A street urchin turned academic genius, starting by saving the blind school beauty.

Chapter 126 I already really admire you.

Hearing Lu Zhaoye's series of questions, Xu Qingwan froze on the spot, her eyes tightly closed, her face contorted in pain.

Yes, how could she not tell?

When she was little, Xu Qingwan sat in the music room, watching other little girls wearing hats and pretty dresses playing outside in groups, and she was filled with envy.

One day, when her mother wasn't home, she mustered up her courage and went to find her father, wanting to go out and play for a while. However, her father was engrossed in reading the newspaper, and upon hearing her request, he frowned and coldly replied...

"You can go out and have fun, but you need to practice the piano for another two hours."

Xu Qingwan then realized that her father was just like her mother.

Her eyes were empty, and she silently returned to the small room with only a piano, her arms hanging limply at her sides.

After finishing practicing the piano, it got dark.

Xu Qingwan didn't bring it up again.

There was no father either.

Perhaps they've already forgotten.

Whether she needed recognition or love, Xu Qingwan herself couldn't tell the difference, but she had no way to figure it out.

She has nothing.

No friends, no goals, just an empty body.

Xu Qingwan reached out and covered her face in pain, just as Lu Zhaoye had said.

She can fool everyone else, but she can't fool her own heart.

Seeing this, Lu Zhaoye released his hand from Xu Qingwan's face, instead placing his hands on the back of her head and shoulders, pulling her into his arms, and continued speaking slowly.

"You like drawing, right?"

"You like colorful and cute things, right?"

"You always crave your parents' approval. Is it because only their approval counts?"

Xu Qingwan burst into tears. A passing bird perched on a branch of a large tree, watching the scene with curiosity. The cicadas seemed to suddenly stop chirping at that moment.

In their world, there was only each other's voices.

"What, does my approval not count as approval?"

"How...how did you know?" Xu Qingwan asked, opening her blurry eyes and twitching her lips.

Lu Zhaoye said with a smile,

"Those landscape paintings of plants, flowers, and birds that are painted all over your desk, this must be the location of the pictures, right?"

"you...."

"You have lots of cute pens in your pencil case! Hehe, I have a really cute elephant pen with you."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingwan couldn't help but raise her hand and pat Lu Zhaoye.

"Hey, don't hit me! I'm out of pens, you know," Lu Zhaoye said with a grin, holding Xu Qingwan's hand.

Xu Qingwan gave Lu Zhaoye a reproachful look, and the pain on her face disappeared most of the time.

Seeing the housekeeper's expression, Lu Zhaoye's worries largely disappeared. Then, he said in a cheeky whisper,

"Xu Qingwan, you haven't forgotten you said you'd wear something nice for me, have you?"

Xu Qingwan's eyes cleared instantly, and a blush instantly spread across her face.

"Remember how you promised to wear nice clothes for me? How would you have known if you didn't like them?"

Xu Qingwan couldn't stand it anymore and quickly covered Lu Zhaoye's mouth, her face flushed as she said...

"You...you're not allowed to say it anymore."

Lu Zhaoye smiled, his eyebrows curving upwards, and removed Xu Qingwan's hand, saying...

"Going back to our previous topic, the reason you can't learn those things well is because you don't like them. Look at you, you like drawing, and you draw very well, don't you?"

"Interest is the best teacher."

Xu Qingwan felt a little touched. It turned out her "bad" deskmate had actually found a way to comfort her, but...

"As for the so-called recognition, I really do recognize you."

"Believe it or not, even if you get into a prestigious university, your parents might only approve of you temporarily."

This time, Xu Qingwan didn't want to lie to herself anymore. She nodded and said bitterly,

"letter."

Lu Zhaoye released his hand from Xu Qingwan, jumped around, braced himself on the ground, and said with emotion,

"Life is as brilliant as summer flowers, death as serene as autumn leaves."

"Xu Qingwan, do you know why I approve of you?"

Xu Qingwan shook her head, puzzled.

"Up to now, there are two people I truly admire: Xu Ziqing and you."

"It would be understandable if she were a humanities major, but she chose to study math, physics and chemistry, after losing her sight."

"As for you..."

A glint flashed in Xu Qingwan's eyes, and she clenched her hands tightly together as she looked at Lu Zhaoye expectantly.

"Growing up in an imperfect and unhappy environment, without going astray or turning to the dark side, instead forged a resilient character, which is hard not to admire."

After Lu Zhaoye finished speaking, he pursed his lips and looked at Xu Qingwan.

Xu Qingwan stood frozen in place, her eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions, and tears streamed down her face silently.

Lu Zhaoye wiped himself down, then patted Xu Qingwan's head.

"I told you a long time ago that you don't have a high aptitude for learning, and it's already quite good that you've come this far."

"Do you remember what I said that day?" Lu Zhaoye asked, wiping Xu Qingwan's eyes.

Xu Qingwan nodded blankly, her eyes fixed on Lu Zhaoye, never leaving him for a moment.

Tears are not a sign of weakness.

Lu Zhaoye smiled and nodded, saying with surprise, "I didn't expect you to remember."

"Then let me give you one more piece of advice today."

"If I have done my best but still could not achieve it, I can have no regrets," Lu Zhaoye said slowly, his smile fading.

Xu Qingwan burst into tears instantly, her body trembling violently. She had seen this sentence many times before, but the Xu Qingwan who had been deceived by herself couldn't understand it at all.

Hearing Lu Zhaoye say it, she instantly understood.

Lu Zhaoye embraced the tearful Xu Qingwan and patted her gently.

In fact, Lu Zhaoye was also a little confused. Last week, Xu Ziqing cried in his arms, and this week, Xu Qingwan cried in his arms, and she cried twice.

However, when Lu Zhaoye thought about his high school days in his previous life, when he was under the most pressure and cried every day, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Actually, he didn't feel anything when he saw Xu Qingwan crying, but he couldn't help but feel emotional when he thought about his previous life.

Perhaps this is the significance of Chinese education; a boomerang that hits right on the forehead years later.

"Xu Qingwan, if there's something you don't like, just say it openly, otherwise people will think you don't mind."

"Conversely, if you like something, you should go for it openly and honestly; otherwise, why should it fall into your lap?"

......

.....

The two embraced under the big tree for a while. Xu Qingwan's condition improved a lot, especially after hearing the last sentence. Lu Zhaoye felt that Xu Qingwan suddenly tightened her grip on him.

After a long while, the two parted ways.

Xu Qingwan returned to her adorable self, remaining silent as she stared intently at Lu Zhaoye with a bright red face.

Lu Zhaoye was a little scared, staring wide-eyed at Xu Qingwan.

"What does that mean?"

Xu Qingwan shook her head and remained silent, so Lu Zhaoye simply turned his head away so she wouldn't see.

But just then, his phone suddenly vibrated. Lu Zhaoye picked it up and saw that Niu Zi had sent another message.

"Boss, Zhang the devil is looking for you everywhere, come back quickly."

"Rumor has it that my sister-in-law's grandfather is also here."

Lu Zhaoye replied with "I'll investigate further" and handed the phone to Xu Qingwan.

Xu Qingwan wasn't surprised to hear that her maternal grandfather had arrived. Instead, she suddenly grabbed Lu Zhaoye's hand, her eyes bright, and said timidly,

"After you finish the city competition, I'll wear some nice clothes to show you off."