Chapter 130

On his seat, Li Hua flicked his test paper.

"To be honest, the quality of this weekly test is terrible—I suspect it's recycled toilet paper."

After saying that, he leaned in absurdly and sniffed it—epic lung penetration—puked~.

Jerks are like this: they score full marks on the science multiple-choice, then get so happy they regress to primates, acting out all sorts of bizarre nonsense.

Jiang Nian glanced at him. "You're lucky we didn't charge you for photocopy fees—you're already picky."

Big Fat Ma Guojun, in the next group, heard Li Hua's criticism and burst out laughing.

He leaned his body toward the aisle and pushed up his black-rimmed glasses with his middle finger.

"What? You gonna use the test paper to jerk off?"

Li Hua squirmed. "Jerk off, you idiot."

"Nah, I'll jerk you off," Ma Guojun grinned lewdly. "I've got a batch of sandpaper left over—I'll grind you into a needle."

The Olympiad Class 3 is beyond saving, Jiang Nian concluded.

Although everyone here has solid grades—even some top-tier ones—the sheer number of talents makes them even more deranged because they're too good.

So this class really was the right choice.

Jiang Nian noticed Zhang Ningzhi looked downcast and wanted to comfort her. But after glancing at his own science test paper, he paused, then gave up.

Top students can't be coddled—they need to face the storm.

Getting two multiple-choice questions wrong is called a setback? Then that guy's coffin lid is already poured with cement. Luckily, there's Ceng You in this class—a normal person—who gave him some comfort.

Jiang Nian started correcting his test with a red pen, but after realizing he got three physics multiple-choice questions wrong, he completely broke down and silently switched to a black pen.

Ten minutes before evening self-study ended, Li Hua had already packed his bag. He put a scratch pad on his desk, pretending to solve problems while actually tearing paper.

He chatted with Ma Guojun across the aisle about games, then turned his head and saw Jiang Nian still correcting his paper.

"How many did you get wrong? Still not done correcting?"

Jiang Nian glanced at him and sighed.

"Sigh, you've really reached that age—you're starting to think your dad's useless."

In this father-son showdown, Li Hua was especially cautious. He rarely got the upper hand with Jiang Nian, so in his disadvantaged position, he flipped him the middle finger.

Get lost, old man!

Zhang Ningzhi, hearing their exchange, leaned over to glance at Jiang Nian's test paper. Seeing few red marks, she asked in confusion.

"You didn't get many wrong."

"Oh, that? I corrected it with a black pen."

Covering your ears while stealing a bell, huh!

This move left Zhang Ningzhi speechless; the girl gasped twice before stammering.

"It's… already pretty good."

Huh? This sounds exactly like another phrase: 【Even small things are cute】. But that phrase was officially claimed by South Korea—can't even roast it.

Ding ding ding, evening self-study ended.

The classroom erupted in chaos; several girls called out to friends and rushed out.

If you're late, you won't get hot water, won't get a shower spot, and even washing clothes will drag on till late—eleven PM, the last one washing, collapsing from exhaustion.

Pack up early, get to bed early; if you have time, buy a snack from the school store.

Some were already debating whether to buy a chicken leg or instant noodles.

"Hey, why are you running?!" Chai Muying chased after Chen Yunyun and Wang Yuhe, exasperated. "Wait up, both of you."

Lin Dong caught Yang Qiming as he rushed out.

"Brother Yang, heading back to the dorm?"

"Nope, I gotta find her," Yang Qiming looked drained, sighed. "She's still mad—updated her QQ signature during evening self-study saying she's hungry."

"What're you planning to buy her?" Lin Dong asked instinctively.

"Dunno. How about dumplings from the cafeteria?" Yang Qiming hesitated. "Actually, I'd rather get fried chicken legs or a six-yuan plate of stir-fried rice noodles."

"Fried fish cakes are good too, or vegetable rolls."

Lin Dong swallowed hard. "Damn, you just made me hungry."

"Haha, then go buy some—I'm off," Yang Qiming walked ahead, glancing back. "I might be late getting back to the dorm—if anyone checks…"

The rest was drowned out by the crowd.

Lin Dong knew this meant he was being asked to cover for him during dorm checks—it wasn't even necessary. Being late back just meant getting your name written down at worst.

And then? Beat me to death?

Gao San veterans—unless you're expelled, everything's fine.

As he walked down the stairs, he muttered to himself, thinking about what to buy at the cafeteria.

"One pack of instant noodles or two chicken legs? Nah, just grab a vegetable roll—I might get dumplings when I get back."

The dimly lit street was noticeably emptier, sparse with students.

"The school's insane for adding another evening self-study," Xu Qianqian stared at the dark street, inhaling sharply. "It's so eerie at night."

By 9:30 PM in the county town, there were hardly any cars left.

By 10:30 PM, only streetlights remained—only a few roadside snack stalls were open, one or two incandescent bulbs illuminating a few meters around.

"Don't rush—it'll be eerie for seven more months," Jiang Nian walked slowly behind her.

Both held small portions of duck delicacies; near the school gate, several tricycles had recently appeared.

Duck treats, Guandong skewers, Fuding meat slices—all kinds of snacks available.

Small towns have no late-night snack culture and go to bed early. The Chengnan vendors, hearing that Gao San students had extended evening self-study, came here specifically to sell.

"So scary!" Xu Qianqian remarked.

"Huh? Don't I walk home with you every day? What's there to be scared of?" Jiang Nian, wearing disposable gloves, snapped the joint of a braised duck wing with one hand.

Xu Qianqian stopped, stood beneath the streetlight, and looked at Jiang Nian seriously. The light fell from above, her black ponytail soft and fluffy, her gaze clear as she said.

"That's exactly why it's scary. What else would you think I'm talking about?"

Jiang Nian was past the age of chasing and roughhousing with Xu Qianqian. Every time he made an excuse to touch her, he'd get beaten up, so he'd long lost interest.

Ha, as if I really want to touch her?

"Have you heard of the Town South Dismemberment Case?"

Under the streetlight, the smile on Xu Qianqian's face visibly stiffened.

Every hair on her body stood on end, and she blinked. She watched Jiang Nian stroll past her unhurriedly, eating duck wings at a leisurely pace, hissing at the spice.

A night breeze blew, and Xu Qianqian's heart clenched slightly.

Gulp.

She glanced at the dark street, then hurriedly caught up to Jiang Nian.

"You're making it up, right?"

"Mm, just talking nonsense." Jiang Nian nodded, carefully picking at the duck wing. "Yesterday I already felt there was a spot on the road that smelled strange, a bit stinky."

Xu Qianqian couldn't hold it in anymore and gritted her teeth as she punched his arm lightly.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

"Mm, just nonsense." Jiang Nian was like a bot.

"Ah!! I'm going to tell Li Yi, boohoo, that you scared me on the road!" Xu Qianqian played her trump card—telling on him to an elder—and it had a one hundred percent success rate.

"Hey, hey, I was just kidding." He gave in.

"I'm going to tell Li Yi that you want to dismember me." Xu Qianqian somehow twisted a terrifying sentence into something suggestive and adult-only.

What's going on?

Sleep with me?

Mm.

Xu Qianqian complained while wildly exaggerating the facts. As she went on, she suddenly noticed the expression on Jiang Nian's face was off, and she suddenly became coy.

"Jiang Nian, you're such a sick pervert!"

"So what? Haven't you heard?" Jiang Nian placed one hand on Xu Qianqian's head. "One mountain can't hold two tigers, and one street can't have two perverts at the same time."

"So if we walk together, wouldn't you be safe?"

Xu Qianqian: "And you're proud of that?"

"Yes."

"Ah!!! Your hand—you just ate duck wings and touched my hair!" Xu Qianqian leapt back with a shriek. "Are you trying to kill me, Jiang Nian!"

She hurriedly patted the top of her head and gritted her teeth.

"If you got it on my hair, you're dead!"

"Don't slander me, low-class girl." Jiang Nian walked up and held out his hand. "One hand is enough for me to eat duck wings. Who's like you? Look, it's clean."

"Look at your head, you're really—" Xu Qianqian looked up and only then realized the two of them were standing extremely close.

Jiang Nian was a head taller than her, his body blocking the streetlight's glow. The edge of his head was outlined with a ring of light, and his palm was raised and held out before her, with no oil on it.

His hand was on the larger side, the palm flushed with abundant qi and blood, as if the next second he would reach out and hook her neck.

The two stared at each other for several seconds, and by some inexplicable impulse neither looked away.

Time seemed to stop at that moment.

Xu Qianqian's eyes widened, and a tingling sensation beyond words instantly spread through her whole body. Her heart quickened its rhythm, and within two seconds her face was flushed red.

"Why is your face red?" Jiang Nian snickered.

"Get lost, I-I have good complexion, is that not allowed?" Xu Qianqian really wanted to shut his rotten mouth, stuff garbage into it.

A perfectly good person, wasted on that mouth.

Jiang Nian actually wasn't much better off either, during that moment of eye contact just now. Looking at Xu Qianqian's dewy, glossy pink lips, he almost couldn't resist wanting to steal a kiss.

But if he said that out loud, the success rate would be even lower than a Korean man's chances of escaping being short.

Arrived home.

Jiang Nian showered while savoring the scene on the road just now. It was a bit outrageous, but he was only acting on the principle of saving time.

He wondered what Xu Qianqian was thinking during those few seconds.

She must have thought he wanted to kiss her, right?

In the bathroom, Xu Qianqian stood before the mirror and let her hair down. Under the soft orange light, she hesitated over whether to wash her hair—when was the last time she washed it, anyway.

There's no song she wants to listen to while washing her hair; would she look better with a bun?

Forget it, that cheap bastard Jiang Nian would definitely get handsy.

After thinking it over, Xu Qianqian tied a bun in front of the mirror. She took out her phone, snapped a photo, sent it to Song Xiyun, and then began picking a song for washing her hair.

As she was slowly scrolling, a song suddenly leapt into view.

【Love Before BC】

Xu Qianqian's eyes lowered slightly, she thought for a moment, and added it to her playlist. After hesitating a few seconds, she tapped single-song repeat.

After finishing all that, she began sorting through her shampoo and conditioner, and once she'd chosen, she started testing the water temperature with her hand. A song drifted from her phone, 【The priest's temple battles with bow and arrow, whose past is it~】

Before long, hot steam rose and blurred the mirror.

She silently wondered, during those few seconds of eye contact, what was he thinking?