Some teachers even suggested creating a special dining area exclusively for top students like Jiang Cai’Er, but the idea was dropped due to concerns about sensitive parents and potential online backlash.
Li Xiang had spoken with the school and obtained permission to livestream and record the event. He also brought Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, Lei Xiaohui, and Lei Xiaonan to manage the operation.
In addition, various invited media outlets and the school’s own official account were also livestreaming the event.
The coming-of-age ceremony was rich with ritual, beginning with the "Changing of Robes and Straightening of Caps."
As the oath-leader, Jiang Cai’Er was the first to receive a Plain Silk Deep Robe from the dean of students.
These were custom-made for the entire school and sponsored by Li Xiang’s team. The White Jade Belt Buckles were even engraved with the school motto: "To investigate things is to extend knowledge."
After the robes were distributed, all the students put them on right on the spot. Though the weather was a bit hot, it couldn’t dampen their excitement—they were finally becoming adults.
The students formed pairs and pinned Bronze Ginkgo Leaf Brooches on one another. Li Xiang had created these brooches using his Crystal Vein Armor. While not Extraordinary Items, they were exquisitely crafted, their delicate patterns clearly visible.
Next was "Passing the Lingxing Gate."
Eight veteran teachers stood on either side of the Imitation Confucius Temple Lingxing Gate, holding a ruler in hand. As students passed, they lightly tapped each on the shoulder, saying, "Those who pass through this gate must know to revere the will of Heaven, revere great men, and revere the words of sages."
Three of these teachers had been retired for years but were invited back for the occasion. The three white-haired educators were thrilled, since this ceremony was a new tradition—this year marked its inauguration at the county’s No. 1 High School.
When one student reached the third gate, a copy of *Five Years of National College Entrance Examination and Three Years of Simulation* accidentally fell out of their sleeve. Whoa! People nearby were in an uproar. ’This guy’s really grinding,’ they thought. ’Bringing practice questions to review even at a time like this.’
In fact, he wasn’t the only one; many students had secretly brought along study notes. The ceremony was long, and with the pep rally still to come, they knew there would be plenty of time to sneak in some studying.
The National College Entrance Examination was just around the corner, after all. Every little bit of last-minute cramming helped.
Jiang Cai’Er hadn’t brought anything.
Well, if you had to say she brought something, it would be the several drones she had launched into the sky.
There were so many drones at the event that her few, filming covertly, went unnoticed. For her, multitasking was just a basic operation.
Afterwards, there were other segments, such as the "Ablution Rite," "Dotting with Cinnabar," "Beating the Drum to Announce Ambitions," and the "Parental Gifting."
Next was the pep rally, which included speeches from various dignitaries, school leaders, a few teachers, and student representatives.
As the very top student, Jiang Cai’Er was, of course, the first student representative to take the stage.
With his young fiancée about to take the spotlight, Li Xiang, of course, had to give her a close-up.
An extreme close-up. It didn’t matter. Jiang Cai’Er wore no makeup, yet her skin was as smooth as jade. Her face, full of collagen, radiated a youthful glow without a single blemish. She was the last person who would be afraid of an extreme close-up.
Li Xiang personally piloted a hummingbird drone, hovering it at an angle above the main stage. The camera lens locked precisely onto the morning light dancing at the tips of Jiang Cai’Er’s hair. The young woman had her waist-length, raven hair styled in a low-hanging chignon, fastened with the mutton-fat jade hairpin Li Xiang had given her. She was tall and graceful, and as she walked, the intertwined lotus pattern on her skirt seemed to ripple in the wind.
"Three years of hard study have forged the sword’s keen edge; today we draw the blade to pierce the heavens." Jiang Cai’Er’s fingertips lightly tapped the microphone, and her crisp, clear voice startled the gray doves roosting on the eaves. "We are not the Lonely Brave; each of us is our own Kuafu—"
She suddenly raised a hand toward the southeast corner of the athletic field. Ten drones instantly shot into the air, trailing a holographic projection of the *Thousand-Mile River and Mountain Painting*, which slowly unfurled behind them.
Whoa. Even the school hadn’t known about this part of the show. A jolt of excitement went through the students. ’So badass,’ they thought.
As the painted scroll swept over the block of students from Senior Year, Class 1, the suspended nanoparticles suddenly reassembled into a 3D model of a chemical molecular structure.
"Just as carbon atoms can form both graphite and be forged into diamonds," Jiang Cai’Er said as her slender finger cut through the air. A graphene lattice appeared, refracting a rainbow of colors in the sunlight. "The national exam is just a topological transformation. The important thing is to maintain a stable mindset, like an sp² hybridized orbital."
A tidal wave of applause erupted, rolling in wave after wave.
Everyone had expected an ordinary speech. Who could have predicted that Jiang Cai’Er would be so inventive and put on such a show?
The live stream comments, displayed on the big screens, suddenly exploded:
@PhysicsClassRep: "I can’t! Even the study god’s metaphors are a higher-dimensional attack!"
@Hanfu Girl: "Why is it that Jiang Cai’Er looks like a goddess in the same hanfu, but when I wear it... ugh, let’s not even go there."
@Super Little Fairy: "Honestly, it’s not the clothes. It’s her figure and her face. Someone like Jiang Cai’Er could wear a tablecloth and still smoke everyone at a Paris fashion show."
@LuckyKoi: "I hereby declare her the human incarnation of the Wenqu Star!"
...
Jiang Cai’Er turned to give the principal a deep bow, then accepted the Wolf Hair brush a staff member handed her. She was actually going to perform live calligraphy.
Everyone was eager to see what she would write.
The drone camera pushed in for a close-up. On her wrist, an Ice-Cracked Green Porcelain Bracelet gleamed, complementing the deep black of the Hui Ink. The moment her brush touched the Gold-Dusted Xuan Paper, the strokes appeared simultaneously on the giant electronic screens flanking the stage:
*Goose’s Aspiration*
Beyond the Nine Heavens, my fine plumes take flight,
Why yearn for marsh weeds and the dew so clear?
The day I rise upon the whirlwind’s might,
I’ll dare to make the skies anew appear.
Just as her brush lifted from the paper, a breeze swept across the stage, curling a stray lock of hair at her temple and revealing the Pearl Earrings she’d received from Li Xiang. In the northwest corner of the athletic field, the leaves of a century-old ginkgo tree suddenly stirred without a breath of wind, fluttering down to spell out the words "Success on the Gold List."
Zhao Xueqing was sitting nearby. This was, without a doubt, the work of her Plant Superpower.
On the big screens, the live stream comments exploded:
@ElderZhang_CalligraphyAssoc: "That’s Thin Gold Script with a touch of Lady Wei’s brushwork! Her skill is enough to warrant a solo exhibition!"
@SpaceAgencyEditor: "The third line subtly matches the principles of a space station’s robotic arm. This study god is terrifyingly brilliant!"
@ADailyFoodie: "Am I the only one who noticed how serene she looked while writing? Talk about true confidence."
Li Xiang cut the camera to a wide shot, capturing the eight hundred students on the field as they simultaneously raised metal plaques engraved with their personal goals.
As the sunlight refracted off the plaques to create a cascade of light, he heard Yao Yao’s excited, trembling voice in his earpiece. "We’ve broken five million viewers! That’s more than the provincial TV station got for their New Year’s Eve gala!"
Li Xiang had once again raked in a fortune from this single livestream.
The comments continued to flood the screen:
@RebornAsAStudySlacker: "Is it too late for me to repeat a grade?"
@IntangibleHeritageInheritor: "That intertwined lotus pattern is done with Su Embroidery techniques! That dress is definitely a custom piece!"
Only then did everyone realize that while the other students’ dresses were printed, only Jiang Cai’Er’s was actually embroidered.
@AstrologyBlogger: "With Venus in conjunction and Mercury retrograde ending, this poem is definitely going to be on the national exam’s essay section!"
As she took her bow, Jiang Cai’Er suddenly looked at the drone camera, her eyes curving into crescent moons. "And finally, I want to thank the one who has always been there, recording our journey of growth."
"No matter if our futures lead us to the sea of stars—"
Jiang Cai’Er’s crisp voice seemed to pierce the clouds. "We will always remember who taught us to fly."
Naturally, the image of Li Xiang’s handsome face surfaced in her mind.