Chapter Thirty-Seven: Liu Rumeng, At Least You Still Have Some Conscience

Down in the audience, almost everyone had concluded that Huo Qitai was nothing more than a complete fraud.

Backstage, Xue Xiaoshan and Chang Lu were paralyzed with fear at the sight of the unfolding chaos. They were merely high school graduates; they had never encountered a situation like this before. Chang Lu, in particular, had been worried sick for the past two days. Seeing Huo Qitai cornered like this, she hated herself for being so useless and unable to help him.

She hurriedly called her father, Chang Fuyou, her voice trembling with tears. "Dad! Where are you? Huo Qitai is in trouble! You have to help him! If something happens to him, I'll face the consequences right alongside him."

"Lulu, don't panic. I've already found a solution. Help is on the way."

Chang Fuyou had been rushing around, pulling strings to find a current student or graduate from Peking University to save the day. However, before he could arrive at the venue with his reinforcements, Huo Qitai had already been exposed, sparking a wave of public outrage.

"Hmph! Huo Qitai, let's see how you get out of this one," Zhang Ting thought, gloating as she assumed Huo Qitai was finished.

Suddenly, Liu Ruyu walked onto the stage in a white dress.

"Is that... Mengmeng? Wasn't she traveling with her friends from America? Why is she here?" Zhang Ting paused, then speculated, "She must be here to expose Huo Qitai too! Who told him to use her name to scam people?"

"That’s... the girl from the Sibao Restaurant that day, Liu Rumeng! Why is she here? Is she here to support Huo Qitai?" Lin Yan felt a sinking premonition, staring at Liu Rumeng with undisguised jealousy. She possessed talent, beauty, and an enviable family background—the very life Lin Yan dreamed of.

Huo Qitai was equally surprised by Liu Ruyu's appearance. According to his memories of his past life, she should have been traveling during this summer break, first within the province and then across the country. He hadn't expected that his attempt to earn his first bucket of gold through a seminar would bring her back.

"She has such a kind heart in this lifetime. Why was she so cruel and dismissive of me in the last one?" Huo Qitai watched her walk gracefully toward him, confirming the red mole on her neck.

The rowdy crowd gradually fell silent as they saw the ethereal girl step onto the stage. Many students from the First High School recognized her immediately.

"It's Liu Rumeng! The beauty and top student from our class who ranked in the top ten in the province for science."

"I was just wondering if she was the one actually meant to give this lecture, and now she’s here..."

"If Liu Rumeng is sharing her study methods, then it's worth it. What is this Huo Qitai even worth? His grades aren't even as good as mine."

Liu Ruyu, drawing the attention of the entire room, showed no signs of panic or nervousness. She walked up to Huo Qitai, gave him a faint smile, and said calmly, "Could you move aside? I’d like to check my college entrance exam admission results."

Today just happened to be the day the admission results for the first batch of undergraduate programs in Fujian Province were released. The portal opened at exactly two o'clock. In front of everyone, Liu Ruyu logged into the query page using the computer Huo Qitai had been using for his presentation, entering her admission ticket number and password.

All of these actions were projected onto the large screen behind the stage.

When Liu Ruyu clicked "Confirm," the page lagged for two seconds before displaying the results: Peking University, School of Foreign Languages, Department of English.

The crowd erupted into a roar.

"Wow! She really got into Peking University! Liu Rumeng is incredible."

"She ranked tenth in the entire province! Of course she’d get into Peking University if she applied. But seeing the results with my own eyes, I’m so excited! I really hope I can get into Peking University next year!"

"Could it be that Liu Rumeng is the real star of today's lecture? I heard she was first in her class for all three years at Jian'an First High School, always leading the runner-up by dozens of points. I want to learn her study methods."

"It seems Huo Qitai wasn't running a scam; maybe he just didn't explain things clearly? This seminar might actually have some real substance after all."

With the admission results displayed for all to see, Liu Ruyu didn't need to offer a single word of explanation. The crowd's frustration and resentment over being "scammed" instantly dissipated.

Principal Wang Yuanhua of the First High School, sitting in the middle of the third row, breathed a sigh of relief. He thought to himself, "I knew it! Liu Rumeng would definitely show up. It would be impossible for Huo Qitai to be so bold as to host a seminar and sell tickets using the reputation of a Peking University student without her backing. It seems these two young people haven't really broken up after all."

Beside him sat Director Zhong from the Education Bureau, who smiled and offered his congratulations. "Principal Wang! Two years later, the First High School has produced another Peking University student. This is a testament to your leadership, and our Education Bureau shares in the glory!" He then pointed at Huo Qitai on stage and added, "The host you found earlier wasn't very articulate; he nearly caused a huge misunderstanding. Since we have top students like Liu Rumeng who can make it into Peking University, we should host more seminars like this to pass on their wisdom to other students!"

Backstage, Chang Lu, who had been on the verge of tears, felt a massive weight lift off her shoulders as she watched Liu Ruyu step in to save the situation.

"Liu Rumeng, I suppose you have a conscience after all." Chang Lu had been involved in the marketing of the seminar and knew full well that Liu Rumeng had no prior involvement; she must have rushed over at the last minute.

Just then, Chang Fuyou arrived late with a bespectacled young man in tow. "Lulu, how is the situation inside? When I was at the entrance, I heard shouting about scams and refunds. Why is it so quiet now that we've come in?"

Chang Fuyou caught his breath and introduced the young man. "It took all my effort to find Zhang Shengwu. He was our province's top-scoring science student in 2008. I drove him here overnight..."

"Dad! You're the best." Chang Lu hugged her father, moved. "It's a good thing Liu Rumeng came to save the day, but since we're hosting this at our hotel, we should show them our strength. Dad, why don't you and the senior go up on stage and make an appearance?"

"Good idea! Since we've already invited the top scorer, we might as well."

Chang Fuyou nodded and walked out from backstage with Zhang Shengwu.

"Huh?" Huo Qitai was taken aback by their appearance. He hadn't arranged this! The man Chang Fuyou brought had the look of a quintessential academic and tech geek, and he looked strangely familiar.

Thanks to the enhanced memory from his rebirth, Huo Qitai quickly recalled who he was. Zhang Shengwu was the 2008 science top scorer. After graduating from Peking University, he became a nationally renowned full-stack engineer—a true technical genius. He had served as CTO for several startups; although most had failed, his technical skills were top-tier in the industry. In a later venture, Huo Qitai had even used his hometown connections to seek Zhang’s help in architectural guidance for an app.

He never imagined that Uncle Chang would bring this legend here just to help him out.