Soon after, the results were announced, and the list of students who won awards and those who made it to the provincial team was published. Out of the thirty Minjiang First students who participated, all won provincial first prizes, and twenty-one made it to the provincial team, an outstanding achievement.
It was especially surprising that among the four first-year students who participated, two made it to the provincial team, and the other two won first prizes, an unexpected and commendable outcome.
Jiang Li and Qin Zheng were already well-known at the school, and the announcement of the provincial team selection list only increased the discussions about them on the school forum. Some even openly bet on whether the two could make it to the national team in one go.
On the other hand, Jiang Li was quite surprised by the results and rankings. Although her score was slightly lower than Qin Zheng’s, she was very satisfied.
Qin Zheng looked at Jiang Li, sincerely saying, “You’ve only been involved in competitions for a few months, but you’re already showing signs of surpassing me. It really gives me a sense of crisis.”
Before Jiang Li could respond, Wang Simin interjected with a look of grievance, “Vice class president Qin, could you consider the feelings of us mere mortals when you say such things?”
Qin Zheng chuckled, “Didn’t you say before that you’d be satisfied with a second prize? Now that you’ve got a first prize and can add points to your college entrance exam, shouldn’t you be happy?”
“You can’t say that!” Wang Simin argued with reason, “Let’s talk about Jiang Li. Her initial goal was to strive for the provincial team, and now that she’s achieved it, do you think she’ll continue to aim for the national team or just rest on her laurels?”
Qin Zheng thought for a moment and replied, “Jiang Li is different from you; she always strives for perfection.”
Wang Simin rolled up her sleeves, “Vice class president Qin, can I punch you once? I’ll try to avoid your face, otherwise, I’d feel sorry for myself.”
Qin Zheng turned to Jiang Li, “Class president, someone’s challenging your authority as the guardian beast. What do you think?”
Jiang Li didn’t even look up from her materials, casually waving her hand, “Go ahead and fight, as long as no one is killed.”
Jiang Li hadn’t expected her transmigration to cause such a strong butterfly effect. The once aloof male protagonist was now bantering with classmates, completely becoming more down-to-earth!
Wang Simin and Qin Zheng exchanged glances and immediately called a truce. With Jiang Li being so serious, they couldn’t afford to take it easy!
Wang Simin took out her textbooks to start studying, and Qin Zheng took out competition materials he had printed from the group chat to tackle.
…
The news of Jiang Li making it to the provincial team quickly reached the Feng family. Of course, Old Master Feng didn’t even wait to proudly post on social media, eliciting compliments from a bunch of his elderly friends.
Jiang Li felt somewhat uncomfortable with the public display and pleaded, “Grandpa, my achievements are nothing compared to Third Uncle’s. Your post is too ostentatious; people will laugh at me.”
Old Master Feng laughed heartily, “Those old fellows’ grandkids aren’t amounting to much. Just hearing about a provincial first prize has them all green with envy. How could they possibly laugh at you?”
Jiang Li: …
Alright, as long as Grandpa is happy.
Compared to him, Jiang Li’s uncles, aunts, and her three cousins were much more subdued, merely offering her light compliments and encouraging her to keep pushing forward.
Among everyone, Feng Qi was the most nonchalant. Hearing about Jiang Li making it to the provincial team, he merely acknowledged with a soft “Hmm” and commented, “This is just the beginning.”
In an instant, Jiang Li came to the realization that she was indeed just an ordinary and unexceptional Jiang Xiao Li.
…
While Jiang Li was receiving congratulations, Jiang Ruo was having a dispute with her agent. She had won first prize in the math competition, missing the provincial team by a whisker, which should have been a happy occasion. Her agent was also initially pleased, planning to promote her achievement to help salvage her reputation. Unexpectedly, the agent suggested leveraging Jiang Li to create buzz, proposing that Jiang Ruo use her relationship with Jiang Li to gain attention.
Jiang Ruo immediately refused, “Jiang Li’s score was better than mine and she made it to the provincial team. Our achievements are not on the same level. Using her to create buzz would be counterproductive, wouldn’t it?”
The agent, revealing a scheming smile, mentioned, “I remember you and the young master of the Qin family were childhood sweethearts. Surely, you have plenty of photos together or somewhat intimate chat records, right?”
Jiang Ruo’s face turned instantly pale, “What exactly are you suggesting?”
The agent laid out photos of Jiang Li and Qin Zheng, suggesting, “The story of the true and fake daughters has been thoroughly dug up and there’s not much to hype about. But if your fans knew you and Qin Zheng were childhood sweethearts… Let them know he switched to pursuing Jiang Li once the story of your parentage was revealed. Not only that, but he even assisted Jiang Li in achieving the top score in the high school entrance exam and dedicatedly tutored her until she made it into the math provincial team.”
“It wasn’t like that!” Jiang Ruo interrupted, “I cannot cooperate with you to spread such vile lies.”
The agent’s face turned icy, “I’m doing this for your own good.”
Jiang Ruo scoffed, “For my good? Whether it’s true or not, you know best. I’ve refused to attend wine parties with those bigwigs before, and now you want to ruin me completely, right?”
Without waiting for a response, Jiang Ruo continued, “I have one month left on my management contract and won’t renew it. At this time, I have the right to refuse all unreasonable arrangements from the company. I’m still a student, and my studies take precedence.”
After saying this, Jiang Ruo stormed out of the office. Once she was out of the company building, she shakingly called Jiang Zhou to pick her up and found a bench to sit on.
It was absolutely impossible for her to comply with the agent’s unreasonable request, but she was at a loss for what to do next.
…
Meanwhile, after Tong Yi saw Old Master Feng’s Moments on WeChat, he immediately called Jiang Li, “Jiang Xiao Li, your making it into the provincial team is definitely thanks to me. Shouldn’t you thank me?” He bragged loudly.
Jiang Li pondered and replied, “How about I send you a red envelope?”
Tong Yi was instantly displeased, “When it was your third uncle’s birthday, you went all out with a watch and a homemade cake. Now it’s my turn, and you’re thinking of fobbing me off with mere money?”
“How did you know I made a cake for my uncle?” Jiang Li was puzzled.
Tong Yi clicked his tongue, “I saw it in Grandpa Feng’s Moments.”
Jiang Li: …
On the day of her third uncle’s birthday, her grandfather indeed posted a lot, but the focus of his post wasn’t just to celebrate Third Uncle’s birthday; it was also looking forward to his own 71st birthday next year.
Grandpa has a unique style of bragging: not only did he share the cake she made for Third Uncle on social media, but he also made a point of mentioning the watch she gave as a birthday gift, excitedly saying how he was looking forward to what he would receive for his own birthday next year.
“You actually added my grandpa as a friend?” Jiang Li was curious.
Tong Yi said exasperatedly, “Of course, and I even liked the post, didn’t you see?”
After thinking about it, Jiang Li replied honestly, “There were too many likes on Grandpa’s post, I didn’t notice.”
Tong Yi: …
Alright, it seems his presence has always been quite low.
If he were the male lead in a novel, even if he didn’t appear for three to five days, readers might not remember him, right?
Even when he does make an appearance one day, readers might still wonder: Who is Tong Yi? Why does this name seem a bit familiar?
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I want to see that manager try to make use of Jiang Li! I want to see third uncle in action again 😂