Chapter 433: Speech On Stage
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After stepping onto the stage, Xia Wan looked down at the audience, appearing calm and composed.
The class teacher had been concerned that Xia Wan might get nervous, as she had a somewhat introverted personality when she was in the class.
But when he saw Xia Wan’s calm demeanor, he was quite pleased.
Xia Wan smiled faintly and began, “Actually, I didn’t do anything special. I just realized that I had wasted a lot of time in the past, and my family works so hard to support my education. I should cherish this opportunity and study diligently.
“Because I wasn’t very diligent in the previous two years, I had fallen behind in many subjects. So, for the past month, I’ve been studying at school during the day and attending tutoring sessions after school.
“If you were to ask me for a study tip, it would be to make the most of every available moment for studying and avoid unnecessary distractions.”
As she said this, Xia Wan glanced in the direction of Song Zhi, whose expression was quite grim.
It was clear that Xia Wan was subtly hinting at their past escapades at the bar.
Despite Song Zhi scoring seventh in the current exam, Xia Wan had achieved tenth place, just three positions behind him. This made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
Furthermore, Xia Wan’s brother had outperformed Zhou Chen in the exam.
Before Xia Chen transferred to their class, Zhou Chen had consistently been the top student in their class.
Now, many girls in the class had shifted their admiration from Zhou Chen to Xia Chen, leading to some girls trying to befriend Xia Wan.
Previously, she could openly cause trouble for Xia Wan, but now she didn’t dare to.
If those who liked Xia Chen saw her bullying Xia Wan, they would subtly target her.
Her public image had always been one of kindness and generosity, and she couldn’t let Xia Wan tarnish her hard-earned image.
Xia Wan chose the right moment to stop speaking and said to the class teacher,
“That’s my study strategy for this period. There’s nothing more to it. ” The class teacher led the applause and then turned to Xia Chen. “Next, let’s have Xia Chen come up and say a few words.”
“As Xia Wan’s older brother, he had dropped out of school previously and returned to school, achieving such outstanding results. Please share your experiences with us.”
Xia Chen nodded, understanding the class teacher’s intention. He wanted him to talk about why he had dropped out of school, hoping to inspire his classmates to cherish the opportunity to study.
Xia Chen walked up to the podium and began to tell his story.
“I dropped out of school initially because I have a younger sister and a younger brother. If all three of us were to attend high school and then college simultaneously, it would have placed a significant financial burden on my parents.
“My family had recently split, and before the split, all our property was controlled by my grandmother.
“If all three of us were to go to school, my grandmother wouldn’t have agreed. So, I voluntarily chose to drop out and tried to find a job to ease my father’s financial pressure.
“My father was in his prime but already had white hair, coming home very late at night and leaving early in the morning to work, just to save on transportation costs.
“As the eldest son of the family, I couldn’t comfortably enjoy my parents’ sacrifices.”
The classmates in the classroom expressed sympathy and admiration for Xia cnen•s past.
They had only seen Xia Chen as a good student who was handsome, but they never knew that his family had faced such hardships.
Someone in the class knew that Xia Wan’s family owned a clothing store and asked, “Isn’t your family selling clothes now? Although you’re working for the boss, I can see that your business is doing well. You must have earned a good amount of money. Why couldn’t you afford to study earlier?”
Xia Chen’s face did not reveal any annoyance at being exposed. He calmly looked at the classmate who raised the question and said, “That’s what I’m going to explain next.
“When my father injured his wrist and had to get stitches at the hospital, our family faced a huge medical bill that needed to be paid, and all that money came from my sister’s earnings.
“Later, my sister found a job selling clothes for someone, and she persuaded our parents to join her in the clothing business.
“It was my sister’s decision that turned our family’s situation around, allowing me to return to school, and my father no longer had to work so hard every day..”