Chapter 234: Eat, Eat, Eat—Jump on the Table and Eat

She was born stubborn and unwilling to lose, so she bit her lower lip.

"I'll work hard. The monthly exam is coming up soon."

Jiang Nian didn't answer, just kept his head down and ate.

After a while, he finished eating, then turned to look at Lin Yuxi, who was slowly picking at her rice.

"You rank first in the class—have you already made a self-study plan?"

"Huh?" Lin Yuxi froze, but didn't want to admit it. "N-no, I've always just followed the teacher's pace, seriously."

The corner of Jiang Nian's mouth lifted slightly as he spoke unhurriedly.

"Ha, you definitely bought online courses too. Because you figured if you had the energy, you could preview Gao Er's material, so you just bought the whole Gao Er course set."

Lin Yuxi stiffened—he had actually hit the nail on the head.

She had bought a huge pile of courses online, and even found a few singing-tutorial videos.

Planning to get a feel for it, lay some groundwork by self-studying first, then buy the advanced courses.

Morality, intelligence, physique, aesthetics, labor—full bloom across the board.

Even her stationery and pen refills were carefully picked out. New spirit, new persona, new look.

A 985 university within easy grasp, Tsinghua and Peking University a breeze, guaranteed admission on the horizon.

And while she was at it, shine at the arts evening, rise to school-belle status on the strength of a single song.

Best of all, find a handsome upperclassman and have a sweet little romance.

She was starting to panic. This loose-lipped upperclassman was like a peeping little imp.

He'd practically stripped her hand clean of every last card—surely he didn't even know she wanted to date someone

"How did you know?"

"Totally normal. I was the same way back in Gao Yi." Jiang Nian began making things up on the fly. "But I stuck with it and reached my goal."

Hearing that, Lin Yuxi instantly sank into deep self-abasement.

"You're amazing, upperclassman."

"It's nothing. I'm sure you can do it too." Jiang Nian stood up and gently patted her shoulder. "Anyway, do your best."

That retreat was seven or eight steps—he walked straight out of the cafeteria.

After quite a while, Lin Yuxi walked out of the cafeteria.

Sunlight fell on her, but carried not the slightest warmth.

She'd only gotten a tiny bit of useful information from the upperclassman; in the end, it was still a failure.

She couldn't figure it out—how could anyone grade-shame like this!

It was too hard to keep up the act.

Maybe she should just give up?

She headed toward Building C of the Gao Yi teaching block, and had just sat down back in the classroom.

Two boys came in from outside the classroom, looking fairly ordinary.

Not exactly ugly, of course, just a bit childish—they'd been chatting loudly since they walked in.

"Three years of middle school, three years of high school. Sigh, no matter how pretty the girls in high school are, they still can't compare to those girls back in middle school who were just like our bros."

"Yeah, after all, we struggled and went wild together for three years."

"High school life might be great, but honestly, it can never compare to middle school."

Lin Yuxi listened in silence from her seat, and suddenly felt that scoring 840 wasn't that hard after all.

Better just botch the test paper—there's no one in the class she likes.

During the lunch break, Jiang Nian had just been about to lie down.

Chen Yunyun tiptoed in through the classroom's front door and sat down in Wu Jungu's seat.

She tapped Jiang Nian's arm with her finger and spoke in a mysterious tone.

"Want to eat something good?"

Jiang Nian propped his chin on his hand, rubbed it gently for a moment, and his gaze unconsciously slid downward.

"Mm."

Seeing that, Chen Yunyun rolled her eyes.

"What are you thinking?"

Hearing that, Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment, then said uncertainly.

"Is this something I can say?"

Chen Yunyun: "."

The longer they spent together, the more she realized Jiang Nian's makeup was actually pretty simple.

Twenty percent binge-eating, sixty percent pure thirst, twenty percent being a jerk.

"Tomorrow, my parents' friend's son is getting married. We gave a gift but can't be bothered to go. They asked if I wanted to—it's at the Chuyun Hotel on Zhennan Street."

Chen Yunyun pressed her lips together and issued the invitation.

"Do you want to go?"

"A wedding banquet?" Jiang Nian was a bit baffled, not knowing anyone there. "Wait, it's your parents' friend's wedding. They're not going, and you're not going either?"

"I'm going, with Yuhe." Chen Yunyun explained. "Yuhe's family gave a gift too, and her parents don't want to go either, so—"

That's how county towns work—people in business have ridiculously wide networks.

Even strangers can be introduced through friends and get to know each other over a single meal.

"Wouldn't freeloading be a bit rude?" Jiang Nian hesitated.

"It's fine, the three of us will sit at one table." Chen Yunyun explained in a low voice. "My mom told me that lots of the groom and bride's friends can't all sit at the same table."

"We just need to show up; no one will come to toast us."

Jiang Nian understood, and found it hard to keep a straight face.

Dating in a small county is like a spinning hot pot.

You meet a new girlfriend, and ask—she's your cousin's ex, and her ex before that was a colleague.

So, you and I both know the taste of your girlfriend.

A couple matched by family status breaks up, yet still bumps into each other at the neighborhood gate a while later.

Ask them, and they say, "Holy shit, you guys bought a house in this neighborhood too?"

Resources in a small county are too concentrated; most people who stay are there because their families have influence, or because of work or friendship ties—they can't move away.

As a result, when you look for a partner according to family status, you're very likely to end up with someone already in your circle.

The wedding banquet Chen Yunyun mentioned was exactly this kind of typical small-town middle-class family.

A bit of money, lots of friends, wide connections, and a whole network of acquaintances. "Then I'll go—free food's back on the table!" Jiang Nian agreed at once.

"Alright, I'll find you tomorrow at noon." Chen Yunyun got up and quietly returned to her seat.

As soon as she sat down, Wang Yuhe turned to ask.

"Did he agree?"

"Mm." Chen Yunyun nodded, her face expressionless, heart pounding, hands slightly weak, "After school tomorrow noon, we'll walk there together."

Wang Yuhe was shy and dared not go to the wedding banquet alone.

Even if they went together, she was still nervous—until Chen Yunyun suggested bringing Jiang Nian along.

She thought for a moment and immediately agreed.

After all, they'd already given money; both families had given gift envelopes many times the cost of the meal.

There were so many people there; adding one more wouldn't matter—just say they're siblings.

After the two girls reached an agreement, Chen Yunyun, who had a better relationship with Jiang Nian, went to ask.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

Wang Yuhe was a classic elementary school student—her emotions were all written on her face.

Just thinking about going to the wedding banquet tomorrow without social anxiety made her instantly happy.

When there's something to do, find Jiang Nian and Chen Yunyun; she would become the most voracious eating machine.

Eat, eat, eat—spin around and eat.

After Chen Yunyun fell silent, she opened her homework and began writing.

But she couldn't focus at all, thinking about what clothes to wear tomorrow and which shoes to match.

After lunch break.

Li Hua slid into the classroom on his knees, followed by a fat guy.

"It's Thursday already—how far can Sunday be?"

Jiang Nian had just woken up and stood up to let Zhang Nianzhi take her seat.

Baby Zhizhi was dressed as always nicely today—a long coat, shoes of a brand he didn't recognize.

"Did you sleep well at noon?" he asked humbly.

Baby Zhizhi glanced at him, coolly saying.

"Fine. Reward included."

Saying that, Zhang Nianzhi pulled a small snack from her small bag and handed it to Jiang Nian.

"Here."

"Eh! Free stuff!" Jiang Nian happily accepted it.

After all, Zhang Nianzhi didn't miss this little thing—he'd take it now and have an excuse to treat her next time.

This back-and-forth deepened their bond, a daily routine between good desk partners.

Wait, there's another desk partner?

Who?

There was a Chinese class in the afternoon.

Teacher Liu still taught for ten minutes, did problems for ten minutes, explained problems for ten minutes, chatted for ten minutes, and spent the last five minutes on class announcements.

"As per leadership requirements, each class will now have a psychological committee member position, responsible for distributing the grade's weekly psychological reports."

Especially since the Gao San building at Zhennan Middle School has no safety nets, the Gao San grade's overworked teachers feared students might jump, so they created this position.

"Oh, this school has a dedicated psychological counseling room—huge, really huge. It's located in Building D, Room 205, a space formed by merging two classrooms."

Teacher Liu paced around the classroom, his voice clear and loud.

"If any classmate feels emotionally distressed and can't resolve it, and finds it hard to talk to teachers, classmates, or the psychological committee member, you can go to the psychological counseling room."

"The psychological teacher will keep it absolutely confidential—this room stays open after school. Professional teachers take turns on duty."

"In short, nothing is unsolvable. When you face difficulties, there's always a way out—children are born, and we can all figure it out together."

Hearing this, the previously silent classroom erupted in roaring laughter.

Everyone was so blindsided by Teacher Liu's sudden twist that they doubled over laughing for several minutes.

"Teacher, if a child is born, can it take your surname?"

"Teacher, can you take the child's surname?"

"Fatty, are you pregnant?"

"Fuck off."

Amidst the laughter and joking, the dismissal bell rang.

Teacher Liu had thrown himself into the frontline of Gao San students' mental health, setting a great precedent for the psychological committee member election.

"Quiet! Come on, be quiet!"

"Students interested in running for class psychologist, prepare yourselves. During the first Chinese evening self-study, each of you will come up one by one to deliver your campaign speech."

With that, Old Liu left.

The class remained noisy; it could only be said that Old Liu's lame joke was truly invigorating.

Li Hua turned to Jiang Nian and said firmly.

"Nian, I'm running for class psychologist."

"Mm, go ahead," Jiang Nian replied indifferently; he was scrolling through physics and chemistry problems during Chinese class. "By the way, I've got some psychological issues I'd like to consult you about."

"Go ahead, let me practice," Li Hua said confidently.

Zhang Ningzhi had planned to nap during the break, but hearing Jiang Nian mention psychological issues, she couldn't help but grow curious. She leaned on her desk, ears perked up, eavesdropping.

After a moment, Jiang Nian spoke.

"I'm physically male, but I feel inside that I'm a girl. And I'm attracted to girls, so I'm a lesbian. At the same time, I have cross-dressing tendencies—I like wearing men's clothes."

Hearing this, Li Hua froze for a moment, then looked up after thinking.

"So you're just a guy, then?"

Jiang Nian asked again, "Hua, if you get elected as class psychologist, could you help other girls with their psychology? Get one of them to be my girlfriend."

Li Hua: "You're treating me like a magic conch—you're making wishes now?"

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(End of Chapter)