"Oh."
Hearing Joy Zheng’s words, Evan Lin nodded, feeling a strange sensation in his heart.
Lynn Chen had always been a stickler for cleanliness. When she was little, she’d come to Evan’s house a few times, but as she grew older, she never visited again.
Every now and then, during holidays, Lucy Lu would come over and stay for a day or two, sharing a bed with Joy Zheng. Lucy was well aware of Evan’s family situation, but she never minded—she was always warm and easygoing.
As for Lynn Chen, with her pampered princess temperament, she could hardly adapt to Evan’s house.
"Xiao Yi, what do you think of Lynn as a kid?" Joy Zheng looked at Evan and asked softly, "You’ve spent quite a bit of time at their place, so you must have interacted with her, right?"
"Mm, she’s fine. Good at studying, and pretty too." Evan shoveled rice into his mouth, distractedly replying to Joy Zheng’s question.
"Your Auntie Lu mentioned on the phone that you didn’t say goodbye to her before leaving, and these past few days, Lynn has asked about you several times. If you have time, maybe give her a call?" Joy Zheng hesitated, but finally said it out loud.
"Lynn Chen’s asking about me?" Evan shook his head. In the past, hearing this might’ve made him excited, but now, it didn’t stir his heart at all. "Got it, Mom. She’s just a normal friend. I’ll call her if I get the chance."
"Mm." Joy Zheng nodded. She felt more and more that Evan had grown up a lot and become much steadier.
"By the way, didn’t you go to River City for the Math Olympiad? Did the results come out yet?" Joy Zheng remembered and wanted to ask Evan when he first got back, but seeing him having fun with Jianzi and Chuhan, she’d forgotten.
"I’m not sure if the results are out yet. I’ll ask when I get a chance—I’m not really sure how to check the score." Evan hesitated for a moment. Truthfully, he felt pretty confident about his performance in the Math Olympiad.
But after coming back, he hadn’t contacted Old Man Liu, so naturally he didn’t know how to check the score.
"Mom, why haven’t you spent the 100,000 yuan I gave you before?"
"That money’s for your future schooling. After you graduate, I’ll need to buy you a house. I don’t need anything, so why spend it? Silly kid." Joy Zheng shook her head, remembering how Evan told her to use it up before coming home, and couldn’t help but give him a look. She tapped him on the head: "This money is for you. Mom doesn’t want to touch your money."
Seeing Evan about to say something else, Joy quickly cut him off: "When you’re done eating, wash your own bowl. Starting now, don’t argue with me."
She was worried Evan would keep nagging her to spend that money.
Evan shook his head, knowing Joy’s temperament well, and decided not to push further.
After finishing his meal and tidying up, Evan took the dishes outside to the communal water pump to wash them.
Once Evan left, Joy Zheng’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen, then picked up.
"Hello, Ms. Huang. Is something up?"
The caller was Flora Huang. Normally, outside of class, she rarely contacted Joy Zheng—most of her free time was spent playing mahjong, drinking tea, or singing a few old songs at KTV with her circle of wealthy ladies.
For Joy Zheng, all those activities cost money—money she just couldn’t bring herself to spend.
"Hey, Jiayun, here’s the thing—I just heard from my husband, Director Deng, that the provincial Education Department leaders are coming to inspect, and they’re inviting all the county’s teachers to a big dinner."
"And apparently, there’s a student at First High School who’s really something—he took third prize in the River City City High‑School Math Olympiad!" Flora’s tone was full of envy.
In a place like Whitewood County, winning a spot in the provincial Math Olympiad was nearly impossible. The county’s teachers and students just weren’t on the same level, and it had been years since anyone placed.
"That’s amazing—the Math Olympiad results are already out?" Joy Zheng was taken aback by Flora’s words.
"Yep, they came out a few days ago. By the way, your Evan joined the competition too, right? Did he bomb the test or something? It’s no big deal—it’s just a contest, failing once isn’t a big deal." Flora sounded regretful, but couldn’t hide her relief.
Earlier, when Evan called Joy Zheng to say he was going to River City for the Math Olympiad, Flora happened to overhear and spread the news to all the teachers at Whitewood Elementary. Many teachers envied Joy for having such a talented son.
But Flora still felt a bit sour—her own daughter, Ivy Deng, hadn’t qualified for the contest. Watching Joy Zheng bask in the attention, Flora was more than a little uncomfortable.
Now, hearing Joy Zheng ask about the results, Flora was sure that Evan must have done badly—otherwise, he would’ve told his mom already.
"Got it, thanks." Joy Zheng nodded.
"You have to come, okay? And this time you can bring your family—make sure to bring Evan along! He and Ivy haven’t seen each other in ages, they should catch up and talk about their studies." Flora hung up, but not before reminding her again: "It’s tomorrow at noon, Hongqing Grand Hotel. Don’t forget—noon sharp!"
"I still have to notify the other teachers. I’ll just send a message in the WeChat group. Jiayun, you really should get a smartphone and set up WeChat—it’s such a hassle to reach you otherwise."
Flora hung up, looking very pleased with herself.
She glanced at her husband, Director Deng, who was reading the newspaper on the sofa, walked over, and nudged his shoulder. "Hey, you were right—Evan really didn’t tell his mom his score. He must’ve messed up and was too embarrassed to say anything."
Director Deng nodded. "Yeah, I heard the test was really tough this time, and there was even an accident during the exam—some students got hurt. But the result was good. The boy from First High who got third prize, I think his name was Martin Ma."
"Third prize isn’t easy—he fought his way through a sea of competitors. It really brought honor to Whitewood. The Education Department’s visit is thanks in large part to that third prize."
"As for Evan, just let it go. His grades have always been average—don’t keep bringing it up in front of Joy Zheng, or you’ll just make her feel bad."