Chapter 25: No, Brother, I Was Just Joking

At the mention of "Nanjiang Bay," Jiang Nian's eyelid twitched; some local students in the class couldn't help but gasp, "Ooo~~~!!"

"Whoa, Nanjiang Bay, a riverside penthouse!"

"Damn, a rich girl stepped right out of a drama!"

Nanjiang Bay was the most expensive housing in the county, not by the river yet offering views of the Nanjiang Riverbank; its bare-shell price peaked at 800,000 yuan, with soft furnishings costing at least another 200,000 yuan.

Though this price couldn't buy a toilet in Shanghai, it was top-tier in Zhennan County; Country Garden was only 5,000 yuan per square meter, while Nanjiang Bay neared 8,000.

People who could afford Nanjiang Bay weren't rare, but in one class, they were definitely rare.

Zhang Ningzhi's face flushed red under her classmates' teasing; she bowed her head and hurried down, pulling out her English textbook, gripping her pen tightly without raising her eyes.

They were assigned to the middle of Group Three, placed in two different groups; coincidentally, Jiang Nian sat directly behind Zhang Ningzhi, slightly to the right near the aisle.

Sorry, I didn't sit by the window in the back row like my hometown.

Just getting promoted to Gao San is good enough—what's there to pick and choose?

Jiang Nian reached out and poked the back of Zhang Ningzhi, slightly left and forward; she stiffened at first, then lifted her head slightly, and from his angle he could see her reddened earlobes.

The girl seemed to muster courage, then hunched her body and turned her head cautiously.

Jiang Nian propped his arm on the desk, looking lazy and carefree; he held a pen between his ring and pinky fingers, smiling at her, mouthing the word "pen."

Zhang Ningzhi's face flushed; she quickly turned her head away, rummaged in her desk drawer for a stationery bag, pulled out a pen refill, paused, then handed him two.

The classmate beside him glanced from Jiang Nian to the front-row Young Lady, his mouth hanging open in an "O." He lowered his voice and asked Jiang Nian curiously.

"Do you two know each other?"

"Sort of."

At lunch dismissal, Zhang Ningzhi instinctively turned to look for Jiang Nian, but he was gone; his seat was empty, and by the door he had already left.

Hmm… she instantly puffed up with anger.

Jiang Nian didn't know anyone was looking for him—he stood up the instant the teacher said class was over. If he went slow to the cafeteria, there'd be no food left; he and Xu Qianqian always ate lunch there.

They never planned meals together—what's the point? By the time you arrange it, there's nothing left.

Childhood friends are birds of the same forest, but at mealtime, each flies off alone.

The cafeteria was packed; Gao Yi and Gao Er students were listless about studying, yet utterly enthusiastic about eating. Pfft, lazy good-for-nothings.

He moved quickly, joining a shorter line; as he glanced up, he thought he spotted a familiar figure—more precisely, a familiar pair of glasses.

Zhou Haifei? Zhou Haifei!

Isn't that my Sister Feifei? The brave T-sis, the shy long-haired girl with glasses.

This year, Zhou Haifei seemed to head toward the bun, steamed bread, and flatbread stall; hardly anyone went there at noon, and her figure vanished quickly into the crowd.

Jiang Nian turned his gaze away, then looked over—and his pupils shrank.

Fuck! That bastard cut the line!

Your mom!

He was so furious his scalp felt like it would explode, but he was too far to confront the guy directly; the student who got cut just accepted it, pretending nothing happened.

Whatever, Jiang Nian didn't want to argue with idiots before eating.

Hopeless—this isn't even a bee sting.

While waiting in line, he pulled out his phone and checked his bank balance: he'd earned 30,000, given 30,000 to his parents, spent 6,000 on classes, now he had…

17,000.

A fortune—for a Gao San student, it was a massive sum.

The line crept forward; Jiang Nian automatically scanned what the cafeteria offered: six yuan for two meat dishes and two vegetables; the school was cheap only for meals, everything else was expensive.

He got a six-yuan meal, found an empty seat, and ate his chicken leg rice while scrolling on his phone.

After eating, he went outside to buy Xu Qianqian a room-temperature fruit tea, and grabbed an extra one to give to Song Xiuyun.

Of course, under Xu Qianqian's name.

Girlfriends like that need maintenance—or you'll lose them.

But Song Xiuyun seemed unimpressed; when no one was watching, she dragged Jiang Nian to a quiet stairwell, head down.

She glanced around, saw no one, then lowered her voice, eyes red, and demanded.

"Why are you buying classes from my mom again?! Are you…?"

"Wait." Jiang Nian cut off her incantation before it began. "Food can be eaten carelessly, but words can't be spoken recklessly—does your mom know you're interrogating her VIP client?"

"No, bro, I was just saying it for fun." Song Xiuyun looked pained, scratching her head. "Do you really want to be my dad? You've already topped her leaderboard."

"You're mistaken—I just want to get fit." Jiang Nian looked utterly sincere.

Song Xiuyun fell silent, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Then why did you buy ninety classes from her?"

"Because I'm kind."

"Go die! You really are!!" Song Xiuyun instantly cracked, wanting to leap and bite him. "Jiang Nian, what will it take for you to…?"

"That depends on your performance."

"What does that mean?"

"My shoulders are a bit sore—ah, I've absorbed all the suffering of studying." Jiang Nian stood at the stairwell entrance, pretending to stretch his shoulders while watching Song Xiuyun's reaction.

She understood perfectly, gritted her teeth, and said:

"Fine, I'll rub them for you."

She walked reluctantly behind him, tiptoed, and began massaging his shoulders; finding her strength insufficient, she switched to pounding them instead.

"Hey, why aren't you smiling?"

Song Xiuyun sneered.

"You're not cute at all—not even as cute as you…"

Song Xiuyun forced out a cute girl's smile with great reluctance.

Jiang Nian left, leaving behind a single sentence.

"During National Day, help me copy my English homework—I really don't want to write it."

Song Xiuyun: "........"

After lunch break, Jiang Nian returned two pen refills to Zhang Ningzhi. But somehow, the Young Lady seemed off—her gaze toward him carried a hint of grievance.

??????

What the hell?

In the afternoon, Zhang Ningzhi kept her head down, writing her homework like a little ostrich. She dared not look up; when people nearby spoke, she merely strained her ears to listen.

Jiang Nian was naturally laid-back, academically average, but socially brilliant. In just one afternoon, he was already chatting and laughing with the students in front, behind, and beside him.

"Holy shit! You memorized all three thousand five hundred words?"

"Yeah."

"You really ought to die—it hurts, it hurts so much." His desk mate, Li Hua, was average-looking, with dark skin, the top student in English essays but a clumsy pigeon in real life.

Jiang Nian was enjoying his conversation, about to turn and say something, when he caught the Young Lady's glance back—her eyes filled with wounded reproach.

"????"

He hadn't offended her—where exactly had he gone wrong?

In the afternoon, perhaps intentionally or not, Jiang Nian ran into Young Lady Zhou Haifei again in the cafeteria. She seemed to remember him too—her gaze lingered on his face for a second before she lowered her head and walked away.