Chapter 117: First Official Day at the Private School

Inside the private school, the air was filled with the clear, rhythmic voices of children reading aloud.

The teacher would recite a line at the front of the class, and the children would follow along in unison.

Well, that was if you ignored the few kids who were already slumping over, looking half-dead.

Among them, but not limited to, was Bai Yunqi.

【Studying… Studying is so boring. I’d rather be cultivating!】

【Studying is supposed to help you reason with people in the future, but if your fists are strong enough, that’s all the reasoning you need. Besides, when it comes to arguing, I’m not necessarily worse than others.】

Juanjuan glanced at her eldest brother and thought… he kind of had a point.

The next moment—

“Sit up straight! You’re so young, and already so listless? That won’t do!”

The teacher’s ruler¹ came down on Bai Yunqi’s back. It wasn’t hard, just enough to warn and correct.

“Keep up with the reading!”

So, Juanjuan watched as her big brother, who had just been complaining in his head about how useless studying was and planning to use his fists instead, obediently picked up his book, straightened his back, and started reading aloud.

Juanjuan: …

Wasn’t Big Brother just saying studying was pointless and he’d rely on his fists instead?

How did he change his tune so fast?

The teacher’s footsteps quietly appeared behind Juanjuan.

The ruler gently tapped her back.

“Focus on your reading!”

Juanjuan, who had been craning her neck to spy on her big brother:！

She immediately sat up straight and began reading.

Now she understood why—this teacher was seriously scary.

After a full day of classes, Juanjuan collapsed onto her desk.

“Phew…”

The little girl let out a soft breath. Her once bright, sparkling eyes from this morning had already lost their shine.

Studying was exhausting!

It wasn’t the same kind of tired as doing farm work back in the village.

Her body wasn’t sore, but her brain was fried, her hand ached from writing, and her stomach was growling.

Back when she studied at home with Uncle Wang, he had slowed down a lot for Da Chui’s sake.

But here at the private school, the teacher covered a ton of material in just one day.

Especially this afternoon, when they started learning how to write.

Juanjuan was smart, but writing wasn’t something you could master without practice. No one could write beautifully right from the start.

Looking at the crooked, wobbly characters on her desk, Juanjuan could only think: they were truly ugly.

Bai Yunxing felt the same way about his own handwriting.

He stared at the jagged, wild characters in front of him and thought they looked awful.

But ugly was expected.

【I never thought… I used to complain about Xiao Shisan²’s handwriting all the time. Now look at me. I’m actually trying to copy his style. Honestly, it’s impressive how Xiao Shisan managed to write such hard-to-read characters.】

Juanjuan lay on her desk, watching her second brother, and grew curious about this “Xiao Shisan” he always mentioned.

She had never met Xiao Shisan, but from how often her second brother brought him up, she’d already formed a rough image of him in her mind.

Second Brother really wanted to go home—to the home he used to have.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much she could do to help him.

The light in Juanjuan’s round eyes dimmed a little more.

“What are you thinking about?”

Her big brother’s face suddenly appeared in front of her, startling the little girl.

Bai Yunqi glanced at his slumped little sister and his second brother, who was proudly admiring his own awful handwriting.

“Let’s go already—time for dinner!” he called out.

Then he turned toward the door.

“Where’s the third one? Went to the toilet and… what, fell in or something? Why isn’t he back yet!”

“Big brother, don’t keep saying ‘fell in’ — it might come true.”

Bai Yun’an rounded the corner, his innocent little face wearing a gentle smile, though his words were clearly calling someone out.

Bai Yunqi gave Third Brother a once-over and scoffed internally.

【Forget it. No point stooping to the level of these silly kids!】

Translator’s Notes