Doing It Over Again [Rebirth]

21: What's the Matter

After the audience applauded enthusiastically, the host immediately moved on to the award ceremony. "Now let's invite Ms. Xiang, the general manager of the Gu Huafeng Corporation, to present the awards to the three contestants."

There was nothing new about the awards—trophies, certificates, and flowers. Shen Shao looked at the woman who shook hands with him. She wore a casual but professional dress, and her hair was permed in a popular style. She looked only about thirty years old, and she embodied the domineering big sister energy of a working woman.

"The competition was wonderful. My son watched the entire live broadcast on TV for the past two days." Xiang WeiLan smiled at Shen Shao. "I hope to see more exciting things from all of you in the future." She'd been watching from backstage for a while and had a good impression of Shen Shao.

"Thank you." Shen Shao bowed politely. He knew the general manager of the Gu Corporation was being polite, but it was still a flattering thing to say.

Xiao Ji held his trophy with a slightly stiff smile on his face. Others might not have heard of Xiang WeiLan, but he knew exactly how much power and financial resources she represented. In the capital, thousands of upper-class women held Xiang WeiLan in high esteem. That was the reason he had to be polite and courteous on the surface, no matter how much he hated Gu NingZhao.

Who was it who decided to make his family inferior to others? Someday, sooner or later...

After Xiang WeiLan presented the awards and took a group photo with several of the students, she left the stage with a gracious smile. The assistant waiting below took out a jacket and put it on her shoulders, and then whispered, "General manager, the car is ready."

"OK." Xiang WeiLan nodded. She sighed to herself as she looked back at the three students who remained on stage while reporters snapped pictures. If her son had been willing to participate in the competition, she knew he would have been standing there.

Meanwhile, Peng County erupted into a storm after Shen Shao appeared on TV.

Peng County was a small place. Being on TV wasn't something that many people ever thought about. Not to mention that Shen Shao participated in such a big competition and actually won the championship!

"Mom! Come and see, it really is Shen Shao!" Yang HongQiang was now in his final year of senior high school. He usually didn't spend much time watching TV, so he didn't know about the live broadcast on Saturday. After he heard other people talk about it, he sat down in front of the TV early on Sunday morning to confirm whether the Shen Shao they mentioned was the Shen Shao he knew.

His family was well-off, and they'd recently bought a large color TV. When Shen Shao appeared on the screen, Yang HongQiang recognized him at a glance.

He could hardly believe his eyes. Although Shen Shao often contacted him by phone, Shen Shao didn't return to Peng County too often. During the past three years, they didn't have many opportunities to meet.

Then he saw Shen Shao on TV, standing on stage in the type of school uniform you only see on TV dramas, answering questions with quiet confidence. He was even more dazzling than the Shen Shao he remembered. It was like discovering that someone you thought was from an ordinary but prosperous family was, in fact, the son of the richest man in the world.

But the Shen Shao he remembered had always been like that, earnest and serious. Before most people were paying attention, he'd already climbed to a higher peak. Just like when he was ranked first in his grade, then first in the county, and then was quietly admitted to Furong No. 3 High School. Now he was on TV, winning first place in the national mathematics league, with the manager of a famous corporation showing up to give him an award. It wasn't that Shen Shao had changed, but his status had already reached a level that most people his age couldn't equal.