Don't underestimate the poor and elderly; I was thrilled to refuse the class beauty's adva

The four-day college entrance examination in Dong Province ended amidst tension and the scratching sound of pens scratching on answer sheets.

When the bell rang for the final exam, Zhang Yifan put down his pen, checked the answer sheet from beginning to end, and then capped his pen.

The invigilator collected the answer sheets, and he packed up his stationery, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked out of the examination room.

The corridor was packed with people; some were cheering, some were high-fiving, and some were throwing their coats over their shoulders and rushing downstairs.

He walked through the crowd, down the stairs step by step, out of the teaching building, across the square, and to the school gate.

Then he stopped, turned around, and looked up at the main gate of the school.

Three years.

From not being able to find the cafeteria when I first entered high school, to now being able to walk through every corner of the campus with my eyes closed.

From chasing Lin Wanqing like a simp for a whole year, to being bound to the system, to rejecting her, dumping her, and finally not even bothering to look at her.

He dropped from first to third in the grade, and then returned to first place.

He had entered and exited this school gate countless times, but today was the last time he would walk out of it as a current student.

He silently said to himself: Goodbye, No. 1 High School.

Then he turned around and walked towards the figure waiting for him under the shade of a tree not far away.

Shen Zhiyi stood under the old locust tree, wearing a pure white dress and still sporting her signature neat ponytail.

When she saw him approaching, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, then quickly flattened themselves, reverting to her usual indifferent expression.

Zhang Yifan walked up to her, the two looked at each other, neither of them said anything, and then naturally walked forward side by side.

Since that intimate night at the villa, their relationship has progressed by leaps and bounds.

Before, when two people walked on the road, there was at least a backpack between them. Now, their elbows might occasionally bump into each other, but neither of them would move aside.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" Shen Zhiyi asked casually.

Zhang Yifan thought about it seriously: "I plan to sleep until the sun goes down. I haven't slept in much during my three years of high school. Nobody's going to drag me out of bed tomorrow."

"And what happens after you wake up?"

"After waking up, call..."

Just as Zhang Yifan was about to suggest playing games, he caught a glimpse of Shen Zhiyi's lips slightly pursed.

He swallowed the word "game" back, and changed the subject...

"...I'm planning to ask you out! Yes, of course I'll go find you after I wake up, is that even a question?"

Shen Zhiyi's lips curled up again, the curve much more pronounced than when she had just pursed them.

"Then I'll wait for you to contact me."

"it is good."

Just as Zhang Yifan finished saying "okay," he heard footsteps behind him.

Immediately afterwards, a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder from behind, so forcefully that it almost knocked him off balance.

"Fan-ge! Exams are over! We're free!"

Zong Wen's face peeked out from behind Zhang Yifan's shoulder, his expression filled with ecstasy.

Tang Xiaonuan was with him; the two had obviously bumped into each other as soon as they came out of the examination hall.

"Brother Fan, please take me to your restaurant for a meal!"

I miss my uncle's braised pork so much! These past few days, all I can think about during my exams is sweet and sour pork ribs and braised pork!

After Zong Wen finished speaking, he noticed Shen Zhiyi standing next to Zhang Yifan.

The ecstasy on his face subsided slightly, and he scratched the back of his head:

"Shen, the campus belle, is here too. Um... would you like to come eat with us at Brother Fan's restaurant? Uncle's cooking is exceptional, his braised pork is absolutely amazing."

Zhang Yifan looked at Shen Zhiyi with a hint of anticipation.

This is Zongwen speaking for him, saying what he wanted to say but hadn't yet said.

Shen Zhiyi smiled and shook her head: "I won't go. My family is waiting to celebrate with me. My parents should have already prepared dinner. You guys go ahead and have fun."

She said goodbye to everyone one by one, then turned and left.

Her ponytail swayed gently over her shoulder, and her steps remained quick and steady, just as usual.

Zhang Yifan watched her figure disappear around the street corner. Before the anticipation on his face could fade, it was replaced by a barely perceptible hint of disappointment.

Tang Xiaonuan stood to the side and saw the whole scene clearly.

She glanced in the direction Shen Zhiyi had disappeared, then at Zhang Yifan's face, which couldn't hide his disappointment, and asked, "Brother Fan, are you disappointed because she didn't come to your house for dinner?"

Zhang Yifan withdrew his gaze and nodded frankly: "A little. I've invited her twice already, and Zong Wen invited her again this time, but she still didn't come."

Tang Xiaonuan looked at him with the kind of look that comes from someone who's been through it all: "Brother Fan, are you stupid? It's obvious that he's only refusing because he's shy."

"shy?"

"They haven't even defined their relationship with you yet, but they go to your family's restaurant to eat. Doesn't that mean they've met your parents?"

Imagine she's sitting next to you, and your parents bring over the food and ask, "Yifan, is this your classmate?" How would you introduce her?

She's a girl, and you haven't even gotten to that point yet, so why should she have to endure your parents' scrutinizing gaze?

Any girl would refuse, okay?

Zhang Yifan suddenly realized.

He genuinely hadn't considered this aspect.

He thought Shen Zhiyi was simply too busy or didn't like crowded places.

But after Tang Xiaonuan's explanation, he suddenly felt that everything made sense.

He was only thinking about letting her taste his father's cooking, without considering the psychological pressure she might feel.

Zong Wen stared at Tang Xiaonuan in shock: "How did you guess? You only met her once, how could you possibly know what she was thinking?"

Tang Xiaonuan rolled her eyes at him: "Nonsense, I'm a girl too, how could I not guess what girls are thinking?"

The guy thinks, "It's just going out for a meal, what's the big deal?" But the girl is thinking something completely different.

What's going on in your heads, you guys? Are you single-celled organisms?

Zhang Yifan silently attributed this assessment to Zong Wen, then changed the subject: "Let's go eat."

When the three arrived at Ronggui Snack Shop, the shop was indeed less crowded than it had been a couple of days before, but it was still packed with customers.

Zhang Yifan walked into the kitchen with practiced ease, moved a folding table from the corner, and set it up on the sidewalk outside the store.

After the store was packed on the first day, he asked Liu Guilan to prepare this table for him, specifically to deal with the situation where he and his friends had to wait for a table.

Zong Wen and Tang Xiaonuan skillfully brought out three small stools from the shop, and the three of them sat down around the folding table, giving off a bit of a street food stall vibe.

Zongwen picked up the menu and, while flipping through it, asked the two, "What are your plans for the holidays? Exams are over, and this is the first summer vacation in your lives where you don't have to worry about studying. How are you planning to spend it?"

Tang Xiaonuan's eyes lit up: "I want to travel! I want to go to the beach! I've never seen the sea before, I've always just wandered around inland cities."

"Great minds think alike!" Zong Wen slammed the menu on the table. "I also want to travel! I've already planned it out: first Xiamen, second Chengdu, third Xi'an. Want to come along? We can form a group!"

Zhang Yifan did not participate in their heated discussion about travel.

He leaned back in his chair, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"I want to learn to drive."

He had been planning this for several days.

The last time I took a taxi to Yujingyuan, the talkative driver kept nagging me the whole way, and I made up my mind about it then.

The first thing I did after finishing the college entrance exam was to learn to drive and buy a car.

He is rich.

Having so much money in your bank account and not spending it is pure stupidity.

"Why learn to drive? Brother Fan, you don't even have a car to drive. Are you going to buy one now?"

As Zongwen asked the question, he picked up a piece of braised pork with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, chewing it.

"Of course, otherwise why would I learn to drive?" Zhang Yifan said matter-of-factly.