The Master’s Mask Unveiled Again
Chapter 830 - 829: Battle of the Deans

Chapter 830: Chapter 829: Battle of the Deans

Pu Jing couldn’t help but chuckle. In Jinjing, having money doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

MM Ji Restaurant is located in the best commercial district of Jinjing, on the prime first floor of a Hengzhong Real Estate property. To secure such a storefront...

"It’s not a matter of rent. You need money, influence, and connections—none can be lacking."

Lu Xinnuan’s heart skipped a beat.

From Pu Jing’s tone, she truly felt that it was beyond what she could imagine at the moment.

"Jinjing is a complex web of various powers, with many family conglomerates. Once you truly enter this circle, you’ll slowly understand. Until then, you need to learn to observe more, do more, and talk less," Pu Jing said meaningfully.

Lu Xinnuan nodded obediently, "Pu Jing, actually opening a restaurant like this should be no problem for you, right?"

Pu Jing knew what Lu Xinnuan was probing, and his posture slightly relaxed as he did not shy away from telling her these things.

"Even without producing any work for so many years, I still have a place in the music scene. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because, behind our Pu family, there’s the support of a first-tier family."

"Teacher, what does a first-tier family mean?"

"It means..." Pu Jing smiled confidently, not saying which family, and casually remarked, "Aside from the three Supreme Clans, we can pretty much do as we please in Jinjing. However, it’s rare to come across people from the Supreme Clans."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xinnuan looked at Pu Jing with eyes full of admiration and eagerness. She hadn’t expected that by sheer coincidence, she had found such powerful support!

She patiently calculated the resources and connections she had in hand.

Pu Jing was her music mentor and also a teacher at the Beijing University Music Department, her cousin Lu Xi had a good relationship with Sheng Qinglin, the president of Beijing University, plus her cousin was now cooperating with Sufeng Game Company, which was backed by the Xiu Family.

Her future in Jinjing was bound to be limitless.

With aspirations for the future, Lu Xinnuan followed Pu Jing to the scheduled interview location.

It was an elegant coffee shop.

All sorts of equipment were set up, and reporters and photographers were ready.

Lu Xinnuan greeted everyone politely.

The recording officially began.

Lu Xinnuan sat in front of the camera, summoning her sweetest smile.

The focus of the interview was mainly on Lu Xinnuan’s college entrance examination score. As an arts student scoring 589 points, she definitely belonged to the high-scoring academic elites of the entertainment industry, also making it a topical and reality-based popular discussion.

Lu Xinnuan was confident about her academic scores. With a strong foundation and genuine knowledge, even if she played the role of an academic prodigy, she could handle it with ease.

She sat there, quietly waiting for the reporter to lead the process.

Somehow, she felt a keen sense of eagerness and excitement in the eyes of the reporter opposite her.

Lu Xinnuan’s expression grew even more confident.

The reporter, doubling as the host, simply asked her to introduce herself. Before Lu Xinnuan could say much more, the reporter asked, "Miss Lu Xinnuan, may I ask how you are feeling right now?"

"..."

Lu Xinnuan held her breath and smiled modestly.

"Actually, it’s quite alright. I’ve always persisted, and the performance I’m most satisfied with will come next time. The college entrance exam is not the end of testing but a new beginning. I will work even harder."

After Lu Xinnuan finished speaking, the reporter obviously paused.

"Do you have anything you’d like to say to this year’s top scorer in the college entrance examination?" the reporter continued to ask.

"...Of course to congratulate her," Lu Xinnuan didn’t understand why the reporter suddenly asked this question.

What did the top scorer in the college entrance exam have to do with her? Why waste her interview opportunity on such an irrelevant topic?

But in front of the camera, Lu Xinnuan had to appear generous and appropriate, and she said with positive energy, "She is an example for everyone! But I have no chance to surpass her, so to all the juniors and underclassmen, keep it up, you still have a chance!"

The reporter incredulously smiled, "Miss Xinnuan is really joking, your sister’s college entrance exam score of 789 points is not easily surpassed...."

To surpass Lu Mian, one would have to get a perfect score and then add another 40 points.

As the reporter naturally spoke, Lu Xinnuan felt as if she were standing in the cold winter days, doused with a bucket of cold water over her head, frozen in place.

"What?" she mumbled a question unclearly.

The reporter’s gaze grew more eager, "That’s your sister Lu Mian with a score of 789 points in the college entrance exam! We finally managed to find out her name, and to think she is your sister. Since we can’t invite Lu Mian for an interview, as her younger sister, please share with everyone a bit more about Miss Mian...."

Lu Xinnuan stared blankly as the reporter’s mouth opened and closed, her mind feeling as if it had exploded, unable to clearly hear what the other person was saying.

Lu Mian scored 789 points?

Lu Mian won the national top science scorer?

It was because of Lu Mian that she received this exclusive interview....

----

These past few days, Lu Mian had received quite a few phone calls.

They were mostly from teachers at various prestigious universities, inviting her to apply to their schools.

Qing University, Beijing University, Hai University, and other famous institutions employed all their ingenuity, their recruitment pitches sounding as aggressive as a shopping mall’s sales drive.

Even universities like the Police Academy sent Lu Mian sincere invitations, saying that she had helped Wucheng solve so many cases and would be an excellent candidate for their program.

Lu Mian casually declined each offer, in the end settling on Qing University’s application process.

She had initially intended to copy Sui Yuan’s college entrance choices, but Little Baldy sternly warned her against plagiarism, so Lu Mian sullenly made her own selections.

Many people had called her these past days, she recalled carefully.

There was Kang Hongbin, the dean of the Physics department, the dean of the Medical College introduced by Grandpa Ye Zhongjing, the dean of the Biomedical Engineering College introduced by team leader Pan Jiancheng, and the Music Department professor introduced by her uncle Fu Yu, along with a few deans who showed up uninvited....

Despite having so many options, Lu Mian wasn’t very conflicted and swiftly filled in her preferences, clicking submit.

Just fill in anything for now, and choose a second major later.

Qing University’s office.

This year, the focus of all deans was on Lu Mian, the extraordinary college entrance examinee. Once they learned she was applying to Qing University, the deans were overjoyed, shedding tears of happiness and immediately shared this good news with their "plastic brother" Beijing University.

Beijing University had lost its chance to compete.

What remained was the internal competition between each department and major within Qing University.

Kang Hongbin, the dean of the Physics department, argued tenaciously, "Lu Mian got a full score in the physics competition; it would be a waste of talent if she doesn’t study physics!"

The dean of the Medical College, Hu Chunyu, looked down on him, "If she wanted to apply for the Physics major, she would have accepted the direct admissions offer earlier, wouldn’t she? So, she must prefer Medical Studies the most. Don’t delay Lu Mian if you don’t understand!"

He was introduced by Ye Zhongjing and due to the confidentiality agreement, Zhongjing couldn’t say much directly. But Hu Chunyu understood, Lu Mian must be skilled in this field for senior Ye to recommend her this strongly.