by Dragon King
Noticing their glances and especially that of Lu Qing’s, she lowered her head while blushing.
At that moment, all the guys especially the third-year and fourth-year students found their hearts racing.
They were surprised that such a cute girl was one of the top students!
After observing the guy who she held, they found him quite average.
“It seems that everyone is here. Let’s go!” Lu Qing, the supervisor of this trip, glanced at the back seats and shouted.
292 Get Out of Here!
The school bus’s engine started, and it started driving towards the City Hall along the road outside the school.
Hao Ren sat down in the middle of the bus, and Xie Yujia sat beside him.
Although he didn’t know what the inauguration ceremony would be like, he didn’t want to ask too many questions about it. Xie Yujia knew Hao Ren was in a bad mood, so she gently put her hand on Hao Ren’s back to comfort him.
Some students inside the bus started discussing amongst themselves. They were all the ‘elites’ of their schools. Some were the presidents of the Student Councils of different programs, and some were winners of Science Fairs, etc. They were showing off and chatted with each other in order to grab Xie Yujia’s attention.
The school bus drove through a security checkpoint and entered the City Hall. As East Ocean was a well-developed city next to the coast, the City Hall was also extraordinary.
The City Hall was divided into a few halls, and those ‘elite’ students on the bus quieted down since they had never been here before.
Lu Qing walked to the front and led everyone into the first hall.
The marble floors, the majestic chandeliers, rows of red chairs…… This hall looked just like what was shown on the news on TV.
The inauguration ceremony was starting within half an hour, so the students from the East Ocean University were assigned to sit in the fifth and sixth row in the middle section.
In front of the first row, there was a long table with name tags of the high-ranking officials of the city. Around five to six cameras were set up on both sides of the table.
At the front, there was a slightly raised platform with a podium on top of a huge red carpet.
These students had never experienced anything like this before. Although they were sitting in the crowd, they got nervous since cameras were pointing directly at them.
Not long after, some officials of the East Ocean City entered the hall.
Deputy-Mayor Huang, who overlooked the city’s economy, walked in front of everybody, and Huang Xujie was walking alongside his father!
He was one of the ‘elite’ students who was invited today. Yet, he didn’t get here on the school bus like everyone else. Instead, he came here directly with his father!
As he was standing next to his father, he even dared to ignore Lu Qing!
Even though Lu Qing and the students from the East Ocean University were sitting not too far away, he didn’t even greet them.
Huang Xujie glanced through the students, and his face suddenly turned ice-cold when he noticed Hao Ren.
He excused himself from several high-ranking officials and walked to the fifth row. He stared at Hao Ren and laughed coldly. “Hehe, how are you considered a top student of the East Ocean University? What awards did you get? What is your position at the school?”
Hao Ren ignored him and looked toward a different direction.
“Vice-Principal, for this event, only students that are the best of the best are invited. Why is he here?” Huang Xujie asked Lu Qing aggressively.
“Before you graduate, you are still a student of the East Ocean University. I hope you recognize your position,” Lu Qing looked at him and said lightly.
“Position? My dad is the person who is sitting in the second row. Vice-Principal, are you not thinking clearly?” Huang Xujie smiled wickedly and said.
He didn’t think that a Vice-Principal, who was sitting in the fifth row, could do anything to him! Since this Vice-Principal was protecting Hao Ren, he decided to insult this Vice-Principal as well!
He was more furious as this Vice-Principal’s granddaughters, Lu Linlin and Lu Lili, were completely ignoring him!
“Vice-Principal, I am 100% sure that this Hao Ren is not qualified to be here!” Huang Xujie kept on pushing and said.
“Huang Xujie, don’t go too far!” Xie Yujia could not stand it any further, so she stood up and said.
“What do you mean by that? I am just telling the truth. What qualifications does he have to be here?” Huang Xujie continued.
Since he was connected with the Student Council, he had met Xie Yujia a few times.
He had recently heard the rumor saying that Xie Yujia was Hao Ren’s girlfriend.
Today, he suddenly found Xie Yujia several times more beautiful than he remembered!
“Jie, what’s wrong? The reporters are coming soon,” Huang Xujie’s father came over and asked.
“Dad, me and the Vice-Principal are having a disagreement,” Huang Xujie answered gently.
“Whatever it is, you can talk about it when you are back at school,” Huang Xujie’s dad pulled him to the front and assigned him a seat in the third row behind him.
Recently, this Deputy-Mayor Huang had attained success and was about to be promoted. Therefore, he didn’t pay much attention to Lu Qing, the Vice-Principal. Of course, he didn’t see Hao Ren as well.
Huang Xujie, who was sitting in the third row, turned around and pointed at Hao Ren. His lips read, “I will be back for you later!”
The first row was for the prominent officials of the city and the province, the second row was for the officials of different departments within the city, and the third row was for the talented people who were recognized by the government.
It was evident that Huang Xujie was in his father’s grace as he was assigned to sit in the third row.
His father was trying to put Huang Xujie into East Ocean City’s ‘young elites!’
The students who were sitting around Hao Ren let things pass as it didn’t affect them personally. None of them wanted to offend Huang Xujie. On top of that, some of them even wanted to build up their relationships with Huang Xujie to have a better career in the future.
Only Xie Yujia was infuriated and wanted to speak some sense into Huang Xujie!
Shoo…
A small paper-ball suddenly hit Huang Xujie at the back of his head.
The small paper-ball did not hit anywhere but his Tianchong Acupoint, which was located at the back of the head, and made his head numb.
Huang Xujie turned his head immediately and couldn’t spot anyone who might have done it. Thus, he turned back.
Shoo…
Another paper-ball hit the back of Huang Xujie’s head.
Houding Acupoint! It was also located at the back of the head! Although it was a paper-ball, it caused more pain than before.
Huang Xujie rubbed his head, turned his head around again, and then turned back to the front.
Shoo…
The third paper-ball hit his Yamen Acupoint on his neck and made him nearly lose his voice.
“Who is that!” Huang Xujie could not stand it anymore as he finally burst out.
His father, who was sitting in the second row chatting with other officials, furrowed his eyebrows. “Jie, stop screaming!”
Before the inauguration ceremony began, these politicians arrived early in order to show their thirst for talent.
Since Huang Xujie was shouting, it made him look impolite.
“Uh…” Huang Xujie controlled his anger as he sat down a bit lower and covered himself with the back of the chair.
Shoo…
Another paper-ball hit the back of the chair.
Huang Xujie felt like his brain was about to explode as the back of the chair smacked him in the back of his head!
Xie Yujia, on the other hand, held Hao Ren’s finger lightly with her soft hands. She smiled and said, “If you k
eep tearing the paper off my notebook, all the pages are going to be torn out by you!”
Hao Ren smiled, torn another piece of paper out between her fingers, and sent it out again!
The paper-ball directly hit Huang Xujie’s exposed wrist!
Yanggu Acupoint!
Huang Xujie grimaced in pain!
However, he could not scream on such occasion!
Shoo! Shoo! Once again, two paper-balls hit Huang Xujie’s shoulder and back!
Jianjing Acupoint! Huantiao Acupoint!
Huang Xujie jumped off his chair and nearly pushed over the chairs in front of him!
“Jie! What are you doing!” His father could no longer cover up for him and scolded him.
“Someone was throwing paper-balls at me!” Huang Xujie was trying to justify himself.
“This is not an elementary school classroom! Stop messing around!” His dad looked at him angrily.
“Someone is plotting against me!” Huang Xujie was also filled with anger as he bent down and tried to find the evidence on the floor.
At that moment, Hao Ren sent out seven weak sword energies and took back the paper-balls.
“Here, these are for you,” Hao Ren put the seven paper-balls in Xie Yujia’s palm.
“You naughty boy,” Xie Yujia could not hold in her laughter, and she lightly punched Hao Ren with the paper-balls in her hand.
Huang Xujie, on the other hand, was squatting down and couldn’t find any paper-balls. His indecent position was incredibly embarrassing for his father.
Other officials looked at Huang Xujie with disdain; they suspected that although Deputy-Mayor Huang’s son was good looking, something was wrong with his intellect.
“Enough!” Huang Xujie’s father could not stand watching his son trying to find the paper-balls anymore.
Huang Xujie stood up and saw Hao Ren’s smile. His anger finally burst out, and he shouted, “I know it is you! I dare you to come to fight me one-on-one!”
Bam!
His father’s anger finally burst out as well.
“Get out of here!” Veins bulged on his father’s face.
“I…” Huang Xujie tried to explain himself.
He could still feel the pain on the six acupoints and knew that it wasn’t a hallucination!
“Get out!” His father slapped him on the head!
Huang Xujie took a few steps back after being slapped. He turned his head and saw every student from the East Ocean University looking at him as well as the reporters who arrived a bit early. He immediately felt extremely embarrassed and nearly collapsed!
“Deputy-Mayor Huang, what’s making you so mad!” At the crucial moment, Hao Zhonghua, who was dressed in a silver suit, suddenly appeared at the door.
“Excuse my badly-behaved son,” Huang Xujie’s father smiled awkwardly as he wished to bury himself in a hole.
“Kids, its normal for them to made silly mistakes sometimes.” Hao Zhonghua smiled kindly. He looked at the back rows and noticed Hao Ren and Xie Yujia. He called immediately, “Ren! Yujia! Come to sit in the front. I saved two spots for you in the first row!”
“The first row…” Huang Xujie, whose brain was still ringing, wondered if something was wrong with his ears.
His father looked toward the direction where Hao Zhonghua was looking and thought as he noticed the person sitting next to Lu Qing, “That young man looks very familiar…”
“It seems like he was the person who Jie was arguing with… He… He looks like Academician Hao’s son who studies at the East Ocean University as well…”
“B*stard!” As Huang Xujie’s father suddenly understood everything, he slapped Huang Xujie’s head once again!
If they weren’t in public, he would want to beat him with a stick!
293 Huge Promotion
Under Huang Xujie’s strange gaze, Hao Ren and Xie Yujia moved to the seats on the right side of the first row.
Hao Zhonghua walked to the podium, tested the mic, and placed the paper that had his speech written on it on the podium.
Some provincial officials continued to enter the hall one after another.
“Academician Hao, congratulations!” An official who was walking in front of all other officials walked toward Hao Zhonghua and shook his hand.
“I’m extremely honored that Provincial Governor Liu came here to attend such a small ceremony despite your busy schedule,” Hao Zhonghua said politely.
“The country has high hope for you, and I’m just here to show the support from the Jiangdong Province! From a research position to a management position, there would be an adaptation process. Don’t overwork yourself!” Provincial Governor Liu said encouragingly as he patted Hao Zhonghua’s shoulder.
Hao Ren sat down in the seat on the right side and kept quiet while he watched Hao Zhonghua chat with the city and provincial officials.
“A while ago, your dad was the vice-director of a large-scale research project,” Xie Yujia, who always read the newspapers’ science section, said to Hao Ren quietly.
“Isn’t it sad that I am learning about my dad through the newspaper…” Hao Ren sighed.
As the inauguration ceremony was about to start, reporters from different TV stations and newspapers were getting ready.
The governors who were politely chatting with Hao Zhonghua sat down in the first and second row.
Since Hao Ren and Xie Yujia’s seats weren’t located in the center, they weren’t worried that the cameras would catch them directly.
Huang Xujie, who wasn’t acting normally today, was driven away earlier by his father. Of course, when his father returns home, Huang Xujie would face another beating.
It was a few minutes before the ceremony started. Yue Yang, who was wearing a black casual dress, walked in hurryingly. She smiled at Hao Zhonghua, waved her hands, and saw Hao Ren and Xie Yujia. She walked over and sat down next to Xie Yujia.
“Hi, Auntie!” Xie Yujia immediately greeted.
Yue Yang wasn’t only Hao Ren’s mom; she was also Xie Yujia’s most admired female scientists. In last year’s Time Magazine’s ranking of the world’s most influential women, Yue Yang ranked 26th with her reputation within the scientific community and her professional achievements.
“Hello, hello!” Yue Yang nodded.
While replying, she looked Xie Yujia up and down and thought, “This girl… She seems prettier than a month ago? “
After Yue Yang saw Hao Ren’s straight face and knew that he didn’t want to talk to her, she explained, “I was attending another event before this; that’s why I’m a bit late.”
“What is today’s ceremony for?” Xie Yujia tried to break the ice as Hao Ren remained silent.
“It’s for Zhonghua becoming the director of the Chinese Ocean Research Institute and being promoted to the vice-ministerial level,” Yue Yang answered.
“Then… Will Uncle continue to conduct researches?” Xie Yujia asked.
She didn’t want to be long-winded, but she also didn’t want to see the relationship between Hao Ren and Yue Yang become stiff.
Therefore, all she could do was to try and keep the conversation going before the ceremony began.
“His next research will be based on marine biology. From now on, he will manage the institute and study marine life near East Ocean City. That means he will stay in East Ocean City,” Yue Yang replied.
Although it sounded like an answer to Xie Yujia’s question, it was meant for Hao Ren.
Hao Ren’s heart dropped.
“Marine life… Are the dragons considered a part of marine life?…” he wondered.
“Auntie, do you have any plans for your next research topic?” Xie Yujia asked again.
“For me, I am still studying the climate. But, I might team up with Zhonghua and create a big project on ocean climates,” Yue Yang smiled and said.
However, she didn’t tell Xie Yujia that after returning from Beijing, she had already been promoted to the vice dean of the Eastern China Meteorology
Institute.
She was responsible for overseeing five research centers, one national state laboratory, and two departmental state laboratories. Her position was even higher than Hao Zhonghua’s!
However, no matter what, she was Hao Zhonghua’s wife. Therefore, she had to attend her husband’s inauguration ceremony and show her support without grabbing the limelight from him!
“That’s great, Auntie can stay in East Ocean City more often from now on,” Xie Yujia replied with a smile.
Yue Yang nodded happily and was amazed by this smart Little Carrot as she understood her thoughts.
The reason why Yue Yang accepted the position as a vice dean from the higher-ups was to force herself to stay in East Ocean City and spend more time with her son and her mother-in-law.
After knowing Yue Yang’s thought, Hao Ren looked at her, and his expression wasn’t as cold as it was before.
Xie Yujia sat between them. She held Hao Ren’s hand with one hand and Yue Yang’s with the other. “A family reunion, how great is that!”
She was desperate to resolve the estrangement between Hao Ren and his parents. How could Hao Ren not understand her nice intention? His heart was touched as he was being held by Xie Yujia’s small and smooth hand.
“Thank you to all officials, ladies and gentlemen, and all my reporter friends…”
On the podium, Hao Zhonghua, who was calm and handsome, officially started his speech.
From a successful scientist to the director of a national state institute, he had completed a magnificent transformation.
Hao Zhonghua has become one of the world’s best scientists in the field of biological research and biomedicine. His existence had stimulated the rapid development of the bio-industry in East Ocean City. As he has been promoted to the director of the Ocean Research Institute, he will undoubtedly boost the growth of the ‘marine-industry’ in East Ocean City!
The fisheries industry, the offshore oil and gas industry, the ocean mining industry, the sea salt industry… all these industries were large-scale industries that are worth hundreds of billions of yuan!
Top scientists like Hao Zhonghua were more precious than a giant panda! In this age of technology, Hao Zhonghua had more influence than any official in the municipal or even provincial government!