CHAPTER 482: 193 TRANSFORMATION_2

The woman signed a visitor form at the front desk, then received an elevator card before heading to wait for the elevator.

There were two elevators on both the north and south sides. The north elevator stopped at the twelfth floor, and after the woman pressed the elevator button, another elevator rose from the basement level.

The woman stepped into the elevator and swiped her card. The twelfth-floor button suddenly lit up with a blue glow. Yu Ruohuan’s group entered the elevator as well.

The seven-star hotel’s elevator was spacious and luxuriously decorated—six people entering at once didn’t make it feel crowded in the slightest.

Meng Junzhu silently stood in a corner.

Jing Zhan noticed the twelfth floor was already lit and didn’t bother taking his card out of his bag.

A black-suited bodyguard swiped his card, causing the fifteenth-floor button to light up blue.

The fifteenth floor housed the Beiqi Hotel’s highest-grade suites, typically reserved for hosting prominent figures of significant standing.

Someone of Yu Ruohuan’s status received the highest-level hospitality wherever she went.

The elevator ascended quickly—almost in a flash, it had reached the twelfth floor. Jing Zhan and Jing Huan stepped out. Jing Zhan turned back to wave and said, "Sister Yu, Miss Wen, good night, see you in the morning."

Miss Wen’s school hadn’t booked this hotel, but she had agreed with Yu Ruohuan that she would stay with her for the night.

The suite had a secondary bedroom, which Miss Wen was well aware of. For all of Yu Ruohuan’s deep-rooted pickiness and pride, while Wen carried the surname Wen, her relationship with Yu Ruohuan wasn’t close enough to sleep in the same bed.

"Excuse me, let me pass."

Miss Wen stepped aside, and Meng Junzhu walked out of the elevator.

The elevator doors slowly closed.

Inside the elevator, only Miss Wen, Yu Ruohuan, and two bodyguards who resembled automatons remained.

Miss Wen yawned: "De Ren is starting a Young Talent Class, did you hear?"

Yu Ruohuan exited the elevator. "What do you want to say?"

Miss Wen caught up with her: "Reliable sources say this Young Talent Class will select only twenty students nationally—each one a genius among geniuses. The faculty group from De Ren has been scouting exceptional talents across the country for a while now. So, in the end, which families will these twenty people come from?"

The black-suited bodyguard walked ahead, opened the room door, entered first to do a security sweep, and confirmed everything was fine before inviting Yu Ruohuan inside.

"Do you think you could make it in?" Yu Ruohuan countered.

Miss Wen cocked her head and smiled wryly: "I’m quite aware of my limits. Clever, sure—yes, I’d pass for that. But a genius? No way. Even if I somehow got in, I wouldn’t be able to keep up. You, on the other hand, definitely have a shot. You’re not tempted at all?"

Yu Ruohuan’s lips held a soft smile: "I trust that De Ren’s faculty group has its own criteria for selection."

She lowered her gaze, and a shadow flickered across her eyes.

Tempted? Of course, she was tempted.

The Yu family had power, but their origins were far from illustrious.

Nobody dared to say it openly, but Yu Ruohuan knew the self-proclaimed elite families of Jingzhou often slandered the Yu family’s background behind their backs. They only refrained out of fear of their influence.

Deep down, those people looked down on the Yu family.

If she joined the Young Talent Class, it would prove her genius abilities and demonstrate that the Yu family possessed brilliant genes—everything would seem predestined.

Through all these years, she had come to a firm understanding: there are certain people and things which, no matter how hard one tries to suppress or conceal them, cannot be controlled with effort alone. Human nature is complex and unpredictable; outward flattery may turn into contempt the moment one’s back is turned.

When the brilliance of a pearl becomes too dazzling, the solution is not to hide it. Instead, one must make oneself an even brighter pearl, so bright that all others are eclipsed and fade into obscurity.

Sang Kunrou and Sang Ziming, during their era, were unquestionably the brightest pearls. They lived on in the memory of an entire generation, their legacy hard to erase.

As far as Yu Ruohuan knew, among Jingzhou’s elite families today, there were more than a few who openly supported the Yu family yet privately revered the Sang family’s memory. And the longer time passed, the more pronounced this tendency became.

The attitude Gu Bichen displayed toward the Sang family today was a wake-up call for her. Perhaps the Gu family felt the same way.

Overly forceful suppression tactics could easily backfire.

Then she would become the brightest pearl, so bright that the world would see only her, Yu Ruohuan.

The era of Sang Kunrou and Sang Ziming would be utterly over.

Miss Wen had no idea what thoughts churned within Yu Ruohuan’s heart and remarked, "Ruohuan, you’re so clever. No matter how De Ren’s faculty evaluates things, they’ll undoubtedly pick you."

"I’ll take your kind words then." Yu Ruohuan maintained a calm and composed demeanor.

Miss Wen suddenly recalled another matter. "Ruohuan, let me tell you something—but you must promise not to get angry, okay?"

Miss Wen cautiously studied Yu Ruohuan’s expression.