Chapter 830: Information Leaked
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Li pulled out his report card from his backpack and settled down next to his mother. He unfolded the paper, presenting it to her with a flourish. “Remember the bet I told you about, the one I made with Sun Wei? The results are out today, Mom. I ranked second in the entire class, while Sun Wei came in fourth. I won the bet!”
Su Li’s voice was filled with excitement. Before the results were announced, he had been incredibly anxious about this high-stakes gamble. He had worked hard in secret, but Sun Wei was one of the top students in their class. Su Li had been genuinely afraid of what would happen if he lost. The thought of having to leave school as per their wager was unbearable. He loved his current school.
Apart from a few unpleasant individuals, the educational philosophy of this school was far more advanced than his previous one. The curriculum was diverse, the classes more engaging, and his classmates were more knowledgeable. Su Li knew that if he had to leave this school, he wouldn’t find a better one. More importantly, he wouldn’t be able to go to school with his brother anymore.
He wasn’t like Sun Wei, who could go back on his word. Sun Wei had even faked fainting to avoid facing reality, all to avoid acknowledging Su Li as his elder brother.
Su Li had once envied Sun Wei for his excellence, but not anymore. Just like his mother had said, fear that shackled one’s hands and feet, preventing progress, avoiding challenges, and breaking promises, was a sign of cowardice. He wanted to be a man of courage and integrity, just like his mother had taught him.
Gu Zi looked at Su Li’s report card, tears welling up in her eyes. “Oh my, my dear Su Li, you’ve improved so much.” She had never expected Su Li to rank second in his class in this monthly exam, just behind Gao Ming. His class, starting with the letter B, wasn’t the best in the grade, it was average. But Su Li’s progress indicated his hard work during this period.
Gu Zi was already planning what reward to buy for Su Li when Su Bing walked over, handing her his report card. As expected, Su Bing had achieved excellent results in his monthly exam, ranking fifth in the grade. It was truly amazing!
At this moment, Gu Zi didn’t know how to contain her excitement. Both her children were such a blessing. Her eldest had always been studious and intelligent, his grades never a cause for concern. And now her second son was showing less interest in play and more in secret study, his grades improving with each exam.
At this rate, the Su family would certainly produce at least two college graduates. She didn’t need to worry about her children’s future. In this era, a college degree guaranteed a decent life. Gu Zi couldn’t even begin to imagine how proud she, as a mother, would be in the future.
What Gu Zi didn’t know was that Su Bing had intentionally scored lower in this month’s exam. Su Bing had already made a name for himself in the math competition and didn’t want to draw more attention during the monthly exam. He had read enough books to understand that too much showiness would inevitably attract malice. Therefore, during this exam, he had calculated his answers to achieve a score that would place him within the top five in his grade.
There was a slight miscalculation, however. Su Bing had initially aimed to rank eighth in his grade, but he hadn’t anticipated the severe loss of points by the students ahead of him. This unexpected turn of events had landed him in the top five. But Su Bing felt that as long as he wasn’t first in his grade, he wasn’t drawing too much attention!
As Gu Zi was contemplating what delicious meal to prepare as a reward for her two sons, the landline in the house rang.
Gu Zi picked up the phone, and Li Hua’s voice came through, sounding busy and somewhat fatigued. “Sister, I’ve already postponed the opening to the day after tomorrow. Can you tell me the reason now?”
“It’s because there’s a problem with the newspaper. Guan Xin discovered that the news of our opening has been leaked. It was Director Zhao’s doing. If we proceed with the opening tomorrow as planned, all the traps set against us will spring up at once. If it’s one or two, we might be able to withstand and resolve them. But what if there are ten or eight all at once?”
After Gu Zi finished speaking, Li Hua fell silent for a moment before expressing her concern. “How could this happen? What if they cause trouble again when we open the day after tomorrow?”
Li Hua felt that they had prepared for such a long time, and just when they were about to open, the news was leaked. All their previous efforts to keep it a secret were in vain. Luckily, her sister-in-law had noticed something was amiss and had timely asked her to change the opening date.
She wasn’t afraid of a little trouble, but she feared that their branch would fall into someone else’s trap before it even opened, dealing a heavy blow to their startup.