The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 936: Chapter 914: Being a Top Student in the 1980s 42

”Ningning, Yuanzi, come out for dinner.”

Xiangling called out from outside, and Anning quickly responded.

When she and Xiao Yuan arrived at the dining room, Xiangling was busy setting the table.

Anning quickly went over to help, ”Sis, you take a rest, I’ll do this.”

Xiangling laughed, ”I’m fine, I’m not going to be so fragile that I can’t do any work. Don’t treat me like I’m made of clay, as if I’d break at a touch.”

Anning thought to herself that Xiangling’s body was indeed like clay right now.

Xiangling really neglected her health in those years, and now she’s pregnant again before even fully recovering. If it was a single pregnancy, that would be one thing, but she’s carrying several. Anyone who’s been pregnant knows that carrying one child is already quite uncomfortable as you near delivery; some nights you can’t sleep waiting to give birth. If it’s twins, it’s even worse, and sometimes it feels like your stomach is going to burst.

Xiangling’s pregnancy with at least three is surely worrying people to death.

During dinner, Secretary An kept putting food on Xiangling’s plate, urging her to eat more.

Anning spoke to Zhang Heping, ”Dad, can you buy me some medical books?”

”What do you need those books for?”

Zhang Heping asked in confusion.

Anning pointed at Xiangling, ”Since my sister’s pregnant, I’m worried. I have to read medical books to scientifically support her pregnancy.”

”Alright.” His daughter insisted on reading such books, so Zhang Heping had to buy them. He truly never found any reason to refuse Anning on such matters.

But Anning was still worried.

Just reading medical books won’t suffice.

This is unlike other subjects, where you can learn just by reading; medicine truly can’t be self-taught like this. It requires extensive practice, whether in traditional or modern medicine; mere theoretical knowledge is insufficient.

Anning, just by reading, even with profound theoretical knowledge, would never have the justification to persuade others to believe her medical skills are remarkable.

Xiao Yuan was also worried.

His excellent medical skills, whether in traditional medicine, modern medicine, or pharmacology, would be at a Divine Doctor level today, but could he dare to show them?

He had neither family lineage nor professional education in such fields. Who would believe a kid could treat illnesses?

After dinner, Xiao Yuan went back to school, and Anning went to her room saying she was going to do homework.

Late at night, it wasn’t convenient for Xiangling to go back, so she stayed here.

Early the next morning, Hou Jun came over to pick her up.

Secretary An told him about taking Xiangling to the hospital for a check-up.

Hou Jun agreed repeatedly, promising to take Xiangling for a prenatal check-up as soon as possible.

When Anning arrived at school, Xiao Yuan was waiting for her in the junior section, and when they met, they almost said simultaneously, ”Go to Medical College.”

At the end of the school day, Zhang Heping came back with a big stack of medical books.

Anning took a few books for Xiao Yuan, keeping some for herself.

The two started flipping through medical books, reading both at home and school, with little concern for school courses. No matter which teacher was teaching, they were both reading medical books.

That wasn’t the issue; now teachers at Provincial First Middle School knew they learned quickly and had finished all high school courses long ago. Even if they took the college entrance exam now, they could score high. What they read during class wasn’t a concern.

But what crossed the line was that these two started skipping classes.

They were there in the morning, could be seen after school, but during class, they’d disappear.

Both homeroom teachers called Xiao Yuan and Anning for a talk.

They didn’t say much, just directly expressed they were going to auditor Medical College lectures.

The homeroom teacher tried to persuade for a long time, and they agreed nicely but would run off again afterward.

As for punishing them, the teachers were truly reluctant.

The two were top scorer prospects, always respectful to teachers, and had good relationships with classmates, especially Xiao Yuan. His homeroom teacher genuinely adored this kid, and punishing or scolding him was truly difficult.

But without punishment, what if they strayed off the right path?

The teacher had no choice; if talking didn’t help, then they’d call home.

Zhang Heping had just started work when someone called him to answer the phone.

Zhang Heping anxiously picked up the receiver, ”Is this Anning’s father?”

Zhang Heping quickly replied, ”Yes, you are...?”

Upon realizing it was Anning’s homeroom teacher, he quickly smiled and said, ”Ah, Teacher Gong, do you have something to discuss? Did something happen to Anning at school?”

Teacher Gong tried to remain calm, ”It’s like this, Anning has been skipping classes lately. I’ve talked to her; she agrees nicely but continues as usual afterward. I need to let you know. Would you mind coming to the school?”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Heping immediately took leave and biked to Provincial First Middle School.

When he went over, he happened to run into Hou Jun.

Hou Jun saw Zhang Heping: ”Dad, why are you here?”

Zhang Heping also asked Hou Jun: ”Why did you come over?”

Hou Jun then said: ”Yuanzi’s homeroom teacher called the Xiao Family, and Dad couldn’t make it, so he called me to come over.”

”Yuanzi skipped class too?”

Zhang Heping was shocked.

Hou Jun understood immediately: ”Ningning also skipped class.”

They must have been messing around together.

Zhang Heping and Hou Jun hurried to the teacher’s office.

Of course, the middle school and high school sections are definitely separate.

As soon as Zhang Heping entered the office, he looked for Teacher Gong, who took Zhang Heping outside the classroom to have a look; Anning’s seat was empty.

Seeing this, Zhang Heping broke into a sweat: ”This child, you know... She was doing well at home before, and I said she was sensible, but I didn’t expect her to be so bold, really causing you trouble.”

Teacher Gong waved hand: ”Trouble? It’s nothing. Us teachers, we aren’t afraid of kids causing trouble; we’re mainly worried about kids having accidents. Anning’s young, but she’s already mature, so smart—what if she doesn’t follow the Righteous Path...”

Teacher Gong didn’t finish but Zhang Heping understood the meaning.

If Anning were ordinary, it wouldn’t matter, but the key is she’s too smart. Such exceedingly smart kids, if taught well, are talents, pillars of the country; if not, they could go astray, becoming a big disaster.

Zhang Heping nodded vigorously: ”You’re right, you’re right. I’ll wait here for her today. When she comes back, I have to give her a good talking-to.”

Speaking of hitting children, Zhang Heping couldn’t bear to do it.

He usually couldn’t bear to say anything harsh to Anning.

”Then you wait.”

Hou Jun was the same; Zhang Heping and Hou Jun left the office, and when they met, well, they were both skipping class. God knows what those two mischievous kids were up to.

Wait.

They kept waiting until noon, but by noon, the kids still hadn’t returned.

So they continued waiting, and it was almost dismissal time in the afternoon when Anning and Xiao Yuan returned to school.

As soon as they got back, Zhang Heping caught them red-handed.

Zhang Heping, with a dark face, had Hou Jun take Xiao Yuan to speak with the homeroom teacher and then head to his place.

Zhang Heping, on the other hand, took Anning to speak with Teacher Gong, then took Anning home.

On his way back, Hou Jun brought Xiao Yuan over too.

Without saying a word, they went straight into the house.

Once inside, Zhang Heping sat on the sofa, looked grimly at Anning and Xiao Yuan: ”Speak up, what did you two skip class for?”

Secretary An and Xiangling were discussing what to make for dinner, and seeing the scene nearly jumped.

Secretary An quickly tried to soothe Zhang Heping and then asked Anning: ”Ningning, tell me, what did you do to make your dad so angry?”

Anning wasn’t afraid, staring with big clear black and white eyes at Zhang Heping, whose heart softened: ”Don’t just look at me, be honest.”

Only then did Anning softly say: ”My brother and I went to the Medical College.”

”What?”

This time even Hou Jun was startled: ”What were you two doing at the Medical College? If you want to study medicine, wait until you get into college, you’re just wasting time.”

Anning glared at Hou Jun, defensively saying: ”It’s not that, we were worried about my sister.”

Xiangling was equally puzzled: ”What? What’s it got to do with me?”

Xiao Yuan looked at Xiangling’s belly: ”Sis, you’re not just carrying one baby, but several. How could we not be worried? We’ve been terrified, having nightmares every night, so we decided to learn some medical knowledge quickly. In case there’s something wrong, we know what to do.”

His words shocked Zhang Heping and Secretary An.

Zhang Heping asked: ”How do you know your sister isn’t carrying just one baby?”

Anning jumped in: ”Didn’t you buy us medical books? We read the books, and on the first day learned how to check pregnancy pulse. Initially, we wanted to see if my sister was having a nephew or niece, but after checking the pulse, it seemed she wasn’t carrying just one, it’s multiple pregnancies.”

His words made Secretary An’s legs weak.

She glanced fearfully at Xiangling’s belly: ”Let’s go for a prenatal checkup tomorrow, quickly.”

Hou Jun was equally terrified.

His legs were weak; he couldn’t stand and sat heavily on the sofa: ”If it really is multiple pregnancies, let’s not have them.”