Zhang Ruichen rode a half-worn 28-inch bicycle past them and stopped a few meters ahead.

He supported himself on one leg, looked back at Lin Jianxue, and put on what he thought was a gentle smile.

"Teacher Lin, are you off work?"

The smile on Lin Jianxue's face faded, and her expression returned to its usual coldness.

"Um."

Zhang Ruichen pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and glanced at Fu Zhewei inconspicuously with a hint of barely perceptible contempt.

"Teacher Lin, it's a long way to go back."

"Can I give you a ride?"

Lin Jianxue said expressionlessly, "No, Teacher Zhang."

Zhang Ruichen seemed not to notice the alienation in her tone, and continued to say with a smile, "Teacher Lin, you're welcome."

"From school to your Shuguang Brigade, round trip, it would take at least three hours, right?"

"It's so tiring to be like this every day."

He paused, and his tone became serious.

"Women, you still have to think for yourself and choose what's good for you."

"You can't just look at the appearance, right?"

The implication in these words couldn't be more obvious.

The air suddenly became quiet.

Fu Zhawei remained silent for a while. At this moment, his hands at his sides unconsciously clenched.

There was no change in the expression on Lin Jianxue's face, except that her clear eyes were now as cold as ice.

She looked at Zhang Ruichen and said clearly, word by word:

"Women like beautiful things."

"If I see something ugly, I can't eat."

The smile on Zhang Ruichen's face froze.

His face twitched violently a few times, and a hint of anger and shame flashed in his eyes behind the lenses.

"you……"

He probably didn't expect Lin Jianxue to be so ruthless and humiliate him, a formal teacher, in front of a "downgraded household".

Finally, he snorted in frustration, pedaled hard on the bicycle, and rode crookedly, with even his back looking embarrassed.

Lin Jianxue looked at his receding back before she retracted her gaze and turned to Fu Zhawei.

A faint smile appeared on her face again, as if the unhappiness just now had never happened.

"Fu Zhewei, let's go."

Fu Zhewei hummed, and his Adam's apple rolled slightly.

The two continued to walk forward side by side.

Silence spread between them.

After a while, Fu Zhewei, who had been quiet for a while, suddenly spoke, his voice a few notes deeper and hoarse than before.

"This Zhang Ruichen..."

He paused, as if weighing his words.

"Is he pursuing you?"

Lin Jianxue didn't expect him to ask this suddenly and was slightly stunned.

She turned her head and looked at Fu Zhewei's profile.

His jawline was tense, and his usually clear black eyes were now covered with an impenetrable mist, deep and gloomy.

"Him?" Lin Jianxue sneered softly, with undisguised disgust in her tone.

"You're not chasing me, you're harassing me."

She looked into Fu Zhewei's eyes and explained seriously: "He is not my type."

"His behavior, to me, is blatant harassment, and it disgusts me."

When Fu Zhewei heard this, his body seemed to tremble slightly.

His Adam's apple rolled up and down, his eyes flickered, and he asked:

"So...what type do you like?"

The moment he asked the question, a lot of things suddenly came to his mind.

Is he like her ex-husband Jiang Yubai?

He remembered that he had met Zhang Yubai.

He was a fair-skinned man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking very gentle...

That kind of man is what young ladies like these would like.

Lin Jianxue tilted her head slightly after hearing his question.

She stretched out her finger, tapped her cheek lightly, and then pointed at him.

"Didn't I tell you that?"

"He's good-looking."

Fu Zhewei's breathing stopped for a moment.

Good-looking?

He subconsciously touched his face, and his fingertips touched the slightly rough skin from years of sun and rain.

Does he look good like this...?

"How beautiful... should it be?" he heard his own voice asking dryly.

Lin Jianxue glanced at him, her eyes moving with a hint of a smile.

She was always too embarrassed to continue saying "I want to be as pretty as you", because that would be too unreserved.

So, she raised her chin slightly and said cheerfully, "Well, at least he's better looking than that Zhang Ruichen."

These words were like a small stone thrown into the quiet lake of Fu Zhawei's heart.

He was silent for a while, and the evening wind blew, lifting a few strands of hair on his forehead.

The weeds by the roadside swayed in the wind, making a rustling sound.

Fu Zhawei stopped, turned his head, and looked at Lin Jianxue with his deep black eyes.

His Adam's apple rolled again, and his voice was even lower and hoarse than before: "So... do you think I'm better looking than Zhang Ruichen?"

The moment he asked this question, Fu Zhewei himself was stunned.

He didn't seem to expect that he would ask such a question.

Lin Jianxue was also stunned by his sudden question.

She blinked, not having time to consider the deeper meaning of his words.

Fu Zhawei's face, which usually showed no expression, suddenly began to flush from the base of his ears.

The red color grew deeper and deeper, like the most gorgeous sunset clouds in the evening, making his skin, which was slightly pale during the day, tremble.

He turned his head away awkwardly, no longer looking at her, and cast his gaze towards the distant ridge of the field.

"Ahem..." He coughed lightly, his voice filled with embarrassment and regret. "Just pretend I didn't ask."

After saying this, as if he wanted to hide something, he stretched out his long legs, quickened his pace, and walked forward with his head down.

That back figure actually revealed the meaning of fleeing in panic.

Lin Jianxue looked at his hurried back, was stunned at first, then reacted and burst out laughing.

This guy, is he still shy?

She quickly picked up her skirt and trotted after him.

"Hey, Fu Zhewei, what are you doing so fast?"

She caught up to him, stood shoulder to shoulder with him, breathing slightly.

Fu Zhawei still looked straight ahead, but his pace slowed down a little.

Lin Jianxue tilted her head to look at him, and saw that the blush on his face had not completely faded, but he was just trying hard to maintain a calm expression.

She smiled and said with certainty, "You think she is much better looking than that Zhang Ruichen!"

"What were you thinking just now?"

Fu Zhewei paused slightly, the lines on his face still tense.

After a while, he finally squeezed out a single syllable from his throat: "Oh."

Just...oh?

Lin Jianxue's eyes rolled around as she looked at Fu Zhawei, who had regained his indifferent and calm look, as if he was not the one who was blushing and embarrassed just now.

She felt a little speechless and a little amused, and couldn't help but curl her lips.

I thought this guy finally got the hang of it a little bit and knew how to ask such ambiguous questions.

After all this fuss, I guess it’s just the inexplicable competitive spirit among men that’s at work, right?

Do you feel that you are outdone by someone like Zhang Ruichen and are not convinced?

Really, Bai gave her a little anticipation.