Chương 14: 14. Elementary School Graduation
The six years of elementary school flew by in the blink of an eye.
In no time at all, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan graduated from Sunshine Primary School.
On the graduation ceremony day, both families gathered together for a group photo, just as they did when the children graduated from kindergarten.
The only difference being, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan had grown much taller than they were six years ago.
The childishness on their faces was fading, replaced by the vibrancy and vitality unique to teenagers.
"Han Han, how can you be so beautiful? You get prettier every year; it's melting Aunt Xin's heart."
Zhang Wanxin gazed at Shen Qinghan who now stood slightly taller than her shoulder, with eyes full of a mother's adoration for her daughter.
Although Shen Qinghan wasn't her own daughter, she had long since regarded her as one.
Lin Yansheng also remarked, "Kids these days grow up so fast. Barely in sixth grade, just twelve years old, and they're nearly as tall as adults."
He was mainly talking about Lin Zichen.
At the moment, Lin Zichen was almost eye to eye with Zhang Wanxin, standing at a little over 1.6 meters tall.
Keep in mind, he had just graduated from elementary school.
By the time he finished middle and high school, with another six years of growth, he would be at least 1.8 meters tall.
In Lin Yansheng's generation, 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 kids, I can't help feeling like just yesterday they were babies, and now they've suddenly become little adults."
"Yeah, time flies so quickly." Shen Jianye said, embracing Xu Meng around the waist.
"Zi Chen, Han Han, come a little closer together."
Zhang Wanxin held a DSLR camera and called out to Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan in front.
At the sound of her voice, Shen Qinghan reached out and pulled Lin Zichen a bit closer, standing nearly hand in hand.
"Okay, cheese!"
At Zhang Wanxin's command,
Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan struck a "yeah" pose simultaneously, revealing a smile that was three parts youthful and seven parts tender.
After snapping dozens of photos, Zhang Wanxin finally let the childhood sweethearts go and turned to join the three parents behind her to admire her photography skills.
Then, completely lost in the compliments of "These are really good shots," she beamed with pride.
"Zi Chen, you've grown so fast. Just two years ago, when we celebrated your tenth birthday in fourth grade, we were the same height, and now you're half a head taller than I am."
Shen Qinghan stood in front of Lin Zichen, tiptoed slightly to compare their heights, and found herself half a head shorter, feeling somewhat disappointed.
Lin Zichen reached out to touch her head, teasingly commented, "Don't worry, three years from now, I might be a whole head taller than you, and then three years after that, one and a half heads taller."
"Don't get too smug," Shen Qinghan said with a plump, rosy pout, "I might just overtake you in junior high and be a bit taller than you, just like in the third grade."
Lin Zichen just chuckled and didn't reply, looking closely at the 12-year-old Shen Qinghan before him, suddenly feeling like a father watching his daughter grow up.
The once giggling baby girl, the unintelligible little loli, the bouncing young girl had unknowingly grown into a clear-voiced young lady.
Like a lark, full of agility and liveliness.
"Why do you keep staring at me?"
Shen Qinghan, with her clear eyes, waved her hand in front of Lin Zichen and asked.
Lin Zichen smiled and replied, "Nothing special."
Shen Qinghan teasingly said with a mischievous face, "You must think I'm pretty, right?"
"Han Han, you really are very pretty," Lin Zichen nodded sincerely.
Caught off guard by his candid response, Shen Qinghan's face turned red instantly, and she hastily turned away, saying, "If you think I'm pretty, then you should take a few more glances."
Lin Zichen smiled without a word, thinking to himself that the once childish little girl now understood blushing and shyness—it was definitely a sign of growing up, a sign of impending adolescence.
...
The graduation ceremony soon came to an end.
The two families, as always, found a restaurant nearby to celebrate with a meal.
However, unlike at kindergarten graduation,
This time, in the private room of the restaurant, there were a few more scholarly middle-aged men wearing glasses.
They were the principals of several prestigious high schools in Shanhai City, and today they had come personally to entice Lin Zichen to enroll in their schools.
No one had invited them.
They had insisted on entering the private room themselves.
This wasn't a matter of them being impolite.
The blame, if any, lay with Lin Zichen, who had performed too excellently over the past six years.
He had almost swept up all the awards in the city.
Moreover, he had always been in first place, never slipping.
Such dazzling achievements had made him the most talented primary school graduate in the history of Shanhai City, the crème de la crème in the eyes of every middle school principal.
Under the persuasion of several principals, Lin Yansheng and Zhang Wanxin were very tempted.
No matter which school's offer they looked at, it all seemed very enticing, making it difficult for the couple to decide.
In the end, Zhang Wanxin turned toward Lin Zichen and asked in a gentle voice, "Xiao Chen, which school would you like to attend for junior high?"
"I'm fine with any, it depends on where Han Han wants to go."
Lin Zichen tossed the choice to Shen Qinghan, indifferent to which school he would attend for junior high,—with the perks he had, he could bulldoze his way through anywhere.
Upon hearing this, Shen Jianye and Xu Meng felt somewhat flattered and taken aback.
Shen Qinghan's performance was very strong, but she couldn't get into every school.
Especially the prestigious schools where the present principals worked, at best, Qinghan would barely scrape through to admission, and there was always a risk of failing.
But at this moment, because of Lin Zichen's single sentence, Shen Qinghan suddenly had the privilege to choose from any school, which left Shen Jianye and Xu Meng somewhat at a loss.
"Wanxin, I think it'd be better to let Xiao Chen make the decision himself."
Xu Meng looked at Zhang Wanxin and returned the choice to her, feeling that letting her own daughter decide would be too much pressure for them to bear.
Zhang Wanxin laughed, "It's fine, Xiao Chen will only go to the same middle school as Qinghan anyway, so let Qinghan choose what she likes."
After speaking, she turned her gaze to Shen Qinghan, smiling affectionately as she said, "Han Han, feel free to pick any middle school you want, this is Xiao Chen giving you the choice."
"Aunt Xin... I, I don't know."
Unsure how to choose, Shen Qinghan ultimately handed the decision back to Lin Zichen, "Xiao Chen, you choose."
Seeing that everyone was too embarrassed to choose, Lin Zichen had no choice but to decide himself.
He looked at the Shanhai High School's principal across from him and spoke politely, "Principal Chen, I have a request: I want to be in the same class as Shen Qinghan. Would that be possible?"
"Certainly, of course!" The principal of Shanhai High School beamed, nodding his head in rapid agreement.
Forget being in the same class—if it meant setting up a special class for the two of them and assigning the best teachers, the principal was willing to agree with his eyes closed.
Such was the cachet of genius.
After Lin Zichen had made his decision,
The principals of the other schools wisely took their leave, not staying to disturb the celebration of the two families.
The principal of Shanhai High School stayed a bit longer to say a few more words but quickly followed suit and left perceptively.
As the parents raised their glasses to celebrate,
Lin Zichen's mind moved, and he opened his achievement tasks to check his progress.
[Achievement: Dominate Nine Years of Compulsory Education]
[Reward: Gain Biometric Attribute — Survival of the Fittest]
[Title: Kindergarten King (Already Lit), Primary School Boss (Already Lit), Junior High Tyrant (Unlit)]
He had finally made it through primary school!
He was finally going to junior high!
As long as he lit the last title, "Junior High Tyrant," he could acquire the long-awaited Biometric Attribute "Survival of the Fittest"!
Feeling excitement he hadn't felt in a long time, Lin Zichen thought about showing his absolute dominance over the whole school once he started junior high, lighting up the title "Junior High Tyrant" in the first stage, and acquiring the Biometric Attribute "Survival of the Fittest" at the quickest speed possible.
...
PS: Holding out my bowl, begging for a Monthly Pass and recommendation votes!
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