Study System: I'm a 38-Year-Old Student-Chapter 56 - 50: A Smile Captivates the City (Double-length)
"Tch!"
Shen Yanran rolled her eyes and commented, "Love-struck fool!"
"By the way, Uncle Shen is going to have a showdown with Shen Yixiao and those athlete students this afternoon. Do you want to watch?"
Luo Yao asked again.
"Of course, I want to watch!"
"Is that even a question?" Shen Yanran shrugged lightly.
Luo Yao added, "I heard the venue changed from the cafeteria to the gymnasium. It seems the school is quite supportive."
"I bet during the competition, the gymnasium will be packed, so we better head over early..."
"Then we won’t have dinner after school. Let’s go straight there!"
"OK!"
The two best friends reached an agreement.
However, what Shen Yanran and Luo Yao didn’t know.
Is that there were countless others who had the same idea as them.
After the flag-raising ceremony, the English vocabulary contest between Shen Qiushan and the athlete students became the hottest topic among students during breaks.
After all, such a thing had never been heard of before.
A 38-year-old accompanying parent having a vocabulary battle with third-year high school students was certainly novel.
Not to mention, there was the father-son rivalry as a headline.
Previously, the Shen family’s father-son contest in English class had already spread throughout the entire school.
Except for the students in third year, class five, everyone else heard about it through rumors.
Shen Qiushan was talked about as if he were a legend, but many people didn’t believe it, thinking it was too absurd.
It must be a little trick concocted by parents and the school!
To give these students a sense of crisis.
Look at this.
Your 38-year-old parents are so amazing!
What excuse do you have not to work hard at seventeen or eighteen?
In the dull and monotonous school life, suddenly there was such a thing.
It’s hard not to become the "top trending topic" at Sanjiang High School!
So, the moment the school’s dismissal bell rang in the afternoon.
A peculiar scene unfolded.
People who usually rushed towards the cafeteria all turned towards the gymnasium!
"What’s up with this, are they all crazy?"
"Nobody’s going to eat??"
Shen Yanran and Luo Yao originally planned to stop by the supermarket to buy some bread and biscuits as snacks.
But as soon as they stepped out of the teaching building, they were stunned by the scene before them.
"I can’t believe it!"
"Are they even high school students anymore?"
"Why are they all such gossip hounds!"
Shen Yanran frowned and complained.
"Yanran, we should run, or else we won’t even make it inside the gymnasium!"
Luo Yao tugged on Shen Yanran’s arm.
"Yeah!"
Coming to her senses, Shen Yanran quickly stretched her long legs and ran towards the gym with the crowd.
"Yanran, wait for me..."
Luo Yao, who was only around 1.6 meters tall, didn’t have legs as long as Shen Yanran’s. When they started running, she was quickly left behind by Shen Yanran’s long strides.
But by the time the two of them arrived at the gym, panting heavily, it was already too late.
Their entrance was already crowded with people lining up...
"Did they all fly over here?"
Luo Yao gasped, holding her chest, as she said.
"Looks like a lot of them are freshmen and sophomores."
Shen Yanran glanced at the line of people, seeing few familiar faces, which meant they were mostly freshmen and sophomores.
If they were from the third year, even if Shen Yanran didn’t know them, their faces would likely be familiar.
"No wonder they got here so fast!"
The third-year classes are located on the 3rd and 4th floors of the teaching building.
While the freshmen and sophomores are on the 1st and 2nd floors.
So, by the time the third-year students left the teaching building, the freshmen could already be at the gym.
"What does this competition have to do with the freshmen and sophomores!"
"Why are they joining in the excitement, seriously!"
Luo Yao tiptoed to get a better view while complaining.
"Senior sister, we’re just curious!"
A sophomore boy standing in front of Luo Yao said with a cheeky grin.
He thought that the two senior sisters behind him were both very beautiful, one was cute and small, and the other was stunningly gorgeous.
Either one would be fine as his girlfriend!
Luo Yao was not in the mood to entertain these "little brats" from the lower grades, so she turned to Shen Yanran and asked, "Is Uncle Shen here yet?"
"He should be able to get in. We can just go in with him!"
Shen Yanran slapped her thigh and said, "Oh yeah!"
"We’ll just go in with my dad."
At this moment, her little smart watch came into play. Shen Yanran quickly dialed her dad’s number.
"Dad, where are you?"
"Have you arrived at the gymnasium?"
"Huh?"
"You’re eating in the cafeteria?"
"....."
Elsewhere.
Shen Qiushan was in the cafeteria, happily nibbling on a chicken wing.
The competition was at five o’clock.
School dismisses at 4:20 in the afternoon.
That’s 40 minutes of time!
Of course, he had to eat first.
However, Shen Qiushan wasn’t in the student dining area, but rather the "faculty cafeteria" where the teachers ate.
So-called faculty cafeteria, was actually the 2nd floor of the cafeteria, significantly smaller than the first floor. Besides the public dining area, there were a few private rooms.
Teachers could choose to get their meals from the 1st floor and bring them to the 2nd floor, or order small stir-fry dishes on the 2nd floor. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
The reason Shen Qiushan could go upstairs wasn’t because of any benefit from Chen Xiangyu, nor was it a special privilege from the newly appointed vice principal, his second aunt.
But because when he enrolled, Xu Decai did him a favor by getting him a staff meal card.
He ordered a special faculty stir-fry: two dishes, cola chicken wings, and green onion lamb stir-fry.
After hanging up his daughter’s call.
Shen Qiushan ordered another braised pork ribs, a mixed stir-fry, and two portions of rice.
He planned to pack these up for his daughter Shen Yanran and "daughter-in-law" Luo Yao.
While he was enjoying his meal, suddenly he heard the crisp sound of "tat, tat, tat" footsteps.
This was clearly the sound of high heels clicking against the marble floor.
Moreover, Shen Qiushan was quite familiar with this sound, even its rhythm and frequency.
Glancing with the corner of his eye, it was indeed Vice Principal Lin, who had just started today.
She was holding a tray, evidently having got her food from the first floor.
Lin Xiamo certainly noticed Shen Qiushan; she was walking towards him, but didn’t sit at the same table as him, instead choosing the adjacent one.
She clearly intended to keep a distance from Shen Qiushan, yet wanted to say something to him.
Sure enough, after sitting down, Lin Xiamo calmly wiped the table in front of her and said, "I’m going to be the judge for the competition later."
"Principal Wang said your presence serves as a catalyst, so he hopes you’ll win. This way, those athlete students won’t get cocky and can continue to strive with you as their target."
"The words for the competition are with me, do you want a copy?"
After hearing the second aunt’s words, Shen Qiushan, who was munching on a chicken wing, licked the oil at the corner of his mouth, "Are all you leaders fond of backdoor operations?"
Lin Xiamo paused her wiping, expressionless, "It’s not the top students who determine a high school’s college admission rate, but the underperforming ones at the back."
"This kind of competition model can inspire those underperforming students to improve, so this isn’t some backdoor operation. The goal is to elevate their academic performance..."
Shen Qiushan finished off his last chicken wing, then mixed his remaining rice with the green onion lamb and ate it up. He picked up the packed meals for his daughter and "daughter-in-law," and on his way to the stairway said, "I’ve witnessed Xiaoxiao and the others’ hard work, although I believe they can’t beat me."
"But, I must give them a fair chance to compete!"
Lin Xiamo nibbled on her rice in small bites as she watched the tall figure gradually disappear down the stretching staircase.
Suddenly, her lips curved into a gentle smile, blooming gracefully between her rosy lips like an edelweiss flowering at dawn, serene and elegant.
In the distance, Yang Wei, also dining in the faculty cafeteria, had been quietly observing Lin Xiamo.
Capturing this smile, his eyes went wide.
Perhaps, this is what they call a smile that could charm a whole city!
