The boy didn't react much, but simply pointed to the shoes on Yin Tao's feet.

"Huh? My shoes, what happened to them?"

Yin Tao lifted her foot in confusion.

But the next second, the boy suddenly squatted down in front of her, untied all the shoelaces he had just tied, and then raised his head to look into her eyes.

"You don't know how to tie your shoelaces, so why don't you watch and learn?"

As he spoke, he held his shoelaces with both hands, gesturing for Yin Tao to look over.

Tying shoelaces isn't difficult, but Yin Tao rarely wore these kinds of shoes before, and her family only taught her roughly, often forgetting everything after a day.

"Why didn't you refute them just now?"

The boy's voice sounded much lower as he lowered his head.

Yin Tao was slightly taken aback, then realized who he was referring to.

“Because they’re right…” Yin Tao lowered her head in disappointment, her voice filled with frustration as she spoke, “I’m stupid, I can’t do anything right.”

"You're stupid? Who told you that?"

"Everyone says that, and I really am stupid... I can't even do something very simple, and I do terribly on tests..."

With each sentence she spoke, the gleam in her eyes faded a little, as she practically listed all her flaws like a menu. In the end, her resentment grew stronger and stronger, as if a dark cloud was hanging over her head.

"Give me some confidence, and watch how I tie my shoelaces." As he spoke, he moved to the side a little so that Yin Tao could clearly see what he was doing.

Yin Tao still didn't have much hope, but this time she studied with utmost seriousness, even though the steps only took a few seconds.

About a minute later, the boy let go.

"Come on, give it a try."

Hearing this, Yin Tao nervously placed her hands on her shoelaces, her mind replaying the steps she had just taken.

About ten seconds passed, and although the process was a bit bumpy, a not-too-ugly bow was still created on her shoe.

"See, you can do it, can't you?" The boy smiled gently, squatted down and looked up at her face, brushing some of Yin Tao's hair aside.

Don't believe a word they say. You're not stupid at all.

She's not stupid at all.

This was the first time anyone had ever said those words to her.

She was used to the ridicule and mockery from her classmates, and she thought she was used to it, but when she heard those words, it felt like her heart had been gently kissed.

Feeling the warmth on her cheek, Yin Tao's nose tingled, and the next second tears welled up in her eyes. She instinctively hugged the boy's head and burst into tears, leaving the boy unsure whether to squat or stand.

He could only helplessly pat Yin Tao's back until his legs ached from squatting, at which point Yin Tao wiped away her tears.

"I cried so much that my clothes were covered in snot and tears, and when I got home, my mom would scold me again." The boy looked at the wet stains on his clothes with disgust.

Yin Tao, who had just finished crying, was sniffling, and her face turned red when she heard these words.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." She poked her index fingers together, looking like she'd done something wrong. A few seconds later, she looked up at me expectantly. "Um... can we play together sometime?"

After she finished speaking, she was so nervous that she didn't dare to look at the other person's face, and her body swayed slightly involuntarily.

"Whatever," the boy replied casually, pulling out a tissue to wipe his snot. "But I'm not very popular. If you hang out with me, won't those childish idiots hate you even more?"

"It's okay! I don't care about that!" Yin Tao said firmly, her gaze earnest.

Upon hearing this, the boy in front of him smiled.

Although she is shorter than Yin Tao, she speaks with the air of a little adult.

"Alright."

"Thank you!" Yin Tao leaned forward happily, then scratched her head a little shyly, "Um, I still don't know your name..."

He had clearly helped, yet I didn't even know his name. Although I had been a student at this school for several days, the boy seemed to have no presence at all.

The boy didn't say anything, but simply tossed an exercise book from his drawer over.

"The name is written in the bottom right corner."

Yin Tao quickly took it, opened the cover to the second page, and saw the boy's name.

Ye Qingzhou.

...

After that, the class remained just as noisy.

Yin Tao was still the target of ridicule from the whole class, but this time there was someone else in front of her.

Whenever someone mocks Yin Tao, Ye Qingzhou would respond with his sharp tongue, his expressionless face a testament to his sarcasm.

He was very short, and Yin Tao could only peek out from behind Ye Qingzhou, but she found that she was no longer afraid because of the small body that was blocking her way.

Thanks to him, Yin Tao was rarely bullied in class anymore, although some immature kids would still gossip about the two of them.

Soon, both of them were ostracized by the entire class.

"Look, these are the questions that will be on the test soon. If you learn them, I guarantee you'll get a good score on the exam," Ye Qingzhou explained to Yin Tao, pointing to a question.

Under his guidance, Yin Tao's grades, while not outstanding, were at least good.

They would stay a little while after class or after school to study.

"Hey! The couple is still studying!"

"Hehe, let's get married!"

Two bursts of laughter came from outside the classroom. The elementary school students were still quite immature, and the two had become the talk of the class ever since they got closer.

Yin Tao lowered her head somewhat awkwardly.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!