Chapter 48: First Place

Lu Shi didn’t consider himself a curious person. Most of the time, he only used his brain when forced.

But for some reason, the question of what type Shen Zheming liked kept circling in his mind. He had tried to shift his focus to other things, yet the thought kept popping up.

Tch. Lu Shi squinted, feeling like his tie was too tight today. It was choking him.

The anniversary celebration was a massive vanity fair. Chen Qiming separated from them as soon as they entered.

Chen Youxuan followed Zhu Wanqing, smiling as she greeted the other wives.

“The Aoqiao Cup results will be announced soon. Youxuan is so outstanding, he must have done well this time.”

“I really envy you for having such a good son who doesn’t worry you. How did you and your husband raise him?”

Zhu Wanqing clasped her hands in front of her, basking in the praise. A relieved smile hung at the corners of her mouth.

“It’s all because of his own hard work. He’s been strict with himself since childhood. He signed up for this competition on his own initiative.”

The huge clock on the wall of the hall slowly moved its minute hand to six. Seven thirty. The Aoqiao Cup rankings would be released online.

Many people in the hall stopped talking and picked up their phones.

Lu Shi found a corner where no one noticed him and had been waiting on the competition’s official website. When the time came, he took a deep breath.

He hadn’t been nervous before, but when it actually came time to check the results, his heartbeat uncontrollably quickened.

There were too many people in the hall, so the cell signal was poor.

The moment the list sorted by score from high to low popped up, Lu Shi stared at the name at the very top, his eyes widening slightly.

He had felt he did well, but he hadn’t expected this rank.

On the other side, Chen Youxuan found his name in the thirty-something row. He gripped his phone tightly, refreshing it several times in disbelief.

It really was over thirty. The rankings only showed the top fifty. He was at the bottom of the list, just three spots away from falling off.

How could this be? He had filled the paper completely. He had felt the questions weren’t that difficult.

Zhu Wanqing’s smile froze on her face. She seemed to be smiling, but her eyes didn’t curve at all, stiff as if wearing a mask.

In the past, Chen Youxuan had always ranked in the top few. This time, seeing his confidence, she had thought he would make the top ten or even top five. She often boasted about his academic talent when meeting with the other wives.

Now, under the spotlight, her face burned as if someone had slapped her.

The other wives had varied expressions.

Someone pressed down a smile and comforted, “Over thirty is already high. If my son took it, he probably wouldn’t even be on the list.”

“Yeah, with so many people in the capital and so many students in this competition, Youxuan is already amazing. He did his best.”

Chen Youxuan’s hands and feet turned cold, his feet nailed to the ground. The surroundings became much quieter than before. Even when people spoke, they lowered their voices.

Until…

Sun Sirui, as planned with Chen Youxuan, pretended to be an ordinary onlooker two minutes after the results were announced and brought up Lu Shi’s grades to the people around him. He wanted everyone to marvel at Chen Youxuan’s good results while being shocked at how terrible Lu Shi’s studies were.

Sun Sirui didn’t understand why people around were lowering their voices, nor did he check what rank Chen Youxuan actually got. So he spoke loudly, and many people clearly heard him.

The person next to him raised their voice in surprise.

“Say that name again?”

“Lu Shi.” Sun Sirui thought the other person was interested, so he spoke even more enthusiastically. “Lu as in land, Shi as in picking up trash. If you ask me, he’s useless mud that can’t be plastered on the wall.”

The other person immediately looked at him as if he were an idiot.

“Are you joking?” Then they raised their phone, their voice laced with sarcasm. “He’s first place.”

That sentence was like a stone thrown into a calm lake. Many people around had only focused on Chen Youxuan’s rank and hadn’t carefully looked at the entire score sheet. When they saw the name “Lu Shi” on the first line, they buzzed with discussion.

Sun Sirui was stunned.

Chen Youxuan’s fingers tightened sharply. He scrolled the ranking to the very top and clearly saw the two characters after the number “1”. Instantly, all color drained from his face, his eyes full of shock.

“How is this possible? This can’t…”

Lu Shi was first place in this year’s Aoqiao Cup? No joke.

Chen Qiming had been discussing business with other bosses. He didn’t know what happened. Someone enthusiastically came over to congratulate him, shaking his hand vigorously.

“As expected of his biological son, perfectly inheriting the excellent genes of you and your wife. Who would have thought that after being switched for so many years, he returns and takes first place in the Aoqiao Cup? A silent man becomes famous at one stroke!”

More and more people around gathered toward him, all saying words of congratulations.

Chen Qiming glanced at the rankings doubtfully, then froze in shock. After confirming several times, his eyes were suddenly filled with unexpected ecstasy.

“This must be a namesake.”

Chen Youxuan forced a smile, pinching his palm to calm himself. He analyzed, thinking he had a point.

“Not to mention that Brother just returned to the capital a few months ago and probably doesn’t even know about the Aoqiao Cup. Even if he did, with his level of not even graduating high school, how could he beat all those top university students to get first place?”

Zhu Wanqing, both surprised and delighted, was awakened by these words. Others could only see names on this ranking list. Only the examinee knew their registration number. The name Lu Shi didn’t seem particularly uncommon. Maybe it really was a coincidence.

After all, Lu Shi had grown up in a poor county, with educational resources far inferior to the capital’s. Could he crush so many gifted students in such a difficult competition? Just thinking about it seemed fantastical.

“Yeah, maybe it’s a mistake.”

“The Chen family is probably going to pop champagne halfway again, only to be disappointed.”

“Don’t you think it’s ridiculous? Even the younger son, who usually ranks among the top, scored over thirty. How could the newly found biological son score so high?”

As the initial shock passed, many people cooled down like boiling water and began to doubt.

Lu Shi stood in an inconspicuous corner, indifferent to the discussions of others. These voices were like mosquitoes. Even if you swatted them away, they would come back unless you directly killed them. Let them say what they wanted. Lu Shi couldn’t be bothered to respond.

After all, the prize money was in hand. The main goal was to network with industry big shots on the award day.

But just then, a tall figure suddenly walked through the crowd toward him. Lu Shi didn’t know how Shen Zheming had found him among so many people in the hall. He stood in the shadow of a pillar, sensing something, and watched Shen Zheming approach without blinking.

The other man walked out from under the spotlight, bringing the dazzling starlight with him.

Shen Zheming raised his hand, gently clinking the slender champagne glass in his hand against Lu Shi’s. The glass made a clear sound.

His warm and clear voice trampled all doubt underfoot, silencing everyone.

“Congratulations. You deserve it.”

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