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

But this secret pleasure only lasted a few seconds.

Because she immediately thought of Zhang Yifan.

Peng Kaifei fell from a great height, but Zhang Yifan flew higher and higher.

The boy who had been chasing her for a whole year led the entire school in smashing up the cafeteria, sending the principal to the police car, and standing side by side with Shen Zhiyi at the top of the list.

She used to think he was dull, boring, from an average family, and only good at taking exams, but now all those shortcomings have become advantages.

Being dull is called being focused; coming from an ordinary family is called being self-reliant; only being good at taking exams is called having ability.

She sat there, eating a plate of food that was getting cold, listening to everyone in the cafeteria talking about others.

No one looked at her, no one talked about her, and even the girls she used to look down on were chatting and laughing with others.

Zhao Rong is right. She has never truly considered anyone a friend, so no one considers her a friend now.

She stuck her chopsticks into her rice and glanced up at the other side of the cafeteria.

Zhang Yifan was sandwiched between Zong Wen and Guo Hao, who were chatting about something. Zong Wen was laughing so hard he almost fell off his chair.

Zhang Yifan's face remained expressionless as he simply lowered his head and ate his rice.

He ate much faster than before, no longer glancing at her absentmindedly. He focused intently on the food he had just eaten, as if every bite had its own purpose.

Lin Wanqing looked away, stirred the rice on her plate a couple more times, but had no appetite. She picked up her plate, stood up, and walked to the recycling bin, where she poured the barely touched food into the slop bucket.

After finishing their meal, Zhang Yifan and Zong Wen agreed to go and help the old lady.

The tricycle under the old locust tree at the school gate has been set up again.

The new aluminum pot was polished to a shine, and with the lid off, the dark brown braising liquid was bubbling and steaming. Tea eggs were rolling around in the pot, their shells cracked, and the braising flavor seeped in through the cracks, turning the egg whites amber.

The line stretched from the tricycles all the way to the iron fence at the school gate, even longer than before the cafeteria was vandalized.

Some people were carrying lunchboxes, some were carrying insulated containers, and some couldn't wait to take the tea eggs handed to them by the old lady and bite into them, even though they were burning their mouths, they still refused to let go.

"Grandma, you're finally back! I'm so sick of eating the cafeteria breakfast for days!"

"Grandma, how are you feeling? Zhou Degui didn't do anything to you last time, did he?"

"Grandma, I gave you an extra dollar, keep the change!"

The old lady frantically searched for change, muttering "Don't rush, don't rush, we have everything," but her hands were noticeably slower than before, trembling slightly from the steam.

Zongwen squeezed into the queue, standing on tiptoe to peer through: "I knew it! As long as the pot is still there, the old lady will definitely come back. Look at this queue, it's even longer than the cafeteria window. What does that show? It shows that the masses have discerning eyes; good food is good food."

When it was their turn, the old lady recognized Zhang Yifan at a glance.

She put down the spoon, wiped her hands repeatedly on her apron, then scooped a tea egg out of the pot and shoved it into Zhang Yifan's hand without saying a word.

"You bought this pot, take it, come anytime you want to eat it. Grandma is saving it for you. If it weren't for you, I would really be out of business."

"Grandma, I didn't buy the pot myself..."

"Take them all, take them all." The old lady scooped up two more eggs and stuffed them into Zongwen's hands. Her eyes began to redden again, and her voice trembled slightly. "You two are both good children. I've heard about what happened at school. You've helped me so much, this old woman has nothing to repay you with. Come and eat eggs every day from now on, Grandma will give you as many as you want!"

Zhang Yifan took the tea egg without arguing with her.

While the old lady turned around to give change to the next student, he slipped a fifty-yuan note under the pot lid.

The lid was put back on, and steam overflowed from the edge of the pot, causing the banknotes to curl slightly from the heat.

He peeled one open and took a bite.

It still tastes the same; the egg white is perfectly marinated, and the aroma of the yolk rises up the tongue, mixed with a faint hint of tea.

He stood under the old locust tree, looking at the queue that stretched half the street and the busy old ladies, and suddenly realized that although the system complained about him as a lonely old man all day long, it had ultimately changed the trajectory of his life.

"Is it good?" Zongwen leaned closer.

Zhang Yifan stuffed a peeled tea egg into his mouth.

"Hot, hot, hot! Couldn't you have told me beforehand?! Holy crap, it's so delicious, still the same old taste. Yifan, when do you think the provincial joint exam results will come out? Is the school beauty nervous?"

"On Monday, she said she wasn't nervous."

"Who wouldn't be nervous? She's definitely nervous, she's just being stubborn. Let me tell you, that's just how Shen Zhiyi is. She'll say 'I'm not nervous' or 'I don't care,' but actually she cares more than anyone else."

Zhang Yifan swallowed the tea egg: "Your summarizing ability is better than your essay writing."

"I'm serious, if she really didn't care, why would she add you on WeChat? If she really didn't care, why would she compare answers with you every day? If she really didn't care..."

"Okay, okay, I got it."

"Now that you know, you should at least do something about it. Don't just keep quiet all the time. The girl has gone to such lengths to be proactive; you should at least respond."

Zhang Yifan stuffed the last bite of egg into his mouth, glanced at the old locust tree, patted the eggshell crumbs off his hands, and said something that Zong Wen couldn't understand for a long time: "I have my own way."

Before the results of the provincial joint examination were even released, Peng Kaifei's situation had slipped another step.

On Saturday afternoon, he was called to the office by his homeroom teacher.

When he pushed open the office door, the homeroom teacher was sitting behind his desk, with several documents spread out on it, the corners of the papers being flipped by the fan.

The homeroom teacher's expression was much more serious than usual. When Peng Kaifei came in, he remained silent for a while before speaking.

"Regarding your father's case, the Discipline Inspection Commission needs you to give a statement. It's not directed at you, they just want to understand the situation."

You were in the know about the several transactions your father handled in the past.

I'm not sure about the specifics, but they'll have someone specifically assigned to handle things with you.

Peng Kaifei looked down at the notice stamped with a red seal on his desk.

The four words are "cooperate with the investigation".

It's all written in black and white, crystal clear.

"When?"

"Next Monday."

Peng Kaifei nodded, picked up the notice, and turned to leave the office.

There weren't many people in the corridor, and the fluorescent lights overhead cast his shadow long and short.

He walked forward with his head down, his footsteps echoing dully on the tiled floor.

He stopped as he passed the bulletin board.

The exam room arrangement for the provincial joint exam was also posted on it. After searching for a long time, he finally found his exam room.

He stood in front of the bulletin board for a long time, then lowered his head, rolled up the notice in his hand, stuffed it into his schoolbag, and continued walking.

The corridor was long and dimly lit, and his footsteps echoed in circles in the empty corridor.

At the same time, Zhang Yifan was scrolling through his phone in the classroom.

A few minutes ago, Shen Zhiyi sent a WeChat message, as concise as ever: "The results are supposedly coming out on Monday, are you nervous?"

He typed two words on the screen: "Don't be nervous."

"I'm not nervous either," she replied instantly.

Zhang Yifan smiled, placed his phone face down on the table, and opened his textbook.

The countdown timer above the blackboard turned another page.

There are 31 days left until the college entrance examination.

Sunlight streamed in obliquely through the window, bathing his test papers and draft paper in a warm yellow hue.

The leaves of the old locust tree outside the window rustled in the wind; everything was moving in the right direction.