Volume One, Chapter 13: My Daughter Is the Second Female Lead in a CEO Romance, Part 13

Time flew by swiftly. During this period, Jiang Ruoxue and Shen Tingyu had been busy with their own pursuits. Jiang Ruoxue was preparing for her studies abroad, having successfully received an acceptance letter from her desired university.

Meanwhile, Shen Tingyu was gearing up for the college entrance examination. His academic performance had always been excellent, yet the daunting challenge of the gaokao, often likened to crossing a bridge guarded by thousands, inevitably made him nervous.

Over the past six months, Shen Tingyu had been tackling one practice test after another. Every day after school, he also received extra tutoring from a teacher specially hired by his family.

At Morian International School, only a handful of students chose to take the gaokao, and most of them performed well. Although few opted for the exam, the school still organized a hundred-day pledge ceremony to encourage the candidates. In the classrooms, countdown timers were hung, marking the days from one hundred down to zero.

Because the number of students taking the gaokao at Morian was small, the school was not an official exam center. Shen Tingyu and his peers had to travel to City No. 1 High School to sit for the exams.

On the first day of the gaokao, accompanied by his parents, Shen Tingyu successfully entered City No. 1 High School to begin his tests.

Chen Rui had heard that this year’s Morian candidates would be taking the gaokao at her school, and she was filled with excitement. Over the past days, she had lost count of how many times she had wanted to visit Morian just to see Shen Tingyu.

Unfortunately, Morian’s dismissal time was much earlier than that of her school, and the campus security there was exceptionally strict. On one rare occasion when she managed to sneak out, she was promptly escorted away by the school’s guards.

Determined to catch a glimpse of Shen Tingyu, Chen Rui, a day student, arrived early that morning and stood outside the school gate, waiting for him.

Yesterday, she had familiarized herself with the exam venues but did not see Shen Tingyu. She learned he was assigned to Exam Hall Seventeen, but since she was taking her exams in a different building and the rest areas for the various schools were scattered, she feared she might not get the chance to meet him.

“How long have you been standing here, young lady? Hurry to your classroom; the exams are about to start,” a security guard frowned.

She had been there quite a while.

“Sir, I’m waiting for my classmate. He’ll be here soon,” Chen Rui clasped her hands in a pleading gesture.

“You’ve said that at least five times already. What class are you in? If you keep lingering here, do you want me to call your homeroom teacher?” The guard’s patience had worn thin.

It was the first day of the gaokao, a day already filled with many challenges, and Chen Rui stubbornly staying at the gate was only causing trouble.

“Wait for your classmate inside the classroom, don’t loiter here!” The guard firmly ushered Chen Rui away.

While Chen Rui was negotiating with the guard, Shen Tingyu blended into the crowd and entered City No. 1 High School.

Their province had adopted the new gaokao system: three compulsory main subjects plus one elective from history or physics, and two additional elective subjects of choice.

Besides the core subjects of Chinese, math, and English, the other subjects were independently set by the province.

On the first day, they took Chinese and math exams. Shen Tingyu finished quickly and left the examination hall ahead of schedule.

Chen Rui wished she could be the first to leave to find Shen Tingyu, but she knew the significance of this exam and refused to submit her paper unfinished just for that.

Since Shen Tingyu emerged early and was quite handsome, he immediately caught the attention of journalists waiting outside.

Before reporters could approach, Shen’s bodyguards intercepted them, and Shen Tingyu successfully got into the family’s chauffeur-driven car.

“Would you like some water?” Shen’s father handed him a thermos cup.

“Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?” Shen’s mother offered some pastries she had prepared earlier for him to stave off hunger.

“Brother, I had a baseball class today. It was pretty good. Do you think I should choose baseball for my interest class this month?” Shen Tingzhu, Shen Tingyu’s younger brother, did not fully grasp the importance of the gaokao. Their parents had instructed him not to mention the exams to his elder brother to help keep him calm.

Morian dismissed early, so Shen’s parents had picked up Shen Tingzhu first before coming to meet Shen Tingyu.

The person Shen Tingyu had hoped to see did not arrive, leaving him momentarily disappointed. However, his disappointment did not last long as he soon received a message from Jiang Ruoxue.

She informed him that she was away from Jiangcheng for a few days due to some matters but promised to return for the last day of the gaokao to witness this pivotal moment and encouraged him to do his best.

“Worried about that boy, huh? We’ve all seen how hard he’s worked these past six months. He’s completed all those piles of test papers and passed his art exam. There’s no way he’ll have any problems,” Shi Yan said, placing a reassuring hand on Jiang Ruoxue’s.

“I know he can do it,” Jiang Ruoxue replied confidently.

Jiang Ruoxue was not in Jiangcheng because Shi Yan had used his connections to bring her to a prestigious academic conference held in Gang City. Originally scheduled earlier, the event was slightly postponed for certain reasons.

The attendees were all formidable figures, and meeting them was invaluable to Jiang Ruoxue, whether she pursued the family business or her own academic research.

Such an opportunity was rare, and naturally, Jiang Ruoxue would not miss it.

The conference lasted two days, during which Jiang Ruoxue made the acquaintance of many influential people and enjoyed engaging conversations with several of them.

She understood that some were only speaking with her out of respect for Shi Yan’s standing, but she believed in her own abilities. She was convinced that in the future, people would seek her out because of who she was, not just as Shi Yan’s daughter.

“Dad, one day I’ll make them all see me,” Jiang Ruoxue said, gazing at the dignitaries conversing nearby.

“As expected of my daughter—ambitious. I believe you will achieve it,” Shi Yan immediately grasped the meaning behind her words.

“Since you’re going to study in the UK, you’ll manage this company,” Shi Yan sent her a file.

The Jiang family business was primarily overseas but had only recently begun expanding into the domestic market. The bulk of the operations remained abroad.

In recent years, Shi Yan’s trips overseas had become less frequent than before, but he still traveled once a month.

“Dad, I’ll definitely manage it well,” Jiang Ruoxue said happily, though the company was not large, Shi Yan was giving her a chance to prove herself.

“Manage it well, and the UK operations will be yours. I trust you,” Shi Yan said. As a father who had carefully orchestrated his daughter’s upbringing, he had great faith in Jiang Ruoxue’s capability.