After being reborn, the school beauty's entire family knelt down to repent.

The big yellow dog in the cafeteria is showing off with its head down.

I used to eat leftovers, with hardly any meat on the bones. I've never had such a sumptuous meal before.

Suddenly sensing several eyes fixed on the braised pork in its bowl, the big yellow dog thought someone was trying to steal its food and immediately looked up and barked at them.

Zhao Rou was startled by the big yellow dog's fierce barking and even took a half step back.

She couldn't understand it, and she was unwilling to accept it.

This priceless delicacy, which should have been in her mouth, has now been wasted on a dog!

What's wrong with Chen Ming today?

"Chen Ming, what's wrong with you? You can't just waste money like this!" Zhao Rou's roommate chimed in.

"Zhao Rou didn't necessarily need to eat this braised pork, but she took the opportunity to see someone's true colors."

"That's right. You're acting tough now because there are so many people around, but you'll still have to bow your head and coax Zhao Rou later."

The three roommates took turns criticizing Chen Ming in the cafeteria.

Chen Ming didn't tolerate it either, and went up to give the girl who was cursing the most a crisp and loud slap.

"Snapped--"

The sound was so loud that it could be clearly heard within a radius of several meters.

“It’s my money, I can spend it however I want, what’s it to you? Why are you speaking up for Zhao Rou like this? Is she your mother?” Chen Ming said sarcastically.

The girl clearly didn't expect Chen Ming to make a move, and for a moment her mind went blank, unsure how to respond.

Who is Chen Ming? He's a well-known rich kid at school. His family owns a clothing factory on the edge of the village. While others buy meal tickets by the piece, he buys them by the kilogram.

In an era where food costs only a dozen yuan a month, everyone is struggling financially, and Chen Ming is the only one in the school who can spend money without batting an eye.

But more interesting than Chen Ming's family is his shameless pursuit of the school beauty Zhao Rou, and all the embarrassing things he did. He was good for nothing except spending money on Zhao Rou.

Nobody respected Chen Ming, even though his family background far surpassed that of most of his classmates. Yet, in front of Zhao Rou, he was like an obedient lapdog, and with just a flick of her finger, he would turn over and beg for her favor.

Even Zhao Rou's roommates could occasionally use Zhao Rou's name to order Chen Ming around.

But today, Chen Ming slapped them in the face right in front of Zhao Rou!

"Chen Ming! How could you hit someone?" Zhao Rou immediately frowned, looking aggrieved as if she were the one who had been hit. "Apologize to Hua Hua right now, or I'll get angry!"

Chen Ming raised an eyebrow and gave Zhao Rou a puzzled look.

"You have your own children, it's none of my business."

"What did you say?" Zhao Rou covered her mouth in surprise. Chen Ming had never spoken to her in this tone before.

"She's not good at thinking or hearing, it's pitiful at such a young age. She should see a doctor as soon as possible." Chen glanced at Zhao Rou and called Li Yu to leave the cafeteria together.

Not only was Zhao Rou caught off guard, but even her best friend Li Yu was left somewhat bewildered by Chen Ming's antics.

"Brother, you have a fever today?" Li Yu looked at Chen Ming with some concern.

"I'm not sick," Chen Ming said with a smile, then took out five yuan and put it in Li Yu's hand. "Take these first, and pay me back when your uncle gets better. No rush."

"How did you know..." Li Yu's eyes widened. He had never told anyone about his father's illness.

However, due to the father's illness, their family was in dire straits, and even their relatives did not have any extra food.

Chen Ming's mind was filled with countless memories.

Previously, Li Yu's father died because he refused to ask Chen Ming for money. He also lost interest in studying and dropped out of school early to work, but was killed by falling steel bars.

Chen Ming learned all this at Li Yu's funeral.

Li Yu clutched the banknotes tightly in his hand, his eyes red-rimmed.

"Thank you, Chen Ming... I will definitely repay you."

Chen Ming sighed, waved his hand, and indicated that Li Yu did not need to say anything more.

After the afternoon classes ended, the two went to the bike shed to get their bikes. As soon as they rode out of the school gate, they saw Zhao Rou's figure in the distance.

Zhao Rou's family was poor and couldn't afford a bicycle. Usually, Chen Ming would shamelessly pick her up and drop her off, since they lived in the same village. Otherwise, it would take almost an hour to walk back home.

Previously, Zhao Rou would walk by herself, but after Chen Ming got the car, he caught up with her and coaxed her into getting in.

Zhao Rou had obviously noticed Chen Ming as well, and her pace slowed down as usual.

Xu Jing, the best friend standing next to her, said with some resentment, "He slapped Hua Hua in the cafeteria today, and you still made him take you home? Isn't that letting him off easy?"

"Hmph, how could I possibly forgive him? What kind of person do you think I am, Zhao Rou?" Zhao Rou said firmly.

"Then why did you stop?" Xu Jing asked, puzzled.

Zhao Rou said helplessly, "My mom took the family's grain coupons and exchanged them for two pieces of jewelry with Aunt Wang next door. The family's rice is almost gone, so she told me to ask Chen Ming for some..."

"Hey! It's just a few grain coupons. That silly boy has plenty in his pocket. You can just snap your fingers and it's over," Xu Jing said nonchalantly.

Zhao Rou glanced back and, seeing that Chen Ming was only twenty meters away, stopped and put her hands on her hips, saying:

"Hmph, don't think he can get away with anything by lending me a few food stamps. When he gets here, I'll make him apologize to me first!"

Fifteen meters, ten meters, five meters...

As Zhao Rou watched Chen Ming getting closer and closer, she knew she should start braking at this distance.

But Chen Ming didn't seem to have any intention of stopping; instead, he stood up and pedaled the bicycle hard!

"Charge! Charge! Charge! Li Yu, you're too slow!" Chen Ming excitedly sped up; having been bedridden for a long time, he hadn't experienced speed and passion.

whoosh-

A blur of motion swept past Zhao Rou, kicking up dust that choked both Zhao Rou and Xu Jing.

whoosh-

Another blur appeared as Li Yu chased after them, kicking up another cloud of dust that splattered directly into their faces.

"Cough cough—" The two covered their noses, feeling extremely uncomfortable. When they came to their senses, Chen Ming had already disappeared on his bicycle.

“This…” Xu Jing stared blankly in the direction Chen Mingyuan had gone, then looked at Zhao Rou.

This is not what I imagined.

Zhao Rou looked extremely embarrassed, lowered her head and didn't say anything, but she walked much faster.

An hour and a half later, Zhao Rou dragged her legs into the house with difficulty, feeling as if they were filled with lead, as if they didn't even belong to her.

Having gotten used to riding a bicycle, she had no concept of the journey to school until today, when she realized how grueling it was.

"It's so annoying, it's all Chen Ming's fault!" Zhao Rou rubbed her leg angrily. "Tomorrow I'm going to take his bicycle back and make him walk to school by himself!"

At this moment, Zhao Rou's mother, Kong Chunhua, saw her daughter return and quickly crawled out of the room with eager eyes.

"How's it going? Did you get any food coupons? Your Aunt Wang has a necklace... oh no, I mean, we're almost out of rice and we're starving."

Zhao Rou pouted, looking aggrieved.

"I didn't get it. Chen Ming was acting strangely today, like a completely different person. I even walked back by myself. Could it be that he doesn't like me anymore?"

"Tsk, just playing hard to get, a little boy's trick." Kong Chunhua didn't think much of it and waved her hand dismissively. "Think about how he pursued you before, was it all fake?"

Zhao Rou recalled Chen Ming's past sycophantic behavior and couldn't help but feel more confident, thinking that it was indeed as her mother said, that he wanted to play the hard to get tactic.

“This time you should ask for more. Don’t just look at the food coupons. His family has so much stuff, like a TV, a bicycle, a radio, and things like that. We don’t have any of those things, my dear,” Kong Chunhua said, pressing her advantage.

"These must be very expensive... Can he afford them?" Zhao Rou asked hesitantly.

Although Chen Ming often gave Zhao Rou things, helped her get meals, and even wanted to buy her clothes, Zhao Rou never even considered having a television.

“Where is it expensive? His family’s clothing factory makes so much money. He won’t even give you this little bit, and he says he likes you? He’ll never find a wife if he’s this stingy!” Kong Chunhua said with absolute certainty.

Zhao Rou was clearly persuaded by Kong Chunhua and nodded emphatically.

"That's right, how could I, Zhao Rou, be moved by such a small favor? Tomorrow I will expose his tricks and make him apologize to me in public and make him compensate me for my losses tenfold!"

"That's right, that's my good daughter. Whether we have a TV or not depends entirely on you."

With a few words, Kong Chunhua made Zhao Rou feel elated, completely forgetting the soreness in her legs, and she began to think about how to make Chen Ming suffer tomorrow.