Chapter 101: Look at You

Zhang Ningzhi saw Jiang Nian leap over from a bizarre angle, stepping on a stool, almost missing his footing and stumbling midair.

Just watching it hurt.

Jiang Nian acted as if nothing had happened, not even blinking. He took two steps, grabbed his own shoulder and yanked it, then spun quickly to block the falling boy with his back.

In that instant, Zhang Ningzhi felt her shoulder pressed down.

The back of her head slammed into a solid chest, enveloping her in the scent of laundry detergent baked by sunlight.

Zhang Ningzhi quickly realized what had happened and froze, her face burning hot, her heart bubbling wildly like boiling syrup.

He had run over here.

Thump-thump-thump, everything around her grew sticky, as if wrapped in a slow-motion spell.

Boom-boom-boom, her senses sharpened as her heart pumped out torrents of blood. Smell, touch—all of it was Jiang Nian; her chest instantly suffocated.

"You okay?" Jiang Nian asked, his words synchronized with the motion of releasing her shoulder.

Zhang Ningzhi felt the vibration in his chest, like wind passing through a valley. She shook her head instinctively, then realized seconds later—he'd bumped his leg.

Before she could speak, Jiang Nian was surrounded by a crowd of boys.

"Not bad, Brother Nian."

"Basic move, no need to cheer. Tuition 1888." Jiang Nian's face was as thick as a city wall, "No need to go to the admin office to check the surveillance—posting it on TikTok is too much hassle."

"Hahaha, damn, who asked you?"

"Fuck, shameless bastard, lift him!"

After a noisy commotion, Jiang Nian was carried off; Zhang Ningzhi stood rooted, stunned. Worried about his foot, she wanted to go out but was deterred by the noise at the stairwell.

She sat like a quail in her seat, the sensation dawning belatedly. The clamor from the stairwell tangled her thoughts, slowly overtaking them.

A tingling numbness crept upward from her chest like a fuse. A sour ache descended from her brain, flooding every organ and limb, her hands and feet growing weak.

The classroom's noise vanished completely; her mind held only that figure—the boy like the wind.

At the stairwell.

Jiang Nian got ALUBA'd once, Li Hua got ALUBA'd twice for his mouth. Later, too awkward to continue, they lifted Lin Dong and ALUBA'd him again.

Why not ALUBA Ma Guojun? Haha, funny.

A 190-jin bro, one punch, one LeBron.

In the corridor, seven or eight boys stood in a line.

"Morning break without running is still too long—only ten minutes passed?" Ma Guojun rubbed his double chin, "How do we kill the remaining fifteen minutes?"

"ALUBA Li Hua again," Jiang Nian suggested.

"Your mom! You want your dad dead?!"

"Shut up, class traitor, I'll rub your crotch raw!" Another boy turned, removed his glasses, and flashed Jiege's expression, "You're in pretty good shape."

"No no, all you living dads, pick someone else to ALUBA!" Li Hua dropped to his knees, "My pee already splits—I'll turn into a sprinkler if you do this again!"

"Hahahaha!!"

Laughter echoed through the corridor, interspersed with the chirping, harmonious Jiang Nan folk tunes.

Class monitor Li Qingrong passed by.

Everyone immediately cleared their throats, turned to look at the scenery, stared at the ground, feigned conversation with neighbors—the lively Jiang Nan tunes vanished.

Jiang Nian blended in, having long since silenced his curses. Now, unafraid of shadows, he openly stared at Li Qingrong—her skin was truly pale.

Her profile was beautiful too, perfectly deserving the name "Qing Yan."

Huh?

Her hair tie seemed changed again—so rich? Then I must love her.

Li Qingrong stopped, turned, and glanced at Jiang Nian. Seeing he'd been staring at her hair, she froze for one or two seconds, then walked away.

As soon as the monitor left, the atmosphere returned.

Ma Guojun couldn't help saying, "Jiang Nian, you're really creepy—staring at the class monitor like that."

"Creepy? Definitely creepy."

Jiang Nian didn't care. So what if I look at her face? Are you going to kill me?

He couldn't be bothered to respond, the autumn sun felt warm on his skin. He leaned against the railing and yawned, glancing casually at a girl with an incredible figure passing by.

The girl noticed Jiang Nian too—and stopped right there.

"Hi," she greeted the group.

"Hi hi hi!!" Several guys grinned, one eagerly asking, "Yu Zhiyi, how many points did you get this time?"

"Not telling," Yu Zhiyi giggled, demonstrating a delicate, golden tremor, then turned to Jiang Nian, "Hey, are you new here? I've never seen you before."

Around them, everyone laughed and started making nonsense.

"My brother Nian? English genius."

"Dragon among men, one against three, the god of No. 2 High."

Damn, that's pure fabrication—he never admitted it.

Jiang Nian felt confused but said nothing since he didn't understand the situation.

Yu Zhiyi didn't seem to care either—just greeted them, exchanged a few casual words, and left.

After Yu Zhiyi left, Jiang Nian's face was full of question marks.

"Isn't she Wu Jun Gu's girlfriend? Why does everyone here seem so familiar with her?"

"Oh right, forgot to tell you—his girlfriend used to be in our class," Ma Guojun said. "Back then, Li Hua tried to chase her, but Wu Jun Gu stole her."

"Huh? There's that kind of story?" Jiang Nian's ears perked up instantly, "Tell me more—I love this."

Li Hua jumped up, "What nonsense! I was just joking!"

Ma Guojun said, "You could only joke—Yu Zhiyi probably had one or two boyfriends before. Clearly a popular, sweet type."

"She's fine, I think. I think Yu Zhiyi's pretty good," another boy added. "What's the big deal about dating? Half the guys in Zhennan are dating."

"That's where you're wrong. Look at Wu Jun Gu's grades this time — it'd be strange to say it had nothing to do with her."

When the conversation broke up, only Li Hua and Ma Guojun were left, the three of them not yet gone.

At this point, the little group's whispers grew bolder — or rather, only at times like this could certain things be said.

"Wu Jun Gu is completely done for, I'm telling you," Ma Guojun said. "Since ancient times, heroes have found it hard to pass the beauty's gate. I feel Yu Zhiyi will toy him to death sooner or later."

"Can't put it so absolutely. Brother Jun is enjoying himself," Li Hua objected. "You are not a fish — how would you know the joy of a fish? Have you ever touched the great Dao?"

"Have you ever touched it?"

"No."

Mid-conversation, the two of them turned in unison to look at Jiang Nian, as if waiting for his answer.

"Don't look at me, I haven't either."

Li Hua and Ma Guojun brightened in an instant, beaming with joy.

"Good brothers, good brothers!! You didn't betray the organization — well done."

Listening to their assessments, Jiang Nian decided to keep a little more distance from Wu Jun Gu. He'd originally thought being in the same group would be a chance to form a good bond, but now it didn't seem very reliable.

Yu Zhiyi seemed quite popular among the boys — Wu Jun Gu had no shortage of rivals.

He even suspected that the moment Wu Jun Gu let go, someone would immediately pick her up.

But judging from what Wu Jun Gu and Ma Guojun and the others had said, Yu Zhiyi didn't seem to be the same kind of little green tea as Zhou Yuting — the young couple's relationship was pretty stable.

That made it even more off — weird.

Next time Wu Jun Gu asked, he'd just turn him down.

Ring ring ring.

Back in the classroom for third period, Jiang Nian had just sat down when he saw Wu Jun Gu come in through the classroom door.

He figured Wu Jun Gu must have gone to the office — still about the boarding paperwork.

Jiang Nian had originally wanted to give him a heads-up: boarding school didn't necessarily mean he could help his pudding-pudding girlfriend.

At most he could help fetch hot water in winter, and walk back to the dorm together at night.

Fine — probably it was just to be a hot-water-fetching tool and to keep her company on the track that he resolutely chose to board.

Jiang Nian was just picking up his textbook when he suddenly felt his arm get poked.

"What's up?"

"Is your leg okay? I saw you seemed to bump it." Zhang Nianzhi asked softly — she must have had her lines prepared long ago. "You, you roll up your pant leg and let me see."

The biology teacher Zhong Qing hadn't arrived yet. Jiang Nian had wanted to be a smart-ass, but seeing Zhang Nianzhi was genuinely worried, he hesitated and then spoke normally.

"It's nothing big. I checked in the bathroom — a bone was sticking out, I pushed it back in."

Zhang Nianzhi: "Huh?"

"It means it's fine."

"Oh, oh." Zhang Nianzhi turned back. After about half a period, she suddenly poked Jiang Nian with her pen again and carefully passed over a little rolled-up note.

Jiang Nian opened it and read: 【Show me.】

Hah? You're getting a bit of a turn-off, Baby Zhizhi.

He wrote a line on the note and slipped it back to her.

【I'm wearing black stockings.】

Zhang Nianzhi read it and froze for a long moment, nearly blacking out on the spot.

She immediately realized Jiang Nian was teasing her, pressed her lips together, thought for a moment, wrote another line, and slipped it back to him.

【What do I have to do to get you to show me?!!!】

She even added several exclamation marks afterward to amplify the emotion.

But Jiang Nian glanced at the note, added just four characters on it, and handed it back.

【Show me yours.】

The instant Zhang Nianzhi unfolded it, her face turned like a fully ripe red apple, and she buried herself face-down without a word.

Jiang Nian didn't mind — his leg had been fine to begin with.

If it had been swollen, he'd have hissed in a cold breath — clearly it hadn't.

Ring ring ring — third period ended. Jiang Nian planned to go drain the snake.

Just as he was about to stand, Zhang Nianzhi on his left gave him a gentle tug.

"Mm?"

Zhang Nianzhi said nothing. Under the desk she pulled up her school pants, revealing a smooth, fair, creamy calf.

Bones like jade pillars, slender and evenly shaped, delicate ankles.

Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment, his gaze pressed against Zhang Nianzhi's calf.

He couldn't help imagining how soft and warm the foot inside the shoe must be — pinkish-white, glutinous, like a bowl of rice.

Oh no — now he had no choice but to be a jailer.

How did the dry-congee guy show up?

Unfortunately Zhang Nianzhi quickly let the loose trouser leg fall back down, then gazed at him eagerly, as if to say: Keep your promise — show me.

Jiang Nian had no choice. He stood right up, rolled up his pant leg, and showed off his hairy leg.

Zhang Nianzhi pressed her lips together, took a careful look, and immediately turned her head away.

After school let out at noon, Jiang Nian ran into Song Xiyun for once. After collecting the one-yuan-a-day debt from the past few days, he generously treated her to a meal at the cafeteria.

"Where's Xu Qianqian? Why isn't she with you?"

Plenty of students came and went in the cafeteria; no one paid any attention to these two — a boy and a girl — tucked away in a corner eating.

Song Xiyun puffed out her cheeks, took a big bite of the chicken drumstick, then mumbled.

"Her old bestie asked her out to eat somewhere, I was afraid it'd be awkward so I didn't go."

"Awkward?" Jiang Nian didn't get it.

"Hmph, even if I told you, you wouldn't understand." Song Xiyun put down her chopsticks, held up two index fingers, and said with a straight little face, "It's like a childhood sweetheart versus a fox spirit."

"Oh oh, you're the fox spirit." Jiang Nian suddenly laughed with relief, "If you'd said that earlier, wouldn't I have understood right away?"

"You're the fox spirit!" Song Xiyun was a bit rattled, "S-she, her old bestie found someone else first, you can't blame me for stepping in."

"Oh~ an experienced fox spirit, impressive." He praised.

"D-don't talk nonsense!"

"Getting worked up?"

Song Xiyun was so angry she bared her teeth, and with one chopstick motion snatched the crispy pork from Jiang Nian's plate. She stuffed them into her mouth one by one, whimpering her grievances between bites.

"You're slandering me!"

Jiang Nian stroked his chin, not in any rush to eat.

"How's your mom's work going?"

"Mm, it's alright, she's getting more and more clients." Song Xiyun answered a bit awkwardly—she never forgot that Jiang Nian was the kind of person who'd spend ten thousand yuan on a membership and classes.

Even though they were the same age, talking about family in front of him always gave her a tiny bit of an inferiority complex.

"The money you spent on the card and classes, ten thousand two hundred and thirty, I remember it all. After the college entrance exam, I'll work a summer job to pay you back."

"Huh? Wouldn't that mean I got the gym card and classes for free?" Jiang Nian wasn't in a rush to deny her plan—paying him back was just her way of protecting her self-respect.

"How about this, give me a ten-percent price, one thousand two hundred and thirty, does that work?"

"Ten percent is too little, fifty percent." Song Xiyun said quietly.

"Fifty percent is too much, I'm not the kind of person who likes taking advantage of others." Jiang Nian seriously haggled with her, "Can you accept ten percent? If you can't, I won't take a single cent."

Song Xiyun hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Fine."

"Don't you dare pay back more, I know your mom." Jiang Nian's one sentence hit Song Xiyun's weak spot, instantly making her flush red, her fists clenching tight.

"Don't you say that again!! Aaah!"

"Haha."

Thus the cafeteria treaty was reached, and Song Xiyun unilaterally took on a debt of one thousand two hundred and thirty yuan. After the meal, Jiang Nian went and bought two bottles of drinks.

Song Xiyun's debt increased by another three yuan, and she immediately felt overwhelmed.

"I don't want it!"

"That won't do, next time help me copy some English homework, will you?" Jiang Nian put forward a feasible suggestion, "Twenty yuan per copy, how about it?"

"Really?"

"Of course it's real, I'm not short on this little bit." Jiang Nian nodded, "Consider this bottle of drink my treat to you, savor a father's loving care."

"Hmph! Once I've copied English homework fifty times—fifty times—my family won't owe you anything anymore!" Song Xiyun was quite spirited, poor but bold.

"Got it, copy a few more times, you can still earn a little from me."

"Don't need it, once I've paid it off I won't copy anymore."

During the lunch break, the classroom was nearly empty.

After the rain finally cleared, the boarders were all busy going back to shower and wash their shoes. Jiang Nian simply slept for half an hour first before getting up to do problems.

Tired from doing problems, he went online and started searching for JK skirts, the average price around 130.

He found a set he liked and casually placed the order.