"117 points. There's really no need to feel so upset. You improved, didn't you?" Yang Zhi smiled brightly as she manipulated the hand puppets and spoke softly.
Ding Yebai said, "Only by one point. I'm basically still standing in place."
After saying that, he also tried moving the hand puppet. But this was an elephant hand puppet, so whenever he moved it, its long trunk moved along with it.
It was inexplicably embarrassing.
Why was his hand puppet an elephant?!
"How can you call that standing in place? In my eyes, you're always improving."
Ding Yebai froze for a moment. "Hm?"
"Think about it. Didn't you used to score only eighty or ninety? Now you've scored over 110 twice. That's progress."
Yang Zhi added, "And don't underestimate this one point." She tapped the elephant puppet's head with the cow hand puppet. "There's a reason people say that one point in the Gaokao can defeat ten million people."
Ding Yebai stared at his hand puppet and gave a slight nod without saying anything.
Yang Zhi gazed at his face and sighed. Her voice also shifted from imitating a cow to her usual gentle tone. "Ding Yebai, doing things with too much focus on personal gain and expecting too much from success will often lead to disappointment and pain. It's actually best to maintain a normal state of mind. Keep working toward your goal. Even if you don't achieve the result you expected, you'll still gain something unexpected in the end."
She paused before continuing, "Besides, you have a problem. A very big problem."
Ding Yebai looked at her blankly. "What?"
"You can't see what's good about yourself."
"...Huh?"
Yang Zhi said, "You clearly got full marks in both mathematics and comprehensive science, yet you always fail to notice that. Instead, you fixate on the fact that you scored 117 in English."
It was as if ten people had commented on you, with nine praising you and only one criticizing you, yet you focused solely on that one person who criticized you.
Ding Yebai said, "Those are things anyone can do. These two tests weren't difficult."
Yang Zhi raised her eyebrows slightly, looking both surprised and helpless.
"This... really isn't something anyone can do."
"..."
Yang Zhi said, "To be honest, when I first heard that you could get full marks in mathematics and comprehensive science, I thought you were incredibly impressive. When I was in school, no one at my school could ever get full marks in mathematics and comprehensive science."
She curved her eyes at Ding Yebai and revealed a gentle smile. "In my eyes, you're an extremely impressive person, so I hope you can take your strengths seriously. Didn't you say that yourself? You've gotten used to them over time, but that doesn't mean they're ordinary. Getting full marks in mathematics and comprehensive science is truly remarkable."
Ding Yebai was deeply touched.
After all, who wouldn't be happy to receive praise and compliments?
"So," Yang Zhi said, using the open mouth of the cow puppet to suddenly cover the head of Ding Yebai's elephant puppet, "Ding Yebai, we need to work hard, but we mustn't rush. A riot of color and abundant harvests both require time. Cheer up and take things steadily, one step at a time. The results you want will come eventually."
In Ding Yebai's eyes, there was no longer a hand puppet between them. It was entirely Yang Zhi's hand holding his own.
His blood was boiling. He could feel it rushing through the veins on the back of his hand.
Opening and closing, opening and closing, his heart and eyes seemed to turn over together.
Again and again, he felt her gentleness and thoughtfulness.
He kept wondering why someone like her could exist in this world.
She simply couldn't exist.
And even if she did, he probably wouldn't meet her.
Sigh...
"I really am lucky," Ding Yebai said faintly, lowering his head.
Yang Zhi withdrew her hand and put the cow hand puppet back into her bag.
"Ding Yebai, what did you say?"
"I said I'm very lucky."
"Why are you suddenly saying that?"
"Because..." Ding Yebai slowly raised his eyes and stared intently at Yang Zhi's face. He was somewhat nervous, and even his pupils trembled.
"Because I met you, Sister Yang Zhi."
Meeting you, getting to know you, receiving tutoring from you, and becoming your friend—all of it was my luck.
Ding Yebai meant it from the bottom of his heart. It could be considered an exclamation of his mood clearing after the storm.
Did this count as being direct?
He had thought about it too.
I didn't expect myself to be the direct type. He secretly mocked himself.
As for Yang Zhi, the smile on her face did not fade. She did not seem to react very strongly.
"Meeting Ding Yebai was my luck too."
"Eh?!" Ding Yebai was pleasantly surprised. He widened his eyes and leaned against the back of his chair. "Really?"
"Because you helped Grandma and Qiqi so many times, and you also protected me." Yang Zhi paused, her eyes curving as usual as she spoke brightly. "Thank you."
Very few people had ever cared so much about my family. Aside from Sister Ding Yuerong, it was you. When you put it that way, you're both people from the Ding family.
"Hm?" Ding Yebai's heartbeat began to quicken, but he struggled to maintain his aloof expression. "And thank you too, Sister Yang Zhi, for coming all this way to comfort me."
"Your sister said you were in a bad mood, so I thought bringing you a toy might cheer you up."
"I don't think an eighteen-year-old boy would be happy just because he got a hand puppet. Giving me a game skin would've worked much better."
"Is that so?"
Yang Zhi looked up at the ceiling, seemingly giving the matter serious thought.
"I don't really know either."
She was popular, but most of those relationships were one-sided. She rarely took the initiative to talk to male friends, so she didn't know what boys of this age actually liked.
"We'll talk about it next time. For now, we should focus on class." Yang Zhi spread open the test paper as she spoke.
Ding Yebai picked up the elephant hand puppet and placed it on the other side of the desk. He happened to notice Yang Zhi's expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
Yang Zhi said, "I was thinking that if you didn't like it, I'd take it back."
Ding Yebai froze for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching. "This... wasn't it a gift for me?"
Yang Zhi said, "I was planning to give it to you, but then you said that just now..."
Ding Yebai frowned slightly, picked up the elephant hand puppet, and put it directly into his drawer. He spoke with extreme indifference. "I really don't like things given to me by other people. But since this was a gift from you, Sister Yang Zhi, I don't dislike it quite as much."
Yang Zhi stiffened when she heard that, her pupils widening slightly.
Her gaze began to wander as she awkwardly adjusted her hair.
"Ahem... Is that so? If you, if you like it, that's good. Let's look at the test paper."
"Okay."
It was the start of a new week. Although there was only a recommendation on the PC version, please follow the novel as well (≧▽≦)/. Maybe it'll be recommended on the app next week.
Before you continue