The Tender Beauty is Sweetly Doted in the 20th Century Novel!-Chapter 221 - 220: She Turned In Her Paper!

"Taking advantage of the crowd, why don’t you apologize for the past all at once? She has a good personality, and since many people are apologizing now, maybe she’ll just forgive you?"

Liao Yonghe thought the suggestion made more and more sense as he spoke.

"That way, in the future, you won’t feel embarrassed asking her questions. Just apologize simply today, and later we can find an opportunity to treat her to a meal, making it easier to open up. Even if you don’t ask her questions, we’re all classmates who’ll be together for several years. It’s better to make a friend than an enemy, right?"

Actually, Ji Bowen understood that they did misunderstand and shouldn’t have hastily labeled Ye Manman in such a derogatory way.

But the thought of having to lower himself to apologize to a woman made him feel like he couldn’t do it.

"I’m not going. If someone has to apologize, let it be you."

Ji Bowen shook off Liao Yonghe’s hand stubbornly and looked down at his book.

Liao Yonghe was exasperated, "Oh my, I really give up. Why are you so stubborn..."

He stood up and saw that the boys who had proactively apologized to Ye Manman at the front had all been forgiven and returned to their seats, relieved. Such a rare opportunity was missed just like that.

He glanced at Ji Bowen, who was as stubborn as a mule, still persistently looking at his book. Liao Yonghe suddenly understood what it meant to be frustrated with someone else’s stubbornness.

"Well, now there’s no chance. Even if you wanted to apologize, she wouldn’t forgive you."

Liao Yonghe slumped back down, lying on the desk with a sigh.

"I really don’t understand what you’re being so stubborn about. We were wrong in the past; we almost caused her trouble. Yesterday was also our fault. Why can’t we apologize to her? Or is it because of some gender issue?"

"So many other guys can apologize to a girl, but you just won’t..."

He didn’t dare to really lecture Ji Bowen too much. After all, even a sidekick needs to have some self-awareness, and there are things he knows he shouldn’t say.

Listening to his muttering, Ji Bowen felt deeply uneasy inside.

He knew he was wrong, more than once, and yesterday he made it worse when he saw her with an old man, thinking she had cozying up to rich guys to cheat her way into Qing University. He even felt a secret delight inside.

Such a vile mindset, Ji Bowen dared not speak out loud. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Having been proud all these years, now overshadowed by Ye Manman in everything at Qing University, his psyche began to twist.

These changes were something Ji Bowen was vaguely aware of.

He actually wanted to get along with Ye Manman, apologize to her, have a good meal like Liao Yonghe said, and make a friend. They could study together in the future, exchanging knowledge when either of them was confused.

But each time he tried to muster the courage to apologize, his grandmother’s words echoed in his ears.

"Women should rely on men. No matter how capable a woman is, she’ll never match a man. No matter how smart, she won’t do better than men. Bowen, you’re the most promising in our family and should never let those girls surpass you."

"A woman’s life is destined for marriage and childbirth. She can’t play a role in society. Nation-building relies on men, and you’re so outstanding—destined to be a pillar of the country."

"Look at Old Wang’s daughter; she used to have excellent grades and got into a good university. Then she got married and had kids before graduation, quit school, and relies on her husband every day at home..."

"Women are born to carry on the family line..."

"..."

Often, as Ji Bowen watched Ye Manman, he would apply his grandmother’s words to her. Initially wanting to see what made Ye Manman different, the more he did so, the more he felt his grandmother was right.

Ye Manman was smart, with good grades, but she too would marry and have children. Perhaps she’ll quit school for her family, relying on her husband. If that were the case, why should he apologize and study with her?

Wouldn’t it still be up to him?

All this talk of mutual progress is nonsense.

Women ultimately have to return home to support their husbands and educate their children.

In his mind, it played over and over like two little people debating fiercely.

In the end, with the class bell ringing, everything settled.

Ji Bowen decided to give up.

From his schooling till now, Ye Manman was the only girl who outperformed him in grades. However, she was also married and pregnant, an anomaly not enough to overturn his grandmother’s words.

Until he saw Ye Manman break from this mold, he didn’t want to admit defeat.

The internal preliminary of the national English competition began in the afternoon.

Because the competition was national, all grades in the school could participate, making the competition quite fierce.

Especially for freshmen like them, it was rare for anyone to make it to the finals in previous years.

However, Chen Yuqing, brimming with confidence this year, was not blindly optimistic about her classmates’ results. Compared to making it to the finals, she valued the fighting spirit and upward momentum of her classmates more.

Even if none make it this year, those who took the exam had a chance to experience and recognize their shortcomings, which would motivate them to study harder.

For Ye Manman, the competition was trivial. She had lost count of the competitions she’d entered before. Could this era’s competition even challenge her?

Seeing the test paper, Ye Manman took a cursory glance, feeling confident, and quietly waited for the listening section to begin.

Interestingly, the seating arrangement for this exam was based on the ranking of the entire grade.

Ye Manman was first, and Ji Bowen was second, placing them at the front and back desks, respectively.

Ye Manman didn’t particularly care for him, not even bothering to glance at him while passing the exam paper, turning away immediately.

Ji Bowen hadn’t expected to be seated so close to her.

Seeing her up close seemed even more attractive than from afar in the classroom.

Her skin was unexpectedly perfect, porcelain smooth, close up even more so, and her long hair seemed even smoother than he imagined.

He didn’t notice at first, but when she turned her head, he caught a whiff of her hair fragrance, which lingered in his nostrils, impossible to ignore.

Knowing that this woman, being so striking, could distract him, Ji Bowen quickly lowered his head, trying to focus his attention on the exam paper.

Finally, when the exam started, Ji Bowen quickly entered the zone, earnestly answering the questions.

However, when he reached the reading comprehension section, Ji Bowen suddenly sensed some movement from the desk in front.

Instinctively, he looked up and saw Ye Manman packing her stationery and taking her paper to the podium.

She had turned in her exam!

Realizing this, Ji Bowen’s eyes widened, his heart beginning to panic.

He glanced down at his own paper, seeing a good portion still blank, then looked up at the classroom clock. Only fifty-odd minutes had passed—not even an hour yet—and she had already completed the whole paper?!