Reborn in 2006, I met Mr. Zhou from the past.

Seeing Wu Min and the others studying the menu, Su Fengnan got up and walked around the ingredient area.

Seeing the neatly arranged and brightly colored dishes in the freezer, she finally felt relieved. When she returned to her seat, she had several bottles of chilled soy milk in her hand, and she handed one out to everyone.

"Have you ordered yet?" Su Fengnan pulled out a chair and sat down.

"I've ordered. Sister, take a look and see if there's anything else you'd like to eat." Wu Min handed over the menu.

Su Fengnan took the menu and glanced at it. She checked off common meats like ham sausage, beef tendon, pork belly, sweet sausage, and chicken, and also ordered a variety of vegetables. She even ordered three servings of the classic grilled tofu. She figured that should be enough, since girls can sometimes eat just as much as boys.

She then handed the bill to the shop owner and, while doing so, quietly paid the bill ahead of time.

Seeing that the girls were all slumped against the back of their chairs, probably tired and hungry, Su Fengnan decided to take the lead in livening up the atmosphere.

"Come on, even though the food hasn't arrived yet, let's have a toast first." Su Fengnan smiled and raised her soy milk bottle. "I wish you all good grades, to go to the high school you want, then get into your ideal university, and finally realize your dreams."

Hearing Su Fengnan say this, the girls perked up and raised their soy milk bottles to clink together.

"Okay, I wish us all good results in the exam!" Su Fengxia responded first.

After clinking glasses, Li Qing asked curiously, "Which middle schools did you all apply to?"

"I applied to No. 1 Middle School because it's close to my home," Wu Min said, biting her straw.

"I applied to No. 3 Middle School; my brother studies there," Wang Feifei added.

"My first choice was No. 1 Middle School, and my second choice was No. 2 Middle School," Su Fengxia added.

"Sigh, it seems I won't be seeing you guys at school anymore." Li Qing said with some disappointment.

"No way, didn't you hear what the teacher said..." Wu Min was interrupted before she could finish speaking.

"Yes, I only applied to our own school." Li Qing nodded. "This is the first year our school is recruiting high school students, so we should at least support them!"

Seeing that they were engrossed in their conversation, Su Fengnan stopped interrupting and sat quietly to the side, giving them the space to talk. This meal could be considered their farewell meal.

Before long, the dishes they ordered were served one after another. The girls ate and chatted, enjoying the food to the fullest in their temporary respite. It wasn't until two hours later, with their stomachs full, that they finally headed home.

Meanwhile, Zhou Chenyu was sitting in front of the computer on the second floor of the photo studio, having already added Su Fengnan's QQ account. The file folder on the table had been received a few days ago, but he had left it unopened.

At that moment, he seemed to have figured something out, and reached for the file folder, opening it. Inside was information about the investigation of Su Fengnan. He read it word by word, but didn't find anything unusual. However, the words "left-behind child" suddenly made him understand why the little girl was so guarded.

"Knock knock knock," came the knocking sound from outside the door.

Zhou Chenyu quickly put the documents away and stuffed them into the bottom of the drawer. After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the desktop, he got up to open the door.

"Xiao Yu, aren't you going back yet?" The photo studio owner stood at the door, smiling gently, with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

"I'll stay a little longer, send a few emails and then get back. Uncle, you go back first, I'll lock the door later."

After saying that, he sat back down at the computer. Xie Junhui followed him in and sat down opposite Zhou Chenyu.

"You're acting strange today. Did something happen?"

"no."

"Really?" Xie Junhui clearly didn't believe it.

"real."

"Okay, don't stay up too late, go home early, or your grandma will be looking for you again."

"Hmm, it won't be too late."

Seeing that Zhou Chenyu was indeed alright, Xie Junhui left with peace of mind, closing the door behind him.

Watching his slightly frail figure disappear at the top of the stairs, Zhou Chenyu felt a slight pang in her heart. Xie Junhui, though Zhou Chenyu's cousin, was only a few months younger than her mother. When Zhou Chenyu's maternal grandmother gave birth to her mother, this cousin went into premature labor. However, due to severe bleeding during childbirth, the mother perished, leaving him all alone. Since his parents had died early and no one could care for him, he grew up eating at Zhou Chenyu's maternal grandmother's house.

......

Saturday arrived quickly. Early in the morning, Su Fengxia was still fast asleep, while Su Fengnan, who had to catch up on classes during the summer break for the high school entrance exam, got up early.

As per the school's schedule, this morning's classes followed the Monday morning schedule. The first and second periods were consecutive Chinese language classes, during which the teacher conducted a short quiz.

Just as Su Fengnan returned to the classroom after the morning exercises and was about to take a short rest, Lan Xi, the class representative for Chinese, called out from the classroom door: "Su Fengnan, the homeroom teacher wants to see you in the office."

Su Fengnan, who had been dozing off, instantly woke up and quickly got up. Ning Xiaojun, who was beside her, tugged at her sleeve and said worriedly, "Su Su, should I go with you?"

Su Fengnan met her gaze, shook her head, and joked with a smile, "It's okay, the homeroom teacher won't eat you."

"Alright then." Ning Xiaojun finally gave up and slumped back onto the table, dejected.

The office was located at the end of the third-floor corridor, on the same floor as the classrooms. Arriving at the office door, Su Fengnan peeked around and saw her homeroom teacher, Xu Bin, and the Chinese language teacher, each engrossed in their work at their desks. She politely knocked on the open door and then walked towards the homeroom teacher.

Upon hearing this, Ms. Xu, the homeroom teacher, looked up, put down her pen, pointed to the chair next to her, and said, "Come and sit down."

"The teacher is looking for me..." Su Fengnan sat down next to the homeroom teacher's desk.

The homeroom teacher handed a form to Su Fengnan: "Take a look at it first."

Su Fengnan took the form; it was her report card for the three unscheduled quizzes this month. Her grades had improved each time, and the teacher had highlighted the progress in red. Math, in particular, was marked with two red lines. Just as she was thinking that her math scores had always hovered around the passing mark, no wonder the teacher had made a special note, she heard her homeroom teacher say:

"Your average score in the humanities section was 291, your average score in Chinese was 137, and your average score in English was 131. The only problem is that your math score is always hovering around the passing mark. However, it's clear that you've made significant progress recently, with your total score increasing by 70 or 80 points. It's evident that you've been working very hard lately."

After the homeroom teacher finished speaking with an upturned tone, his eyes revealed undisguised joy as he looked at Su Fengnan, as if he were looking at a rare golden child.

The homeroom teacher paused, looking intently at her with the satisfaction and joy of looking at her own precious child. Her tone was filled with barely concealed laughter: "However, although math is your weak point, your total score has genuinely improved by seventy or eighty points in the last few sessions. Su Fengnan, it's clear you've been working really hard lately, and you've made great progress."

Then, Ms. Xu changed the subject, her tone becoming more earnest: "If you can maintain this level, getting into a top university shouldn't be a problem, but your math is a bit of a weakness!"

Su Fengnan's fingers, hanging by her sides, curled slightly. She knew that the No. 2 High School had only been established for three years, and its college entrance examination pass rate had always been lukewarm. If her graduating class could produce a few more students admitted to top universities, it would not only bring honor to the school, but also benefit Ms. Xu, the homeroom teacher, in terms of both year-end evaluation and bonuses.

"Yes, I am a bit unbalanced in math," Su Fengnan replied softly, her tone so flat that no emotion could be discerned.

She lowered her eyes, but inwardly she was thinking: So what, teacher? Did he call me over just to give me a big promise of getting into a top university, and then give me a dressing down in math?

"Will taking the art exam in your senior year of high school affect your academic studies?" the homeroom teacher asked tentatively, his gaze fixed on Su Fengnan's face.