The day’s exams came to an end.
News had already spread about a female student from Class 20 who missed the test.
"Teacher Pei, you really ought to revise your teaching methods," Teacher Yang remarked with a click of her tongue. "These are high school seniors—what could possibly be more important than the monthly exam? I heard you personally went to the exam hall to call her out. Indulging her like this will ruin her future!"
Pei Yaru sorted through the exam papers without looking up. "There are many things in this world more important than a monthly exam. Rong Yu will have a bright future—no need for Teacher Yang to worry."
Teacher Yang smirked. "I couldn’t care less. Just think about how you’re going to write that self-criticism report for the academic affairs director."
This was an eight-school joint exam, an extremely important test. An unexcused absence would undoubtedly lead to the homeroom teacher being held accountable by the school...
Pei Yaru’s expression remained indifferent.
The principal had personally approved the leave—she wouldn’t be the one writing any report...
Meanwhile, students who had just finished the exam were also discussing the matter.
Those from Class 20 were especially concerned.
Class Monitor: "I heard Rong Yu didn’t take the exam?"
Academic Committee Member: "I was in the same exam hall as her. She was called out by the homeroom teacher halfway through the Chinese test."
League Branch Secretary: "Did something happen at home?"
Chen Nian: "Wild Bro, aren’t you dating Rong Yu? Do you know why she— Ow! What was that for, Wild Bro? Why’d you smack me?"
"Don’t talk nonsense. Rong Yu and I aren’t in that kind of relationship," Ji Zhouye said, one hand in his pocket. "Nothing happened at her home."
Behind them stood Rong Ruoyao and Song Huai.
Rong Ruoyao’s face was full of mockery.
Her sister had supposedly secured a spot in the physics competition’s semifinals, so logically, her physics scores should be on par with Song Huai’s.
But this time, Rong Yu hadn’t been assigned to the same exam hall as him.
Unable to copy from a top student, Rong Yu had simply skipped the exam—how utterly ridiculous.
Song Huai paused before speaking. "Could she be sick? Is that why she missed it?"
Rong Ruoyao stiffened.
Ever since Rong Yu returned to the Rong family, Song Huai had never asked about her, let alone brought her up voluntarily.
After all, the arranged marriage from their parents’ generation had originally been meant for Rong Yu.
Song Huai had always been careful to avoid any hint of impropriety.
Yet now, he was asking about her?
A faint discomfort settled in Rong Ruoyao’s heart, but she replied, "After Sister moved out, we rarely saw each other. I don’t know what’s going on with her."
Song Huai said nothing more.
Rong Yu stayed at the Fourth Aerospace Institute until midnight. Only when she paused to drink water did she remember to call home.
The institute had signal blockers, so no calls could get through. Once outside, she saw dozens of missed calls—all from the Ji family. Rong Wangtian… didn’t seem to care about his daughter at all.
She quickly called her son. "I’m at the aerospace institute. There are still a few sets of data to analyze—I won’t be back tonight. We’ll talk tomorrow."
She hung up immediately.
Old Master Ji: "..."
When he was little, his mother had also been buried in research, always too busy to be seen.
Seventy years later, and she was still just as busy…
With so many talented people in China, did they really have to keep exploiting his mother alone?
"The recording for the show is at nine tomorrow morning," Ji Zhiyuan said. "Should we postpone it to Sunday?"
Old Master Ji sighed and shook his head. "If your great-grandmother found out we changed the schedule just for her, she’d refuse."
He paused. "Keep the recording time the same. See if you can adjust the performance order instead."
Ji Zhiyuan nodded.
Originally, the order had been based on preliminary assessment results, but thankfully, that rule hadn’t been made public.
They could just switch to a lottery draw tomorrow.
And the draw could be… creatively arranged.
Of course, this little secret would never reach Great-Grandmother.
By Saturday morning, the entrance of Ji’s Entertainment was already swarmed by fans.
After two episodes, the show’s popularity had skyrocketed. More and more contestants were gaining recognition, and more fans were turning up to support their favorites.
"Yaoyao, Yaoyao, I love you!"
"Lisa, go for it! We’ll always support you!"
"Qiqi, don’t be afraid! Your fans have your back!"
He Qiqi had gained over 200,000 new fans this week, most of them sympathetic supporters.
She waved gracefully at the crowd. "Thank you all for coming so far to cheer me on. I’ll do my best to live up to your love!"
One by one, the contestants arrived.
Only one person was missing from He Qiqi’s team—Rong Yu.
With the recording time fast approaching, there was still no sign of her.
The contestants had already handed in their phones, so there was no way to contact her.
The host stepped in and explained after the opening remarks: "Rong Yu is handling a very important matter and will arrive shortly. This won’t affect the schedule. Next, team leaders will take turns drawing lots to determine the performance order."
The live chat exploded:
"Wait, Rong Yu is late?"
"What could be more important than the show recording?"
"Is she pulling diva antics? Too bad the show won’t indulge her. If she’s not here, fine—more screen time for my Yaoyao!"
"If she’s absent, her team is down a member. How are the others supposed to compete?"
"He Qiqi is so unlucky—first almost losing her leader position, now missing a teammate right before the performance. How is this fair?"
"Ugh, if the whole team gets last place and gets eliminated, it’ll be all Rong Yu’s fault!"
"Someone like her doesn’t deserve to be in the entertainment industry!"
"Boycott Rong Yu, starting with me!"
"If you don’t vote for Rong Yu, we’re sisters from different parents!"
"..."
He Qiqi’s eyes reddened.
Standing right in front of the camera, she let a few silent tears fall.
Then she turned to Su Tian. "You’re close with Rong Yu. Do you know when she’ll get here?"
Su Tian shook her head.
Rong Yu hadn’t been active in the group chat last night, and her private messages had gone unanswered.
She wondered if something had happened.
If only she’d called Rong Yu before entering the venue…
He Qiqi, as the third-place contestant, drew third. She reached into the box, pulled out a ball, and unfolded it to reveal the number eight—meaning they would perform eighth.
Her face lit up with joy.
Everyone knew the performance order was closely tied to the final rankings.
First, it gave ample time to mentally prepare.
Second, watching other teams perform first allowed for last-minute adjustments.
Third, performing last meant the audience would vote immediately after, giving their team the freshest impression and a significant advantage in individual votes…
Su Tian exhaled in relief. "Team Leader, you’ve got great luck."
With the last performance slot, Rong Yu should make it in time…
Meanwhile, Rong Yu was still staring at the computer, frantically calculating planetary orbits. Line after line of code was fed into the system, generating new data models…
"Done." She set down her pen. "Input these data sets one by one—the computer will produce the final results. I have somewhere else to be, so I’ll take my leave now."
