Coolest Girl in Town (Elise and Alexander) novel Chapter 888

Chapter 888 Oftentimes, Personality Is More Important

Elise felt that he was being too pushy and asked sternly, “Let me ask you this. Who’s the reason why things have come to this? Would this have happened if you had kept your word? You didn’t do what you should’ve done in the first place, so why do you expect others to tolerate your mistake?”

Irvin looked a little shamefaced, but he stood by his reasoning. “It’s been several days since we agreed that he could get a dessert as a reward if he finished his workbook, and we shouldn’t be holding to the same old standard. People should constantly strive to do better instead of holding to the lowest passable standard and feeling good about themselves when they have achieved it. I’m only doing this for his own good.”

“But… you didn’t tell me about this beforehand.” Chubs was so aggrieved that his eyes were red.

“That’s because you don’t hold yourself to any form of expectations. Didn’t you notice that Specky has progressed twice as much as you have? You have eyes, too, you know.” Irvin was a little furious and didn’t hold back with his sharp remark.

Chubs had nothing to say. He slowly lowered his head as the situation became a stalemate.

After giving it some thought, Elise decided to be the mediator. “None of you is in the wrong. Why don’t I decide how we can resolve this?”

Neither one of the boys answered.

“I’ll take your silence as your agreement, then.” She decided with a smile. “Alright, here’s what I think. Chubs has just completed the first stage, so he gets to have a dessert as a reward. From now on, it’s time for him to begin the next stage of his learning progress. If he finishes the task within the time Irvin has set, he gets another dessert as a reward!

“However, he won’t get the reward if he fails to finish the task, and Irvin will make adjustments to the tasks as well. Chubs will get a reward each time he meets expectations and a small punishment if he doesn’t. Either way, from now on, the process must be fair and transparent. You need to discuss things calmly instead of fighting. Understood?”

Chubs nodded eagerly. “Understood!”

“What about you, Irvin?” Elise made a funny face in the hopes that Irvin would give in.

However, he turned away in a huff. While he neither agreed nor objected, it was clear from his body language that he wasn’t satisfied with the outcome at all.

“I’ll take Chubs down for his reward then, yeah?”

Elise tested the waters by standing up, and after noting Irvin’s lack of response, she took Chubs downstairs.

Once they disappeared down the stairs, Alexander spoke up. “Are you dissatisfied with the way Mommy has resolved this?”

Irvin stubbornly looked off into the distance without denying it.

“Do you think Mommy’s favoring an outsider?” Alexander raised his voice and took on a more severe tone. “Answer me.”

“Well, isn’t she?” Irvin replied exasperatedly.

“It seems to me that you don’t think you’ve done anything wrong,” Alexander remarked coolly.

“What did I do wrong? It’s not my fault he’s not very intelligent.” Irvin glared at Alexander in discontent.

“But you already knew he wasn’t very intelligent when you met him. You’re the one who chose to be friends with him, so you’re also responsible for not doing a good job of teaching him. Being someone who is capable isn’t the only requirement to become a great person; you also need to have the courage to take on responsibility instead of pushing it onto others. Doing that will only hinder how far you can go in life.” Alexander gave his true, earnest advice.

Irvin let out a sigh. “But he’s too dumb. Am I supposed to waste so much time on him every day?”

Alexander crouched down and placed a hand on Irvin’s shoulder. He looked his son straight in the eye and said, “You have to know that people aren’t required to be intelligent before they can have friends. Oftentimes, a person’s character is far more important than the number of mathematical questions he can solve.”

Irvin became thoughtful after hearing that, and after a long while, he bowed to Alexander. “I think I know where I went wrong.”

With that, he turned back to his study with a solemn expression.

Half an hour later, the door to the study creaked open slowly.