The Ye Family had no solution to Ye Qiu’s contrariness, so they could only wait for the grades to come out and hope it would bring him back to the right path.

For this, Ye Qing even vented in front of many people about her brother’s lack of self-awareness. Clearly, the family had already laid out a path for him, yet he insisted on relying on himself.

"You say he’s going through a rebellious phase, but hasn’t that phase passed already? Isn’t this clearly him going against the family? With his grades, how could he possibly get into Q University? Especially the top program in information technology there; isn’t he just dreaming?"

A friend consoled, "Maybe your brother really improved his grades? It’s good for boys to have dreams!"

Ye Qing scoffed, "Do I not know his capabilities? He’s just deliberately opposing the family."

"Don’t be too upset, boys often resist family arrangements."

"Do we have to wait until he hits rock bottom before he realizes? How much time and effort will that waste? I can’t have that; I’ll talk to him again."

The friend gently advised her, "Be patient, don’t make it seem like he’s your enemy."

Ye Qing glared, "I’m doing this for his own good!"

When her friend hung up, they not only pursed their lips but also rolled their eyes.

For his own good? Does thinking it’s for his good justify arbitrary criticism and decision-making? If I were her brother, wouldn’t she drive me mad?

Thinking about it, Ye Qing’s brother really was pitiful. Not only did he have an untrusting family member, but she also casually shared his matters with outsiders. If she knew her brother belittled her in front of others, she’d be very unhappy.

After hanging up the phone, Ye Qing went out to where Ye Qiu worked. Indeed, since that incident when he defied the family’s plans laid out by Ye Peilin, his allowance was cut. After all, he wasn’t rushing to study now, so Ye Qiu simply found a part-time job. He wasn’t comfortable using family money, always worried there might be none at any moment, so he opted to earn his own.

Ye Qiu’s summer job was at a tutoring center, introduced by a classmate’s parent. Since he helped many classmates improve their grades during senior year, people there trusted him a lot.

But Ye Qing didn’t believe in it; she thought Ye Qiu had deceived others to get in. She forcefully dragged Ye Qiu out, furiously saying, "Are you crazy? With your grades, you dare teach others?"

"I have repeatedly said my progress this year is substantial, and I did well in the exams; why can’t you believe me?"

"How can you expect us, Mom, and Dad to believe it? We’ve seen your report cards before."

"That was in my first year of high school. I’m a graduate now. Say what you have to say quickly; I need to get back to class." Ye Qiu said impatiently.

"No." Ye Qing blocked him, "I can’t let you waste other kids’ time; our family can’t bear that responsibility."

"I really have nothing to say to you. So, in your eyes, I’m that useless?" Ye Qiu looked at her coldly. "Is it only impressive if you do well, while my achievements must be fabricated to deceive you? Is it that hard to acknowledge that I might be better than you?"

Ye Qing was startled by his gaze but quickly regained her composure, "How do you want us to trust you? Have you ever studied hard?"

"Haven’t I?" Ye Qiu retorted, "Apart from the time you order me around, when am I not working hard?"

"Are you blaming me? I just..."

"You just think that with my intelligence, there’s no need to study, right? After all, I can’t be better than you, and Dad has plans, so why waste time?" Ye Qiu finished for her.

"I..."

"We have nothing to discuss. Since you all don’t believe in me, never mind, the results will be out in a few days, and we’ll see the truth then. As for you worrying about me causing trouble for the family, rest assured, a classmate’s parent vouches for me here." With that, Ye Qiu went upstairs without looking back, leaving Ye Qing furious in place.

Ye Qiu had never turned a cold face towards her before, but this was the first time he treated her so harshly, even mocking her in her face?

She was his sister! She was only saying these things out of concern for him; why wasn’t he the least bit grateful?

The more Ye Qing thought about it, the more embarrassed and angry she felt. She stomped back home, telling their father, Ye Peilin, that they shouldn’t bother with him anymore. Let him suffer and then come back to seek help from the family.

Thus, the household was indeed peaceful for a few days, with no one initiating conversation with Ye Qiu, until the day when the college entrance exam results were announced, and the principal called Ye Peilin and Han Hui personally to share the good news.

"Congratulations, really, congratulations!"

Ye Peilin was puzzled, "Congratulations for what?"

The elderly principal chuckled, "This time Ye Qiu truly brought honor to our school. He’s the provincial top scorer for science subjects, with a total score of seven hundred and twenty-five points. His math and comprehensive science scores were full marks. Even the student who was second place in our province had an extra ten points yet still scored ten points less than him! Ye Qiu’s father, if this isn’t great news, what is?"

Ye Peilin was still in disbelief, asking suspiciously, "He’s the provincial top scorer in science? When did his grades get so good?"

"You parents didn’t know? I heard from his class teacher that Ye Qiu showed significant improvement in his senior year. Not only that, but under his influence, his class had the highest undergraduate admission rate in our school this time. Such an outstanding child, our school hasn’t had one like this in over a decade!" The principal eagerly praised Ye Qiu, with fondness evident in his tone.

"Is that so? Then he’s really quite good." Ye Peilin replied somewhat awkwardly, clearly still taken aback by the surprise.

"His class teacher mentioned you missed both parent-teacher meetings, and we don’t really know how you’re raising your child; could we perhaps learn from you?"

"Hehe..." Ye Peilin laughed awkwardly, "We didn’t do much; it’s all thanks to the child’s self-discipline."

"We understand you parents are busy with work. How about this: have Ye Qiu return to school tomorrow? The admissions offices of A University and Q University have come, hoping to talk to him in person. Additionally, both the school and the city have a scholarship for him; the amount isn’t small. I wanted to inform you first."

"Okay, I’ll let him know, thank you, Principal, for personally calling."

"No trouble, if we had students like him every year, I’d be happy no matter how busy I get."

After hanging up, Ye Peilin stared at the documents on his desk, still lost in thought and unable to fully process the news. Afraid it was a fluke, he even searched the list of this year’s top scorers in college entrance exams himself. Only upon seeing the name at the top did he finally believe it.

However, he still couldn’t quite understand how his son had improved so much. A University and Q University are the two top institutions in the country, and now representatives from both have come to personally recruit him? They both want him to attend their university? How could this be so surreal? Was there really no mistake in his scores or name?