Chapter 191: When Three Walk Together, One Must Be an Idiot King

Yao Bei Bei shot Jiang Nian a sidelong glance, wanting to kill him.

This guy is vile to his core.

I don't know how Baby Zhizhi can stand sitting with him every day.

Just sitting with him for one night made me want to die; this guy is truly a rotten apple.

"What 'beneficial kid'?" Jiang Nian leaned over, curiously asking, "I just saw you muttering over here, Huang Beibei—were you insulting Li Hua?"

Li Hua exploded, turning his head.

"What have I done to you?!"

"Get lost, get lost, get lost," Yao Bei Bei sneered. "Don't ask. Knowing too much won't do you any good."

Hearing this, Li Hua emitted abstract noises like "Mmm, no, no," rolling around on his seat like an eel, creating pure chaos.

Laughter erupted around them; half the classroom was filled with joyous air.

"Holy shit, what's burning?"

"Li Hua is burning."

"That sound is so burning it made my pants stand on end."

"What? What happened? Who cares. I forgot the front, I forgot the back—either way, he definitely likes me."

Yao Bei Bei broke out in goosebumps; she realized one thing: proximity to ink stains you black.

Li Hua himself was already a lump of pitch-black sludge, and now, under Jiang Nian's influence, he was completely black—and even a little disgusting.

Done. This bunch is ruined.

When three walk together, one must be an idiot.

Meaning: when three boys walk together, one inevitably becomes a ridiculously stupid artificial idiot. Rarely lucid, skilled at "aba aba."

Without doubt, Li Hua was the elected Idiot King among Jiang Nian, Ma Guojun, and himself.

"Holy shit, what are they doing?"

Li Hua was stunned by the chaotic classroom atmosphere but dared not truly pass out.

In this class, you can't sleep too deeply during breaks. You take turns keeping one eye open to protect your virtue.

Jiang Nian laughed—he loved watching Li Hua act out these ridiculous stunts, then get punished by the class.

"Don't worry, just keep grossing them out."

Hearing this, Li Hua was half-skeptical.

"Really?"

"Then I—" Li Hua feinted, then flashed the Husky-pointing-meme expression, "Little Nian, you trying to harm Your Majesty?"

"I'll burn your descendant sack off. You think I won't?"

"No!! This is impossible!"

Under the Gao Er teaching building, a young couple walked shoulder to shoulder, heading home after school.

Yang Qiming stared at the scene before him, feeling as if plunged into ice. His body went limp; he staggered backward several steps, dropping the gift and the shrimp dumpling bag.

Huang Cailang, seeing this, sucked in a sharp breath, eyes wide with horror.

"No!!!"

Human joys and sorrows are not the same, yet they coexist.

Yang Qiming wanted to cry; Huang Cailang wanted to cry too.

The two stood among the crowd, their large bags making them stand out. Passersby occasionally turned back, glancing at the two boys with strange expressions.

"Hey, those two are weird."

"Gao Er or Gao Yi?"

"They don't look like it—they must be from Gao San, those old bastards."

"Strange. Aren't they supposed to be in evening self-study? Who can go ask them their class—I'll report them to the Gao San office later."

Class Three, the classroom lit up brightly.

Li Hua suddenly felt something, and stopped writing.

"Nian, I'm not doing homework anymore."

Jiang Nian glanced at him and snorted.

"You planning to quit tonight?"

Li Hua shook his head, giving him a look that said, "You're small-minded."

"No, I've had an epiphany: homework is endless; life is a wilderness, not a track. Whether I do one problem or one entire test—it's my own judgment."

Jiang Nian ruthlessly shattered his fantasy.

"Baby, wake up—you've got no money. Where are you going to wander? Wait till your mom cuts your allowance, then you'll settle down."

Hearing this, Yao Bei Bei burst out laughing.

"Two children debating the sun."

"Cash! Cash! Cash!" Li Hua flushed red, retorting, "I don't have it—do you?"

Jiang Nian smiled without answering. "You're getting flustered."

"Cash!"

Yu Zhiyi, listening to the disciplinary committee scolding Li Hua, turned her gaze away from Jiang Nian's row.

Those two are truly bizarre.

She moved, instinctively frowning, her hand slowly reaching behind. She touched her shoulder, pretending to massage it, her fingers adjusting the strap beneath her clothes.

Lately she seemed to have gained a little weight—it was digging in painfully.

She didn't even need to lift her shirt to know a red mark must be carved into her shoulder. A wave of helplessness washed over her—she just wanted evening self-study to end.

Zhou Yuting was utterly absorbed, head down, doing her homework, unaware how much time had passed.

Suddenly, a sense of foreboding struck her.

She looked up, sparing a sliver of her precious study time. Casting a merciful glance around, she suddenly noticed that the Left and Right Guardian Eunuchs had both vanished.

She seemed to have heard something—human muttering along the lines of going to the bathroom.

So… they both fell into the toilet?

Thinking of this, Zhou Yuting immediately tensed up.

These two oddballs wouldn't crawl out through the sewers, would they? Hopefully nothing bad happened to them.

Sun Zhicheng had been keeping an eye on Yang Qiming all along—after all, they were enemies who'd fought before. Seeing that they hadn't returned after so long, he grew suspicious and turned to ask Lin Dong.

"Dong-ge, do you know what Yang Qiming and the others went off to do?"

"Qiming my cousin?" Lin Dong was a bit baffled, glancing toward Yang Qiming's seat. "Oh, you're right—how come those two are gone? Where did they go?"

Lin Dong had been on his phone all evening, unable to focus even while doing problems. He'd been keeping an eye on a few of his alt accounts for snagging deals—his mind was nowhere near studying.

Studying could wait a few days, but money couldn't.

Hearing this, Sun Zhicheng knew Lin Dong was of no use.

"No worries, Dong-ge, you go ahead and do your thing."

"Alright, call me when the teacher comes." Lin Dong kept his head down, staring intently, occasionally scribbling on paper. "Good people get an A-cup for life, thanks A-Cheng."

Sun Zhicheng: "."

He looked at Chen Yunyun, who was buried in her studies, and couldn't help falling into thought.

The last time he'd fought Yang Qiming had probably already left a bad impression. If he reported Yang Qiming directly, it would easily be seen as settling a personal grudge under the guise of duty.

Logically he wasn't wrong, but emotionally it wouldn't hold up.

After thinking for a moment, a brilliant idea struck him.

"Discipline teacher, I need to go to the bathroom."

Cai Xiaoqing was working on problems and looked up, a bit irritated.

"School's letting out soon."

Looking up, she happened to see Yang Qiming and Huang Cailang's two empty seats, and immediately froze.

"Those two still aren't back?"

Ring ring ring!

Evening study session ended, and the class poured out like a school of fish.

Jiang Nian was no exception—he grabbed his bag and bolted. He and Xu Qianqian had an unspoken agreement: head home early, and if there was nothing to do, don't linger at school for a single second.

Going downstairs, the two met up, their eyes meeting for a brief moment in the crowd.

No words needed, they automatically wove through the crowd toward the stairwell. Finally, they met up by the propaganda-board flower bed outside the teaching building and walked home together.

"Jiang Nian, were today's shrimp dumplings good?" Xu Qianqian walked ahead, glanced back at him, and the fishing-for-a-compliment look in her eyes was unmistakable.

"How should I put it—actually, I just swallowed them whole, didn't taste anything." Jiang Nian spoke cautiously. "No investigation, no right to speak, so…"

The corner of Xu Qianqian's mouth twitched. She stared at him.

"Are you Zhu Bajie?"

Jiang Nian looked utterly indifferent and spread his hands.

"Yeah, so?"

"You!!" Xu Qianqian was at a loss, running into such a shameless rascal. "Actually, I have something I want to ask your opinion on."

"What?"

"It's a small thing—I want to get my ears pierced." Xu Qianqian said softly.

"Go ahead." Jiang Nian didn't care. "I support you with both hands and both feet—pierce one hole on each side. Once you heal, I'll get you a pair of silver earrings."

Given the relationship between them, spending a bit on silver was no big deal.

Gold was still a stretch.

As for the risk of infection from ear piercing, just spend a little money and find a clean place to get it done.

Xu Qianqian had money—god knew how much she'd stashed in her little treasure chest. Her wardrobe was also stuffed with cheap JK skirts; in short, she wouldn't skimp on that kind of expense.

"Thank you." She suddenly blushed, stammering, "I have a slightly presumptuous request—I hope you can agree to it."

"What request?"

"It's just… I heard ear piercing really hurts, and I'm a little scared." Xu Qianqian said. "Could you get one pierced first, then tell me how much it actually hurts?"

Jiang Nian: "?????"

"Holy crap, that's way too presumptuous." He laughed despite himself, grabbing Xu Qianqian's backpack with one hand. "You're really going through all sorts of tricks to do me in."

Xu Qianqian shrank her neck. "Then forget it, I won't get it done either."

Jiang Nian let go of Xu Qianqian, and the two continued walking toward home.

The streetlights were dim yellow, the light swaying.

"Wuu wuu wuu, does that mean I can never wear earrings in the future?" Xu Qianqian made a long face, wailing dryly as she walked forward. "Just try it for me."

"I can try being your dad, sure, but try it for you?" Jiang Nian said irritably. "I'll just take a sewing needle and poke it through for you—we've got iodine at home anyway."

Xu Qianqian's face filled with terror. "You want to stab me!"

North District, boys' dormitory.

"Bro, don't be sad." Huang Cailang stuffed a shrimp dumpling into his mouth, mumbling as he tried to comfort. "She doesn't deserve a good man like you, bro."

Yang Qiming stood listlessly by the dorm balcony window, his face utterly numb.

"I'm not sad. I've just figured some things out."

It turned out the fight hadn't been long-suppressed frustration—it had been plotted for a long time. That day at the milk tea shop, even if they hadn't run into Jiang Nian, they would have blown up over something else anyway.

His roommate saw this and asked curiously.

"What's up with him?"

Huang Cailang didn't know whether he should say it, hesitating.

But then he saw Yang Qiming turn around, his face full of a relaxed smile, and grin at his roommates.

"Nothing, today's my birthday."

The roommates exchanged glances, suddenly enlightened.

"Oh oh, no wonder Yang-ge even bought a cake. Damn, that big cake must be over a hundred yuan, right?"

"More than that, you bumpkin, it's a double-layer one."

"Happy birthday, Yang-ge!"

Huang Cailang listened to his roommates' birthday wishes to Yang Qiming and couldn't help but freeze.

"Yang-ge."

"It's nothing, help me call Dong-ge over." Yang Qiming scratched his head, his smile still radiant. "After all, today's my birthday, more people makes it livelier."