Chapter 20: Baby, I

"Huh?" Xu Qianqian gave him a skeptical look. "Really?"

"Of course it's true, but I turned it down," Jiang Nian lied without a flicker of shame. "I have no intention of dating in Gao San—I just want to study."

That was Zhou Yuting's exact words, shamelessly stolen by Jiang Nian.

"Mm, you're right to think that way," Xu Qianqian said seriously as she walked ahead. "Once you get to university, you'll have more options—you shouldn't limit yourself to a small county town."

"Oh come on, sounds like you know a lot?" Jiang Nian clicked his tongue.

Xu Qianqian's face flushed. "My cousin told me."

"Oh, did your cousin find a boyfriend yet?"

"No…" Xu Qianqian's voice grew quieter, her explanation weak. "My cousin's different—her goal is graduate school."

Then came incomprehensible talk—"modern independent women," "upward selection"—and the air along their way home from evening self-study filled with cheer.

6, I'm from Dunhuang, I see truth at a glance, cheese snow leopard, this is a mural.

Jiang Nian burst out laughing, then spoke in a mysterious tone.

"Hey, you know what? The old lady at our village entrance is eighty and still single. Guess what? When she was about to die, the ground suddenly split open—and an Immortal Lord stepped out."

"The Immortal Lord fed her an Immortal Pill, and instantly she turned eighteen again. In the end, they walked hand in hand back home and became immortal lovers."

"The scene? Purple qi came from the east, red flags fluttered, crowds thronged. Everyone in our surrounding villages envied that couple. So tell your cousin to hold on—she'll definitely find her true love."

"Don't talk about my cousin like that," Xu Qianqian said, deeply embarrassed.

Jiang Nian shrugged. "Xu Qianqian, your cousin's also a der—stay away from her."

"Oh."

After getting home, Jiang Nian heard his parents' sighs drifting from their room.

But since it was already late, he didn't want to knock, so he just called. His mother's voice boomed through the door, strong and loud.

"Jiang Nian, are you itching for a beating? It's late at night and you're calling?"

"Uh, I was just curious—you've been sighing for two nights straight," Jiang Nian said. "By the way, Mom, I forgot to tell you—I scored…"

"Don't cause trouble—go to sleep!"

"Oh oh." Jiang Nian broke into a sweat.

Something must be wrong—normally, after exams, they'd grill him over his results. Now they'd forgotten entirely; they must've hit some tough problem.

But Jiang Nian didn't dwell on it—he didn't meddle in his parents' affairs. If they were short on money, he could help out a bit; otherwise, he couldn't do anything.

As Li Hongmei put it, getting good grades was filial piety enough.

Jiang Nian thought he'd tell them after the class assignments were finalized in the next couple days. But he'd ask Old Jiang tomorrow—he'd find out then.

The next morning.

Crack—the old lock of the Jiang household clicked with the key. Creak—the door opened, a sliver of morning light pierced the dim living room as Jiang Nian returned with breakfast.

He happened to see his father, Old Jiang, heading to the bathroom and stopped him.

"Why's a kid like you asking so many questions?" Old Jiang frowned, trying to reassert paternal authority. "Don't pry into adult matters."

"Old Jiang, I'm already an adult."

"Still a kid."

"As a family member, I earn money," Jiang Nian waved the buns in his hand. "I handle one of the three daily meals—don't I deserve to know a little?"

Eating makes you soft, accepting gifts makes you silent—even for a son. Old Jiang fell silent, frowned for a moment, then told him the truth.

"Nothing serious—the ancestral hall needs money for repairs."

"Fundraising?"

"Something like that—it's not settled yet," Old Jiang waved dismissively. "Now you know. Go to school."

"Oh." Jiang Nian felt awkward—even though he guessed the answer, he still asked tentatively. "Is the budget tight? Maybe I can chip in?"

Old Jiang didn't bother replying—he just waved and went into the bathroom.

Ah, the League of Paternal Worriers.

Jiang Nian forgot the morning's conversation as soon as he stepped outside—he was just a kid with no say. Whenever money was involved, they'd never let him interfere. Who cared?

Daily expenses—fine, he'd make up for it elsewhere later.

Maybe he'd forgotten to check the almanac—he'd just parted from Xu Qianqian, turned the corner by the classroom, and ran straight into Zhou Yuting.

"Jiang Nian," Zhou Yuting's eyes were still red—she'd never initiated a greeting before.

"Mm, actually, my left eye is severely nearsighted," Jiang Nian stepped sideways. "My left ear is 80% deaf. Who are you, classmate?"

Zhou Yuting: "... I know you're still mad at me."

In the evening glow, Jiang Nian couldn't tell if she was serious or just trolling.

Looking at her red eyes, he felt a pang of softness. Had his words last night been too harsh? After all, she was a girl.

Ah, girls—worse than beasts.

Seeing no one in the classroom was watching, Jiang Nian quickly stepped closer to Zhou Yuting and cooed in a breathy, sweet voice.

"Baby, I'm not mad—I got promoted."

Zhou Yuting froze, blood rushed to her head, and she nearly fainted.

"You!"

In the first afternoon class, the preliminary promotion list came out. As expected, Jiang Nian's name was the only one from their class, listed on line sixteen.

He was assigned to Science Olympiad Class 3, also known as A403. Xu Qianqian was in Science Olympiad Class 4, A304, on the third floor—unfortunately, not in the same class.

During evening self-study, he went again to ask his homeroom teacher for leave.

"Jiang Nian, didn't you just take leave the day before yesterday? Why again?"

"My illness flared up again."

"Flared up?"

"Yes."

The head teacher looked at the sick note, then at his unfilial disciple who was about to be promoted to the next class, and the BGM of "Actor" was already looping on repeat in his heart.

Your pretending to be sick is too on the surface, like a talentless actor... byd, now you're not even bothering to pretend anymore, huh!

His eyelid twitched again and again, but in the end he still nodded.

"Fine, stay safe."

Taking advantage of the night, Jiang Nian happily left the school gate, fished out his phone by the roadside, and made a call.

"Sister Zhao, yes, it's me."

"Mm-hmm, I'm by the road at the County Middle School, can you swing by and pick me up? Mm, yeah, class."

Four thousand thrown out wasn't entirely money down the drain—at the very least there was a pickup-and-drop service. Jiang Nian stood by the roadside with arms folded, planning to finish today's task.

When you have no money, you don't feel the lack; once you have money, holes are everywhere.

Cars weren't that many in the small county town, and the dim yellow streetlights lit up the entire road, as if laying down a clear-yellow blanket.

Fifteen minutes later, a lady's motorcycle pulled over by the roadside. Zhao Qiuxue took off her helmet, smiled at Jiang Nian by the road, and tilted her chin up.

"Handsome young Jiang, hop on."