Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

Both Gifted and Hard Work

Since Wang Hua had agreed with Zhao Youyue decision to enroll at Jiangnan University, there was no need for Zhao Jiayi to express his opinion. He never had a say in anything. Most of the time, he played the role of a pacifier.

As mentioned in previous chapters, Wang Hua had the heart of a young girl. She was just like a Tsundere in a manga. At home, she constantly questioned the intelligence of others under her breath, while at the same time helping them out wholeheartedly.

A Tsundere mother and a mischevious daughter was quite a handful for the lone male in the house. Nevertheless, they were on good terms, and nothing could separate them. That would be Zhao Jiayi's chance to play Stellaris all by himself. However, he might have to start calculating the repair bills when they blew the roofs off in their arguments!

Zhao Jiayi was the only person who could talk some sense into them. He was to know that, for it also meant that he had a special place in their hearts.

Zhao Jiayi had no comments on his daughter's choice of university. He had always thought that his daughter was just an ordinary person. If she merely graduates from any university, that would be good enough. To his surprise, something changed drastically in Junior high. Now, she was the Number One Scholar of the College Entrance Examination. His mind had not yet finished wrapping his mind around things!

It was a huge surprise, but it was a pleasant surprise, and it had been for the better. She had made him really proud!

Zhao Jiayi tried his best to give space for her daughter to grow, hoping that she would grow up healthily and happily. He did not care much about talents and skills. These had all came as bonuses to the simple happiness that he would have been content with.

Some parents have high expectations of their children. Others were like Zhao Jiayi, entrusting their children to their own freedom and choices. As long as their children took control of their life responsibly, there was no need to interfere.

Zhao Youyue had been considered lucky to be born with such open-minded parents. Otherwise, she would not have the chance to start off her own company she would have to hand over the profits from her broadcasts. No, in the first place, she might not even be allowed to do broadcasts

Zhao Youyue had not even started live-streaming in a manner that worried him. She did not bare her body with mini-skirts or deep V blouses. It was how most live-streamers started off.

Zhao Youyue was a rare breed among livestreamers. She had rose up the ranks by showing real skill, instead of her face. Most people had thought that she was too ugly to do so. Who would have thought that she had genuinely intended to impress the audience with her skills, not her looks?

Most of her fans were hardcore, especially those who had followed her from the beginning. No matter what rumors had to say about Zhao Youyue, they never left her channel, forever waiting patiently for her streams.

Such was the quality of a livestreamer with real talent. It was nothing like those who went tits swinging right from the start.

Zhao Youyue finally accepted media interviews, on the premise that their questions only concerned her achievements as the Number One Scholar of the College Entrance Examination, Jiangnan province. Most of the other outstanding scorers had already been interviewed.

One of the Peking scholar's honesty in interviews had caused a hot discussion on the internet. He was asked "How did you manage to score so well in the exam?" His answer was

"It is getting tougher for students in rural areas to get into good schools. I was born in a middle-class family with don't have to worry about food. My parents are both highly educated and we stay in a big city such as Peking. I was placed in better conditions, compared to those students in the rural area. This gave me the opportunity to outperform the other students.

Such is the actual state of society. One might not change his fate with knowledge, yet one's fate may never be changed without knowledge. Number One Scholars could only come from decent families where the parents had been highly educated. In advance, they prepared an environment that was suitable for children to strive for the best in terms of education.

Among all the Number One Scholars nationwide, Zhao Youyue was the most popular. She shot down all naysayers and skeptics. Her family was well-established and rich. At least 80% of the credit for her achievements should go to her family environment. I am looking forward to being classmates with her, hahaha!"

The reporter asked Zhao Youyue of what she thought about this statement from the other Number One Scholar.

"I think it is subjective; it depends on both the gifts and hard work of one student. If a student is both gifted and works hard enough, his or her background would not really matter. The most respected people in this world had all been born poor. It's just like "Venerable Broken Sword" who played "Dark Souls" and tortured the final boss to its death with a broken sword. The experience was both exciting and satisfying!" [1]

Apparently, Zhao Youyue was obsessed in hardcore games with a high skill requirement. She loved taking the toughest route to enjoy the game to its fullest.

Her comments won the heart of netizens. Real geniuses refused to be limited by their family backgrounds. He did not need the support from family to be successful in his own path. Most of the players were not talented nor they wanted to work hard. As a result, they could not even beat a small boss, what more of becoming a Venerable of Broken Sword

Ah Yu was a rarity among all the other gifted and talented youths. She was extraordinary in games and music. Add on "Number one Scholar" to that, she had become the stuff of nationwide legends!

Zhao Youyue treated College Entrance Examinations no differently from a challenge in a game. Now that she had passed the challenge flawlessly, she realized that "Two Dimensional Gates" was no longer in cooldown. She wanted to try her luck. All she needed was to increase the frequency of using the door. Eventually, she would get to the world that she wanted!

Translation note:

[1] Dark Souls is an action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Namco Bandai Games. A spiritual successor to FromSoftware's Demon's Souls, the game is the second installment in the Souls series.