Chapter 224: Treach'rous Official, Where? Why Don't I See Him?

"A technique for pinching bees — the whole class went crazy learning it."

"Squeak squeak squeak, please share."

Jiang Nian was answering his own question there, and the class immediately burst into laughter.

No one really believed in any bee-pinching technique — it was all about hand speed. Boys had sharp athletic reflexes and loved doing a bit of "homework," so fast hands were perfectly normal.

Qian Bao let out a relieved breath and restored her solemn dignity as a people's teacher.

"Ahem, continue the exam."

"Teacher, what should we do with the bee?" Jiang Nian asked.

"Release it." Qian Bao turned and went back to the podium.

"Oh oh, can I release it onto the seat of someone I don't like?" Jiang Nian asked again.

Hearing this, Yu Tongjie's heart immediately clenched.

Oh no!

Once that thought surfaced, he muttered to himself that something was off. Apart from offending Jiang Nian once a month ago, he hadn't really provoked him since — what was there to panic about?

Then again, so what if he had provoked him?

He didn't go looking for trouble, but he wasn't afraid of it either. Once someone crossed him, he'd reveal his heaven-reaching connections and show everyone what iron-fisted means.

Li Hua began to think — he didn't seem to have offended Jiang Nian recently.

"What are you saying? Throw it outside the classroom," Qian Bao said irritably. "Everyone else, stop looking. Continue the exam. No whispering."

Li Hua hummed noncommittally and made some noises no ordinary person could produce.

The class erupted in laughter again.

Sun Zhicheng actually envied Li Hua a little — he occasionally wished these attention-grabbing antics were his own doing. But he couldn't lower himself, because.

There was someone living in his heart.

At most two people, possibly three in the future.

But for now, only one.

The only regret might be that he played basketball too well. The moment he thought of those three blocks on parent-meeting day, a dark cloud inevitably rose in his heart.

To the point where seeing a basketball gave him a WWII veteran's PTSD.

Damn, he's about to get depressed.

Sometimes he also felt despair over the current state of pursuing Chen Yunyun — their relationship had reset to square one. Before he could even rebuild it, he'd beaten her dear old dad into submission first.

Now, his favorability with Chen Yunyun was most likely back to zero.

Sun Zhicheng stared at the test paper in a daze. He'd barely made it to Reading Comprehension Passage D. The difficulty was practically raised by a stepmother — he barely understood it on the first pass.

But right now he had no heart for the questions, wavering over whether to switch to pursuing someone else.

The person he liked wasn't fixed — he was just chasing a feeling.

Sun Zhicheng felt no shame about this. He'd seen it on Douyin. Plenty of people were like him — having a secret crush, but free to like others too.

Some people you'd like for a while; some you'd keep in your heart forever.

Perhaps it was time to make a change.

If he wins, great. If not, whatever — if he loses, he'll just come back and keep crushing in secret.

The English exam ended; the test papers were stacked and passed forward.

Jiang Nian returned the quick-dry pen to the class monitor and went down to take the math exam next. Not that he couldn't afford to rely on luck — math just had better value-for-effort without showing off. Just slap them in the face and be done with it.

If math isn't above 130, you're still an ant.

Li Qingrong took the quick-dry pen and didn't ask why he'd stopped using it. She just stayed in her seat, continuing to look at the English paper, staring at it without moving.

Jiang Nian leaned in for a peek, curious.

"Class monitor, is Passage A hard?"

Reading Comprehension Passage A was roughly junior-high level. As long as you'd memorized a few words and your brain was slightly nimble, you could basically stumble through it.

For a top student like Li Qingrong, it was a one-hit kill.

Hearing this, Li Qingrong flipped the page over to Passage D.

Ah. Hell-level.

Passage D was hard, but for the class monitor it still wasn't hard enough — still a one-hit kill.

Jiang Nian didn't understand and couldn't help asking.

"Class monitor, are you going to the bathroom?"

She still wore that cool, aloof expression, her high ponytail still proud as ever. Only the swaying had stopped — her whole body held a stiff posture.

In the corridor, Jiang Nian wove through the crowd.

Passing by Class One, he couldn't resist poking his head in for a look. The Erban Sect classroom was also noisy and chaotic — apart from Yuan Zhengchuan, he didn't recognize a single person.

He pulled his gaze back and, while he was at it, glanced behind him at Li Qingrong.

"Class monitor, this way."

"Mm."

"Class monitor, why aren't you asking where I'm taking you?" The direction Jiang Nian was leading was the opposite of the fourth-floor bathroom — radiating a hundred percent wrongness.

Hearing this, Li Qingrong let out a flat, emotionless "ah," as if suddenly enlightened.

"Do you want me to ask?"

Jiang Nian: "."

No joke — this time he'd really run into one of those "should I make a couple of sounds to satisfy you" types.

No rush — better ask the all-knowing 8u.

But that was just a thought. If he actually posted it, the harvest would probably be nothing but ever-innovating mockery — that much he could absolutely trust 8u's strength for.

"Haha, another guy who got hallucinated from licking the goddess's bio-oil."

After thinking it over, Jiang Nian still explained.

"The fourth-floor bathroom is packed; waiting takes forever. The admin building has almost no one, and the bosses aren't there—regular students dare not go, so no line."

This was Chen Yunyun's phrase, but now it's his.

Li Qingrong showed little reaction, just nodded.

"Mm."

To be fair, Zhennan High was dirt-poor. But even a landowner's house, if you rummage around, still has a few carts of gold to pad the facade—and the admin building was the facade.

"Holy shit, first time in the admin building." Jiang Nian stepped in, like Liu Laolao entering Grand View Garden, "This admin building is this rich?"

"I thought Zhennan couldn't find a single decent building—turns out there's hidden treasure inside!"

"Damn, after two years of bandit life, I'm discovering places like this for the first time. Regret it—I should've known about this place earlier, I'd—"

He was still lost in the awe of a villager entering the city when he suddenly realized the monitor hadn't made a sound. He thought she'd fallen behind, turned around—she was still right behind him.

"Come on, monitor."

"Mm."

The big break lasted a full twenty minutes; since it was a weekly test, the third-year students didn't need to run drills.

Jiang Nian didn't plan to waste all the time on slacking off—he figured he'd still have a few minutes left to head to the cafeteria and grab some guandong stew. That stuff: one giant rice cooker filled with fish balls, tofu, and quail eggs.

Just as he was thinking this, the elevator ahead chimed.

Jiang Nian's thoughts snapped back—he broke out in cold sweat instantly.

Shit, there's a boss in the elevator, about to walk out any second.

All thoughts of guandong stew vanished—he was now a sow stuck in a fence, trapped between advance and retreat.

He could've run alone—no big deal, just bolt. He was confident he could escape before the boss saw him. But there was still the monitor.

Would she run with him?

In a flash, Jiang Nian made his decision.

Snap—he grabbed Li Qingrong's wrist and yanked her sideways into the stairwell.

Zero point zero one seconds later, the elevator doors slid open. The boss walked out laughing and chatting, the crisp clack of leather shoes echoing down the corridor.

In the stairwell, they hid behind the fire door. Face to face, barely a fist's width apart, they could hear each other's breaths.

Jiang Nian's attention was all outside—his heart pounded wildly.

"Scared the hell out of me."

Li Qingrong said nothing, just gave him two extra glances.

Coming out of the admin building, Jiang Nian stretched, squinted up at the sun.

Perfect—safe slacking.

He mentally scolded Chen Yunyun: what the hell, selling fake intel?

Lucky I'm brilliant—if not, me and the monitor would've been caught in the hallway, grilled by the boss about who our homeroom teacher was.

Jotted it down: tonight I'm getting even at lunch.

Since Jiang Nian was heading to the cafeteria, he let Li Qingrong go ahead first—but she didn't move.

He took two steps toward the cafeteria; she followed two steps.

"Oh, monitor, you're hungry? Should've said so earlier."

Jiang the Elder lacked everything—but never money.

Just two days ago, he bought a whole set of leather goods for home, becoming his mom's sole top fan.

He dropped a couple thousand on a bag without hesitation—Li Hongmei was thrilled.

Though Li Nushi hated spending money, she couldn't say anything because Jiang Nian always bought stuff after being scolded. So she stayed quiet, afraid of triggering another episode.

Top fan since middle school graduation—bro culture. He didn't get talk about saving money for a bride or household frugality—he just smashed cash.

Keep talking? Keep smashing cash.

He went wild spending—only to find his bank balance barely dipped.

Couldn't spend it all. Couldn't possibly spend it all.

With this kind of fortune, treating the monitor to a snack was no problem.

Jiang Nian had already treated Li Hua and the others several times—he had zero shortage of cash. It was all pocket change; they ate faster than interest accrued.

Most of the time had passed; he guessed they'd be halfway through eating when the bell rang.

Jiang Nian didn't care at all—math test? If you can solve it, you solve it; those few minutes won't matter. If you can't, even thirty extra minutes won't help.

The monitor? She didn't care either.

As they stood in line at the cafeteria, several people ahead turned to stare at Li Qingrong—most glanced once, then again, some even three times.

High school didn't have "school goddesses"—only relatively famous pretty girls.

They weren't mobbed for WeChat contacts, nor did they draw wild, cold-blooded outsiders with gangs blocking the school gate to confess love.

The anti-gang crackdown had already swept through.

Big bros were tough in fights—but even tougher delivering takeout up eight flights of stairs.

Give a five-star review, dear.

With class about to start, few lingered in the cafeteria—perfect for Jiang Nian. He expertly picked out a few tofu cubes and fish balls; this amount was nothing for a boy's high school appetite.

Then he turned to ask Li Qingrong.

"Monitor, what'll you have?"

Li Qingrong glanced, then held up two fingers.

"Fish balls."

Less than ten seconds later, the two snacks were ready.

Jiang Nian carried a round disposable bowl with two long bamboo skewers stuck in it, found a plastic long table, and sat at one edge with Li Qingrong on the opposite side.

"Monitor, the fish balls are hot—blow on them first."

He didn't think Li Qingrong couldn't take care of herself; he just figured she rarely ate this kind of thing and might easily burn herself if she wasn't careful.

Li Qingrong nodded in response.

"Alright."

She truly followed Jiang Nian's advice, blowing gently on the scalding fish balls. After blowing about four or five times, she finally took a slow bite.

"Not hot."

Jiang Nian: "."

Of course it's not hot after you blow on it—our monitor's got a touch of that der.

After a while, the bell rang.

"Shit!" Jiang Nian still had half left—he couldn't eat it fast because it was too hot. "Why's the bell ringing so soon? Monitor, why don't you go up first?"

Li Qingrong had ordered less and had already finished.

She seemed not to hear the bell, sitting quietly at the far end of the table. The noon sun at ten o'clock streamed through the cafeteria's wide-open windows and fell upon her.

The girl simply looked at him, her face expressionless.

"I'm waiting for you."

Jiang Nian paused for a moment. ". Okay."

They were five minutes late; by the time they entered the classroom, the exam had already begun.

Fortunately, both of them—well, purely because Li Qingrong's math scores were outstanding. The math teacher said not a word and nearly offered to guide her to her seat.

Your Majesty, this way.

Class Three had its own political correctness—what the monitor did naturally had her reasons.

Disagree?

Where did this low-scoring stray dog come from? Throw it out!

As for Jiang Nian? There are always villains near Your Majesty—that's why we speak of purging the court. But some people just haven't activated their Beidou—they can't even find their own location.

A traitor? Where?

I didn't see any traitor.

Your Majesty, congratulations—favorable winds and timely rains, peace and prosperity in the land.

Peace reigns across the four seas!

(End of Chapter)