Chapter 194: Used to Like Oppa, Now Like Shi-bal

Jiang Nian was working on his problems when he heard the sound and turned to look at the back row.

He had already learned from Lin Dong yesterday about what Yang Qiming had been going through these past few days. As one of the people in the know, he could only say his old cousin had it a little too rough.

What "seamless transition"—in plain words, it's just being cuckolded.

Who knows who came up with this comforting word, as if it built a buffer zone between cheating and making a mistake.

She cuckolded me? Kill, kill, kill!!

Seamless transition? She'll change.

I checked her horoscope—she's just wild at heart. She didn't cuckold me; once the feelings deepen, she'll settle down.

This is the charm of words.

"Yang-ge, Yang-ge!"

Huang Cailang was terrified. He lowered his head and called out to Yang Qiming in a hushed, urgent voice.

His eyes were like a suppressed gun barrel—glancing to the left one moment, then straining to look up at the podium the next.

Yang Qiming slowly came to, his face somewhat numb.

Some people are alive, but their souls have already been turned over and over, scalded by the sun, and thoroughly dead.

That look, in the math teacher's eyes, was a whole different matter.

"Stand up!"

Zhou Yuting caught Yang Qiming's movement of rising in her peripheral vision and couldn't help covering her face.

Help me.

Save me, I don't want to stay in this group.

Maybe I should try talking to the head teacher. If I don't switch seats soon, I'm really going to die. For the first time, wanting to change seats—not because I dislike my seatmate.

Speaking of personality, actually both weirdos are pretty nice.

When Yang Qiming isn't having an episode, he's quite warm-hearted, and he always answers when spoken to.

Huang Cailang is a bit simple, but I've never caught him giving off that creepy-guy look. He's a good person—he just always likes saying strange things.

Especially when Yang Qiming is having an episode, the two of them play off each other and it's painfully awkward.

No, what on earth is Huang Cailang after?

Zhou Yuting couldn't figure it out—did he kill someone and Yang Qiming happened to see it?

The very back row of the classroom.

Yang Qiming held his book with a blank expression, his mind a mess. He couldn't take in a single word the math teacher was saying now.

He really wanted to know what exactly he had done wrong, why he had been "seamlessly transitioned." If she had broken up with him openly and honestly, he wouldn't have been this upset.

He couldn't figure it out, so he kept thinking.

The moment the class bell rang, Yang Qiming suddenly figured it out. This wasn't any "seamless transition" at all—whether there was a seam or not wasn't what hurt so much.

It was just a matter of time; the fact was they had broken up.

He had been cuckolded.

That was the real point of his pain!

The so-called "seamless transition" is just cheating first, then breaking up. Isn't it just cuckolding someone behind their back and then finding a chance to break up?

Damn, his mom is really shameless!

After class, Huang Cailang walked over.

"Yang-ge, are you okay?"

Yang Qiming had just had his awakening, his expression still a bit dazed. But at least his eyes had cleared; no longer like a pool of dead water, they began to show signs of revival.

"Mm, I'm fine."

Huang Cailang felt a bit guilty. Yesterday Yang-ge had been so upset, yet he himself had eaten till he was stuffed. He had walked around the rooftop until midnight before finally digesting it all.

"Yang-ge, you have to be strong."

Hearing that, Yang Qiming's eyes cleared.

The pain of being cuckolded couldn't be eased right away, but seeing Cailang and so many others who cared about him, he felt he should pull himself together and not let them worry.

"Thank you, Cailang."

Huang Cailang's face went blank—he had no idea what Yang-ge was thanking him for—but he still put on a simple, honest smile.

"No need, Yang-ge, this is all what I should do."

As soon as school let out in the afternoon, Jiang Nian took off.

He had made plans with Xu Qianqian to take advantage of the afternoon dismissal to bike to Zhennan Square to play ring toss.

The reason they didn't schedule it for the weekend was mainly because the two of them were already very familiar. No need for all that beating around the bush—they could head straight to the point, toss the rings, and head back for class; there was no need to waste a holiday on it.

Isn't it better to sleep at home during the holidays and scroll through videos?

Third floor.

"Let's go, let's go!" After meeting up with Xu Qianqian, Jiang Nian urged, "Hurry, hurry, we might win so many prizes we'll have to make a trip home."

"Keep bragging." Xu Qianqian was unimpressed.

That kind of ring-toss game looks easy, but it's actually quite technical. Toss a ring over in a hurry and it's all thunder and no rain—not even a splash.

In plain words, it's purely giving away money.

Jiang Nian glanced at her, too lazy to argue.

"Why so many words, stop dawdling."

"The whole round trip takes at least twenty minutes, and we might still have to go back home. The ring toss takes at most ten minutes—I still want to eat a hot meal when I get back."

Xu Qianqian didn't care at all and snorted.

"Look at you showing off."

The two of them walked out of the school gate and rode their electric scooters toward the town square south.

Xu Qianqian didn't have high expectations; she was simply out to clear her mind. She had watched others play ring toss before but never tried it herself, so this was a perfect chance to play a couple of rounds.

Town South Square was about five kilometers from the school, located in the northern part of Town South County. Further north was the Town South Grand Market, which specialized in selling all kinds of cooking oil, grain, rice, flour, and mountain goods.

Once night fell, Town South Square would liven up.

Snack stalls, clothing vendors, toy sellers — everything under the sun was available. That included various games too: ring toss, ball grab, number writing, and so on.

The two of them weren't wearing their school uniforms, and standing together they didn't look very lovey-dovey.

Several people in the crowd glanced back at this odd pair of boy and girl. Their first reaction was, "Damn, they're really good-looking," and their second was, "What a strange couple."

"This one?" Jiang Nian asked.

"Don't rush. There are two stall owners doing ring toss at Town South Square." Xu Qianqian tugged him toward the other side. "Compare three shops — let's see whose prizes are better."

The stall owner was a young woman, decent figure. A military-green crossbody bag hung around her neck, and she held a fistful of colorful rings in her hand.

She happened to overhear Xu Qianqian's words and couldn't help laughing out loud.

Little leeks still being picky.

Don't bother going — the other stall is mine too. The one watching it is my husband!

Before long, Jiang Nian and Xu Qianqian indeed came back.

It wasn't that the other stall's prizes were no good — it was that the male owner was a bit fierce. As they walked over, they happened to see the male owner arguing with a customer.

The two exchanged a look and immediately retreated.

Time is money — they had neither the mood nor the time to waste on the stall owner.

"Their two stalls seem to have the same supply, and the prizes look pretty similar too." Xu Qianqian analyzed seriously as she walked back.

"So the two stall owners probably know each other. What if they refuse to pay out?"

Jiang Nian caught the worry in her words and said arrogantly.

"Just win every single one."

Xu Qianqian covered her forehead, thinking, here we go again — that mysterious male confidence.

"Fine, you do your best."

The married female stall owner watched the two of them return with a smile, her heart already blooming with joy.

Similar scenes — she had seen countless ones at this square.

Because there were two ring toss stalls, shrewd customers would habitually compare. Seeing her husband's fierce look and her own gentle, easy-going manner, they'd obediently come back.

At that point, as long as she kept her service attitude a bit better and offered some emotional value, customers getting caught up in the moment and buying dozens or even a hundred rings was nothing unusual.

What was that thing called? Since ancient times, tricks win people's hearts.

Three pairs of leeks came in total — one father-and-son pair and two couples. The better-looking pair was last in line.

When her gaze swept over that tall, pretty girl, she couldn't help stealing a few more glances. She couldn't help thinking to herself that she had been that young once too when she was in school — every New Year, the matchmakers lining up to propose stretched from the south end of town to the north.

Pity that though she was pretty when young, she was poor. Luckily she caught the wave of the times, went south to Guangdong to hustle, and finally wasn't young anymore.

A fresh, dewy young married woman with no young punks thinking about her either — only the neighbor Old Wang left. It's not that she couldn't cheat, she just couldn't bring herself to spread her legs.

"Boss, how much for these rings?" the father-and-son pair walked up to her, interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh, oh, two yuan each." The female owner put on a smile, her gaze hesitating to follow. "Buy twenty yuan worth of rings, and whether you win or not, you get a plush toy."

Hearing the price, the middle-aged man — like every parent bringing a child — let out an "ah" and started doing mental math.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford the price, but spending this money on the little rascal felt like a loss. A kid this age who doesn't play with rocks is already a smart one — could he even figure out ring toss?

Like all bratty kids, the child stretched his throat and shouted loudly.

"Auntie, I want a hundred!"

"Scram!" The old father clearly knew exactly what kind of creature he'd spawned, and roared furiously, "What did I tell you last time? This time I'll teach you a lesson — we're only buying five!"

The bratty kid went from zero to one in an instant, plopped his butt on the ground and threw a screaming fit. Crying hysterically for "supplements, supplements," he twisted and crawled, rolling all over the floor.

Only when the old father raised his palm did the child stand up with teary eyes. Hands stuffed in pockets, head tilted, he shouted loudly.

"You never give me any face in public — you're not fit to be a dad!"

The middle-aged man laughed in anger and furiously pulled out the leather belt at his waist.

The bratty kid immediately changed his tune: "Daddy, I love you."

Jiang Nian and Xu Qianqian behind them couldn't help exchanging a smile — tossing rings came with a free show.

When it was the couple's turn ahead, the boy hemmed and hawed for a while, stacking on plenty of buffs — like "I'm not very good at this" and "I hurt my hand the day before yesterday."

Then the girl patted his head and comforted him.

"Baby's the best. Even if you don't win, you're still adorable. Let's buy twenty yuan's worth — at least there's a guaranteed prize."

Jiang Nian glanced at Xu Qianqian, and she glanced back at him. The two frowned and pursed their lips in unison, communicating silently.

Jiang: Let's get a truck and run them over

Xu: Agreed.

When it was Jiang Nian and Xu Qianqian's turn, the sky had already gone dark. With a click, the lights around the square lit up one after another.

"Handsome, how many?" The female owner beamed, so confident she didn't even bother looking at the stall.

The father and son who'd just bought five rings took turns throwing — not a single one landed. They stormed off in a ten-yuan rage.

The young couple went "ooh, aah" — also didn't land a single one. Basically destined for the guaranteed prize. One stall set up for a night could easily make a few hundred yuan.

Even when a pro showed up, at most they'd win some small trinkets — the big plush toys had tricks inside.

Xu Qianqian didn't want to waste money and held up two fingers.

"Let's start with twenty yuan's worth."

The female owner was a bit disappointed and wanted to advise her sis to treat herself better. Not spending her man's money — was she saving it for him to save up bride price to marry someone else?

But she heard the boy beside her voluntarily raise the stakes: "Why save this little bit? Go straight for forty yuan — twenty rings."