Chapter 117: Innocence Does Not Mean Stupidity

"Xiao Xi, how did the results of your mock exam turn out?"

Hearing her father's inquiry, Ning Xi's bright eyes sparkled, and two dimples appeared on her pretty face as she deliberately kept him in suspense.

"The results of the mock exam... Guess!"

Lan Xi, who had been somewhat worried, noticed her daughter's reaction and a captivating smile appeared on her face.

She knew her daughter well!

"How could I possibly guess?"

Ning Xiangtian felt a sudden jolt in his heart, an uneasy feeling rising within him, but he kept a calm expression and said with a smile, "Don't keep me in suspense, did you make any progress compared to before?"

"I did!"

Ning Xi nodded, her cheeks adorned with a sweet smile, her mood elated. "This time, I made significant progress in the exam."

"How significant?"

"I scored 739 points this time, ranking second in the city."

"..."

Ning Xiangtian's face fell, his brows tightly furrowed.

739 points?

Second in the city?

This...

"Congratulations to my dear daughter."

Lan Xi beamed, her hands pinching and kneading her daughter's face, not forgetting to praise, "Xiao Xi, your cheeks feel so nice to pinch."

"Ah!"

Ning Xi hurriedly stepped back to escape her mother's 'devilish' hands, murmuring in a low voice, "Don't pinch my cheeks."

For some reason, she thought of Ye Fan, who also liked pinching her cheeks...

Lan Xi didn't mind, her gaze fell on her husband, and she cleared her throat to subtly remind him, "Remember what you just said, no more nonsense in the future."

"I..."

Ning Xiangtian clenched his hands, feeling somewhat unwilling, but then his mind shifted, and his eyes brightened slightly.

His daughter ranked second in the city?

Unless Ye Fan ranked first in the city!

Otherwise, how could a teacher score worse than their student and still call themselves a teacher?

Realizing this, Ning Xiangtian's previous frustration vanished, and a wide smile appeared on his face as he ignored his wife's words and continued to look at his daughter.

"Xiao Xi, how did Ye Fan do in this exam?"

Hearing this, Lan Xi's expression shifted slightly. She was very clever and instantly understood what her husband was up to.

Ning Xi sensed something odd in her parents' conversation and asked in return, "Dad, why are you asking about this?"

Being naive doesn't mean being foolish!

"Just asking casually."

Ning Xiangtian noticed the hint of wariness in his daughter's eyes, but his expression remained unchanged as he smiled and said, "Ye Fan is so impressive. He must have ranked first in the city this time, right?"

"After all, you ranked second in the city, so it would be unreasonable for him not to take first place!"

Lan Xi raised her hand to her forehead.

As expected!

Her husband was still as clever as ever, quickly shifting the focus and fully applying his business acumen.

Ning Xi's eyes flashed.

Suddenly, a sweet smile spread across her face as she looked up to meet her father's gaze, saying, "Dad, during the mock exam, Ye Fan encountered some issues and didn't make it to the Chinese exam. He only took the math, English, and science exams."

"So, his ranking wasn't very high, but his performance was as stable as ever. Out of a total of 600 points, he didn't make a single mistake and secured all 600 points. Isn't that amazing?"

Before her father could respond, she quickly added, "Yes, it's very impressive, not losing a single point. That's incredible!"

She knew the principle of taking the lead.

She had effectively cut off her father's path, leaving him speechless.

Sure enough, Ning Xiangtian's expression was priceless after hearing his daughter's self-directed question and answer.

Skipped the Chinese exam and still scored 600 points?

Is he even human?

Lan Xi discreetly gave her daughter a thumbs up, finding herself looking at her in a new light.

In terms of protecting Ye Fan, this little girl was quite capable!

Seeing her mother's gesture, Ning Xi's cheeks reddened slightly, but she forced herself to remain calm, saying, "Mom and Dad, I'm heading upstairs now. There's an amateur promotion tournament on Go later tonight on the Chess Net, so I need to prepare in advance."

With that, she turned and went upstairs, her retreat carrying a hint of haste.

After their daughter went upstairs, Lan Xi couldn't hold back anymore and laughed while covering her mouth. "Do you still have anything to say?"

Ning Xiangtian looked slightly embarrassed and spoke with a tone of reluctance, "Who knows if that kid Ye Fan didn't take the Chinese exam because he wasn't confident in it and skipped it on purpose?"

Finally, he added, "Let's talk about it after the next mock exam."

"..."

Lan Xi rolled her eyes at her husband in exasperation, then stood up and walked over to him, pinching his ear with a smile filled with threat. "Did you forget what you promised me just now?"

"A real man keeps his word. Can you please behave normally from now on?"

"Ouch, ouch... Okay, I was wrong, I admit it, my dear wife. Please... let go first..."

Ning Xiangtian inhaled sharply; at that moment, he had none of the demeanor of the richest man in the country, appearing completely under his wife's control.

"Hmph!"

Lan Xi gave him a sidelong glance, let go of his ear, and said, "Go upstairs. Xiao Xi has a promotion tournament coming up. It was your decision for her to learn Go. I didn't entirely agree with it, but I went along with you. However, you can't treat it as just playing around. Since you decided for her to pursue Go, she must pursue it seriously."

"I understand."

Hearing this, Ning Xiangtian's expression became very serious, and he couldn't help but sigh as he recalled the matters of the day.

Seeing her husband's expression, Lan Xi tentatively asked, "What's wrong? Is that matter still unresolved?"

"No."

Ning Xiangtian smiled bitterly. "I haven't even met with the person. I'll visit again another day. If it still doesn't work out, we'll find someone else."

"It's okay, as long as you try your best."

...

Saturday morning.

Ye Fan leaned on the desk, sizing up Ning Xi with a curious look in his eyes. "Xiao Xi, do you have some good news? You seem to be in a great mood. How could you not share good news with me?"

"It's nothing special."

Ning Xi tilted her head, a smile full of joy on her face. "It's just that I advanced to level one in Go last night. There will be a Go competition in the eastern district of the capital soon. If I make it into the top ten in this competition, I'll be promoted to amateur dan level. Isn't that amazing?"

"Am-amazing."

Ye Fan was a bit confused. Although he knew how to play Go, he wasn't familiar with the ranking system, so he secretly decided to look it up online when he got home today.

While the two were quietly chatting, a pair of eyes in the front row carried a complex expression.

Su Qiaoyu clenched her small hands, feeling somewhat unwilling.

Even with Ye Fan missing one exam, she still wasn't ranked first in the grade, and the one who surpassed her was Ning Xi. Because of this, she didn't sleep well the entire night.

Before Ye Fan appeared, she was always the top student in the grade!

But ever since Ye Fan came into the picture, everything changed. He took her first place position, and now even Ning Xi surpassed her. It was hard for her to accept.

She was clearly making progress, yet still being overtaken...

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