Chapter 143 - 142: Brother-in-law is Very Busy

Chapter 143: Chapter 142: Brother-in-law is Very Busy

Lin Yanwan’s body stiffened. She turned her head and saw her mother-in-law’s teasing expression, blurting out, "Mom," in a fluster.

After the word escaped her lips, the young girl’s face instantly turned red. She quickly and quietly corrected herself, "Aunt Xia, I... I wasn’t. We were just whispering."

"I get it. It’s noisy with so many people, you have to get close to hear each other."

Xia Shanshan nodded with a smile. Girls were thin-skinned; even when caught red-handed, she would try to explain it away as much as possible. At the very least, she couldn’t admit it in front of her mother-in-law.

"Yanwan, are you here by yourself? Where are your parents?" she asked, no longer teasing as she changed the subject.

"Aunt Xia, something came up for them at the last minute, so they couldn’t make it," Lin Yanwan said, her face still red. "So, I had to come for Xiao Man’s parent-teacher conference instead."

"I see."

Xia Shanshan felt it was a bit of a shame. She had planned to take this opportunity to invite her future in-laws to dinner and apologize for some things. Now, it seemed she would have to wait.

"Aunt Xia, how did Xiao Man do?" Lin Yanwan asked.

"That’s a secret for now."

Xia Shanshan smiled and handed the stack of final exam papers she was holding to Jiang Xia. "Pass these out. Be careful, and don’t you dare lose a single one."

"Mom, when it comes to something this simple, you can always trust your son."

Jiang Xia chuckled, turned, and walked into the classroom with the papers. The rowdy room immediately fell silent. All the children sat up perfectly straight. It was clear his mom was an excellent disciplinarian.

Each time he called a name, a child would come forward to take their paper. The tests themselves didn’t have specific scores, only grades like "Excellent" or "Good." The complete report cards were still with Xia Shanshan.

Lin Xiaoman watched her brother-in-law hand out the papers with glee, wondering, ’If brother-in-law sees my perfect score, will he be so happy he picks me up and spins me around?’

At the thought of that scene, she subconsciously glanced at her sister. ’I’d... probably get a smack for that, right?’

Time slowly ticked by. Even her deskmate, Xiao Mei, had gotten her paper back—with an "Excellent," no less. But her brother-in-law had yet to call her name, and Lin Xiaoman couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.

"Sis, why hasn’t brother-in-law called me yet?" Lin Xiaoman whispered.

"Don’t worry. As a general rule, the star of the show always makes their entrance last."

Lin Yanwan smiled faintly. She had seen Jiang Xia secretly hold a couple of test papers back. If she wasn’t mistaken, they had to be Xiao Man’s.

A few minutes later, Jiang Xia had finished calling out the names of every student except Xiao Man. Holding the last two test papers, he walked step by step toward his little sister-in-law with a wide grin.

"Here, your papers." He smiled and patted her head. "Hmm... you did very well."

Lin Xiaoman’s face lit up. She took the papers and saw two big "Excellent+" grades. The pages were covered in red checkmarks, exactly as she had predicted.

"Hehehe, perfect scores."

"Xiao Man is the best," Lin Yanwan said with a gentle smile.

"I wish Mom and Dad were here."

"They’ll be just as happy when we tell them back home."

"Mhm!"

After handing out the tests, Jiang Xia continued to help his mom distribute certificates. There was a huge pile of awards with titles like "Star of Progress," "Star of Learning," and "Little Artist." Of the dozens of children, not a single one was left out; everyone got something.

And so, Lin Xiaoman received three more awards: "Three-Good Student," "Excellent Class Monitor," and "Model Student." On top of that, she got a certificate of honor, a fifty-yuan scholarship, and a fountain pen, making her the envy of the other children. She had truly become that proverbial "model child" that all the parents admire.

"They give out scholarships in the first grade now?" Lin Yanwan asked, slightly surprised.

"My mom pays for it out of her own pocket. She’s been doing it since I was little."

Jiang Xia chuckled. "She says it helps motivate the children to learn. It’s a positive, constructive source of motivation that promotes their mental and physical well-being."

"Mom really is an outstanding teacher," Lin Yanwan said softly, her voice filled with emotion. The thought inexplicably reminded her of how, in her past life, Xia Shanshan had resolutely gone to teach in a remote mountainous region.

Jiang Xia said, "As far as I can remember, I’ve never met a kid who didn’t like her."

"That’s right! We really, really like Teacher Xia," Xiao Man suddenly chimed in happily.

The couple exchanged a smile.

With the tests and awards handed out, the next part of the agenda was the parent-teacher conference proper.

Xia Shanshan began by thanking the parents for their support of the school, the class, and the teachers’ work. Then, she gave a brief overview of the class’s general situation and stated the purpose of the meeting. Focusing on the recent final exams and the children’s everyday performance, she gave the parents a detailed report on her plans for the next semester, clarifying developmental goals and discussing how to improve on existing problems.

Finally, it was the parents’ turn to speak, and she listened carefully to their opinions. She concluded by emphasizing important safety precautions for the upcoming break, especially warning against swimming in ponds and rivers.

As for vacation homework, Xia Shanshan had always been relatively lenient. She assigned not too much, but not too little, ensuring the children had something to do each day. This way, they wouldn’t spend the two-month-long summer break forgetting everything they had learned.

However, the few students who received an "Excellent+" were exempt from homework entirely.

At around ten in the morning, the parent-teacher conference concluded successfully. Watching the lively, adorable children leave the school one by one with their parents, Xia Shanshan let out a huge sigh of relief. The semester was over. She could finally get a good rest.

A warm smile appeared on her face as she looked at Lin Xiaoman. "Yanwan, Xiao Man, since your parents aren’t free, why don’t you come over to my place for a simple lunch?"

Lin Yanwan was still hesitating, but Xiao Man eagerly accepted without a second thought.

"Yes, yes! Xiao Man loves Teacher Xia’s cooking the most!"

"We’ll be troubling you again, Aunt Xia," Lin Yanwan said, patting her sister’s head with a look of resignation.

Xia Shanshan nodded with a broad smile. "We’re family. It’s no trouble at all."

Lin Yanwan’s face reddened. Remembering how her mother-in-law had caught them kissing, she grew annoyed and secretly pinched Jiang Xia’s thigh.

’It’s all his fault!!’

"Why don’t you three head back first? I still have a few things to take care of at school. I’ll be back to make lunch in a little while," Xia Shanshan said.

"Alrighty."

The couple left the school with Xiao Man in tow. Clutching her awards and scholarship money, she skipped the entire way, her heart soaring with a joy she couldn’t possibly hide from her face.

"WOOHOO! School’s out!" The moment she stepped out of the school gates, Xiao Man couldn’t help but cheer loudly.

"And you have no homework," Jiang Xia reminded her with a laugh.

"Right, no homework!" Xiao Man giggled, gently shaking his arm. "Brother-in-law, does that mean I can come play with you every day?"

"No. Your brother-in-law is very busy. He has very important things to do every day, so you shouldn’t always be thinking about bothering him." Lin Yanwan rejected the idea without a second thought. After all, even *she* didn’t get to see him every day.

’Trying to steal my man? Not a chance!’

...

Honeymoon (not really). Busy as a dog every day. Nanfeng is swamped. Boohoo X﹏X