"Hahaha, just as others have said, you're very sharp," Ren Xiangtian laughed, then nodded. "Many are intelligent. We don't do paper exams. Little Wang is a jack-of-all-trades here. He'll spend some time with An An and know if An An is suitable for our school."
Looking at the face of the person called Little Wang, Huo Rou lowered her head and pondered, then asked, "Is he Wang Qian?"
"Oh? You know him?" Ren Xiangtian was a little surprised. Wang Qian hadn't appeared in public for a long time. Few people knew he was currently at the Ren family's school.
"Legend has it that Wang Qian has a square, prominent face," Huo Rou replied.
"Just based on that?" Ren Xiangtian's interest was piqued. "How do you know it's that Wang Qian?"
Qin Ningyi didn't know much about the academic world, but he had vaguely heard of a Wang Qian. At this moment, he listened with interest as Huo Rou spoke.
"Wang Qian was unruly, yet very intelligent. He published many academic papers and is a world-renowned education expert. However, his unconventional educational philosophies were meaningless for ordinary children. He was very stubborn about experimenting back then, which led to trouble, and he disappeared from public view."
Huo Rou paused here, her eyes drifting towards the end of the stairs. An An and the other person's figures were no longer visible. Faintly, music could be heard from upstairs. "The Ren family school is famously peculiar, and the Ren family has the resources. It's not surprising they saved him and took him in. And the way the Ren family recruits students perfectly suits Wang Qian's taste."
"Little Qin, your wife is not simple! She knows these old matters and can deduce Wang Qian's identity from them," Ren Xiangtian praised with a nod.
The word "wife" made both their complexions slightly unnatural.
Huo Rou wanted to deny it, but Qin Ningyi grasped her hand. His hand was a little warm, and Huo Rou, enveloped by the heat, felt a flush spread from her hand to her cheeks.
"Elder Ren, you flatter me," Qin Ningyi smiled, as if bathed in spring breeze, clearly in a good mood. He changed the subject, asking, "What will An An's assessment involve? I seem to hear music."
Speaking of music, Qin Ningyi glanced at Huo Rou. "Does An An play any instruments?"
"He's played the guzheng," Huo Rou replied, gently withdrawing her hand from Qin Ningyi's palm. "He hasn't studied any instruments."
As she finished speaking, faint piano music, with a slightly slower tempo but a discernible melody, drifted from upstairs.
Ren Xiangtian replied, "The assessment content was all conceived by Little Wang. I only provided the venue. He's visiting my wife this weekend, so that's why the testing is being held at this villa."
"I imagine it won't deviate from morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor," Ren Xiangtian joked, chuckling.
The sound from upstairs changed to another instrument.
After a round of instruments, silence fell.
"Master, Madam has woken up," the butler whispered a few words into Ren Xiangtian's ear.
"Little Wang seemed to bring a stack of papers when he arrived. It might take a while. Little Qin, have the butler take you two for a walk outside, and also to see the scenery here," Ren Xiangtian said to them apologetically. "I'll go and see my wife."
"Alright, then we'll go for a walk," Qin Ningyi, aware of Ren Xiangtian's wife's condition, complied with the arrangement, allowing Ren Xiangtian to tend to her.
While Huo Rou and Qin Ningyi strolled in the garden, An An was upstairs, following Wang Qian from room to room.
This floor contained instruments, books, a swimming pool, and so on, covering almost everything a school would offer. An An followed Wang Qian, trying out many instruments, playing ball, looking at several paintings, and even painting.
Finally, in a study filled with books, Wang Qian pointed to a stack of papers on the desk and asked An An to complete them.
An An sat at the desk and looked at the stack of papers. He assumed they were tests, but apart from the top sheet, which resembled a traditional test, the others were filled with various things.
This piqued An An's curiosity, and he picked up a pen to diligently begin.
Time passed quickly. In fact, most of the papers contained text and graphics, making them appear voluminous. It was simply that ordinary children wouldn't understand them and couldn't complete them. An An was also momentarily puzzled midway, but eventually, he successfully finished everything.
Wang Qian looked at what An An handed him. At first glance, he was astonished by An An's handwriting.
A five-year-old child, lacking strength and fine motor control, often writes crookedly. Yet, although An An's strokes were weak, his handwriting was neat, and one could faintly discern some structure.
He nodded with satisfaction, seeing that effort had been put in.
Gradually, as he read the second and third pages, the surprise on his face became irrepressible.
Before reaching the end, he excitedly stood up and looked at the small An An before him. The serious square face couldn't hide the smile on his lips. "Excellent!"
Hearing him utter the word "excellent," An An also let out a sigh of relief. When he first started the first page, he felt it was similar to the tests he had done before at school, just a bit more difficult and covering broader topics.
As he worked through the later pages, he found them increasingly interesting.
However, there were some parts he wasn't entirely confident about, and he couldn't be completely assured.
Wang Qian, delighted, led him out of the study and towards the adjacent computer room for the final test.
In the computer room, Ren Zhen, with a cigarette in his mouth, looked rather languid, but his hands moved with speed.
He heard the movement and turned his head. Seeing Wang Qian leading An An in, he squinted, took the cigarette from his mouth, and extinguished it.
"Need to use the computer?" Ren Zhen asked.
"Yes," Wang Qian nodded. "He said he knows some programming, and I want to see."
"Oh?" Ren Zhen's interest was piqued. "Kid, what do you know?"
An An was not afraid of strangers, especially since this uncle, though appearing somewhat lazy, had good intentions, extinguishing his cigarette upon their arrival.
"I only know some basics," An An said without boasting. He had only read one or two books. "I've only read about cryptography, and it explained some algorithms. So I looked for programming books, thinking I'd try to implement them. It's quite interesting."
"Self-taught?" Ren Zhen stopped what he was doing and looked at An An seriously. "Interesting. Come, take a look at this. See how much you can understand?"
Ren Zhen stood up and placed An An on his chair. An An then noticed that his computer and the other computers displayed something related.
"Uncle, are you trying to break that firewall?" An An turned to look at Ren Zhen. "Is that one running next to it for decryption?"
"You can actually understand it?" Ren Zhen chuckled. This cleverness was similar to his godson's, as A'Xue had said.