Chapter 14
The six years of elementary school flew by in the blink of an eye.
Before they knew it, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan had graduated from Sunshine Primary School.
At the graduation ceremony, the two families gathered together for a group photo, just as they had when the children graduated from kindergarten.
The only difference was that Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan had grown up a lot compared to six years ago.
The youthful innocence on their faces was fading, replaced by the vigor and vitality unique to teenagers.
“Han Han, how can you grow up to be so beautiful? You get more beautiful every year, it just melts Aunt Xin’s heart.”
Zhang Wanxin looked at the Shen Qinghan, now taller than her own shoulder, with eyes full of a mother’s love for her daughter.
Although Shen Qinghan wasn’t her daughter, she had long since come to regard her as one.
Lin Yansheng also expressed his sentiments, “Kids nowadays grow up so fast. They’re only in the sixth grade, just twelve years old, and already nearly as tall as adults.”
He was mainly referring to Lin Zichen.
At this moment, Lin Zichen seemed almost as tall as Zhang Wanxin, over one meter sixty.
And to think, he had just graduated from elementary school.
If he keeps growing through middle and high school, after another six years, he’d be at least one meter eighty tall.
In Lin Yansheng’s times, that height would have made him one of the tallest in the class.
On the other side, Shen Jianye and Xu Meng were also marveling at how quickly the two children had grown.
Among them, Xu Meng said with a smile, “Looking at these two children before us, there’s always this feeling that just yesterday they were babies, and today they have suddenly grown into little adults.”
“Yeah, time passes so quickly.” said Shen Jianye, embracing Xu Meng’s waist with a sense of wonder.
“Xiao Chen, Han Han, can you two get a bit closer together?”
Zhang Wanxin held a SLR camera and called out to Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan in front of her.
Upon hearing this, Shen Qinghan reached out to pull Lin Zichen a bit closer to her, standing side by side with their hands almost touching.
“Ready, cheese!”
Following this shout from Zhang Wanxin,
Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan both made a ‘yeah’ gesture, their faces bearing a smile with three parts childlike and seven parts youthful awkwardness.
After dozens of photos were taken, Zhang Wanxin finally let the childhood friends go, turning to the three parents behind her to show off her photography skills.
Then, completely lost in the flattery of “You took such great photos!” she beamed with pride.
“Xiao Chen, you’ve grown so fast. Just two years ago, when we were ten in grade four, we were the same height. Now, you’re half a head taller than me.”
Shen Qinghan stood in front of Lin Zichen, tip-toeing slightly to compare their heights, only to find she was now half a head shorter than him, feeling somewhat disheartened.
Lin Zichen reached out to pat her head, teasing with a smile, “It’s okay. In another three years, I may be a whole head taller than you, and then in another three years, a head and a half.”
“Don’t get too cocky,” Shen Qinghan said, pouting her rosy lips, “who knows, I might surpass you in middle school and be a little taller than you, just like in third grade.”
Lin Zichen listened and smiled without saying a word, looking down attentively at Shen Qinghan, who was already 12, suddenly feeling like an old father watching his daughter grow up.
The once giggly baby, the little girl with unclear speech, and the bouncing little girl had unknowingly grown into a sweet-voiced young lady.
She seemed like a lively, spirited lark.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
Shen Qinghan, with her clear eyes, waved her hand in front of Lin Zichen.
Lin Zichen laughed and said, “It’s nothing.”
Shen Qinghan with a mischievous face, “It must be that you think I’m pretty, right?”
“Han Han, you really have grown up to be very beautiful,” Lin Zichen sincerely nodded.
Shen Qinghan didn’t expect him to answer so candidly. Her face instantly turned red, and she quickly looked away while speaking, “If you think I’m pretty, then take a few more looks.”
Lin Zichen just smiled and thought to himself how the once naive little girl was now blushing and shy; she had truly grown up and was on the brink of adolescence.
The graduation ceremony soon came to an end.
The two families, as always, found a nearby restaurant to celebrate with a meal.
However, unlike when they graduated from kindergarten,
This time, the private room in the restaurant was joined by several scholarly middle-aged men with glasses.
They were the principals of several famous high schools in Shanhai City, here in person today to attract Lin Zichen to enroll in their schools.
No one had invited them.
They had insisted on entering the private room themselves.
This wasn’t because they lacked manners.
The blame lay with Lin Zichen, who had performed too excellently over the past six years.
He had swept nearly all the awards in the city.
Moreover, he always took first place without ever failing.
Such dazzling achievements had made him the most talented primary school graduate in the history of Shanhai City, a prize catch in the eyes of every high school principal in town.
Under the persuasion of several principals, Lin Yansheng and Zhang Wanxin were quite tempted.
No matter which school’s conditions they read, they seemed very alluring, which made it difficult for the couple to make a decision.
Eventually, Zhang Wanxin turned towards Lin Zichen and asked with a gentle voice, “Xiao Chen, which school do you want to go to for junior high?”
“I’m fine with anything, it depends on where Han Han wants to go.”
Lin Zichen handed the decision back to Shen Qinghan. He didn’t care which school he attended for junior high, confident that with his abilities, he would dominate at any school.
Shen Jianye and Xu Meng, who were next to him, were suddenly taken aback.
Shen Qinghan had excellent results, but not every high school was within her reach.
Especially the ones run by the prestigious high school principals present, Shen Qinghan might barely make the cut and could easily be edged out.
But now, thanks to Lin Zichen’s words, she suddenly had the luxury of choosing any school, leaving Shen Jianye and Xu Meng feeling quite overwhelmed.
“Wanxin, I think it’s better to let Xiao Chen make this decision himself.”
Xu Meng looked at Zhang Wanxin and returned the decision to her. She felt that letting her own daughter decide would be too stressful, and their family couldn’t bear the consequences.
Zhang Wanxin smiled and said, “It’s okay, Xiao Chen will only go to the same junior high as Qinghan. Let Qinghan choose whatever she likes.”
After finishing her sentence, she looked at Shen Qinghan with an affectionate smile and said, “Han Han, you can pick any junior high you want. This is Xiao Chen’s offer to you.”
“Aunt Xin… I, I don’t know.”
Shen Qinghan also didn’t know how to choose, and eventually gave the decision back to Lin Zichen, saying, “Xiao Chen, you pick then.”
Seeing that everyone was too bashful to choose, Lin Zichen had no choice but to decide himself.
He looked at the principal of Shanhai High School opposite him and politely said, “Principal Chen, I have a condition—that I must be in the same class as Shen Qinghan. Would that be possible?”
“Of course, it’s possible!” The principal of Shanhai High School beamed with joy and nodded vigorously in agreement.
Not just in the same class, but even if it meant setting up a separate class just for the two of them with the best teachers of the entire school, the principal of Shanhai High School would agree without hesitation.
A genius was simply that in demand.
After Lin Zichen had made his decision,
the principals of the other schools also tactfully took their leave, not sticking around to disturb the families’ celebration.
The principal of Shanhai High School also said a few more words and then astutely followed suit in leaving.
While both sets of parents raised their glasses in celebration,
Lin Zichen had a thought and opened his achievement tasks to check the progress.
[Achievement: Dominate Nine Years of Compulsory Education]
[Reward: Gain the Biometric Attribute—Survival of the Fittest]
[Title: King of the Kindergarten (Unlocked), Boss of the Primary School (Unlocked), Overlord of Junior High (Not Unlocked)]
He had finally endured until the end of primary school!
He was finally going to start junior high!
As long as he unlocked the last title of[Overlord of Junior High], he would receive the long-awaited Biometric Attribute[Survival of the Fittest]!
Lin Zichen felt excited for the first time in a while, thinking that as soon as he started junior high, he would immediately demonstrate his absolute power to crush the entire school and unlock the title[Overlord of Junior High] during the first stage of junior high, to gain the Biometric Attribute[Survival of the Fittest] at the fastest speed.
PS: Holding out my bowl, seeking monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!