After observing the mourning period for his parent in his hometown, scion Pei Jing was invited by Luoyuan Academy to give lectures to its students. Two children in his classroom caught his attention.
One was Shen Zui, a wealthy "school bully."
The other was Chen Zhier, a poor and solitary "top student."
Shen Zui began bullying Chen Zhier over a single word of praise from their teacher, until he accidentally discovered her secret.
That night, a raging fire engulfed everything, and all the secrets went up in flames.
Chen Zhier became a murderer, and the teacher she had revered as a lofty mountain abandoned her.
Four years later, Pei Jing returned to the capital to report on his work. The emperor appointed him tutor to Princess Jinzhi.
At a palace banquet, he passed out after one cup of wine. When he awoke, his hands were bound and his eyes were covered.
A delicate hand gently lifted his chin. A sweet breath brushed his ear as a woman whispered, "Teacher, at last you're mine alone."
From a poor country girl to Princess Jinzhi, Chen Zhier continued to maintain her top-student image. She pursued Pei Jing relentlessly, working hard to become worthy of him. But there was no place for her in her teacher's eyes.
Childhood friend Shen Zui: "A forcibly picked melon isn't sweet."
Chen Zhier: "I don't care whether it's sweet. I want to pick it anyway."
For Pei Jing, she nearly went mad and became the very thing she hated most.
Until one day, she accidentally stumbled upon his secret.
In that moment, she realized that her teacher wasn't as wonderful as she had imagined. He could be cowardly, miserable, and helpless too.
It turned out that from the beginning, he hadn't been worthy of her at all!
Once she saw the truth, Princess Jinzhi swiftly kicked Pei Jing to the curb and became the brightest star in Great Zhou.
When everyone was worrying about the princess's marriage, someone sang as he drew his sword: "Your Highness, would you consider me?"
Chen Zhier turned around in surprise. Somehow, the little hoodlum who used to bully her had become Great Zhou's youngest God of War!
It turned out that, in some corner she had never noticed, someone else had been working just as hard, all to become worthy of her.
Later, when news of Princess Jinzhi's engagement to Shen Zui spread, Pei Jing's heart twisted with pain. "If you didn't love me, why did you lead me on? And if you did, why didn't you see it through?"
Princess Jinzhi scoffed. "You think far too highly of yourself! Between the teacher and me, there was nothing but the bond of teacher and student, from beginning to end!"
Theme: Everyone who works hard deserves to be treated kindly.
