Chapter 321: Three hundred and twenty, a child with a hard life Chapter 321: Three hundred and twenty, a child with a hard life “Of course, you can,” Song Yan Ning nodded.
“That’s great, thank you!” Jiang Tao swung his fist in excitement. The first time he saw Song Yan Ning, he assumed she must be a very arrogant girl, as in his experience, the prettier the girl, the more arrogant they seemed. He never expected Song Yan Ning to be so approachable. Her smile was really beautiful!
“Don’t mention it,” Song Yan Ning shook her head. She felt that Jiang Tao’s personality was somewhat like Guo Kai’s, making her quite fond of him.
“Song Yan Ning, come with me to the office to move some books,” Chen Mengyu looked towards Song Yan Ning.
“Okay,” Song Yan Ning stood up.
“Mr. Chen, let me help too. A girl like Song Yan Ning surely can’t carry that many books,” Jiang Tao raised his hand.
Chen Mengyu nodded and walked toward the classroom door.
Song Yan Ning, Jiang Tao, and two other students followed Chen Mengyu.
Chen Mengyu’s office was shared by three teachers, and the other two were also teachers of Song Yan Ning’s class.
“These are the books; take them to the classroom and distribute them to the students,” Chen Mengyu pointed to several stacks of books on the table.
Jiang Tao and the other two walked forward, each picking up a stack of books and leaving.
After Jiang Tao and the others had left, Song Yan Ning approached Chen Mengyu, “Mr. Chen, I don’t think I’m suited to be the class leader.”
“Why?” Chen Mengyu looked at Song Yan Ning, surprised. With Song Yan Ning’s academic record, she thought the role of class leader suited her perfectly.
“I often have to ask for leave and don’t have that much time to manage the class,” Song Yan Ning spoke candidly.
“Why do you need to take leaves? Is something wrong at home?” Chen Mengyu had looked over Song Yan Ning’s file. She lived with her grandparents, and her parents’ whereabouts were unknown. Chen Mengyu guessed that Song Yan Ning might be an orphan.
Song Yan Ning shook her head, “I have some things to take care of.” Right now, improving her own abilities was her main priority, especially since Lu Tingxuan had moved in next door, which only reinforced this thought.
“You’re not involved in child labor, are you?” Chen Mengyu asked this possibility. Song Yan Ning’s grandparents were both old, likely with health issues, so it was possible that Song Yan Ning was working to support them.
Song Yan Ning restrained the impulse to roll her eyes, “No.”
“Really not?” Chen Mengyu was somewhat incredulous.
“Really not,” Song Yan Ning nodded assuredly.
“Let’s do this: you be the class leader for now; if you really don’t have the time, then we’ll discuss it again,” Chen Mengyu looked at Song Yan Ning, her eyes filled with a touch of pity. This child really was too pitiable, enduring such hardships and yet bearing them all bravely. She should help her.
“What’s wrong with this damn computer?” Teacher Lin, who was working on the computer, slammed the desk in frustration.
“What’s the matter?” Teacher Wang, sitting across from her, lifted her head to ask.
“I was working on a document, and suddenly my computer crashed. It’s frozen, and I can’t turn it off. This document is urgently needed by the principal, what should I do now?” Teacher Lin had a look of despair and didn’t know what to do.
“Someone should come and fix it,” suggested Teacher Wang.
“There’s no time. This is an urgent matter, the principal needs it in half an hour,” Teacher Lin was really about to cry. If she messed this up, it would definitely worsen her impression with the principal.
“Teacher, let me have a look,” Song Yan Ning offered.
Teacher Lin stared at Song Yan Ning in surprise, “You know how to fix computers?”
“A little bit. If you trust me, I can try,” Song Yan Ning said with a confident smile on her face.
Teacher Lin was hesitant. She had many important files on her computer; it would be a problem if they were lost.
“Teacher Lin, she’s the top-ranking new student in the school, Song Yan Ning,” Chen Mengyu looked at Teacher Lin and introduced Song Yan Ning to her. She believed that a smart kid like Song Yan Ning wouldn’t offer her help to Teacher Lin without being somewhat certain.
“She’s Song Yan Ning?” Teacher Lin and Teacher Wang looked at Song Yan Ning with realization. They, of course, knew Song Yan Ning, primarily due to her outstanding academic performance.
“Song Yan Ning, then please help the teacher take a look,” Teacher Lin said. Normally, she definitely wouldn’t have let Song Yan Ning help, but given the current emergency and the lack of time to find someone to repair it, she had no choice.
Song Yan Ning nodded once, stepped forward, and began typing rapidly on the keyboard.
After a moment, Song Yan Ning turned to Teacher Lin, “Teacher Lin, it’s fixed.”
Teacher Lin’s face was full of disbelief, “So quickly? What caused the computer problem?” She only saw Song Yan Ning tap a few keys on the keyboard.
“It was a virus. I’ve removed it, so Teacher Lin can use the computer without worry now,” Song Yan Ning walked over to Chen Mengyu’s side, picked up some books from the table, and headed toward the office door.
Half believing, Teacher Lin sat down at the computer. Thinking of the unfinished document, she quickly clicked on the file and, seeing it was intact, let out a long sigh of relief, “This Song Yan Ning really does have some skills.”
Chen Mengyu nodded in agreement, “It’s a shame she’s had such a hard life.”
“What do you mean?” Teacher Wang looked at Chen Mengyu.
“Song Yan Ning has lived with her grandparents since she was little, and I suspect she might be an abandoned baby. She mentioned that she needs to take frequent leaves, and I guess she probably does so to work and earn money. Her grandparents are old and certainly aren’t able to earn a living anymore,” Chen Mengyu shook her head and sighed. Such a sensible child, yet so afflicted by fate.
“I see,” said Teacher Lin after submitting the document, also feeling sympathetic towards Song Yan Ning’s background, “How about we help Song Yan Ning?”
Chen Mengyu nodded, “I had the same thought. I’ll go to the principal later to see if we can apply for a scholarship for Song Yan Ning.”
Teacher Lin opened her drawer, took out her wallet, pulled out five hundred yuan, and stood up to walk over to Chen Mengyu, “Take this money and give it to Song Yan Ning.” Her own home was struggling, her husband scrimped and saved every penny. If her husband found out she gave Song Yan Ning this five hundred yuan, who knows what a fuss he would make. But she still wanted to do her part to help Song Yan Ning. After all, compared to Song Yan Ning, she was much better off.
“Teacher Lin, I’m aware of your family’s situation, you should keep it,” Chen Mengyu pushed the money back. Teacher Lin’s husband was not just frugal, he was excessively so. Last time Teacher Lin invited a few colleagues for some bottled water, her husband argued with her for days. If he found out Teacher Lin had given away five hundred yuan to a student, the world would be turned upside down.
“It’s alright, I want to do my part too. It would be such a waste if a child as bright as Song Yan Ning isn’t nurtured properly,” she thought. If her husband found out, at most he would argue with her for a few days, but nothing more would come of it.