Street Hustler and His Policewoman Wife-Chapter 161: What Is He Trying to Prove?

"Dreaming back to those years! Dreaming back to those years!"

Only Teacher Xiao could truly sense the impact of Chen Xiao's three paintings.

Of course, one of these paintings must have hit a significant memory point for Teacher Xiao to react this way.

He carefully scrutinized the three paintings and then said:

"If I recall correctly, the scene depicted in Officer Chen's painting should be from the time when the results of a monthly exam were announced."

"Although there are some discrepancies, Officer Chen seemed to have vividly captured the scene from back then. If it weren't for your age not quite aligning, I'd almost suspect you might have been one of my students."

Chen Xiao grinned slightly: "I never attended Chang Hua, and I'm not a policeman either."

"Ah?"

Teacher Xiao froze, and it wasn't until Li Hui explained that he realized the misunderstanding.

"So it turns out I mistook it, my apologies for spending so much time traveling recently, unaware that such an impressive figure emerged from Lanshan County."

Chen Xiao smiled: "Teacher Xiao, you're too kind, but according to what you said, was that the first time Cheng Qing achieved such good results in the monthly exam?"

"No, it was the third time!"

"Hmm?"

This answer caught Chen Xiao off guard.

Seeing Chen Xiao's confusion, Teacher Xiao remarked with emotion: "My memory of Mr. Chen is also one of the reasons why he's so memorable to me. To be honest, the students who achieve high grades often don't stand out to me as much as the mischievous ones." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"I remember Cheng Qing because of his attitude towards his grades. When he got first place for the first time, his reaction was very calm. Initially, I thought he had a very reserved character, but when he again ranked first in the second exam, I noticed he was very excited."

"So I reflected on his first reaction, paired with his boastfulness the second time, and began to understand his calmness. The first time he might have thought his top rank was unexpected, as I recall he repeatedly checked his answers, reflecting more of a shock than calmness, or perhaps he felt he achieved it by luck."

"But the second time he got first place again, his excitement stemmed from his self-recognition, realizing he indeed possessed that ability."

"As for Mr. Chen's painting, I'm not sure how Mr. Chen captured his mindset, but your depiction is at least 80% similar to his reaction back then. His determined gaze is unforgettable, staring ahead resolutely!"

"Even though I was his class teacher standing before him, I knew he wasn't looking at me, rather seeming to gaze through the classroom and campus at a particular scene or person."

"The scene or person he was seeing must have been who he intended to prove himself to all along."

At this point, Chen Xiao grasped the focus.

The focus was on what Cheng Qing was ultimately trying to prove!

Was he demonstrating to someone that he could achieve this?

Or did he once face humiliation in some scene, subsequently rebutting it powerfully with consistent top rankings?

Yet regardless if it was a scene or otherwise, ultimately it would point towards someone or a group of people!

Chen Xiao took a deep breath: "Teacher Xiao, did you talk to him afterwards?"

"I did, and it turned out my instinct wasn't wrong. When I asked him who he wanted to prove himself to, he seemed relieved, saying it no longer mattered as he had accomplished it."

Perhaps Teacher Xiao's words and Cheng Qing's original words differed slightly.

But Chen Xiao felt the gist shouldn't diverge much.

Before painting those few pieces, he had recalled the missing files, along with Li Hui's account of Cheng Qing as relayed by his family.

Piecing together these bits of information, Chen Xiao produced those paintings, successfully triggering Teacher Xiao's memory.

Now, Teacher Xiao's phrase "it no longer mattered, as it was accomplished" held deep meaning for Chen Xiao.

When Cheng Qing encountered trouble, he was about to graduate high school, already past 19, not yet 20.

Subtracting three years each of high school and middle school, plus six years of elementary school equals a total of twelve years.

Meaning, he was over seven years old when he began first grade.

For today's students, this still makes him relatively old, though somewhat late.

As he pondered, Chen Xiao suddenly felt something was off.

"No, when Cheng Qing had an incident, he was already 19, and it was only 1991 then. I remember clearly that Lanshan County operated an elementary school five-year, middle school three-year teaching system, not today's six-year elementary, three-year middle school!"

"Subtracting another year from his schooling age, he was over eight years old when he started school! Seven years is understandable, but eight is excessively late!"

Reflecting on this, Chen Xiao couldn't help but ask: "Teacher Xiao, did Cheng Qing ever repeat a grade?"

Teacher Xiao nodded: "He did, reportedly he didn't score well in his third year of middle school, failing to be accepted by Chang Hua, so he returned to his previous school to repeat a year and barely met Chang Hua's score line the following year."

"To be honest, I initially didn't pay much attention to him, but later his tenacious study attitude deeply moved me."

"So his original grades ranked at the bottom in your class?"

"Yes, and to be precise, he ranked at the bottom throughout the school. Yet later he scored first in class and among the top of the grade, solely relying on his perseverance. Indeed, this surge in my teaching career could be considered a miracle. After all, reality isn't as portrayed on tv, where sheer effort assures high grades."

Teacher Xiao was right; tv frequently shows miracles born purely from effort.

Art embellishes the narrative; yet reality is more unvarnished and harsh.

Chen Xiao always believed effort was noble, yet he's seen many struggling tirelessly who just couldn't achieve satisfactory grades.

There's no doubt Cheng Qing besides his effort also possessed formidable learning talents.

Contemplating, Chen Xiao couldn't help but ask further: "Does Teacher Xiao understand Cheng Qing's middle school life?"

Teacher Xiao directly shook his head: "I don't know about his middle school life, back then the county's best middle school resources were concentrated in the city. But Cheng Qing came from a township middle school, and Chang Hua could always admit numerous students who studied diligently yet lacked inherent talent."

Chen Xiao nodded, pulling Li Hui to one side: "Quickly go find Cheng Qing's middle school teachers. Have them questioned, preferably all three years' teachers."

Li Hui looked at Chen Xiao, asking: "You think the issue lies during Cheng Qing's middle school period?"

"Correct, and I find it likely around the repeating grade point!"

Li Hui pondered briefly, saying: "A transition from middle to high school doesn't justify it, does it?"

"Though it doesn't seem to justify it, if the destination high school was Chang Hua, that's a different case! Moreover, just informing you, once the skull confirms belonging to Cheng Qing, it's tied to the Chen Yuan family. For others, I can't vouch for certainty, but Chen Yuan is capable of such actions!"

"Interestingly, Chen Yuan's youngest child Chen Xianzu and Cheng Qing are of similar ages!"

Seeing Chen Xiao so determined, Li Hui didn't hesitate and immediately went to investigate.

Once Li Hui departed, Chen Xiao watched his back.

Feeling an invisible word emerging between them: theft!

Theft had no connection with Li Hui.

Originating from Chen Xiao's mindset.

The moment he resolved to investigate Cheng Qing's middle school period, the word theft silently manifested within his thoughts.

Also at that moment, his mind once again surfaced the question previously present.

Is this another instance of theft ability's iceberg tip, or the truth's essence?