Chapter 172: Brother Yang, You

Chen Yunyun: "."

She was truly at her wit's end with Jiang Nian; some people are just born to sell swords.

A casual strike from the Sword Saint could silence everyone.

"Why aren't you speaking? Born to be aloof?" Jiang Nian, shameless, waved his hand. "Perfect—aloofness pairs best with physics. Take a look at this problem."

Chen Yunyun was left both exasperated and amused, and could only go along with him.

"Which problem?"

"Oh oh, I've done a similar type before—first, analyze the forces..." Chen Yunyun leaned in, her hair falling onto the desk.

Her dark strands were thick and dense, like a black skirt hem, carrying a faint fragrance.

Jiang Nian brushed her hair aside—it was blocking his view of the physics problem. He couldn't resist pinching a strand, and immediately a shy, soft gasp exploded in his ear.

"W-what are you doing?"

Jiang Nian looked up, puzzled. Were a girl's hairs some kind of accessory? This reaction was like a beast-ear girl being touched on her ears—way too sensitive.

"Didn't you see? Your hair's covering the problem—I'm studying!"

Chen Yunyun: "…Then wash your hands afterward."

"That's overkill. You just washed your hair—it's clean. I don't mind." Jiang Nian said seriously. "Let go of your insecurity and sensitivity. Rebuild healthy confidence."

"You—" Chen Yunyun was speechless.

In matters of shamelessness, she'd never bested Jiang Nian, so she gave up. She merely brushed the stray strands behind her ear, her face serene.

"Stop fooling around. Finish explaining this problem first."

The noon quietness settled. The corridor's sunlight was blocked; the classroom was cool and still.

Yu Zhiyi glanced at the problem, his eyes occasionally flicking toward the two students explaining at the first row. Were they a couple? They didn't look like it—strange… Could someone like that even have a partner?

How could anyone endure it? Just by looking at his face, could you really keep going? How ruthless on yourself—just because you're good-looking, even a monkey spitting water is acceptable.

In the latter half of lunch break, Yu Zhiyi dozed off, slumped on his desk. When he woke, his shoulders, neck, and back ached.

Before he fully woke, the lunch break bell rang.

Classmates slowly stirred awake; half were still absent.

Jiang Nian woke up and noticed neither of his desk mates had come. He sat still for a moment, then Zhang Nenzhi entered the classroom, head down, walking quickly.

His gaze followed her bouncing ponytail until its owner walked up to him on her own.

Zhang Nenzhi had spotted his stare from afar and felt embarrassed.

She knelt on Li Hua's chair, shifted forward, settled into her seat beside Jiang Nian, and lowered her voice in annoyance.

"Why are you staring at me all the time?"

As the girl drew near, a scent of early spring—probably from washing her hair at noon. She used some shampoo, faint in fragrance.

Jiang Nian squirmed forward two inches, making room for the girl.

"Can't I just look?"

"No." Zhang Nenzhi stepped over him from behind—this was her only path back to her seat.

"Alright, since you mind, I'll look next time." Jiang Nian said sincerely. "Actually, there's another way you can avoid being seen by me."

Even though Zhang Nenzhi knew the guy would never say anything good, she couldn't help asking.

"What way?"

Snap— Jiang Nian flicked his fingers.

"Use an umbrella."

Zhang Nenzhi sat down, cheeks puffed, grumbling.

"Then I'd rather be stared at."

Jiang Nian burst out laughing, stood up, and headed out to relieve himself. He met Li Hua right at the door, grabbed him without warning, and dragged him to the restroom.

"Damn it, no way!" Li Hua resisted fiercely. "I just bought bubble tea—why the hell am I going to the toilet?"

Ma Guojun walked over from the corridor, grinning as he adjusted his glasses. "I saw you two from far away—total bromance."

Yao Bei Bei appeared from behind, glanced, then asked,

"What are you doing?"

"I said no! You're an adult—can't you go to the toilet by yourself?" Li Hua struggled loudly, then blurted, "Seriously, you need Dad to accompany you!"

Jiang Nian chuckled, and together with Ma Guojun, they dragged the rebellious kid toward the restroom.

Halfway there, he seemed to remember something, turned back, and asked Yao Bei Bei.

"Are you coming?"

Yao Bei Bei frowned, thinking for a moment.

"Yes."

Then the three of them dragged Li Hua toward the restroom.

On the corridor, people heading to class stared oddly at this scene. Many stopped and turned back to watch the trio of boys and one girl, wondering which class they were from.

Zhou Yuting had just climbed the stairs and was stunned by the sight.

She didn't know the others, but Jiang Nian—even if he were reduced to ash and brewed into coffee—she'd recognize him. The rest: she remembered the fat guy, white as a snowball.

The other loud, carefree girl—she'd seen her once at lunch.

No doubt, these were her own classmates.

Are top students really this bizarre?

No—it wasn't just Jiang Nian's friends. Like ink stains, bad company corrupts good character. Anyone who hung out with Jiang Nian had willingly sunk.

Jiang Nian? Just an ant to be crushed underfoot.

Thinking of this, she shook her head and continued walking, head held high, toward her new classroom.

At noon, she returned to her original class and received countless looks of envy and praise. Her former classmates were too enthusiastic, chatting with her until nearly recess ended.

In truth, she and her best friend just kept talking in class until everyone else had left before she went home.

Someone mentioned the name "Jiang Nian" and made jokes like, "It's great you're in the same class."

Zhou Yuting smiled politely the whole time, thinking to herself: Jiang Nian, haha.

Being poor is one thing, but now you're also emotionally fragile and harbor such strong grudges. What's the big deal? You've held onto this resentment all this time—you're not even acting like a man.

You used to be so warm, now you're so poisonous; this guy's rotten to the core.

To make matters worse, someone dumped a bucket of water on her head at noon. The people on the third-floor hallway are truly cruel—no one knows who randomly poured water like that.

Stepping into the classroom, Zhou Yuting immediately saw Li Qingrong checking the multimedia equipment. She caught her bending over, her thick, high ponytail making Zhou Yuting envious.

Such healthy hair volume.

Zhou Yuting thought silently, still finding it hard to believe such a beautiful girl was class monitor. But she was undeniably stunning—men and women alike would be captivated. She couldn't imagine how she managed the class day to day.

Was she decisive and forceful, or quiet and introverted?

Everything in this class felt new to her. The first two morning classes had kept her too nervous to do anything but listen, and during breaks she'd barely had time to learn her neighbors' names.

So far, the only useful information she'd gathered was that this Olympiad class had a lot of pretty girls.

As for the boys, she wouldn't comment without knowing the full picture.

On her way to the classroom just now, a friend had given her new information: the overall academic performance of Olympiad Class Three was excellent, ranking first on this floor.

Zhou Yuting couldn't help but feel pleased—transferring classes had been worth it.

Although she had just transferred in and contributed nothing to the last joint exam, she set her sights on the next municipal joint exam, vowing to enter the top ranks of the class.

Her own grades probably weren't bad, right?

Thinking this, she poked the boy beside her—what was his name again? Oh right, Sad Boy.

"Hey, uh, excuse me."

Yang Qiming turned his head; in his eyes lurked Fatty Hu.

"What is it?"

The moment he saw Zhou Yuting at noon, he remembered his ex-girlfriend who had vanished, and sorrow welled up inside him. Not long ago, he had once been loved by a sweet girl.

He'd only planned to play around, thinking of himself as a heartless playboy. But after breaking up with her, he realized—some people only understand their value once they're gone.

If he could make her come back, he'd do anything.

Unfortunately, when he called her using his roommate's phone at noon, he got nothing but angry scolding. All through lunch, he lay curled up on his bed, unable to understand why.

Why.

Listening to Yang Qiming's slightly hoarse, bubbly voice, Zhou Yuting felt like Ye Hanxiao was about to sweat out.

This guy was such an actor.

A loser guy—what century are we in? Still using this pathetic trick to attract girls' attention.

But since she'd just transferred in and knew nothing about class dynamics, she still needed to maintain a good relationship with her desk mate, to avoid disrupting her next steps.

"It's nothing. Your voice sounds awful—did something happen?"

As soon as she said it, she nearly threw up.

She'd just sold her emotional value—she knew with her eyes closed that this guy would spin some tragic love story to win her sympathy.

Hearing this, Yang Qiming paused slightly, then became deeply moved. He sighed softly, speaking in an extremely worn, melancholic tone.

"Sorry, I recently… broke up with my girlfriend."

Zhou Yuting felt embarrassed, her toes curling in shame.

"You—"

Yang Qiming tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle, his eyes slightly red.

"I loved her."

She was stunned—Zhou Yuting's whole body broke out in goosebumps. She cursed inwardly: Does this guy not feel awkward saying that? Even she felt embarrassed for him.

But another simple-minded guy in the group stuck his head out.

"Brother Yang, you're truly a passionate man."

Yang Qiming shook his head, smiling bitterly.

"I'm not."

Huang Cailang flashed a simple, earnest smile and declared firmly.

"Brother Yang, you are!"

Zhou Yuting was sandwiched between the two men—she'd never felt so speechless in her life.

How bizarre were her two male desk mates? Was this really the Olympiad class, where geniuses were everywhere?

"Uh… cough, could anyone tell me who has the joint exam score sheet?"

"Oh, you need to ask Lin Dong," Yang Qiming snapped out of his mood and pointed her in the right direction. "See him? The one eating spicy strips."

Zhou Yuting: "..."

The geniuses weren't at all what she'd imagined. Whatever—maybe this was the curse of knowledge.

Before class started, she quickly stood up and walked over to Lin Dong's group.

"Uh, Lin, excuse me for a moment."

Lin Dong was obliviously devouring the spicy strips Sun Zhicheng had brought when he suddenly heard a sweet female voice. He realized the pretty new transfer student had just seen him wolfing down food.

The spicy strip he'd just swallowed suddenly lodged in his throat.

"Cough! Cough! Cough!!!"

Zhou Yuting jumped in surprise—why was this guy suddenly pounding his chest and coughing? Had he been so scared by her words that he choked?

"Does anyone have water? Give him a sip—he he he—"

"I have some."

Sun Zhicheng had just finished filling the water and came back, and seeing Zhou Yuting at a loss, his instinct to cherish the fair one kicked in.

A small matter, ran a bit late.