Today, Su Ruo's meal was truly tasteless, as she spent the entire time worrying about what strange things Gu Rang might say, living in suspense for two hours. Finally, after finishing the meal, taking advantage of the moment when Gu Chen went to drive the car, Su Ruo slowed her pace and grabbed Gu Rang. "When exactly did you recognize me?" she asked in a low voice while keeping an eye on Gu Chen ahead. This feeling was really terrible. If Gu Rang had recognized her right from the start of the semester, then everything she did in the student council and the cafeteria, he must have been watching it all as a joke. Now Su Ruo felt like a fool, completely played around by others. Gu Rang looked down, smiling ambiguously: "Is this question really that important?" "Of course..." Before she could finish saying the word 'important', Gu Chen suddenly turned around. Su Ruo instinctively pushed Gu Rang away, putting on a very fake smile and greeting him with a 'hehe', as if nothing had happened just now. Gu Rang staggered two steps from her push, immediately rendered speechless. For the rest of the time until they reached the entrance of her family's small restaurant, the three of them sat in the same car, and Su Ruo didn't have another chance to talk to Gu Rang, let alone remind him not to spill the beans. In the end, she got out of the car with a heart full of worries and a complex expression. After watching her enter the restaurant named 'Food Manor' on the roadside, Gu Chen finally stepped on the gas and left the scene. "Your school is quite chaotic, take more care of her usually."

In the quiet carriage, Gu Chen suddenly spoke up. Gu Rang's gaze shifted back from the rapidly receding streetlights outside the window: 'Why did she have to repeat her first year of high school?' This question had been lingering in his mind since he met Su Ruo at the student union that day. With the background of the Gu family and the strength of the Baimu Group, they could have arranged everything for Su Ruo. Moreover, she had to take a year off because she saved Gu Chen. The Mercedes-Benz happened to arrive at an intersection and encountered a red light. Gu Chen shifted to Park mode: 'By the time I got the news, Su's mother had already taken care of everything. Her family refused our help, fearing what people outside would say. Getting Xiao Ruo to transfer to Binzhou Academy was the best I could do.' In this world, there are people who prioritize interests, and there are also those who are simply willing to help others. After that incident, the Su family did not demand a large sum of money because of the Baimu Group behind him, but instead repeatedly refused the extra kindness they offered besides medical expenses. Even this time, with Su Ruo's enrollment, it was only when Su's mother couldn't hide it any longer that she let him know. 'Because of pride, they would rather let their daughter repeat three years of high school?' Gu Rang could not understand the behavior of Su Ruo's parents. For him, time is the most precious thing in this world.

During the three years of high school, he could do many things he wanted and that were meaningful. Three seconds of countdown, the red light turned green, and the car started again. Gu Chen looked at the road ahead, his voice deep: 'Because they live in a different world from us, they don't want to be pointed at and criticized for sacrificing their daughter's life just to get acquainted with the son of the Bai Mu Group.' There was a moment of silence, and Gu Rang suddenly fell quiet. His dark pupils reflected the neon lights outside the window, particularly dazzling. The class system of this world determines the platform and direction of one's life. No matter which class people belong to, they all have the pain and frustration of their class. While they have enviable identities, they are also doomed to live forever under the public eye, unintentionally harming those around them. | Zha Zhou Academy | The last time I had dinner with Gu Chen and Gu Rang was on a Friday, and Su Ruo spent an uneasy weekend at home. Monday morning started with the unchanging flag-raising ceremony, with each class lining up in a straight line according to height, gathering in the largest playground on the east side of the school. The weekly flag-raising ceremony for both the junior and senior high school sections is together, and when the time comes, the east playground is filled with students. The person standing on the podium is the host Yu Yi, and on the other side of the flag-raising platform, the school orchestra is holding their instruments, and the flag guard stands straight. It's a famous private school after all, making the weekly flag-raising so ceremonial, just like raising the national flag in the capital. Su Ruo is not particularly tall but not short either, standing in the middle of her class.

Having just stood still for a moment, I saw Gu Rang, with a cold expression, leading a group of students walking past the front of the queue, eventually standing at the end of several classes in the middle of the high school section. Next came the traditional playing of the national anthem and the raising of the national flag. In September, the temperature in Binzhou stays above 32° every day, and standing outdoors early in the morning is almost like suffering. After the flag-raising, it was the usual speech under the national flag, followed by the school leaders' work summary. Su Ruo's eyes were fixed on the people on the podium, but her mind had already drifted far away. At this moment, her head was full of the problem that had troubled her all weekend: after they parted ways after eating that day, did Gu Rang really talk to Gu Chen about what she did at the beginning of the school term?