette out.
Main tasks first.
...
The math teacher who was just talking to Lan Jie looked curiously at Qiao Yu as he walked into the office, smiled, and said goodbye to Lan Jie before leaving and closing the door, instantly isolating the outside noise.
The office was left with only Lan Jie and Qiao Yu again.
Lan Jie glanced at Qiao Yu with some caution. Thankfully, this guy didn't habitually take out a cigarette.
"Looks like you've come around and decided to give it a try with me?"
Qiao Yu nodded solemnly.
Now he must give it a try, since he has already paid a high price, such as specifically reading the only mathematics book at home last night, and also not going to the internet cafe to hang out with his friends all day today.
Especially what happened last night...
In any case, the sunk cost has already been invested, and Qiao Yu feels like he has no way out.
"Very good."
Lan Jie tried hard to suppress the joy in his heart, trying to keep the corners of his mouth from lifting, and said very seriously, "Then the first thing you need to do is quit smoking. In the national team, no child smokes. It affects others and your physical development."
Qiao Yu curled his lips, recalling the scene in the morning when Keke directly threw his cigarettes into the trash outside the convenience store.
Then he nodded calmly and said, "Okay."
Lan Jie was a bit surprised. He thought this issue would be met with strong opposition from the other party and had prepared a bunch of arguments to persuade the kid, but he didn't use a single one, which made him doubt Qiao Yu's sincerity.
"Can you promise that?"
Qiao Yu nodded and replied in a relaxed tone, "Yeah, making money requires some sacrifices; money won't just come to you. It's just not smoking, and it saves money, which is nice."