Qin Tian arrived home at half-past nine in the evening.
The light in the main hall was on, as usual.
His mother, Tang Xiuxia, was watching television in the front room.
“Mom, I’m back!”
Qin Tian called out to the room.
“You’re back, come here and chat with your mom for a while.”
Tang Xiuxia beckoned.
“Okay!”
Qin Tian responded and walked over.
The self-built house was quite spacious.
His mother’s room was also large, but it was simply furnished.
Inside, there was a bed and a wardrobe.
Near the door, it was arranged as a living room.
There was a simple, ordinary sofa and a coffee table, and opposite them, a cabinet with an old-fashioned LCD television on top.
The room didn't even have air conditioning, only a floor fan whirring away.
“Mom, you’re not asleep yet!”
Qin Tian sat down on the sofa next to his mother.
“It’s only a little past nine, why would I be asleep so early?”
Tang Xiuxia smiled and asked, “Were those dishes in the pot really made by you?”
“Yes, how were they? Did they taste okay?”
Qin Tian asked back with a proud smile.
“They were very delicious.”
Tang Xiuxia nodded with a beaming smile, indicating her approval, and then curiously asked, “When did you learn?”
When she returned from work earlier, she had been quite surprised to see the warm food and dishes in the pot and rice cooker.
“I often watched you cook, and I just picked it up. It’s not difficult,”
Qin Tian said with a light chuckle.
“You’ve really become sensible!”
Tang Xiuxia remarked with a face full of gratified emotion.
“Mom, from now on, whenever I have free time on holidays, leave the cooking to me. Your work is also quite tiring.”
As Qin Tian spoke, he raised his hands to massage her shoulders.
“Mm, okay!”
Tang Xiuxia’s eyes welled up a little, but her smile became even brighter.
She alone had raised her son, and only she knew the hardships and weariness she had endured over the years.
But that warm dinner just now made her feel that her efforts over the years had been amply rewarded.
It didn’t matter that her son’s grades were not good; as long as he was safe, healthy, sensible, and cared for her, all her exhaustion was worth it.
Recently, she had already been planning to take on an extra job.
No matter what, she had to let her son go to university.
As Tang Xiuxia closed her eyes and pondered these things, Qin Tian was also thinking about how to make his mother’s life easier.
The game boosting shop he was partnering with Xu Hao on should make quite a bit of money.
However, it wasn’t a legitimate business, and he couldn’t arrange a job for his mother there.
“How about opening a clothing store for Mom?”
A thought surfaced in Qin Tian’s mind.
In this era, e-commerce had not yet impacted physical stores as drastically as in later times, and trendy brand clothing stores were still very popular.
With his advantage as a reborn individual possessing foresight, it wouldn't be difficult to advise his mother and open a profitable clothing store.
Moreover, clothing was an industry his mother was familiar with; it was just a shift from making clothes to selling them, and the work would certainly be much easier.
He didn’t intend for his mother to earn a fortune; opening a small business was a very good option.
…
…
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Wednesday, the last day of March, saw Qin Tian and the others facing their second mock college entrance examination.
The exam schedule was also a complete simulation of the actual college entrance exams.
Therefore, there was no morning self-study today, and the Chinese exam began at nine in the morning.
The students had a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast before arriving at the classroom full of energy.
Qin Tian arrived at the classroom at half-past eight.
Most of the other classmates had already arrived.
Many were holding their Chinese textbooks, cramming classical poetry and classical Chinese prose.
Xia Nuannuan was already in her seat and gave him a sweet smile when she saw him approach.
“Good morning!”
Qin Tian greeted her with a smile.
“Good morning!”
Xia Nuannuan smiled even more sweetly, and shallow dimples appeared on her slightly thinner face.
For the past two evenings, they had been going to the track field to run and exercise before evening self-study.
Some classmates had also noticed this.
Opinions varied among them.
Some felt the two were just having a temporary whim and wouldn’t persist for long.
But others, watching them complete lap after lap and noticing their considerable exertion, thought Xia Nuannuan might actually lose weight.
However, whether they held a negative or positive opinion, they clearly hadn’t realized that Xia Nuannuan was already starting to change.
In fact, she wasn’t really the overweight type to begin with.
With a standard height of 1.68 meters, her previous weight was around 130-odd jin.
Moreover, she had excellent innate talent, and her body fat was distributed in the right places.
If this were the era of social media in the future, Xia Nuannuan, with just a little dressing up, could film a short video and upload it online. Even without beauty filters, she would be hailed as a “slightly plump goddess” by countless people.
It was just that Xia Nuannuan was introverted, and the students in the class were too young, valuing thinness as beauty, which led them to see Xia Nuannuan as just an unremarkable chubby girl.
The exercise over the past few days, combined with the healthy meals prepared by her mother and the fruit and vegetable juice mixed with the Physique Enhancement Potion by Qin Tian, had already reduced Xia Nuannuan’s body fat considerably.
Her already perfectly proportioned facial features had become more refined, and her body contours were gradually emerging.
The classmates had grown accustomed to her subtle presence, and these past few days, everyone had been busy with exams and revision.
Therefore, the only person who had noticed Xia Nuannuan’s changes so far was Qin Tian.
Qin Tian was happy with this arrangement.
By the time others realized it, Xia Nuannuan would already be his.
Twenty minutes before the exam, the classroom intercom sounded:
“All third-year students, please bring your examination supplies to your designated examination rooms. The exam will begin shortly.”
In the classroom, upon hearing the announcement, the students prepared to head to their examination rooms.
“Qin Tian, good luck!”
Xia Nuannuan clenched her small fists and cheered him on with a smile as radiant as a blooming flower.
“You too.”
Qin Tian smiled and nodded, then stood up and said, “I’ll head to the exam room first. See you later.”
“Mm-hmm, see you later.”
Xia Nuannuan replied and began packing her examination supplies and water cup into her bag.
They were assigned to different examination rooms, which were quite far apart and in different directions.
“Brother Tian, wait for me.”
Zhang Peng yelled as he ran over. His examination room was in the classroom next to Qin Tian’s.
Qin Tian waited for him, and as they were about to leave the classroom together, a voice filled with anger suddenly rang out.
“Qin Tian!”
They both looked in the direction of the voice.
Wu Xin was looking at them with a cold expression.
The gazes of many classmates in the classroom were also drawn to them.
“Don’t forget our bet.”
Wu Xin reminded them expressionlessly.
Beside him, Xu Ying stared at Qin Tian with eyes revealing mockery and disdain.
“Heh, as long as you don’t forget.”
Qin Tian smiled calmly and turned to leave.
“Little Jinzi, I’m off, buddy. Study hard, or your goddess might not want you anymore.”
Zhang Peng said with a mischievous smirk and a biting remark, then quickly chased after Qin Tian.
An suppressed burst of laughter erupted in the classroom again.
“This piece of trash!”
Wu Xin’s face flushed with shame and anger, and he gritted his teeth as he cursed.
“He’s just got a foul mouth, don’t pay attention to people like that.”
Xu Ying soothed him, and then said with a serious expression, “Although Qin Tian is unlikely to win, you still need to try your best in the exam.”
“Don’t worry, I always give my all in exams.”