Chapter 34: Another Ruthless Person

Jin Li did some practice problems in her room but felt something was missing; only then did she remember she hadn't started her live stream!

Just then, Xiang Jinli returned from the restaurant with freshly stir-fried meals; after eating together with Jin Li and resting a bit, Jin Li took out her phone to begin her study live stream.

Unlike her previous streams where she watched teachers lecture and took notes, this time Jin Li went live solely to solve practice problems.

As soon as netizens and fans entered Jin Li's Maozhua live room, they saw that incredibly familiar book cover on the table, along with those glaring golden characters that nearly blinded them!

[Ah, my dead youth memories have suddenly attacked me; that set of 'Five Years Gaokao, Three Years Simulation' is my youth memory, so monotonous, boring, and tasteless!]

[Heh, my severe myopia was caused by 'Five Three' (shifting the blame)!]

[I... I still haven't found a girlfriend, and that's also 'Five Three's' fault!]

At the start of every broadcast, Jin Li would check the screen, chat with netizens, and say hello.

Seeing the topic drift further and further off track, Jin Li quickly steered it back:

"Today I won't be listening to a teacher's lecture; I'm going to solve some problems to consolidate the knowledge points I've learned. You all do as you please; I'm starting now, as I have matters to attend to this afternoon."

After speaking, she set her phone aside, lowered her head, and began solving problems.

The hotel where Jin Li stayed was just an ordinary one, and the background she chose for her problem-solving session was merely a plain white wall.

Yet her slightly bowed head and focused demeanor, the occasional stray locks of hair playfully falling by her forehead, and her habitual pen-spinning posture...

...all without exception calmed the restless hearts of her fans.

[Oh no, I used to think Jin Li was only sweet, emptily and spiritlessly so, but why does she seem to possess more temperament every day now?]

["A belly full of poetry and literature naturally radiates elegance"; she really... I'm crying to death!]

[She works so hard that it makes me, her fan, look like such a good-for-nothing; I must crawl out of bed immediately and start studying too!]

Meanwhile, while Jin Li was studying, Ji Qinglian had also arrived at the "Jinse" venue and was getting her styling done.

"Jinse" is a top-tier first-line magazine in Huaguo; every year it invites first-line celebrities to attend a charity gala, with all auction proceeds donated to various charitable projects.

The auction items are provided by the celebrities, and the bidding is done by celebrities themselves; "Jinse" claims externally to offer only a matchmaking platform.

That is what they say, but since it is a top-tier first-line magazine inviting exclusively first-line stars,

the annual "Jinse Charity Gala" has become a battleground that every celebrity fights to enter.

Whether the first half of the year brings explosive topics and high traffic depends entirely on whether the styling at this Jinse event breaks out of the circle.

The "Jinse Charity Gala" counts as a relatively important engagement, so Ji Qinglian's team arranged no other commitments for her today to keep her in peak condition, arriving at the makeup room by noon to begin her styling.

Since everyone present is a first-line celebrity and space at the venue is limited, Jinse did not assign individual makeup rooms to the stars but instead gathered everyone in one location for makeup.

Treating everyone equally is the greatest fairness.

Not long after Ji Qinglian sat down, the boy group March Sky also arrived, as they too attached great importance to this engagement.

Seating in the makeup room was free-for-all; Chen Lin glanced around, spotted Ji Qinglian, and sat down beside her.

Once Chen Lin sat, the other three members followed suit and sat over as well.

Ji Qinglian initially didn't notice them, keeping her head down to play on her phone, as her hair styling was currently underway and very time-consuming.

It was only after hearing Chen Lin's voice that she looked up, swept a glance over, and raised an eyebrow.

"You all came too?"

Chen Lin nodded. "We just arrived not long ago."

Just as Ji Qinglian was about to say something, her phone suddenly chimed "ding," popping up a notification reminding her that Jin Li's live stream had started.

She immediately entered the live room, shared it to the group chat, and began watching the broadcast attentively.

Chen Lin hadn't meant to peek intentionally.

Ji Qinglian's phone was placed openly right in front of her, visible to anyone passing by, showing clearly who was on the screen.

Seeing Senior Jin Li on the screen, he returned to his seat and then whispered to his teammates, leaking the news:

"Senior Qinglian and Senior Jin Li are on a video call; I heard rumors that members of the Pink Girl group held grudges against each other, but it turns out it's all fake. What a waste of my mood and time surfing the internet."

The others looked over, rendered momentarily speechless.

Wait, you saw a video call and said nothing, just staring blankly at the phone like that?

What call? What communication? Are you communicating via telepathy?

Gu Cheng, however, thought of something; he opened the Maozhua live app on his phone, which immediately popped up a notification that [Jin Li], whom he followed, was currently live.

Clicking in to watch, he saw Jin Li diligently solving practice problems.

Yan Xingdong and Luo Yi caught a glimpse and finally understood what Chen Lin had been talking about, leaving them speechless once again.

Yan Xingdong spoke with earnest gravity to Chen Lin: "Lin Bao, in the future, speak less in front of outsiders; it's enough that we endure you; don't go causing trouble for others."

Luo Yi nodded in agreement: "Exactly, otherwise I'm afraid one day you'll offend someone, and we won't even know where to go to collect your corpse!"

Chen Lin: ...

He truly hadn't thought that much about it!!

Half an hour later, seeing Gu Cheng still looking at his phone, Yan Xingdong couldn't help but ask: "Aren't you bored? She's just solving problems the whole stream."

While the hairstylist stepped away, Gu Cheng stretched his neck and said casually, "Not bored; while watching someone solve problems, I'm solving them along."

Yan Xingdong was stunned into silence.

Only then did he remember how high Gu Cheng's IQ was; even while abroad, he was the type of ruthless person who practiced while simultaneously gaining admission to a prestigious university.

What was even more ruthless was that he completed in two years a curriculum that usually takes others four years to finish.

Yan Xingdong had never met a genius before, but he felt Gu Cheng certainly belonged in that category.

Curiously, he asked: "I heard Senior Jin Li is relearning to take the university entrance exam and is currently studying first-year high school content; how is she doing, is she managing okay?"

Gu Cheng shook his head and said calmly, "She's working on a math paper now; she got five out of ten multiple-choice questions wrong, and only one out of five fill-in-the-blank questions correct. Her foundation is too weak; merely solving problems won't help her much; she still needs to continue learning via videos."

Gu Cheng's phone was likewise placed openly on display.

Yan Xingdong, sitting beside him, could see the live room just by tilting his head slightly.

He recalled that Jin Li was only live-streaming herself solving problems, not live-streaming the answer key, so how did Gu Cheng know she had gotten so many wrong?

Immediately after, he thought of Gu Cheng's formidable mental calculation ability and told himself: Forget it, better not ask, or I'll just feel crushed into dust again.

Jin Li spent two hours solving problems, told her online viewers she had to go to work, and then ended the live stream.

Sui Lingfang drove her to the Duomi Company.

It took only two hours for Jin Li's styling and makeup to be completed.

Originally, Duomi had planned to spend three to four hours on styling and makeup, as doing hair and applying cosmetics were very time-consuming.

But they had all miscalculated one thing.

That was the fact that Jin Li's skin condition was simply too good; the makeup artist didn't need to ponder much at all and could casually apply her hands to create the desired look.

Having changed her clothes, Jin Li appeared before everyone once again, having transformed into a true "Koi Girl."

Everyone exclaimed in astonishment once more!

Yan Xingdong: In this world, is there still a place for those who don't compete? Mourning in silence.

(End of Chapter)