Chapter 116: He Seems to Have Already Started Enjoying It

"Hm? What's wrong?"

Jiang Nian turned his head and saw Zhang Nianzhi handing him the Chinese exam paper.

Rough, low-quality paper—this was Lao Liu's printed Classical Chinese test. Four pages, four Classical Chinese passages, but only one needed to be completed.

I already finished translating the Classical Chinese, and the whole class pooled their efforts to complete the test too.

In other words, this test is already useless.

Is there an audit team coming to the school at year-end?

How pathetic, Lao Liu—going this far just to balance the accounts for the bosses?

You've staked your reputation as a senior teacher, but your desire to advance is too desperate. No wonder the other day, passing by the office, I heard you playing love songs.

The page Zhang Nianzhi handed him was the very Classical Chinese passage they'd just gone over—her handwriting neat and elegant.

So, what are you looking at?

Jiang Nian glanced at the test, then at Zhang Nianzhi. He wondered if she was going to make him copy it, but this test didn't even need to be handed in for checking.

Copy it once? Correct it?

Only the wind and the lady who collects scrap can see this test! It won't even enter your brain, baby.

Zhang Nianzhi watched Jiang Nian stare at her unblinkingly and pressed her lips together.

Why are you staring at me? Look at the back of the test.

Idiot!

Jiang Nian hesitated a moment, leaned over, and whispered quietly.

"Is this test going to be collected for checking? If so, I'll copy it."

Zhang Nianzhi: "."

Fortunately, Jiang Nian noticed her fixed gaze on the test and, out of curiosity, flipped a page. He immediately saw the writing on the back and realized he'd misunderstood.

Oh, so it's a note.

Written directly on the Chinese test? The secrecy is indeed strong—who'd bother checking if the answers in the Chinese answer section were actually answers?

After all, it's a bottom-tier test.

Jiang Nian flipped open the page and found the three short questions on the Classical Chinese passage—Zhang Nianzhi had written from start to finish. Though every word had nothing to do with the correct answers, each stroke was tied to him.

So it wasn't a note—it was a handwritten letter.

Jiang Nian was used to playing on his phone.

Suddenly seeing this handwritten letter tucked among exam pages, a sense of sincerity washed over him, like spotting a five-colored deer in a quiet mountain valley.

【There are 9 days left until the big joint exam. I'm always worried about being demoted. But only three people in the class have a chance to be promoted, and both you and I are among them.】

【My old class wasn't bad either, just fewer friends. Not as happy as now—every break I can play with Beibei, and Li Hua and Ma Guojun are pretty nice too.】

What about me?

Jiang Nian grew anxious—so now the little group is isolating people too?

I'm reporting you for campus bullying!

Oh, there's more—there wasn't enough space at the end, so she wrote vertically.

【You too.】

Me too?

Seeing this, Jiang Nian's face flushed hot.

This evaluation is pure bottom-tier—what's the difference between this and saying "a little cute"? Fine, fine, next week I'll switch seats.

Keep reading.

【I don't want to be demoted, and I don't want you to be demoted either. If our scores drop next time, people will think our promotion scores were fake or inflated.】

Yu Tongjie's sword tomb really is a beast—after all, we all got promoted together, and now he does this?

What kind of pressure has he put on Baby Zhizhi?

【So, if you can, try a little harder. Even if this sounds a bit forceful, I feel as a friend, I have a tiny bit of right to urge you.】

Forceful? Hehe, I love forceful things.

Jiang Nian kept reading—he thought Zhang Nianzhi was being too conservative.

【I still want to sit next to you, even if our scores drop. And we'll definitely be told to separate, since the only value a Gao San student has is studying.】

Don't say such cold, realistic things—it's too sad.

Wait, does sitting with me make my scores drop?

What is this, "near ink turns black"?

Jiang Nian kept reading and found another line of tiny, dense handwriting below. Compared to the main text, this line seemed hesitant.

【This sounds a bit unreasonable, since my anxiety is just my own problem. Suddenly asking you to study seriously with me isn't fair.】

Why did she suddenly start talking like a tea girl?

【If you think this is weird, just put the test away and pretend nothing happened. Or crumple it up and toss it into the trash like Li Hua does—with his ugly, clumsy shot.】

Li Hua's ugly, clumsy shot?

Is the word order wrong?

Still, Zhang Nianzhi's casual dig at Li Hua made Jiang Nian feel cheerful.

No wonder she's the top student of Group Six, the First Princess of the Sixth Group—Li Hua, this science brute, is already a pile of withered bones!

In Group Six, mocking Li Hua has become politically correct.

In the dim classroom, the voice of Aerial China echoed.

Zhang Nianzhi waited nervously for several minutes, squeezing her pen again and again, her knuckles faintly whitening.

In the classroom, some stared intently at the projection screen, others lowered their heads to write homework and occasionally looked up. No one noticed the corner where the Chinese test paper had been passed.

She turned her head and saw Jiang Nian folding the exam paper, as if to tuck it into the desk compartment. Her pupils dilated sharply—so he wasn't accepting it? After doing something so embarrassing.

She was about to cry.

Then she saw Jiang Nian feint, pulling a pen out from the desk compartment, leaning on the desk to start writing a reply.

Zhang Nenzhi: "."

She was ninety-five percent certain he was doing it on purpose. Pure, unadulterated mischief—he had a pen right on the desk but went rummaging in the compartment instead.

So mean.

Then came the long wait, each second dragging by. Her anxiety ballooned endlessly, her heart pounding erratically, a sour, sinking weight pressing in her chest.

It felt like falling into a deep abyss, never hitting bottom.

She didn't know how long she'd fallen before the exam paper was handed back to her.

Zhang Nenzhi pretended calm as she took the paper, confirming her private thoughts were still safely hidden. Only then did she carefully open it—and saw the answer on the other side of the Classical Chinese section.

Every line had nothing to do with the exam, but everything to do with her.

【Reviewed.】

The first two characters made Zhang Nenzhi jolt; she involuntarily pressed her lips together. Her resentment slowly piled up—he was definitely doing this on purpose, just loved to tease.

【Forced? First time doing M, I'm nervous—is it like, I feel wronged, then you spank me twice as comfort? Sounds a little perverted, huh?】

After reading it, Zhang Nenzhi's vision went black.

Could a human even write this? How could a Gao Zhongsheng produce such warped text? Her eyes felt dirty now—she didn't want them anymore.

【To be honest, someone with 630+ points, if you study seriously, why worry about failing? Frankly, this anxiety makes no sense.】

【Let's study together, keep each other accountable (only until the big joint exam). Of course, mostly you'll supervise me—if I fall asleep, I hope you'll scold me.】

【Scold me more.】

Zhang Nenzhi thought that if she started reading from the second paragraph, Jiang Nian's reply was genuinely sincere—he comforted her and even agreed to study with her.

But after reading the first paragraph, then seeing "I hope you'll scold me. Scold me more."

She had this feeling—he was already enjoying himself.

She thought for a moment, then decided to reply seriously on the exam paper. The stone had finally dropped; she wasn't so anxious anymore, and wrote a few lines quickly.

【Okay, but this makes me seem too domineering—I'd feel guilty. It's like you're spending time keeping me company through the exam, like you're being forced to study with me.】

【Before the big joint exam, I'll bring you a drink every day. (Hua Hua)】

After writing, she slipped the exam paper into her homework notebook, layered it with a cover, then passed it to Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian opened it, glanced once—free drinks.

Not bad.

He knew his grades wouldn't drop—he had a fixed floor. Even if his math was terrible, he'd still get 100. Even if his science comprehensive was awful, he'd still get 180.

Chinese? Average. English? At least 130.

Add them up—even if he closed his eyes and took the test, he'd still hit 510. Normally, 550 was no pressure; with effort, 580 was possible.

So Zhang Nenzhi's worry for him was unnecessary—and since she didn't mention it, fine.

【Alright, give me anything to drink.】

Jiang Nian figured the hint was obvious enough—she should've understood by now. Some things weren't better said too clearly; they'd just get mistaken for being perverted.

Zhang Nenzhi took back her homework notebook, opened the exam paper, glanced at it, and couldn't help smiling faintly. She thought: of course she wouldn't just hand out drinks casually—too lazy.

Then she carefully tucked the exam paper away and unilaterally declared the conversation over.

As class ended neared, the aerial footage of China lost its charm.

Jiang Nian bolted out of the classroom the moment the bell rang, like a starving ghost who'd never eaten. He wanted to leap from the fourth floor straight to the cafeteria door.

In truth, for the same money, the food was vastly different.

Zhang Nenzhi returned home clutching several books, risking her mother's scolding. She didn't head straight to the dining table—instead, she marched straight to her room, head down.

Sure enough, the woman's voice followed instantly.

"Baby Zhizhi, come eat!"

"Okay~!" Zhang Nenzhi called back, stretching the word.

Her room faced the sun, bright and spacious, spotless. Against the wall stood a milk-white L-shaped desk, its acrylic board plastered with sticky notes.

After a moment of relief, she sat quickly at the desk. From an inconspicuous corner, she pulled out a key and opened the middle drawer.

Inside were many letters—all handwritten notes to herself. Seasons turned, her grades slowly climbed, every tear and sweat hidden in these letters.

There were also plane tickets, beautiful stamps, movie stubs, printed photos, bookmarks, and all kinds of pretty trinkets.

She took out the Chinese exam paper, stared at it for a while, and a genuine smile spread across her face. Then she folded it and placed it at the very bottom of the drawer, weighed down by a thick stack of handwritten letters.

Around it, she arranged a circle of small trinkets, only then feeling at ease.

The conversation on the exam paper was for the one thing she most longed for: the Gaokao was too far off, but the big joint exam was just nine days away—visible, tangible.

Her small county was tiny, Gao San was dull, but there were still moments to breathe.

Jiang Nian was shoved against a wall.

"Fair lady, wait a moment."

"You're dead!" Xu Qianqian grabbed his clothes, teeth clenched, "Give back my water! I haven't even taken a sip!"

"Oh, you didn't drink it?" Jiang Nian's tone revealed neither guilt nor regret, "You left it aside while eating in the cafeteria—I thought you weren't going to drink it."

"Get lost! You pervert! Go buy me two bottles of Fruit Granules Orange!" Xu Qianqian was furious.

Song Xiuyun trembled nearby, small, pitiful, helpless. One side was a heartless evil creditor, the other a furious best friend.

One could only say: within seven steps, there's always a cure—every thing has its counter.

"Fine, I'll buy it." Jiang Nian raised his hands in surrender, then asked, "Hey, can you drink it cold?"

"Get lost!"

"Got it."

Jiang Nian stepped out of the convenience store and handed one to each of the two girls.

"Are you two running some kind of study group lately? I see you discussing it over meals too—still math, and passersby nearly passed out from listening."

"What's it to you?" Xu Qianqian shot back.

Song Xiuyun whispered, "Qianqian says you're bad at math, so she put together a simplified guide to boost your score."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian was taken aback.

So that's what Qianqian had been busy with all day long. He'd actually thought she was aiming to top the Eighteen-County Joint Exam and attain sainthood on the spot.

"Really?"

Xu Qianqian's expression grew slightly awkward, but she didn't deny it. The cap of her Fruitful Orange twisted with a crisp crackle—Jiang Nian suddenly felt a tickle on his neck.

"Thanks."

"Cough, cough—it's not like I made it just for you," Xu Qianqian took a sip of orange juice, her gaze drifting. "If you get demoted to a lower class, even I, as your mama, would lose face."

Jiang Nian didn't press the matter. There'd be plenty of time ahead, Xu Qianqian.

A true master doesn't fret over temporary gains or losses.

After parting, Jiang Nian went up to the Gao San floor alone, planning to do some problems as usual before lunch.

With the Joint Exam approaching, he was indeed a little nervous.

Even though he knew he had a solid baseline of five hundred points, he still couldn't help being infected by the atmosphere.

The Olympiad class and the regular class were indeed different—both pretty goofy. If anything, their overall English scores were solid, leaving them more time to study science subjects.

For them, studying was a perfect positive feedback loop.

This was the steady form of a hexagonal powerhouse—so real. You didn't need to be brilliant; just one subject, English, could crush half the regular class.

Except for Li Hua, a pentagonal powerhouse—an outright anomaly.

Just stepping into the classroom, he scanned and spotted only a few familiar faces.

Then he suddenly saw Chen Yunyun rise and rush to the front of his seat. Wu Jungu's desk had nearly become Chen Yunyun's exclusive seat—she straddled it and stared at him.

"Hey, Jiang Nian, how come you're so close to our group leader?"

"What, baby, are you jealous?" Jiang Nian didn't look up, one hand propping his head, the other solving a problem on his math review material. "Where did this x=4 come from?"

"Oh, oh, let me see." Chen Yunyun leaned in, tilting her head for a moment. "It's given in the problem statement."

"Damn, I missed that."

"Jiang Nian, how far have you and our group leader gone?" Chen Yunyun pulled the topic back.

"Huh? Roughly—we've been talking trash about you behind your back." Jiang Nian stroked his chin and made a lesbian gesture. "He says you're not feminine enough."

"You two!! So disgusting!" Chen Yunyun gritted her teeth, completely thrown off track—then, inexplicably, she asked, "Do you think that too?"