Vol. 1 Ch. 116

Amidst the curious gazes of numerous dragons and one human, the vice principal strode excitedly to the platform, holding Noia’s composition in hand. The homeroom teacher quickly made way.

Everyone in the Dragonling Department knew well that the Melkvi family was the apple of the vice principal’s eye. It was expected that even reading a composition would require his personal attention.

However, upon taking the stage, the vice principal didn’t rush to read Noia’s composition. Instead, he first offered an explanation.

“The reason Noia’s article isn’t participating in this evaluation is because our esteemed principal, Angelina Olette of St. Hys Academy, has heard of her deeds and family background. Therefore, she wishes to personally review Noia’s composition.”

Angelina Olette. This was the first time Leon had heard the name of the principal of St. Hys Academy.

If the principal didn’t make an appearance soon to assert her presence, Leon felt the vice principal might usurp her position.

After all, this old dragon had an exceedingly high visibility rate, whether in entrance exams or school events.

The vice principal waved the sheet of paper containing the extensive red comments, his proud demeanor suggesting it wasn’t the principal who evaluated Noia but him.

“As expected, Noia’s article greatly pleased Principal Olette. She said if a dragonling composition’s score were out of a hundred, she would give Noia ninety-five. Why deduct five points?”

“Because five points weren’t enough?” Leon silently scoffed as he watched the vice principal’s excited demeanor.

The vice principal chuckled with satisfaction. “Because,” he said, “the principal said she didn’t read enough!

Next time there’s a composition competition, we must make sure Noia writes more. She’s more than willing to set aside half an hour to review Noia’s compositions.”

Ah, understood. In plain terms, it meant “not seeing Noia’s composition was like having ants crawling all over oneself.”

Setting aside the comments, the vice principal gazed out of the window, squinting beneath his white brows, and sighed, “Principal Olette’s words remind me of the days when I was young, eagerly following a collection of essays by an author in a dragon newspaper.”

“The author updated weekly, and after each reading, the following week felt like an eternity. It was as if there was an ‘addiction’ coursing through my body, and only the next week’s update could relieve it.”

“I believe,” he continued, “the principal might have gotten addicted while reading Noia’s composition.”

The vice principal withdrew his gaze, turning to the homeroom teacher beside him. “By the way, teacher, has the ranking of the compositions in your class just been announced?”

The homeroom teacher nodded. “Yes.”

Upon hearing this, Lal’s father, sitting below, felt a pang in his heart. He quickly stood up and said, “Vice principal, you’re not thinking of revoking my son Lal’s first-place ranking, are you? Let me tell you, this is my son’s genuine achievement and cannot be revoked under any circumstances.”

Lal’s father’s words seemed well-founded, even putting himself in a disadvantaged position to gain sympathy from others.

But upon closer examination, was his so-called “genuine achievement” truly genuine?

Noia’s composition wasn’t excluded from the evaluation deliberately, nor was it submitted late. It was sent to the principal, Angelina Olette, who held stricter standards and higher expectations for the content and quality of the compositions.

Even under such circumstances, Noia’s composition received high praise, indicating its undeniable quality.

So if Noia had participated normally in the class evaluation, securing first place wouldn’t have been an issue at all. Lal’s father’s supposed “genuine achievement” would have been second place at best.

This is like having a top student and a true genius. Both of them scored a perfect hundred on their final exams.

The top student proudly believes they’ve reached the level of a genius, unaware that their maximum score is a hundred, while the true genius scored a hundred because the test itself was only out of a hundred.

So, how can this situation be broken? The answer is, just like Noia, by accepting more rigorous challenges and still standing out.

Leon, Rosvitha, and many parents present understood this principle, but Lal’s father clung to that hard-earned first place.

Even Lal couldn’t bear it; he tugged at his father’s sleeve and whispered, “Dad, Noia’s grades have always been better than mine. If she participated normally, there’s a high chance she would still be first…”

The kid’s not mincing words!

Am I your dad, or is Noia your dad?

Seeing Lal’s father’s reaction, the vice principal said calmly, “Please rest assured, Lal’s first place is well-deserved. I won’t revoke it or suppress his ranking. This is the honor he deserves, and no one will take it away from him.”

Indeed, there was absolutely no need to do so, Leon thought, for two reasons.

Firstly, if Lal’s ranking were truly changed from first to second, although no one cared how Lal’s father would react with his antics, such a change would undoubtedly be a blow to Lal himself.

Ever since the incident where he attempted to bully Noia but ended up with a broken arm, this little dragon seemed to have become much more obedient, focusing on his studies and paying attention in class.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to achieve first place.

As for the second reason…

From the vice principal’s tone and between the lines, it was clear that with the level of Noia’s composition, participating in the class evaluation was already meaningless.

Indeed, those who were too strong often ended up not being counted in the final score.

A good daughter follows her father!

Hearing the vice principal’s words, Lal’s father finally quieted down.

The vice principal also breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to the homeroom teacher, giving her a knowing look.

The homeroom teacher quickly caught on and transformed into a supportive sidekick. “Vice Principal, since Noia’s composition is so excellent, why not read it aloud for everyone? Noia, would you mind?”

Noia stood up and looked at the vice principal. “Sure.”

The vice principal’s eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled.

To personally read the composition of a model student from an exemplary family, what an honor it was!

The vice principal was already eager to share this composition, which intertwined family affection and love, with everyone present.

Seeing the smile on the vice principal’s face, Leon and Rosvitha had started sweating profusely.

The executioner and his deadly social death guillotine were both eagerly waiting.

The couple’s hands quietly found each other behind Noia’s seat, instinctively clasping tightly.

Seeking warmth in numbers?

No, not quite.

In life or death, they would face it together.

“But…”

Noia suddenly spoke again, “I’d like to read it myself.”

The vice principal was taken aback. “Yourself?”

Noia nodded earnestly. “Yes.”@@novelbin@@

The couple, one on each side, raised their heads to look at their daughter’s profile.

Do you really have to do this, my dear?

Do you have to snatch the guillotine from the old dragon’s hands and hold it yourself, making your parents face social death?

Sigh.

Oh well.

Better to face it at the hands of your daughter than someone else.

The couple relaxed their grip on each other’s hands a bit, leaving only their fingers interlaced.

They leaned back in their chairs, feeling deflated like balloons losing air.

Naturally, the vice principal didn’t refuse Noia’s request. “Alright, then, Noia, please come up and read it.”

Noia walked up to the podium, took hold of her composition, glanced down at her parents, and then began to read earnestly.

“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 dragon girls earlier. Instead, it leaned more towards Rosvitha’s usual cool demeanor. However, within that coolness lay fervent emotions.

Every emphasis was perfectly placed, not overly soft or affected.

Especially the phrase “liking them to the core,” it didn’t sound like something a young dragon girl could express.

That wasn’t a pretense of maturity; it was her sincerest emotion toward her parents.

As the reading continued, the couple gradually realized that this composition wasn’t some instrument of social death at all; it was clearly a “love letter” from their daughter.

“It is they who made me understand that ‘love’ is never a gamble but a journey, a two-way journey.”

“If ‘love’ were compared to a scale, then in my family, there’s no doubt it always tilts towards me and my sister. Because Mom and Dad have placed all their love on our side.”

Originally thought to be just a deviation from conventional “love,” but between the lines, it was brimming with Noia’s sincere and profound love for her father, her mother, and her sister.

Perhaps “profound” shouldn’t be a word used to describe a child, but that’s the feeling she gave Leon.

In just eight hundred words, the composition quickly reached its conclusion.

Leon thought she might continue to extol, to elevate the theme, but Noia’s ending wasn’t like that at all.

She simply put down the paper, her small face serious and solemn, and lowered her gaze to look at Leon below.

Father and daughter, separated by the lectern, locked eyes—one high, one low.

After a moment, Noia spoke softly,

“I have the world’s best dad.”

Pausing for a moment, Noia seemed to catch a hint of a sour taste and quickly looked to Rosvitha beside her, “And Mom.”

In her composition, she originally wrote it as, “I have the world’s best dad and mom.”

Compared to the metaphors and rhetoric in her previous content, this concluding sentence seemed somewhat ordinary.

But only Leon and Rosvitha could pick up on the subtle detail in this sentence:

Whenever Rosvitha and Leon appeared together on screen, she always addressed “Mom” first, then “Dad.”

However, this time, she put Dad before Mom.