Chapter 274: Thank You to Our Patron, Live in the Illusion of the Era

Boom! Splash splash

Outside, fierce winds howled and rain poured in torrents.

The classroom curtains were drawn tight, lights blazing, the air stifling and damp-cold.

The morning still consisted of the weekly quiz, but aside from switching seats, the atmosphere was no different from a regular self-study session.

At the podium, the math teacher solved problems while proctoring.

A roll of thunder crashed through, and the class erupted in a chorus of female screams, mixed with strange noises that made it hard to keep a straight face.

"Ah!"

"You're a guy—what the hell are you grabbing?!"

"The guys in this class are really perverted."

Wang Yuhe slipped a glance out the window while the math teacher wasn't looking, seeing the rain pouring down like a waterfall.

She jumped back, pressing her face onto the desk, inhaling the smell of ink on the test paper. She hadn't expected the rain to be this heavy—it hadn't been like this last class.

It made her think of a disaster movie she'd watched before. At first, people thought it was just a light rain, until the downpour lasted a full week.

The entire neighborhood flooded, then the community, then the city—everything in sight turned into a churning sea of muddy yellow.

After that, the male and female leads suddenly started dating, so she stopped watching.

Zhang Ningzhi's quiz seat was by the window; a crack of thunder nearly scared her to death.

She remembered last time thunder struck, she'd whispered her fears to Jiang Nian. That heartless bastard had scared her with a story about ball lightning.

He claimed that during heavy rain, floating spheres of lightning form—and if a person touches one, they turn to dust.

Back then, Zhang Ningzhi had been so angry she ignored him for two classes, thinking that if he realized his mistake, she might generously forgive him.

But when she turned around, she found him chatting with Li Hua.

Now, unbelievably, she remembered it again. Afraid a bolt might strike the classroom while she sat helplessly by the window.

If anything happened, she'd be the first to take the hit.

Fortunately, the rain outside was slowly easing, and no accidents occurred.

The downpour lasted a full hour, only beginning to subside as the weekly math quiz neared its end.

Meanwhile.

Jiang Nian was also writing his math test, rushing through it. He got stuck on a problem, and with the cramped seat, he grew increasingly irritated.

They'd switched seats once on Sunday, but during the quiz, everyone had long stopped caring. After the test, they'd just return to their original spots and go back to what they were doing.

Before, at least they'd clear their desks. Now, they just shoved books under their chairs. The seats had grown tighter, making everything feel constricted.

Even if the person taking the quiz beside him was the class monitor, it still

Li Qingrong turned her head, glancing at Jiang Nian squirming in his seat.

Her gaze held curiosity as it drifted to his test paper. She noticed he was stuck on a problem, and her eyes lowered.

Jiang Nian was buried in calculations when he suddenly felt someone tap him.

He was about to turn when a slender, pale finger entered his field of vision—slow-motion, then a pale hand followed.

I have to say, the squad leader's hands are really fair-skinned.

He watched as that hand paused for an instant on his scratch paper, then tapped a step of his work, gesturing a number.

3.

Why did it look like OK?

Jiang Nian wasn't sure, his expression slightly hesitant.

He thought: someone like the class monitor wouldn't gesture OK, right? So it must be 3—but the number I calculated isn't 3 at all?

Where did it come from?

Li Qingrong, seeing his hesitation, grew puzzled.

She thought: Jiang Nian shouldn't be unable to calculate a 3. It must be something else—but better safe than sorry, she'd write it again.

So Li Qingrong used her finger to gesture the number once more on his scratch paper.

Jiang Nian's mind wandered: such beautiful hands—if she were my girlfriend, the first second we got together, would I hold her hand first or lick it?

A bit perverted, but that was his inner voice.

Seeing he still gave no reaction, Li Qingrong retracted her hand, glancing at him again with a hint of exasperation.

As if to say: what do you do with someone this dumb?

Jiang Nian didn't care at all—he turned directly to look at Li Qingrong's answer. Since it was already no different from cheating, he might as well go all the way.

He saw the answer clearly: √2.

The dismissal bell rang.

The sky remained dark; every classroom on the Gao San floor glowed with light.

Those with umbrellas had already left; those without were frantic. Some asked dormitory students to bring umbrellas; others simply ran home in the rain.

Luo Yong weighed the rain outside, still hesitating whether to dash out.

He wasn't a boarding student or a day student—he rented an apartment near the school's faculty housing, just a hundred meters away.

Living alone had many advantages: meals and lodging were convenient, and he could even nap back at his place after afternoon classes, though it was a bit wasteful with paper.

He was still hesitating when someone tapped his shoulder—he turned to see Lin Dong.

"Huh?"

"No umbrella?" Lin Dong asked.

"Yeah, damn," Luo Yong sighed, frowning. "I don't know if the rain'll let up soon—if I run now, I might get soaked."

"What's to fear? If it gets heavier later, you'll get even more soaked," Lin Dong said.

Luo Yong was convinced, and turned to ask Lin Dong.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Let's go!"

The two of them left the classroom together and vanished into the depths of the corridor, diving into the crowded crowd heading downstairs, about to reach the bottom.

Luo Yong suddenly turned his head and looked at Lin Dong, asking.

"Your dorm is so far—do you just shower right after getting soaked?"

Hearing this, Lin Dong stared at Luo Yong in confusion.

"Why would I get soaked?"

Under Luo Yong's astonished gaze, Lin Dong tapped the shoulder of a girl ahead.

The girl turned around; Luo Yong recognized her—she was the math representative from the neighboring class.

Lin Dong had chatted with her on QQ, so he warmly struck up a conversation. But Luo Yong didn't know any of this—he just froze, dumbfounded in place.

We're all brothers—I keep my brother in my pocket, but you kick yours into the gutter?

On the first floor, many students without umbrellas—or waiting for them—waited anxiously. Many had already pulled out their phones and were staring down at them.

Soon, Luo Yong turned and saw Lin Dong walking into the rain with the neighboring class's math representative, sharing one umbrella.

He stared at the retreating figures, his heart cold and hollow, utterly devoid of warmth.

Jiang Nian didn't bring an umbrella, yet he wasn't in the least worried.

During break, he told Chen Yunyun to pick up his meal when returning to the classroom—but at the time, it was half-joking, and whether she did it depended on the weather.

Later, when the rain intensified, Jiang Nian specifically got up and reminded her again not to bring it.

After all, the dorm and cafeteria were far from the teaching building, the path was full of puddles, and it was still raining—running back and forth would soak you, and washing your hair would be pointless.

If Chen Yunyun and the others went back to wash their hair, it made more sense to just rest in the dorm during lunch.

As for how he'd handle it? He'd just wait.

After all, Baby Zhizhi was here.

So the wait-and-see party never loses.

Jiang Nian turned his head and saw Zhang Nenzhi packing up, so he asked.

"Do you have an umbrella?"

The world is vast, but your desk partner is king—except for dogs.

Although Jiang Nian sometimes liked to deliberately annoy Zhang Nenzhi, they were still desk partners. In a situation like this, asking a desk partner was easiest.

Zhang Nenzhi finished tidying her desk and looked up at him.

"Yeah."

"Great, then I've got an umbrella too."

Zhang Nenzhi didn't bother arguing with him; after thinking a moment, she suggested.

"My dad's coming to pick me up—come with me to the school gate, and I'll give you the umbrella?"

Jiang Nian was stunned—he thought, So I have to meet your dad? I just need to borrow an umbrella, no need for that, and even if I did, it shouldn't be Chi Yu Tian.

"No need to go through all that—just drop me off at the cafeteria entrance."

"Oh."

Jiang Nian didn't overthink it—he took the umbrella from Zhang Nenzhi's hand and they went downstairs together.

The corridor wasn't crowded; most who could leave had already done so at lunch. Looking out from the fourth floor, the sky was overcast, and nearly every classroom still had its lights on.

He remarked, "So many people don't have umbrellas."

Hearing this, Zhang Nenzhi couldn't help but glance into other classrooms.

"Then how do they get back?"

"How should I know? Blame them for not having a good desk partner." Jiang Nian grinned mischievously, his true nature showing, "Holy shit, they heard that—let's go!"

Zhang Nenzhi was pulled forward by him, stumbling down the stairs in a daze.

Outside the first-floor corridor, the lobby displayed a giant LED screen: 【200 DAYS LEFT UNTIL THE COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM】.

She glanced at it, instantly startled by the red numbers, then turned to him.

"Jiang Nian, in two more days, the countdown hits one hundred."

"What the hell is 'hitting one hundred'?" Jiang Nian glanced at the rain mist and scoffed.

The rain outside wasn't heavy; Zhang Nenzhi's umbrella was in his hand, so he held it. Walking from the cafeteria to the school gate was a decent stretch.

"A hundred and some days left—look at the wall," Zhang Nenzhi pointed at the countdown.

"Yeah, cherish your desk partner," Jiang Nian glanced at her, then opened the pink umbrella, "Let's go—I'll just sprint the rest of the way."

The two walked into the rain under one umbrella, and Zhang Nenzhi couldn't help asking again.

"You're dropping me off at the cafeteria side path—then how do you get back to the classroom?"

"Dunno, who cares," Jiang Nian shrugged, genuinely not thinking ahead, "Maybe I'll find someone I know, or just borrow another umbrella."

"Oh." Zhang Nenzhi didn't have the courage to borrow an umbrella from a stranger.

But boys were usually bold—she didn't press further. Still, she vaguely felt Jiang Nian seemed reluctant to meet her father.

He seemed guilty somehow—was this just how boys were?

Whatever. We'll talk about it later.

Jiang Nian didn't know she was lost in thought—he saw they were almost at the cafeteria. He was about to return the umbrella to Zhang Nenzhi and dash the rest of the way in the rain.

Suddenly, his peripheral vision caught her collar not properly tucked.

He didn't think much—good desk partners do everything. He reached over, smoothed her collar, and instantly flattened it.

Zhang Nenzhi was still daydreaming when she suddenly felt something brush her neck.

She snapped back to attention and realized Jiang Nian was adjusting her collar—his fingers had brushed her neck, cool, but her face flushed red instantly.

Her face turned red all the way to her ears, her voice slightly stammering.

"W-what's wrong?"