Chapter 146: The Grand Joint Exam Is Coming

Jiang Nian brushed past Yang Qiming, barely holding back a laugh.

What kind of Gotham dorm is this?

Lin Dong had forwarded Yang Qiming's social media post to Jiang Nian that afternoon—everyone in that dorm was full of drama, and Huang Cailang was truly hard to judge.

Blocking and deleting—isn't that what girls do when they're afraid of getting swept into an emotional whirlpool?

But Jiang Nian wasn't close to them; he just watched for amusement. Strictly speaking, he was just a bystander—the real instigator was Lin Dong.

He livestreamed his own life for fun, totally hyped up.

He went downstairs, walking with Xu Qianqian.

In the crowded staircase crowd, Xu Qianqian couldn't help yawning.

"So sleepy, going home to sleep."

Thinking for a moment, Jiang Nian told her about his duty shift tomorrow, and mentioned that the exam hall might need setting up, so they might be working late.

"You don't have to wait for me—go home and rest early."

Xu Qianqian said nothing, pulled out her phone.

Jiang Nian didn't get a reply, glanced at her.

"Why aren't you talking? Feeling inferior walking with me?"

Xu Qianqian put her phone down and spoke.

"I'm deaf. I'm the heir of the deaf."

Jiang Nian raised an eyebrow. "So can I insult you now?"

Xu Qianqian thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"No, I'm only deaf, not disabled. If you insult me now, I'll pick up a nice-looking stick and break your dog legs."

"Tsk tsk, Xu Qianqian, with a temper like that, who'll marry you?" Jiang Nian slowly merged into the crowd and walked out the school gate.

Under the streetlamp, their shadows stretched long.

Xu Qianqian said, "I'm waiting for you tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Because if I go home just because you told me to, it'll make me look weak," Xu Qianqian said seriously. "I'm actually very proud."

Jiang Nian laughed. "Fine, wait for me in my classroom—403."

"Your classroom?" Xu Qianqian's breath hitched slightly—wouldn't that mean meeting his classmates? "No, I'll wait for you on the third floor."

"Why? Going up to the fourth floor is embarrassing?"

"No, I just don't want to go up," she stammered. "What if you and your classmates hate each other and they beat you up in the classroom? I'd feel awkward watching from outside."

"My social standing isn't that bad, and couldn't you just call the police?" Jiang Nian didn't get what she was afraid of—was Xu Qianqian nervous?

Afraid of strangers? That's still too socially phobic.

"I can't call the police because…" Xu Qianqian's voice dropped lower and lower, but he still heard it: "Actually, I also want to step on you—I might join."

"So I can't call the police to arrest myself."

Jiang Nian glanced at her, saying nothing. Xu Qianqian's mouth was so tough—he wondered what her lips felt like. By the way, was the fire in him burning a bit too hot lately?

Seeing he didn't reply, Xu Qianqian couldn't help sneaking a sideways glance.

He wore a thin school uniform, revealing the typical lean frame of a male high schooler. Beneath the dim yellow streetlamp, a shadow fell across his face, his eyes bright as torches.

Perhaps he'd stared too long—he lowered his gaze and met her eyes sideways.

Xu Qianqian saw the unhidden desire in his eyes, like flames smoldering beneath the surface. She froze, her breath slowing.

The next moment, when she looked again, Jiang Nian's expression was only confusion.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Her heartbeat hadn't settled yet, her ears warm. A metallic taste spread from her tongue—this always happened when she was nervous.

"Sorry, I just thought of your math score and wanted to laugh, but thought it was impolite."

"Xu Qianqian, you—" Jiang Nian laughed bitterly.

He instinctively reached for her. Normally, Xu Qianqian would dodge. But for some reason, he thought he saw hesitation in her eyes.

His hand closed on air.

Xu Qianqian had already slung her backpack and run far ahead, her shadow chasing behind her.

The next day.

Jiang Nian got out of bed and instinctively checked his phone.

After getting home last night, he'd asked Xu Qianqian a math problem. She'd solved it in ten minutes, sent a photo, and tossed him a condescending emoji.

He scrolled up—Lin Dong hadn't posted any gossip either.

The last day before the Grand Joint Exam was also the most important day for those who had been promoted successfully.

Those who had failed promotion last time wanted to challenge the throne; those who had been promoted successfully needed to defend it.

Logically, the defenders had the advantage. Those promoted successfully only needed to maintain their promotion-level scores, not let their ranking drop too much.

Suppose twenty students had been promoted in the science Olympiad last time, and none of their scores changed much. Then no one would be demoted, and no one else would be promoted.

If someone among the twenty slipped badly in this joint exam, then for each person who dropped, one promotion slot would open up.

Just arriving at the classroom, Jiang Nian saw Ji Jiayu walking out of the door across the hallway.

The person ahead was Lin Dong—he greeted Ji Jiayu.

Ji Jiayu seemed surprised, quickly answering with a hesitant "Mm."

Jiang Nian walked up to meet her and greeted her too.

"Morning."

Ji Jiayu was still dazed, but adjusted instantly, smiling sweetly.

"Morning."

The PE commissioner Liu Yang came up from the stairwell and happened to see Jiang Nian and Ji Jiayu greeting each other, so he followed suit.

"Hi."

Ji Jiayu pressed her lips into a smile. "Hi."

The gloom from last night's online fight with her boyfriend on QQ vanished in an instant. She really couldn't fathom what was going on in Yuan Zhengchuan's head, grasping at shadows the whole day.

She hadn't been flirting with any guy at all — couldn't he at least pick a proper reason to pick a fight?

What attitude problem was he even talking about? She hadn't been overly close with any guy either. Just a casual greeting, and everyone was perfectly friendly about it.

What on earth did it take for him to be satisfied!

Ji Jiayu walked from the washroom toward the classroom, running into Li Hua and Ma Guojun along the way. Both had bags on their backs and chatted with her for a bit since they were heading the same direction, which secretly delighted her.

This feeling of being the group's darling was genuinely intoxicating.

But the moment she stepped into the classroom, she was met head-on with the icy stare of her boyfriend Yuan Zhengchuan. Ji Jiayu's heart sank halfway, and a wave of grievance spread through her chest.

What on earth had she done wrong?

In the morning, two consecutive language periods — one for a test paper, one for going over it. The physics teacher negotiated with someone and got a double period in return, and the whole class was instantly worn out.

Ring ring ring — after the noon dismissal.

Li Hua slumped over the desk. "Three exams in one week, it's enough to fry anyone's brain."

"It's all for the joint exam, right? This afternoon should be going over the biochem paper." Jiang Nian stepped over Li Hua, hurrying to beat the crowd to the cafeteria.

Reaching the doorway, he turned back on a strange impulse.

A third of the class hadn't left, still correcting their physics papers. The pressure of the joint exam was visibly spreading through Class Three.

During the lunch break, Chen Yunyun and Wang Yuhe were absent — most likely back at the dorm to wash their hair.

The number of people choosing to nap in the classroom had also more than doubled.

Jiang Nian returned to his seat, stared at the desk for a while, took a deep breath, and went back to working on his test paper as usual.

Friendly book rec: Old thing reborn, now back to square one, quality updates guaranteed, no dropped chapters, worth reading!

Just turned twenty, the Best Actor system arrived twenty years early, kicking off an old man's comeback arc