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

A new message followed immediately after the system message, containing only seven words: "Finally decided to add me?"

Zhang Yifan leaned against the wall and smiled at the screen.

It wasn't the kind of suppressed laughter; it was a genuine laugh that came out, making his eyebrows and eyes crinkle.

A student passing by glanced at him, probably thinking he'd gone crazy after the math exam.

He took a deep breath, suppressed a laugh, and typed, "You haven't added me either."

"I'm waiting for you to take the initiative."

"Now we're even."

"Do your best on the exam, don't let the combined science section drag you down."

"The same to you."

He stuffed his phone back into his pocket, looked up and saw Zong Wen walking back from the other end of the corridor, his hands still wet with water droplets.

Seeing the expression on his face, Zong Wen paused for a moment, then quickened his pace and walked over, scrutinizing him with the look of someone interrogating a criminal: "What did you just do?"

"Nothing."

"Why are you laughing at me when I didn't do anything?"

Did I laugh?

"You laughed, and you laughed in a really lewd way! Did you secretly add the school beauty on WeChat while I was away?"

"Bored, going to do some homework, bye."

Zhang Yifan pushed open the classroom door and walked in without looking back.

The science and English exams are on Friday.

The physics question in the science comprehensive exam was a level more difficult than the ones they usually practiced. Zhang Yifan was stuck on the last question for almost ten minutes and had to try two different approaches before he finally solved it.

When he handed in his paper, he glanced in Shen Zhiyi's direction. She had already packed her things and walked out, her ponytail swaying twice on her shoulder before disappearing through the door.

After finishing the last exam, English, we went back to the classroom and had a brief class meeting. It was already getting dark.

A few students were running around on the playground, the leaves of the old locust tree rustled in the night wind, and the lights in the teaching building illuminated the corridors.

My phone vibrated.

The WeChat message, sent by Shen Zhiyi, no longer had the usual SMS prefix format, but the tone was still the same: "How did the exam go?"

"good."

"Me too."

Zhang Yifan looked at these three words and thought to himself, "We've already added each other on WeChat, but her wording hasn't changed at all."

But he knew what those three words meant when they came from her.

She didn't say "You did very well on the test" or "It was alright," she just said "Me too."

Just like in the SMS era, the tone remained the same despite the change in platform. This is the real Shen Zhiyi.

"The results won't be out until next week, right?" he typed as he walked.

"Hmm, Monday, are you nervous?"

"I'm not nervous, are you?"

"I'm not nervous."

Zhang Yifan stuffed his phone back into his pocket and quickened his pace toward the teaching building.

The last rays of the setting sun sank below the horizon onto the playground behind him, and one by one, the streetlights lit up, casting alternating light and shadow on the path beneath his feet.

On Saturday, a self-study day, Peng Kaifei returned to school.

He took two days off during the provincial joint exams, but no one cared why he took the time off.

When Peng Kaifei walked into his classroom, the previously sparse chatter fell silent for a moment.

He had a purplish-blue bruise on the corner of his left eye, a dark red scab on the corner of his mouth, and a scrape on his chin.

He walked to his seat with his head down, zipped up his school uniform all the way, and buried his chin in his collar.

His deskmate had already moved to the front row, claiming that he was nearsighted and couldn't see the blackboard, but everyone knew that was just an excuse.

The seat next to him was empty, with a thin layer of dust on the table.

The boys in the back row exchanged glances.

"See those patches on your face?"

A boy lowered his voice and pointed in Peng Kaifei's direction with the cap of his pen.

"Serves you right."

Another boy snorted, his voice not loud but just loud enough for the two rows around him to hear.

"When he used to have Tiger ambush other people, why didn't he show any mercy? He was so powerful back then, the young master Peng, the young master Peng, a dozen thugs would be waiting for him at the school gate with just a wave of his hand. Now Tiger is in jail, his dad is under investigation, and he's getting his comeuppance."

"Who hit him?"

"I heard it's Liu Zheng from Class 8. He was once cornered by Brother Hu at the school gate and all his pocket money was taken from him. Peng Kaifei was standing by watching and cheering. Now that he's been found, it's a case of tit for tat."

"It's not just Liu Zheng; he's offended far more people. In the past two years alone, I know of at least four or five people he's had ambushed. Who wouldn't want to take this opportunity to kick him while he's down?"

"Stop talking, stop talking," a girl interrupted them, frowning. "His face is like that, and you're still gloating."

"Oh, feeling sorry for him? You wouldn't happen to have a crush on Young Master Peng, would you?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? I just think... never mind."

The girl turned her head away and stopped talking, but her deskmate noticed that after she opened the book, her eyes were not on the words, but stared at the table for several seconds in a daze.

Another girl looked down at her phone and whispered, "Actually, he never really did anything to us before, he was just too arrogant. Seeing him like this now, I can't quite describe how I feel."

Her deskmate glanced at her, didn't say anything, but turned her phone screen upside down and placed it face down on the table.

Peng Kaifei lay face down on the table, burying his face in his arms.

He listened to all the discussions, closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and pretended to be asleep.

These people weren't like this before.

When he's late, people wave and shout, "Brother Fei, there's a seat here!" When he changes into new shoes, people gather around to ask how much they cost and where he bought them. When he says a word, people rush to chime in.

At that time, he took all of this for granted because he was rich, because his father was President Peng, and because his family's company name was engraved at the entrance of the school gymnasium.

The sign at the entrance of the stadium is still there, but nobody cares about it anymore.

He lay on the table, feeling as if a stone was lodged in his chest.

Lin Wanqing heard the news of Peng Kaifei being beaten while queuing in the cafeteria at noon.

"Have you heard? Peng Kaifei got cornered and his face is bruised in several places. Now he just lies on the table and won't talk to anyone."

The two girls in front of her were chatting animatedly, their voices completely undisguised.

"I'd heard about it. It was Liu Zheng from Class 8 who did it. He was cornered by Peng Kaifei before, and now he's getting revenge. Do you think he would have dared to mess with Peng Kaifei if the Peng family hadn't gotten into trouble?"

"Of course not! When the Peng family was rich and powerful, who would dare to touch a hair on his head? Now that his father is in dire straits and has no one to protect him, he's going to get back at everyone he offended in the past."

"Look at him these past few days, he's been walking with his head down, he's stopped wearing his limited-edition sneakers, and he doesn't style his hair anymore. He's like a completely different person."

"Serves him right. He's been running wild at school for years because his family is rich. Someone should have taught him a lesson long ago."

Lin Wanqing stood in the line, listening expressionlessly.

When it was her turn to get her food, she ordered a plate of green vegetables and a plate of braised pork, and found a corner seat to sit down.

The cafeteria was noisy, filled with discussions about the provincial joint exam. Some people were comparing answers, some were praising each other, and others were arguing heatedly about the challenging physics question from the morning.

She lowered her head and slowly picked at the vegetables in the plate with her chopsticks, not listening to a single word.

Peng Kaifei was cornered.

The rich kid who used to drive a sports car to school and humiliate people with money at the drop of a hat is now being beaten black and blue in the stairwell.

She showed no sympathy whatsoever.

For a fleeting moment, she even felt that he deserved it.

When Peng Kaifei was pursuing her, he would often say, "You won't lose out if you're with me," but she never fell for him. She only enjoyed the gifts he gave her and the sense of superiority he brought her.

The Peng family is about to collapse. She was right not to choose him. He's a good-for-nothing who only relies on his father. Without his father, he's nothing.