Taking a deep breath as if making a big sacrifice, Tong Yi softly called out the dreaded word, “Aunt.”
Jiang Li was stunned for nearly ten seconds before slowly coming back to her senses. She tiptoed slightly and reached out to pat Tong Yi’s head, “My nephew is so filial.”
Tong Yi looked at her, “Now it’s your turn.”
“My turn for what?” Jiang Li feigned ignorance.
Tong Yi looked at her expectantly, “It’s your turn to call me brother.”
Jiang Li sighed softly, “Since you’ve already called me aunt, then as your elder, I’ll teach you something today. In this world, many things adults say are not true. My dear nephew, you mustn’t take everything seriously!”
Tong Yi ground his teeth, “Are you playing me, Jiang Xiao Li?”
“Yeah, I’m playing you. What can you do about it?” Jiang Li boasted shamelessly.
Tong Yi: …
What could he do to her? Nothing but to accept his loss!
“Jiang Xiao Li, you’re heartless!” Tong Yi sighed.
Jiang Li patted her chest, “I do have a heart, and it’s beating lively.”
“You’re bullying a naive guy,” Tong Yi continued his complaint.
Jiang Li simply laughed: “If you’re naive, there are no cunning people in this world.”
Tong Yi pretended to be magnanimous, “I won’t argue with a minor girl. How about we go for a walk together?”
“Nope!” Jiang Li refused, “Our team already has plans.”
Tong Yi: …
As if his team didn’t have plans! For whose sake does she think he rejected them all?
But Jiang Xiao Li, always a well-behaved student, certainly would not skip her team’s activities for him. Resigned, he patted her shoulder, “When your eldest brother returns to China for his wedding, I’ll come back with him.”
“So what?” Jiang Li asked.
“Nothing, just letting you know.”
Jiang Li thought for a moment, “My eldest brother is getting married during the National Day holiday, and I’ll be on school break then. I’m going to be a bridesmaid. I’ve never been a bridesmaid before, so I don’t know if I’ll mess up.”
Tong Yi laughed mercilessly, “You, a bridesmaid? I think you’d be more suited as a flower girl.”
Jiang Li quickly lifted her leg and aimed a kick at him. Tong Yi, agilely dodging, looked at her incredulously, “It was just a joke, and you actually tried to kick me? Jiang Xiao Li, aren’t you being a bit too violent?”
Jiang Li said expressionlessly, “Consider yourself lucky I didn’t hit you.”
Tong Yi: “…” Why did he feel that Jiang Xiao Li had become much more squeamish than before?
But then he thought about it and realized that she had been well-protected by her family over the year. It seemed natural that her personality would change.
“Jiang Li, have you forgotten that you still have a team?” The team leader spoke coolly, his gaze towards Tong Yi was like looking at a rogue pig rooting their carefully nurtured cabbage — although the cabbage herself was oblivious, and the pig showed no skill or method in his rooting.
Jiang Li immediately rejoined her team and waved at Tong Yi, “Goodbye, Big Nephew!”
Tong Yi: …
After being a nephew for so long, when could he finally be called brother?
…
On the day the IMO team returned to China, representatives who came to welcome them held large banners, celebrating their collective gold medal win and especially celebrating Guo Dongyi’s achievement of scoring the only perfect score. Facing the media, Guo Dongyi was particularly calm and composed. Influenced by him, Jiang Li also appeared composed.
As the youngest member of the six-person team, Jiang Li received a lot of attention. She spoke confidently in front of the cameras about her IMO journey, her expression full of confidence. Jiang Li knew her grandfather must be watching the live broadcast, possibly even stealthily posting on social media to brag about her award to his friends.
Jiang Li was right; Old Master Feng was indeed watching the live broadcast, not just by himself but with a whole bunch of people. However, he wasn’t busy posting and instead directly shared the livestream in the chat group he had with his friends, uploading dozens of photos endlessly.
Seeing the blurry photos taken by Old Master Feng, his old friends had completely given up. Ever since Feng Ding found his granddaughter, his mental state seemed to regress quite a lot, and as long-time friends, they shouldn’t hold it against him. Being understanding is a virtue after all!
Not only did the group of old men have to understand Old Master Feng’s actions, but they also had to occasionally offer a few compliments. Otherwise, Old Master Feng would deliberately tag those who stayed silent, pretending to ask if their internet connection was poor.
What else could they do? That Old Feng was indeed blessed with such an excellent granddaughter, and it was normal for him to boast about her.
The teachers and students of Minjiang First High School were also mostly watching the live broadcast. Having two students from their school win gold medals was everyone’s pride!
At home, Shen Mian sat leisurely with her feet on the coffee table, not even bothering to put on shoes or socks as she happily munched on sunflower seeds, her eyes glued on the screen. Her mother glanced at her daughter’s unladylike manner and remarked, “Your classmate is quite impressive, huh?”
Shen Mian nodded eagerly, “Yeah, Jiang Li is just too amazing. I’m really, really envious of her!”
“What do you envy about her?” her mother asked, ready to start a string of motivational speeches once her daughter expressed envy over Jiang Li’s achievements. This child wasn’t dumb; as long as she was willing to work as hard as she did before the high school entrance examination, even if she couldn’t win a gold medal for the country, making it to the provincial team was definitely possible!
But Shen Mian betrayed her mother’s expectation: “I envy her for having such great genes. Jiang Li’s grandfather is a well-known entrepreneur, her eldest uncle is a business tycoon, her second uncle is a famous professor, her youngest uncle is a genius researcher. Even her three cousins are very impressive. I’m really envious of her; their family’s genes are just too amazing!”
“…” Shen Mian’s mother was left speechless by her daughter’s form of envy.
Shen Mian’s father couldn’t help but laugh, “Genes are something your mother and I can’t help with. Maybe you could talk to your grandparents about it?”
Shen Mian shook her head, “Better not, I’m afraid they might feel inferior.”
Shen Mian’s father: …
This girl didn’t feel inferior watching her classmate win gold while she sat at home enjoying the air conditioning. Yet, she worried her grandparents might feel inferior for not giving her good genes?
Shen Mian’s father couldn’t understand his daughter’s logic. Noticing a pile of sunflower seed shells under where Shen Mian was sitting, he grabbed a broom and told her, “Lift your legs.”
She instantly pulled her feet back onto the sofa and continued watching the live broadcast. Noticing the chat in the livestream wasn’t as active as expected, she couldn’t help but frown. On such a momentous occasion, where had all the viewers gone?
After pondering for a moment, Shen Mian took out her phone and opened an app, only to find that Jiang Ruo was indeed livestreaming and promoting products, attracting quite a crowd. Her fingers flying over the screen, she quickly left a comment in Jiang Ruo’s livestream: “What’s so interesting about a thief who stole someone else’s identity? Better to watch the real deal. Jiang family’s real daughter Jiang Li has just won a gold IMO medal for the country while the fake Jiang Ruo is just livestreaming. See the difference?”
After posting the comment, Shen Mian quickly exited the livestream. She wasn’t stupid enough to stay and get into arguments with Jiang Ruo’s brainless fans!
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Author’s Note:
Shen ‘Former brainless fan’ Mian: As long as I run fast enough, Jiang Ruo’s brainless fans can’t catch up with me!
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