After Chen Yuan finished speaking, he realized he had made a mistake.

Wouldn't correcting himself now lead the conversation back to the topic of studying?

As everyone knows, the thing students fear most during the New Year is the topic of studying!

Anyway, Chen Yuan didn't really like talking about it.

Every time he was with Lao Mo, He Bao, or occasionally met Jianjun Bao, he didn't want to talk about studying.

It was boring.

"Oh, right, it's Ningcheng. The main competition is in Ningcheng," Lao Yan remembered and corrected himself.

But after speaking, he felt that something was off.

Not quite right, not right at all.

Thinking about it, he looked at Chen Yuan and asked, puzzled, "How did you know? You... are you also participating in the math competition?"

It wasn't that he was looking down on anyone.

It was just that when Chen Yuan was in junior high school, his grades weren't exactly top-notch.

One could even say they were just about average.

A student like that, after going to high school, no matter what, shouldn't suddenly improve to the level of competition, right?

Moreover, going to Ningcheng meant passing the preliminary rounds.

And his son had said that to pass the preliminaries, one's math level had to be at least 135+.

Was Chen Yuan at that level?

He also taught math, and Chen Yuan wasn't exactly his favorite student back then.

"Ah, I did participate in the competition," Chen Yuan said politely, having no choice.

"Oh, so you passed the preliminaries and went to Ningcheng to compete?" Lao Yan continued to ask.

"... I did go to a competition," Chen Yuan said with a smile.

This was bad, he was being asked more and more.

What should he do?

Actually, Chen Yuan didn't want to show off.

Lao Yan wasn't trying to show off either, he just wanted to brag about his excellent son, which was normal. Many teachers had this habit.

They would occasionally flex subtly during class.

Never mind.

He should leave a good impression.

"And, did you win any prizes?" Lao Yan continued to ask, very concerned.

If it was Chen Yuan, just passing the preliminaries would be amazing.

In fact, for ordinary students, passing the preliminaries was already very good.

To win an award in the main competition, one had to score at least 61 points on a test of that difficulty.

His son had barely passed the line with 63 points, earning a third prize in the province.

When they found out about the award, both father and son were extremely nervous, because they kept scrolling down, scrolling down, and finally found his son's name almost at the very end.

He had narrowly secured a spot for the third prize in the province.

The 10 extra points were easily obtained.

Wait.

Thinking about checking the results, Lao Yan suddenly remembered that the first name for the second prize on the official website was Chen Yuan!

At the time, he just thought it was a coincidence, which was normal. After all, there were so many students in Haidong, it was only reasonable that there would be someone with the same name.

He was just a junior high school teacher, and there were several students with the same name among his students, although not in the same year.

But that was enough to show that there was no need to care.

What's more, his name only had two characters. Don't have any unnecessary associations with this kind of coincidence.

After all, ranking first for the second prize in the province meant that he had the highest score among those who didn't participate in the second round!

To put it simply, he was the number one student in the province below the national level.

So now, he still thought it was a coincidence.

A 100% coincidence.

But he was still nervously looking at Chen Yuan.

Until the other party said with particular modesty, "I was lucky, the questions were quite suitable, so I managed to get a second prize in the province."

"!" As soon as the words fell, Lao Yan's heart was greatly shaken.

"Is that Dad?"

At this moment, Xia Xinyu suddenly saw a man waving at the exit and asked Chen Yuan.

"Oh, yes." Chen Yuan reacted, and then, without waiting for Lao Yan to speak, he politely shook Lao Yan's hand and said enthusiastically, "My dad's here to pick me up. Goodbye, Teacher Yan, I'll come to see you when I have time!"

"... Ah, okay." Lao Yan raised his hand and waved goodbye to the departing Chen Yuan, watching the two leave, and said in confusion, "Chen Yuan's dad? Why does she call him Dad too?"

Young people these days were really bold and passionate.

Thinking like this, Lao Yan's mind wasn't on this matter.

But on what Chen Yuan had said...

Second prize in the province.

He really got second prize in the province?

His son had said that one had to get at least ninety points to get second prize in the province.

To get ninety points on that kind of test?!

Lao Yan had seen it himself and knew very well that it was difficult to do well on that kind of test without full marks in normal times.

But Chen Yuan's math was only average to above average in junior high school, right?

Something was wrong, very wrong.

Even if he really got second prize in the province, he shouldn't be ranked first.

If he was ranked first, then he would have to score at least 110 points or more, right?!

There wasn't a single person like that in the entire Hexiang.

So, Lao Yan quickly opened his phone and logged into the official website that hadn't been closed yet.

He directly skipped the first-place Chen Yuan and went below to look for the last-place Chen Yuan for the second prize in the province.

But he looked through it once, twice, three times.

He wasn't there.

He wasn't there at all!

Lao Yan's eyes widened, and his blood rushed to his head.

He was excited, very excited.

No, how could that Chen Yuan be the number one in the province?

How could the number one in the province come from Hexiang?

No, no, no, his math talent definitely wasn't that great back then.

"..."

But no matter how he thought about it, Lao Yan looked at the real, unique 'Chen Yuan' on the screen and fell silent.

And he felt the embarrassment of showing off in front of a student of average ability and then repeatedly running into steel plates.

If one was in the experimental class of Fourth Middle School and the other was the number one in the province in the preliminary round of the competition, then what did his son have to brag about!

Was it that he was too mediocre, or was the level of education in Xiahai really so much higher than in other places?

No matter what, he felt that he had to pay attention to this student...

At least to confirm whether it was the Chen Yuan.

………

"Here, here!"

At the exit, a couple waved at the two.

Then, Xinyu walked over quickly.

"Let's see if our Xinyu has gained weight." Yang Junlian opened her arms enthusiastically to hug Xia Xinyu.

Xia Xinyu also played along, hugged her, and said with a smile, "I've gained weight, I've gained weight."

"No way, you're still so slender, like Lin Daiyu," Yang Junlian teased as she looked at Xinyu. "Have a good rest and a good time this year. I'll make sure you gain at least five pounds."

"Can you make me gain a few pounds too..."

Chen Yuan weakly raised his hand and said softly.

But Yang Junlian seemed not to have heard him at all, and took Xinyu's hand and walked outside.

He had to lower his head and sigh.

The father and son pushed their suitcases behind them, walking along.

"Haven't your grades improved a lot?" When walking side by side with Chen Yuan, Chen Jianye gave a preemptive warning. "Some relatives have been asking, so I told them. But I didn't tell the whole truth. I just said it was very good and that you could aim for Haidong University."

"You're being quite low-key," Chen Yuan said.

"Low-key? They all think I'm showing off!" Lao Chen said aggrievedly. "Some people don't quite believe it and think your grades aren't real. How could you not see it in junior high school and suddenly fly so much in high school."

"Is Haidong University that much?"

Chen Yuan didn't quite understand.

Yu Zi could get into that school!

No, my state of mind seems to have changed. I'm no longer the simple young man who regarded Xiahai University of Science and Technology as his dream school...

I've been contaminated by knowledge, I'm dirty!

"In short, it's still better to be low-key. We should always say less than we actually have, and just keep the enthusiasm in our hearts until something is successful."

"You're speaking with a strange sense of ideological height."

Looking at Lao Chen, who was uncharacteristically serious, Chen Yuan complained, "But the least low-key person in our family... isn't that you?"

In this family, although Madam Yang Junlian was outgoing, she basically didn't show off.

He couldn't help it, he was too strong and could only show off passively.

But Lao Chen was the type who, as long as there was a suitable opportunity or an angle to show off, he would definitely show it off.

It could be said that it was difficult for a chance to flex to last overnight with him.

"Hey... I'm just being sincere," Lao Chen explained.

"Come over and drive," Yang Junlian called out.

"Coming."

Then, the two took their luggage over.

After putting the suitcases in the trunk, the family got into the car.

Xinyu and he were in the back row.

And Xia Xinyu, as she had imagined before, looked out the window, carefully observing the city where Chen Yuan had lived for so many years.

At this moment, her WeChat on her phone rang.

She lowered her head and saw that it was a message from Chen Yuan.

Yuan Bao: As long as you don't mind getting tired, I'll take you to all the interesting places in this city.

"..." Xia Xinyu's eyes lit up, turned her head, looked at Chen Yuan who was smiling at her, and couldn't wait to pounce on him and leave a wet kiss on his cheek.

She wanted to kiss him to death.

"Although this is a small place, the downtown area is still very lively. When the time comes, you can go to the pedestrian street together, have a good time shopping, buy clothes, and eat snacks," Yang Junlian turned her head and said with a smile.

And Xia Xinyu showed a very generous smile: "Since it's the New Year, let's all go together."

"Okay, okay," Yang Junlian smiled, not expecting the child to adapt so well, and joked, "Are you getting tired of being with Chen Yuan all the time?"

Being joked about like this, Xia Xinyu's face turned red, and she didn't know what to say.

After she turned back, she looked at Chen Yuan, shook her head, and said with her eyes: I'm not tired of it.

This Yu Zi really knew how to take care of his feelings.

No.

It should be said that she really loved him, and didn't want to say anything that would make him sad, even if it was a joke.

On the contrary, Yang Junlian, you're going too far.

Don't compare Xinyu's relationship to the white plantation owner and black cotton picking machine relationship between you and Lao Chen.

Xinyu's love was truly the most beautiful thing in the world.

Like a poem, a painting, a book that couldn't sell its anime rights yet.

Lao Chen's Corolla drove to the parking space on the ground in the community.

Then, they went upstairs together.

In the elevator, Yang Junlian said a little embarrassedly: "We have a custom here that when a girl comes to the house for the first time, there have to be some people at home to welcome her."

"Mm-hm, I understand."

Xia Xinyu smiled and nodded.

But inside, she was a little flustered.

Would there be too many people?

She would be nervous if there were too many unfamiliar relatives...

Just like that, Lao Chen opened the door.

"Chen Yuan, you're back!"

When the four entered, a pretty girl wearing a white down jacket with chubby cheeks stood up and happily walked towards them. When she just touched Chen Yuan, she saw Xia Xinyu, and then she made a big turn, circled around the living room, and sat back on the sofa obediently with a few brothers and sisters of the same generation, looking over cautiously...

—

The last day of the lottery, everyone vote more!

(End of this chapter)