Chapter 217: I

The Sanban classroom erupted in cheers.

The unbearable PPT segment was over; now came the much-anticipated game segment.

"Open the champagne!"

"That's kinda funny, bro."

"The atmosphere suddenly got hot—time to get serious."

"Fuck, who's gonna kill that idiot?"

"Great rewards produce brave men—at least put something up for grabs. There's not even a proper prize. This is going to be a tough sell!"

"I'll pull out Chunfeng and start ranking."

The moment the class heard this, they fell silent.

False godhood, before meeting true godhood, is merely arrogant and boastful. When true godhood emerges, false godhood retreats.

"Holy shit, that's way too crude." Jiang Nian froze, turning to look toward the back row, "Who's this god-tier? Pureness level at least Great Ascension Realm ancestor."

Li Hua felt a pang of envy toward this one-line-ending-of-nonsense act and turned to look back too.

"Damn, I wish I'd said that."

Zhang Ningzhi was utterly confused, unsure what they were talking about, so she leaned in and whispered to Jiang Nian.

"What's Chunfeng?"

"Oh, a motorcycle." Jiang Nian replied offhandedly.

"You like it too?"

Hearing this, Jiang Nian coughed awkwardly twice, then straightened his expression.

"I don't like it."

After saying that, he paused and added another line.

"Don't be so curious—adults' business, kids shouldn't ask."

"Oh." Zhang Ningzhi turned away, sullen.

She slumped onto the desk, cheeks puffed slightly, thinking Jiang Nian was a stingy bastard who drank cold water.

On the podium.

Qian Bao organized several people to play a psychological game similar to saying the opposite of what's true—like "cat drinks water," "human eats rice," etc.

At first, Qian Bao picked two boys and two girls.

Their phrasing was fairly normal—things like "bear climbs tree," "snake swallows mouse." Clearly, everyone was holding back; the entertainment value was weak.

Later, Qian Bao called four boys onto the stage, and the tone shifted instantly.

Lin Dong looked at Sun Zhicheng and blurted out:

"Level-eight gale."

"Gale crazy" Sun Zhicheng cracked—he couldn't finish the last word.

The whole classroom burst into laughter, the atmosphere instantly exploding with joy.

After that, classmates eagerly lined up to go on stage. Those who stayed silent were pointed out by Qian Bao and had to reluctantly raise their hands to join the game, right until dismissal.

"Dingdong, students, class is over."

Qian Bao cleanly ended the themed class meeting and began tidying props on stage. A flood of students rushed out, yet five or six spontaneously stayed to help her clean up.

Jiang Nian figured Qian Bao had enough helpers, so he happily headed to the cafeteria to grab some food.

Miss one meal, lose one meal.

He forgot what came before and after—just that he got food.

He barely participated in the themed class meeting; the games weren't that interesting.

Unless they did one where everyone sits in a circle, one person pretends to be a cat meowing—whomever laughs first becomes the "stare-at-crotch-cat," maximum entertainment.

In the long cafeteria line, Jiang Nian was pondering what to eat for lunch.

Suddenly, someone patted his arm from behind.

"Hi."

Jiang Nian turned and saw Yu Zhiyi.

"What? Got back together? Come to me for insider info?"

Hearing his impatient, irritable tone, Yu Zhiyi wasn't offended.

"Just happened to run into you."

"Oh." Jiang Nian's gaze dropped, glanced once, then turned away, bluntly saying, "It was a good day—now it's a bad one."

Hearing this, Yu Zhiyi was stunned.

"Are you mentally ill? You've always had a bias against me."

Jiang Nian shook his head. "Nope."

Yu Zhiyi exploded—she'd never met someone so low.

"Fine."

The two were just chatting idly, not taking it seriously.

Whether their conversation was civil or full of attacks, it at least passed the time.

"Jiang Nian, you've definitely been in love, right?" Yu Zhiyi teased.

"What's it to you?"

"Just curious. When the English teacher asked you earlier, you definitely weren't telling the truth." Yu Zhiyi wore an "I knew it all along" look.

Jiang Nian wasn't rushed—he sized her up from head to toe.

"Then I'm curious too."

After about a dozen seconds, Yu Zhiyi became quiet and stopped showing off.

Boys get dizzy from 3D games, but they never get dizzy from 36D.

He and Yu Zhiyi weren't friends, just somewhat familiar.

Adolescence is the stage for drinking milk to grow, glancing at a chat twice, neither side loses out.

The line continued moving forward.

The two girls ahead seemed to be from the same class; since Jiang Nian joined behind them, they had been giggling and whispering nonstop.

Suddenly, one girl let out a cry.

"Oh no, oh no, I forgot!" the other girl panicked, flustered.

"Let's hurry over, we'll eat later."

Whoosh—the two spots directly in front of Jiang Nian suddenly emptied.

The food-devouring demon couldn't contain his joy, stepped forward immediately, and today became another good day.

But as soon as he followed, he suddenly noticed the back of the person ahead looked vaguely familiar.

Loose school uniform, black-rimmed glasses girl—wasn't that my Sister Feifei?

Doing T tendonitis? No, that was a misunderstanding.

Explaining it's complicated—the sword tomb was taken by someone else; anyway, Sister Feifei isn't Sister T.

Jiang Nian's inner monologue was still running wild—this was the daily routine of a Gao Zhongsheng: outwardly cold and aloof, inwardly muttering to himself, playing self-question-and-answer for half an hour.

Unfortunately, though he recognized Sister Feifei, he didn't know if she recognized him.

But he had no intention of disturbing her—that would be crazy.

The line slowly shortened until it was Zhou Haifei's turn.

She ordered two vegetable dishes, totaling four yuan. Some girls ate little or simply disliked meat, so choosing two vegetable dishes wasn't unusual.

Jiang Nian handed his tray over, swiped his card for two meat and two vegetable dishes—six yuan.

Beep.

"Classmate, your card has no balance. You can pay cash."

Jiang Nian turned his head—oh, not talking to him.

Over there, Zhou Haifei looked embarrassed; she patted her pockets, her face paled. Her catfish-whisker bangs drooped, and she whispered, "Sorry."

Only now did Jiang Nian see her face for the first time—wearing a full autumn-winter white long-sleeve uniform, her skin was very pale.

The cafeteria lady, seeing this, also grew annoyed. But she didn't suddenly turn into a villain from a short drama—she merely glanced at the people behind her.

"Give it to me. Come back later with cash."

She reached to cancel the four-yuan charge on the card reader—but before she could, a hand reached over, pressing a blue cafeteria card against the machine.

Beep. Paid.

The lady froze. Zhou Haifei was stunned, still hadn't looked up—when a familiar voice rang above her head, vibrating her eardrums.

"I'll pay for her."

Two seconds later, the lady snapped back to reality.

"Alright."

Zhou Haifei was still dazed, turned her head—and saw Jiang Nian. In her slightly puzzled pupils reflected the face of a handsome boy; they weren't really familiar.

They'd occasionally met and locked eyes—whether by coincidence or not, he always seemed to be staring at her.

Did they know each other before?

She quickly dismissed the thought in her mind—this boy was clean-cut, pure. Whether in clothing, eating habits, or demeanor, he was unlike anyone from her circle.

But right now, something more urgent mattered—he'd helped her in her time of need.

"Th-thank you."

"No need," Jiang Nian waved his hand.

He grabbed his chopsticks and walked off, to spare her from being awkwardly stared at.

He'd barely sat down when he noticed Zhou Haifei had followed him. She didn't sit—just stood beside him, forcing composure to whisper.

"Will you go back to class soon? Can you wait for me on the third floor? I'll return your meal money."

"You don't have to," he said.

"Huh?" Zhou Haifei thought he pitied her.

Just as she was about to say something, he spoke again.

"Because I've always dreamed of being rich, but I don't have much money," Jiang Nian said, slightly shy. "So, can you fulfill me a little?"

Zhou Haifei was utterly baffled, holding her tray, unsure how to respond to such an abstract request.

"No, I—"

She mumbled for a long time, finally squeezing out one sentence.

"I still have to pay you back."

"Fine, then sit down and eat first," Jiang Nian pointed to the seat beside him. "You can pay me back slowly—good cafeteria seats are scarce."

Zhou Haifei often saw him with Xu Qianqian in class, guessing they were a couple.

So from the start, she never intended to sit—she'd only come to say that one thing.

The money had to be repaid—it concerned dignity.

But then again, the cafeteria at lunchtime really was hell. A vacant seat vanished the moment it opened; even standing here, people were already eyeing this spot.

Walk into the cafeteria, and it's all this kind of dark competition.

Too dangerous.

So she obediently sat down, pulling herself as far to the side as possible. Exaggeratedly speaking, the space between her and Jiang Nian could fit half a person.

Jiang Nian noticed too, but he didn't care. After a few bites, he put down his chopsticks and said calmly.

"Once I'm done eating, I'll run. If you catch me, I'll give you one chance to pay me back."

Zhou Haifei was dumbfounded. "????"

"Also, I won the three-thousand-meter championship at the school sports meet." Jiang Nian was saying some absurd things. "Of course, if the Jizhi Syrup is in my hands, even a cheetah can't outrun me."

"Huh?" Zhou Haifei didn't know what to say.

From Jiang Nian's words, she got a simple impression: this guy had a little kindness in him, but not much. He spoke wildly and was pretty down-to-earth.

Getting along with someone who puts on airs felt completely different from getting along with an absurd person.

Because the other person wouldn't suddenly get angry over one sentence, wouldn't be too fragile. The line between this kind of person and an idiot was just one normal person apart.

"Then what would it take for you not to run?" she asked cautiously.

Good heavens, this was the first time she'd seen someone chase after another person to pay them back. Although the amount wasn't large, the other party was clearly not quite normal, so it was safer to pay it off sooner rather than later.

Jiang Nian stared at her for a while, then said matter-of-factly.

"Once I'm full, I won't run."

Zhou Haifei: "."

This meal was absolutely the most nerve-wracking one she'd ever had, constantly worried Jiang Nian would run off.

Fortunately, after the meal, the other party didn't run.

(End of chapter)