In the eyes of Qi Heng, Qi Rui might be a bit unruly, but to the other parents, he appeared like an exemplary child. For instance, during the opening ceremony, as Qi Rui recited his speech on stage, from the moment he stepped up, Qi Heng could hear many parents around him wishing their children were more like him.
Qi Heng and Qi Han sat side by side, and their good looks attracted quite a few glances. The parents were relatively restrained, recognizing the two of them as well-dressed individuals. However, some of the more audacious students couldn’t help but gossip about them, speculating on Qi Heng and Qi Han’s relationship.
“It seems that Qi Rui’s appearance can really charm a few people,” Qi Han whispered, “When he went on stage, I heard quite a few girls quietly squealing.”
Qi Heng’s gaze fell on Qi Rui. The young man on the stage was confident and spirited, a far cry from the rebellious and gloomy teenager he had first encountered. The clear aura between his brows signaled that he had veered away from the wrong path, as the incident involving him saving someone and revealing the underage perpetrator’s crime had earned Qi Rui quite a bit of merit and blessings from the victim. All of this had coalesced into an auspicious aura surrounding Qi Rui, signifying a lifetime of smooth, safe, prosperous, and worry-free living.
“Uncle,” Qi Rui finished his speech and came down from the stage, immediately pushing through the crowd to join Qi Heng and Qi Han.
“Look, my award certificate.”
He opened the certificate, and there was a red envelope inside. “This is the school’s prize money, it’s two thousand yuan!”
Qi Heng glanced at it and gave him a symbolic word of encouragement, “Well done, keep it up.”
Qi Rui carefully stashed the red envelope in his pocket. It was the first time he had earned so much money.
“When I have a break, I’ll use it to buy a gift for Uncle.”
Qi Han made a disapproving sound, “What can you buy with two thousand yuan? Kid, it’s better to use the money to have some fun for yourself. Giving gifts is something adults do.”
“Gifts are about thought, not price,” Qi Rui argued. “The watch you gave before was expensive, but it lacked thought. Uncle only wore it a few times out of fear that you’d be upset. But the hand sanitizer I bought, Uncle uses it every day.”
Qi Han clenched his teeth and looked at Qi Heng, quickly finding a counterargument, “The cufflinks elder brother is wearing today were from me.”
“Uncle’s writing pen is also a gift from me!” Qi Rui retorted, “And the ink.”
Even though he had bought those items, Qi Rui had only dared to secretly have the butler give them to Uncle, without explicitly telling him that he was the one who purchased those gifts.
Qi Han raised an eyebrow, his expression regal and aloof. “The tie elder brother is wearing, I bought it. And the tiepin. Have you ever seen elder brother wear something you bought outside?”
“I…” Qi Rui was left speechless. This cunning third uncle, a grown man competing for attention with a child, was simply shameless.
“But Uncle likes me. He just affectionately ruffled my hair a moment ago.” Qi Rui’s mind worked quickly, and he thought of a way to outmaneuver his shameless third uncle from a different angle.
“He often ruffles my hair.”
Qi Rui’s ultimate move instantly crushed Qi Han.
“Enough, both of you, what’s this behavior in public?” Qi Heng rubbed his temple, suddenly missing the silent and composed Qi Han from the past, regretting his decision.
He shouldn’t have told Qi Han on the plane that he used to be a cheerful, polite child. Somehow, he had misunderstood something himself, resulting in a formerly cool male lead turning into a child who eagerly compared himself with other children.
Oh well, he had created this male lead’s character with his own hands, so he had to bear the consequences.
“Uncle / Elder Brother, I know I was wrong,” both of them said in unison, then obediently fell silent.
“Qi Rui!” A male student in the distance waved and shouted, “What are you doing over there? Your competition is about to start.”
“Uncle, I need to go to the competition.”
Qi Heng nodded absentmindedly, “Then go.”
Qi Rui stood there, unwilling to move.
Qi Heng looked at him, and Qi Rui hesitated, “Uncle, can you say an encouraging word to me?”
“In that case, good luck,” Qi Heng said and then casually shifted his gaze away.
Qi Rui felt satisfied and provocatively showed off to Qi Han for a moment before heading toward the track.
“Elder Brother always spoils him,” Qi Han said with ulterior motives, “He’s just a kid, constant encouragement isn’t good for him. People get complacent easily; sometimes you need to discipline them to reward them.”
“Qi Han,” Qi Heng pursed his lips, “Let’s go to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow. I’ll have Sun Yi schedule an appointment with a specialist for you.”
Qi Han was taken aback, “Thank you for your concern, but I’m completely fine now. Do we really need to go to the hospital and waste time?”
Qi Heng looked at him calmly, thinking to himself that there might be something wrong with his head.
“Next is the 800-meter race. All participating athletes, please take your positions.”
“Qi Rui!! Qi Rui!!” Qi Rui’s class erupted in cheers, enthusiastically cheering him on.
The two of them looked at the track, and Qi Rui had changed into a short-sleeved sports shirt and shorts. He had a red headband tied around his head with the words “Strive for First” written in yellow paint.
“Go, Qi Rui! Friendship is second, winning the race is first, charge!”
The nearby girls were clearly excited, and their screams were a bit ear-piercing.
“Cough, cough, students, please maintain a calm and composed attitude when chanting slogans. Go, athletes!” The announcer’s voice came through the loudspeaker.
Another male student in a blue sports shirt stepped onto the starting line.
“Zhao Ting!!! Go, pride of Class 2!” The students cheered again.
“Zhao Ting!! Come on, good boy! Bring back first place!”
Among the parents’ section, a group of people suddenly stood up, ranging from young to old. One woman was holding a small megaphone, seemingly the whole family came to cheer. Two kids next to her were even waving two large red flowers that they seemed to have brought from somewhere.
“Big brother, go for it!”
Afterward, several more male students stepped onto the field, causing another round of cheering.
Zhao Ting stood in front of Qi Rui, determination in his eyes. “Qi Rui, I won’t lose to you this time.”
He was determined to show An Ruoxi who the truly outstanding one was, the one worth her admiration.
Qi Rui raised an eyebrow, “Funny, young master here thinks the same.”
He brought a secret weapon with him. Just the thought of failing and seeing the disappointed look on his uncle’s face filled him with determination.
Zhao Ting scowled, “Ruoxi will definitely give up on you. I’m the one she likes the most.”
“Well, that’s perfect then. Young master here couldn’t ask for more.” Qi Rui found the competitive Zhao Ting quite agreeable at the moment. “You better make her give up on me quickly. I’m an outstanding student, not interested in early romance.”
Zhao Ting’s face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth. “I can’t believe Ruoxi would like someone like you!”
Qi Rui, untroubled by his jealousy, responded, “Maybe she’s after my family’s money, considering everyone in the school knows my uncle just donated an entire lab building.”
Zhao Ting was utterly disgusted by this display of pride and arrogance. Didn’t Qi Rui hear that many people said he was at the top of his grade because of the donation?
“On your marks!” The teacher who had come as a referee, holding a whistle, shouted through the loudspeaker. “Get ready!”
Numerous participants assumed their starting positions, ready to burst into action.
At the sound of the whistle, Qi Rui shot out like an arrow released from a bowstring and quickly left the rest of the competitors far behind in the blink of an eye.
Qi Han frowned upon seeing this, “Qi Rui, this foolish kid, is using all his strength from the beginning. When it comes to the later stages, he’ll surely slow down due to exhaustion. Hasn’t he noticed that people around him are conserving energy to make a final sprint?”
“No, he knows what he’s doing,” Qi Heng casually replied, “Give Sun Yi a call and have him bring more people over.”
“Why? Is it because you’ve noticed some danger around?” Qi Han hesitated for a moment and then nervously scanned the surroundings, “Is there something we need to be concerned about?”
“No, it’s to have them come and cheer for Qi Rui,” Qi Heng said calmly, his gaze lightly passing over the group of parents on the other side, “Other kids have it, so our kid should have it too.”
Qi Rui is currently at an age where his personality is forming, and they can’t allow him to become envious of others.
Jealousy can be a sickness, and it can lead to hatred. Sometimes, it’s easy to change a person’s character.
Qi Han muttered, “My brother is too good to him.” Despite his words, he dialed a number, and though he had a somewhat plastic uncle-nephew relationship with Qi Rui, he couldn’t help but dote on his only nephew.
On the track, Qi Rui had already completed the first lap, and his speed was gradually slowing down.
“The athlete on lane 3 seems to be running out of energy, and the athlete on lane 1 is accelerating…”
“The athlete on lane 1 has caught up with the one on lane 3.”
“What a fool to use up all his energy from the start,” Zhao Ting sneered, then he accelerated, passing by Qi Rui.
Now it was his turn to speed up.
“The athlete on lane 1 overtakes the one on lane 3!” The commentator’s voice over the loudspeaker was full of excitement. “It’s the final lap, let’s see if the athlete on lane 1 can maintain this first place!”
However, as soon as the commentator’s words fell, they were proven wrong on the spot.
Because Qi Rui, who had fallen behind two athletes, suddenly started to accelerate, as if he had been injected with a shot of adrenaline. He sped past the two in front of him and raced towards the finish line.
The field erupted with enthusiastic cheers and applause.
“Congratulations to the athlete on lane 3 for taking the first place!” The teacher acting as the commentator walked up with a smiling face. “Let’s interview him and hear his thoughts right now.”
Qi Rui tore the headband from his forehead, breathing heavily. His face was still beaming with excitement. He grabbed the microphone without a second thought when it was offered to him.
“Uncle! I got first place!” Holding the microphone in one hand and wiping his forehead with the other, Qi Rui waved to the audience, regardless of whether they could see him or not.
“Uncle, did you see that?”
Qi Han covered his face, feeling powerless. “Thank goodness we’re sitting relatively far away.”
“It seems our champion is quite excited. Let’s give him a moment to rest,” the commentator teacher forcefully took the microphone from Qi Rui’s hand, turned off the microphone button, and muttered under his breath, “You little brat, you don’t want to give the microphone back, do you?”
Qi Rui touched his head, showing no remorse. “Sorry, teacher, I was just too excited.”
“Young Master!” Steward Sun Yi arrived at the finish line with a group of bodyguards and servants. He had received instructions from the family’s head and rushed over immediately.
“Steward Sun?!” Qi Rui was startled when he saw the large group of people behind Sun Yi.
The servants, noticing the sweat on Qi Rui’s forehead, quickly surrounded him. They offered towels, fanned him, and even opened a thermos, attempting to offer Qi Rui some water.
Qi Rui stopped them from giving him water and instead took the thermos and had a few sips himself.
“Steward Sun, why did you suddenly bring so many people?” Qi Rui was puzzled, sensing that this might be a setup, and even the teacher next to him looked uneasy.
“The family head ordered us to come and support Young Master,” Steward Sun Yi smiled, wishing he could have brought even more people to cheer for Young Master Qi. The Qi family’s young master couldn’t afford to lose, and they couldn’t let the family head down.
“Did Young Master take first place?” Steward Sun Yi inquired again, and the entire Qi family contingent focused their attention on Qi Rui, their expressions solemn as if they were about to hear some momentous news.
“Y-yes,” Qi Rui, who was usually quite shameless, felt a bit embarrassed under the scrutiny of his classmates and teachers.
