Over the next few days, online discussions about Ji Ruochu never stopped. But unexpectedly, Ji Mochen, who had always been ostentatious in showing off his daughter, was keeping an extremely low profile this time.
Even when fans and netizens flocked to leave messages under his account, he never responded, seemingly unwilling to let this matter continue fermenting.
To be honest, under normal circumstances, if he had reacted in such a low-key manner, netizens might have thought they recognized the wrong person and guessed that the gold medal winner was not Ji Ruochu.
But it was difficult to dispel this idea given that the official website had already routinely published basic information about several contestants, as per custom.
Her name, age, and school all matched up, so even if Ji Mochen were to now say it was all a misunderstanding, no one would believe him.
Of course, whether netizens believed him was one thing, and whether Ji Mochen really chose not to say anything was another matter entirely. His current silence inevitably led netizens to speculate.
【Speaking of which, when our daughter acted in that movie earlier, didn't this guy also keep a low profile?】
【No ah, I remember he also helped promote it. Didn't he even dress up as a woman? I saw marketing accounts just the other day saying he paved the way for his daughter's future acting career.】
【The one above, that was because he lost a game in a variety show. The one he promoted wasn't Ruoru's movie.】
【Oh well, I'm just amazed by marketing accounts nowadays, leading with one picture then just making things up as they go!】
【So does this mean...Ruoru's dad doesn't approve of our daughter mixing in showbiz in the future?】
【Shouldn't ba, didn't he post a video earlier saying his daughter will act in the future? If he didn't agree, he wouldn't have said it jokingly.】
【That was then, now she's grown up. And back then our daughter was only a few years old, how old is she now? Besides, back then our daughter didn't win a Math Olympiad gold medal! 】
【True. If I were Ji Mochen, with the child starting off on such a high note, what's the point in going into showbiz? Wouldn't it be better for her to shine in the scientific community?】
...
Not only so, but netizens also began to speculate wildly that the Ji family saw Ruoru's talent and was preparing to groom her to take over the company.
After all, Ji Mochen's two brothers had also trended when their award photos were posted earlier.
What's more, compared to her big uncle and little uncle, Ji Ruoru was not lacking in either looks or IQ.
In the end, it was Ji Mochen's hardcore fans who left comments dispelling the inheritor fantasies constructed by netizens.
【I feel Ji Mochen's reticence precisely shows that he unconditionally supports whatever choices Ruoru makes.
After all, no matter what he says at this point will be over interpreted by the public, so it's better for him to say nothing at all.
Hasn't it always been...our daughter who calls the shots at home?】
When this remark appeared, most netizens felt it was very reasonable.
At this moment, the fans who had witnessed Ji Mochen being hated for years suddenly felt emotional:
Even a wretch like Ji Mochen has learned to endure now, ah time and tide wait for no man...
Little did they know, the reason Ji Mochen could endure so steadily was actually—
"A two-week road trip, during which no photos can be posted on social media, otherwise the trip would have to be cancelled if swarmed by fans at scenic spots!"
Ji Ruoru handed the gold medal and certificate to her parents who had faces of excitement as she nonchalantly spoke.
"Really!" Her dad was so happy he forgot about the gold medal.
"Mm! Wasn't that the agreement after the competition to go on vacation?"
Ji Ruoru then opened the travel guide that her parents had started preparing whenever they had time, and began deciding where to go.
"It's too hot now, let's go to..."
And so, still in raptures over their daughter winning the grand prize, the couple were packed up and taken away without even having the chance to boastfully take pictures of the gold medal and certificate, directly embarking on an impromptu vacation.
Only after half a month later when all the news about Ruoru's International Math Olympiad gold medal had been suppressed by other, more eye-catching news, did the family of three finally return to Kyoto.
That day, with his daughter's permission, Ji Mochen finally opened up his social media app, after which...his phone froze for minutes in a rare occurrence.
He initially thought it was a phone malfunction, but upon checking his notifications bar—well fuck, rows of 99+.
After the patriarch understood the context, pride was already written all over his face.
Look, my daughter really is outstanding, she has brought such glory to the family!
Of course, while he was boastful, Ji Mochen maintained the "mature" and "steady" persona labels netizens had given him.
His status was updated, but had absolutely no relation to the earlier topics whatsoever. Instead, he chose several photos from the family's half month trip to upload, with Ling Chujin doing the same.
It's worth noting that the photos uploaded by the husband and wife were all edited by Ling Chujin, the hardcore fan for the past decade.
The only criteria for their selfies was that their daughter had to look her best! As for everything else...unimportant.
Thanks to the efforts of her parents, Ji Ruoru's lowered popularity rose once more.
In the study, looking at the screen where "Ji Mochen takes wife and daughter on trip" was trending on social media, Ji Ruoru helplessly facepalmed.
This couple was simply too ostentatious.
Still, while she thought this inside, she had no plans of stopping them, in the end...
Glancing at her notebook where all her competition goals had been accomplished, she felt that a celebration was indeed in order.
These were a series of goals she jotted down in her notebook as the memories from her past life grew vaguer in her mind.
First and foremost was her goal for the high school Math Olympiad competition.
Somehow, at the moment she obtained the international competition gold medal, the traces of competition scenes from her past life left in her mind vanished without a trace.
In their place, was the memory of full marks obtained in this most recent competition throughout the whole experience, a feeling of...
As if an invisible pen was rewriting her life trajectory guided by a mysterious hand.
And this pen could only be propelled by herself.
She was crystal clear that only by working hard and diligently, could she compose new chapters in her life.
Just as now, she could no longer clearly recall what she encountered and the results of competitions in her past life.
But it didn't matter, she was certain, her first regret had been remedied.
Thinking this, Ji Ruoru briskly flipped past the competition page.
The next second, the giant word "Academics" leaped into her vision, under which were several concise goals.
Seeing the contents above, Ji Ruoru's frown only grew deeper and deeper.
Obviously, with most of her past memories already forgotten, she could now not at all understand why she would have written these words.
But—
"Since it was past regret, it naturally must be remedied."
