Chapter 242: After the Interview Aired

October 17th.

Wednesday.

The first day of the ninth lunar month.

Weather: Moderate rain.

Morning.

Raindrops pattered softly against the window.

Li Mingyu stretched lazily, letting out a soft sound like a cat’s purr.

Then, she got out of bed.

Wearing a thin silk nightgown, she pushed open the door to her room.

In the living room, Madam Shen Hui was sitting on the sofa, watching the morning news on TV.

Mr. Li Zhengsheng was holding a newspaper, sipping porridge while flipping through the pages.

As for Li Mingyu’s dear little brother, he was probably already in class at this hour.

“Awake?” Li Zhengsheng looked at his daughter with a smile, his eyes full of fatherly affection.

At this moment, there was no trace of the commanding presence he held as Jiangzhou’s Second-in-command.

He cheerfully pointed at the breakfast on the table.

“Xiao Juelin’s buns, still warm.”

“Want to try one?”

“Ew, no. I haven’t brushed my teeth yet, I don’t want to eat anything.” Li Mingyu immediately turned down her father’s offer.

Wearing slippers, she headed toward the bathroom.

She washed up and freshened her face.

After a quick routine, she came back out to find her father holding the newspaper and chatting with Madam Shen Hui.

From the tone of their conversation, it sounded like they were praising someone.

Li Mingyu knew her father’s temperament well.

Ordinary people rarely caught his attention.

If someone earned his praise, they had to be truly exceptional.

“Dad, Mom, what are you two talking about?”

Hearing her voice, Li Zhengsheng turned around and pointed to an article in the newspaper.

“Mingyu, look at this girl. Impressive.”

“She won the national Olympic Math Competition gold medal.”

“And she’s from right here in Jiangzhou.”

Hmm?

Li Mingyu didn’t react immediately.

But as soon as she saw the familiar figure in the black-and-white photo on the page, her expression turned… odd.

She couldn’t help glancing at Madam Shen Hui, who sat on the sofa like a serene Buddha.

And that made her expression even stranger.

At that moment, Jiangzhou City’s Second-in-command continued speaking:

“Mingyu, do you know how prestigious this competition is?”

“Winning gold means you’re guaranteed admission to 99% of universities nationwide.”

“Even Tsinghua or Peking University would just require one extra step.”

As he spoke, his voice was full of envy.

“Tsinghua and Peking, huh…”

“I wonder if that little rascal of ours will ever get close. Forget it, if he manages to get into an average 985 university, I’d consider it a blessing from our ancestors.”

Comrade Li Zhengsheng, is it really okay to talk about your son like that?

Then, as if a thought suddenly struck her—

“Dad, this girl’s name is Jiang Ning, right?”

“Hm?” Li Zhengsheng responded, but then noticed the strange smile on his daughter’s face.

“What’s up?”

At that, Li Mingyu suddenly smiled shyly.

“Don’t you think her name sounds kind of familiar?”

Familiar?

Li Zhengsheng paused.

“Jiang Ning… Jiang Ning…?”

Just then, the Buddha-like Madam Shen Hui spoke up.

“Mayor Li, you really are forgetful.”

“Already forgotten your son’s dream girl?”

Her tone carried a teasing edge.

Li Mingyu couldn’t hold back anymore. A smile spread across her face, the corners of her mouth curling with amusement.

Thanks to Shen Hui’s reminder, Li Zhengsheng finally remembered.

Back when his son had run away from home, he’d said some rather unpleasant things about this girl.

His expression turned a little awkward.

“Well…”

“Actually…”

“Ha, ha, ha…”

As the Second-in-command tried to laugh off the awkwardness, the television suddenly switched to an interview program.

【Hello to all our viewers at home. I’m Guan Dan, host from Jiangzhou Education Channel.】

【At the end of last month, the 16th National High School Olympic Math Competition came to a close. Jiang Ning, a student from Class 3, Grade 11 at Jiangzhou No. 1 High School, won the gold medal.】

After the host finished a string of formalities, a girl appeared on screen.

Bright eyes, fair skin, delicate features. Dressed in a school uniform.

She simply stood there, yet radiated a vibrant charm that was hard to describe.

In that moment, even Jiangzhou City’s Second-in-command couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

“She’s a beauty.”

“No wonder our little rascal fell for her. Can’t blame him.”

However, before he could say more, Li Mingyu caught in the corner of her eye Madam Shen Hui giving him a swift kick.

The look of disappointment and frustration on her face nearly made Li Mingyu burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, the interview on TV continued.

【Jiang Ning, can you tell us what was going through your mind when the results were announced?】

“I felt pretty calm, I guess.”

【Was that because you were confident in your abilities?】

“No, I just hadn’t fully woken up yet…”

………

At first, Li Mingyu thought it was just a typical interview.

But as it went on, and the girl on screen began talking about something called “Shi Ning Ji,”

She suddenly realized something.

She instinctively turned to look at her parents.

As expected.

Madam Shen Hui’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Meanwhile, Li Zhengsheng, the second-in-command of Jiangzhou, showed a much more expressive reaction.

He murmured in surprise, “Well, I didn’t expect that.”

“So ‘Shi Ning Ji’ belongs to her family.”

That caught Li Mingyu’s attention.

“Dad, since when do you care about a little fried chicken shop?”

“Little?” Li Zhengsheng glanced at his wife. Although she wasn’t looking at him, after so many years of marriage, he could tell—Shen Hui was waiting for him to continue.

He let out a soft chuckle.

“‘Shi Ning Ji’ has a registered capital of one million, seven chain stores in the city, and franchises all over the province. It pays hundreds of thousands in taxes every month.”

“Sure, it’s not yet on par with the old established food companies in terms of scale, but in terms of potential? This brand has what it takes to go national.”

Hearing her father, the second-in-command of Jiangzhou, give such a high evaluation of ‘Shi Ning Ji’, Li Mingyu found it hard to connect that business with the beautiful girl she’d seen on TV.

Others might not know, but she did—very clearly.

The real person behind ‘Shi Ning Ji’ was Jiang Ning.

Not just a shareholder helping out, like she’d claimed in the interview.

In fact, ‘Shi Ning Ji’ was just one of her many businesses.

Li Mingyu was tempted to take this opportunity to ask her father what he thought of Mingsheng Technology.

But before she could speak, Jiangzhou’s second-in-command had already been kicked out of the house by the head of the Jiangzhou Women’s Federation—for saying he wanted to help his son chase a wife.

At the same time, many households and individuals across Jiangzhou had also tuned in to the interview on the Jiangzhou Education Channel.

Whether they knew her or not, everyone was saying the same thing—this girl was not only beautiful but also incredibly smart.

A textbook example of the perfect daughter.

However…

As the mother of that perfect daughter, Tian Cuilan had just arrived at her shop.

She opened the door, cleaned up, tidied her clothes, and then, based on yesterday’s sales, restocked the missing items and hung them neatly on the shelves.

Once everything was done, Tian Cuilan turned on the electric fan, trying to dry out the dampness in the store.

But just then, Sister Huang from next door suddenly pushed open the door.

“Cuilan! Ning Ning was on TV!”

Moments later, Tian Cuilan stormed out of the cloth shoe store, fuming.

After asking Sister Huang to watch the shop for a bit, she headed straight for the school, ready to settle the score with a certain unruly girl.

But as soon as she stepped outside, she remembered—that girl had already secured a spot in university.

For a moment, she lost the nerve to scold her.

After thinking it over, she simply turned the bike around and headed toward the Youyi Residential Complex.

Before long, Tian Cuilan knocked on her older sister’s door.

Once inside, she saw her sister smiling warmly.

Tian Cuilan gave a brief greeting, then got straight to the point.

It was a simple matter.

She was angry that Jiang Ning wasn’t focusing on her studies and had secretly gotten involved in all these things behind her back.

After hearing her complaints, Tian Cuixiang poured a glass of water, placed it in front of her sister, then sat beside her and gently said:

“You’re upset because Ning Ning didn’t tell you, right?”

“No, I…”

Seeing her sister still trying to argue, Tian Cuixiang reached out and held her hand.

“How are Ning Ning’s grades?”

Tian Cuilan wanted to change the subject, but under her sister’s calm gaze, she pouted.

“…Pretty good.”

“Just pretty good?”

Tian Cuixiang knew her sister was stubborn and gave a small smile.

“Has Ning Ning ever caused you trouble in daily life?”

“She used to, back in middle school. You remember how she was back then.”

“But you also know—that was in the past.”

With that one sentence, Tian Cuilan fell silent.

Seeing this, Tian Cuixiang smiled and said the most important part.

“I knew about what Ning Ning was doing.”

“I was the one who told her not to tell you.”

“As for why… you already know the answer.”

(End of Chapter)