Chapter 354: Go To Yu City To Look For The Big Shot
At eight o’clock at night, in the Wu Residence in the capital...
Wu Qi looked at the words “Yu City” in the group and fell into deep contemplation.
In the past two years, the development prospects of the jewelry industry had not been as great as they used to be previously.
The only edge Wu Qi had over other jewelers was that he had come across this group by coincidence, and this big shot was the reason the Wu Family had achieved all the things it currently had.
Wu Qi heard from several other tyc.o.o.ns in the group that this group solely existed because the big shot had come into contact with gambling stones ten years ago, wanted to practice, and needed some opportunities. That’s why they had the chance to join the group.
It would not be far-fetched to state that those who could get in touch with the big shot would be able to secure successful stone gambling, and their business would be smooth sailing.
As a result, Wu Qi lost his appet.i.te the moment he saw the news in the group. He put the bowl and chopsticks down and frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Bai Miao asked, her voice thick with concern.
“Do you still remember the big shot I told you about last time? She has not been very active on QQ messenger for the past year, and she never responded to my private messages, but she said something in the group today!”
Wu Qi was excited. He told Bai Miao, “I guess something big must have happened in Yu City recently, so I’ve decided to go there!”
“But what about your work at Lucky Cloud Pavilion? Don’t you need to go and survey the field yourself? How about this? Since our private school is having an interscholastic match with No.1 High School, I will go to Yu City with Zhiheng and Zhiyou first and help you look for her. Besides, I also have something to discuss with my sister. Our eldest son has grown up, and it’s time to set up a marriage for him...”
*
Meanwhile, the Lu Family...
Ever since Fu Zhi had been regarded as a person who sacrificed her own interests for the sake of others, she’d realized that her status in the Lu Family had reached a new height.
Lu Yushen would feed her food with a spoon every day, and Xu Wei would sleep with her every night. When the driver took her to school, Lu Yumo would pull out a baby carrier from G.o.d knows where and carry her on his back.
Fu Zhi did not know why her family had to be so histrionic. It was not like she had lost a limb or anything. It was just a minor injury!
That said, Lu Yumo paid no mind to her resistance. He strapped the baby carrier around her and picked her up from the ground.
Fu Zhi had a pet.i.te body, not to mention that the baby carrier had been specially made to cater to her body weight and size. Thus, Lu Yumo did not have any difficulty carrying her on his back at all.
Fu Zhi did not know what to say. She just wished to die.
Ma Mingquan’s eyes turned red around the rims when he saw the scene.
‘What a beautiful bond these siblings share!’
The first cla.s.s of the day was language cla.s.s. The language teacher had heard about Fu Zhi’s heroic deed, so he did not make things hard for Fu Zhi today, which surprised the latter greatly. Then, he pointed at Fu Zhi and told the cla.s.s, “Although this student scored zero in her paper, she’s a person with disabilities now. I hope you guys do not look down on people like her and will show her more kindness and love.”
Fu Zhi was speechless. A person had told her before that the world was full of evil, and this was exactly the moment Fu Zhi felt that person was right.
Due to the fact that her arm was swollen, she could not play games. The language teacher nodded in delight when he saw that she could finally only focus on the cla.s.s. Then, he took out the book “Red Sun” and said, “This book is now listed by the National Education Bureau as required reading material for the college entrance exam, and according to the information provided, there will be a reading comprehension exercise regarding this book. Of course, this notice has just been issued, so any students who are in a position to do so can buy “Red Sun” and look through it first.”
As she stared at the book, Fu Zhi’s expression changed.
After a short while, she muttered under her breath, “Why did n.o.body tell me about this?”
When the language teacher saw that she was mumbling something to herself, he smacked the blackboard and shouted, “Fu Zhi, what are you muttering about?! Stand up and tell me what ‘the wind howls violently’ means in the first paragraph!”
Fu Zhi replied, “The wind is strong.”
The language teacher was stumped. Then, he said, “I want you to tell me what the author truly felt when she was writing this sentence.”
“Actually, the author added the sentence in to make up the word count because the publisher promised her that they would give her 1,000 yuan for every single word added.”
Honestly, Fu Zhi had just let her imagination flow while writing the book. She’d just wanted to experience the world of an eminent writer, so she had written what her heart had guided her to. She did not understand why they had to over-interpret her work.
The language teacher was speechless.
‘That’s it! I’ve had enough of this student! Today, one of us must die!!!’
Had the boys in the cla.s.s not seen through his intention and gone forward to stop him, the language teacher would have had a one-on-one battle with Fu Zhi to knock some sense into her. He was filled with so much indignation that he smacked the book on the table. “I will ask the author of “Red Sun” to knock some sense into that thick skull of yours one day, for you are unable to admire such a masterpiece!”
Fu Zhi did not know what to say.
‘Oh, okay. As long as you’re happy.’
The language cla.s.s was a mess, but the students in Cla.s.s 21 had been erratic from the beginning. Most of them were spoiled children whose parents were rich and powerful. No matter how responsible their teacher was, it meant nothing if the students refused to concentrate on the cla.s.s.
After the cla.s.s ended, the language teacher harrumphed and left the cla.s.sroom.
Su Xing then told Fu Zhi, “Actually, the author of “Red Sun” is great. This book is about war, and she’s also written a sci-fi book. I’ve never seen a sci-fi book that special before, and I really like her in particular... Too bad she doesn’t have a Weibo account or a fan page!”
Fu Zhi looked at Su Xing, and upon noticing the light in her eyes, she asked, “Is your birthday around the corner?”
“Ah? Yeah. It’s at the end of this month.”
*
After Fu Zhi finished her cla.s.ses, she b.u.mped into Director Liu as she walked out of her cla.s.sroom.
Fu Zhi was now a popular figure at school, as she had just brought a trophy back from an international compet.i.tion. Thus, Director Liu was particularly concerned about her.
Just as he was about to say something, Fu Zhi interrupted him. “Director Liu, I want to take next week off.”
The smile on Director Liu’s face froze as he frowned. “What for? Has your grandmother in the countryside... ascended into heaven?”
Director Liu tried to put it more euphemistically.
“Nope. It’s something else, but it’s pretty important,” Fu Zhi replied, giving a vague answer.
Director Liu knew he could not get an answer from Fu Zhi. Since Fu Zhi had good grades, she was given some privileges at school. Without thinking twice, he nodded. “Alright. Remember to hand in the form later. Take care of yourself.”
He and Fu Zhi were standing at the end of the corridor, and after a short while, Director Liu finally remembered why he had come to find Fu Zhi.
“Oh yeah, Fu Zhi. You just came to school, so you might not know this. Every year, the school authorities will pick three arts, science, and sports candidates to take part in an event.”
Fu Zhi lifted her head to look at Director Liu.
Director Liu added, “I think you know that our school is the most elite school in our province, and we have about 50 students who get an offer from Tsinghua University every year. This event is organized by Hang Yuan High School, a private school in the capital. This month, their teacher will bring their students to visit our school for half a month and have an interscholastic match with us.”
Fu Zhi then asked, “So, what are you trying to say?”
Smiling awkwardly, Director Liu said, “Of course, it seems like Hang Yuan High School is coming to visit our school for an exchange meeting only, but actually it’s more than that. You can think of it as a compet.i.tion between schools, as other schools have the same tradition as well... Among the senior students of our school, I expect the most from you. Therefore, I hope you can become the team leader and receive them when they come!”
An exchange meeting was like a meeting between relatives when all the parents would compete against each other to see which of their kids was the best.
In the past, high schools from other provinces used to have this exchange meeting with No.1 High School. However, thanks to Fu Zhi, Lu Yubai, and Zhou Zihuai’s excellent performance in the international Physics compet.i.tion, things were slightly different this year. No.1 High School had become a lot more popular, and it made sense that they would be targeted by some elite schools in the capital.
Yuan Hang High School was a private high school in the capital. They were superior to No. 1 High School in terms of students and teachers. Not only that, but they were also supported by the Ouyang Family, so by right, they should be having this exchange meeting with another elite high school in the capital.
However, instead of doing that, they had picked No.1 High School, and there was only one reason Yuan Hang High School had decided to choose No.1 High School over the other schools in the capital. They wanted to ride on No.1 High School’s popularity on the internet and promote the name of their school by defeating them in a compet.i.tion.
This put pressure on No.1 High School, and Director Liu had reached out to their school princ.i.p.al.
After all, No.1 High School had been using this exchange meeting to promote itself and encourage the students by beating elite schools from another province.
Director Liu said, “Well, you have gotten rid of most of the good students in our school, especially Lu Chuwan. Last year, as a junior, she beat a senior student from another school...”
Director Liu let out a sigh after he finished his sentence. No.1 High School was in the eye of the storm, so they could not lose. They could not afford to lose this time.
Fu Zhi was good at mathematics, Physics, and Biology. As for the other subjects, they could send other students...
Fu Zhi understood what Director Liu was trying to do. However, she had been pretty busy recently. She had to arrange an operation for Lu Yu’an, and she needed to go to Myanmar for the stone gambling session during the winter holidays.
Also, Ye Jiu had enrolled in No.1 High School, but he had not shown up yet. Besides, she had accepted a few tasks and agreed to teach her apprentices in the hacker alliance.
Fu Zhi said, “Nope, nope. I can’t partic.i.p.ate. I’ve been busy recently.”
Not only that, but she had been in a bad mood lately. She did not know what she might do if someone tried to act stupid in front of her.
“You can’t say no if you’re a student of No.1 High School,” Director Liu said. “We’re not asking you to play basketball or recite ancient poems. We just want you to answer a few question papers to show them we’re no pushovers. We can give you money.”
“It’s not about money.”
Director Liu interrupted her. “You think it’s not enough.”
Fu Zhi replied expressionlessly, “How can you measure things like this with money?”
Besides, a few companies had reached out to her and expressed their wish to adapt “Red Sun” into a movie after “Red Sun” had been published, not to mention that she was in a relationship, so she had enough money to spend!
Director Liu was speechless. He was considering whether he should kneel down and beg her or not.
Fu Zhi let out a sigh.
This kind of exchange meeting was too tiring. Basketball? Taekwondo? What if she accidentally injured her opponent? Although she had earned a lot of money recently, she did not want to pay them!
Therefore, Fu Zhi chased Director Liu away. “I will put together a test paper for you. You can take it to teach the students, and I a.s.sure you they will improve by leaps and bounds before the college entrance examination.”
Director Liu was speechless.
Fu Zhi went to fill her water bottle. Director Liu gritted his teeth and decided to use his trump card. “How about this? If you take part, I will let you become the provincial-level merit student.”
He pitched his voice low and added, “I will open the backdoor for you, so are you in or not?”
Fu Zhi was not moved. “Nope. As long as I want, I can even become a national-level merit student.”
Then, she pushed Director Liu away with a finger.
“I have a boyfriend already. He’s younger and richer than you, so stop bothering me.”
Director Liu did not know what to say.
He felt... Hold on a second...
Director Liu suddenly realized something and looked at Fu Zhi in disbelief. “You have a boyfriend?!”
Fu Zhi was not going to answer his question.
When they pa.s.sed by the liberal arts cla.s.s, a girl walked out of the cla.s.sroom. When she saw Director Liu, she nodded. “I’ve come to report, director.”
Fu Zhi looked at the girl.
The girl was wearing a clean uniform, her hair was long, and she had a pair of pretty eyes.
Director Liu then introduced her to Fu Zhi. “This is Mu Chenxi. She’s a liberal arts student. She just came back from shooting a film.”
Then, he turned to Mu Chenxi. “I suppose you have read about Fu Zhi on Weibo, right?”
Mu Chenxi looked at Fu Zhi. The girl was wearing her school uniform. She was pet.i.te, but she was a beauty in her own right.
Mu Chenxi glanced at the photo that Bai Yao had sent to her on the phone. She could not believe that Fu Zhi was way prettier than she looked in the photo.
“You’re Fu Zhi, right? Yeah, I’ve heard about you. I don’t know how good you are, but...” Mu Chenxi smiled as she went closer to Fu Zhi and whispered into her ear, “I know you’re an ingrate. You took money from the Lu Family, yet you sent your own cousin to prison. Let me tell you something. Karma is a b*tch. It will come back and bite you one day!”
Then, she took a step back.
She had been Lu Chuwan’s friend since she was a kid. She had been filming during this period, wanting to fight for a supporting role in “Red Sun”, so she had not paid attention to what was happening in Yu City.
Who knew that the moment she came back, she’d hear that Lu Chuwan had been imprisoned!
Director Liu did not know what Mu Chenxi had told Fu Zhi, nor did he care about it. Compared to Mu Chenxi, he was more concerned about Fu Zhi.
While the two of them were walking toward Cla.s.s 21, he told her, “About that medical paper you’re turning in... The school teacher didn’t help you much, so you can put your name in first.”