Chapter 24: Miss of Nanjiang Bay

The heavy book basket fell to the ground; Jiang Nian straightened his back and wiped away sweat that wasn't there.

Zhang Nianzhi handed him a tissue; he shoved it straight into his pocket. The girl stared, dumbfounded, mouth open and speechless.

Jiang Nian was in good spirits. "Oh, I'm keeping it to wipe the table later—I'm in Class 403 too."

"Really?" Zhang Nianzhi brightened. Joining a new group with someone familiar was always comforting. "Just come to me for tissues from now on."

At school, tissues were hard currency.

Zhang Nianzhi was genuinely delighted. The promotion list only showed students from your own class. She hadn't known the boy sitting behind her in the exam hall had also been promoted.

She rummaged in her desk drawer, then pulled out another pack of tissues and handed them to Jiang Nian.

With the box of fruit milk he'd given her earlier, accepting her gifts felt natural; their relationship grew closer through this back-and-forth.

Soon, another boy arrived at the door of Class 403—glasses on his face, quiet and reserved. Jiang Nian noticed he was moving his desk alone and went over to help.

"Bro, you got promoted too?"

"Yeah. I'm Yu Tongjie."

"I'm Jiang Nian. This little beauty is Zhang Nianzhi." He greeted them, introducing Zhang Nianzhi along the way. "There aren't many of us in 403—probably just the three of us."

Zhang Nianzhi spoke softly; Yu Tongjie was naturally quiet. After a few brief exchanges, silence settled again in the corridor.

Jiang Nian gave up, leaning his arms on the corridor railing to gaze into the distance.

Zhennan County Middle School sits at the heart of the old town street; the old campus lies in the busiest area. Beyond it runs a main road lined with shops for clothing, food, housing, and daily necessities.

Two large supermarkets stand side by side; People's Hospital No. 1 and No. 2 are arranged nearby; at the bend's end lies the Zhennan County Government. The Education Bureau faces the school across the street; beyond it, roads stretch out, dotted with all kinds of offices.

The Agriculture Bureau, Maternal and Child Health Center, Disease Prevention Station, Tax Bureau—a dozen institutions cluster like stars around Zhennan County Middle School, with not a single high-rise in sight.

Only after walking one kilometer outward do you reach low-rise old residential compounds. Beyond that lies the upscale residential area Nanjiang Bay, where bare-unit prices exceed eight hundred thousand.

Further out lies the riverbank, where a branch of the Nanjiang River flows into Zhennan County, forming an alluvial plain.

The county government built Nanjiang Park along the shore; the Zhennan Bridge connects to distant mountains, home to Qingmu Ridge—one of the county's most famous spots for hiking and watching sunrise.

Buzz buzz buzz—the morning run ended; a clamor rose from the stairwell.

The Olympiad class's academic giants arrived.

Compared to regular classes, the Olympiad class is like an outer disciple. Class Zero is the inner disciple—the grade's darling, the reserve force for Tsinghua and Peking University.

The Olympiad class had a relaxed atmosphere, similar to regular classes. A group of boys laughed and shouted as they climbed the stairs, chasing each other; girls moved in small clusters, like swift white seagulls.

Before entering the classroom, they glanced curiously at the three carrying desks and chairs, quickly realizing these were the promoted students.

But whether they were truly new students remained uncertain—promotion exams happened twice: once at the end of September, once at the end of October. September was a diagnostic test; October was the eighteen-county joint exam.

November brought the six-city joint exam; year-end saw the provincial exam led by the Education Department.

All homeroom teachers had explained this clearly: promotion opportunities existed only in September and October, but they didn't affect internal class stability.

It was hard for those below to rise up, and just as hard for those in the Olympiad class to drop down. The main fluctuations came from the promoted group—those who couldn't adapt or whose scores were inflated would be demoted.

In the end, the October joint exam didn't affect Olympiad class students—it was merely a quality check on the promoted few, and the last chance for lower classes to gain promotion.

Zhang Nianzhi lowered her head under the scrutiny of countless eyes, instinctively hiding behind Jiang Nian like a shy ostrich.

Jiang Nian found it amusing and asked curiously.

"How many points did you get this time?"

Zhang Nianzhi looked up and whispered a score. "Six hundred and nine."

Holy shit—this was the real demon lord! A regular class student scored like a top-tier college candidate!

Though it was only a diagnostic test with relatively easy questions—even unremarkable in the Olympiad class—in the regular class... it was an absolute, unchallenged #1.

"What about you?" Zhang Nianzhi asked.

"Lower than yours—five hundred and seventy-three." Jiang Nian smiled.

"Oh, five hundred and seventy-three." Zhang Nianzhi didn't know how to comfort, murmuring softly, "It's fine—five hundred and seventy-three is still very high."

Shit, Baby Zhizhi, you didn't get your fill.

Jiang Nian didn't care much about scores; as long as he maintained a mid-level standing, it was fine. The knowledge was already etched in his mind; with some understanding, exams were easy to handle.

As for chasing the top, he had no such ambition.

What are you kidding? I fight Sōsuke?

Soon, the homeroom teacher of Class 403 arrived. Short, thin, with sparse hair and black-rimmed glasses, he introduced himself as Liu Liangsong, the Chinese teacher.

Liu Liangsong told the three to wait a moment, then entered the classroom to announce some matters. He assigned a few students to help the three demoted students move their desks downstairs, offering them a few words of encouragement before they left.

One boy had a great attitude. "Old Liu, thank goodness I didn't get into your support group—if I had, wouldn't you be wasting your time? Will we meet again, Old Liu?"

"When we meet again, be happy, okay, Old Liu..."

Old Liu was speechless. "Just study hard. Don't pull stupid stunts. Raise your grades."

Finally, Old Liu sighed and turned to the three newcomers. He asked each their name, trying to match names with scores.

"Go in. Zhang Nianzhi and Jiang Nian, take the empty seats in Group Three. Yu Tongjie, Group One."

At the back of the classroom, someone had already peeked out curiously.

Jiang Nian glanced at Zhang Nianzhi and offered.

"We're both in Group Three. Let me help you move your stuff in first?"

"Okay."

Liu Liangsong had planned to call a few class officers to help, but hearing Jiang Nian say that, he dropped the idea. Moving a desk wasn't a big deal.

So, under everyone's watchful eyes, Jiang Nian carried Zhang Nianzhi's desk inside first; she then stepped out to help him bring in the chair.

Meanwhile, Yu Tongjie had also moved his desk and chair, settling into a seat against the wall in Group One.

The English teacher arrived; Homeroom Teacher Liu Liangsong smiled apologetically, taking a few minutes to have Jiang Nian and the other two introduce themselves one by one.

Jiang Nian went first. "I'm Jiang Nian, from Class 303 downstairs..."

With his example, Yu Tongjie went second, basically repeating Jiang Nian's template—simple introduction: name, where he came from, where he lived.

After all, it isn't October yet, so they can't really be counted as classmates—just pick out the key points and that'll be enough.

Zhang Nianzhi was a bit timid, the last one to go up, and stammered out a few words.

"I... my name is Zhang Nianzhi, my previous class was 307, and my home is over in Nanjiang Bay."