1.13 Second Place

"I also don't know! The announcement has just been sent out." Brother Tang replied in annoyance. "The staff can't find a suitable sponsor so the only thing they can do is to postpone it to an indefinite time. But what's the difference between that and cancellation?"

"There's no sponsor?" Jing Xuehao asked in disbelief. "How is that possible?!"

Brother Tang clicked his tongue. "I don't know. If it's indeed cancelled, then forget it."

"How can I—" The call was hung up in the next second.

"Damn it!" Jing Xuehao cursed out loud. He had painstakingly gone through the effort to search for a perfect partner before finding Brother Tang and convinced him to form a team, and then they had also created an almost perfect business proposal that was both new and innovative. The hours they spent…the money they lost… And now, they were saying that the competition was cancelled just like that?!

The first prize was two million dollars… Dividing it with Brother Tang, he could still get one million dollars. For a high schooler without any working experience and moreover, an orphan at that, it was already an enormous amount of money he couldn't even dream of obtaining.

Imagining the money and his bright future plans slipping out of his fingers was more detrimental than knowing the fact that Ren Zexi would inherit a company and become a billionaire as soon as he entered adulthood.

From that day on, he tried to search for another business plans competition to no avail. Such a competition was rare especially when it was opened to students. Jing Xuehao didn't give up and tried to submit his business plan to every decent company he could find.

Some responded while the majority didn't even bother to look at the proposal a high schooler had created. The ones who were eager to reach out to him either wanted to exploit his talents or offer him only a ridiculously meager share of profit.

Helplessness flooded his heart.

He didn't have any qualifications to his name except for the top ranker in high school and the medals of a few national competitions in his belt. What did he have compared to those high achievers in university who had had internships and lots of working experience?

The proposal he had painstakingly built for months turned into scrap paper in the end.

How… How could this be? He only needed a single opportunity! Only one!

Yet since that day, it was as if his luck had gone downhill. He was stuck in the same place, turning in circles over and over again without knowing where the exit was. Like a cornered beast, he was desperate for acknowledgement.

Alas, the figure he was trying to compete with didn't even pay any attention to him.

Just like that, they finished their first midterm and the parent-teacher conference arrived. For the sake of fairness, the teacher wouldn't separate the Special Students and Normal Students. The parents could observe how their children studied in class for the first half of the day and then proceeded to have a one-on-one meeting with the homeroom teacher regarding their future aspirations.

Nonetheless, no matter how fair the school tried to be, there was still a discrepancy between the two. The parents who arrived in expensive cars and those who arrived by walking. Those who wore limited edition watches and accessories versus those who didn't wear anything.

Fortunately, the adults knew better than to act like their children so even though there was some discomfort, the event still started smoothly.

Ren Zexi turned around almost every five minutes, searching eagerly before his shoulders falling in disappointment. It was already half an hour into the event but Lu Yizhou was still nowhere to be found.

"Still not here yet?" Huang Zhihe whispered.

Ren Zexi shook his head.

Huang Zhihe patted his shoulders. "Didn't he say that he would come? Then just wait."

The second person who was the most uncomfortable in the classroom was none other than Jing Xuehao. Other people still had parents no matter how much of a commoner they were. Pride shone on their faces, especially when their child was called out one by one to receive the report card.

But he… he had no one.

"Jing Xuehao." Teacher Shu called out then looked around. "Jing Xuehao's parents?"

"Teach," Jing Xuehao stood up, his face apologetic. "I'm sorry but my parents just informed me that they can't come here today." Who was he kidding? There's no way he would have the director of the orphanage to come on his behalf. That old woman didn't even graduate from middle school. What if she was asked some questions by the teacher and couldn't answer? Wouldn't she just embarrass Jing Xuehao?

"Ah, is that so?" Teacher Shu sighed and shook her head in pity. "That's too bad. You even have such a good score. Congratulations, Classmate Jing, you got a perfect score in every subject!"

Jing Xuehao's eyes brightened up at the same time when an uproar sounded in the class.

"Crazy! A perfect score?!"

"Badass! You're just badass, Jing Xuehao!!!"

"If I were you, my parents would definitely come forward to hug me then show me off to everyone here!" The last person who talked was Du Mingshen.

His holler was returned by the same roar from the back of the classroom. "Shut up, Du Mingshen! One more word and I will confiscate your car key!"

"Ah, Dad, nooo…! I am just praising my classmate!"

Jing Xuehao's heart thumped faster and the discomfort he felt earlier vanished. The students were staring at him in awe, even the parents nod in approval. He stepped forward with his chest puffed out and discreetly glanced at Ren Zexi, expecting to see a defeated look on the teenager's face. How was it? This was his, Jing Xuehao's true capability!

However, much to his dismay, Ren Zexi wasn't even paying attention to him! All of his focus was thrown out of the window, his eyes staring blankly into nothing as if Jing Xuehao's achievement didn't bother him in the slightest.

How could this be?! No, it wasn't possible! Look, he had just snatched the first place away! The first place that was supposed to belong to Ren Zexi! How could he be so nonchalant?!

He...must be pretending. Yes, he must be pretending not to care!

Jing Xuehao convinced himself and accepted the report card from the teacher. The full score in every subject was very satisfying to see, then his eyes trailed to the overall ranking and his entire body froze in place.

Second place…?

He was second ranker even with his perfect score?! Jing Xuehao snapped his head up, unable to imagine how pale his complexion must have been now. "This…"

Seemingly aware of what he wanted to say, Teacher Shu gave him a comforting look and called for the next person. "Ren Zexi's parents."

Ren Zexi once again turned around to stare at the door. Still, the person he was waiting for hadn't arrived. Sighing, he stood up. "Sorry, Teach. It seems like—"

"My apologies, I have arrived late." The pleasant, low pitched voice yet still as authoritative as ever rang out even before the owner appeared. Following that, black polished shoes stepped through the door, carrying with them the man whose presence was so strong that it sucked everyone's attention.