Chapter 40: Catfish Spirit and Turtle Spirit

"Don't mention it."

He only then realized she had been promoted into the sprint class.

"Let me treat you to dinner!" Wang Yidi said happily. "What do you like to eat? Let’s celebrate your remarkable improvement!"

"No need!" He shook his head. "My family will arrange a celebration."

"Then when is your birthday?" Wang Yidi thought it made sense—since she’d made it into the sprint class, her family would also celebrate, so he probably had no time. She thought for a moment and added, "I’ll give you a birthday gift then!"

"Really, no need!" He still refused.

He was far too familiar with this kind of thing.

There was no such thing as sincere gratitude—everyone was just using gratitude as an excuse to get closer to him.

He never accepted any of it.

Even if the girl before him was the only daughter of a listed company CEO, someone who could spare him decades of struggle.

He remained completely unmoved.

"Alright then! I’ll remember this favor. If you ever need help in the future, don’t hesitate to come to me—I’ll never refuse!" Seeing his firm stance, Wang Yidi didn’t press further, made her declaration, waved goodbye, and left Class 7 of Grade 12 to return to her own class.

At the staircase entrance, she saw Fang Yifan leaning against the wall, sneering at her: "Catfish meets turtle—perfect match!"

"Fang Yifan, what are you talking about!" Wang Yidi glared at him.

That’s right!

Fang Yifan had mocked He Chen as a turtle before—not the first time he’d given classmates nicknames. He’d already given Wang Yidi the nickname "Catfish Spirit."

Because Wang Yidi had unusually large eyes and opened her mouth wide when she smiled, she looked a bit like a catfish, so Fang Yifan had bluntly dubbed her "Catfish Spirit."

As a girl who cared deeply about her appearance, she could imagine how humiliating and infuriating such a physically mocking nickname must be.

But she wasn’t He Chen—even though her family’s wealth could have easily let her retaliate against Fang Yifan, she did nothing, forced to passively accept this humiliating label.

In fact, despite excelling in every aspect, she was never accepted by Fang Yifan and his circle of protagonists. Not only did Fang Yifan give her a derogatory nickname, but even his childhood friend Qiao Yingzi and Huang Zhitao treated her warmly and excellently with cold indifference.

For two years as classmates, she had always been the one reaching out only to be met with indifference, subtly isolated.

Thus, she felt an intense sense of identification when Fang Yifan was angrily rebuked for calling He Chen a turtle.

Some classmates privately whispered that He Chen was too extreme—after all, they were classmates; why go so far as to destroy someone’s family?

Such a person, they said, was like a rabid dog—keep your distance. He couldn’t be an enemy, nor could he be a friend.

Whenever she heard such remarks, she immediately refuted them.

If you conduct yourself properly and never provoke He Chen, why would he have any reason to target you?

Look at those he’s rebuked—Ji Yangyang, Fang Yifan, Li Tiegun—none of them were mild-mannered ordinary people; all of them provoked He Chen first.

Aside from them, who else has He Chen ever targeted?

Doesn’t He Chen always smile warmly, making everyone feel as if bathed in spring sunshine?

In contrast, Fang Yifan constantly harasses beautiful top students despite their refusals, stirring up trouble, fighting, and doing whatever he pleases.

He’s mocked and bullied her with derogatory nicknames more than once.

Why doesn’t anyone say he’s the problem?

Now that he sees her talking to He Chen, he comes over to block her and mock her—insulting both in one sentence. How can you blame others for rebuking him?

She thinks he deserves it!

If you can empathize with being rebuked by He Chen, why can’t you empathize with being mocked, provoked, and bullied by Fang Yifan with humiliating nicknames?

Isn’t that the perspective most people actually experience?

"As the turtle spirit once said, I just tell the truth!" Fang Yifan crossed his arms, leaning against the wall, his eyes brimming with mockery.

"Look at your grades—you’re ranked last in the entire grade! How dare you come here causing trouble!" Wang Yidi sneered. "Go back to your basic class and build your foundation!"

"You’re in no position to boast!" Fang Yifan laughed. "I’m a tail ender, and you’re barely a second-to-last. We’re both tails—maybe we’ll even end up in the same class again!"

And the reason I performed so poorly? It’s all because of your kindred spirit, your whole pond of turtles and tortoises! If it weren’t for him, would I have performed this badly?"

"Pfft!" Wang Yidi looked at him with contempt. "Over the past year, your grades have plummeted—everyone can see it. Only you still pretend you’re doing fine!"

You even said yourself you felt good about this exam—now that you’ve found out you’re last, you blame others and use them as excuses!

You should actually thank He Chen for harshly rebuking you these past few days—it gave you an excuse to cling to!

Otherwise, your mom would’ve chased you around the entire neighborhood with a slipper after seeing your grades!

Ji Yangyang never studied seriously, and in this exam’s Chinese essay, he literally drew a race car and got a zero.

An essay!

Worth 60 points!

He got a flat zero!

And as for being affected, Ji Yangyang was affected far more than you.

Your dad got himself locked up, but it didn’t stop you from going to the movies with your goddess.

But Ji Yangyang? He Chen shattered his dreams and ambitions outright!

And yet you’re still buried beneath him, and you still managed to come in last—how can you even say that with a straight face?"

"You!" Fang Yifan glared at Wang Yidi.

In the past, he was always the one mocking her, leaving her speechless—but now she’d become sharp-tongued and vicious.

Could He Chen’s biting sarcasm really be contagious?

"Hmph!" Wang Yidi smirked as she saw him angry, turned on her heel, and walked away. Rebuking someone and then leaving—this feeling was truly satisfying.

Why didn’t He Chen do this sooner?

If he had, and I’d learned from him, I wouldn’t have suffered so much these past two years.

After school.

Tomorrow is the weekend, so no evening self-study tonight. He Chen rode home with Ruan Liuzheng, Lin Miaomiao, and Qian Sanyi.

On the way, Ruan Liuzheng couldn’t hold back: "How did you score so well? You didn’t even spend half the time studying as I did!"

She was ranked 21st; he was 28th—only seven spots apart!

Although in the Gaokao, one point could mean hundreds of students, one rank difference might mean even more.

Yet her hard work had only barely kept her hovering around 21st place.

She’d improved slightly this time, but not by much.

But He Chen’s improvement was absurd—if this kept up, he’d surpass her entirely, shattering her internal sense of their relative positions and making her uneasy.

"Luck," He Chen joked. "Or maybe these past two days, after rebuking people, I felt refreshed, my mind cleared, and I suddenly had an epiphany!"

"Fine, if you don’t want to say, don’t!" Ruan Liuzheng pouted, dropped the subject, and silently resolved to work even harder.

She also needed to stick with yoga!

He Chen’s dramatic transformation began with his training.

Don’t think she didn’t notice!

When Ruan Lu heard how well both of them had done, she was delighted, accepted Ruan Liuzheng’s cutesy pleading without complaint, and invited He Chen out for dinner tonight.

"Hot pot! Spicy hot pot!" Ruan Liuzheng cheered, hugging Ruan Lu and urging He Chen. They left home and headed straight for her favorite Jingge Hot Pot for a spicy feast.