Chapter 22: Tingting 20

Tan You flipped open the top book: "If you spend a bit more time, you can still get them done."

The girl sighed with emotion, "You're the best. Can I take a look at these exercises?"

Tan You felt a bit reluctant to part with them, but her gesture was generous: "You can borrow them, but don't damage them."

The girl gave Tan You a big hug: "Tingting, you're too generous! Don't worry, I definitely won't ruin them; I'll take great care of them."

Tan You smiled slightly: "Alright. Just let me know which ones you want; if I have them, you can have them."

Although Tan You was a woman of few words, she was exceptionally generous with things like exercise books. Some students would hide their workbooks with extreme caution, fearing other students might take a look.

Tan You was not like that. If anyone asked to borrow something, she would lend it as long as she wasn't currently using it. Moreover, she never gossiped about it, so her popularity had been quite good lately.

While it hadn't reached the level of walking arm-in-arm to the restroom, the number of classmates who spoke to her had increased significantly. During student years, people didn't have many petty schemes; the only things worth fighting for were grades and the favor of teachers.

Having obtained exercise books from Teacher Shi, Tan You's academic workload suddenly increased. She also found a knack for it: for questions where the answer was obvious at a glance, she would simply skim through them.

She also streamlined her problem-solving processes, writing down only the key steps to save time.

That evening was the math evening self-study session. Teacher Qin came by to supervise the evening reading. He sat down directly next to Tan You, primarily to see how she had been progressing with her exercises lately.

Tan You: "I've done less than a third. There's also a lot of regular homework."

Teacher Qin: "That's already quite a lot. Keep it up. Your Teacher Shi has collected even more papers; go to my office to pick them up later."

Tan You was instantly energized: "Okay! I'll go home tonight and do two more sets of practice exams!"

Teacher Qin shook his head: "If your Teacher Shi gave you a piece of foxtail grass, you'd probably guard it like a treasure."

Tan You smiled. Why did the teacher have to voice her inner thoughts?

With the continuous stream of exam papers from Teacher Shi and the earnest guidance of various teachers, Tan You had navigated her entire junior high career smoothly. Now, the time had come to test the fruits of those years.

Stepping into the middle school entrance exam hall again, although it was entirely different from her previous experience, Tan You felt a surge of excitement. In her real life, she had been somewhat muddled about these things, but now she understood that life is often defined by a series of watersheds.

The middle school entrance exam was one, and the college entrance exam was another. This time, she had to do well—not just for Han Tingting, but to make up for her own regrets.

Teacher Qin grabbed Tan You's attention: "After you get the paper, read the questions carefully. Also, do not omit your steps. Don't bring that habit of skipping steps from your school practice into the actual exam hall."

As soon as he said this, the other teachers who had driven her to the exam hall laughed; clearly, Han Tingting's habit of brief answers was a well-known fact.

Tan You was very serious: "Don't worry, Teacher Qin. I will do my best."

Teacher Qin was reluctantly reassured: "And, don't check your answers after you come out. Don't let it mess with your mindset..."

Listening to Teacher Qin's nagging, Tan You's eyes were warm. When the classes were reorganized in the third year of junior high, most of Tan You's teachers had moved to other classes. Only her math teacher remained Teacher Qin. It could be said he had taught her for a year and a half, and their relationship had indeed become much closer.

Of course, in Tan You's heart, her favorite was still Teacher Shi. She had heard that the senior class Teacher Shi was teaching had already finished their college entrance exams, and Teacher Shi would be returning to teach the first-year high schoolers. If she was lucky enough, she might even become Teacher Shi's student again.

If she wasn't lucky enough to be in the first-year class, she would just work harder during the class assignments. Regardless, she was determined to listen to Teacher Shi's lectures again!

With such expectations, Tan You approached her second middle school entrance exam with great seriousness. Naturally, over the past two years, Han Tingting's reputation had grown significantly, and the names of good students were naturally known to more people.

After the exams ended, the students all went back to their respective homes. Tan You had long since moved her textbooks and materials back home. At home, there was still only Han Cunming. Despite the magnitude of the middle school entrance exam, not a single one of Han Tingting's parents had appeared.

Han Cunming waved a palm leaf fan: "How was the exam? Are you confident?"

Tan You washed a peach: "Performed normally."

"Good, it's a sure thing then!" Han Cunming immediately relaxed. "Which school do you plan to go to for high school? The City Central High is the best in the city, and the Second and Third High Schools are also good. There are also private middle schools; I've looked into them all."

Ever since his granddaughter's grades had improved, Han Cunming had become very invested in her academic performance, even going out of his way to inquire about the pros and cons of various schools.

"If it were based on your previous grades, you could go anywhere. What are you thinking?"

Tan You said without hesitation: "I'll just go to the local high school."

"Huh? Your school is just a township middle school; the college entrance exam admission rate isn't high every year." Han Cunming sat up in surprise. "Why don't you think about it again?"

Tan You: "I've thought it through. If I go to another school, will the teachers value me as much? Will they give me individual lessons? You can study anywhere; the key is being self-disciplined."

Her words perfectly hit home for Han Cunming. The older generation thought this way; they didn't consider the quality of the environment as much as they valued personal effort. In their view, if one didn't work hard, even the best environment was useless.

Han Cunming: "That makes sense. Your teachers are all very good to you. If you stay here for high school and have teachers who value you, you certainly won't be any worse than students elsewhere. Aren't you doing very well right now?"

"Exactly," Han Tingting continued fanning him. "And I have my own reasons. The Dean told me before that if my exam results aren't poor, my tuition and miscellaneous fees for all three years of high school will be waived, and the school will even provide a living subsidy."

"With the money saved, I can go to university, which will make things easier in the future."

Han Cunming thought it over and agreed: "Alright, then you decide for yourself. As for your parents... are you really not going to contact them?"

"There's no need," Tan You said coldly. "I'm busy. I had a hard time convincing Auntie Yang to let me work at the factory, and I even had to use Auntie Yang's niece's name. I'm busy making money."

"Fine, still a money-grubber." Han Cunming took the fan and tapped Tan You on the head. "Then work hard. Save up more money so your life will be easier later."

"Don't worry, I'll deposit it into your account later." Tan You wasn't worried about Han Cunming wasting money; the old man was extremely frugal and never spent money recklessly. He even smoked by borrowing from others and rarely bought his own cigarettes.