Ye Ziheng was being escorted to the office, and shortly after, his tutor was also summoned.
He explained three times that he had merely intended to put the other party in their place, and the money was given because the little girl had said they were pitiful, and his sympathy had overflowed.
It was not a bribe! It was not a bribe! It was not a bribe!
He, Ye Ziheng, the last disciple of the hacker extraordinaire Raven, needed to bribe others to win such a childish competition?
No need!
In the end, he was still lectured before being let go.
By the time he emerged from the office, the second half of the grand finals had concluded.
With Ye Ziheng absent, Yueyue, as expected, led by a wide margin and secured the championship title.
Ye Ziheng watched Yueyue receive his award on stage, clenching his fists in anger. If not for this unexpected incident, this championship should have been his!
He aspired to win every informatics competition globally, achieving a grand slam, to show his sister when she returned how formidable her disciple was.
This Asian Cup was the only one missing!
The next one would be in four years, by then he would be sixteen, too old to compete with a bunch of kids!
It was infuriating!
He saw Yueyue finish receiving his award, bid farewell to his tutor, and head towards the back exit.
...
Yu He arrived at the very back of the audience, just in time to see the second half of the finals underway.
Yueyue sat before his computer, the screen completely obscuring his small frame. However, Yu He recognized her precious son from the programming code displayed on the large screen.
Watching her son take a commanding lead to win the championship and stand on the podium, Yu He felt immensely happy and proud, involuntarily clapping along with the audience.
Five years ago, she woke up from surgery. Seeing them about to take her child away, she refused. Even though she couldn't recall anything from before, nor did she know who the father was, driven by maternal instinct, she fought tooth and nail to keep the child in her womb.
This child must have been very important to her.
Unexpectedly, she later discovered it was twins, a boy and a girl upon birth.
She had no memory of her past. These two children were the most beautiful gifts bestowed upon her by heaven after her accident.
Yueyue, standing on the podium, saw Yu He in the audience. His initial joy was followed by timidity.
After all, he had snuck in to compete without his mother's knowledge.
After accepting the award, he ignored the media interviews and brought Duoduo to Yu He's side. "Mom."
"Mommy~ I missed you so much~" Duoduo, upon seeing Yu He, rushed forward and hugged her tightly.
She tilted her head up, blinked her eyes, and said, "A day apart feels like three autumns. It's been six years, Mommy, did you miss us?"
Yu He looked down and pinched her little nose. "Pouting won't work. Wait until we get back, and I'll deal with you two! Let's go."
Saying so, she took one child by each hand, leading the two little ones away from the crowd towards the back exit.
Oh no, Mommy was indeed angry.
Mommy's anger was terrifying; not only no meat, but also math problems!
Boohoo, she didn't want to do math problems, she wanted to eat meat.
Duoduo desperately signaled Yueyue, seeking help from her brother; Yueyue pretended not to see, silently following his mother's steps.
As they walked, he suddenly realized something was wrong. This was the direction of the back exit, not the front.
What if Ye Ziheng really had people waiting at the back to block them?
"Mom, can we go through the front door?" Yueyue tugged at Yu He's clothes.
"There are too many reporters at the front," Yu He replied.
Yueyue: "Mmm..."
Seeing this, Duoduo remembered Ye Ziheng's words and immediately signaled Yueyue again:
【Brother, I'll protect you later, but you have to help me with my math problems.】
Yueyue felt a bit embarrassed. He had only disliked Ye Ziheng because he was arrogant with his money and thought he could dismiss anyone.
So, he wanted to play a trick on Ye Ziheng, never expecting the teacher to actually disqualify Ye Ziheng from the finals.
He felt a pang of guilt and regret, and reluctantly nodded.
As a result, they encountered no resistance. Upon exiting the back door, a taxi was waiting. Yu He opened the door and let the two children get in.
Ye Ziheng returned from the restroom and, seeing a woman leading Yueyue and his sister from a distance, quickly followed.
The two little rascals had already gotten into the car. The woman who brought them took off her mask, threw it into a nearby trash can, and also got into the car.
However, it was just this profile that Ye Ziheng recognized.
"Sis!"
"Sis!" He quickly ran towards her, but Yu He didn't hear him. She got into the taxi, and the car drove away.
Ye Ziheng chased a few steps but couldn't catch up. He immediately took out his phone and called Ye Qichen. "Brother! I just saw Sis! She's back!"
Ye Qichen, on the other end of the line, froze for a moment, his heart racing. It had been five years, and there had been no news of Yu He.
"Where?!" he immediately asked.
"At the back exit of the competition venue. She was with two children and got into a taxi. The taxi's license plate was Jingxxxx. Quickly ask your traffic police friend to help track where this car went!" Ye Ziheng said anxiously.
Ye Qichen turned on the office television, which was currently broadcasting the results of the just-concluded Asian Cup Informatics Olympiad Finals. The first place was a child named Yu Chenyue, and Ye Ziheng wasn't even among the top three.
"I figured it out. Yu Chenyue, he's surnamed Yu, the same surname as Sis! Sis got into the car with the siblings, are they Sis's children?!" Ye Ziheng added.
Ye Qichen, unaware of his ramblings, said, "Did you lose the competition, and your brain is malfunctioning too?"
"Your brain is malfunctioning, your whole family's brain is malfunctioning... No, just your brain is malfunctioning!" Ye Ziheng retorted angrily.
"Alright, don't joke about this kind of thing anymore. It's just losing a competition; you don't need to make so many excuses. I have a meeting shortly, so I'm hanging up," Ye Qichen said and ended the call.
Ye Ziheng clutched his phone. "Damn it, he doesn't believe me!"
Just wait, he would definitely find Sis!
——
Yu He returned to the hotel with the two adorable kids. The two little ones stood obediently before her, heads bowed, accepting their scolding.
"If you wanted to come back to the country, you could have told Mommy. Mommy would have accompanied you or asked Aunt Anran to bring you back. You two coming back secretly, unfamiliar with the place, is very dangerous, do you know that? What if human traffickers had targeted you?"
"Mommy, human traffickers wouldn't catch me. I eat too much, they'd go bankrupt," Duoduo said.
Yu He: "You're still so glib."
Duoduo immediately covered her mouth.
"Mom, I'm sorry for making you worry. I'll definitely tell you from now on," Yueyue said, presenting his championship certificate and prize money with both hands.
Looking at his certificate of honor, Yu He was both angry and amused, unsure what to do with this son.
"Alright, Sister He, Yueyue and Duoduo know they were wrong. They also saw how busy you usually are and didn't want to distract you, so don't be angry anymore," Xiao Anran, standing by, advised.
Duoduo nodded in agreement.
"The children are still growing. They can't skip lunch; it's not good to be hungry," Xiao Anran added.
As soon as she finished speaking, Duoduo's stomach rumbled.
Duoduo immediately clutched her stomach. "I'm not hungry, my stomach is just singing."
Seeing the two children look wronged, Yu He's heart softened. After all, they were her own flesh and blood.