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

She stared at the back of Zhang Yifan's head, her fingers unconsciously creasing the bottom of the vocabulary handbook page.

A voice rose from the depths of her heart, growing louder and sharper.

What's wrong with her?

Isn't Zhang Yifan just one of her lapdogs?

He was always there for her when he was pursuing her, but when she rejected him, he lowered his head and remained silent.

She disliked him for being dull and boring, coming from an average family, and being good at nothing but taking exams.

Why does she now secretly look at this person she once looked down upon the most?

Why do I feel a tightness in my chest when I see him standing with Shen Zhiyi?

Why did she feel so choked up and unable to breathe properly after Zhang Yifan rescued her from Tiger Brother and then coldly pushed her away in the billiard hall last time?

The answer flashed through her mind, but she quickly pressed it down.

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

How could she possibly fall for a simp?

A simp who has been rejected by her countless times, ignored by her in public countless times, and disliked by her countless times.

She was just unwilling to accept it.

Yes, it's because I'm not reconciled.

She cares so much because Shen Zhiyi took away what once belonged to her.

Once she wins him back, she'll treat him with the same disdain as before.

That must be it!

Just then, a figure appeared at the front door of the classroom.

Shen Zhiyi stood at the door, her ponytail neatly tied, holding a folded test paper in her hand. Her gaze swept across half the classroom and landed precisely on the last row by the window.

Her expression remained cold, but every time she came to the entrance of Class 9, her gaze would first find Zhang Yifan before she spoke.

Zong Wen was the first to spot the person at the door. He jumped up, slammed his hand on the table with a crisp sound, and shouted in a voice loud enough to be heard in the hallway:

"Zhang Yifan! The school beauty is here to see you again! Don't pretend you didn't see her! Shen Zhiyi is already standing at the door!"

The whole class burst into laughter. Some banged on the table to keep the rhythm, some whistled, and some tapped their pens against their thermos cups like drums. Guo Hao smiled and shook his head, then lowered his head to continue reading his book.

Amidst the commotion, Zhang Yifan stood up, straightened his school uniform collar, and walked towards the door.

When he reached the podium, he glanced back at Zong Wen, who winked at him and mouthed "Go for it!" Zhang Yifan rolled his eyes at him but didn't stop walking.

He and Shen Zhiyi exchanged a few words at the door, and Shen Zhiyi handed him the test paper in her hand.

He took it, glanced at it, and said something that made Shen Zhiyi's lips curl up slightly. Then the two of them walked side by side to the end of the corridor.

Everyone saw this.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Lin Wanqing, sitting by the window, was staring intently at the two figures walking away side by side at the door.

She didn't even realize that her fingers were gripping the bottom of the vocabulary booklet, being ruthlessly torn off.

Shen Zhiyi is here again.

Why her again?

Why is she allowed to stand so confidently at the entrance of Class 9?

Why should she be allowed to tell him to leave as a matter of course?

Why should she walk alongside him in the corridor?

Why does she deserve all his attention, all his responses, and all his laughter?

If Shen Zhiyi didn't exist, that would be great.

Lin Wanqing was startled by the thought that flashed through her mind.

She hurriedly lowered her head, turned to the next page of the vocabulary booklet, and pretended to be memorizing words.

But her hand holding the pen was still trembling, and her heart was pounding like a drum.

Zhao Rong's words echoed in my ears again.

To ruin Shen Zhiyi's reputation.

These words were like a seed, planted long ago in her heart, and have been nurtured for so many days.

Now that seed has taken root, sprouted, and grown thorns.

She looked down at the open vocabulary booklet, the dense English words blurring before her eyes, making it impossible for her to concentrate.

Out of the corner of her eye, she still saw the two figures that had already walked away at the end of the corridor, her fingers clenched so tightly on the edge of the table that they turned white.

......

Shen Zhiyi stood in the corridor, holding a folded math test paper in her hand.

She handed the test paper to Zhang Yifan, pointed to the questions circled in red pen, and said she wanted to hear his thought process for these questions.

Zhang Yifan took a look and found that one problem was about constructing auxiliary lines in solid geometry, another was about classifying and discussing probability problems, and the third was the last question of a challenging derivative problem.

He explained each problem in great detail, writing down each step of the derivation process on scratch paper.

Shen Zhiyi listened, nodding occasionally and asking, "Why use this formula in this step?"

He explained again, and she nodded again.

After finishing the explanation, Zhang Yifan returned the test paper to her, feeling a little strange inside.

Although these questions are circled in red, they are not particularly difficult. Given Shen Zhiyi's level, she shouldn't be stuck.

She's someone who can rival him for first place in the grade; she only missed him by one point in the last joint exam, so this kind of difficult question shouldn't be a problem for her.

However, he didn't think much of it. Maybe she just wanted to confirm her thinking. After all, everyone is a bit serious during this period before the college entrance examination. If you don't understand a question, you feel uncomfortable.

After asking her questions, Shen Zhiyi didn't turn and leave as usual.

She folded the test paper and held it in her hand, and the two of them walked side by side in silence down the corridor.

The corridor was nearly empty. Zhang Yifan walked on the outside, while Shen Zhiyi walked on the inside. Their footsteps echoed alternately in the deserted corridor, one steady and the other light and agile.

No one spoke, but the atmosphere wasn't awkward; instead, there was a strange sense of understanding.

It was as if both of them knew the other had something to say, and neither of them was in a hurry to urge the other.

When she reached the stairwell, the school bell hadn't rung yet. Shen Zhiyi stopped and turned around to look at him.

Her expression remained indifferent, but her voice was softer than usual: "I haven't seen anyone at your house lately. When can I come over to play the piano again?"

Zhang Yifan was stunned for a moment.

His house? Playing the piano?

His mind raced for a moment before he remembered the villa in Yujingyuan.

He did go once during the handover process, but he hasn't been back since.

His parents still live in the old house, and he spends all his time at school and at home doing practice problems, leaving the 680-square-meter villa empty.

Unexpectedly, Shen Zhiyi noticed it and still cared about that piano.

He recalled the last time she played the piano at the villa; her fingers danced across the keys, completely absorbed in the music, and her face turned red after she finished.

She asked me to play the piano again this time; she probably really likes that piano...

Yes, he had checked the price of that grand piano; it was enough to buy an ordinary apartment. It was indeed a pity to leave it there collecting dust.

"Sure," he said. "Let's wait until after the college entrance exam. You can come whenever you want then, since the house is just sitting empty anyway."