The next day
During the 30-minute extended break, homeroom teacher Zhang Wei posted the grade sheet at the back of the classroom.
Ding Yebai had always ranked steadily within the top ten in class. However, because his English score lagged far behind the others, he had always been at the very bottom of the top ten.
This time, though, his English score had suddenly risen by more than twenty points, and his ranking had climbed three places as well.
The students ahead of him were still very impressive. He still needed to keep working hard toward the Gaokao.
Ding Yebai was very happy. There was nothing more blissful than obtaining results bit by bit through his own efforts.
During Chinese class after the break, Chinese teacher Zhang Wei began discussing the test results as soon as class started.
He mainly talked about which questions everyone should not have gotten wrong. Taking the students' self-esteem into consideration, he did not criticize those who had not done well. However, when it came to students who had performed well, he never spared his praise.
"Lu Shuai, not bad. You got 100 in English."
"Ding Yebai, you did great too. English has always been your weak subject. This is the first time I've seen you score 116. Keep working hard and striving forward."
He essentially said a word or two about each student. After all, there were so many of them, and he could not praise every single one to the heavens.
Just as he was preparing to begin class, he caught sight of Lu Shuai laughing gleefully from the corner of his eye. It looked as if the desks in that area were shaking.
Zhang Wei walked over helplessly. Considering Lu Shuai's level of English, he jokingly said the very ordinary phrase, "How are you?"
Lu Shuai was so happy from being praised that, in his excitement, he blurted out, "I'm fine. Fuck you."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the entire class burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha!"
Even Ding Yebai could not hold back and let out a little snort of laughter.
It was simply too...
And so, amid the laughter of the entire class, Chinese teacher Zhang Wei's face fell.
"Sorry, sorry! I said it wrong. Teacher, I'm sorry."
Lu Shuai thought he was finished, but he never expected Zhang Wei to simply take it as a joke and let the matter pass.
Everything returned to normal, and class began.
Ding Yebai raised his eyebrows slightly, put away his smile, opened his test paper, and started doing the questions as usual.
That evening
Ding Yebai returned home. As soon as he entered, he tossed his schoolbag onto the sofa, then took a chilled canned drink from the refrigerator.
After gulping down a large mouthful, he let out a comfortable "Ah."
He checked the time and thought, Yang Zhi should be here soon, right?
Meanwhile
Yang Zhi put the test papers she was going to teach into her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and pushed open the courtyard gate.
In some respects, she could be considered wealthy. She was very capable, earned money through part-time work with her intelligence, and had also invested in a friend's shop. Over the years, she had made quite a bit of money.
She dressed inconspicuously and had a quiet, reserved air, so outsiders could never tell that she was a wealthy woman.
She usually did not drive at this time. What she wanted was the feeling of taking a walk.
The night had already grown dark, and the road was noticeably quieter.
She walked unhurriedly with her bag on her back. When she was approaching a fork in the road, she suddenly saw a figure beneath the lamplight. Finding it strange, she stopped.
The figure beneath the light was slowly walking toward her.
It was only after she saw his face clearly that some of the doubt in Yang Zhi's heart faded.
"Fu Hui?"
"Hi, Yang Zhi."
A tall man around twenty-five stood in front of Yang Zhi.
His features were unremarkable, the sort of face that belonged to an ordinary person.
Yang Zhi tightened her grip on her shoulder bag. "Why are you here?"
As Fu Hui spoke, he brought out a bouquet of roses. "Let's just say I heard you were here and wanted to see you."
The moment Yang Zhi saw the roses, she understood. She looked at Fu Hui awkwardly. "Fu Hui, I—"
"Hey, wait a second." Grinning, Fu Hui used the flowers to block her face, then continued, "You've already rejected me once. Yang Zhi, this time, I'm very confident."
Yang Zhi said, "Then I can reject you a second time. I'm sorry, Fu Hui. I don't like you, so I won't accept your confession."
Having said that, she tried to walk past him.
"No, no, no. Yang Zhi." Fu Hui blocked her with the flowers. "We're classmates, and we're both survivors of the great earthquake. We're fated to be together."
Fu Hui continued, "After graduating from university, I started my own business. Look, I'm a major boss now, with assets worth hundreds of millions. I can give you a good life. I have money, Yang Zhi." After saying this, he deliberately raised his eyebrows, as if he were saying, I'm super rich, okay? That's incredibly charming!
Yang Zhi quietly watched him speak, without any unnecessary expression. She rarely wore such an expression.
In fact, when she did not smile, her beautiful face carried a hint of sorrow.
"I'm not short of money either," Yang Zhi said indifferently.
Fu Hui said, "Uh... It's fine. I know you've felt guilty over your mother's death all these years. But it's fine. She's dead, and that's that. Just let it go!"
"What did you say?" Yang Zhi's face had already turned cold, and there was even a trace of anger in it.
Fu Hui still had not realized how serious the problem was. He explained earnestly, "Just... let it go. The dead can't come back to life, and we have to cherish the fact that we're still alive. If you keep thinking about them, you'll become depressed. Just pretend it never happened."
"Fu Hui, have you forgotten that your family was injured because of it too?" Yang Zhi looked at him incredulously, then lowered her voice and continued, "How could anyone pretend such a massive earthquake never happened? I don't know what you're thinking, but my mother was the most important person in my life. There's no way I could forget her."
Even when she was angry, she remained calm and composed, her good upbringing and refinement evident in every movement.
Fu Hui inexplicably grew angry, perhaps because he had been drinking.
He suddenly stepped forward, faced Yang Zhi, and raised his voice with an aggressive air. "I don't want to argue with you anymore. Yang Zhi, think it over carefully." After taking a breath, he continued, "I'm really doing this for your own good! The dead are dead. There's no need to—"
"Stop. Stop."
Fu Hui wanted to continue, but after being interrupted, he could only turn around and look. "Huh?"
Yang Zhi found his words unbearably painful. They were undoubtedly rubbing salt into her wounds.
She stood rooted to the spot, her breathing unconsciously growing rapid. She was just about to argue back when she heard that familiar young voice. The furrow between her brows instantly smoothed out. Her beautiful eyes fixed on the person behind Fu Hui, and in a soft, gentle voice tinged with disbelief, she said, "Ding Yebai? Why are you here?"
Ding Yebai wore a black baseball cap and simple, casual clothes. At that moment, he stood behind Fu Hui with an icy expression.
He raised the bread in his hand and said to Yang Zhi, "I was hungry, so I came out to buy some bread. And, by the way..."
Yang Zhi asked, "By the way?"
Ding Yebai looked at her, his gaze unconsciously softening. "By the way, I came to pick you up."
Thanks to algernon100 for the Origin Point Coins and to E Yong for the tips.
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