Chapter 17: Second Sister

Tan Mo is naturally slow to perceive emotions and has difficulty in recognising delicate and complex feelings, which is the most characteristic feature of Asperger syndrome.

Disappointment, regret, envy, jealousy, such feelings rarely appear in Tan Mo's short life of fifteen years, and even when they do, Tan Mo himself is unable to identify what kind of emotional fluctuations they are, and he can only generalise them all to more familiar and simpler emotions, such as anger and sadness.

At this moment, looking at Qiao Lan's back as he turned to leave, Tan Mo's heart suddenly felt a sourness that he could not describe, and an urge to explain something to Qiao Lan. For example, he did hate people approaching him, he did not like people bothering him, but for so many days, he did not hate Qiao Lan's approach.

He reacted from Qiao Lan's words that it was he who had misunderstood something very important, but he did not yet understand that this strong emotional swing was called regret.

There is not only a senior school, but also a junior school, and after each exam, the top 100 from each grade are put up on a display board for all to see.

Qiao Yuan only glanced at it as he was passing by, his intention was to see if Qiao Lu had made it into the top 100, and if he did, he might want to show off again.

The result was a glance at the highest place on the senior display board, where his own sister's name was hanging.

Qiao Yuan first thought it was the same name, but when he looked at the class at the back, Qiao Yuan was dumbfounded.

I've never heard Qiao Lan say that there is someone with the same name in her class, so the girl who is in the first position is his third sister?

Holy crap, Qiao Lan came top of her grade?

Qiao Yuan almost rushed home after school in the afternoon, and when she met Qiao Lu on the way, she was so energized that she rushed up to Qiao Lu and shouted, "Sister Lu Lu, how did you do in the exam this time? Did you make it to the top 100 in your grade?"

Qiao Lu's face turned blue with anger and he turned his head to yell, " Qiao Lan didn't copy it!"

Copied?

Qiao Yuan scowled.

He didn't really believe that Qiao Lan could do so well in the exams, but now that Qiao Lu had said so, he really believed it, but he still couldn't lose face in front of Qiao Lu, so he said with a stubborn neck, "Don't accuse people without evidence.

Qiao Lu rushed up and tried to hit Qiao Yuan, who ran away with his chubby little body, Qiao Lu stood there biting his lip and suddenly cried.

Miss Qiao was cooking at home when she heard the door open, she turned around and was shocked to see her daughter's eyes crying like walnuts. Who is bullying you?"

Qiao's second uncle, who was reading a book in the room, rushed out and sat down with their daughter to ask her what was wrong.

"Out of the blue?"

Miss Qiao thought Qiao Lu had failed the exam, "It's just one exam, it's okay if you don't do well, just keep working hard", Miss Qiao stroked her daughter's hair, "Stop crying now, stop crying."

Qiao Lu huffed and puffed and cried, "No..."

She took the report card out of her school bag and showed it to Qiao's second uncle Miss Qiao.

Only after further questioning did we find out that Qiao Lan had come first in her year.

Qiao's second uncle and Miss Qiao looked at each other with amazement, Qiao Lu was incoherent with excitement, "She used to get such poor grades, but she got such high grades all of a sudden. What am I jealous of?

Qiao's second uncle couldn't listen any longer, "Stop it!"

Qiao Lu was taken aback by the sudden seriousness of her father's tone.

"You say Qiao Lan plagiarised, do you have proof?"

What more evidence is needed for this?

Qiao Lu looks astonished.

"She used to get such poor grades, how could she improve so much all of a sudden? The paper this time was particularly difficult and she was a hundred percent short of a perfect score, was that not copied?"

"Your teacher didn't say Qiao Lan plagiarised, and you didn't see her plagiarise, so the results alone don't mean anything", Qiao's second uncle retorted. He was a bit upset by his daughter's outright condemnation of Qiao Lan and wanted to go on to lecture her, but was stopped by Miss Qiao, "Go in, I'll talk to Lu Lu."

Qiao's second uncle looked at Miss Qiao and hesitated, Miss Qiao looked back at her daughter, "You don't know Qiao Lan's previous results, it's strange that she came first in this examination. You say Lu Lu has no proof that Qiao Lan copied it, can you prove that Qiao Lan didn't?"

Qiao's second uncle frowned and had to say something else, Miss Qiao hurriedly said, "I know how and say, you go in first, Lu Lu would have cried you give scold her."

Qiao's second uncle now looked at Miss Qiao and went into the house, Miss Qiao sat back down next to Qiao Lu and comforted her daughter, "Your father has a point, if she didn't copy, we would have wronged her..."

"She definitely copied it!"

Miss Qiao was silent for a few seconds and sighed, "If she can copy this time, I don't believe she can copy every time after that, she can copy during the week, she can copy in the HKCEE, she can copy in the HKALE? We just need to have a clear conscience and leave her alone."

Miss Qiao stroked her hair, "Tomorrow is your grandmother's birthday, we will go to your third uncle's house for dinner, are you coming?"

"No," Qiao Lu refused without thinking, she didn't want to see Qiao Lan.

Miss Qiao also guessed that "if you don't go, you don't go", but if you do, you might be mocked and bullied again, and you've already suffered enough.

Qiao Lan's mother, who had just come in to change her shoes, was so shocked that she almost fell over.

Qiao Lan came top of her grade?

Qiao's grandmother also frowned, "It's a mistake."

"Could I be wrong about Qiao Lan's name?"

Qiao's grandmother is still not convinced, "Then it must be the same name."

"Senior 13, Qiao Lan, she's the only Qiao Lan in her class, scored 1092 overall, short of 108 full marks, the whole school knows about it, oh oh oh Qiao Lu knows about it too, and by the way, Qiao Lu didn't even make the top 100!"

When I think of Qiao Lu's face just now, Qiao Yuan is happy.

Qiao Yuan has been very close to Qiao's grandmother since she was a child. She was young and didn't know any better, but as she grew up, she gradually understood some things.

For example, although Qiao's grandmother was kind to him, she was particularly bad to his mother, and even he could sense that his grandmother looked down on his mother.

Qiao Yuan is close to his grandmother, but his mother is definitely the closest, and people's hearts are always biased, especially when Qiao's grandmother repeatedly taunts his mother for being less educated than Miss Qiao.

What's more, Qiao's grandmother scolded Qiao's mother every time, saying that she was stupid and that her children were not brainy enough, so she was no match for Qiao Lu.

Qiao's grandmother actually scolded Qiao Lan, but Qiao Yuan was also born to Qiao's mother, and Qiao Yuan sounded like his grandmother was scolding him too, as his grades were particularly poor.

So Qiao Yuan is always happy to do anything that puts Miss Qiao and Qiao Lu to shame.

This time Qiao Lan came first in her year and smacked Qiao Lu right in the face, which couldn't have been better!

Qiao's grandmother didn't believe it, but Qiao's mother did, and she felt her back was up.

Qiao's grandmother said every day that her uneducated children were not good enough, but Qiao Lan got the first place in her grade, can she ask Qiao Lu to take one?

When Qiao Lan came back from her trip, she was confronted by a happy Qiao's mother and an unhappy Qiao's grandmother, who had cooked a table of food for her and took the opportunity to undermine Qiao's grandmother during dinner.

Qiao's grandmother was so angry that she didn't close her eyes again for the rest of the night.

The next day was Qiao's grandmother's 70th birthday. In the evening, Qiao Yuan was waiting for Qiao Lu, but Qiao Lu never came. Miss Qiao's mother was so happy that Qiao Lan had not brought Qiao Lu with her, otherwise she might have gotten into a fight again.

But still, it was hard not to be angry. The result was already unclear, and look at Qiao's mother's petty look, she is really uneducated and uneducated.

Qiao's eldest uncle, Qiao's second uncle Miss Qiao, and Qiao Family's two married sisters are all here. Qiao's second aunt, with a big sparkling diamond ring on her hand, attracts a lot of glances from time to time.

Qiao's second aunt's chin lifted even higher at that moment.

When the group left the Qiao Family after dinner in the evening, the two Qiao Family daughters didn't rush back and stayed behind.

Qiao Lan was kept awake all night and did not finish her homework, so she finally closed the door and worked on her homework when the people left. But Qiao's second aunt was so loud and clear through the wall that Qiao Lan plugged her ears with paper, but to no avail.

Rubbing his temples in annoyance, he heard a knock on the door outside.

Qiao's grandmother and Qiao's mother, Qiao Yuan, never knocked on the door when they entered Qiao Lan's room, so Qiao Lan guessed who it was and opened the door to see that it was Qiao's eldest sister.

Qiao's mother has had three daughters, the eldest of whom is 23 years old and was married the year before last to the son of the owner of the vegetable shop that regularly delivers food to Qiao Lan's family's small restaurant.

Qiao's grandmother and Qiao's mother did not like this son-in-law. A vegetable shop, which was not much better than her family's, gave the Qiao Family a good deal when the latter delivered the food.

Qiao's eldest sister gave birth to a daughter last year and they seem to be getting along better than ever.

Qiao's eldest sister comes in from outside and closes the door softly, smiles and sits on the edge of Qiao Lan's bed, talking softly and slowly, not at all like the rest of the Qiao family.

Qiao's eldest sister asked how Qiao Lan was doing and then mentioned Qiao Lan's exams this time, "I heard I came first in my grade."

Qiao Lan was impressed with Qiao's eldest sister for the time being and nodded her head "hmmm".

"It's great", Qiao's eldest sister says, "she was not good at school and got married before she finished high school, she didn't think anything of it at first, but now she's slowly starting to regret it, but there's nothing she can do about it, it's already like this.

Qiao's eldest sister talked to Qiao Lan for a while and then took out a small box and handed it to Qiao Lan.

"I didn't know what to buy, I just saw it when I was out and about the other day and they say you young students like to wear these."

Qiao Lan looked down and saw that it was an MP3.

"I asked your brother-in-law to download some random songs, so listen to them and download some more for yourself if they're not good."

Qiao Lan, holding a small MP3, listened to the sound of Qiao's second aunt, Qiao's grandmother, passing through the wall, and then said thank you.

"Thank you for nothing", Qiao's eldest sister smiled, "We don't have anyone in our family who can study, it's hard to have you, just study hard and get into a university", and then looked outside. "Don't take what she says to heart, just study hard and do well in your studies."

Qiao Lan didn't understand why Qiao's eldest sister was suddenly saying this, but nodded anyway.

Qiao's eldest sister said something else before leaving the room, saying that she had children to take care of at home, so she went back.

Qiao's grandmother and Qiao's mother didn't stop her, Qiao's second aunt stood up to see her sister out, lamenting again at the top of her lungs, "Ugh children are really troublesome, I'm tired of watching them every day, my husband has found two nannies, but he still can't take care of them My husband has two nannies, but he still can't take care of them..."

Qiao's eldest sister's eyes dimmed, but without saying anything, she turned and left downstairs.

Qiao's eldest sister has left, and Qiao's second aunt has just opened the box and started to brake.

"Qiao's second aunt seems to be complaining, but there is no sign of annoyance on her face, her face is so smug that she almost says, "I am proud that I have given birth to a son and that I married a rich man.

Qiao's second aunt is just 20 years old this year, but already has a half-year-old son.

Qiao's second aunt's husband is a restaurant owner, not a small restaurant like Qiao Family, but a big one. He is about to turn forty this year and is married, with a wife and a daughter about the same age as Qiao's second aunt.

Qiao's second aunt, who originally worked at whichever meal spot she was working at, got pregnant while working, and a few months later gave birth to a son for her good boss and managed to make it to the top.

Since then Qiao's second aunt has had a rich husband and a son, and is wearing diamonds all around her hands and neck.

Once they saw the ring on Qiao's second aunt's hand and heard about the nannies in the house, Qiao's grandmother and Qiao's mother stopped fighting for the first time, and both of them were glowing.

"Ugh it's just too busy, he's trying to open another branch recently and he's too busy..."

Branch!

Qiao's grandmother and Qiao's mother's eyes lit up as they said Qiao's second aunt had married a good son-in-law, and Qiao's second aunt looked smug, "Yes, I just bought me a car the other day. I can't even drive it, I'm so annoyed, I have to learn to drive."

Qiao's mother padded over, "What kind of car?"

"Audi, I think, it's not too expensive just four or five hundred thousand."

400,000 to 500,000! That's not expensive! Qiao's mother staggered and looked at Qiao's grandmother for a moment, "The car at second sister-in-law's house is only about 200,000."

When Miss Qiao bought a car, Qiao's grandmother always said that Miss Qiao was a great person and could drive, and that the car she bought was Japanese.

Qiao's second aunt snickered, "Her car, at most, is only a hundred thousand, second uncle and second aunt is a teacher, and the salary is not high, buy a hundred thousand car tops."

Qiao's grandmother wanted to say something but couldn't think of anything, so she could only say, "Your second aunt's family is a cadre.

"Qiao Lu's family is not a cadre. Both of them are teachers, and they earn 3,000 to 4,000 yuan a month, which is not as much as my child's monthly milk powder. My grandmother still treats Qiao Lu as a treasure every day, but she doesn't even want to come to your birthday."

Qiao's grandmother hurriedly explained, "Your second aunt said it was Lu Lu who had a cold."

"I think Qiao Lan did better than her, Qiao Lu doesn't have the face to come", Qiao's second aunt mocked, "Qiao Lan knows how to study these days? But honestly, in this society nowadays, it's useless to study as well as you can."

Qiao Lan is in her room and is about to put on the headphones that Qiao's eldest sister bought, when Qiao's second aunt's next words startle her.

"Qiao Lan It's enough to read this book, what's the point of learning so much."

Qiao's mother said hesitantly, "I'm top of the class this time, so maybe I can do better in the future..."

"What can you do if you come first in the exams? Those who come out of famous universities still come to work for me in our shop. What's the point of studying hard these days? Even if you get into college, you'll be too old to find a good home when you graduate."

Qiao's mother was still hesitant, but Qiao's grandmother agreed with her, "Girls get wild when they study too much, Mr. Liu's granddaughter studied for a PhD, but now she's almost 30 and can't even find an in-law..."

Qiao's second aunt nodded, "It's enough to be able to read and count, so while you're still young, it's more important for Qiao Lan to have more exposure to society and meet more people."

Qiao's mother was worried, "Where will she get access to people?"

Qiao's second aunt thought about it, "A few days ago my husband invited some people over for dinner, there is a young man surnamed Zhao, ten years older than Qiao Lan can still not married, the family demolished several suites, the government gave compensation of tens of millions, recently is discussing with my husband about investing in a branch."

"That's a good feeling!"

Qiao's mother got all excited and started to ask Qiao's second aunt for information about the second generation.