Chapter 25: Medal

“As long as you don’t spend money recklessly, how could you be starving?”

Bai Xia patiently explained.

“Actually, holding onto wealth is the hardest part. If you have the ability to earn money yourself, you’ll definitely be able to make money work for you in the future.”

Lu Shuo scratched his head.

“But what if I don’t know how to make money?”

His mother had told him to focus on his financial management classes so he could take over the company someday, but he couldn’t understand a word of it—it was even harder than language class.

“If you can’t make money, then save what you have. Don’t invest blindly or start businesses recklessly, and you’ll never starve,” Bai Xia said seriously.

Lu Jinnian would certainly leave his grandson a safety net.

Buying a few cars and houses still counted as spending within reason.

But what worried her was if he insisted on investing and starting businesses—that was the fastest way to go bankrupt.

“What about my gaming company? I want to have lots of people develop games for me to play, so I can play however I want!”

At the thought of this, Lu Shuo’s eyes lit up.

The very idea made him so excited he couldn’t sleep.

“Then just invest less and control your costs. It’s best to have someone manage your assets for you, so you don’t blow everything at once. You don’t have to be good at everything, but you can have someone capable help you control expenses.”

Bai Xia saw the confused look on his face and, realizing he still didn’t understand, simply went back to her room.

Lu Shuo, however, was deep in thought.

He couldn’t just give all the money to his mom; then she’d know exactly how much he had saved.

But without his own bank card, where could he even put the money?

That night, while doing homework in his room, he thought that if he could get first place, he could ask his parents for lots of money.

Just then, the door opened, and Yao Yun came in with some fruit, asking how his studies had gone today.

Since he started doing his homework, he felt his parents had become much gentler toward him—even his great-grandfather had begun to care.

So he told her about what he had seen that afternoon.

“Does Daddy Xia Xia have to find her a stepmother? Does that mean I’m going to have even more nieces and nephews?”

Yao Yun checked his homework while glancing at him.

“What stepmother? Your older brother isn’t married yet. Xia Xia isn’t a child from marriage, but you are the real legitimate child of the Lu family.”

Hearing this, Lu Shuo sat there biting an apple, his face full of confusion.

“But my classmates say I was born from a stepmother, so that’s why I get mad and fight with them.”

He didn’t understand why there was such a big age gap between him and his older brother, and why his brother didn’t like him at all.

Was it because Mom was his brother’s stepmother?

But Mom hadn’t ever treated his brother badly.

Yao Yun’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

She looked at her son with pity, realizing he fought because of this.

She set down his homework and reached out to pat his head.

“You don’t have to care about what others say. This is the modern world; no one’s forcing anyone to marry forever. Those people might be worse off than you. Just make your grandfather happy—that’s all. As long as you have money, those same people will treat you with respect. They look down on us only because we haven’t entered the company. Once you have power, no one will look down on you anymore.”

Hearing this, Lu Shuo nodded vaguely, as if he understood something.

He tentatively asked, “So when I grow up, can I start a gaming company?”

Seeing he was still obsessed with games, Yao Yun took a deep breath and once again emphasized, “How much money can you make playing games? Stop thinking about games all the time. Studying hard is what’s really important.”

Seeing that his mom clearly didn’t agree with him starting a gaming company, Lu Shuo could only hang his head in disappointment.

***

On Monday, back at school, Bai Xia handed everyone a ticket to her judo match during lunch.

Pressure creates motivation; this was the key test of her summer’s hard work.

Seeing the words “Judo Competition” on the ticket, Qi Mo dropped his spoon into his bowl. No wonder Bai Xia had beaten him back in kindergarten—she had really trained.

What could he do now?

This made him feel even less manly.

“I’ll definitely go cheer for you!” he forced a smile.

The fact that Bai Xia gave him a ticket meant she considered him a good friend.

Otherwise, why wouldn’t she give tickets to the other classmates?

Thinking this, he shyly lowered his head and ate, stealing glances at the girl across from him.

“Wow! Bai Xia is so amazing! But don’t you have a bodyguard? Why do you even need to learn how to fight?”

He Yuehua asked with a puzzled look.

The cafeteria was bustling with people.

Bai Xia ate quietly and then looked seriously at them.

“Fighting is uncivilized, but not knowing how to protect yourself is another matter. We can’t bully others, but we also can’t let others bully us!”

Lin Yan’s eyes flickered.

“Rich people get kidnapped easily. Knowing some fighting skills lets you catch them off guard.”

Bai Xia frowned—this kid had a knack for stealing the conversation.

“That’s true. I heard a lot of kidnappers target kids for ransom, so my parents put a tracker on me. No matter where I am, they can find me.”

He Yuehua raised her small watch.

Only Wang Yiyi lowered her head sadly while eating.

Her parents didn’t care about her at all.

“When I get stronger, I’ll protect you all!”

Bai Xia grabbed a chicken leg and gave it to her.

Wang Yiyi blinked shyly and nodded.

“Will you protect me too?”

Qi Mo asked, blushing as he secretly looked at her.

Bai Xia’s face instantly turned serious.

“You should think about how to improve yourself instead of always wanting others to protect you.”

Hearing this, Qi Mo got flustered.

“Why can you protect them then? Aren’t we classmates? You’re so unfair!”

“I only have two hands. Of course, they’re enough to protect them. You have hands and feet, so why not rely on yourself?”

Bai Xia was too lazy to argue.

Qi Mo stabbed at his rice in frustration.

Someday he’d grow tall and strong so he could protect Bai Xia, and she wouldn’t have to protect him like a girl.

***

Saturday morning was the city judo competition.

Although Bai Xia told the heroine not to come, that day she still saw the heroine and the male supporting character.

The venue was huge, and the two sat in the front row, even smiling at her.

He Yuehua’s group sat in the second row, all guarded by bodyguards.

Qi Mo held a small banner he had somehow gotten, making it impossible to ignore him.

This competition was limited to children under eight, so many six- or seven-year-olds participated.

It was an ultra-lightweight category, so there weren’t many big-built kids.

Bai Xia had come with her coach.

The opponent’s coach seemed even more nervous, constantly telling Bai Xia to focus on defense since she wasn’t strong enough to win by brute force.

They were probably afraid she’d get hurt and the male lead would cause trouble.

Actually, the size difference wasn’t that big.

Bai Xia noted the tallest boy was only about a head taller than her—no big deal.

But the competitors clearly weren’t just for show.

Watching the previous matches, she felt they were all very skilled.

When it was her turn, her opponent was a six-year-old boy half a head taller than her.

When the referee blew the whistle, neither moved.

Suddenly, the boy threw a straight punch.

Bai Xia quickly dodged to the left, then spun and kicked his jaw with a back leg.

The boy staggered back several steps and fell to the ground.

The referee blew the whistle sharply.

Once he confirmed the boy was still able to continue, the referee signaled for the match to go on.

This time, the boy attacked very fast.

A left hook hit her left rib.

Bai Xia seized the chance to grab his arm and throw him down.

She immediately applied a cross-body hold to pin him.

Judo relies on technique.

Unless there is a huge size difference, it mostly comes down to reaction speed.

“Ten, eight, seven, six—”

The referee stared at the boy, who was pinned.

When counting to one, the referee suddenly blew the whistle and raised Bai Xia’s hand.

Qi Mo in the audience was stunned.

He suddenly felt Bai Xia had been very gentle with him.

Bai Ruanwen watched this scene in disbelief.

Though she knew her daughter was training judo, she hadn’t expected her to be this good.

Seeing the vibrant strength in her daughter gave her the support to keep going.

Without her daughter’s encouragement, she might still be drowning in past grief, neglecting her own life.

“Xia Xia is amazing,” Song Xun said, holding her hand.

Bai Ruanwen smiled softly, her gaze growing even more tender.

In the far corner at the back row, Lu Lin forcibly suppressed the surge of frustration inside him.

He turned his gaze back to the stage, watching the girl raise her hand.

His anger slowly subsided, and a faint smile crept onto his lips.

The crowd cheered continuously.

The final match was between Bai Xia and a short boy.

She had studied her opponent carefully.

Though he was short, his reflexes were extremely quick.

One false move and she’d be locked on the ground.

When the match began, the boy immediately launched an attack, trying to sweep her legs out from under her.

As Bai Xia dodged, a straight punch shot at her face.

The boy’s speed was too fast, and she could only block with a clinch.

She took two punches to the arm.

Taking advantage of his attack, she kicked him in the stomach and threw him down.

But the boy moved quickly and tried to apply a cross-body hold first.

Bai Xia used her leg to hook his neck, firmly locking his arm.

The referee blew the whistle sharply.

Bai Xia’s eyes had a strange gleam—this was an under-eight competition.

Which coach would teach such a dangerous move like the cross-body hold?

After separating them, Bai Xia focused on defense because her opponent’s reflexes were too fast and she didn’t have much advantage.

They wrestled back and forth for five minutes until the referee blew the whistle again and raised both their hands.

Qi Mo’s heart jumped.

He never expected Bai Xia to draw the match.

He couldn’t believe a kid this young had won gold in her first competition.

When receiving her award, Bai Xia shook hands with the boy.

He was really skilled—there was no denying that.

She also knew there was much more she needed to work on.

The moment the competition ended, she ran to the stands and showed Bai Ruanwen her gold medal.

“Mom, am I amazing?”

Tears welled in Bai Ruanwen’s eyes.

She crouched down and kissed her daughter’s cheek.

“You’re amazing. Xia Xia, you’re your mother’s pride.”

Seeing the red mark on her daughter’s head, all she felt was pride.

Her daughter was strong and brave enough to face any hardship.

This was something she herself needed to learn from her daughter.

“Mom, you’re my role model too. I’ll study hard and be as amazing as you,” Bai Xia said, placing the medal around Bai Ruanwen’s neck.

Bai Ruanwen couldn’t help but touch the bump on her forehead.

“Does it hurt? I’ll take you home to put some medicine on it, or you’ll get a bruise.”

Bai Xia let the lady of the house pick her up, then smiled faintly.

“This is the honor of a warrior. If you can’t take a hit, you’ll get knocked out with one punch, that’s what the coach said.”

Bai Ruanwen felt both heartache and helplessness.

This time, she didn’t avoid the injury but told Song Xun to go back while she took their daughter to the Lu household to treat the wound.

Lu Jinnian didn’t go out today, as if he knew his great-granddaughter was competing.

Seeing the injury on the girl’s head, he felt heartbroken and hurried to ask the butler to call the family doctor.

“It’s nothing, Great-Grandpa. This is a warrior’s honor. Look, I won the medal. But I also have a brother who’s very good; he’s first place too.”

Bai Xia proudly held up her certificate and medal.

With this practical experience, she knew her shortcomings and, honestly, it was pretty exciting.

Lu Jinnian felt both amused and worried.

He quickly told the butler to call the doctor and asked Bai Ruanwen to tend to the girl’s wound.

His great-granddaughter really could take first place at everything.

Lu Shuo stood on the second floor, looking down at the medal in Bai Xia’s hands with a heavy heart.

What was he going to do?

Wouldn’t he be beaten even by this little brat someday?