Beautiful Life

Gu Panyan thought Wang Ge was simply too naive.

Though he studied well and was smart enough, he had never truly been beaten down by life. When it came to certain matters, he seemed both arrogant and innocent.

Gu Panyan did not think she needed help. Whether she went to college or not made no difference to her.

What would getting in do for her? Continue muddling through life in college, eating her fill and waiting to die?

She had no goals in life and no plans for the future. What kind of life plan could a delinquent who smoked, drank, and got into fights every day possibly have?

She had always lived with the attitude that she would take life one day at a time. If she happened to encounter some accident one day, got into a car crash, or ran completely out of money and starved to death beneath some bridge, then her life would simply be over.

She felt that her future would more or less turn out this way.

The years since her grandfather's death had left her physically and emotionally exhausted. She had numbingly accepted such an ending and was unwilling to change.

The world was beautiful. Of course she knew that, and she likewise understood that her parents still had hopes for her.

But she was mired in the mud, lacking both the will and the strength, utterly exhausted.

She had no desire to witness those beautiful things, nor the strength to answer those hopes.

She only wanted to find somewhere with no one around, lie down, and enjoy the final peace of her life.

As for those beautiful things and those expectations, she would leave them for her next life.

That was what Gu Panyan thought, and that was how she acted. Yet today, this fellow who had not even been her deskmate for twenty-four hours had shamelessly declared that he wanted to change her and help her get into college.

Who did he think he was? The great savior? Did I need to kneel before him and praise his mercy and kindness? Gu Panyan had wanted to mock him like that, but when the words reached her lips, she swallowed them back.

She turned her head and looked out the window.

The darkness was slowly fading. The sun rose, and the morning light spilled into the classroom, driving away the chill of the spring morning.

A long time ago, her grandfather had ridden his old bicycle to take her to school on mornings just like this.

Every time, her grandfather would remind her to study hard at school and not play too much. Wearing a clean, pretty white dress, she would smile and agree to his admonitions.

Yet when she turned away, she would complain inwardly, That old man sure is naggy. He says these things every day. My ears are practically growing calluses from listening to them!

Back then, she had been a good child. Her grandfather treated her well, so she listened to him, and her grades had always ranked among the top of her class.

Every time she showed her report card to her grandfather, he would happily lift her up in his arms. His wrinkled face would bloom like a chrysanthemum as he said, "Our Yanyan is the best. You'll definitely get into a good college and have a bright future..."

Heh.

Scenes from the past churned through her mind. Gu Panyan's gaze grew deep as an inexplicable emotion emerged from some corner of her heart. It was an indescribable feeling, like guilt, sorrow, confusion, and countless other complicated emotions had been thrown into a huge pot and stewed together.

That emotion had actually existed for a long time. Gu Panyan had merely kept it buried in her heart. Until today, when Wang Ge's words stirred it up, it rapidly grew, spreading through her entire body like a virus and occupying her every thought.

In a daze, she suddenly remembered that on another morning just like this, some time after her grandfather's death, her parents, who had worked away from home for years, had finally returned.

They had not brought back the fatherly and motherly love she had always lacked. They had only brought back two red divorce certificates.

Her parents asked whom she wanted to live with. She stared blankly at those two faces she had eagerly awaited seeing every year, yet which now felt so unfamiliar, as if someone had struck her hard over the head with a club.

It hurt so much...

She heard her parents speak sincerely. Neither of them was pushing her away. Both were willing to share their new families and new lives with her.

But she accepted neither of them. Her heart was filled with pain and the fury of betrayal. She screamed at them like a madwoman, telling them both to get lost.

To get out of her grandfather's house. To get out of her life.

Later, after her father's repeated efforts came to nothing, he left behind some money and hurried away. From then on, he deposited money into her bank account every year;

Her mother, meanwhile, came to see her repeatedly over the years and begged her again and again, but each time Gu Panyan coldly refused to let her in.

She had been young then, with resentment still in her heart.

Gu Panyan remembered that the last time she had seen her mother was a year ago. Like before, the woman loved beauty and always tried to use heavy makeup to conceal the marks left by time.

At that meeting, her mother had cried until her eyes were swollen, and the makeup on her face had become a complete mess.

Her mother had begged her, saying she did not expect Gu Panyan to forgive her. She only hoped that Gu Panyan would live well and not give up on herself.

But Gu Panyan had merely turned away coldly, as if she were facing a stranger.

By then, she had already understood that her parents had not really done anything wrong. Everyone had the right to pursue a beautiful life. The fact that she herself was unwilling did not mean other people were unwilling too.

The reason she had still made that choice was that she wanted her mother to give up on her completely and stop concerning herself with her, so that her mother could peacefully build her own new family.

Someone as worthless as herself should disappear along with the family of the past and stop disturbing her.

Now, as she recalled the matter once more and her mother's tear-stained face appeared in Gu Panyan's mind again, she finally understood:

Only if she lived well could her mother truly set her mind at ease and peacefully live the new life she had struggled so hard to pursue.

Ah...

Gu Panyan's gaze grew vacant. Her grandfather's and mother's faces flashed repeatedly through her mind, while their words echoed in her ears: "A good college, a bright future..." "Live well. Don't give up on yourself..."

She closed her eyes, then suddenly said, "There's no need to test it. I believe you."

"Hm?"

Gu Panyan turned her head and stared into Wang Ge's eyes. Word by word, she said, "I believe you. I believe you can help me.

"You can start teaching me now. I'll cooperate with you."

After a pause, she said softly, "I hope you won't disappoint me."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ge immediately patted his chest in assurance. The corners of his mouth rose involuntarily. "Leave it to me! You'll soon realize that my teaching ability is even better than my academic performance."

At that moment, he seemed even happier than he had imagined he would be.

Wang Ge placed the English composition between them and patiently said, "Come on. I'll explain it to you word by word and sentence by sentence. If there's a word you don't know how to pronounce, remember to ask me..."

There were less than twenty minutes left before morning self-study ended. During that time, Wang Ge broke down every difficult word, phrase, and long sentence in the English composition one by one, explaining them to Gu Panyan in a vivid and memorable way.

With Wang Ge's cheat ability active, Gu Panyan absorbed the knowledge like a sponge, memorizing and digesting it at a speed that even surprised her.

When did my memory become this good? The thought flashed through her mind, but she had no time to ponder it. She had already been submerged in a sea of knowledge.

[Special Ability: Teach Without Discrimination]

[Description: Everyone, regardless of status or wealth, whether a good student or a bad student, can receive an equal education.]

[Effect: Your Teaching skill level +3; while being taught by you, your student's attention will be highly focused, memory +200%, comprehension +200%, learning efficiency +200%]

Wang Ge had often taught others how to solve problems and such before, so his [Teaching] skill had already reached level two. With the support of [Teach Without Discrimination], the [Teaching] skill directly rose to level five. This was already a pinnacle-level achievement. If he became a teacher, then even if he did not devote himself fully to the profession, he would at least become a master teacher of his generation.

Unfortunately, [Teach Without Discrimination] was a benefit granted by the quest, and for now, it was only effective on Gu Panyan.

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