Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 189 - 189 186 Dont Put the Cart Before the Horse

Chapter 189: Chapter 186: Don’t Put the Cart Before the Horse Chapter 189: Chapter 186: Don’t Put the Cart Before the Horse Xia Shi’s mother’s smile stiffened as she looked at Teacher Tang incredulously, “Is her performance not good?”

“You cannot exactly say it’s not good, just that she doesn’t spend enough time on her studies, and her homework completion is not quite ideal. Some teachers have reported that her homework is often done just for the sake of getting it completed. You must know that the physics major is not the same as other majors, there are more courses and the difficulty is higher, sometimes one needs to study a single problem all night. But Xia Shi is somewhat impetuous and clearly cannot settle down when doing problems.”

As Tang An spoke, he opened a drawer and pulled out a logbook.

“Xia Shi’s mother, normally we would give this feedback to parents at the end of the term, but since you’re here now, that’s even better.”

He said, flipping open the logbook and pointing at the homework completion ratings, “Even though it’s just regular homework, it’s also recorded in the final archives, and many professors will choose their students based on this at the end. Final exam grades are actually secondary. Look, they’re graded ABCD, with A being the best, D being a fail, which requires a redo. Xia Shi’s grades are here.”

Since there is homework every week, five grades had already been recorded. Xia Shi’s mother located Xia Shi’s name and her pupils instantly contracted.

Xia Shi’s grades were three Cs and two Ds, meaning, three times barely passing and twice failing requiring a redo.

And when she looked at Song Jiawen, who was ranked first, they were all As.

Xia Shi’s mother was well aware that regular homework at Beijing University could not be cheated on, no matter how powerful her connections were.

She pursed her lips, suddenly feeling very defeated.

She had thought about paving the way for Xia Shi and seeking justice; whether that path could be paved was still unknown, but as for this justice…

Xia Shi’s mother looked up at Tang An and asked, “Teacher Tang, is Song Jiawen’s performance very outstanding?”

Tang An nodded without hesitation, “Extremely outstanding. She has a high IQ and almost all of her attention is on her studies; these regular assignments are very easy for her to complete.”

Others can easily achieve A’s,

Xia Shi’s mother then said, “I met her brother this morning, and I heard Xia Shi say that he is also a teacher at your school. Her homework… her brother certainly tutors her, doesn’t he?”

Tang An laughed, “Xia Shi’s mother, are you joking? Homework grades are not just based on after-class work, but also on classroom responses. How could her brother help with that? Moreover, Professor Yu is not a teacher in our Physics College; he is just temporarily covering our first-year higher mathematics class. But higher mathematics is an elective, with no regular homework.”

As Tang An spoke, his expression became serious, “Xia Shi’s mother, I’ve talked to Xue Weisong about the incident this morning, and it was indeed his fault. He could have simply told Xia Shi that he didn’t want to participate in the debate competition. There was no need for him to beat around the bush, and I’ve already criticized him for that. But regarding Song Jiawen, I think perhaps you have some misunderstandings?”

“Misunderstandings? Isn’t she always causing trouble for Xia Shi?”

“She’s causing trouble for Xia Shi? Did Xia Shi tell you that? Did Xia Shi also tell you why Song Jiawen would be causing her trouble?”

Why?

It was nothing but pettiness, the typical strife between girls.

But as the conversation had progressed to this point, Song Jiawen was no longer the focus of Xia Shi’s mother, so she did not voice this thought.

Tang An looked at her and said, “If I were to tell you that Song Jiawen is an exceedingly straightforward girl, you might say I’m biased towards her. However, as a counselor, I have no need to favor any student, I am just stating the facts. The initial conflict between her and Xia Shi was because she did not support Xia Shi to become the class leader, but that decision was mine, not related to Song Jiawen. Forgive my bluntness, but Xia Shi’s character is… somewhat extreme!”

“I can understand the feelings of a child who has always excelled and been used to holding leadership roles wanting to continue showcasing their abilities and ambitions in university, but Xia Shi’s mother, don’t forget, this is Beijing University, and the college we are in is the Physics College. It’s no exaggeration to say that every child in the class is extraordinary, and none of them is inferior to Xia Shi.”

Facing Teacher Tang’s matter-of-fact words, Xia Shi’s mother opened her mouth, but couldn’t utter a single word.

Tang An continued, “Getting into Beijing University is a testament to one’s personal ability and a family’s honor, but whether this honor can be brought to a successful close with a period—it all depends on the diploma one secures after four years. Whether someone is the class president, the leader of the Communist Youth League, or the president of the student council, these roles are merely the icing on the cake of one’s actual academic achievements, not the foundation. So, Mrs. Xia, I hope you can persuade Xia Shi not to put the cart before the horse.”

No sooner had Teacher Tang finished speaking than Mrs. Xia could respond or express any concerns when the office door was knocked on.

Tang An went to open the door and saw Mu Chenyan, feeling both surprised and not surprised.

“Please come in, Dean Mu.”

Even though Mu Chenyan ultimately did not agree to become the dean of the Fine Arts College, she had a deep connection with the college and had come over to help reorganize for half a month, so the young teachers were used to calling her “Dean.”

Without correcting his address, Mu Chenyan walked in slowly, dressed in a neatly pressed black wool coat, with a checked scarf her daughter had picked out wrapped around her neck. “I heard from Yu Heng that a student’s parent came to see us about Jiawen…”

She stopped mid-sentence when she spotted Xia Shi’s mother sitting in front of Tang An’s desk.

Tang An quickly introduced them, “This is Mrs. Xia, the mother of our student Xia Shi. Mrs. Xia, this is the Dean of Beijing University Fine Arts College, the mother of Song Jiawen.”

The Dean of Beijing University Fine Arts College?

Mrs. Xia couldn’t help but open her mouth wide, having originally thought that Song Jiawen’s biggest support was her professor brother, but it turned out that her mother was even more formidable.

What had she come here to do at the beginning? Oh, to warn Song Jiawen!

Thankfully, she hadn’t said anything to Teacher Tang in the end. If she had…

She offered Mu Chenyan a stiff smile and said in a quiet voice, “Hello!”

Mu Chenyan gave a faint nod in response, thinking to herself, doesn’t everyone have a mother? Wanting to talk to my daughter alone, who do you think you are?

She sat down on the chair Tang An had moved over and asked him first, “What’s going on? Did Jiawen do something wrong? What caused the conflict between the two children?”

Tang An was about to speak when Mrs. Xia jumped in, “There’s no conflict, Song Jiawen didn’t do anything wrong, it was a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding…”

Tang An paused, heaved a sigh of relief, smiled, and said no more.

After Mu Chenyan arrived, Mrs. Xia stayed for less than three minutes before leaving, and her departure was somewhat flustered.

But Mu Chenyan felt a bit disappointed; she had finally taken on the role of a parent for her daughter, and before she could even roll up her sleeves to get started… it was over?

Yu Heng even said that morning that the parent was quite formidable with words, speaking in veiled criticisms that vexed him.

What can such an ineffective person do?

….