Chapter 126
So that's what "silent" in "Father's Love is Silent" means.
Son, you need to understand that being beaten into silence by someone else and your Dad choosing to remain silent are two completely different things.
However, Lal's essay was indeed quite good, with fluent writing and neat handwriting; there's a reason he got first place.
After all, you can't expect a seven or eight-year-old child to create a masterpiece.
After Lars finished reading, he looked at his Dad with sparkling eyes. Guilt
Although my sweet son gently poked my knee, it's nothing.
First place!
His eldest son is number one!
Ral's dad stood up and gave his acceptance speech, "Lar, Daddy's love for you is truly unspoken, and Daddy vivid essay today is a testament to that. Even though Daddy's other knee is injured, it's all worth it!"
Such a powerful and explosive statement couldn't help but make Leon turn around and take a look.
But turning around wouldn't have been a problem; the moment he did, he met Ral's dad's gaze.
He gave a disdainful sneer at the culprit that had injured his knee; if it weren't for the classroom, it probably would have already come over and mocked him.
"Now they're getting cocky. I guess it'll be better if I just break their other knee too, as you wish," Leon thought. "Fine."
Losweiser tugged at Leon's sleeve and whispered, "Out of sight, out of mind."
Leon shrugged and looked away.
Ral's dad wanted to continue teasing Leon's family, but then the homeroom teacher spoke up.
"Oh right, one student's essay isn't with me, so it wasn't included in this ranking."
Upon hearing this, the students and their parents in the class shifted their attention from Ral's dad back to the homeroom teacher.
Ral's dad was boasting enthusiastically when he heard that there was another expert, so he stopped.
As for Leon, the keyword "not participating in the rankings" gave him a vague idea.
Could it be that his beloved daughter has already surpassed the level of a baby dragon and is no longer considered a child?
As expected, the homeroom teacher lowered his eyes and looked at the first row closest to the podium.
"Noa, this is yours."
Noa's disappointed eyes lit up again. "Then, where is my essay now?"
Before the homeroom teacher could answer, the classroom door was suddenly opened by someone.
"Noa K. Melkwy's essay is here!"
The white-haired old man held up two pages of essay paper, panting heavily despite his age. Perhaps only the essays of students from model families in the college could excite him so much.
Looking at the vice principal, Leon couldn't help but sigh:
The executioner may be late, but he will never be absent!
He even had instruments of torture in his possession that could kill people!
Amidst the astonished gazes of the group of dragons and one other person, the vice principal, holding Noa's essay, excitedly walked to the podium.
The homeroom teacher quickly gave up her seat.
Everyone in the Young Dragon Department knows that the Melkwy family is the vice principal's darling; he probably has to personally read even an essay.
However, after taking the stage, the vice principal did not rush to read Noa's essay, but first gave an explanation.
"The reason why Noa's essay was not included in this selection is because our Saint Hiss Academy Principal, Angelina Orlette, had heard about her deeds and family, and therefore wanted to review Noa's essay herself."
Angelina Orlette —this was the first time Leon had ever heard the name of the headmistress of the Saint Hiss Academy.
If the principal doesn't make his presence felt soon, Leon thinks the vice-principal is going to usurp the position. After all, this old B-dragon's appearance rate is just too high, and he's always there, whether it's the entrance exam or the school sports meet.
The vice-principal waved the entire page of red-lettered comments in his hand, looking as proud as if the principal had written them for him, not for Noa.
"As expected, Principal Olet liked Noa's essay very much. She said that if a young dragon's essay was graded out of 100, she would give Noa 95. Why 5 points less?"
Because five points isn't enough? Leon silently complained to himself, looking at the vice principal's excited expression.
The vice principal smiled smugly, "Because the principal said she hadn't seen enough! If there's another essay competition next time, we must let Noa write more. She's more than willing to set aside half an hour to review Noa's essays."
Oh, I get it. To put it simply, it's like "not being able to see Noa's essays feels like ants are crawling all over my body."
Putting down the comments, the vice principal gazed out the window, squinting his eyes beneath his white eyebrows, and sighed.
"Principal Olet's words reminded me of my youth, when I used to follow an author's collection of essays in a Dragon Race Evening News. The author updated weekly, and the following week after each reading felt like an eternity. It was as if an addiction was rampaging through my body, and I could only be relieved when I waited for the next week's update."
"I believe that the principal may have become addicted to reading Noa's articles as well."
The vice principal withdrew his gaze and turned to the homeroom teacher beside him. "By the way, teacher, the essay rankings for your class have already been released, right?"
The homeroom teacher nodded. "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Ral's dad, who was sitting below, felt a pang of anxiety and quickly stood up, saying, "Vice Principal, you wouldn't be thinking of canceling my son Lar's first-place ranking, would you? Let me tell you, that won't do. This is my son's hard-earned achievement, and it absolutely cannot be canceled."
Ral's dad's words seemed reasonable and well-founded, even placing himself in a vulnerable position to gain sympathy from others.
But if you think about it carefully, are his so-called "real achievements" really true?
Noa's article wasn't deliberately submitted for evaluation, nor was it late; it was sent to Principal Olet, who had stricter and higher requirements for the content and quality of the articles, for review.
Even under these circumstances, Noa's article still received high praise.
Its value is self-evident.
So if Noa had participated in the class selection normally, winning first place would have been no problem at all, and what Ral's dad called "real achievement" was actually only second place.
It's like a top student and a genius student, both of whom got 100 points on their final exams.
The top student smugly believed he had already reached the realm of academic genius;
Little did they know that he could get a perfect score because his limit was a perfect score, while the academic genius could get a perfect score because the test paper only had a perfect score.
So how do we break this deadlock?
The answer is to be like Noa, accepting more rigorous tests and still standing out from the crowd.
Leon and Losweiser, and many of the parents present understood this principle, but only Ral's Daddy clung to the hard-won first place.
Even Lars was a little embarrassed. He tugged at his Daddy's sleeve and whispered, "Daddy, Noa's grades have always been better than mine. If she participated normally in the selection, she'd most likely still be number one..."
The little brat is siding with outsiders again!
Am I your Daddy or is Noa your Daddy?
Seeing Ral's dad's reaction, the vice principal said calmly,
"Please rest assured, Lal's first place is well-deserved. I will not cancel or lower his ranking. This is an honor he deserves, and no one will take it away from him."
Indeed, there was absolutely no need to do that, Leon thought there were two reasons.
First, if Ral's ranking is indeed changed from first to second, although no one cares how anxious Ral's dad will be, such a change would indeed be a blow to Ral, the little dragon.
Since he tried to bully Noa at school and ended up with a broken arm, this brat should have been much more well-behaved, studying hard and paying attention in class. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to get first place.
As for the second reason...
From the vice principal's tone and words, it's easy to tell that given Noa's writing level, participating in the class's selection process is pointless.
As expected, those who are too strong are ultimately excluded from the final score.
Good daughter, just like her father!
Only after hearing the vice principal say that did Ral's dad calm down.
The vice principal also breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to look at the homeroom teacher and gave her a look.
The homeroom teacher immediately understood and stepped in to play the straight man, "Vice Principal, since Noa's article is so excellent, why don't you read it to everyone? Noa, is that alright?"
Noa stood up and looked at the vice principal. "Okay."
The vice principal's eyes narrowed into slits with laughter.
What an honor it is to personally read articles by children from exemplary families!
The vice principal couldn't wait to share this essay, which embodies both family affection and love, with everyone present.
Seeing the smile on the vice principal's face, Leon and Losweiser were already sweating profusely.
The executioner and his deadly broadsword were already itching for a fight.
The couple quietly placed their hands behind Noa's seat, unconsciously holding each other tightly.
Seeking warmth in a group?
No, no, no.
We'll die together!
"But."
Noa suddenly spoke again, "I want to read it myself."
The vice principal was taken aback. "Read it yourself?"
Noa nodded seriously. "Yes."
The couple looked up at the profile of the woman, Yi'erling (3) Erlin (7) Shiba'er, from the left and right sides respectively.
Do we really have to do this, my little padded jacket?
Do you really want to snatch the torture device that killed Mom Daddy from Old B Long's hands and into your own?
That's enough.
It's better to die at the hands of one's own daughter than at the hands of someone else.
The couple's tightly clasped hands loosened considerably, with only their fingers still intertwined intentionally or unintentionally.
They leaned back in their chairs, like deflated balloons.
The vice principal naturally did not refuse Noa's request, "Alright, then please come up and read, Noa."
Noa walked up to the podium, picked up her article, glanced at her Mom Daddy, and then began to read it aloud carefully.
"They are a loving yet peculiar couple."
"But that doesn't stop me from liking them, liking them to the core."
Her tone wasn't as impassioned as the two young dragons had just spoken.
Instead, it leaned more towards Losweiser's usual cool tone, but within that coolness lay a burning passion. Zero
Every emphasis is just right, neither affected nor artificial. (Nine)
Especially the phrase "love to the core," it doesn't sound like the kind of emotion a young dragon should be able to utter. (Lin)
That wasn't a pretense of a group chat; it was the maturity that Jiu-ling Shan revealed—her most sincere feelings for Mom Daddy.
As the reading continued, the couple gradually realized that this article was not some kind of social execution instrument, but clearly a "love letter" written to them by their daughter.
"They made me understand that 'love' is never a gamble, but a journey, a two-way journey."
"If 'love' is a balance scale, then in my family, without a doubt, it always tilts towards my sister and me. Because Mom and Daddy have poured all their love into our side."
I initially thought it was just a quirky "love story," but unexpectedly, the words were filled with Noa's sincere and profound love for her Daddy, Mom, and sister.
Perhaps the word "profound" shouldn't be used to describe a child, but that's exactly the feeling she gave Leon.
In just eight hundred words, the article quickly came to an end.
Leon thought she would continue to sing praises to elevate the theme, but Noa's ending was not like that.
She put down the paper in her hand, her little face serious and focused, and looked down at Leon.
Father and daughter, one tall and one short, looked at each other across the teacher's desk.
"A little while, "Noa said softly.
"I have the best Daddy in the world."
After a pause, Noa seemed to detect a sour smell and quickly looked at Losweiser beside her, "With Mom."
That's what she originally wrote in her article—I have the best Daddy and Mom.