Jiang Ruo had realized that ever since Jiang Li was taken in by the Feng family, their own Jiang family had been declining day by day. Her father became busier, neglecting her and her brother, while her mother grew increasingly melancholic, often staring blankly into Jiang Li’s former room. Even though her mother didn’t say anything to her, Jiang Ruo knew she missed Jiang Li. Fortunately, she had her brother, who unconditionally stood by her side and remained her closest family despite having no blood relation.
Jiang Ruo was also grateful that she also had her acting career, confident that she could earn enough to support her family even if the company’s fortunes waned.
But she never expected her father to suddenly call and berate her, accusing her of being a troublemaker and threatening to cut off her allowance. Stunned by the call, Jiang Ruo was momentarily speechless. Long after the call ended, she remained in her place like a statue, as if her soul had left her body, too stunned to even cry.
Then her agent called, informing her that two endorsements she had secured were cancelled because the sponsors found more suitable candidates. Only then did Jiang Ruo realize she was being targeted by the Feng family.
And the target of their attack was not only her but also the company. Otherwise, her father wouldn’t have been so angry at her. Did the Feng family do this because Bai Guolin offended Jiang Li? But, but she had never instructed Bai Guolin to do so!
Feeling extremely wronged, Jiang Ruo dialed her brother’s number, eager to seek comfort. But she soon hesitated and eventually hung up, rushing out of her dorm alone.
…
After returning to school on Sunday evening, Jiang Li took out several books given to her by Zhao Qiang and began placing them one by one on her assigned bookshelf. Pang Ju, who shared the same study desk with her, looked at the materials with curiosity, “Are you planning to participate in a competition?” She asked.
Jiang Li nodded, “Yes, but for now, I’ve only signed up for the math competition class. I’m not sure if I can pass the exam.”
Pang Ju immediately responded, “You’ll definitely make it. Your grades are so good.”
Jiang Li smiled, “That’s uncertain. I haven’t had experience in competitions before, so I might get eliminated in the first round.”
“No way, I believe in you,” Pang Ju encouraged her.
Jiang Li replied while sorting out the materials: “Well, thank you.”
It was true Jiang Li hadn’t systematically studied competition-level subjects, but Feng Song had sent her some materials, which she had glanced through in her spare time. The questions, Jiang Li noticed, were structured quite differently from regular exams, but she believed she could improve with enough effort. Even if she got eliminated in the first round, she would take it as a learning experience and prepare better for the next year.
Hearing the two discussing the competition, Wang Simin couldn’t help but come over. She tapped the shoulder of the boy sitting in front of Jiang Li and asked, “Hey, could you switch seats with me for a moment?”
“My name is Li Wei, remember it. You’ve asked to switch seats with me so many times but still can’t remember my name,” the boy muttered under his breath.
“Right, Li Wei, Li Wei, I’ll remember. You go sit in my seat for a while,” Wang Simin said cheerfully.
Li Wei jokingly suggested, “Why don’t we just swap seats permanently? You always bother me.”
“Great idea! Let’s do that!” Wang Simin clapped her hands. Without giving Li Wei a chance to react, she hurriedly moved her desk over, “Move your desk to the front.”
“…” Li Wei was taken aback. He was just joking, but why did Wang Simin take it seriously? However, sitting at the front was also good, closer to the teacher and more focused during class, so he resigned to his fate and swapped his desk.
Jiang Li watched Wang Simin’s series of actions and commented, “You’re pretty casual.”
Wang Simin laughed, “Of course, I’d like to discuss the competition with you!”
“You’re going too?” Jiang Li asked curiously.
“Of course, why not?” She leaned a bit and whispered to Jiang Li, “If I win something, the school will definitely award me prize money. I secretly bought a phone today, and now I’m short on allowance, so I need to find a way to make some money.”
Jiang Li patted her shoulder, “If you had attended Minjiang International School like us, our Hades Li would have had a headache.”
“Why?” Wang Simin asked, puzzled.
Jiang Li immediately shared with Wang Simin about the times she made money off the school coffer back in the junior high, making Wang Simin burst into laughter.
Qin Zheng, sitting in the third row, was drawn by the laughter behind him and couldn’t help but turn around for a glance before getting back to his work.
His deskmate couldn’t help but comment, “I’ve noticed you’re quite interested in Jiang Li and Wang Simin.”
“I’m just curious what they’re talking about,” Qin Zheng admitted. He was indeed intrigued by what Jiang Li could have said to make Wang Simin laugh so uproariously. Back in junior high, Jiang Li seemed to be a rather quiet person, never actively interacting with classmates. He didn’t expect such a change in her personality after starting high school.
His deskmate shrugged, “Who knows? Girls are like that, joking closely together, even holding hands while heading to the restroom. But if two boys did that, they’d probably be called gay. Don’t believe me? Let’s hold hands and see if the girls…“
Qin Zheng frowned and moved away, “Be normal. If you want to go crazy, do it alone.”
Just then, the homeroom teacher Mr. Qian came in with his water cup, announcing a class meeting.
Today’s class meeting was different because it was time for electing the class officers. The election method at their school was through anonymous student voting, although the homeroom teacher held an absolute veto power.
Jiang Li had no interest in the election. She had been appointed as a temporary academic committee and hadn’t been very effective, so she doubted her classmates would vote for her.
However, the election results left her utterly astonished. She couldn’t understand why her classmates would choose her as the class president!
After Teacher Qian announced the election results, Jiang Li was completely dumbfounded. She looked at Teacher Qian and asked weakly, “You’re going to veto this result, right?”
Teacher Qian immediately shook his head, “Why would I? I saw their reasons for voting. They said your combat strength is off the charts and you can protect everyone in the class. If you’re the class president, everyone will feel safe.”
Jiang Li: …
Qin Zheng struggled to suppress his laughter. Although he lost the election for class president by just two votes, he didn’t feel regretful. Instead, he found it quite amusing.
Jiang Li still wanted to resist. She looked at Teacher Qian and pleaded pitifully: “But I have no experience in managing people. I might not be suitable as a class president.”
Teacher Qian smiled warmly, “With your high combat strength, who would dare not listen to you? I think your words might be more effective than mine.”
Jiang Li continued her struggle, “But I don’t know how to handle class affairs. I’ll surely make a fool of myself.”
Teacher Qian’s smile grew kinder, “Isn’t there Qin Zheng, the vice president? Let him handle the miscellaneous tasks. You just need to be the mascot… No, parents nowadays say students are rare beasts, so you’ll be our class’s guardian beast.”
“…” Jiang Li didn’t know what to say. Was this something a teacher should say?
Qin Zheng was equally speechless. Although he was the vice president, it seemed Jiang Li intended to be a hands-off leader. What difference would there be between his role and that of the class president?
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