☆, Chapter 23: Refuting Rumors
Because she had Hao Weiguo’s support, Hao Yi eventually stayed at Hao Ren’s place. Auntie Mei was so angry she gritted her teeth, but since her husband had already spoken, she could only accept the reality with grief and indignation.
Perhaps she really wasn’t at ease entrusting her son to Hao Ren. She would occasionally come to Xiaoshan Villa for a look, which annoyed Hao Ren to no end. In the end, she had no choice but to have the snakes on the mountain collectively give her a good scare to get rid of her harassment. Thanks to the previous scare from the Burmese python, although Auntie Mei was terrified, no one believed her words, only thinking that it was a psychological shadow left by the python. After all, the sight of hundreds of snakes blocking the door was indeed too much like a hallucination.
Without Auntie Mei’s harassment, Hao Ren’s life was simply blissful.
Because the King had moved, the small animals no longer had to run to the city, and the various conflicts between humans and animals on TV were no more. The place was big enough, so the old, weak, sick, and disabled no longer had to sleep in the garden, and Hao Ren no longer had to worry about having no place to put the offerings from the small animals. Originally, to save money, she had planned to eat instant noodles for more than two months, but because of Hao Yi’s appearance, her meals were so good that she could hardly believe it.
That guy Hao Yi seemed to enjoy cooking for others. Not only did he take care of their dinner, but he even got up every morning to make breakfast. And it was the kind that varied according to online recipes. Hao Ren even began to suspect that she had gone to heaven. Not to be outdone by Hao Yi, Hao Ren tried to start making her own lunch. Perhaps the people of the Hao family had a good talent for cooking; the things she made were quite delicious, and even Daizi and the others praised them endlessly.
After Hao Ren and Hao Yi moved, the one who was most unhappy besides Auntie Mei was Mantou. It had wanted to come along, but Auntie Mei had just lost her son, so how could she allow even the newly adopted dog to abandon her? Mantou had jumped into the car several times to try to sneak away, but she had forcefully pulled it down each time, causing it to whimper in frustration.
Hao Ren’s decision to hide in Xiaoshan Villa was definitely the right one. The news about her on the internet was getting hotter and hotter, with no signs of calming down. According to Hao Weiguo, several groups of reporters had come to the Hao residence during this time. If Hao Ren hadn’t moved out, she would have definitely been cornered by them.
Because of the instigation of some people with ulterior motives, the doubts about her English scores on the internet had never ceased, and the rumors of cheating were becoming more and more intense.
Hao Weiguo was still counting on making his daughter famous so he could sell her for a good price in the future. How could he let such groundless slander ruin his daughter’s future? He immediately contacted the reporter who had interviewed her before and expressed his hope for an exclusive interview with his daughter to refute the rumors.
With so many people squatting at the Hao residence hoping to get the latest news about the top scorer sister, the TV station agreed without a second thought upon receiving the news.
Hao Ren had originally not intended to respond directly, but now that things had escalated to this point, she also understood the seriousness of the matter. If she didn’t respond, she might be seen as having a guilty conscience. Although it was satisfying to see Hao Weiguo’s angry and frustrated look, since it concerned her own future and reputation, she couldn’t refuse this exclusive interview no matter what.
Fearing that Hao Ren would not be used to it, the location of the exclusive interview was still in Hao Yi’s room from before. Hao Weiguo had definitely decorated it carefully. Not only had the bedsheets been changed to pink, but there were even a few teddy bears on the bed. Compared to before, it looked more like a girl’s room.
The one who came for the interview was still the handsome anchor from before. Just as Hao Ren was about to go over and greet him, his first sentence made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
“Your dad asked me to use English for the interview later. Do you have a problem with that?”
Hao Ren was stunned on the spot by this sudden blow. The handsome anchor had a background of studying abroad, so of course, his English was not a problem. But Hao Ren was an English failure. Asking her to speak English was more painful than killing her. To have someone interview her directly in English, Hao Weiguo really had confidence in her.
Just as Hao Ren was struggling, she suddenly saw Lucky, not far away, winking at her.
“I’ll say a sentence, you follow along!” After speaking, it walked over with an elegant cat-like gait and jumped into Hao Ren’s arms.
Because of the excellent performance of Daizi and Mantou before, Hao Weiguo had specially brought back Hao Ren’s large group of animal friends. Although Lucky was a purebred famous cat, it was also among them. Originally, it was to continue to curry favor with Hao Ren, but unexpectedly, it had saved Hao Ren’s life.
“No problem!” With Lucky’s guarantee, Hao Ren’s brows instantly relaxed.
As expected of a returnee, the handsome anchor spoke fluent American English at a speed that was the same as when he spoke Chinese, which made Hao Ren feel impressed without understanding. Throughout the whole process, she only understood the first sentence. Fortunately, she had Lucky by her side to translate for her. Otherwise, Hao Ren felt that she would have definitely died today.
“Lucky, you’re awesome! Simultaneous interpretation!” As the anchor spoke, Lucky translated. By the time the anchor finished speaking, it had also almost finished translating.
“Concentrate, repeat after me, one word at a time!” Lucky completely ignored Hao Ren’s surprise, its expression serious and ready.
As soon as its words fell, English words began to pop up in Hao Ren’s mind one after another for no reason. Hao Ren quickly concentrated and, like a parrot learning to speak, recited the sentences in her mind one by one.
Lucky was indeed a purebred British cat; its pronunciation was a standard London accent. As soon as Hao Ren’s voice sounded in the room, the anchor immediately showed a look of amazement.
“Have you ever lived abroad?”
“No, I have a British teacher.” Hao Ren didn’t know how Lucky did it, but with every sentence she spoke, she could clearly understand the meaning of her own words.
“Since your English is so good, why have you never passed an English exam?”
“A tall tree attracts the wind. The rampant slander on the internet is the best proof. My dad taught me to be low-key. Making a fortune in silence is the way to go. The high school curriculum is so tight. If you want to be a prominent figure, do it in university!” This guy Lucky was really a clever ghost. These few sentences not only fiercely counterattacked the previous cheating rumors on the internet, but they also beautifully flattered Hao Weiguo. The phrase “a tall tree attracts the wind” couldn’t be more perfect. She never thought that the English she had always despised could express such a complex meaning.
After secretly admiring Lucky, a smile appeared on Hao Ren’s face. The previous feeling of unease and guilt also gradually dissipated.
The rest of the interview went very smoothly. American English versus a London accent, one question and one answer, exceptionally fluent. That guy Lucky even interspersed a few funny jokes from time to time, which made the handsome anchor laugh repeatedly. Perhaps the conversation was too high, the anchor even accidentally let slip a dirty joke. He himself blushed after saying it.
Lucky still remembered that it was representing a girl now and managed to hold back from continuing the topic.
By the end of the interview, the anchor, who already had a good impression of Hao Ren, had completely regarded her as a confidante. It couldn’t be blamed on him. The room was Hao Yi’s room, and the one he was chatting with was a male cat. Of course, boys would have more common topics with each other.
“Your cat is sleeping so soundly!” The anchor couldn’t possibly have imagined that the cat in Hao Ren’s arms was the one he had just had such a pleasant conversation with.
“This one is a lazy worm, it can fall asleep anywhere!” Although she said this, Hao Ren silently apologized to Lucky in her heart. It’s not lazy, it’s just exhausted…
“Simultaneous interpretation is simply not a job for humans!” Before falling asleep, a certain cat complained fiercely to Hao Ren.
“You’re not a human to begin with.” Hao Ren silently retorted in her heart. She never thought that in just a moment, that guy would have already fallen asleep in her arms.
After the interview, Hao Weiguo had the cameraman film a scene of his daughter getting along harmoniously with the small animals before he let them go, still wanting more.
“Daughter! Well done!” Looking at Hao Weiguo’s beaming face, he was so happy he was about to fly.
He couldn’t help but be happy. As long as this interview was broadcast, the rumors on the internet would be self-defeating. The previous cheating scandal would not only not affect Hao Ren’s reputation, but it would also push her fame even higher. The higher the fame, the more benefits he could expect in the future!
The cheating rumors also had a significant impact on the school. After the interview, the happy Hao Weiguo waved his hand and had the school directly release Hao Ren’s high school transcripts for all three years. Hao Ren’s transcripts, except for English, showed that her scores in other subjects were those of a standard top student. With the previous interview, the poor English scores on the transcript would not only not be a fatal flaw, but they would also become evidence of someone playing the pig to eat the tiger.
“Hao Ren, you’re something else! You’ve hidden it so well!” Sure enough, when Hao Weiguo went to greet the school officials, Hao Ren’s homeroom teacher couldn’t help but tease her.
Faced with her homeroom teacher’s teasing, Hao Ren was very embarrassed. When the scores first came out, the homeroom teacher had even specially called her and said that if she had any problems with tuition, he would take care of everything.
Because this homeroom teacher had been transferred here later, he had never seen the name of Hao Ren’s father on her file and had always thought that Hao Ren was a hardworking and motivated poor student. He even admired such a self-reliant girl. At that time, there was a subsidy quota for poor students in the class, and he had almost reported Hao Ren for it. Fortunately, Hao Ren had discovered it in time and stopped him. If Hao Weiguo had found out about this, he would have beaten her to death.
In fact, Hao Ren also wanted to explain the truth to her homeroom teacher, but family shame should not be aired in public. If she really told him, even if Hao Weiguo didn’t beat her to death, he would definitely be furious. So, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the accusation of pretending.
After the cheating scandal subsided, various famous universities began to call the Hao residence again, trying to recruit Hao Ren. Perhaps feeling a sense of crisis, as soon as that episode of the program was broadcast, Imperial University directly issued a statement, saying that Hao Ren had already chosen Imperial University, completely cutting off the other schools’ hopes of poaching her.
As a top university in the country, its advertising sense was naturally not bad. That day, it directly put up Hao Ren’s photo on its admissions website, using her as a living advertisement for this year’s admissions.
Hao Ren didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She had a premonition that her university life would definitely not be boring.