Chapter 192: Three Sentences Made a Woman Buy a Bottle of Xuezi

The residential building where the Jiang family lives is a fifteen-minute walk from school.

Walk quickly for ten minutes, then sprint for seven.

Thanks to Jiang Nian's excellent study habits and his unspoken understanding with Xu Qianqian, even if they walked slowly the whole way, it wouldn't take much time.

So after he finished bathing, he could still play on his device for half an hour before sleeping.

"Huh? Whose birthday?"

Jiang Nian had just stepped out of the shower, drying his hair, when he realized the birthday person was Yang Qiming; he casually liked Lin Dong's QQ space post.

A soft buzz came as Lin Dong sent a message.

"Laughed to death, Qiming's been totally screwed."

"What do you mean?"

"His ex just broke up with him and immediately hooked up with someone else."

Lin Dong replied quickly, "He had a few drinks and is crying on the rooftop right now."

Jiang Nian chuckled and typed back with one finger.

"Aren't you going to comfort him?"

"Huang Cailang already went—I don't need to." Lin Dong sent several child-like emoji of kids with hands behind their backs, trying to hide his awkwardness.

"Even fish that land on shore still smell fishy."

The next day, Friday.

Originally, they'd impulsively planned to go to Zhennan Square yesterday to play ring toss, but rain postponed it; after shifting it around, they finally settled on this afternoon.

For this reason, he rode his electric bike to school today.

Class 3 of the Olympiad.

Jiang Nian lay on his desk for a while when Zhang Nenzhi arrived.

Compared to yesterday, her face clearly had more color today; perhaps because the rain had stopped, her lips were tinged with a faint, uncertain pink.

"Good morning, I fell asleep last night."

"Oh oh, I guessed." Jiang Nian made room for her and asked casually, "Better than yesterday?"

He set yesterday as the benchmark—compared to the unbearable discomfort that had nearly made her request leave, simply making it through today's classes without pain was a victory.

"Much better, hardly any effect left." Zhang Nenzhi gave a positive reply and began tidying up the snow-white test papers handed out yesterday.

"Here, the drink I promised to bring you." She placed a box of lemon tea on Jiang Nian's desk. "Thanks for taking photos of my test—this is payment."

"Thank you, Young Lady." Jiang Nian grinned, taking the lemon tea. "I don't know why, but at first I couldn't stand the taste—now I'm addicted."

"I'm not some… don't call me that weird title." Zhang Nenzhi's face flushed.

"Why not?"

"It just feels strange." Zhang Nenzhi saw his calm expression and began to doubt herself.

"Do boys really like this kind of title?"

"Not really—it's just a joke." Jiang Nian chatted casually. "Some people say it sincerely, others sarcastically—but when I say it, it's definitely meant positively."

Actually, he wanted to say calling her "Young Lady" gave him a sense of rising above, like Fang Tian Di in *Eternal Life*.

Of course, he didn't want to get whipped three times—he feared it might hurt a bit.

"Uh, parent-teacher meeting is the day after tomorrow."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian turned to glance at her, puzzled why she paused there.

"Ah, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing. Will you come to school this afternoon?" Zhang Nenzhi asked cautiously.

Jiang Nian thought for a while, stroking his chin.

"How did you connect 'school' and 'play'? Two completely unrelated words—like Li Hua and early romance."

"Ah, because the parent-teacher meeting is Sunday afternoon, I'll definitely be in the classroom," Zhang Nenzhi looked away. "It's so boring alone."

Actually, she told a small lie.

Yao Beibei's mother would attend this parent-teacher meeting, and so would Ma Guojun's parents. No matter what, she still had someone to talk to.

The small group was missing only Jiang Nian and Li Hua.

"In that case, I'll come too," Jiang Nian said, then added, "But I can't promise—I'll see how it goes."

He was used to not overcommitting; maybe he'd feel sleepy Sunday afternoon, or get caught up in a game, and find an excuse not to go.

After all, parent-teacher meetings were just adults sitting inside, kids standing outside chatting.

Boring.

"Oh." Zhang Nenzhi brightened.

Morning classes were dull; everyone in the classroom was half-asleep.

Only after the second class ended and the running bell rang did the class regain a bit of energy.

"You don't need to go down—I'll ask Liu Yang to tell them for you," Jiang Nian pushed Zhang Nenzhi back down.

"Tell them you're still sick, feeling dizzy."

Actually, getting excused from running was hard.

Because so many faked illness, the requirements for excusal were extremely strict.

The system, enforced layer by layer, only scared off two kinds of people: those faking illness and those truly unwell.

For slackers and connections, it was practically meaningless.

But the school leadership and Old Liu didn't care—as long as enough people ran, that was fine.

Zhang Nenzhi pursed her lips and accepted this kindness.

"Okay, thanks."

"No need to thank me, just doing what's handy." Jiang Nian said, then began openly taking off his clothes in class,

Even though it was already November, running exercises still made you sweat.

Wearing too much made you overheated after running, and a breeze could easily give you a cold. Not a few in class did as Jiang Nian did; most chose to remove their outerwear.

Zhang Ningzhi had been watching him until Jiang Nian yanked off his hoodie, pulling the white undershirt up to reveal his toned abdomen.

This sudden sight made her face flush crimson; she immediately turned her head away.

An unavoidable thought arose in her mind.

It would be better if he took it all off.

Such lewd, dirty thoughts were much the same for both genders.

Especially for high school students with abundant hormones, the thoughts were even more direct.

After taking off his hoodie, Jiang Nian saw Zhang Ningzhi suddenly bury her head in her work. He assumed she was busy with the test, so he tossed the hoodie on the desk and left.

Went downstairs.

Li Hua, Ma Guojun, and the others had gone down first; Jiang Nian followed the Class Three banner to find Liu Yang and explained the situation.

"Sure, no problem." Liu Yang patted his chest. "No need to ask for leave—no supervisors checking today. I'll just not count you guys later."

"Alright, thanks, bro."

Jiang Nian returned to the running formation and suddenly heard Chen Yunyun's voice.

Both small groups were packed in the back row, two columns of girls outside and two of boys inside, standing close together.

"Group leader, why are your dark circles so bad?"

Lin Dong waved his hand. "Nothing, I stayed up late studying last night."

Under the sunlight, he lifted his head, squinting at the sun.

"Holy shit, why is the sky orange-red at noon?"

"The sky's blue, group leader," Wang Yuhe said weakly, stepping back. "Your eyes are so red—I had a great-grandfather who was over eighty—"

"Pfft! Can't you think of something better about me?" Lin Dong rubbed his eyes and sighed.

"My whole life is walking on thin ice—will I ever make it to the other shore?"

Jiang Nian chuckled and walked over to stand right behind Lin Dong.

"How many?"

Lin Dong coughed, then held up two fingers.

"A Thousand Songs of a Thousand Loops."

"Cool. How many more days will your eyes stay red?" Jiang Nian asked curiously.

Jiang Nian had also put money into it himself, but that was to cool Lin Dong down—so he wouldn't get too carried away, and could pull out when it was just small-time nonsense.

"It's the last night. I reckon more people will still jump in," Lin Dong said. "After I get out tomorrow, I'll find a way to report him."

"Good." Jiang Nian gave a thumbs-up.

No wonder he was Class Three's math representative—clear on public and private matters, devoted to justice.

Chen Yunyun looked curiously at Jiang Nian; she'd just heard them muttering away, all in Chinese, yet understood not a single word.

"What were you guys talking about?"

He glanced at Chen Yunyun. "I said your skin looks so good today—did you put on makeup?"

"Nope, haha," Chen Yunyun giggled, touching her face. Her black pupils and white sclera were clean. "Maybe I've been sleeping early lately. Hey, Yuhe—really gotten paler?"

Wang Yuhe looked at Chen Yunyun's flawless oval face and nodded.

"Mm."

Jiang Nian leaned slightly. "Go buy me a Sprite after this, and you'll get even paler."

"Fine, I'll buy you one."

Three sentences, and a girl's buying me Sprite.

Jiang Nian was in good spirits. After going upstairs, he parted ways with Li Hua and the others who'd been letting water. He returned to his seat and suddenly noticed his hoodie neatly folded on the desk.

He sat down, slightly surprised.

"You folded this?"

Zhang Ningzhi lay face-down on the desk, revealing her snow-white neck.

"Mm. Just doing what's handy."

That "handy" was too handy. Jiang Nian thanked her, then held the hoodie, unsure where to put it—he looked around and found every desk stuffed full.

"Can I put this in your bag?"

A paper bag hung from Zhang Ningzhi's chair, used to store her uniform. Since she only wore it once a week, she didn't need to take it home.

"Oh, sure."

Her voice trembled slightly; she opened the bag quickly, but her movements were stiff.

"Just put it in."

Though her uniform wasn't worn often, stacking it with his hoodie meant their scents would naturally mix—like a shared wardrobe after cohabitation.

"Alright, thanks," Jiang Nian didn't think much of it.

He just saw it as a storage spot for uniforms—a big bag like that wasting space on one shirt was a shame. Since she didn't mind, he'd just put it in.

Whoosh—the two garments stacked together.

Zhang Ningzhi buried her head in her work, her heartbeat chaotic—like rolling through a muddy puddle, her heart soaked and disheveled, yet too ashamed to face it.

She could only bow her head deeply, clenching her lips to suppress her smile, lest she pound twice on the desk to vent the unmentionable shame within.

The long, undulating emotions ended only after the third class.

The fourth period in the morning was biology.

Qing Bao deliberately wanted to train Jiang Nian, calling on him whenever there was a question no one else answered. By the end of one class period, Jiang Nian had answered four questions in a row.

Li Hua, curious, lowered his voice and asked.

"Did you piss off the biology teacher?"

"What do you know—this is called being the teacher's pet." Jiang Nian scoffed. "Just wait, I'll be summoned again after class."

Li Hua pointed at him and mocked.

"Must be from eating too many spicy strips."

After class, Qing Bao assigned homework and added in passing.

"Jiang Nian, come with me for a moment."