The aloof school beauty has been reborn and is now pursuing me relentlessly.

Not far ahead, there was another set of steps leading upwards.

Lin Ran, holding the hand of her classmate who was the school beauty, continued carefully up the steps. She noticed that this section was more worn and slippery than before, and kindly turned back to offer a reminder:

Be careful.

The school beauty's deskmate, standing behind her, replied calmly and coolly:

"Then hold on tighter."

Lin Ran: "?"

Thinking about it, it seems to make sense.

So, he subconsciously tightened his grip on the hand of his school beauty deskmate, which was clasped in his own.

Then turn back and focus on continuing to climb the steps.

Completely unaware that right behind him, his school beauty deskmate was grinning from ear to ear.

After climbing this section, the mountain path is almost at the top. There are no more steps ahead, just a regular, gentle mountain path.

Lin Ran originally intended to let go.

But then he noticed that his classmate, who was the school beauty, seemed to have done it unintentionally, and tightened her grip on his hand a little more.

Look up and see my classmate, the school beauty.

The latter remained calm and indifferent, showing no sign of anything amiss, and made no mention of letting go.

None of the girls mentioned it.

What's there to be so dramatic about?

Let's hold hands!

Anyway, I'm a guy, so I won't be at a disadvantage.

Thinking this way, Lin Ran immediately felt at ease. Besides, in her previous life, she never had such good fortune—climbing mountains and strolling in parks with the school beauty as her deskmate, holding her hand and taking advantage of her for nothing.

So the young man and woman walked hand in hand along the mountain path.

The bright sunlight shone down on the two of them.

What a beautiful and heartwarming scene of youth.

……

There are two routes to the top of the park.

Lin Ran and Su Qingyan entered through the main gate, honestly spending 20 yuan to buy tickets.

There is another route, which leads from the side gate of the park.

The side gate leads to the Youth Palace of Yunan County. You can enter for free from the Youth Palace, then find a small gate to pass through and enter the park, saving you some money.

For Lin Ran, who was reborn, this matter was so long ago that he had long forgotten about it.

But for some high school students in Yunan County, it is something they are very familiar with.

For example, Zhao Ke.

"Come on, come on, this way."

In front of the small door behind the Youth Palace, Zhao Ke was eagerly beckoning several other classmates over, boasting and showing off with a smug expression:

"Look, this little gate leads directly to the park!"

"This will save you the cost of admission tickets!"

"I don't tell this to just anyone!"

Today, Zhao Ke was accompanied by three girls and one boy; all four were students from Yunan Middle School.

Two of the girls were classmates from Class 30 of Senior High School. One was Yuan Tingting, the class representative for Chinese and one of the "golden flowers" of Class 10, and the other was Xu Shanshan, a classmate who often ate with Su Qingyan and Yuan Tingting.

The other two, a boy and a girl, came from the neighboring Class 11.

The girl's name is Guo Xiaoqing. She is quite spoiled and pampered like a little princess, but her family background and academic performance are both good, so she has reason to be proud.

The boy's name is Feng Tiange. He is the class monitor of Class 11. His grades have consistently ranked in the top ten of the liberal arts grade. In addition, he is quite handsome and has a number of female fans in the liberal arts class.

The group initially visited the newly opened dessert shop at the foot of the park and along the roadside, and took a short stroll around.

After coming out, I had nothing else to do anyway.

Xu Shanshan remembered that a small zoo seemed to be touring the park recently, so she suggested that everyone go and check it out.

Then Zhao Ke volunteered that he had a way to save money and not buy tickets.

That's why we're in this situation now.

……

They were all ordinary high school students, and even the girls didn't have much pocket money.

It's certainly a good thing to save 10 yuan per person on entrance fees.

Yuan Tingting and Xu Shanshan both smiled and thanked Zhao Ke, praising him generously, which almost made him so happy that his tail was sticking up to the sky.

But when it came to Guo Xiaoqing, this proud little princess, whose family supposedly owns a department store, simply curled her lip, revealing a hint of disdain:

"The ticket only costs a few dozen yuan, what's the point of saving money?"

"We have to take the back path, which is all muddy—"

"This little dress of mine is a designer brand and costs over two thousand yuan. If it gets scratched by a tree branch, the money from ten or twenty tickets wouldn't be enough to compensate for it."

The other top student, Feng Tiange, pushed up his glasses and smiled faintly:

"This is quite similar to the mindset of small farmers."

"They lack vision and only think about their own petty gains."

"They become complacent after gaining a little advantage, which actually reveals their deep-seated flaws and makes them destined to overlook a wider world."

The words were spoken in a very formal and elegant manner, as if they contained some far-fetched logic.

Zhao Ke was somewhat stunned.

No.

He kindly helped save on the cost of the entrance ticket.

How did it inexplicably become some kind of inferior peasant mentality?

Yuan Tingting and Xu Shanshan, who were standing next to her, couldn't help but frown. This Feng Tiange was indeed good-looking and academically, and at first, he made people feel a little good about him. But once he opened his mouth, people felt uncomfortable.

An inexplicable sense of superiority and arrogance.

This is the biggest taboo for boys in the eyes of girls, as it is the easiest way to lose points.

But aside from the two girls from Class 10, Guo Xiaoqing seemed to greatly admire Feng Tiange, her eyes sparkling as she listened to his profound words.

"Tiange is absolutely right!"

"That's what I meant!"

"Wow, top students are really something else; everything they say is so sophisticated!"

The tone was so intimate that she didn't even use his surname anymore, clearly showing that she had a special fondness for Feng Tiange.

In the end, they all went through the small door.

I saved fifty yuan on the ticket.

As they slowly made their way up the mountain path toward the zoo's exhibition area at the summit, Guo Xiaoqing flitted around Feng Tiange like a butterfly, chattering incessantly.

Feng Tiange also quite enjoyed this feeling.

At the same time, he seemed to have designs on Yuan Tingting, one of the most beautiful girls in Class 10. He would strike up conversations with her from time to time, and then boast about his own achievements.

When Guo Xiaoqing saw her crush chatting with a girl from the next class, she couldn't help but get jealous and tried to join in the conversation, attempting to assert her claim to her crush.

And that's where the conversation started, drawing in our two main characters—

"Tian Ge ranked ninth in the humanities class in the last mock exam!"

"He's second among all the boys in the humanities class!"

"Second only to Su Jun from Class 13."

Guo Xiaoqing spoke with a boastful tone, as if the outstanding Feng Tiange was already her boyfriend.

Feng Tiange smiled reservedly, feigning modesty: "It's alright. Compared to Su Jun from Class 13, I am indeed still a bit lacking. I still need to learn from him and work harder."

Guo Xiaoqing seemed to suddenly realize something:

"correct."

"I heard that Su Jun recently made a bet with someone to see who could rank him higher in the second mock exam?"

"It made quite a commotion."

Have you heard of it?

This statement came out.

Zhao Ke, Yuan Tingting, and Xu Shanshan exchanged strange glances.

I've heard more than just about it.

These two parties are very familiar with each other.