Inside the cafeteria of Star Galaxy Middle School, the enthusiasm of the audience had not yet dissipated, with waves of applause following one after another, as the contestants' outstanding performances far exceeded their expectations.
Amidst the bustling noise, the crew began to clear the scene and set up for the awards ceremony.
They laboriously brought in a three-tiered podium, piled with sunflowers underneath, and even brought in fireworks.
Su Xun disdainfully curled her lips; fireworks always sprayed out a lot of shiny powder, creating a great visual effect, but it couldn't be washed off clothes for days.
And she was about to leave the Su Family to live alone, so she'd have to wash her own clothes from now on, which was quite troublesome.
But for the sake of money, she could endure it.
Scanning the crowd, Su Xun spotted Director Zhang and walked over. "Director Zhang, can I have my prize money now?"
Director Zhang asked, "You want to take it yourself?"
Su Xun said, "Yeah."
Director Zhang frowned, "How old are you? 150,000 isn't a small sum. How can you take it yourself? Tomorrow, our crew will uniformly distribute the prize money to the student's guardians."
Just as Su Xun was about to retort, she suddenly heard the familiar sound of high heels. Turning around, she saw her mother, dressed in a gilded high-slit skirt, walking with grace and charm.
Su's Mother shouted, "Director Zhang, don't give her any money! This girl keeps causing trouble for me all day long! She doesn't even do interviews properly and I don't know what she's up to! She's becoming more and more disobedient!"
Su Xun said, "Mom, you should know that the main reason human beings progress is that the next generation doesn't listen much to the previous generation."
Su's Mother pointed at Su Xun, her fingertip trembling with anger, about to erupt into a scolding session for her daughter.
Su Xun added, "It's not me who said that, it's the British writer Maugham. You should go scold him at his grave, preferably in English, as foreign devils don't understand Chinese."
"And also, Director Zhang, my mom is an irredeemable alcoholic. I have a video of her hitting me while drunk. I've officially applied to strip her of guardianship."
"You must give me the prize money. I earned it myself, I have the right to dispose of it, and I'll need this money to survive after leaving the Su Family."
Director Zhang looked troubled; he didn't want to get involved in this family dispute.
He said, "Alright, I'll consult the company's legal department and give you a reply before tonight."
Su Xun said, "Okay."
Upon hearing this resolution, Su's Mother couldn't breathe properly from anger. She clutched her chest with one hand and glared at her rebellious daughter.
Su Xun trotted away. She knew she would definitely get the prize money; Director Zhang didn't want to hurt her mother's pride, so he chose a more tactful response.
Back at her original spot, Su Xun saw Yuan Luoyi. He was hiding in a dark corner, gazing into the distance, lost in thought.
He looked like a cute little fish, wanting to hide in the coral to evade predators and beginning to doze off because the environment was too comfortable.
However, Yuan Luoyi was avoiding reporters because of her previous brilliant performance, which had made them eager to interview her, unwilling to let her go.
And Su Xun knew that Yuan Luoyi also didn't like to waste time with reporters.
Their eyes met unexpectedly in the air, and after a moment of silence, Su Xun spoke first, feigning arrogance as she lifted her chin.
"You've rejected me many times. Now you regret not being friends with me, don't you?"
Yuan Luoyi lowered her eyes, pondering for a moment.
On the competition field, due to the high level of concentration, she couldn't actually hear the cheers around her. Her entire world consisted only of the finish line and Su Xun chasing her from the side.
Though they were opponents, there were always one or two seconds when they seemed to understand each other's thoughts.
Moreover, Su Xun had changed; she wasn't pretending anymore, and she didn't seem as annoying as before.
Yuan Luoyi said, "I do regret it a little."
Su Xun was taken aback by this sincere and straightforward answer. She had prepared some sarcastic remarks, but now she didn't know how to respond. Her brain slowly reorganized her thoughts.
Sen Junxuan, who had been hovering nearby, saw an opportunity to join the conversation.
Taking a deep breath and adjusting his nervous emotions, he strode up to Yuan Luoyi and said, "Yuan Luoyi, I got third place in this event!"
Yuan Luoyi replied, "Oh, congratulations."
Seeing Yuan Luoyi's response, Sen Junxuan suddenly felt more confident.
After all, he was good-looking, a blond mixed-race student and the campus heartthrob of Star Galaxy Middle School. Girls lined up to give him gifts.
Although he had bullied Yuan Luoyi before, he sincerely apologized, and enough time had passed; Yuan Luoyi should have forgiven him by now.
There's a chance!
They could reconcile!
A brilliant smile spread across Sen Junxuan's face. "My grandfather taught me about finance before, so I habitually converted 10% of my currency into gold, and coincidentally, the price of gold rose, and I also got third place."
Su Xun rolled her eyes to the heavens. "Sen Junxuan, that's not coincidence; that's my stroke of genius. Last time, you got third place by piggybacking on me, and this time, you've done it again. You're really lucky."
Sen Junxuan had long heard about Su Xun's ladylike facade crumbling.
So many boys in Class A were in tears, cursing Su Xun as a greedy witch. Some boys even couldn't bear it, planning to enter the Shaolin Temple to become monks, but after being scolded by their parents, they came to terms with it.
Seeing Su Xun's explosive and irritable demeanor today, Sen Junxuan felt uncomfortable. He really wanted to retort, but in front of Yuan Luoyi, he wanted to maintain a generous and magnanimous image.
Su Xun glanced at Yuan Luoyi, then at Sen Junxuan's greasy posture, and understood.
"Ah, don't overthink it. She's just being polite to you."
Su Xun lightly patted Yuan Luoyi's shoulder. "Let's go, the award ceremony is about to start."
The two of them left, and Sen Junxuan stomped his foot in frustration.
The staff had already set up a magnificent stage, and the host Na Lan announced that the award ceremony was officially beginning.
Yuan Luoyi ranked first, winning a prize of 300,000 yuan; Su Xun came second, winning 150,000 yuan; Sen Junxuan secured the third spot, winning 10,000 yuan.
Initially, Yuan Luoyi was elated, but when Director Zhang mentioned that the money would be directly transferred to her older brother Yuan Fa, her smile faded.
Nalan announced, "Dear audience, today's variety show comes to an end. Looking forward to our next meeting!"
The audience erupted in thunderous applause, the barrage of comments on the screen was dizzying, fireworks were set off, and glittering confetti fell, with some landing in Yuan Luoyi's hair.
After the ceremony, Yuan Luoyi skillfully dodged the reporters, slipped out through the back door, and returned to Class D. It took her quite a while to clean up all the glitter.
There were no activities in the afternoon, and Class D had no lessons.
Yuhua slumped wearily on the table. "I'm so fond of doing math problems. I feel lost, like I'm half-dead."
Yuan Luoyi wasn't faring any better. When she was busy, she didn't feel tired, but now that the activity was over, her brain realized that she had done so many math problems in such a short time. It was time to go on strike.
She drawled lazily, "I'm different. I love sleeping now. It's a relaxed feeling, like being at peace in the grave."
So, the two of them languished through the afternoon.
School was over, and the familiar sedan pulled up beside Yuan Luoyi. The door opened, and she got in.
Her older brother Yuan Ao smiled. "You did exceptionally well today. Are you tired?"
Yuan Luoyi replied, "Not tired at all, big brother. Can I go to the company now?"
Yuan Ao said, "Sure, I'll take you there for a visit."
Yuan Luoyi perked up.
School matters were finally over, and now she had something very important to do: to catch the real culprit behind the bombing based on the clues.
The sequence of numbers had a pattern, representing the year, month, day, floor number, and the quantity of explosives placed. This must be a note written by the real culprit.
By checking the company's surveillance according to the time and location, the person could be found.
