- Chinese: 82, Math: 72, English: 72, Total Score: 226
- Class Rank: 20
Su Heng stared silently at the message on his phone, unsure for a moment whether he should feel happy or sad about the results.
This message came directly from the principal of Baiying Academy, who was also an old friend of his for many years. He would never lie to him, so this score was indeed Su Wanli’s result for this Test.
…Yet, while this did somewhat underestimate Su Wanli, did she really achieve this entirely on her own strength?
He didn’t bother hiding his doubt and directly @-ed the principal. Not long after, the principal replied with one more line—
“Verified, no sign of cheating was found, Director Su.”
To actually use the word “Director”… that old fox…
Su Heng let out a quiet breath, put his phone aside, and pressed his temples.
Su Wanli—she really did pull it off.
Of course, this wasn’t some remarkable achievement. Su Heng had always known what kind of situation Su Wanli’s class was in—if you wanted to stand out among a group of small fry, it only took a little extra effort.
However, before this, Su Xiaoli had never once shown even the slightest sign of motivation in front of him.
After Su Xiaoli’s mother passed away, he’d lost count of how many times he’d butted heads with his daughter. Whenever he hoped she’d do something, she would insist on heading in the opposite direction and never once gave him any pleasant surprises.
As for the reason she succeeded this time… was it really because of that person?
—The person he had brought back from that small northern town, that exceptional girl, Meng Huange.
Not long ago, after he and Su Xiaoli had a big argument over that matter with the evening party, he finally made up his mind to bring Meng Huange back to the Sujia. On the surface, he said it was to have Huange assist Su Wanli in all areas, but deep down, it was to plant a sense of competition in Wanli’s heart.
—From his own decades of experience, the force that truly makes a person grow, besides resentment, is desire.
Or perhaps, to put it another way—a wild ambition to climb upward.
Whether it was their first meeting, or every subsequent Test, Meng Huange had always appeared polite, gentle, and elegant, like an obedient and understanding good child.
As if she didn’t realize at all that the very reason he noticed her from the first glance was that dangerous ambition hidden beneath her calm surface.
That was the ambition Su Wanli, who never wanted for food or clothing, was sorely lacking. She had everything, so of course, she wanted nothing.
A person who wants nothing can never become the true heir of the Sujia. Even if it took extreme measures, he had to try to ignite the fire of desire within Su Wanli’s heart.
However, Meng Huange turned out to be even more outstanding than he’d imagined.
“—Uncle Su, are you saying that Miss Xiaoli wants to attend the banquet hosted by the Bai Family with you?”
After receiving his summons to come to the Su residence, Meng Huange didn’t show any particular excitement, nor did she express thanks right away. Instead, she asked him this question in return.
“That’s right. Right now, Su Xiaoli is still too immature. I don’t want her involved in business matters so soon. So, it’s best if you, as a friend, can persuade her to drop this idea.”
“…I’ll try my best, but if I go to Miss Xiaoli directly like this, she probably wouldn’t agree at all… no, she likely wouldn’t even look at me. Uncle Su, may I ask you for one favor?”
“—If I really can help Miss Xiaoli become more mature, then please allow me to attend that banquet with you as well.”
As expected of the child he had carefully selected—Meng Huange wasn’t just outstanding academically, but also handled worldly matters with the skill of an experienced merchant.
Whether Su Wanli attended the banquet or not was the most prominent recent conflict between him and his daughter. If he agreed to Meng Huange’s request, not only would it serve as her ticket to get close to Su Wanli, it would also tell Su Wanli that Meng Huange could help her realize what should have been an impossible dream—a most useful tool indeed.
It was a reasonable request, but Su Heng had never intended to actually let Su Wanli attend the banquet, so he set a nearly impossible condition—
Let Su Wanli, who had never studied seriously, achieve a mid-level rank in her class in the Test three days after the new semester began. Only then would he consider taking Su Xiaoli to the banquet.
…Now, the entrance Test had already passed, and the results were right in front of him. No matter how Meng Huange did it, she truly got Su Xiaoli to put in the effort again.
—Well, the time had come for him to make his decision.
Amidst a noisy and chaotic atmosphere, the Assistant suddenly knocked gently on Director Su’s office desk—
“Director, here’s a batch of production proposals for Medical Equipment from our R&D department. Please review them.”
…Medical Equipment, an Industry he had once valued highly, was now one of Su Group’s pillars.
Not only because Medical Equipment was a state-supported Industry, but also because of his wife, Su Xiaoqi’s mother.
His wife had already been gravely ill at the time. Money alone was not enough to save her. He thought that by developing this Industry, allowing the Sujia access to cutting-edge medical technology, there might have been even a one percent chance of curing her.
Yet, he had failed to do so, burying himself in overseas business contacts. In the end, when his wife was dying, he wasn’t able to see her one last time, and lost his daughter’s trust for good.
—After getting off the plane, there were exactly forty-two missed calls on his phone, all from the young Su Xiaoli.
Since then, his relationship with his daughter had frozen over. In an instant, he lost two family members.
That might be a regret he would never be able to make up for the rest of his life.
—
Although his expectations for himself and reality didn’t always match, if Meng Huange really could do what he couldn’t and guide Su Wanli onto the right path, he would feel somewhat relieved.
—The premise being, the very ambition for which Meng Huange was chosen must be used seriously to guide Su Xiaoli onto the right path, not for some secret ulterior motive.
With that in mind, Su Heng silently dialed the driver’s number—
“Tonight, take Xiaoli and the others to the Bai Family’s banquet.”
“And also, keep an eye on Meng Huange’s actions. If anything seems wrong, let me know immediately.”