Chapter 216 - Pete The Loafer
Before marking the paper, the tutor even said, "He has been obsessed with games for the past month, so it's understandable even if he scores badly on the test…"
After saying that, he looked at the multiple-choice questions in front of him.
Marking multiple-choice questions was very simple. He skimmed downward and found that the answers were exactly the same as the standard answer sheet's. He was taken aback.
At the sight, Justin raised his eyebrows and asked, "How is it?"
The tutor looked up at him incredulously. "… They are all correct."
How could that be?
Pete's level of understanding had obviously regressed to a first-grader's a few days ago. Why had it risen out of the blue again?
He was in charge of the Hunts' children's education matters, so he understood these children the best.
When Pete's standard suddenly dropped, he had panicked right away. He had wanted to use the test results to make Mr. Hunt realize just how serious the matter was, but this…
The tutor, who was in disbelief, continued to mark the paper…
A small head suddenly appeared at the door during this time.
Justin looked over to see Fatty standing there and peeking at them. When he saw Justin looking over, he shrank back in fright. But after that, he poked his big fat head out again. The chubby boy came up to Justin and asked, "Uncle Justin, did Pete do badly on the test?"
He let out a sigh and said, "Look at how awful the look on the tutor's face is. By right, scoring badly once shouldn't actually matter, but Pete is a special case… Uncle Justin, you may not know this, but he has been playing games every day and neglecting his studies recently! I saw him using his cell phone quite a few times!"
Justin glanced at the little fellow.
The seven to eight-year-old boy was big and tall. He was a full head taller than Pete and looked very naive and honest. However, the child's thoughts were written all over his face, and Justin could see through what he was thinking with just a glance.
The little fellow wanted to one-up Pete.
The boy had been totally led astray by his uncle's family.
Justin looked at Pete and asked coldly, "How did you do on the test?"
Pete replied, "Alright, I suppose."
Justin snorted and said, "If you don't score full marks, then you'll have to kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment."
Even if he had been sent to Nora, he, a child whom Justin had personally brought up and taught, should still be strict with himself and not slack off in his studies.
Pete replied very confidently, "… 'kay."
Without a tutor supervising him, his self-studying speed had become even faster. Additionally, for some reason, when he was with Nora, he kept feeling as if his mind had become clearer than before. His mother had a special scent on her that put him very much at ease, making him not as sensitive and paranoid as before.
Justin nodded at his reply.
Fatty looked at Justin, and then at Pete.
The adult was expressionless with his eyes slightly lidded, while the child looked almost exactly the same as the adult. Both father and son were so unfathomable that no one could guess their thoughts.
However!
Fatty's eyes brightened. He suddenly walked out of the office and called his grandfather. He said, "Grandpa, Pete messed up his test this time! The tutor is marking his paper now!"
Raymond became excited at once. "Really?"
"It's true, Grandpa! Uncle Justin is also here right now. He even said just now that Pete has to kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment if he doesn't get full marks!"
"Hah!" Raymond said, "I'm coming over right away!"
After saying that, Raymond rushed someplace and shouted, "Mom, hurry and go and have a look! Pete did poorly on his test this time, so Justin wants to beat him!"
The elderly Mrs. Hunt panicked at once. "Help me over there right away. How can he hit the boy just because he did poorly on his exams?"
Was Great-Grandma coming too?
Fatty's eyes lit up at once. That would be even better! This way, Great-Grandma would also see how badly her favorite Pete had scored on the test this time!
Fatty rushed into the classroom and shouted to all the children of the Hunts, "Pete is dead meat this time! The tutor is marking his paper right now! Uncle Justin is here, too!"
Upon hearing that Justin was also present, the children became excited at once.
He was a legend that they worshiped the most!
He was also the legendary "someone else's child" that their parents always went on and on about!
They had practically grown up listening to tales of Justin on their knees. Justin possessed the highest IQ among all the Hunts thus far!
He had completed a double master's degree at fifteen!
These feelings of worship had also fallen onto Pete by association.
In everyone's eyes and hearts, Pete was a child who would never suffer any disciplinary beatings, and Justin was no ordinary parent, either!
But now, not only had Pete fallen from grace, but Justin was also going to become a parent who disciplined his child?
The little fellows dashed out of the classroom one by one. They gathered outside the tutor's office and looked inside through the window.
Justin, who wasn't speaking, sat on the leather sofa with a very powerful aura around him.
Pete was sitting on a bench with his little hands clasped together and was muttering under his breath. From the looks of it, he seemed to be memorizing some kind of formula. As for the tutor marking the paper, he was frowning.
"Did Pete really do poorly on the test? Look at how tightly drawn the tutor's brows are! I've only seen that expression on him when he talks to me!" said a child, who was the naughtiest and had the poorest grades among all the Hunts' children.
A commotion broke out at the entrance at this point. Raymond, who was supporting the elderly Mrs. Hunt, walked over. As soon as she came in, the old lady shouted, "Who dares to hit my little Pete?"
Raymond also stepped forward. He smiled and said, "Justin, what's the big deal about a child doing poorly on an exam just once? How can you be so strict with him? Pete is still young! Besides, he's ultimately a sensitive soul with autism! Since he became a little livelier recently, it's inevitable that his studies would fall behind… It's not like he's a genius anyway. How can a child play games every day and still do well in his studies?
"Playing games?"
Mrs. Hunt was dumbfounded.
Raymond took the opportunity to complain, "Yes, that's right. We are to blame for this. Pete has been addicted to games every day recently. Sigh, Fatty plays it in order to cultivate the mind and spirit, but he knows to play it in moderation. Pete, on the other hand, doesn't understand that. Fatty has already warned him several times, but he refuses to listen…"
Raymond outright portrayed Pete as a child with poor self-control.
Mrs. Hunt frowned and looked around—the children's ears were all perked up. In just a few days' time, news about Pete's mediocre aptitude would reach all the parents' ears.
How could a child like that possibly take over the family business?
Mrs. Hunt immediately understood Raymond's intentions. She also hated herself for coming over and blowing up the matter. However, since things had already come to this point, she had no choice but to brace herself and go on.
She entered the office cheerfully and said, "So, our little Pete played games for a month? It's not a big deal. Is there anyone who wasn't playful when they were young? I don't think there's a need to publicly announce the scores anymore. None of the elementary schools publicly announce the students' scores nowadays anyway!"
The tutor had already finished marking all the test papers by then. He lifted his head blankly and looked at Mrs. Hunt and Raymond.
Raymond, however, took a step forward and said with a smile, "How can we do that? Pete scores full marks all the time. I want Fatty to learn from him. Quick, mister, show me how many marks Pete scored!"
He pulled out Pete's test paper.