MAY, 2008.
"The Jian family is blessed!" A woman's voice cut through the still silence, punctuated with admiration, and others instantly echoed her words.
"Indeed, another genius has been birthed." A man followed, his goofy voice filled with admiration.
"She's young yet so intelligent. How brilliant will she be in a few years? Haya, why are the kids in my family so different uh?" The woman who said this covered her mouth gently, and others laughed along. Her two children who were standing behind her however turned slightly red. But their eyes held a hint of curiosity as they watched the girl being surrounded like the moon by stars, receiving the praises of their strict parents.
"The kiddos in my family are the same. We can't blame them at all. It's Young Miss Jian that was just so different, so knowledgeable despite her age!"
The source of admiration was a young girl, dressed in a pink princess gown. Her long black hair flowed down behind her, pinned with a pink butterfly hairpin. Her little face was devoid of any emotion, and her eyes were focused on the several textbooks laid before her, while her hand scribbled down. Despite being only six, her handwriting was legible and clear to read, earning another round of praise from the adults.
Despite being surrounded by many adults, who either were from noble families, or had their own businesses, the young girl wasn't intimidated. In fact, it was as if their praises fell on deaf ears as she showed no reaction.
Behind the little girl were a good-looking couple. A beautiful woman of jade-like beauty. Clear skin and flowing black hair. The young girl was almost her replica, their faces sharing so much similarities. She was Third Madam Jian, Jian Yue's mother, whose birth name was Su Nian. Beside her was an equally handsome man, with short hair, wearing a matching color with his wife. His expression was amiable, and together, they were the definition of a beautiful lady and a gentleman. He was the Third Young Master of the Jian Family, Jian Mingzhen.
At this moment, another woman turned to the couple, her expression flattering. "Master Jian Mingzhen, Third Madame Jian, you raised Young Miss Jian really well. Why don't you share your secret recipe with us? I'm tired of my son being so dumb!"
"Mom, I'm not!" The woman's son stomped his feet. He was around twelve and always got the first position in his class, but compared to the girl who was solving a mathematics question belonging to the 12th grade at six, he indeed was lacking. But his mother didn't have to say it publicly.
Su Nian only chuckled softly. "Don't say that, Madam Liu. The children in your family are just as brilliant. Didn't Young Master Liu claimed the first position in his class again? He's just as amazing."
Madam Liu's expression softened slightly, but she continued with her words. After all, you can only put others up by putting others down. "Humph, he can't be compared to your Young Miss at all. She's blessed with good genes. So intelligent despite her young age." She shot Jian Mingzhen a look. In his early youth, he was just as intelligent.
Other people chorused in support like usual. They missed no chance to flatter and cozy up with the Jian family. Their voice was loud, and the little girl who showed no expression till now finally had a reaction. Her chubby face scrunched up and her hand tightened against the pen. She glared hard at the noisy women.
Su Nian chuckled softly, her hands massaging her daughter's shoulders. "Sisters, don't praise her too much or it would get to her head."
The onlookers shook their head. "Not at all. She deserved the praise because she had the ability. Her tutors must be so proud."
"Yes. She's just like you and your husband, Third Madam Jian. She took your beauty and your husband's intelligence! What a blessed kid." The couple continued smiling gently, while at the same time, praising back the others.
The noise became unbearable for the young lass. She could barely concentrate. However, none of the adults noticed this, and as time passes, their flattery grew more intense.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Jian Yue, she put down the pen.
"I'm done." Her crisp voice, despite being soft, reached the people's ears. And they instantly looked over.
"Scholar Lu, come check it out." They beckoned to a man with buzz cut standing amidst the crowd. He was a young master from an influential family, but instead of managing his family's business, he decided he would become a high school teacher instead.
Scholar Lu stepped forward. He was in his early twenties, fresh from college and instantly into teaching. But nevertheless, he proved himself worthy by getting the highest score in the college entrance examination a few years back.
Under everyone's gaze, Scholar Lu stepped forward and took the notebook from Jian Yue. He adjusted his golden glasses, his expression serious.
With everyone holding their breath, his expression slowly lit up, and the speed at which he flipped open the page subconsciously became faster. You could almost feel his excitement.
"Th–th–this... Miss Jian Yue is simply a genius!" After a while, he stated, his voice trembling. He felt giddy as he adjusted his glasses again, his eyes shining bright as he stared at the young girl whose expression was still calm.
His words further sparked another wave of praise from the crowd.
"Master Mingzhen, you need to tell us, your brothers the secret behind this your family intelligence!"
"Exactly, who is Xiaoyue's tutor? We need to know."
"Madam Su Nian, can we have Young Miss' eating timetable? Maybe if I fed my children the same food, they'd become smarter!"
"How about my daughter accompany the Young Miss? I want her to become as brilliant!"
Many requests flew through the air, and the room buzzed with excitement.
A table away sat a group of Oldies. Despite their youthful face masking their true ages, everyone who knew them knew they were the head of the several top families in Water City. Those old men, rarely seen, had now gathered on their friend's, Old Master Jian's birthday.
Among them was a woman with a cold expression. She glanced at Old Master Jian. "Why don't you inform us that another individual with peerless intelligence is now in your family?"
"Old Jian, are you hiding this from us?" Another old man snorted.
Old Master Jian, referred to as Old Jian, looked youthful compared to his age. He was wearing a sharp Tang suit, and his golden walking cane leaned against the table. Despite clocking seventy, he looked no different from someone in his fifty. His aura was sharp, and his hair was still black, with only a few wisps of grey.
Old Master Jian chuckled. "She's just so-so." Of course, it was only a word of tongue. In reality, he was very proud of this moment. He already knew the glory the little girl would bring him the moment he found out she had an IQ of 188. In fact, he couldn't wait to flaunt her at this party, and that was the reason why he had purposefully asked the waiters so loudly to provide some grade 12th question papers so his granddaughter wouldn't get bored. That was her debut. The high IQ genius belonging to his family.
"Old yet still gleeful, humph." One of the men shook his head. They understood very well what their friend was playing at. However, they knew if they were in his shoes, they probably would already announce it to the media.
"Let's go watch the show. It's quite boring to just sit here and watch the younger generations." Old Master Jian stood up, his golden cane tapping on the marble floor as his friends stood up to follow. They indeed wanted to check out the little girl that had grabbed everyone's attention. Maybe they could even engage her with one of their grandchildren.
"The Old Master is here." One person who noticed the Old Master first, announced. And others immediately made way for the old man.
"Old Master! Your family is blessed with another genius again! We're truly envious."
"Hahaha, don't be." The old man laughed heartily. Despite saying that, his chest was stuck out proudly. He was truly happy.
Meanwhile, Scholar Lu kept chatting with Jian Yue, asking how she had arrived at the answer. She used a completely different method method that even he, the top scorer of his years couldn't have thought of.
The young girl's crisp voice was soft but firm. Her little hand tapping the sheet. "The original expression was a second-degree polynomial in standard form: ax² + bx + c = 0. I recognized immediately that the discriminant—b² - 4ac—was a perfect square, which indicated rational roots..." She continued spouting a bunch of jargon that made everyone's eyes widened, and they didn't dare to interrupt. Her childish voice was the only source of sound in the big hall.
Scholar Lu adjusted his glasses, his eyes wide and his face flushed. "Why did I never think of such a method! Yo–You are so young yet so bright."
Everyone began raining praises on her again.
That was Jian Yue's debut to the upper class as a beauty with brain. It was also the first time the little girl finally understood the reason why her mother would hire her several tutors, packed her days with classes and no rest in between, and even fed her special medicine, made her stay up late at night, reading and working on every subject.
Turns out, it was so she could be the 'genius child.'