Does Hero Saves the Beauty Become Clichéd

The next day.

During the 30-minute break between classes, homeroom teacher Zhang Wei posted the report cards on the back wall of the classroom.

Ding Yebai had always been consistently in the top ten of the class, but because his English was far behind, he was always at the tail end of the top ten.

However, this time, his English score jumped by more than 20 points, and his ranking also moved up by 3 places.

In fact, the students ahead were still very strong, and he still needed to continue working hard towards the Gaokao.

Ding Yebai was very happy. It was the happiest thing to gain achievements little by little through his own efforts.

In the Chinese class after the break, Chinese teacher Zhang Wei started talking about the exam results as soon as class began.

He mainly talked about which questions students shouldn't have made mistakes on. He considered the students' self-esteem, so he didn't criticize those who didn't do well. However, he never spared his praise for those who did well.

"Lu Shuai, great job, you got 100 in English."

"Ding Yebai, you're also amazing. English has always been your weak point. This is the first time I've seen you score 116. Keep up the effort and fight on."

It was almost one sentence per person. After all, there were so many students, and he couldn't praise anyone excessively.

Just as he was about to start the lesson, he caught sight of Lu Shuai laughing heartily over there out of the corner of his eye. It felt like the desks in that area were shaking.

Zhang Wei walked over helplessly. Considering his English level, he jokingly said the everyday phrase, "how are you."

Lu Shuai, too happy about being praised, got excited and blurted out, "I'm fine. Fuck you."

The moment he finished speaking, the whole class burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha"

Even Ding Yebai couldn't help but let out a snicker.

It was simply too...

And so, accompanied by the laughter of the entire class, Chinese teacher Zhang Wei's face fell.

"Sorry, sorry, I misspoke. Teacher, I'm sorry."

Lu Shuai thought he was done for, but he didn't expect Zhang Wei to just take it as a joke and let it go.

Everything went back to normal, and class began.

Ding Yebai raised his eyebrows slightly, put away his smile, flipped open his test paper, and did some practice problems as usual.

Evening.

Ding Yebai returned home. As soon as he entered the door, he threw his schoolbag onto the sofa, then went to the refrigerator to get a bottle of chilled canned drink.

After taking a big gulp, he let out a comfortable "Ah."

He checked the time, thinking that Yang Zhi should be arriving soon.

Meanwhile.

Yang Zhi packed the papers she was going to go over into her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and walked out the gate of the courtyard.

In some ways, she could be considered wealthy. After all, she was a very capable person who earned quite a lot of money over the years through part-time jobs using her intelligence and by investing in a friend's shop.

Seeing her dressed low-key with a quiet and reserved demeanor, outsiders wouldn't be able to tell she was a rich woman.

She usually didn't drive at this time; walking was the feeling she wanted.

The night had already darkened, and the road was noticeably quieter.

She walked with her bag at a leisurely pace. As she approached a fork in the road, she suddenly saw a figure in the lamplight and felt strange, stopping in her tracks.

The figure in the lamplight was slowly walking towards her.

Only when she saw his face clearly did Yang Zhi's doubts lessen.

"Fu Hui?"

"Hi, Yang Zhi."

A tall man, about 25 years old, stood in front of Yang Zhi.

This man had average features, just the look of an ordinary person.

Yang Zhi tightened her grip on her bag. "What are you doing here?"

Fu Hui produced a bouquet of roses as he spoke. "I heard you were here, and I wanted to see you."

Seeing the roses, Yang Zhi understood. She looked at Fu Hui somewhat awkwardly and said, "Fu Hui, I—"

"Hey, wait a minute." Fu Hui playfully blocked her face with the flowers and continued, "You've already rejected me once. Yang Zhi, this time, I'm very confident."

Yang Zhi: "Then I can reject you a second time. I'm sorry, Fu Hui, I don't like you, and I won't accept your confession."

With 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: "I started my own business after graduating from university. Look, I'm a big boss now, worth hundreds of millions. I can give you a good life. Money, Yang Zhi." He then deliberately raised his eyebrows, as if to say [I'm super rich, okay? Totally charming!]

Yang Zhi watched him speak quietly, her expression unreadable. It was rare to see her face like this.

Without a smile, her beauty was tinged with a hint of sorrow.

"I'm not short on money either," Yang Zhi said calmly.

Fu Hui: "Uh... it's okay. I know you've felt guilty all these years because of your mother's death. But it's okay, people die, they die. Just let it go!"

"What did you say?" Yang Zhi's face had turned cold, even laced with anger.

Fu Hui hadn't realized the gravity of his words. He explained earnestly, "Just... let it go. The dead can't come back to life. We who are alive should cherish life. Thinking about them all the time will make you depressed. Just pretend it never happened."

"Fu Hui, have you forgotten that your family was also injured because of it?" Yang Zhi looked at him incredulously, then lowered her voice and continued, "With such a massive earthquake, how can you just pretend it never happened? I don't know what you're thinking, but my mom was the most important person to me. I could never forget."

Even her anger was calm and collected, a testament to her upbringing and composure.

Fu Hui inexplicably became angry, possibly due to the alcohol he had consumed.

He suddenly took a step forward, facing Yang Zhi directly, and raised his voice, adopting an aggressive stance. "I don't want to argue with you anymore. Yang Zhi, think about it carefully." He paused for a breath before continuing, "I'm really doing this for your own good! The dead are dead, there's no need to—"

"Stop, stop."

Fu Hui tried to continue but was interrupted, forcing him to turn around and look. "Huh?"

Yang Zhi found his words unbearable, like salt being rubbed into her wounds.

She stood rooted to the spot, her breathing unconsciously quickening. Just as she was about to retort, she heard a familiar young voice, and the frown on her brow instantly smoothed out. Her beautiful eyes fixed on the person behind Fu Hui, and she said softly, gently, and with a hint of disbelief, "Ding Yebai? What are you doing here?"

Ding Yebai, wearing a black baseball cap and casual clothes, stood behind Fu Hui with a cold expression.

He raised his bread and said to Yang Zhi, "I'm hungry, I came out to buy some bread. And by the way..."

Yang Zhi: "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 starting coins and Willow Song for the tip.