Chapter 233

Jiang Nian was standing in line at the school cafeteria, not seeing Xu Qianqian and the others.

When he turned his head, he spotted someone from his class.

"Bottom-tier girl, let me cut in."

"Get lost!" Yu Zhiyi, positioned diagonally across from Jiang Nian, crossed her arms. "You're the bottom-tier girl—I've finally figured you out. You just love throwing insults."

"Pfft." Jiang Nian didn't care, lowering his head to play with his phone.

He actually.

Forget it, no need to explain—nobody asked anyway.

Solid color.

I don't like you, but Pikachu is innocent.

Even in fire, water, grass, forests, soil, clouds, or that girl's skirt. Forgot the rest—basically, I just like Poké Balls.

After getting his food, Jiang Nian put away his phone and started looking for a seat.

The cafeteria was a scorching battlefield, packed shoulder to shoulder. A quick glance revealed nothing but Gao Yi dogs. These bastards were lazy in class but first in line for food.

Fighting for food wasn't bad—after all, the early bird gets the worm. Survival of the fittest was natural law—but using books to reserve seats? That was going too far.

Some people dawdled, buying drinks or fetching seaweed soup after getting food before sitting down. Half the seats were empty, yet the aisles were crowded with people searching for places.

Jiang Nian was done with it, but he still had to keep looking.

"Sit with me?"

A clear voice sounded—he ignored it outright.

Fuck, standing too long gave me hallucinations.

Cafeteria girl?

"Shit, there's not even a single seat left." Jiang Nian scanned the room, muttering to himself. "If this keeps up, I'll just carry my tray out and eat somewhere else."

Not everyone could tolerate the pigsty-like dining environment—some hardcore types carried their meals to shady spots by the basketball court.

In the North Dormitory cafeteria, there were even geniuses who carried their trays straight back to their dorms.

What happened to the trays afterward? That depended entirely on conscience. Some returned their chopsticks and trays; others tossed them straight into the trash—getting their tuition's worth.

Jiang Nian found going outside too much trouble, and he couldn't cross the mental barrier either.

After all, tossing your tray counted as one of the campus's top ten hardcore acts—ranked alongside top-three acts: doing unspeakable things on the rooftop, or fooling around with your girlfriend in class despite the risks.

Compared to that, it was better to just eat in the cafeteria.

"Is my voice that quiet?"

The crisp voice came again, and she tugged his jacket.

Jiang Nian realized it wasn't a hallucination—he looked down.

It was a girl wearing Gao Yi uniform; though the blue-black uniform was loose and bulky, a closer look revealed her slender figure.

Looking down, he saw her Bai Xi neck. Her hair was tied in the school's standard ponytail, her features delicate, her skin very pale—a textbook Gao Yi cutie.

Staring longer would be rude, Gao San old man.

"Oh~ You're talking to me?" Jiang Nian snapped back to reality, tearing his gaze away from the girl.

He couldn't help but think: so young.

He himself had once been a fresh-faced Gao Yi kid, full of longing for high school life. But two years passed, everything changed—he'd turned into an old cabbage overnight.

After looking, he felt moved—the corpse was warm.

"Senior, you can sit beside me." The girl lifted her small face, her eyes clean and clear. "Hurry up, or the seat will be gone."

She'd even used a tiny bit of coercion—honestly, it worked a little.

Jiang Nian panicked and sat down immediately.

In the crowded, noisy cafeteria, the two now sat side by side, arms touching, slightly squeezed together—and they were complete strangers.

"Thank you, senior—"

He stopped mid-sentence. In his small county, there were no fancy terms like "senior" or "junior." Those were city people's games; country bumpkins just called names outright.

"Student who studies really well."

The girl turned her head in disbelief—truthfully, her wrist holding the chopsticks was also pale. Her sleeves were rolled up, her arms whiter than white.

Bat-like? Raised to be nocturnal since childhood?

Her big eyes showed shock, then confusion.

"Senior, how do you know I study well?"

Unknown name for now.

But that didn't stop Jiang Nian from socializing—he'd chat with anyone anyway.

"Of course from your aura—you're the type who always goes up on stage to receive awards after exams."

"You're exaggerating, senior." The girl laughed. "I can only score around seven hundred, occasionally hit eight hundred."

"That's pretty average," Jiang Nian said.

Gao Yi's total score is 1050; excellence means getting at least 80%, so 840 or above—which translates to over 600 in Gao San terms.

Her level was at best a middle-tier student—roughly 525 to 578 in Gao San scores.

Jiang Nian scored 590, which rounds up to 600. In Gao Yi terms, that's about 826—clearly far higher than hers.

The girl nearly choked on her saliva—she'd met a low-empathy guy. Clearly annoyed, she unconsciously bit her lower lip and muttered defensively.

"It's not that little—I'm top in my class."

"Parallel class, right?" The bottom-tier guy pressed on.

"Senior, you—" The girl nearly spat blood, but she ventured a question: "Are you in the Olympiad class?"

Jiang Nian pulled back, ending the topic.

"Don't call me senior, I have a name. Chu-bu-shi, just call me Xiao Jiang."

The girl froze, thinking to herself, is it really okay to call him that?

Xiao... Jiang?

"Wouldn't that be a bit weird? It makes me sound like I'm already in high school—no, wait." The girl pressed her lips together. "Like I've already started working, too old."

"Then how about calling me Uncle? Uncle me."

"It makes Jiang you too old."???? "Ginger gets spicier with age, perfectly reasonable."

"Senior Jiang, puns cost money!" The girl giggled, her eyes curving into crescents. "I'm Lin Yuxi, the Yu from 'Jiang bi niao yu bai.'"

"Oh oh, thanks for giving up your seat for me—no, anyway, thanks for giving me the seat." Jiang Nian said sincerely, "Otherwise I'd probably still be standing in the aisle right now."

"Of course, standing while eating isn't bad either."

From the moment Lin Yuxi and Jiang Nian started chatting, she hadn't stopped laughing. From when Jiang Nian sat down until now, she hadn't taken a single bite of food.

"Senior, aren't you curious why I saved the seat for you?"

"Enthusiastic group member."

"It's not because of that at all. I saw you playing ball yesterday." Lin Yuxi giggled, not hiding her joy at all. "So amazing, so cool."

Jiang Nian's eating motion paused, he turned to look at Lin Yuxi, his gaze gradually filling with confusion.

"I didn't come yesterday, I took the day off."

Lin Yuxi's eyes widened, and she let out an "Ah."

"How could that be?"

"So you've got the wrong person. I have a cousin the same age as me." Jiang Nian didn't want to get tangled up with a stalker. "In fact, he looks a lot like me."

Lin Yuxi gripped her blue meal card tightly, a little annoyed.

"Senior, stop pretending, I know it's you! Xiao Jiang."

Jiang Nian glanced at her, unmoved.

"I'm Old Jiang."

Lin Yuxi was a bit out of breath. In just a few short minutes, he had shattered her youthful idol filter of Jiang Nian. Such a good-looking person, how could he have such a mouth?

Forget it, good-looking is enough.

Thinking of yesterday's half-court shot scene, Lin Yuxi couldn't help her heart fluttering. Standing with her girlfriends at the time, she couldn't help but scream out loud.

So... so cool.

It's just that she didn't know why, the senior kept denying it so hard, looking like he didn't want to admit it.

Could it be... indifferent to fame and fortune?

Hehe, she liked him even more.

Good-looking, plays ball cool, in the Olympiad class, and low-key as a person, and his manners... well, his manners are at least passable for a human, doesn't matter, anyway there must be very few messy peach blossoms!

Doesn't that mean she has a chance?

She was clear about her own advantage—who doesn't like the fresh ones?

Done.

"Senior, can we be friends?" Lin Yuxi bit her lower lip, looking pitiful. "I'm very curious about Gao San, I want to ask you some questions."

Jiang Nian was busy eating, thought for a moment, then smiled.

"No can do, it's not score discrimination haha, it's just that I don't befriend anyone below eight hundred points."

Lin Yuxi couldn't hold it in—how is this not score discrimination?

Won't sit at the same table with low-scorers, huh!

"Senior, can we add each other on QQ?"

"Can you get 840?"

Lin Yuxi: "..."

On the other side, the dormitory cafeteria was packed with people.

Ceng You was eating while reading, completely absorbed.

He had already finished "Eternal Life," his head full of kill-kill-kill and kneel-down-be-a-dog. Now he'd switched to another book with a yellow cover, and had taken a liking to "Ice Fire Magic Chef."

Simply Qin Shi Huang on a swing—flashy beyond limits.

The pinnacle of traditional kung fu, Tai Chi Eight Wastes.

Wu Jun Gu across the seat frowned tightly, seemingly tangled over something.

After hesitating for a while, he suddenly looked up and asked.

"Ceng You, want to go to a banquet?"

"Cough cough!!" Ceng You nearly choked on his rice, barely holding back the urge to spit out his food, slapped his chest twice hard before catching his breath. "What did you say?"

Seeing this, Wu Jun Gu realized the other had misunderstood.

"My older cousin is getting married, tomorrow she's holding a banquet at Chuyun Grand Hotel. My aunt wants me to go eat, it'd be a bit awkward going alone, so I wanted to find a companion to go together."

Hearing this, Ceng You finally caught on.

A real banquet.

Chuyun Grand Hotel is located between Zhennan Avenue and the riverside, not far from the school. Calling it a grand hotel, it's actually just a small restaurant.

But no matter what you say, in this small county town the setup is top-tier.

Besides, as everyone knows, wedding banquet dishes are generally top-notch. Whatever's expensive, that's what they serve—soft-shelled turtle, pork knuckle, lobster, beef, chicken, duck, fish, and pressed pork, nothing missing.

Gulp, he absolutely couldn't refuse.

Even so, Ceng You still hesitated for a moment.

"Then do I need to give a gift?"

"Like hell I'm going."

Thud!

Yang Qiming set the cola upright on the table and let out a long, drawn-out "Ah~."

"My mom already had someone deliver the gift for us. If anyone asks, just say we're two brothers. It's a distant relative's wedding—how would they know how many sons my mom has? Besides, they won't even ask."

Yang Qiming picked up his chopsticks, saw Huang Cailang still hesitating, and added another line.

"I don't want to go alone. If you don't go, I won't go either."

Hearing this, Huang Cailang was dumbfounded.

"How can that be!"

The thought of softshell turtle, pork knuckle, lobster, steamed pork with rice flour—all of them leaving him behind—made him feel like dying. If he wasn't afraid of death, would he still fear taking a little risk?

"Oh? Going?" Yang Qiming asked.

"Going!"

(End of chapter)