Chapter 184 - A Real Idol
s.h.i.+ Jin saw the empathetic look on her face and nodded.
By the time she returned to cla.s.s, everyone was becoming increasingly excited as they discussed something softly.
"Do you know s.h.i.+ Xuexin is coming for the school anniversary this weekend?"
"Oh really? Is she coming too? I want to see her so badly! I wonder if third grade students have the time to attend it."
"We absolutely will. After all, it"s the school"s 50th anniversary. Since it is a major affair, I am sure we will have to go."
"I really want to see Xuexin too! She was a straight-A student back in the day and came in first in the city with a total of 683 marks!"
"Uh huh. If we can get to see her, it would be even more effective than praying to the G.o.ds for good grades."
.
s.h.i.+ Jin finally recalled it was almost time for this school anniversary.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin was a legend in Second High School. She had excellent grades. Also, all her other interests were well developed. Back in the day, people wors.h.i.+ped her for years after her college entrance exam grades came out.
Even though the first cla.s.s was filled with straight-A students in its own right, everyone idolized s.h.i.+ Xuexin the moment the subject came up.
Also, the s.h.i.+ family was an up-and-coming elite family and well-known in town, so s.h.i.+ Xuexin"s status at Second High School was akin to Wen Yongwei"s status at "Ultimate Singer-Songwriter "".
"s.h.i.+ Jin, do you know who s.h.i.+ Xuexin is?" asked a boy softly.
Some other boy promptly covered his mouth. "Stop asking s.h.i.+ Jin. Haven"t you heard what people say about s.h.i.+ Jin? s.h.i.+ Jin and s.h.i.+ Xuexin were swapped at birth. What do you expect her to say?"
The first boy shrank his neck and stopped asking about it.
In reality, s.h.i.+ Jin did not really care about the ident.i.ty swap. Instead, Yu Xiuhua and s.h.i.+ Xuexin were very bothered by it. They ordered s.h.i.+ Jin to never mention she was brought up by the s.h.i.+ family in public. In time, people at school gradually forgot that s.h.i.+ Jin and s.h.i.+ Xuexin were both from the s.h.i.+ family.
Hence, people often ask her about it out of curiosity.
s.h.i.+ Jin had no love for the s.h.i.+ clan. However, she did not leave because Old Master s.h.i.+ loved her and she did not want to make him upset.
***
Before long, it was time for Second High School"s 50th anniversary.
A lot of famous alumni were invited to come back for the event.
Other than the third grade cla.s.ses, all the other cla.s.ses had prepared performances.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin remained very popular among the swarm of accomplished alumni. She was a soph.o.m.ore at university and her background was the envy of everyone. As the daughter of the s.h.i.+ family, she was a genuinely beautiful, talented girl from a rich family. During the college entrance exam, she came in first with straight-As. She was champion for the youth division in a national piano compet.i.tion and a grade 8 violinist. Also, she was a level nine Chinese brush painting artist. She was a natural for a variety of instruments and art.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin was a true idol at Second High School.
Cla.s.ses ended early at Second High School today. All the students were waiting in cla.s.s for the school anniversary celebrations to commence.
Luxury cars kept pulling up at the Second High School entrance one after another with their accomplished alumni.
After s.h.i.+ Jin had a word with Ji Huan, she wanted to head back to cla.s.s with her workbook.
"s.h.i.+ Jin!" s.h.i.+ Jin halted in her steps briefly.
It was none other than s.h.i.+ Xuexin calling s.h.i.+ Jin. She smiled as she said gently, "s.h.i.+ Jin, I have yet to congratulate you for skipping a level and getting promoted to third grade. Congrats."
s.h.i.+ Jin glanced at s.h.i.+ Xuexin. Mr Li from the third grade along with several other elites dressed in suits were standing beside s.h.i.+ Xuexin.
Mr Li was clearly here to personally welcome his favorite disciple, s.h.i.+ Xuexin.
The other elites were happy to rub shoulders with s.h.i.+ Xuexin as well.
Mr Li smiled as he asked s.h.i.+ Xuexin, "Do you know s.h.i.+ Jin?"
s.h.i.+ Xuexin replied gently, "Yes, Mr Li. We are sisters. Although we aren"t biologically related, we have known each other for years, so we are very close."
The moment s.h.i.+ Xuexin mentioned this, everyone remembered that s.h.i.+ Jin and s.h.i.+ Xuexin were once swapped at birth. After they learned the truth, s.h.i.+ Jin ought to have left, but she refused to leave the s.h.i.+ family and insisted on staying.
Despite not being a member of the s.h.i.+ family, she persisted in staying. Why else would she want to stay?
The anti-fans had already dug up s.h.i.+ Jin"s dirty history, so this was not news to them. However, now that s.h.i.+ Jin and s.h.i.+ Xuexin were standing together, this old scandal naturally came to mind and people could not help comparing them.
All the elites present naturally knew what was going on, but they did not make any opinion. They knew full well that a woman from a privileged family would never enter the entertainment industry. They were proud women with important careers waiting for them and a different kind of life to lead. That was the difference between a woman from a powerful family and a normal woman.
Despite the silence, it was clear what they were thinking. Everyone looked at s.h.i.+ Jin profoundly.
s.h.i.+ Jin naturally knew what s.h.i.+ Xuexin was implying.
She promptly looked at s.h.i.+ Xuexin. "I recall my parents only had one daughter. When did I ever have a sister? I have already left the s.h.i.+ family for years and I have no intention of moving back. I really don"t remember ever spending time with you. Also, I doubt there is any chance for it to happen in the future either."
s.h.i.+ Jin had genuinely tried to stay at the s.h.i.+ family. She was foolish and didn"t want to leave Old Master s.h.i.+.
Since Fu Xiuyuan took her from the family ages ago, she did not spend much time at the s.h.i.+ family.
Her words promptly made these elites catch onto s.h.i.+ Xuexin"s little lies.
s.h.i.+ Jin did not insist on staying at the s.h.i.+ family as word had it. In fact, she had moved out ages ago. In that case, why did the s.h.i.+ family claim s.h.i.+ Jin refused to leave?
The atmosphere became awkward as everyone contemplated.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin did not expect s.h.i.+ Jin to gain the upper hand so easily. She quickly explained, "Although we barely spent any time together, I think about you all the time."
s.h.i.+ Jin replied mildly, "Is there anything else you have for me? Otherwise, I am going."
s.h.i.+ Jin was completely calm and didn"t care about s.h.i.+ Xuexin. She certainly didn"t sound like the type of person who desired the s.h.i.+ family"s wealth and status. Instead, she looked particularly disinterested.
Everyone made their own judgment and no longer despised s.h.i.+ Jin. In hindsight, s.h.i.+ Jin had made a commendable effort to break into the entertainment industry to make a living after leaving the s.h.i.+ family.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin could tell what everyone was thinking, so she hurriedly smiled and said, "s.h.i.+ Jin, I know you are busy and you also have to prepare for the college entrance exam, so I won"t hold you up. When you are free, allow me to introduce some friends to you. I am sure they are happy to help you with your studies."