Back to 1993: The family splits up at the start, and the ingrates regret it so much they cry.

After the second monthly exam, and after the first period in the afternoon, the school gave us two days off.

When the homeroom teacher, Chen Qingshu, entered the classroom, the students immediately quieted down.

"Classmates, let me start with the average score. You did not tarnish the reputation of the top-performing class."

"Our class ranks second in the whole grade except for biology, where we get the highest average score in everything else."

"Here, I want to thank you for upholding my honor as an outstanding teacher. Thank you all."

clap clap clap...

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted as the young men clapped enthusiastically, all excited about the collective honor.

"Now, I announce the top fifty students in the grade for this monthly exam." Chen Qingshu took a piece of paper out of his pocket.

The classroom fell silent instantly, and a tense atmosphere began to fill the air.

"First place goes to Wang Peng, please give him a round of applause."

There was no applause, only a murmur of disapproval in the classroom.

The students couldn't believe it. Wang, who frequently asked for leave to do business, whose leave slips accounted for 20% of the entire class, and who always missed self-study sessions without a reason...

How could I possibly get first place?

Wang Peng couldn't believe it either.

He never even thought about getting first place; his goal was simply to get into the top ten in his grade and fulfill his pledge.

He stood up and scratched his head. "Teacher, there's no way I could have gotten first place. Is there a mistake in the statistics?"

"Haha!" Du Lei couldn't hold back and burst into laughter, sounding like a goose.

He has a very low threshold for laughter, and his laughter is very infectious. All the students laughed, and the classroom instantly turned into a sea of ​​joy.

Amid laughter, Li Mengjiao gave Wang Peng a thumbs-up.

Wang Peng didn't hear what she said, but judging from the shape of her lips, she must have said something about being amazing.

"Thank you!" Wang Peng smiled at her, sat back down in his seat, and was somewhat puzzled by Li Mengjiao.

This girl values ​​grades very much; if there were an award for the most hardworking person in the entire grade, she would definitely be in the top three.

She didn't seem to care much about it; when someone else took first place, she was able to sincerely give her opponent a thumbs up.

The classroom quieted down, and Chen Qingshu continued speaking.

"Wang Peng, Chinese and English were your weak points, but through unremitting efforts, you have finally made up for some of them."

"Your total score is one point higher than Li Mengjiao's, and that one point is due to your Chinese composition."

"Ms. Dong from Class 2 was moved by your essay and gave you a high score. Keep up the good work!"

"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher Chen." Wang Peng stood up. "I'll treat Teacher Dong to dinner another day to thank him for giving my essay a high score."

Haha ...

Du Lei, who has a low threshold for laughter, burst into laughter again, and his laughter spread to the whole class.

"Du Lei!" Chen Qingshan was furious. "What are you laughing at? Your grades have dropped, you'll be kicked out of the top fifty soon."

Du Lei was completely dumbfounded.

Haha ...

The smile successfully transferred from Du Lei's face to the faces of the students.

Wang Peng patted him on the shoulder and said, "Young man, this is what happens when the nail sticks out gets hammered down. Being in the atmosphere-building group isn't so easy."

Chen Qingshu continued to announce the top fifty on the podium.

Wang Peng had no interest; he only cared about his own grades and didn't want to pay attention to other people's grades.

At that moment, Li Mengjiao handed her a note from under the table.

The note read, "My money is all kept at home. Come home with me later, and I'll lend you three hundred yuan."

Wang Peng wrote "Thank you" on the note.

I haven't been doing business lately, and my family is still building a house, so I have no source of income and am a bit short on cash.

The top 50 have been announced. Out of a total of 50 students in the class, 38 made it into the top 50.

The remaining twelve are all in Class 2. Class 1 and Class 2 are the collection of the "elite" students in the grade.

"School will be closed for two days. Evening self-study will resume as normal the day after tomorrow. Everyone can pack their things and go home now."

"Wang Peng, Li Mengjiao, both of you come to my office."

Chen Qingshu said.

……

The first-year high school teachers' office.

"Mengjiao, you and Wang Peng are classmates and good friends. I hope you two can compete in a healthy way."

"Help each other, learn from each other, and don't engage in any underhanded tactics."

"You must remember that you are classmates, not enemies. Your enemy is the college entrance examination."

"Do you understand what I mean?" Chen Qingshu said.

Li Mengjiao nodded hurriedly, "Teacher, if I were afraid that Wang Peng would surpass me, I wouldn't give him extra lessons."

"Old Chen, you're overthinking it." Wang Peng scratched his head. "I don't care about being number one, or even about the college entrance exam, because I just want to get into a university in the provincial capital."

My beloved wife from my past life will be studying at a university in the provincial capital, so of course I'll go and be with her.

"Can't you speak properly?" Chen Qingshu said angrily. "As long as you keep up your grades, you can get into Tsinghua or Peking University."

"I'm just wondering, provincial capital universities are nothing compared to other universities in the country, so what's it about them that attracts you?"

Wang Peng quickly shut up; Comrade Chen was really angry.

Two minutes later, Chen Qingshu sighed helplessly. His beloved disciple was good in every way, except that he was too mischievous.

"Alright." Chen Qingshan glanced at his watch. "Go back and wait for me. We'll take the train back to the provincial capital together."

Wang Peng took out his bicycle keys and handed them to him, saying, "You can ride my bike."

Chen Qingshu was taken aback, then took the keys and put them in his pocket.

His bicycle is in his hometown in the provincial capital, and he usually borrows the principal's bicycle to get around.

Wang Peng left the office, went down to the teaching building, and put his baseball cap on Li Mengjiao's head.

He gave her a new mask and said, "Wear this, I'll hitch a ride home with you."

"Did you plan this?" Li Mengjiao glared at him.

"You're overthinking it," Wang Peng laughed.

He pushed Li Mengjiao's Giant bicycle out of the shed, adjusted the seat height, and took her back to Xiaowangzhuang.

The school was bustling with students preparing to go home; it was a sea of ​​heads.

A boy was riding a bicycle with a girl on the back, which attracted a lot of attention.

Li Mengjiao was a little shy. She put on a mask and lowered her head, afraid that she would be recognized by acquaintances.

Wang Peng didn't care at all; he had nothing to hide. He only regarded Li Mengjiao as a classmate or a little sister.

Xiaowang Village.

At the entrance of the Li family's gate.

Li Longfei saw Wang Peng drive his daughter back but didn't think much of it until his daughter gave Wang Peng three hundred yuan.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Uncle Li, I want to go to the provincial capital to check out the stationery market and prepare to wholesale some stationery. I'm worried that I don't have enough capital, so I'm borrowing three hundred yuan from Mengjiao."

"Stationery business?" Li Longfei waved his hand dismissively. "The profit margin is too small. You only make a few cents on a single pen. Aren't you going to join me in the video arcade business?"

“Go for it!” Wang Peng laughed. “Before you open for business, I need to save up 10,000 yuan for investment.”

"Goodness." Li Longfei shook his head. "Give the money to Mengjiao, and I'll lend you a thousand."

He didn't want his precious daughter to get involved in the business's trivial matters, as that would affect her studies.

"Uncle Li," Wang Peng pointed to his Santana sedan, "lend me your car for another two days, and I'll fill it up for you."

"Trying to push your luck, huh?" Li Longfei laughed. "This car of mine is worth over 200,000 yuan. If you crash into it..."

“Dad,” Li Mengjiao said softly, “Our homeroom teacher, Mr. Chen, is from the provincial capital. Wang Peng will be going back to the provincial capital with him later.”

"Oh?" Li Longfei scratched his head and said, "Okay, I'll drive you to the provincial capital later."

That's his daughter's homeroom teacher for the next three years, so Li Longfei felt it was necessary to cultivate a good relationship with him.