Chapter 17: Isn’t this quite good at coaxing her son?

The classroom was specially arranged, with nearly thirty parents seated in one class.

It was quite spacious.

The report cards had already been distributed earlier.

Today was merely a demonstration of teaching results, where parents and teachers jointly focused on improving students’ academic performance, physical fitness, and the school’s annual curriculum, including extracurricular activities.

The study content and exams for the next semester would differ from the first semester.

In addition to the mandatory subjects for the college entrance exam, there would also be assessments in elective subjects like arts and sports, with final scores included in the semester’s total.

These elective subjects were not directly related to the college entrance exam, and since their weightage in the total score was relatively low, they were often overlooked by students, who considered them unimportant.

This had always been the case.

The exam content was announced at the beginning of the semester, yet those who didn’t take it seriously continued to ignore it, even as the exams approached.

Because of this, teachers made sure to emphasize this part during the parent-teacher meeting.

Additionally, in the final exams, the school conducted two foreign language tests, which differed from those of regular schools.

Apart from English, which was compulsory, students could choose to study another language as an elective.

The curriculum was comprehensive, but some parents questioned whether this arrangement might be too academically demanding, as it required students to study more than those in regular schools, making it seem somewhat unreasonable.

To address such concerns, teachers patiently explained and provided a detailed curriculum schedule.

According to the schedule, Yuli High School’s course arrangement differed significantly from public high schools.

The mandatory academic subjects were not overly compressed into the timetable.

Instead, one or two periods of academic subjects were replaced with elective courses each week, reducing academic pressure without significantly impacting students’ grades.

This scheduling method was the result of years of experimentation.

Over the years, the academic quality and results of Yuli High School were evident to all.

Most parents valued results above all, and with past examples to refer to, they no longer questioned the school’s curriculum arrangements.

Parent-teacher meetings served this exact purpose allowing direct communication between teachers and parents to quickly resolve any concerns, improving efficiency and reducing future misunderstandings.

The class teacher of Class One was a woman in her forties, appearing highly educated and serious.

She spoke in an organized and meticulous manner, exuding professionalism.

However, for Sang Miao, most of these formal statements went in one ear and out the other.

Meng Xici had his own study plans, and she didn’t need to worry or interfere.

Feeling drowsy, Sang Miao retracted her earlier thoughts there was nothing interesting about a parent-teacher meeting.

Luckily, there was no student-parent speech session.

After sitting through a long and dull discussion, the meeting finally ended.

In reality, the banquet afterward was the real highlight of the day.

Some parents headed to the auditorium to find their children, while others went directly to the banquet hall.

Among the crowd, Sang Miao stood out too much.

As soon as she got up from her seat, two female parents approached her with an invitation:

“Mrs. Meng, are you heading to the banquet hall? Why don’t we go together?”

During the meeting, no one had introduced the parents individually.

While those who paid attention might have figured things out, Sang Miao hadn’t bothered, so she didn’t recognize them or know which classmates’ parents they were.

She curved her lips slightly into a charming smile and politely declined, “I’ll wait for Xici.

You two go ahead.”

Her tone was warm and familiar, as if she had a close relationship with the Meng family.

However, in this social circle, people were skilled at putting on facades.

Everyone present was astute, unlikely to be deceived by mere pleasantries.

The two women seemed to be evaluating the authenticity of her words but didn’t press further.

Moments later, they smiled and said, “Alright, we’ll go ahead then.”

As they walked away, their voices lowered into a whispered conversation once they were out of sight.

“She’s so young and beautiful.

Even if it’s President Meng, I’d be tempted if I were him.”

“Do you think Meng Peisheng invested in the Sang family because of her?”

“That’s a bit far-fetched.

Would Meng Peisheng really let lust cloud his judgment like that?”

After a moment of thought, the other woman responded seriously, “Even if that’s not the reason, he must like her quite a bit.

She’s already attending his son’s parent-teacher meeting, and his son seems to have accepted her.”

“If his father likes her, does he really have a choice?”

“They just got married recently, right? And she’s already here at the parent-teacher meeting.”

“Wasn’t it said that President Meng cherished his only son so much that he never remarried?”

“But from the looks of it, her relationship with Meng Xici might not be bad.”

“Who knows…”

—

Sang Miao wasn’t actually planning to wait for Meng Xici.

She simply texted him, saying she’d head over first, and then took her time walking toward the banquet hall when fewer people were around.

She knew she was currently the subject of gossip, and she had no interest in being surrounded by a group of women bombarding her with questions.

She wasn’t familiar enough with Meng Xici to discuss parenting experiences with them.

Just before entering the banquet hall, she noticed a woman near the classroom’s window seat someone who seemed familiar but slightly different from what she remembered.

The woman was undeniably beautiful.

Most parents in this class were in their forties, but she looked younger, more like she was in her early thirties.

Her attire was neat and elegant, but compared to the other women in their extravagant outfits, she appeared relatively modest.

As Sang Miao approached, she noticed a noticeable stain on the woman’s dress.

The woman was trying to clean it but to no avail, looking slightly frustrated.

From the mirror, Ling Xi noticed Sang Miao approaching and momentarily paused her actions.

She recognized Sang Miao her identity was somewhat special, and no parent in the room would fail to recognize her.

When she had arrived earlier, she had already overheard other parents talking about her.

Since their children were classmates, even though they had never spoken before, she felt it was appropriate to greet her.

Ling Xi nodded politely and said, “Hello.”

She didn’t expect the other party to respond similarly, as she had already encountered plenty of wealthy people that evening.

They were courteous but aloof.

“Hello,” Sang Miao replied with a friendly smile, then glanced at the stain on Ling Xi’s dress.

“This… it probably won’t come off, right?”

Ling Xi hesitated at the unexpectedly casual and warm attitude.

With a small sigh, she smiled bitterly.

“Yeah, I wasn’t careful and got it dirty.”

Sang Miao thought for a moment.

“Are you heading to the banquet hall? My coat is long enough to cover it.

Let’s swap for now?”

Ling Xi’s short jacket couldn’t hide the stain, but Sang Miao’s could.

Accepting someone’s goodwill was usually simple, but the coat looked too expensive…

“Oh, it’s fine.

I don’t want to trouble you ”

Before she could finish, Sang Miao had already taken off her coat and handed it over.

Seeing the sincerity in her eyes, Ling Xi hesitated before accepting it carefully.

“Thank you.”

Sang Miao nodded, then suddenly thought of something.

“But won’t it be too warm wearing this inside the banquet hall?”

Ling Xi quickly reassured her.

“No problem, I don’t mind the heat.”

“Let’s go in together?”