The blinding sunlight shone on Song Shudi’s face. She slowly opened her eyes, and what came into view was a dark green blackboard with high school calculus problems written on it.
“Bai Lin, if you keep sleeping, go stand at the back. Do you even know how to do calculus? Do you even want to take the college entrance exam?” The math teacher, an old man with glasses, slammed his hand on the wooden desk. He couldn’t remember how many times he’d reminded Song Shudi.
All the students around her focused their attention on Song Shudi. Song Shudi came from a wealthy family, so she had a laissez-faire attitude at school, always ranking near the bottom in exams. Everyone had seen her sleeping in class like this countless times.
“I’m sorry, teacher, I won’t do it again,” Song Shudi said calmly to the teacher.
She knew she had gone to high school and understood that the original owner’s behavior was wrong. The teacher meant well, and she should admit her mistake.
“You’re quite eager to admit your mistake. Can you do the first sub-question?” The math teacher’s temper flared a bit. He was about to call on someone anyway, so he might as well go for Song Shudi.
“Yes.”
Song Shudi glanced at the problem on the blackboard. The first sub-question of the derivative was relatively easy to write.
As soon as Song Shudi finished speaking, the surrounding students started making sounds like “oh~”.
It wasn’t mockery, just simple disbelief.
Everyone knew her level; someone who scored in the 20s or 30s in math usually left the big questions blank on exams. She had just been sleeping, so it would be strange if she could do it.
“Then come up and do it.”
The math teacher pushed up his glasses and handed Song Shudi a new piece of white chalk. He didn’t really expect Song Shudi to write it; he was already thinking about who to call on next.
Song Shudi took the chalk and began writing in the blank space, explaining as he wrote, “The first sub-question can be solved using parametric separation. Separate ‘a’ from the right side of the inequality and place it on the left. Treat the remaining expression as h(x), find the derivative of h(x), then solve for the extrema and maximum/minimum values. Roughly draw the graph of h(x), and then you can find the range of values for ‘a’…”
His neat handwriting was imprinted on the clean blackboard; each step was detailed, each expression correct, and each line of reasoning clear.
In just a few minutes, the first sub-question was solved. The math teacher’s expression changed from calm to surprise. He had initially thought Song Shudi was just joking, but he hadn’t expected him to actually know how.
“Class, let’s give Bai Lin a round of applause!” The math teacher was the first to clap; he hadn’t expected Song Shudi to actually know how.
After the applause, amidst the surprised gazes of her classmates, the math teacher asked again, “Could you try the second question? It’s okay if you can’t do it; just write down as many steps as you can.”
Very few people in the college entrance exam can finish the second question of derivatives; most stop at the first.
“Okay,”
Song Shudi glanced at the second question.
It was a ‘deterministic offset point’ problem, which she could definitely solve. The core of the ‘deterministic offset point’ problem was to construct the function and transform x1 and x2 into the same variable, while also ensuring that the constructed variables belonged to the same interval, and then using the new function to prove the equation.
Considering the original owner’s past academic struggles, she decided to keep a low profile and only write down the construction step, which would get her around 7 points.
Song Shudi wrote down the remaining steps according to her own thinking. After completing the core steps, Song Shudi stopped.
“I’m sorry, teacher, I really can’t write the rest.” Song Shudi put the chalk back in the chalk box.
“You’ve done very well to get this far; no need to apologize.” Can you expect someone who scores only 30-something in math to finish this? The math teacher thought it was quite good that he had done this far.
Applause awaited Song Shudi again.
“Students, look at the blackboard… the remaining steps are like this… completing this step will earn you 8 points… the calculations at the end are a bit more complex…”
The bell rang, and Song Shudi let out a long sigh of relief. It had been a long time since he had attended a high school class.
When he closed his eyes, Song Shudi keenly sensed that many people around him were watching him. Well, given the original owner’s poor grades, it was normal for everyone to react this way. Take it slow, hopefully he could shake off the original owner’s unmotivated image before senior year.
…Lunchtime…
Song Shudi took his meal card to the small window on the first floor and bought a bowl of wontons, sitting in a corner eating by himself.
“Hey, did you guys hear? Liu Xiyue is transferring to our school tomorrow.”
“Of course I know! She’s the woman I’ve loved for three years. I’ve been voting for her ever since she auditioned.”
“A few peanuts and you’re all that? What do you mean ‘your darling’? She’s a top star!”
Several students chattered amongst themselves. They were all fans of Liu Xiyue, and when they heard she was transferring, they were practically beaming with joy. If they could bump into her, they’d ask for her autograph.
These days, who in the student world doesn’t know Liu Xiyue? She debuted as the center of a girl group at fifteen, her stunningly beautiful face dominating the entertainment industry. At only fifteen, she was already dubbed a “goddess of beauty,” with countless “mommy fans” and “girlfriend fans,” and her promotional videos frequently appeared on various video websites.
Even those who weren’t fans would unconsciously save a few photos of Liu Xiyue, simply because she was so beautiful—perfect for profile pictures and wallpapers.
“Do you think she might come to our class? Maybe we could even sit next to each other…”
“Dream on! You’re in the science class, and she’s a dance student. Dance students usually go to the humanities class.”
The students continued to chatter, occasionally pulling out photos of Liu Xiyue to admire. The photos were so beautiful; they wondered how stunning she would be in person.
Song Shudi quietly ate her wontons in a corner, trying to block out the students’ voices. Her customers’ task was to run her family business and take care of her family; she had no need to have any contact with Liu Xiyue.
After finishing her meal, Song Shudi cleaned up her dishes and prepared to leave the cafeteria.
Having spent a uneventful day, Song Shudi, having finished evening self-study, prepared to go home.
As a day student, she could hear students talking about Liu Xiyue all the way. Stationery stores and bookstores along the road were selling Liu Xiyue merchandise, eyeglasses shops on the street had posters featuring her, and even the KFC’s electronic screen displayed Liu Xiyue’s image.
“Wow, she’s incredibly popular!” Even 210 was surprised by Liu Xiyue’s popularity; she’d practically be a top-tier national idol.
“Not interested.” Song Shudi looked at the zebra crossing ahead. Her excellent professionalism made her only want to finish the task as quickly as possible. Bai Lin was her last customer… Once
she dealt with Bai Lin, she could finally be free…
Back home, Song Shudi first put her schoolbag back in her bedroom, then started doing her homework. The only advantage of being a day student was having more free time; she finished all the homework assigned during evening self-study in less than two hours.
Looking at the time, it was already 11 pm. Feeling a little hungry, Song Shudi decided to make some late-night snacks in the kitchen.
Opening the refrigerator, she found some steaks and shrimp. Song Shudi picked out a small steak and grabbed a few tiger prawns. Given the original owner’s wealthy background, this shouldn’t be a problem.
“Miss, let me do it.” A middle-aged woman in her forties appeared before Song Shudi, looking somewhat flustered.
She was a maid hired by a wealthy family to cook; how could she let the young lady of the client’s family cook for herself? Besides, she knew very well that Bai Lin couldn’t cook, so she quickly took the steak and shrimp, afraid of neglecting Bai Lin.
“Thank you, Aunt Zhao.” Song Shudi nodded in thanks.
“Miss, you don’t need to thank me.” Aunt Zhao was a little flustered. Why was the young lady so polite today? Usually, she would order her around in a commanding tone; her politeness today felt a little strange.
Song Shudi obediently went to sit in the living room. After about ten minutes, the steak didn’t arrive, but the doorbell rang. Song Shudi looked through the peephole and saw a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a suit.
“Host, it’s Bai Lin’s father.” 210 quickly reminded Song Shudi.
“Oh.”
Song Shudi opened the door, respectfully greeted her father, and then took the briefcase from Bai Lin’s father. Bai Lin’s father raised an eyebrow. “Wow, this child is so well-behaved today, even knowing to carry my bag?”
At the dinner table, Zhao Ma added a few more dishes.
“I heard you did two hours of homework today?” Bai Lin’s father used serving chopsticks to place a tiger prawn on Song Shudi’s plate.
He was usually too busy with work to nurture his child, leading to Bai Lin developing bad habits at a young age. More than being angry, Bai Lin’s father felt guilty.
“Yes.”
“Why did you suddenly decide to do homework? You usually just play when you get home.” Bai Lin’s father cut a piece of beef, his expression unchanged. Bai Lin had hardly done any homework in recent years; he wondered what was wrong with him today.
“I want to study hard.”
“Hmm? Are you serious?” Bai Lin’s father put down his knife and fork. Just yesterday he seemed so carefree; what was wrong with him today?
“Yes.” Song Shudi looked up, gazing earnestly into Bai Lin’s father’s eyes.
He wanted to help Bai Lin fulfill his wish and revitalize the family business. Studying hard is essential. Getting into a good university will bring not only knowledge but also countless connections. With his current level, although he might not get into the top university in the country, he could still get into a 985 university.
“The idea is good. We’ll see how you perform later. And you should also settle down and study hard.” Mr. Bai nodded.
It’s good that Bai Lin is willing to change. What will happen to the company when he gets old? Who will manage the household?
“Should we hire a tutor for you?”
“Not now. We can talk about it later if we need it.”
After dinner, Song Shudi made Mr. Bai a cup of tea.
…Before bed…
Song Shudi was looking through the original owner’s family’s documents.
“The original owner’s family’s entertainment industry is doing very well. They’ve made a lot of money in the past few years.” Song Shudi circled the revenue figures for the entertainment industry.
“The original owner’s family made their fortune in the entertainment industry, which is why the original owner tried to use their resources to woo Liu Xiyue. However, Liu Xiyue resolutely rejected the original owner, giving them no chance whatsoever.”
“So, Liu Xiyue has never been in a relationship?” Song Shudi stroked his chin, thoughtfully asking.
Logically speaking, it’s impossible for a normal person to be thirty years old without ever having a crush. Moreover, Liu Xiyue is in the entertainment industry, where there are countless beautiful women and handsome men.
If Liu Xiyue liked someone, she could easily win them over.
“Indeed, no. Liu Xiyue has been single for thirty years. During that time, dozens of people pursued her, but she rejected them all.”
210 added some information: Bai Lin’s family business was originally very large, but Bai Lin, being a spendthrift, squandered it all within ten years.
“Liu Xiyue…”
Song Shudi covered his face with the documents and pondered for a while. If he were to develop in the entertainment industry, he would inevitably have some contact with her.