Chapter 201

Sitting in Yao Bei Bei's seat, he was in an unfamiliar place with no one to turn to.

Jiang Nian didn't want to speak up.

He looked down and saw two comics under the desk, pulled them out, glanced at them, then tore open two candies—one he put in his mouth, the other he stuffed in his pocket.

Why be polite with Yao Bei Bei? Take whatever's there.

Tao Ran walked in from outside the classroom; with the parent-teacher meeting approaching, the grade team naturally called the class monitor to a meeting. Last time it was Cai Xiaoqing, this time it was his turn.

As the students' public servant, Tao Ran had no complaints.

He stepped onto the podium, cleared his throat, and delivered a few announcements—all routine stuff about classroom cleanliness and setup for the parent-teacher meeting.

Suddenly, Tao Ran said something new.

"That—students whose parents are confirmed to come tomorrow must write a heartfelt letter to them. I'll hand out the paper shortly, and you must write it."

As soon as he finished, half the class exploded.

"Holy shit, seriously? Do we really have to be this fucking stupid?"

"Fuck, another emotional manipulation bullshit—how pathetic!"

"Ding ding, I scored zero in the game of finding a school administrator's relative. I'm so happy, everyone, please congratulate me."

The classroom was filled with complaints, a sea of despair.

Jiang Nian scratched his cheek, utterly unmoved.

Jiang's dad and Li Hongmei wouldn't attend the parent-teacher meeting, so he didn't need to write these awkward little notes.

In an unfamiliar place, with no one to vent to.

Day one of missing Baby Zhizhi.

The paper was passed from front to back—even students whose parents weren't coming took some. Why not? Perfect for scratch paper; this stuff was as scarce as toilet paper.

Jiang Nian saw Yu Zhiyi take several sheets, so he took several for Yao Bei Bei too.

He didn't take any for himself—not out of kindness, but because he always used Zhang Ningzhi's scratch paper; low-grade paper felt wrong to him.

(Face. jpg)

Yu Zhiyi didn't want to write; she didn't know if her parents would come.

If she could choose, she hoped they wouldn't. Ever since their rift, they'd barely communicated except for sending her living expenses—showing up would just be awkward.

Sometimes, on weekends, she heard her roommates cooing to their parents on the phone.

Occasionally she felt envious; mostly, she felt nothing.

She couldn't imagine herself being affectionate with her parents—she only wished they wouldn't fight or smash things during the New Year, and wouldn't make her embarrassed in front of the neighbors.

"Aren't you writing?"

A voice came from behind; Yu Zhiyi didn't need to turn to know who it was.

"Nope. My parents aren't coming."

Her tone was flat, revealing no emotion—cold, distant, with an unspoken: don't bother me, I'm in a bad mood.

Most people would've dropped the subject, but Jiang Nian was from Class Three.

"I'm on duty tomorrow—I can kinda help you check it."

Yu Zhiyi was speechless, glancing back at him.

"This isn't funny."

Jiang Nian rubbed his chin, thought for a moment.

"I think it's fine."

If someone else said that, Yu Zhiyi would've felt insulted—even wondered if they were insane—but coming from Jiang Nian, it felt perfectly natural.

No doubt—he was just insane.

Acting like a welfare girl? Foolish Jiang Nian.

Yu Zhiyi felt a touch of rebelliousness; the more Jiang Nian casually attacked everyone without discrimination, the less angry she became—she turned around and started writing.

After finishing, she turned back and said:

"You better remember to check it tomorrow, or else—"

Jiang Nian didn't care about her threat—it was just a bit of fun.

"Will do."

After evening self-study ended.

Except for Group Five, who had to stay behind to clean and set up the classroom, everyone else left.

In a way, Jiang Nian's Group Six had it easy—the dirty work didn't fall to them; they only had to pour water for parents tomorrow.

Servant, maid—call it whatever you like.

On the way home, Xu Qianqian was in good spirits.

She wore a navy-blue coat and beige pants; as she passed under a shop's light, her already pale skin glowed even whiter.

"Tonight, I'm watching a movie until three a. m."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian asked:

"Is Xu Shu home?"

Xu Qianqian instantly grew wary, stepping back from Jiang Nian. "He went out of town a couple days ago—you're not thinking of—"

Jiang Nian shot back, "Don't you want to?"

Under the streetlamp, Xu Qianqian's face turned red, fidgeting.

"It's not really appropriate—if your mom finds out, you'll definitely get scolded."

Jiang Nian stopped walking under the streetlamp.

"What? You think you won't get scolded?"

"Of course, Aunt Li would never scold me." Xu Qianqian glanced at him with the disdain of a proud swan. "Can we—be the same?"

Fuck, wait till I get you pregnant, then you'll see if we're the same.

There were many people in front of the barbecue stall, the greasy smoke blown diagonally upward by the blower.

This shop's barbecue skills were good; seven or eight tables were set up on the open ground in front of the shop. A quick glance showed they were nearly all full, cups and chopsticks clinking as people laughed and grilled skewers.

At the outermost table sat a group of social types, loudly boasting and shouting. The neighboring table's guests kept frowning, but dared not react since their families were present.

Seeing this, Xu Qianqian ducked behind Jiang Nian.

"Boss, pack up these items."

He pointed at the menu and ordered several barbecue dishes they both liked, ignoring the social types' shouting as if he hadn't heard a thing.

The county is a small society; they're just social types, not idiots.

Everyone eats their own, no one interferes with anyone else.

Though that was true, he still shielded Xu Qianqian completely. He didn't try to be funny, just played with his phone and chatted with her.

"Too bad the fruit stand's closed. I'll go home and check the fridge to see what fruit's left."

Xu Qianqian wasn't bold and meticulous—she was at least a total coward.

Though she usually strutted around in front of Jiang Nian, she still got scared around strange people. If Jiang Nian weren't there, she wouldn't dare come near this place at all.

A gentleman doesn't stand under a crumbling wall—unless it's for demolition and a new house.

"Yeah, my fridge has drinks." Xu Qianqian looked up and saw his smooth jawline. Below it was his Adam's apple, pale skin giving off a steady aura.

When the bastard isn't acting up, he's actually kinda decent to look at.

Too bad

The barbecue was packed. Jiang Nian picked it up and left with Xu Qianqian.

A few minutes later, a group of young students—boys and girls—arrived at the barbecue stall. At the center stood a tall boy.

Liu Feipeng was frustrated; his little group had been losing members lately.

After Zhou Yuting moved up a class, her first move was to cut him loose. She used to call him "Big Brother Peng," but now she wouldn't meet up, and her replies were slow.

He had a feeling Zhou Yuting was becoming distant toward him.

Le Zhi buried himself in studying and stopped attending any activities after Zhou Yuting left. He vanished completely—quit the group and deleted contact info.

Even Yu Shao, who should've been on good terms with him, had been offended by something he'd said wrong.

Sigh, things have really been going badly lately.

Alas, yesterday the flowers bloomed brilliantly; today they're about to fall.

"Just order whatever you want—I'm treating tonight!" Liu Feipeng laughed heartily, letting out his pent-up frustration. "Bring two cases of beer!"

The people around him cheered immediately.

The cheers annoyed the social types at the next table, who cursed loudly: something like, "Little shit, you're young but still got balls."

The curse was too crude—Liu Feipeng's followers weren't happy.

The most hot-headed one stuck out his neck, glaring with bull-like eyes at the other table.

"What the fuck did you just say?!"

"I said you! So what? Little shit's got a mouth on him."

Click—the door opened. Li Qingrong stepped out of the bathroom.

Her hair was damp, wrapped in a blue towel. Her face was pale with a flush, her expression cold, eyes emotionless as she blew each strand dry.

Her phone on the table buzzed. Li Qingrong didn't even glance at it.

Only after fully drying her hair did she move, glancing at the phone: three missed calls, several unread messages—all from a woman.

【Hehe, heard you have parent-teacher meeting tomorrow. Can I come?】

Li Qingrong lowered her eyes and replied.

"1."

Soon, another message popped up.

"What does that mean? Am I not worthy to come? I'm hurt—I came back specially to see you, didn't even tell my parents, only told you."

"I want to go, I want to go, I want to go."

Li Qingrong replied, "1."

The other side seemed to crack—she sent eleven messages in a row.

"Aaaah!! You won't even acknowledge me!"

Li Qingrong opened the woman's WeChat profile and blocked her. The world finally fell silent. She leaned back in her chair, dazed.

She thought for a moment, then opened Jiang Nian's Moments—found no access permission.

Tap-tap-tap.

A knock came. Xu Qianqian quietly opened the door, looking deeply aggrieved.

"Why so late?"

A sliver of light leaked through the door crack, spreading like a thread.

Jiang Nian stood there, bags in hand, his tall frame blocking most of the light. Hearing her aggrieved tone, he retorted directly.

"I came right after the shower. Don't you think washing grapes takes time?"

Fuck, you think I was doing handcrafts in the bathroom?

"Alright, I misjudged you." Xu Qianqian dropped to her knees fast—flexible and adaptable. "Let me carry your stuff. Hurry in, don't let anyone see."

"Feels like we're stealing." Jiang Nian stepped inside.

Click—the door shut. The living room glowed brightly.

Xu Qianqian had just showered; her bangs were damp, clinging to her cheeks. Her brows and eyes were clean, her skin so soft it looked like it could be squeezed for juice, her eyes veiled in a thin mist.

"You're the thief. I'm afraid you'll disturb the neighbors."

"Disturb the neighbors? Then just don't yell so loud." Jiang Nian deliberately paused for a moment, and sure enough, the next second he got a vicious beating from Xu Qianqian.

"Keep talking nonsense and I'll twist your head off!" Her tone was fierce.

Jiang Nian raised both hands and responded with a French military salute.

"Fine, I won't say any more."

He was actually quite afraid of Xu Qianqian getting angry—she was a bit petty. Once the flirting crossed a certain line, he had to pull back and save it for next time.

"Eat, eat, eat. If you don't eat now, the barbecue will get cold." Jiang Nian popped open a can of Sprite, lifted it, and clinked it against Xu Qianqian's. "Forget the past, forget the future."

"In short, vacation feels amazing."

(End of this chapter)