Encountering Ding Yebai Is Also My Good Luck

"I scored 117. You really don't need to be sad. You've improved, haven't you?" Yang Zhi said softly, her smile blooming like a flower as she moved the hand puppet.

Ding Yebai: "It's only one point. I'm still treading water."

After he finished speaking, he also tried to move the hand puppet. But it was an elephant hand puppet, and its long trunk moved every time he moved it.

It was inexplicably embarrassing.

Why was he an elephant hand puppet?

"How can you call it treading water? In my eyes, you've been improving all along."

Ding Yebai froze for a moment: "Huh?"

"Think about it, didn't you only score in the eighties or nineties before? You've scored over 110 twice now. That's progress."

Yang Zhi: "Also, don't underestimate that one point." She tapped the elephant hand puppet's head with the cow hand puppet. "It's very true that one point can make you beat thousands of people in the Gaokao."

Ding Yebai stared at his hand puppet and nodded slightly, saying nothing.

Yang Zhi looked at his face and sighed. Her voice shifted from imitating a cow to her usual gentle tone. "Ding Yebai, when you do things with too much utilitarianism and expect too much success, you often end up disappointed and in pain. It's actually best to maintain a normal mindset. Keep working hard towards your goals, and even if you don't achieve the results you expected, you'll gain unexpected rewards in the end."

She paused and continued, "Besides, you have a problem. A big problem."

Ding Yebai looked up at her blankly: "What?"

"You can't see your own strengths."

"...Huh?"

Yang Zhi: "You got perfect scores in Math and Science, but you never focus on that. Instead, you get hung up on your English score of 117."

It's like if ten people comment on you, and nine praise you, but the one person who scolds you is the only one you pay attention to.

Ding Yebai: "Isn't this something you can do with your hands? These last two times weren't difficult."

Yang Zhi raised her eyebrows slightly, a mix of surprise and helplessness.

"This... really isn't something you can just do with your hands."

"..."

Yang Zhi: "Honestly, when I first heard that you could get perfect scores in Math and Science, I thought you were amazing. Because back when I was in school, there was never anyone in our school who could get a perfect score in Math and Science."

She looked down at Ding Yebai, her eyes curving into a gentle smile. "In my eyes, you're a very capable person, so I hope you'll pay attention to your strengths. Didn't you say it yourself? You've gotten so used to it that you take it for granted, but that's not true. Getting a perfect score in Math and Science is truly remarkable."

Ding Yebai's heart was touched.

After all, who wouldn't be happy to be praised and complimented?

"So," Yang Zhi said, her cow hand puppet's mouth engulfing the head of Ding Yebai's elephant hand puppet, "Ding Yebai, let's work hard, but don't rush. Blooming flowers and bearing abundant fruit all take time. Be happy, take it one step at a time, and the results you want will eventually come."

In Ding Yebai's eyes, there were no longer two hand puppets between them. It was Yang Zhi's hand holding his.

His blood was boiling. He could feel the blood coursing through the veins on the back of his hand.

His heart and eyes fluttered with every movement.

He felt her gentleness and understanding over and over again.

He always wondered why such a person existed in this world.

It seemed impossible.

Even if they existed, he wouldn't have met them.

Sigh...

"I really am lucky," Ding Yebai said faintly, lowering his face.

Yang Zhi withdrew her hand and put the cow hand puppet back into her bag.

"What did you say, Ding Yebai?"

"I said I'm lucky."

"Why do you say that all of a sudden?"

"Because..." Ding Yebai slowly raised his eyes, staring intently at Yang Zhi's face. He was a little nervous, his pupils trembling.

"Because I met you, Sister Yang Zhi."

Meeting you, knowing you, being tutored by you, becoming your friend – it's all my luck.

Ding Yebai spoke from the bottom of his heart, a sigh of relief after a storm had passed.

Was this considered a direct approach?

He had thought about it too.

He didn't expect to be a straightforward person?? He mocked himself inwardly.

On Yang Zhi's end, the smile on her face didn't fade; she didn't seem to react much.

"Meeting you, Ding Yebai, is also my luck."

"Huh?!" Ding Yebai was pleasantly surprised. He widened his eyes, leaned back against the chair, and asked, "Really?"

"Because you've helped Grandma and Qiqi many times, and you've protected me too." Yang Zhi paused, her eyes as curved and cheerful as ever. "Thank you."

Few people care so much about my family. Besides Senior Sister Ding Yuerong, it's you. Speaking of which, you're all from the Ding family.

"Hm?" Ding Yebai's heart began to race, and he tried to maintain his aloof expression. "Thank you too, Sister Yang Zhi, for coming specifically to comfort me."

"Your sister said you were in a bad mood, so I thought a toy might make you happy."

"I don't think an 18-year-old boy would be happy getting a hand puppet. A game skin would be much better."

"Really?"

Yang Zhi looked up at the ceiling, as if she had thought about it very seriously.

"I don't really understand either."

She had good relationships with people, but most of them were one-sided. She rarely initiated contact with male friends herself, so she didn't understand what boys her age actually liked.

"Let's talk about it next time. It's better to focus on class now," Yang Zhi said, spreading out the test paper.

Ding Yebai picked up the elephant hand puppet and placed it on the other side of the desk. He happened to catch Yang Zhi's eye and asked, "What's wrong?"

Yang Zhi: "If you didn't like it, I was going to take it back."

Ding Yebai froze for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching. "You... aren't you giving this to me?"

Yang Zhi: "I intended to, but after what you just said..."

Ding Yebai frowned, picked up the elephant hand puppet, and put it directly into his drawer. He said with extreme coldness, "I really don't like things given by others. But since it's from Sister Yang Zhi, I... don't dislike it as much."

Yang Zhi stiffened upon hearing this, her pupils widening slightly.

Her gaze began to wander, and she unnaturally tidied her hair.

"Cough cough... Is that so? Well, as long as you like it. Let's look at the test paper."

"Okay."

A new week. Although it's only recommended on the computer version, please keep reading (≧≦)/. Maybe there will be an app next week.