Chapter 153: Granting a Wish

At the dim stairwell entrance, Yu Tongjie felt his brain temperature spike.

He's really about to blow his top!

Who the hell took my book basket? Taking it is one thing, but no need to be this shameless! At least leave me one book—taking the whole basket, what is that even about!

Wait, calm down. Maybe the book basket was moved upstairs by someone.

After all, leaving it on the stairs is dangerous. Maybe some kind soul looked down and saw the fragments of his book basket—not just one piece, but several, lying right there.

Yu Tongjie: ". Damn it, I'll never laugh again in my life."

F**k f**k f**k!!!

Fourth floor, the stairwell entrance piled high with book baskets.

Li Hua looked down at the furious Yu Tongjie below the stairs. He didn't want to watch the show, but after all they were classmates, and his disgust couldn't outweigh his curiosity, so he asked.

"What's wrong with him?"

The big fatty Ma Guojun held his glasses farther away to get a clearer look at the situation in the stairwell below.

"No idea."

"His book basket is gone, I heard," Lin Dong said, walking past with his science comprehensive review materials. "Seems like the basket and books vanished together, nothing left at all."

"Oh wait, wrong—there's a few fragments left."

After saying that, Lin Dong left with a grin.

He was purely a spectator for entertainment, not much interested in Yu Tongjie as a person. He only knew that Jiang Nian and Yu Tongjie had a grudge, and that Yu Tongjie was also pretty unsociable.

But it had nothing to do with him, and Lin Dong didn't plan to provoke Yu Tongjie. Jynx's dad was one of the Three Great Families of Zhennan—offending these Zhennan connected families was not worth it.

Right now, he was busy enjoying Yuan Zhengchuan's drama.

To be fair, he just loved watching young couples crack under pressure. Since he hadn't done anything out of line, he didn't even feel guilty, although he still thought it was a bit weird.

Still, Lin Dong couldn't say exactly what the problem was.

Who was the problem with?

"Tsk, way too brutal." Jiang Nian, holding his books, sighed. "I saw his books this afternoon, but the basket had already exploded into pieces."

"That explosive?" Li Hua clicked his tongue in wonder too, standing at the stairwell entrance watching the show, shaking his head. "BYD, there really are still plenty of good people in this world."

Ma Guojun felt a bit guilty, wanting to speak up but too embarrassed to say it outright.

"Ahem, I think maybe some kind soul stepped on his book basket and burst it. Then the person behind stepped on it a second time, then a third time—"

Before he could finish, Jiang Nian and Li Hua both turned to look at him.

Ma Guojun immediately started whistling and left with his books.

BYD, this creepy little thing is kinda cute.

"Let's go, let's go, biology evening reading." Jiang Nian urged, walking off on his own.

Whether the fatty stomped it to bits or not didn't matter—anyway, there were still plenty of good people in this world. Just enjoy the moment and that's that, leave the rest to karma.

Let the merit deduction hit Ma Guojun, don't deduct it from the wrong person.

Ma-Guo-Jun, big fatty, student of Class Gao San A403 at Zhennan Middle School, ID number xxxxx. The rest of the information is all written in the three-page confession.

Evening reading, almost the whole class was standing while reading.

Jiang Nian couldn't be bothered to stand, nor to read. Whatever the class was reading, the knowledge points were already imprinted in his mind. Right now, the only thing he needed to review was the science comprehensive.

Whether to review English or not made no difference.

Li Hua was the same.

Zhang Ningzhi stood reading during evening reading, glancing sideways at Jiang Nian who was sitting and looking at problems. Her heart was full of questions, and so many things she wanted to share with Jiang Nian.

But during evening reading, she started to hate evening reading, and she didn't know if she'd be able to sneak a word in during evening self-study later.

At that thought, Zhang Ningzhi hesitated again.

If the discipline committee caught her, it would be so embarrassing.

So she started agonizing again—pass a note during self-study later, or wait until self-study ends to talk? But once self-study ends, Jiang Nian might just take off.

Just as she was hesitating, Jiang Nian suddenly poked her arm with a Parker ballpoint pen.

"How did the exam go?"

The evening reading was very loud. The creepy school leaders had learned from Hengshui the method of trading loud reading for ancestral ascension. They demanded students read loudly, with spirit.

The spirit was too strong, and Zhang Ningzhi couldn't quite hear.

"What?"

She could only lean down, tilting her left ear to listen.

"What did you just say?"

"I said—" Jiang Nian looked at the cheek right in front of him, had the urge to lick it, then shook his head. "How did your exam go today?"

"Oh, oh." Zhang Ningzhi straightened back up, her face feeling a bit warm too.

She had just leaned down and tilted over, feeling Jiang Nian's breath. His voice wasn't loud but was clear, reaching her eardrums like a drumbeat.

"Pretty good, it didn't feel too hard."

Hearing that, Jiang Nian had a rough idea.

He estimated that after today's two exams, Zhang Ningzhi's math was around 130 to 140. If nothing unexpected happened, her final score should break 630.

Baby Zhizhi's big joint exam was basically locked in—a score of 630 was top-tier even at the competition level.

Evening reading ended, and the moment Zhang Ningzhi sat down, she tilted her body slightly and asked.

"What about you?"

"Pushed my math to the limit, wrote everything I could."

Just as he finished speaking, a figure suddenly popped up at the podium.

"Who saw my book basket!!"

At the sound, everyone preparing for evening self-study looked up. Yu Tongjie's eyes were bloodshot, his face flushed with rage, his hair disheveled and frantic from anger.

"Who!! Did you see my book basket? All my books are gone!"

Rage, shock, utterly inhuman!

A whole basket of books! So many people, and only mine were stolen? Monsters, monsters!

"Didn't see it. Where did you put your book basket?" a classmate in the front row replied warmly. "If you don't say, how would anyone know what it looked like or where you left it?"

Yu Tongjie said, "Right below the fourth floor, on the stairs. Blue book basket. Bought on Tao Bao."

"Didn't see it. No idea."

"Why'd you leave your book basket there? Maybe check the senior grade office—maybe someone picked it up."

"Yeah, who'd want books anyway? They're not worth anything."

Classmates chattered back and forth, leaving Yu Tongjie both furious and embarrassed on stage. He trembled as he spoke to the room.

"All the books on the stairs were fine—only mine disappeared. If someone just took them, fine. But my book basket was smashed into pieces!"

"Someone's definitely targeting me!"

"Who's so cruel, going out of their way to do this? Fuck—" Yu Tongjie was about to curse, but glanced at Li Qingrong's seat and swallowed the words.

He snarled, "Whoever stole my books? You'll never eat four dishes in your life!"

Hearing this, Ma Guojun let out a long breath.

Good thing I just stomped on him once—I didn't touch his books. Poor Genji Turtle. Who the hell even threw his books around?

"That's way too much!" someone in class said.

"True, you can't just go buy new books like that," Lin Dong chimed in. "Go look for them fast—maybe you can still find them."

"Stealing books is awful," Ma Guojun adjusted his glasses, playing the part of a helpful bystander.

Listening to the class's comfort, Yu Tongjie felt a little better.

"Check the surveillance," Sun Zhicheng suggested. "All those books can't just vanish. One look and you'll know who took them."

"Yeah, what's the point of yelling here?" Yang Qiming snapped. "Are we all supposed to skip self-study and play Detective Conan with you?"

Yu Tongjie clearly agreed with this idea and hurried off.

Logically, when something like this happened in class, the monitor or vice-monitor should accompany him to the senior grade office to request surveillance footage.

After all, it was a whole basket of books—buying replacements was clearly unrealistic.

Li Qingrong didn't move, didn't even lift her head.

Class Three had its own rules—this kind of thing was usually handled by the Governor, Cai Xiaoqing. Yu Tongjie wasn't an ordinary student; if he wanted surveillance footage, he'd find a way.

Cai Xiaoqing was even less inclined to care. If it were an ordinary student, she might help. But Yu Tongjie? The Young Master would handle it himself.

As for being reported, Cai Xiaoqing wasn't worried—no one at her level could supervise her.

Not even Old Liu.

Jiang Nian watched the whole scene like a play. When he saw Yu Tongjie's face turn red with rage, he nearly laughed out loud. He managed to hold it back—this kind of thing would look bad.

Pure Sword Tomb.

It wasn't that Jiang Nian was always targeting him—it was that the Sword Tomb could only be the Sword Tomb.

The point was, he'd never just clash with you once.

Like sharing a roof with a rabid dog—it bites you. You hit it with a stick. One blow won't make the rabid dog wake up.

The precondition for peaceful coexistence is that you keep hitting it again and again—until it only dares to glance at you, too scared to even whimper.

Jiang Nian believed that if he hadn't given Genji Turtle a hard blow last time, he'd now be standing at his desk, pointing at his nose and making accusations.

Now? He didn't even dare look this way. He knew: if he opened his mouth, he'd lose—and the stick would come down.

Pure Sword Tomb.

Li Hua chuckled, leaning toward Jiang Nian.

"Haha, he's so frantic."

Jiang Nian thought for a moment. "You should've told him not to panic—pregnant, we'll all help figure it out."

"Come to think of it… it kinda fits."

During the second evening self-study, Yu Tongjie trudged past the classroom door with a pile of books, his face as sour as a judge's.

Lin Dong in the back row, curious, called out loudly.

"Where'd you find them?"

Yu Tongjie ignored him. Feeling humiliated, Lin Dong slapped Sun Zhicheng's back. When Sun Zhicheng yelped, Lin Dong cleared his throat and said:

"Ah Cheng, your sword's gone too far."

"Fuck! Are you crazy?" Sun Zhicheng turned around, glancing again at Chen Yunyun in front.

Chen Yunyun hadn't spoken to Jiang Nian all day, and Sun Zhicheng was fired up. Were they having a fight? If so, that'd be perfect.

During the ten-minute break between the third evening self-study session.

Chen Yunyun stood up to use the restroom. Still thinking about the problem she'd just solved, she passed the classroom door and automatically scanned for Jiang Nian's figure.

One glance—he was still bent over his desk, solving problems.

She spent her lunch breaks in the classroom every day, watching him study daily; she knew how crucial these one-and-a-half days were for him.

So she didn't disturb him. Though she wanted to know how he'd done, after thinking it over, she decided to wait until tomorrow noon, after his science exam, to ask.

The final evening self-study session.

Jiang Nian looked around. For some reason, he felt something was missing today.

What was missing?

Oh—no chatting with Chen Yunyun.

Shit. Daily quest uncompleted. Is it too late to do it now?

It was probably too late now, unless he followed her back to the girls' dorm and chatted for about ten minutes before leaving.

Forget it—she was definitely studying seriously.

After evening self-study ended, Xu Qianqian and Jiang Nian walked home together.

"Our new homeroom teacher is kind of… forget it, never mind. How did you do on math?"

"Probably can't pull a hundred and fifty—one question's answer I'm not sure about."

Hearing the words "a hundred and fifty," Jiang Nian fell silent for a few seconds. She'd swapped a basic attack for her ultimate move. The way he'd just asked didn't even include words like "perfect score"—next time he'd better ask about Chinese.

"I said I *probably* can't get a hundred and fifty." Xu Qianqian shot him a glance, exasperated. "What's that look for? You're blaming me for not scoring high?"

"Don't even mention it—it's truly 'the road ahead is long and distant.'" Jiang Nian drifted past under the streetlight.

"What, that eager to catch up to me?"

"Not really. My wish is just to hit six hundred. Doesn't need to be higher—six hundred is enough. If you can't bear it, you could score a bit lower."

The two walked side by side down Zhennan Main Street, the streetlights bright and amber.

The night wind stirred the leaves, rustling.

"That won't do. How about this—if you can hit six hundred on this exam." Xu Qianqian stopped walking, falling a step behind Jiang Nian. "I'll grant you one wish."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian also stopped walking.

He paused and looked back. Xu Qianqian stood by the railing with her backpack on. The girl's complexion was Bai Xi, bright eyes and pretty teeth, the streetlight tracing her slender jawline.

"I want to—"

Jiang Nian had just opened his mouth when Xu Qianqian forcefully cut him off.

"If you say anything even slightly eighteen-plus, I'll kill you on the spot and dump your body in that black trash can."

The black trash can was labeled hazardous waste, but clearly nobody bothered sorting their garbage.

Jiang Nian pulled his gaze back and said seriously.

"Then I can't think of anything."

"Go to hell! Is your brain full of nothing but yellow trash?" Xu Qianqian was so angry her teeth itched—this was exactly why her temper was so bad!

It's all Jiang Nian's fault!

Their figures vanished into the alley, Jiang Nian's soft voice scattering on the night wind.

"Once I hit six hundred, I'll treat you all to a meal."

Late at night, North Building, fifth floor of the boys' dorm.

Yang Qiming's eyes snapped open. He flipped over and stared at Huang Cailang snoring on the bunk across from him. He let out a "fuck" in the darkness and got a response from his other roommates.

"Why does he have to start snoring these past two days?"

"Did he snore yesterday?"

"I did."

"Who asked you that? Damn, I meant Cailang snoring."

"Oh, oh, no idea—I went to sleep pretty early last night."

The roommates woke Huang Cailang up, and Yang Qiming also managed to get half an hour of good sleep.

However, in his half-awake state—

Yang Qiming's eyes snapped open again, his face haggard. He'd already endured it once last night—nearly dozed off during the first Chinese exam. Tomorrow's first exam was the science comprehensive!

His anger and resentment had nowhere to go.

Yang Qiming flipped over and turned on his flashlight. Seeing Huang Cailang sleeping facing the wall, an idea sprang to mind.

He turned on the flashlight and cast his own shadow onto the white wall of Huang Cailang's upper bunk. Once everything was set, he began softly calling Huang Cailang's name.

"Cailang? Cailang?"

Huang Cailang groggily woke up, heard someone calling his name, and opened his eyes.

A shadow was cast on the white wall of his bunk, sticking out a tongue and licking at him.

*Sliiiick, sliiiick. *