228: Chapter 228 Homecoming in Glory or a Social Disaster?

Six-thirty in the morning,

before the cicadas of Jiangcheng could even start their buzzing, a grand aroma already permeated the dining room of the Lin family home in Xisheng Mansion.

Lin Que walked out of the bedroom with his hair in a bit of a mess,

and the moment his gaze landed on the dining table, his footsteps came to a sudden halt.

The dining table, which should have held soy milk, fried dough sticks, and fried eggs, was now packed to the brim.

In the very center was a clay pot of seafood porridge, still bubbling away,

to the left were translucent Cantonese-style shrimp dumplings,

and to the right was a large platter of soy-braised beef, sliced into even pieces,

there was even a steamer of freshly made, piping hot crab roe buns.

"Son, you're up? Come quick, eat while it's hot!"

Ms. Wang Xiulian rushed out of the kitchen wearing an apron,

holding a plate of washed, imported Shine Muscat grapes.

Her face was glowing with joy, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were crinkled with laughter.

Comrade Lin Jianguo, sitting in the seat of honor, wasn't idle either.

While staring at the morning news on the wall-mounted TV, he was peeling a free-range egg with extreme solemnity.

"Dad, Mom..."

Lin Que pulled out a chair and sat down, his lips twitching slightly as he looked at this extraordinary spread of breakfast.

"Eating something so greasy this early in the morning, can my stomach even handle it?"

"How can you call this greasy? This is called nutrition!"

Wang Xiulian stuffed a pair of chopsticks into Lin Que's hand,

"This is your first breakfast back; it has to be sumptuous.

Hurry up and eat. Only when you're full will you have the energy to go to school and receive your praise."

Lin Jianguo placed the perfectly peeled egg into Lin Que's bowl and cleared his throat,

unable to suppress the upward curve of his lips:

"Exactly, eat more.

I just saw it on the news; you've brought glory to our province this time.

What do you call this? This is called bringing honor to the ancestors! What's wrong with having a sumptuous breakfast?"

Helpless, Lin Que could only endure the nearly scorching, affectionate gazes of his parents,

and braced himself to start finishing off this "heavy" breakfast made of love.

Twenty minutes later, Lin Que put down his chopsticks, feeling as though the food had reached the top of his throat.

"I'm heading to school."

He grabbed his backpack and prepared to slip out.

"Wait!"

Lin Jianguo suddenly stood up, grabbed the car keys off the coffee table, and said excitedly:

"Dad will drive you! I specifically washed and waxed the car last night; it's so shiny you could use it as a mirror.

Today, we must enter the school gates with great fanfare!"

Lin Que imagined the scene:

A gleaming sedan pulling up at the school entrance,

and him stepping out and waving like a leader under the watchful eyes of all the teachers and students... The scene was too "beautiful" to behold.

"Don't!"

Lin Que refused decisively, making up an excuse while changing his shoes,

"I ate too much; I need to walk it off, or I might get car sick.

Besides, the road in front of the school is bound to be congested right now; it'll be faster if I walk."

Having said that, without giving Lin Jianguo any chance to argue,

Lin Que pushed open the door and ducked into the elevator as if escaping.

Stepping out of the residential complex, a wave of heat hit him.

Lin Que had deliberately changed back into his loose, short-sleeved summer school uniform,

completely concealing the sharp edge that belonged to Jian Shen and the Dream Weaver.

He bought a bottle of ice-cold water at a roadside convenience store and pressed it against his face to cool down,

and even squatted in the shade of a tree for a while to play with a fearless orange cat, intentionally killing time.

He really didn't want to face the scene of being gawked at like a giant panda.

However,

you can hide for a while, but not forever.

When Lin Que leisurely strolled to the gates of Jiangcheng No. 1 High School, he still froze.

Right above the school gate hung a brand-new, giant banner with gold letters on a red background,

[Warmly congratulating our school's Student Lin Que for winning the Fu Zhi Yao National Championship! unrivaled national scholar!]

Especially those last four words, "unrivaled national scholar,"

were written in a bold calligraphy font, exuding a sense of rustic dominance.

There were even two large "thumbs up" emojis next to it, clearly a product of some leader's unique aesthetic.

Lin Que placed a hand over his forehead, feeling a wave of social death.

He hoisted his backpack higher, attempting to cover half his face, and lowered his head, trying to pass through quickly.

"Oh! Our Jiangcheng's top scholar is here!"

The window of the security office slid open with a clatter,

and the security guard uncle, who usually did nothing but watch the incoming and outgoing vehicles while holding his health-conscious thermos,

leaned halfway out. He banged his stainless steel cup lid against the railing with a series of loud thuds.

"Student Lin, congratulations! I watched the awards ceremony livestream too; you've really brought honor to our school!"

This shout was even more effective than the school bell.

The students and teachers who were rushing along nearby were instantly frozen as if a pause button had been pressed, and dozens of gazes converged on him all at once.

"Is that Lin Que?"

"In the flesh! It's really him!"

"Quick, take a picture! Let's get some of his good luck!"

Lin Que could only nod awkwardly yet politely at the security guard,

and then, as if his feet were greased, he dashed through the school gates at the speed of a competitive walker.

As he entered the teaching building, the feeling of being gawked at didn't diminish; instead, it grew even stronger.

The corridors were unusually quiet, with only the rhythmic sound of students reading aloud coming from various classrooms.

But as Lin Que passed by, those reading sounds became like a radio with a poor connection, experiencing extremely subtle pauses.

"Look, look! The one at the door... is that Lin Que?"

"It's him, it's definitely him!"

"Sigh, he's so handsome and talented..."

...The air seemed to crackle with electricity, and whispers followed him like shadows.

Countless gazes were cast upon him through the cracks in the windows and the glass on the doors.

Lin Que walked to the back door of Class 3, Grade 11, and took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself.

As long as he didn't look up and acted like nothing happened, he should be able to blend in.

He reached out and pushed the door open.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three muffled explosions went off the moment he stepped into the classroom.

Following the pops, cheap plastic streamers and sequins rained down on him,

some hanging from his ears, others slipping into his collar.

Lin Que was instantly and involuntarily cosplaying as a walking ball of confetti.

"Welcome back, Brother Que! Returning! Home! In! Glory—!!"

His deskmate, Wu Di, was standing on a desk,

holding the remains of a party popper, his expression more excited than if he had won the lottery himself.

Immediately after, the entire class swarmed around him as if they had rehearsed it long ago.

The once-quiet morning self-study session instantly transformed into a large-scale fan meeting,

and the cheers even drowned out the reading from the neighboring class.

"Brother Que, you're awesome! A 28-hour speedrun of the national finals, you are my god!"

"Lin Que, give me an autograph! Sign it on my uniform; I'm never washing it again!"

"Me too, me too! Don't forget us when you're rich and famous!"

...The massive commotion made it impossible for the neighboring classes to study.

The hallway windows were instantly crowded with heads, everyone craning their necks,

wanting to catch a glimpse of the legendary "national team player."

Standing in the center of the crowd, Lin Que helplessly brushed the streamers off his head,

a sense of exhaustion from being "forced to perform" welled up within him.

He finally managed to squeeze through the crowd and return to his seat.

Before his seat was even warm, Wu Di threw an arm around his shoulders, his eyes sparkling with gossip.

"Brother Que! Tell us, what does it feel like to be the champion? Have any big brands asked you for endorsements?"

"Should we call you Teacher Lin from now on?"

The surrounding students also chimed in, asking about the details of the capital and the awards ceremony,

some even brought out brand-new notebooks, waiting expectantly.

Faced with Wu Di's rapid-fire questions, Lin Que didn't answer.

He unhurriedly put down his backpack and pulled out a Chinese textbook.

Then, he pointed at the clock on the wall.

"No feeling, no endorsements."

Lin Que's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a calm indifference to worldly affairs:

"As for now... it's morning self-study time; the champion trial card has expired.

If we don't start reciting, we'll all be standing in the hallway when Old Shen arrives."

"Psh—"

The whole class let out a collective boo, followed immediately by a burst of laughter.

The sense of distance created by the difference in status instantly vanished with that one joke.

Everyone realized that even after winning the championship,

Lin Que was still the same Lin Que—a high school student who worried about being made to stand in the hallway by Old Shen.

Just as the scene was about to spiral out of control again, a cold cough came from the front door.

"Ahem."

The sound was extremely piercing.

The noisy classroom went silent instantly.

Shen Qingqiu stood at the door, holding her lesson plans.

With her hair tied back, she still looked like the same vigorous and resolute class advisor.

Although she kept a straight face, a faint, lingering smile was hidden in the corners of her eyes and brows.

"What are you all crowding around for? Don't you need to take the College Entrance Examination? Or do you think you can win a national award too?"

Shen Qingqiu's gaze swept across the room, finally landing on Lin Que, who was covered in streamers like a colorful rooster.

Rarely did she scold him; instead, she raised an eyebrow and teased:

"Lin Que, clean yourself up.

Even if you're the champion, if you fail your recitations, you'll still have to stand during class."

The class let out another round of good-natured chuckles and obediently returned to their seats.

Lin Que shrugged and began cleaning the sequins off himself, enjoying this long-lost simplicity and order of the campus.

Shen Qingqiu walked up to the podium and set down her lesson plans, not in a hurry to start the morning reading.

Her expression grew a bit more serious, and she lightly tapped the blackboard with her finger.

"Alright, the celebrations end here."

Shen Qingqiu's gaze sharpened as she scanned the class:

"The news regarding the premium selection works of the Fu Zhi Yao competition has come out."

...