Disparity

"What's with your expressions?" Yan Ruyu stared at the father and daughter pair.

Shen Qinghuan sighed quietly. Meanwhile, Shen Haotian's forehead was also covered in sweat. The two of them did not dare to recall their past experiences of Madam Yan Ruyu's cursed cooking.

It was truly…

Difficult to swallow. ((̨̡ ̅᷄ᗣ ̅᷅)̧̢

"My wife!"

Shen Haotian was quick-witted. He immediately held Yan Ruyu's hands and spoke in a tone that was even more bootlicking than it normally was, "It's rare for Huan Huan to perform so well! Wouldn't it be easier to celebrate in a restaurant? Besides, Huan Huan wouldn't want you to be tired!"

"That's right." Shen Qinghuan stared at Shen Haotian, who was winking at her. For the sake of her own stomach, she decided to go against her conscience and cooperate with Shen Haotian. "Mom, it's too tiring for you. Let's go out and eat!"

Yan Ruyu naturally heard the words the father and daughter were not saying.

However, this was a day worthy of celebration. She did not wish to have any more conflicts with her husband and daughter, so she agreed to their requests.

"Long live mother!" Shen Qinghuan hugged Yan Ruyu before she began flattering her like mad. "You're the most gentle, most outstanding, and most beautiful mother in this world!"

"You child. Quickly go change." Yan Ruyu was used to being stern. Now with the way her daughter spoke to her, she was a little embarrassed while her cheeks were also a little flushed: "The weather isn't bad today. We'll ask your Dad to drive our family out for a shopping trip."

"Roger!" Shen Qinghuan stuck her tongue out and responded.

"Our daughter needs to change. Stop standing around here." Yan Ruyu dragged Shen Haotian with her to leave Shen Qinghuan's room.

Perhaps it was because it had been raining frequently these days, but the white clouds and bright sunlight caused the sky to appear especially blue.

On days when important examination results were released, there would always be a few families celebrating and a few families that were troubled.

For example, at this moment, Li Xiaojie was about to drill a hole through her computer screen with her eyes.

It couldn't be only 477!

Li Xiaojie rubbed her eyes with force and opened them once more, yet the numbers did not change.

With a score like 477, even if she took the back door, she wouldn't be able to enter A School.

The more Li Xiaojie thought about this, the more miserable she was.

Her phone vibrated endlessly on her study table.

Everyone in the group chat was excitedly discussing their upcoming high school life.

Li Xiaojie noticed that the best student in their class was grumbling about how the questions this year were especially cruel. She had scored fifty points less than she did in the mock examinations and nearly couldn't make it into A School.

Her opinion drew in a lot of people who felt the same way. There were a lot of outstanding pupils in their class who were upset about this year's papers.

As Li Xiaojie read their messages, she felt less upset about scoring poorly.

It turned out that everyone was the same.

Even though Li Xiaojie scrolled further backwards, she still did not find any messages from Shen Qinghuan.

Li Xiaojie was certain that the reason Shen Qinghuan was so silent was because her results were extremely poor.

She recalled that, several days ago, Shen Qinghuan had miserably told her that she did not finish her English paper. She even said she would be lucky if she obtained 200 points!

A hint of mocking appeared in Li Xiaojie's eyes. Shen Qinghuan was a hopeless case and was definitely doomed to study in a vocational school.

She suddenly felt that there wasn't anything bad about studying in a vocational school. At the very least, while schooling, she could continue taking advantage of Shen Qinghuan, that fool.

Li Xiaojie knew that Shen Qinghuan's mother had a doctorate's degree. She was certain that she wouldn't be able to tolerate her own daughter attending a vocational school. Thus, this was the best opportunity to give the Shen family a call and to comfort them.

From certain perspectives, the city centre was quite big, but from other perspectives it was also extremely small.

Just like how the connections between certain people were at times fated to renew regardless of the twists and turns they took.

Shen Qinghuan changed her clothes and alighted the stairs to see her mother answering the phone with a dark expression. She then responded to the other end with a strange tone: "Oh? Is that so? In that case, I'll thank you on my family's Huan Huan's behalf!"

Shen Haotian pressed his index finger against his lips quietly. He then tiptoed towards Shen Qinghuan and informed her that the call had come from Li Xiaojie.

Li Xiaojie.

It was Li Xiaojie again.

It seemed like it was time to clarify this matter with her parents.

"Mom."

Although Shen Qinghuan wasn't sure what Li Xiaojie had said over the phone, she was certain that Li Xiaojie wouldn't have had anything pleasant to say. "In the future, both you and Dad shouldn't answer Li Xiaojie's calls. Also, if she comes visiting our house again, ask Auntie Wu to chase her away!"

Auntie Wu was the Shen family's helper. A few days ago, her daughter-in-law gave birth to a newborn and she took a short leave from the Shen home. Now that they counted the days, it was almost time for her to return.

When Shen Haotian heard his daughter's words, he was nearly moved to tears again.

In the past, he had repeatedly advised Huan Huan not to interact too much with a girl like Li Xiaojie who had inappropriate intentions. However, Huan Huan not only struggled to understand his thoughts, but she also fought with him about it. His child had finally grown to become mature. This caused Shen Haotian to feel warm inside.

Yan Ruyu had been frustrated by Li Xiaojie's hypocritical comfort. When she heard her daughter's insightful words, much of her displeasure faded away. "We'll do as you say."

When Li Xiaojie finally learned that Huan Huan scored third in the entire city, it would be too late for her to cry.

Currently, it was the end of July, so the weather was growing humid and warm.

Lu Ziheng did not regret losing his job as a waiter. However, he had yet to earn enough money for the upcoming semester's school fees.

Among the remaining options that were comfortable and offered good pay was to provide tutoring for other students.

Although Lu Ziheng's grades were outstanding, he was young and inexperienced. After being interviewed by several tutoring centers, he was rejected by them all.

Thus, the current situation was not very good.

Lu Ziheng decided to look for the next available option. He saw that a music restaurant was offering positions for waiters, and the pay was twenty dollars per hour.

In the wealthy city centre, a pay like this was not especially outstanding. However, many little things added up to a great sum. This was a certain logic that everyone learned in elementary school.

The moment Lu Ziheng stepped into the room, a low, heavy cello tune reached his ears. A short distance away, the young girl beneath the spotlight appeared like a fairy as she ruthlessly seized the hearts of all of the listeners.

It was actually-

Shen Qinghuan.

Lu Ziheng nearly staggered out of the music restaurant.

The strange insecurity reared its ugly head once more.

That night, he had keenly felt the heavy emotions brought about by the disparity between them.

Lu Ziheng had yearned for change more than once. However, he always lost to reality.

Shen Qinghuan was born in that sort of family. Her mother also had high expectations for her, so she naturally wouldn't be satisfied with just having her attend regular classes.

Among all of the different instruments, the cello was the only one Shen Qinghuan had persevered with.

They had come for a meal but saw that the cello player in the restaurant had some difficulties. Mother Shen considered that it was quite some time since Shen Qinghuan had properly practiced and wanted to test if her skills had worsened. Thus, she made Shen Qinghuan, who had been halfway through the meal, help resolve the situation.

Shen Qinghuan's performance soon came to an end.

All of the guests present clapped loudly. Meanwhile, Shen Haotian's expression was filled with pride. He gracefully sliced a piece of steak and placed it on Shen Qinghuan's plate.

"Huan Huan, you're too thin. Eat more!"

Yan Ruyu was also very satisfied with Shen Qinghuan's performance. In a rare occasion, she called for the server to bring them some red wine. Normally, they were not allowed to have any.

Shen Qinghuan felt that earlier, there had been a pair of eyes watching her keenly. However, after she ended the performance, she did not see anyone.