Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Special

A case of successful discharge from the S-Class Shelter had occurred. Though it hadn’t been publicly announced, word was already spreading within a small circle.

Meanwhile, Lu Xiao was getting ready to attend Lu Huan’s parent-teacher conference.

Lu Xiao went directly there after work. Ares dropped her off outside Lu Huan’s school. “I’ll wait for you here.”

Lu Xiao gave him an “OK” sign and walked toward Lu Huan, who was waiting by the entrance, craning her neck as she eagerly watched for her.

When she finally saw Lu Xiao approaching, Lu Huan’s heart, which had been lodged in her throat, finally settled. She had been terrified that Lu Xiao was just teasing her and wouldn’t show up at all, or that she would send Ares to the conference in her place.

After all, Lu Ge Wei did things like that all the time. The more enthusiastically she promised something, the faster she would back out when the time actually came.

However, this wasn’t just a problem with Lu Ge Wei; nearly all females were the same.

In her class, not a single female parent had ever shown up for a conference, regardless of whether their child was doted on at home.

In the better cases, the child’s Father would come himself.

In the worse cases, it was the butler or the mother’s husband who attended.

Lu Huan herself had experienced the butler attending for her before.

The memory of the ridicule she had endured back then still made Lu Huan’s heart ache.

But she couldn’t tell anyone about it. If she did, Lu Ge Wei would call her melodramatic, and everyone else would just mock her more.

So, she could only bottle it up and deal with it on her own.

But to her surprise, Lu Xiao had actually come. She hadn’t lied to her.

This made her incredibly happy, as if a missing piece of her heart had been filled by Lu Xiao’s gesture.

“Sis!” Lu Huan’s cry was filled with genuine emotion.

Lu Xiao waved at the sound of her voice and said calmly, “Let’s go. Where’s your classroom? Do you need to stay behind afterward?”

“I do, but I can’t go inside. I’ll wait for you out here. Sis, thank you. I can’t believe you really came.” Lu Huan’s eyes, full of gratitude, started to well up.

Seeing her like this, Lu Xiao felt a pang in her chest. ’I’ve always been a sucker for a soft approach.’

“I promised you, so of course I’d come. If you have nowhere to go later, you can wait in the car. Your brother-in-law is there.” Lu Xiao didn’t know how to comfort Lu Huan; after all, in her two lifetimes combined, she had no experience consoling kids—especially one who was already this old.

Lu Huan smiled shyly at her words. “Okay, Sis. We’re here. This is my classroom. You can sit in the front row.”

Lu Xiao followed Lu Huan inside and found that while plenty of parents had arrived in the spacious classroom, they were all Male Beastmen, young and old. She was the only female parent present.

Consequently, everyone instinctively looked surprised the moment they saw her, as if they never imagined a female parent would attend a parent-teacher conference.

Remembering how excited Lu Huan had been at the entrance, Lu Xiao couldn’t help but ask her sister, who was arranging a desk and chair for her, “Has Mother never come to one of these for you?”

As she asked, she also sifted through her original body’s memories and confirmed that Lu Ge Wei was absent from those as well.

Lu Huan shook her head. “Mother would never come. The most she’d ever do is send the butler.”

“Have you ever told her you wanted her to come?”

“Of course I have, but every time she’d promise and then never follow through.”

Lu Xiao nodded and didn’t press further.

After sitting down, she noticed Lu Huan still standing beside her. “You should head out. You don’t need to stay here with me. I’ll find you when it’s over. Father is coming back tomorrow. Did Mother tell you to come home?”

“Yeah, she contacted me. Should we go together then?”

“Sure. In that case, you can come home with me tonight.” Now that Lu Huan was behaving better, Lu Xiao didn’t mind softening her attitude toward her.

Hearing this, Lu Huan broke into a wide, overjoyed grin. “Okay! Then I’ll let you be, Sis. I’m going out now. The teacher should be here any minute.”

Not long after Lu Huan left, a middle-aged female in high heels strode into the classroom, the CLICK-CLACK of her shoes echoing as she stepped onto the podium. Her sharp gaze swept over the audience, finally landing on Lu Xiao. After pausing for a few seconds, her expression softened considerably. “Excuse me, whose parent are you?”

“Lu Huan’s,” Lu Xiao replied. The teacher smiled and nodded. “Lu Huan has been performing exceptionally well lately, and she has been very diligent with her coursework. She ranked first in the entire grade on the final exam. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a young female take her studies so seriously. Your family must put in a lot of effort.”

Lu Xiao was slightly taken aback. ’When Lu Huan told me she’d done well on the exam, I didn’t quite believe her. I can’t believe it was actually true. It seems she really has been studying hard at school lately.’

“That’s all a credit to Lu Huan herself and her teachers. We, as her family, haven’t done much.” This was the truth; Lu Xiao wouldn’t take credit for something she hadn’t done. Still, she was happy to see her sister’s progress.

Her words clearly pleased the teacher on the podium. “Thank you for the acknowledgment.”

After speaking with Lu Xiao, the teacher conversed with a few of the Male parents, but her tone was not nearly as gentle or respectful as it had been with Lu Xiao.

This was true even for the parents whose children also had good academic records.

’It seems that when a female parent attends a conference, the teachers hold the child in higher regard.’

’Not that there’s anything wrong with it. After all, a female parent’s presence says a lot about how much the child is valued.’

’If a child’s own parent doesn’t care about them, why should a teacher?’

’The logic seemed callous, but it was realistic.’

Lu Xiao couldn’t help but think that these females, who appeared so glamorous, superior, and arrogant on the surface, had probably received very little love and care from their own families when they were young.

’So, it made sense that some females developed such extreme personalities. From this perspective, it was almost to be expected.’

’This only made Lu Xiao feel even more strongly that the entire worldview of the Beastman Empire was warped.’

The parent-teacher conference didn’t last long. Apparently, the teacher didn’t have the patience for a lengthy sermon.

When it ended, however, the teacher made a point of coming over to Lu Xiao. “What is your relationship to Lu Huan?”

“I’m her older sister.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the teacher exclaimed in surprise, “Oh my goodness, so you’re her sister! I heard about the bet Lu Huan made recently. I had no idea you two were so close. I’m truly happy that Lu Huan has a sister like you. I hope to see you again next time.”

’What does she mean by that? Does she want me to come to the next conference too?’

Meeting the teacher’s expectant gaze, Lu Xiao wasn’t sure what to say, so she simply smiled. “If I have time, I’ll definitely be here.”

“That would be wonderful! I’m sure Lu Huan will be thrilled. Goodbye, it was a pleasure to meet you.”

“Goodbye, Teacher. Thank you for looking after Lu Huan.”

“Of course.”

Watching the teacher leave, Lu Xiao sighed softly. ’Did I just land myself in hot water? Still, if Lu Huan keeps behaving this well, coming to one conference a semester isn’t out of the question. It’s not like it’s a daily affair, anyway.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep