Chapter 28: Compromise

Half a while.

Mom pondered for a moment and asked, “Your English grades are poor. Do you know why they are poor?”

I whispered in a tentative tone, “Is it ... poor foundation?”

Mom glanced at me and said, “Yes, the poor foundation is that you have a weak foundation, a small vocabulary in your mind, and few English articles you read. You can’t understand the questions, and I don’t know how you learned!”

I made a bitter face and shouted “Mom” with a long tail tone

Mom’s eyebrows raised: “What? You failed the exam, and you don’t let others say it?”

“You say it, you say it, how dare I.”

“Then I will make a plan for you. Memorize 20 words and read an English article every day. Can you do it?”

“No.”

Mom’s eyes glared and she raised her voice instantly: “What did you say?!”

Seeing that my mother raised her arm and pretended to pinch my ears, I quickly covered my ears with my hands and explained quickly: “Too many, I can’t memorize them.”

Mom slapped me on the head with her backhand and scolded: “What’s the use of your brain! Can’t you memorize 20?”

“I want to, but I just can’t remember it.” I looked aggrieved.

My mother sneered: “Can’t you remember it?”

“You think about all kinds of messy things every day, it’s strange that you can memorize words.”

“I...” I opened my mouth, without refutation or denial.

My mother looked at me deeply, then leaned on the sofa, squinting her eyes, looking a little tired.

I didn’t dare to disturb my mother, and it was quiet for a moment. My mother opened her eyes and looked at me helplessly.

Rubbing her eyebrows with her hands, she sighed softly: “Son, what do you say will make you put all your mind on studying?”

“If you give me a fuck, I will definitely study hard!” I only dared to think about this in my heart. I guess my legs would be broken if I said it out loud.

I frowned, sighed, and said bitterly: “Mom, my mind is always on study.”

Mom said helplessly: “If you want to focus on study, then what’s wrong with your English grades?”

Hearing this, I was a little amused, thinking, it’s not that if you focus on English, your English grades will improve. If that’s the case, then everyone’s English grades will get full marks.

I also imitated my mother’s helpless tone and said, “Mom, I really can’t remember it. When I see English words, it’s like seeing a book of heaven. What can I do?”

My mother looked at me, leaned weakly on the sofa, and held her forehead with her hand: “I think you didn’t put your heart into it at all.”

“High school English is a simple subject. It tests only a few things, vocabulary, quantity and grammar skills, and the most important one is vocabulary. The larger your vocabulary, the better your English score.”

After a pause, my mother looked at me seriously: “You are not unable to remember words, you just didn’t try to remember them at all.”

I wanted to refute something, but after thinking about it carefully, it seems that what my mother said is right.

I studied science, and I never disdained to memorize by rote. Most of the time, I sharpened my gun before the exam, which led to erratic grades.

The test results last month improved because I really worked hard, and the purpose was to change the impression of me in my mother’s mind.

As for the fact that I didn’t do well in the English exam, firstly, the English teacher Fang was an intern teacher, with loose management and low requirements for grades, as long as I passed; secondly, it is important to know one’s own abilities. I know that my English foundation is poor, and I am too lazy to make up for it, so I just muddle through and pass it.

Besides, I will be in the third year of high school soon, and I simply don’t have the time and energy to make up for the basics of English.

After hesitating for a while, I whispered, “Mom, I don’t think English is very important...”

“Not important?” Mom asked back, with a serious look, and said sternly, “Don’t you take English in the college entrance examination?”

I replied slowly, “Take it.”

Mom said decisively, “Then starting tomorrow, twenty words and a short essay every day!” Her tone was unbelievable!

I lowered my head in silence, without saying a word.

But I was thinking in my heart whether there was a chance to negotiate with my mother and not let me live in the school.

If my mother agreed, it would be a pleasant surprise; if she didn’t agree, it wouldn’t be a loss, after all, in the end, I must do what my mother just said.

My mother frowned at me and asked again: “Did you hear it?”

“I heard it, but...”

“Hmm?”

I looked up at my mother and saw her cold face. I opened my mouth but didn’t dare to say it.

“If you have something to say, just say it, don’t hesitate!”

“That’s it, can you...”

“Are you done? That’s what?” Seeing that my mother was a little impatient, I immediately said quickly: “I don’t want to live in the school.”

After saying that, I tightened my mouth and looked at my mother nervously, and my uneasy heart beat faster and faster.

I saw my mother’s narrow and long phoenix eyes narrowed, and her eyes revealed a cold look, like a knife stabbing me, seeing that my heart was retreating, I should not have mentioned this matter earlier.

My mother was silent for a long time, without saying a word, and I was already scared and sweating.

“Mom ... I’ll go back to my room to do my homework.”

I whispered and was about to get up and leave, but my mother said coldly: “Sit down.”

I was already a little panicked, my heart was pounding.

I swallowed a mouthful of it and replied with a trembling voice: “Hey.”

I sat down uneasily, and my butt moved away without leaving a trace, for fear that my mother would suddenly go crazy and beat me up.

My mother didn’t say anything, and I didn’t dare to say anything either. I sat on the edge of the sofa without moving. I glanced at my mother and saw that my mother was still as cold as before, but she seemed to be thinking about something.

Is there a chance? I rekindled hope in my heart.

As long as I don’t go to school to live, it won’t be a problem for me to do anything, even if I get beaten up.

“Want to live at home?” My mother spoke, but her tone was a little cold.

I suppressed my excitement and nodded immediately: “I want to!”

“Haha!”

My mother sneered twice and looked at me quietly, and I didn’t know what her attitude was.

After a long while, I was a little scared, and then I saw my mother said in a half-sarcastic and half-mocking tone: “Do I dare to let you live at home?”

I was stunned, and my heart went cold.

Dare?

Ask yourself, in fact, the answer is obvious, probably ... dare not.

As a people’s teacher, my mother is a role model for teachers, classical and conservative, and unethical things are impossible and will never be allowed to happen in her place, so she arranged me to go to school, hoping to put an end to my improper thoughts as soon as possible.

I understand!

But why does my mother’s tone sound so piercing to me?

It’s like a sharp dagger stained with poison, stabbing into my heart fiercely, and it hurts my heart and bones.

I looked bitter, biting my lower lip tightly, trying to keep my emotions stable, but I couldn’t control it. In an instant, a mist rose in front of my eyes, blurring my eyes.

“You...”