Chapter 5: Ordinary and Unremarkable
Recalling her daughter's mediocre grades, which barely passed the mark in the past, Zhou Jiaxian looked at Li Sishi with a bewildered expression, her eyes full of questions.
Li Sishi had already prepared her explanation for this. She would use a slightly aggrieved tone to accuse and explain that her parents had a bad relationship at home, so she deliberately made her grades bad so that the teacher would persuade her parents to pay more attention to her.
Thinking back on the past few years, because of her husband's affairs, she and he had either been in a cold war or had been arguing, so neither of them had been able to pay attention to their daughter. Zhou Jiaxian felt a lump in her throat: "I'm sorry, it's all Mommy's fault..."
"Forget it, it's all in the past. We have a new life now, so I want to study hard so that I can repay my mom and uncle and aunt in the future..." Li Sishi said in a muffled voice, adopting the mannerisms of an awkward young girl.
“That’s the right way to think. But your uncle and aunt don’t need you to repay them. Just focus on your studies.” Liang Shao’e patted Li Sishi on the shoulder with satisfaction, and then suggested that she take her to see other schools.
Although other good schools must be expensive, it's rare to have a smart child in the family who is good at studying, even if she's just a niece, it's still a way to fulfill her dream of going to school.
If they grit their teeth, they can afford it.
Moreover, she sees that her niece is kind-hearted by nature. Although she doesn't expect anything in return, she would be content if she graduated and became a doctor or lawyer, and could help her younger cousins out a little.
After all, Changchang's grades were considered good, but that only applied to Zeng Dingbaosu. Guangzai's grades were even worse, and without any opportunities, he would only be destined to stay in the tea restaurant and inherit the family business.
Having suffered enough from a lack of education and culture, I naturally hope that the next generation can study hard and strive for a new future.
Seeing that Liang Shao'e and Zhou Jiaxian, the two sisters-in-law, had already started discussing the tuition fees for the prestigious school, with one saying that her family could afford it and the other saying that she had some money and neither was willing to give in, Li Sishi paused for a moment before speaking up: "I really like this school."
“The environment here is nice, but there are many more good schools in other places, such as St. Paul’s, Anglo-Chinese Girls’ School, St. Stephen’s, etc…” Liang Shao’e rattled off the names of several old and traditional prestigious schools, her eyes seemingly shining.
Unfortunately, this glory won't last much longer.
Li Sishi sighed and succinctly explained that those prestigious universities had too high requirements, and that she was new to the area and might not be able to adapt, which could negatively impact her grades.
"Besides, it's better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond. They value me so much here, they might offer me very good conditions, and they might even assign a teacher to tutor me..." Li Sishi tried to persuade her again and again, and finally managed to calm down the excited Liang Shao'e.
Considering that prestigious schools are full of wealthy students, and that poor outsiders like her own niece are easily ostracized, Liang Shao'e talked to Zhou Jiaxian for a while before finally nodding reluctantly, indicating that she would consider the conditions offered by Zeng Dingbaosu.
After returning and talking with Principal Jia, who had come upon hearing the news, Liang Shao'e and Zhou Jiaxian finally agreed to let Li Sishi stay in Zeng Dingbaosu for a while after learning that they were willing to waive all tuition fees and would regularly assign the best teachers from each subject to give Li Sishi extra tutoring.
Of course, both parties had an agreement: if Li Sishi's grades remained the same or improved, everyone would be happy; but if Li Sishi's grades declined, Zeng Dingbaosu would have to consider changing the preferential treatment conditions...
However, the subsequent statement about changing the preferential treatment conditions was preemptively delivered by Liang Shao'e with her imposing and domineering statement, "If my niece's grades drop here, I'll transfer her to another school without you having to tell me."
After the two parties agreed on the terms, Li Sishi was taken to the corresponding intermediate level three cell by Miss Huang and officially joined Zeng Dingbaosu's big family.
Fourteen or fifteen-year-old boys are at the age when puberty is just beginning. When such a stunningly beautiful girl suddenly transfers to the school, the news naturally spreads throughout the entire school in just a few days.
If it weren't for the fact that she was a key student the school was focusing on cultivating, and that the teachers had repeatedly told them to cherish her, many people would probably have wanted to pursue her passionately.
Even so, Good Luck Tea Restaurant has seen a surge in business recently, with a large group of male students taking a detour to buy breakfast, just to catch a glimpse of the beautiful girls heading to school.
Even among the onlookers were quite a few female students peeking in—it's understandable, everyone loves beauty, and it often transcends gender in its attraction…
However, although Li Sishi successfully ascended to the throne of Zeng Dingbaosu's school beauty within a few days, because a new fashion magazine called "Yea" has a "City Surprise" column, some people subconsciously compared Li Sishi with the girl models in the "City Surprise" column.
Some of her classmates even suggested she try out for a teenage modeling contest: "You're so pretty, you'll definitely be chosen! I heard that Yea magazine will be holding a 'Hong Kong Campus Beauty and Handsome Boy Election' later, then you can bring glory to our Tsang Ting Po-su!"
!
In the past, the biggest dream of most secondary school girls in Hong Kong was to compete in the Miss Hong Kong pageant. Unfortunately, the minimum age for Miss Hong Kong was seventeen, and they had to have graduated from Form 5 at least. For these girls who were still in secondary school, it was undoubtedly a very "distant" dream.
But now there's this school beauty and school hunk election, where you can participate while you're in school, and they'll even announce the name of the school each candidate attends, which is basically like becoming famous in all the secondary schools in Hong Kong... How could they not be excited?
Faced with such suggestions, Li Sishi basically just smiled and said that she wanted to focus on her studies and couldn't be distracted: "Besides, my family would definitely not agree, you all know that."
Although she wasn't naturally easygoing, one can't always act arbitrarily in life.
Having lived two lives, it wasn't a difficult task for her to "win over" these teenage classmates in a short period of time.
After all, she had once made a name for herself in the "Li Xian Club," a gathering place for wealthy socialites and socialites. That was a place that seemed glamorous on the surface but was actually fraught with undercurrents, where one wrong step could lead to utter ruin.
Compared to the "Li Xian Club," middle school students of this age, who are relatively simple-minded, are undoubtedly much easier to deal with.
As for the magazine "Yea", Li Sishi, who used to be in the industry, has a better understanding of it than the average person: In the beginning, the magazine was started by Li Zhen and others to promote Li Zhen's girlfriend Wen Huihui, who had just debuted at the time, and made her appear on the cover of many issues of the magazine to make her more well-known.
As the son of Li Yikang, one of the four great talents of Hong Kong, Li Zhen is notorious in the industry for his womanizing and philandering, but he still has some talent: this magazine, which targets young people, has launched columns such as venting about love troubles, introducing trendy fashion, making friends, and idol information from the very beginning, all of which can attract the full attention of teenagers.
What was most audacious was that Yea magazine, in a Hong Kong city where teachers held immense authority at the time, established a column for student readers to discuss schools and teachers, causing considerable controversy and sensation.
The "Yea Card," which followed closely behind and featured photos of popular young celebrities at the time, sparked a frenzy among fans, successfully opening up this vast, untapped market and instantly securing a prominent position in the magazine industry.
Although Lee Sze-sze debuted directly through the Miss Hong Kong pageant, she had also been interviewed by this magazine. In her memory, after Man Wai-wai, the magazine that followed "Yea"...
The cover models are all rising stars in the eyes of young people. Whether it is Yang Lezhi, who is on the fringes of a wealthy family, Deng Huiyin from the "Cookie Duo", or Sasha from the "Twin Duo", they have all been on its cover. Deng Huiyin and Sasha even entered the public eye through the campus beauty pageant or amateur model section.
If she hadn't initially set her sights on the Miss Hong Kong pageant, participating in the "Yea" magazine's campus beauty pageant would indeed have been a good path to entering the entertainment industry.
However, comparisons can be hurtful. Compared to the widespread attention given to the Miss Hong Kong pageant, the school beauty pageant, which offers little follow-up support for newcomers, is a rather lackluster option. Moreover, participating in the school beauty pageant solely for exposure can easily lead to contract disputes.
This is one of the most taboo things in beauty pageants.
However, these hidden truths, which can only be understood through experience, were certainly beyond the comprehension of her teenage classmates. Therefore, Li Sishi used the more common explanation that her family disagreed with.
Undoubtedly, upon hearing Li Sishi's answer, the group of female classmates nodded in agreement: although "Yea" was indeed very popular among them, it was undoubtedly a trash magazine in their parents' eyes. If their families found out that they wanted to be a teenage model and were being lazy in their studies, they would probably be in for a beating with rattan and pork.
Didn't you see that you weren't even planning to go to "Beautiful"? — Yes, boys and girls of this age like to call each other by nicknames. So when Li Sishi introduced herself as MayLee on the first day, her classmates with very creative minds immediately gave her this nickname, and she is usually called "Beautiful" all the time.
Even the school's undisputed beauty queen isn't planning to participate. Shouldn't they focus more on their studies?
It has to be said that Li Sishi's face is indeed captivating to both men and women. She is extremely beautiful yet also very approachable, making everyone want to protect their fairy-like image and keep her from being tainted by the world. If she were to have a more aggressive and glamorous style, she would likely attract a lot of gossip and covetousness.
Of course, there were people who coveted or disliked the fairy in private, but with her cousin Zhou Huiguang, who had a rather fierce reputation and was quite ruthless, by her side, those people could only silently restrain their evil intentions and keep quiet about their gossip.
Once again, Zhou Huiguang was injured in a fight and scolded by his own mother while she applied an egg to his wound. He seemed used to it: "If they have a problem with my cousin, then they have a problem with me, so I definitely have to teach them a lesson—ouch!"
"You still know how to cry? Looks like you haven't learned your lesson. I'm too lazy to look at you anymore. Apply it yourself!" Liang Shao'e shoved the egg into his hand in annoyance and turned to go back to work at the cashier.
Seeing Li Sishi take the egg and apply it to Zhou Huiguang's face with a mix of laughter and tears, Zhou Jiayun, who was making milk tea at the water bar, superficially agreed with Liang Shao'e and scolded him a couple of times. Then, while Liang Shao'e was calculating the bill, he quickly gave Zhou Huiguang a thumbs up.
This two-faced behavior made Zhou Jiaxian, who was helping to clean up, laugh out loud: when she was young, she was also prone to attracting unwanted attention. Back then, Zhou Jiayun was just like Zhou Huiguang now, throwing punches at those people and fighting back and forth, only to go home with a bruised and swollen face, getting eggs on her face while being scolded, but in her heart she still felt like a great hero who had protected her family...
He was the one yelling and begging his sister to help him apply eggs and medicine to his wounds, showing absolutely no heroic demeanor.
The peaceful and warm days passed by little by little, and Li Sishi gradually adapted to her current identity, greatly reducing the conflict between her memories of the two lifetimes, and basically adjusting her mindset.
Although she sometimes can't help but look at things with an adult's mindset, because she was trapped in school for twenty years after her car accident, she is closer to the mentality of young people than someone who has been struggling in society for twenty years.
Moreover, she has her younger cousin Zhou Huichang by her side, who regards her as her muse and personal model. Her energetic and lively personality can greatly influence those around her with youthful vigor.
For a time, Li Sishi adapted to her identity as a middle school student and found herself enjoying both her studies and daily life.
Just before school ended that day, Zhou Huichang rushed over carrying a bag: "Cousin, I'm going to Xunhe Plaza with my classmates to grab the latest issue of comics today. Could you please deliver this to me?"
Li Sishi glanced at the bag: "Okay."
"Thank you so much, cousin! I love you the most, bye-bye!" Zhou Huichang was overjoyed to hear this. She handed the bag in her hand to Li Sishi and then hurriedly called her classmates to set off.
Li Sishi skillfully opened the bag and glanced inside: sure enough, there were several sets of clothes she had recently tried on as a "model".
The Zhou siblings both enjoy anime, a hobby that's common among young people, but they don't have much pocket money. So, they each have their own ways of making money: Zhou Huiguang works odd jobs with his friends, while Zhou Huichang, who has a craftsmanship, makes some clothes herself and gives them to a friend of Zhou Huiguang's who works as a sales clerk in a clothing store. He then sells them on the store shelves, and they split the profits.
Although they could set up a stall in Liaojie, it would take up a lot of time and energy, and the selling price would definitely not be as high as if they were just trying to make a quick buck in a clothing store, even though they would have to give a share to that friend in the underworld and Zhou Huiguang.
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From Li Sishi's perspective, although her younger cousin's design and craftsmanship were still a bit immature, she was indeed very talented and could easily pass herself off as an unknown small brand in a clothing store.
As he walked, lost in thought, he soon arrived at the intersection opposite the clothing store Zhou Huichang had mentioned.
Li Sishi, who was waiting for the green light, could already see Zhou Huiguang talking to a young man wearing glasses on the other side of the street at the door.
Looking across the street, the four-eyed guy did look quite fair-skinned at first glance, noticeably a shade or two lighter than the others on the street. However, his thick, black-rimmed plastic glasses, messy short hair, and skinny frame really affected his appearance. Compared to Zhou Huiguang next to him, who was slightly darker and shorter but had delicate features and a well-proportioned figure, he was just an ordinary guy who would be easily lost in a crowd.
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