The Favored Heiress
Chapter 302: Graduation Ceremony

Chapter 302: Chapter 302: Graduation Ceremony

That evening, Li Qiao returned to the Li Family home.

Upon entering the living room and not seeing Li Guangming and Duan Shuyuan, Li Qiao asked the butler and found out that the two had gone out.

The butler said, "Madam and a few other distinguished ladies went to Lin City to relax, and the master is at a meeting in Yancheng City."

Li Qiao nodded, indicating she understood, and then went upstairs to her bedroom.

She was going to Parma the next day, and had come back to pick up some things, as well as to take the Rare Gold Diamond Card given to her by Shang Zonghai.

Although she had never been to that mysterious country, Li Qiao had heard a great deal about it.

It is said that half of Parma’s permanent population are natives, each wealthy enough to rival a nation.

And because the local mineral resources are extremely rich, to protect the interests of the local residents, outsiders are seldom allowed free access to Parma.

As a result, for a long time, Parma was known for its mystery.

In her bedroom, Li Qiao looked at the Rare Gold Diamond Card in her hand; it was such a card that allowed her to freely enter and exit Parma without any restrictions.

One can imagine the status of Shang’s family that possesses a diamond card, likely towering above tens of thousands.

Li Qiao, with the diamond card and various documents in hand, and after simply packing a few clothes, took less than half an hour to come down the stairs with a dark green leather suitcase.

The busy butler, upon seeing the small suitcase in her hand, paused for a second, "Miss, are you going out?"

"Yes, I’m going away for a few days on short notice," Li Qiao replied indifferently.

Seeing she did not wish to elaborate, the butler couldn’t help asking again, "Where are you going? Do you need me to arrange a plane or high-speed train for you?"

"No need," Li Qiao took two steps dragging her suitcase, then turned back to instruct the butler, "If my parents ask about me, tell them I’m on a sudden business trip and that I’ll probably be back in about ten days."

"Okay, be safe, Miss."

...

The next day, Friday, early morning at seven o’clock.

Li Qiao drove to South Sea Medical University, as today was the school’s graduation ceremony.

She parked the car, and just as she pulled open the door, her mobile phone received a message.

It was from Guan Mingyu, short and sweet but brimming with excitement.

Guan Mingyu: Miss Li, I scored 672 points on the college entrance examination. ^_^

This score was indeed very high.

Li Qiao, seeing the simple emoticon at the end of the message, pursed her lips and replied with a thumbs up.

After getting out of the car, Li Qiao put on her sunglasses and walked calmly towards the university auditorium.

It was not yet eight in the morning, and the grand auditorium’s entrance was already filled with a number of senior students.

Each one was dressed in a cap and gown, symbols of status and the culmination of an era.

In the crowd, Tang Yiting was tiptoeing around, and finally caught sight of Li Qiao, hurriedly ran over holding a graduation gown, "Ancestor, you finally arrived. Here, I’ve collected your gown and cap for you, let’s find a place for you to change."

Li Qiao took them, and looked around through her sunglasses, "How long will today’s ceremony likely be?"

Tang Yiting shook her head, "Don’t know, according to past years’ schedule, it’s about two hours. But I just heard that this year it seems that they’ve invited alumni of honor as guests, there will also be a speech section.

I saw the president and Director Duan dressed in formal attire, seeming to take it very seriously, so it might take even longer. Why, do you have something else?"

As they talked, Li Qiao didn’t hesitate to slip the graduation gown over her clothes, then fiddling with the tassel on the cap, she grimaced slightly, "It’s nothing."

Such ceremonies were more about form than substance; she attended merely to avoid regrets, however, she genuinely didn’t like these noisy, ostentatious events.

At eight ten, all the prospective graduates entered the auditorium, with the ceremony set to begin promptly at eight thirty.

Li Qiao and Tang Yiting majored in different fields, so they were seated quite far from each other.

The graduates from the Department of Biological Engineering numbered less than a hundred, and a part of them, it was said, had to postpone their graduation because they hadn’t met the graduation standards.

As the most prestigious students in the biological cell engineering major at South Sea Medical University, all were arranged to sit in the front rows of the auditorium.

Li Qiao was placed right in the second row below the platform, a superior position offering an excellent view of the ceremony.

To her left and right were, respectively, the most handsome guy in the department and the class president, both sitting upright, ostensibly looking forward, but their sidelong glances kept stealing looks at Li Qiao.

As time passed, the auditorium, spanning thousands of square feet, also filled up with people.

The university leaders hadn’t taken the stage yet, and below it was a cacophony of noisy, chaotic voices.

At that moment, someone patted Li Qiao on the shoulder from behind.

She turned around indifferently, and a pink gift bag was handed over, "Li, Li Qiao, this was passed forward from the back, saying it’s for you."

Li Qiao raised an eyebrow, eyeing the brand name on the gift bag, and pushed it back with the back of her hand, "It’s not mine, please pass it back."

"Huh?" The female student was taken aback. That was a luxury gift bag from the L brand—someone had specifically sent it to her, and she was actually refusing it?

Without surprise or delight, Li Qiao looked towards the back and held her head high, "Please pass it back, thank you."

It was baffling.

Students in university hardly ever tried to woo with love letters anymore.

Those with deep pockets didn’t hesitate to lavish gifts, like perfume or luxury watches.

That gift bag from before was from the L brand’s watch collection.

Over the past four years, Li Qiao had been practically immune to the opposite sex on campus.

But on the day of the graduation ceremony, she probably didn’t anticipate that there were even more "surprises" waiting for her.

...

At eight twenty-five, two hosts from the campus literary and arts department had already taken to the stage.

After a screech of feedback from the microphone, the noisy whispers in the auditorium gradually subsided.

However, the ten distinguished guest seats in the front row just below the platform, particularly the two center seats, remained conspicuously empty.

Soon after, university leaders and Duan Yuanhui and others took their places on stage one after another.

The two hosts approached the president, gestured toward the front row of distinguished guest seats, and seemed to be discussing something.

With the time approaching half-past eight, and the graduation ceremony still not started, the students below couldn’t help but whisper amongst themselves.

"What’s going on? The central VIP seats have been empty for a while; could it be that the alumni representatives scheduled to watch the ceremony won’t come?"

"Who knows. Hey, look, the president has started making a call."

"What’s this, being late for the graduation ceremony? I wonder if this year’s alumni representatives are up to par."

The murmurs grew louder, almost drowning out the sound of the auditorium’s double doors swinging open at the rear.

At that moment, the president, who was making a call, turned towards the sound and immediately brightened up.

He pocketed his phone, skirted past the hosts, and strode down the steps.

In this instant, all the students and various leaders turned their heads to look.

As if on cue, the alumni representatives in the front VIP seats all rose, and the university leaders on the platform followed suit.

Li Qiao glanced over nonchalantly, her gaze freezing at that moment.

At the back of the auditorium, sunlight poured through the wooden double doors, casting a dazzling whiteness on the floor.

Two figures walked in from outside against the backlight, just as the time reached half-past eight.

Greeted by countless watching eyes, the president welcomed them warmly, "You two have finally arrived; please come inside, come inside."