Shi Qing refused to give up. “Is there really no other way?”

  Qiao Nan raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you record your voice in a tape? When it’s time to have meals, you can tell your dad’s secretary to play it continuously to remind him to have his meals.”

  “It’s worth a try.” The recording might not be as good as the real person, but it was better than nothing.

  “Are you serious?” She was just joking.

  “Of course I am serious. This method is feasible and operational. It can be done.” Shi Qing decided on it. She went back to her house to get a recorder and a tape to record her voice.

  In order to check its effect, Shi Qing asked Qiao Nan to listen to it after she finished with the recording. She wanted to know if it would work.

  After listening to the recordings, Qiao Nan gave Shi Qing an idea. “It is too boring to record one version only. Your dad may be immune to it after listening for a long time. Perhaps you can record a few more versions using different tones—like when you are angry, furious, exasperated, and gloomy. It will be a good idea for your dad to listen to different versions. Let’s do it this way. I will write down the wordings. You can memorize them and use different tones to say them. In this case, your dad will not be tired of them and his secretary will have an easier job.”

  “Great!” Shi Qing eyes brightened. Her interest was piqued.

  It was a test of her acting skills to use different emotions when saying the same words. “I will go all out for my dad!”

  It could have been an annoying task. However, it turned out to be full of fun due to Qiao Nan’s suggestion.

  At Qiao Nan’s request, Shi Qing spent the whole afternoon making the recordings in different versions, having a lot of fun in the meantime.

  Shi Qing went to Shi Peng’s workplace before school reopened and had a talk in secret with Shi Peng’s secretary.

  \r \r \r

  “Xiao Qing, you can rest assured that I will make sure that it’s done properly. If the director is in poor health, it will spell trouble for us as well.” The secretary laughed slyly after listening to the recordings. He believed that the recordings would definitely work on Director Shi.

  Shi Peng was clueless that Shi Qing was working secretly with his secretary.

  By the time he learned about it, it was when he heard the recordings that Shi Qing made to remind him to have his meals.

  “The weather is very good.” Shi Qing summed up her feelings while standing at the door of Ping Cheng High School.

  Qiao Nan squinted, shielding her eyes with her hands from the bright and glaring sun. She looked at Shi Qing, dumbstruck by her remarks. “Is the weather very good? Perhaps you want to stand here for half an hour to enjoy the sun?”

  Shi Qing smiled, looking embarrassed. “Don’t be so serious. I am referring to a feeling. I am not really saying that the weather is good today. The heat during autumn is unbearable. How can the weather be good? I am just kidding.”

  “Hehehe, your joke is really funny.” Qiao Nan smiled dryly at her joke. “I won’t stand under the sun with you. I don’t have to pay school fees, but you have to. If you don’t hurry, there will be a long queue. Surely you don’t want to stand in the queue with others, do you?”

  “There’s no need to queue. Have you forgotten that third-year students start school five days earlier than the rest of the students?”

  “Are there any classes that start late in Ping Cheng High School?” Qiao Nan rolled her eyes. Ping Cheng High School was a first-rate high school. If it did not have classes during summer break, it would always start school earlier than the rest. It had been a tradition.

  Shi Qing’s face fell at her words. “Qiao Nan, don’t you feel that the banner at the school gate is a bit exaggerated? The wordings are so large. People with presbyopia and myopia will be able to see them clearly.” The word ‘congratulations’ was in large prints. Unless one was blind, nobody would miss it.

  Qiao Nan walked toward the school. “You must understand.”

  “Understood!”

  “Nan Nan, my dearest Nan Nan.” All of the ladies who shared the dormitory with her last semester had arrived at the dormitory.

  As soon as Tang Mengran saw Qiao Nan, she called her affectionately and pouted with her arms outstretched toward Qiao Nan, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey. Qiao Nan darted to a side to escape from her. “What is the situation?” When did Tang Mengran start to hug people around her?

  “When somebody humbles herself before you, she must have some request to make of you.” Fang Fang adjusted her glasses and reminded Qiao Nan.

  “Request? What request is it?”

  “Nan Nan, I have to rely on you for the college entrance examination a year later. Our school has done so well in this year’s college entrance examination. Nan Nan, you will definitely ensure that this current batch of students that you are in will have better results than the previous year, right? Nan Nan, I have entrusted my whole life to you.”

  The third-year students heard of Qiao Nan’s proud achievements when they arrived at school. Tang Mengran, in particular, wanted to stick close to Qiao Nan and get her promise to help her spot questions for the college entrance examination so that she could do well in the exams.

  Qiao Nan gestured for Tang Mengran to move aside. “You made it sound as if I have never spotted questions for you in the past.”

  She thought it was for something else. It turned out that it was for the college entrance examination.

  Tang Mengran paused momentarily and scratched her head. “You are right.” Nan Nan had never shortchanged her. “I have turned into a fool after a summer break.”

  “Are you unwell due to the hot weather or having eaten too much food?” He Yun made a dig at Tang Mengran, who had gained weight after the summer break.

  Tang Mengran pouted, covering her face with her hands and leaning toward Zheng Lingling. “League branch secretary, you must have seen how He Yun bullied me. You must seek justice for me. Today, He Yun bullied me. She may target the rest of you tomorrow.”

  “Alright.” Zheng Lingling pushed at Tang Mengran’s forehead. “How dare you compare with us? You asked for it. If He Yun didn’t bully you, we would bully you. We have been in the same dormitory with Nan Nan for two years. Why would you panic at small things? Aren’t you worried that Nan Nan will laugh at you?”

  “That’s right. If we were Nan Nan, we would have ignored you ages ago. You are such an annoying fool,” Tao Zhenqin said helplessly while tidying the bed.

  Tang Mengran was a big fool.

  If they had not been staying in the same dormitory for years, and if she was given a choice, she would not have gotten close to Tang Mengran.

  “All of you are bullying me.” Tang Mengran was upset that her roommates seemed to shun her. She was just joking. Why was everyone being so serious?

  Qiao Nan looked exasperated. “I think it’s good that Tang Mengran is in our dormitory. After all, there are many people who are more exaggerated than her. Tang Mengran is indeed foolish at times, but she knows her limits. With her around, she can uplift the atmosphere in the dormitory.”

  “Listen to what Nan Nan said. She is such a fair person. Without me, all of you would be nerds and Nan Nan would feel bored.”