Going back to 18, demanding 30,000 yuan in compensation from the school beauty.

I came back from the restroom.

At the entrance of the private room, I happened to run into An Meng and another girl coming out.

Lin Zhao nodded and was about to go inside.

"Lin Zhao...can I say a few words to you?"

An Meng's skirt billowed without wind, her voice was timid, and her fair face was flushed.

Although she wasn't a great beauty, her youthful body was undeniable, and even the sweat on her hair seemed to carry the scent of soap.

"Speak."

Lin Zhao, considering the 30,000 yuan, gave the school beauty some face.

An Meng took a deep breath: "We had a little misunderstanding a while ago. You were in a car accident and seriously injured, and you held a grudge against me, so you came to my house and made a scene... I know what you were thinking, and I don't blame you!"

"??"

Lin Zhao was confused. She said, "Who is not to blame?"

"Excuse me, what are my thoughts?" He was genuinely curious.

"You don't need to pretend anymore, there's no one else here."

An Meng stared at him with her big eyes, trying to give him courage. "I know you've always liked me. Because I didn't reciprocate your feelings directly, you got angry and started using the car accident to haunt me. I understand, and I don't blame you. Consider the 30,000 yuan as compensation. After all, my presence has caused you a lot of trouble over the past three years..."

Lin Zhao: "??????"

An Meng sighed and continued her gentle approach: "You heard what I said to Hu Yubo at the karaoke bar earlier, and I was actually saying it to you too. You're so smart, you must have understood! I will always cherish our friendship and carry that memory with me. You also need to move on and embrace your new life, okay?"

Lin Zhao: "?!?!?!?!"

Good guy!

Holy crap!

You're forcing a story when there's none, and even writing and directing it yourself, huh?

You should just debut right here!

Lin Zhao took a deep breath.

It's just that there weren't any shovels or hammers around, otherwise he would have already committed a crime by now.

"Anmeng, thank you so much!" he said calmly.

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for showing me the diversity of the human species!"

"Um?"

An Meng paused for a moment, then tilted her head to the most flattering angle, smiling sweetly.

"I'm not that great either. You'll meet someone better in the future, so keep going!"

"..."

Lin Zhao really couldn't take it anymore.

"Are you done talking?" he asked.

"That's all..."

"Yes, wishing you happiness!"

Lin Zhao turned to go inside.

"Hey...don't you have anything to say to me?" An Meng called out to him, unwilling to give up.

Lin Zhao was extremely annoyed. She turned around and sighed helplessly.

Hey, you forced me to do this!

"Excuse me, is there nothing else on your mind besides these trivial matters of love and romance?"

"..."

An Meng looked pitiful after being scolded, while the school beauty's gentle and weak demeanor was easily portrayed.

Lin Zhao waved her hand: "No, no, don't do that. Seriously, I'm getting annoyed even if you're not!"

"?"

"You're an adult now, going to college soon, right?"

"……Um."

"Eighteen years old, the prime of youth, can't we do something positive?"

"...What do you mean?"

"Taking postgraduate entrance exams, civil service exams, or professional certification exams, or even just traveling to see the beautiful landscapes of our motherland, isn't that all good?"

Lin Zhao stood with her hands behind her back, her face full of disappointment and disdain. "Although your parents are a bit sexist, having a younger child at their age, I think they treat you, their eldest daughter, quite well. You wear different floral dresses every day, and they give you a generous allowance. What more could you want? You're always hanging out with guys, flipping your hair and winking at them, as if you're afraid they won't notice you! What, are you lacking fatherly love?"

An Meng didn't understand before, but now she finally understood, and tears streamed down her face instantly.

"Lin Zhao! You...you've gone too far!!"

"I'm doing this for your own good!" Lin Zhao said earnestly, then sighed, "If I don't scold you awake, you'll keep taking the wrong path in the future!"

"??"

An Meng felt something was off. Why did that tone sound so much like her father's?

Lin Zhao stretched out her hand, tapping the back of her right hand against her left palm: "Yes, you're quite pretty, I admit many guys are attracted to your face. But ultimately, relationships are about inner qualities. Even the best looks fade eventually, and besides, you're just a pretty girl, not some kind of national beauty. You're really not that stunning. So I advise you to stop showing off all the time. Once you're in college, tone it down a bit, read more books, and improve yourself. If you keep flaunting yourself like this, you might get stopped in the middle of the night and have your teeth knocked out…sigh!!"

After saying that, he shook his head and sighed, then pushed open the door to the private room and went inside.

An Meng was alone in the corridor, feeling confused.

It took him a long time to come to his senses.

"No way, is he crazy?!"

……

Inside the private room.

As soon as Lin Zhao entered the room, she heard a melodious piano prelude playing as the disco ball spun around the room.

He was taken aback: This song was already out this year?!

In front of the big screen.

Sun Jiajun held the microphone, his expression smug and flirtatious; he automatically switched to his cheeky mode whenever he saw his good buddy.

"The next song is titled 'My Identity,' and I dedicate it to my good classmate, Lin Zhao."

The moment those words were spoken, the private room erupted in laughter.

The song title appeared on the screen, just two characters in a red, simple, and elegant script that had a vintage feel.

--"Father".

Always taking from you but never saying thank you

It wasn't until I grew up that I understood how difficult it was for you.

She always pretends to be relaxed when she leaves…

Sun Jiajun was tone-deaf.

Holding the microphone, he deliberately acted silly and funny, instantly eliciting screams from the entire class.

He was laughing so hard he could barely breathe, and he just couldn't get through the fourth line.

Lin Zhao stood at the gate, looking at the lyrics on the screen that changed from gray to red but remained silent.

My eyes started to sting uncontrollably.

……

One month ago.

By the end of July, the height of summer had arrived.

Although it wasn't even noon yet, the sun was already blazing down, baking the world to the point of almost melting.

Huaian No. 1 Middle School, Grade 2, Class 9.

Physics teacher and homeroom teacher Lin Haidong was giving a lecture, spittle flying everywhere, his expression quite stern.

The students below, however, all looked dejected and listless.

It wasn't yet time to feel sleepy in the morning, but across the entire campus, the seniors had graduated, the freshmen were on holiday, and only the sophomores were still having extra classes in the sweltering heat.

This is really hard to hold up!

The students even secretly wished that the school would just explode so they wouldn't have to go to class.

"Bang bang bang!"

The book slammed heavily onto the podium, sending up a cloud of chalk dust.

Teacher Lin was facing down, with his hands supporting him on the table. Behind his thick glasses was a dark face that sent chills down your spine.

"You don't want to learn, huh? If you don't want to learn, go home. I don't want to teach you either!!"

The entire class fell silent, but their thoughts were unanimously: You better keep your word!

"You're about to be a senior in high school, don't you know you need to be worried?"

"If you don't get into university, your lives are ruined!"

"Get through this year, and then you can do whatever you want!"

"They're all almost adults now, can't they understand this simple truth?"

"..."

The ten-minute speech began with the title "If you can't get into college, you can just die."

The students didn't dare to breathe loudly.

Sigh, attending lectures is not as good as taking classes. At least in a class, you can sneak in a little time to relax.

"Knock knock knock..."

Hurried footsteps could be heard in the corridor.

After the students keenly noticed this, they immediately started making wishes:

"Come to our class! Find Teacher Lin! We're having a meeting! Holidays are here! Something terrible has happened!!!"

What you keep in mind will surely resonate.

The chemistry teacher's head actually appeared at the doorway, panting heavily and covered in sweat.

"Old Lin...something's happened...your phone kept ringing...so I answered it...your son...was in a car accident...he's bleeding a lot...he's in the hospital being treated..."

The classroom was completely silent.

The sixty-odd teenagers turned their heads, completely dumbfounded.

On the podium, Lin Haidong was also stunned.

His complexion didn't change much!

But the next moment, he burst out of the classroom with a "bang," his clumsy, overweight body leaving a trail of afterimages on the brightly lit podium in the sunny morning.

The footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor.

The classroom was completely silent, even quieter than when our teacher had given his passionate speech.

The rustling sound slowly spread.

Tracing back to the source, it all started with Liu Wei, the right-hand protector beside the podium.

More and more students followed his prompting, craning their necks to look at the floor above the podium.

There, a shoe lay quietly.

The size is too small, the soles are upside down, and almost half of the heel is worn away...