Li Zheng couldn't stand idly by and watch. "Mr. Qiao, can you be quiet for a moment and let Mrs. Hu catch her breath?"
Qiao Sheng's eyes widened. "No problem. Please have a seat. I'll shut up."
Li Zheng felt a little surprised.
He felt as though he had tamed an old Tibetan Mastiff.
Of course, Li Zheng didn't sit. Instead, he walked over to Hu Chunmei.
"Mrs. Hu, give me your medical history and your test results. I'll help you ask about your condition."
"There's no need… There's really no need…"
"I told you, Chunmei." Qiao Sheng was so anxious that he nearly wanted to slap himself. "You've already done all you can for someone else's child. It should be okay for them to help you ask about your condition, shouldn't it?"
After he said this, he took out his phone and added Li Zheng as a friend on WeChat.
He mumbled nonstop.
"Really, you can skip every gym class in the future if you want to.
"You can even skip the classes of other gym teachers. Everyone in the gym department is my younger brother and sister.
"I'll find a way to change your grades for the previous semester."
Hu Chunmei looked at the two of them. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Li Zheng, don't bother your father," she said. "There's nothing much to ask…" She shook her head and sighed. "It's a benign tumor near my spine. It occasionally presses on my nerves and makes me numb. It'll be alright if I move around. The tumor won't grow anymore. The operation can be done at any time."
Li Zheng knitted his brows and said, "Mrs. Hu, my medical knowledge is limited, but if a professional doctor told you that, his license should be suspended."
"Don't listen to her. Even the professional doctors are trying to get her to join the queue and wait for the operation," Qiao Sheng scolded as he sent Li Zheng an image of an MRI scan. "She's the one who wants to teach your class till you guys finish your third year. She… She wants to die on the lecture stage… Bah! Bah! F*** this mouth of mine…"
Slap, slap, slap, slap!
Qiao Sheng slapped his mouth.
"Mr. Qiao… Calm down, Mr. Qiao…" When Li Zheng received the image, he immediately forwarded it to his father and the doctorate student working under his father. He mumbled, "If the tumor is near the spine, that should fall under my father's specialization. The head of the department there is the best in the entire country. My father could get him to conduct the operation if the tumor is in a dangerous position."
"!!!" Qiao Sheng jumped up, his eyes widening. "Li Zheng! Zhengzi! You're my younger brother from now on! I'll let you do whatever you want in gym class… No, I'll let you do whatever you want in school! You can call my name if any arrogant pr*ck offends you. I'll give them a harsh lesson."
"Look at you…" Hu Chunmei couldn't be angry anymore. "It's no wonder you haven't been able to get an academic title over the last 20 years…"
Li Zheng received a reply not long after and quickly gave Qiao Sheng a name card.
"My dad doesn't have surgery from 2:30 to 3 p.m. today. Mr. Qiao, contact this person as soon as possible. She's the doctorate student my dad is mentoring. Hurry up, gather all of the material, and head to the hospital to get a queue number."
Qiao Sheng tapped on his phone like a maniac. "Cheng Wenyue, is it? I've added her, I've added her."
He didn't just add her once. Instead, he went on to add her a second, third, and fourth time.
The seventh time, the other party finally accepted his request.
"Bring your Medicare Card and past medical records to the main building of Sky Temple Hospital before 2 p.m."
Qiao Sheng turned his head toward Hu Chunmei and said joyfully, "I'll go home and gather the required materials and come back and pick you up in 20 minutes."
After saying this, he looked at Li Zheng.
He looked at him as if he were looking at his long-lost father.
He was about to cry in agitation.
He almost kowtowed.
"Great! Great! Great!!" He finally hugged Li Zheng's head and forcefully butted heads with him.
Thump!
"I'll treat you to a good meal after we're done at the doctor's."
He left like that.
Li Zheng squatted and grabbed his head.
He almost cried in pain.
"I wouldn't have stopped you if you wanted to kowtow in gratitude," Li Zheng thought.
"But why did you have to headbutt me!"
"Darn it, who said that kindness begets kindness."
At that moment, Hu Chunmei didn't have the energy to go stop him.
She quickly helped Li Zheng up. Then, she took out a packet of chocolates from her drawer and handed it over to him. "You haven't had lunch, have you…"
"I've eaten. You can keep the chocolate," Li Zheng said while he rubbed his head. "Tell Cheng Wenyue everything else about your condition. My dad should still be in the operating theater, which means he can't send me a reply."
Li Zheng constantly walked backward while he spoke.
He was afraid that Qiao Sheng would charge in once again.
"There's no rush. You can sit here for a while." Hu Chunmei smiled as she pulled a chair over. "We haven't had a good chat for a long while. If I don't say what I want to say now, there might not be any time to say it in the future."
Li Zheng sat down, a little fearful.
Hu Chunmei heaved a long sigh. "I can see that your entire family is great with their studies."
"Yes, everyone from my family attended a famous school. I'm the only one who's behind." Li Zheng gave an embarrassed smile. "Based on the grades of our school, I only have a chance to attend the 985 if I make it into the top 15. Isn't that right?"
"It would be best if you placed in the top 10," Hu Chunmei said. "But I expect you to place in the top three."
"What?"
"There's nothing to be surprised about. That gusto you have is a process of converting quantity to quality. As long as you continue amassing your knowledge, it will explode someday. This… What I said yesterday was a little improper, but honestly speaking… There's indeed a gap between your talents and Lin Yujing's talents." Hu Chunmei pouted as she said, "Let's not compare ourselves with her. She could have attended a top-notch high school but only chose our school because it was close to her house…"
"Close to her house…" Li Zheng mumbled. "Actually, I also chose this school because it was close to my house."
"Hehe, I already said, let's not compare ourselves with her," Hu Chunmei said gently. "With Lin Yujing as your opponent, you would feel more despair the more you studied. I've seen similar situations. In the end, even the student who had the grit became depressed and didn't attend the college entrance examination that year. He only recovered when he repeated the year."
Li Zheng trembled.
"Studying, he got depressed by studying," Li Zheng thought. "Was this the fear that the Study God instilled?"
"So, don't care too much about Lin Yujing. What's more important is being the best version of yourself," Hu Chunmei said as she turned on her laptop to browse through the result slips.
"Maintain your rhythm for Mathematics and Physics. You just have to tackle difficult questions appropriately. Pay attention to your time allocation.
"I'll look for Mrs. Xiaotang and the rest of the teachers regarding your Language and English as soon as possible. They'll give you a suitable study method. You'll be well prepared as long as you keep up that grit of yours.
"There's not much of a problem with your Biology. It's mainly your Chemistry…
"That's right. I heard Mrs. Yu arguing with the people in the examination office just now. She said that she had to change the results of the entire level because of you. You didn't offend her, did you?"
"Ah, this, hm… It's hard to explain." Li Zheng scratched his face.
Hu Chunmei waved her hand. "Forget it, it's nothing. She's quite average, but her family members are exceptional. That's why the school always props her up. It's alright if you don't listen to her lesson. I'll go have a chat with her and get her to allow you to study by yourself in her class."
"You don't have to force that."
"Hm… Chemistry, Chemistry, it's still Chemistry…" Hu Chunmei mumbled for a moment while she rubbed her chin. She picked up her phone and dialed a number, then started to nag without warning when the call got through.
"Mr. Sun, it's me, Chunmei."
"Oh? You know about it?"
"I can't do anything about it. The principal has ordered me to do it. There's nothing I can do about it now."
"Yes, yes, thank you for your well wishes."
"Oh yes… I have an excellent bud from my class, but his Chemistry is very weak."
"Just a few minutes, can you…"
"Alright, alright, alright. Tomorrow afternoon. I'll get him to go."
"Look after yourself too."
Hu Chunmei hung up and tapped excitedly on Li Zheng's chair. "Mr. Sun Leyang is a teacher who has been specially employed by the principal. He's a top-notch Chemistry teacher and only comes for half a day during the week. He only teaches the elite third-year class. Prepare your questions by tomorrow and bring along your recent Chemistry exam scripts. Go and seek his guidance."
"!!!" Li Zheng lit up.
His head didn't hurt anymore.
"I knew that you would be like this." Hu Chunmei smiled as she extended her right hand. "I hope I can see your name in the top three when I return from my surgery."
"I'll do my best!" Li Zheng fiercely shook Hu Chunmei's hand.
"Oh yes, disregard Qiao Sheng. With your body, it's best that you attend gym class."
"Of course!"
"Alright, then I should start packing." Hu Chunmei looked at her office desk, then heaved a sigh as she gently stroked her cactus pot. "I'll update the new homeroom teacher about your class's situation and try my best to get him to not disrupt the rhythm of your studies."
"Our studies?"
"You and Lin Yujing."
"I think it's alright to give her an appropriate amount of disruption," Li Zheng muttered.
"I already said not to compare yourself with her."
"I was joking. I won't drop to her level." Li Zheng stood up and bowed with a smile. "You don't have to be worried about Old Li's techniques. I'll go look for you at the hospital after your surgery."
"There's no need, there's no need. You can just send me your result slip if you want me to feel better." Hu Chunmei stood up to send Li Zheng off. "But don't send Liu Xin's result slip. I'll grow another tumor after I see that."
"Please stop cursing yourself, Mrs. Hu."