My Years as the Pure Love Interest at the Noble Academy

"I'm not a beg..." Hang Feng covered his chest with one hand, wanting to explain something but almost couldn't catch his breath due to excessive anger and anxiety.

Meanwhile, Song Yi not only didn't look back but quickened her pace to leave.

Quick, quick, quick, escape from the original plot! Yeah!!!

Hang Feng wanted to die, she wanted to live - wasn't this just perfect? This was absolutely a win-win!

If Hang Feng died today, she would definitely thank his ancestors for eighteen generations and burn lots and lots of paper money for him!!!

Thinking this way, Song Yi felt great, and her departing steps became even lighter.

Meanwhile, in the alley.

After a while, Hang Feng finally caught his breath.

The young man's bloodied palm pressed against the ground to support himself as he stood up. The gravel cut his wound even deeper, but he seemed not to feel the pain at all.

Looking at the five yuan on the ground, Hang Feng suddenly felt that he still had to live on.

Monday.

Early in the morning, what happened at Shen Yujing's birthday party was being discussed heatedly on the school forum.

Someone had witnessed the scene where Shen Yujing got angry after Song Yi and Chen Xue had a conflict, and was vividly describing and spreading it.

[Does anyone know what exactly happened at Shen Yujing's birthday party? Why didn't Chen Xue come to school today?]

Post 1: Obviously avoiding the spotlight. Anyone would feel embarrassed being kicked out of Shen Yujing's birthday party, especially Chen Xue who likes him so much - it's a double blow.

Post 7: But what exactly happened? Is Shen Yujing dating the special scholarship student? Otherwise, how could someone of her status be qualified to attend Shen Yujing's birthday party?

Post 14: No way, Shen Yujing wouldn't possibly be interested in a special scholarship student.

Post 19: Everyone! I have photos of Song Yi from that day! To be honest, the top student is really beautiful, I was amazed that day [Photo].

The person posted a secretly taken photo.

In the picture, Shen Yujing was standing in front of Song Yi confronting Chen Xue, while Song Yi stood behind him looking up at his back.

Then the focus shifted.

Post 27: Wow! Is this a movie scene? The prince came to rescue his princess!

Post 33: Heh, Shen Yujing is indeed a prince, but the other one isn't. She exudes poverty from head to toe, not wearing any jewelry and wearing some unknown brand dress I've never seen before.

Post 34: To the person above, how could she afford a proper dress? It must be a ninety-nine yuan bargain from some online shop, tsk tsk.

Post 41: But don't you think she looks good in it? Even if it's bought for ninety-nine yuan, she has the aura of someone wearing a ninety-five thousand yuan dress.

Post 45: +1, I really think she looks beautiful.

Post 49: Those praising Song Yi must be poor students too, you're really good at glorifying her.

...

On the other end of the phone, Murong Huan rolled her eyes - what Song Yi wore was actually an expensive custom-made dress she had ordered. What a bunch of ignorant fools.

Meanwhile, in Class A.

Song Yi was resting her face on one hand while spinning a pen with the other, looking at math problems.

Suddenly, the study representative came over and reported to Jiang Yiheng with concern, "Class monitor, Hang Feng hasn't come to school for ten days now. Should we contact his family?"

Hearing Hang Feng's name and thinking about what happened yesterday, Song Yi stopped spinning her pen and immediately perked up her ears to listen.

She was somewhat expectant, wondering if Hang Feng had died or not.

System: [...]

"No need," Jiang Yiheng said calmly. "His situation is special. The director said as long as he attends the monthly exams normally, we don't need to worry about anything else."

Due to his status as an illegitimate child, Hang Feng's identity wasn't public, making him a very special existence in the class.

Hang Feng rarely attended classes, but his scores in monthly exams consistently ranked in the top ten of the grade.

In their first year, some people thought Hang Feng was a scholarship student and bullied him, but they all "coincidentally" didn't end up well.

Later, someone saw Hang Feng arrive at school in a limited edition Bugatti, and noticed how respectful the director was towards him, realizing his family background must be extraordinary.

Although people still didn't know his true identity, no one dared to provoke him anymore.

Compared to Jiang Yiheng's polite but distant manner, Hang Feng's aura was more cold and sinister, like a venomous snake that no one dared to approach.

But because of his face that was so delicate it could be described as beautiful, girls still confessed to him, though unfortunately, those love letters all ended up unopened in the trash.

Such a person, who despised and rejected this world and himself, eventually saw the original host as his only salvation.

He wouldn't allow his moon to shine on others, and to keep the moon to himself, he pathologically kept the original host by his side.

Until finally, unable to bear such a life, the original host chose to end her life by jumping from a tall building.

It could be said that Hang Feng was the direct cause of the original host's death, but even so, he was redeemed, became clear-headed, and lived properly as a new person.

Thinking of this, Song Yi shuddered and cursed in her heart -

What. A. Psycho!!!

But fortunately, since Hang Feng rarely came to class, normally they wouldn't see each other much...

Wait, who's that?

Seeing the black-haired youth walking in through the door, Song Yi's expression slightly froze.

He had a bandage on his face, and as soon as he entered, his eyes met directly with Song Yi's.

Song Yi immediately lowered her gaze, frantically spinning her pen to release her inner anxiety.

Speak of the devil - wasn't Hang Feng injured yesterday? How could he come to school today?

And wasn't he supposed to want to die? Why was he still alive?!

The study representative said with surprise: "Hang Feng? You came to school?"

Hang Feng ignored him, just walked to the corner seat in the first row and pulled out a math test paper.

Then... Song Yi watched as Hang Feng walked up to her.

Other classmates' gazes immediately turned towards them.

Hang Feng was known throughout the school for being cold and antisocial, yet he was initiating conversation with someone? With those injuries on his face, was he looking for a fight or seeking revenge?

Hang Feng slammed the test paper on Jiang Yiheng's desk, "First place... oh no, you're second, aren't you?"

Then, Hang Feng turned to Song Yi and asked, "So, first place, can you help me with a problem?"

Obviously, Hang Feng had ulterior motives, but looking at Hang Feng's math score of 143, Song Yi was silent for a few seconds, then took out her own math test paper with its bright red score -

137.

The original host's math was relatively "weak" compared to her other subjects.

So Song Yi turned her head and looked sincerely at Jiang Yiheng, who had the highest math score in the entire grade, saying, "Please, could you explain the problems to us?"

Jiang Yiheng: "..."

Hang Feng: "..."

So when Murong Huan came to Class A, this was the scene she saw.

Jiang Yiheng was explaining math problems to Hang Feng and Song Yi. Hang Feng stood there expressionlessly, lost in thought, while Song Yi listened attentively.

Murong Huan paused, then asked Quan Le, "Is that Hang Feng? He came to school? And what's going on with them?"

"Don't know," Quan Le shrugged and said, "Maybe they're studying?"

Speaking of studying, Quan Le immediately turned to their deskmate and seriously asked, "Do you understand that problem?"

The deskmate shook their head, voice timid, "That problem is beyond the syllabus, the teacher hasn't covered it... so..."

"Stop with the 'so.' If you don't understand, then listen! How are you going to surpass Song Yi at this rate?" Quan Le never forgot their original goal set for their deskmate.

So Quan Le looked at their deskmate with disappointment, and as the other person's head drooped lower and lower, directly grabbed their collar and dragged them towards Jiang Yiheng, forcefully squeezing in.

Jiang Yiheng put down his pen and asked, "What is it?"

Then Quan Le looked awkwardly at Jiang Yiheng, and mimicking Song Yi's manner, said, "Please explain this problem to him too."

Jiang Yiheng: "..."

Song Yi: "..."

Murong Huan: "..."

Seeing this scene, Murong Huan left immediately, thinking these Class A bookworms all seemed to have something wrong with their heads.

By the time Jiang Yiheng finished explaining the problem, the class bell rang.

Hang Feng showed no intention of lingering either, taking the test paper and returning to his seat.

He carelessly stuffed the paper into his desk drawer and immediately laid his head down to sleep.

The teacher, lecturing at the front, had grown accustomed to Hang Feng's behavior in class, or perhaps was just grateful that he showed up at all.

Meanwhile, Song Yi rested her chin on her hand, her gaze unconsciously drifting to Hang Feng's back as her mind wandered.

How strange, she thought. He should have been seriously injured - in the original plot, it took three whole days of the original character's care for him to recover. How could he come to school today?

Was he perhaps faking his injuries before? How calculating.

Just as Song Yi continued pondering, a piece of chalk hit her forehead, followed by the teacher's scolding voice, "Song Yi! What are you looking at? Pay attention!"

Song Yi quickly sat up straight, fixing her eyes on the blackboard and picking up her pen to focus on the lesson.

At that moment, Hang Feng lifted his head and glanced back at Song Yi, his eyes holding an indecipherable look.

If he hadn't seen her photo on the academy's forum today, he wouldn't have known who she was, let alone made the last-minute decision to come to school.

He had been somewhat expecting to see shock or fear in her expression, just like all those others before.

But she seemed too calm, as if nothing had happened yesterday at all.

Hang Feng frowned slightly - could it be that she... didn't remember him?

The thought of this possibility suddenly made his mood turn sour.

*

Today was Monday, and after the second period, everyone had to gather at the playground for the weekly assembly.

The 80-year-old principal held the microphone on stage, passionately reading his speech about the annual sports meet coming up this Friday.

He encouraged all third-year students to participate, emphasizing the importance of balancing their rigorous studies with physical activity.

Song Yi wasn't interested and went straight to the convenience store after the assembly, picking out her favorite strawberry milk.

As she was about to pay, a hand suddenly reached out and placed five yuan on the counter. "I'll pay for hers."

Song Yi slowly looked up to see Hang Feng, who had appeared out of nowhere, and pressed her lips together.

Their eyes met as Hang Feng stared intently at her.

Surely now she would remember who he was.

Song Yi pointed at the five yuan on the counter and asked him for confirmation: "You're treating?"

Hang Feng nodded.

Song Yi's face showed a troubled expression as she opened her mouth to speak, seemingly struggling to find the right words.

Hang Feng gave a slight laugh. Now that he had practically revealed himself, let's see how she would continue pretending.

Well, he'd made his point. He wasn't the type to belabor things.

Just as Hang Feng was about to say something, Song Yi spoke first—

"It's eight yuan. That's not enough."

Hang Feng reached for his pocket, only to freeze when he realized it was empty.

He wasn't in the habit of carrying cash, and he'd left his phone in the classroom.

In short, he had no money.

For the first time in his life, Hang Feng experienced what it felt like to be embarrassed.

Song Yi understood and looked at him sincerely, "Oh, so you only have the five yuan I gave you? That's so pitiful."

Hang Feng: "..."

He wanted to explain himself but didn't know where to begin.

From Song Yi's words, she seemed to remember him, but now there appeared to be a new misunderstanding. Perhaps it was better not to explain at all.

Song Yi took out a ten-yuan note to pay, then handed him back the two coins in change along with the five-yuan note from the counter, looking at him with sympathy, "We're classmates after all, you keep it."

According to the original plot, Hang Feng despised being pitied by others. The reason he fell for the original character was because she was kind and genuine, treating everyone with equal respect.

Looking down at the seven yuan in his hand, Hang Feng couldn't help but speak up, finally saying what he couldn't say that day.

He enunciated each word clearly: "I. Am. Not. A. Beggar."

"Mm-hmm." Song Yi nodded obediently in agreement with Hang Feng's words, as if trying to protect his fragile self-esteem without pointing it out directly, saying, "I know, you're just poor. It's okay."

Hang Feng: "..."

How did things end up like this? It seemed even harder to explain now.

Wait a minute, wasn't she supposed to be a top student too? Why was she pitying him?