Chapter 275: We Need a New

Outside the cafeteria path, the rain still fell.

Jiang Nian held an umbrella, puzzled by her overreaction—he hadn't touched anything inappropriate.

"Nothing much, your collar's not properly tucked."

"Oh, okay." Zhang Ningzhi's voice was soft and light, her face nearly bursting red, her eyes darting everywhere, "Thank you, but if next time—"

"Next time, can you at least tell me first?"

"Hmm, fine." Jiang Nian glanced at her, catching the drift, and ventured, "Is your neck especially sensitive?"

Those words instantly flushed Zhang Ningzhi crimson; she denied it three times in a row.

"No way! Don't say that! Pervert!"

Oddly enough, Jiang Nian found the scolding oddly satisfying.

"Fine, fine, I'll say it."

"You!! Bai Yanlang!" Zhang Ningzhi was furious, punching his arm, "I should've left you out in the rain!"

"Hehe, got it."

"You're so annoying!" Zhang Ningzhi punched him again.

She took the umbrella but didn't immediately turn and leave. Instead, she held it over him, forcibly shoving him toward the cafeteria entrance before walking off.

Jiang Nian stood at the cafeteria entrance, watching until the small pink umbrella vanished from view.

Only then did he turn and plunge into the cafeteria's lunch line. Inside, it was packed—the damp floor from the rain made it even more crowded.

The rain outside the playground hadn't let up—how was he supposed to get back?

Begging to share someone else's umbrella? That's just something you tell kids. He was a cafeteria lone wolf. With so many people eating, the chance of running into someone he knew was slim.

Forcing himself onto a stranger's umbrella? Just a joke.

Since that was settled, he'd eat first.

After getting his meal, he found a quiet spot to sit and eat.

He liked scrolling through short videos while eating, thanks to the recommendation algorithm. The first video recommended always had relatively little fabric.

This wasn't because he was lewd—quite the opposite! Because he was studious!

It just so happened that the knowledge-focused Douyin influencers dressed quite lightly. They explained it as cross-dressing, and he had to respect that.

After all, knowledge mattered more.

When he pulled out his phone, he carefully adjusted the details and muted it early, so no one beside him could see what he was watching—later, it wouldn't matter.

Suddenly, a voice sounded beside him, filled with surprise.

"Senior!"

"Don't call me 'Senior,'" Jiang Nian sighed, putting away his phone and turning to see the familiar face—who else but Lin Yuxi.

"Do you live in the cafeteria? How do you keep running into me?"

Jiang Nian's tone was harsh, but she didn't care.

On the contrary, if Jiang Nian were sweet and gentle—a warm, soft-spoken guy—she'd lose interest. The harsher he was, the more she wanted to charge right at him.

"Because I always do ten minutes of homework after class before coming down to eat!" Lin Yuxi clenched her fist, looking impressively driven.

"Low-score—"

"Don't call me Low-Score!" Lin Yuxi flushed red, nearly turning to storm off, "Senior, if you keep saying that, I'll get mad!"

"And then?" Jiang Nian asked curiously.

"I'll get mad—but only a little mad." Lin Yuxi's limits were remarkably flexible, "I'll save it up. When we're closer later, I'll settle the old accounts."

"How dare you assume we'll even have a 'later'?"

"Won't we?" Lin Yuxi put on a pitiful expression.

Jiang Nian glanced at the umbrella beside her feet, then said thoughtfully:

"For today, maybe."

Lin Yuxi: "????"

They were both speaking Chinese, yet she couldn't understand a word.

In truth, women adorn themselves for those who please them.

Lin Yuxi liked Jiang Nian's type—good-looking, good at studying, and played basketball, meaning he was physically fit—a well-rounded development of virtue, intellect, and physique.

Just like boys who like big chests, but when asked what kind of girl they like, they'll lie through their teeth and say "inner beauty."

So she saw no reason to be consistent between heart and mouth.

She liked good personalities—but that didn't stop her from liking good physiques. Too effeminate? No thanks. Put on a skirt and she might be more feminine than he was.

There were a few handsome guys in first year who excelled in virtue, intellect, physique, aesthetics, and labor—but either they were too soft, or outright uninterested in women.

So perfection wasn't a good thing. Too-perfect boys either wanted to top another guy, or wanted to be topped.

They went straight from crush objects to rivals.

"God, you're so hot!"

"Holy shit, how are you even sexier than me?"

Left no room for an 80-point girl—couldn't compete, couldn't out-seduce.

Looking at it this way, Jiang Nian stood out brilliantly—an actual guiding star in the dark, his hormones impossible to hide except for his cough.

Of course, first you had to ignore his venomous mouth.

More importantly, Lin Yuxi was certain Jiang Nian was currently single—and extremely lewd, a boy with extreme sexual orientation.

A one-way plug, not a two-way one.

The godlike handsome guys in first year nearly knocked her out cold. First she saw a god, then a goddess, then a super-handsome guy who was a double plug.

Too much, too much—straight girl on her knees.

There was simply no substitute, so he had no choice but to work hard.

She never imagined the first obstacle blocking her obsessive romance would be obsessive studying.

Jiang Nian also never imagined he'd become a master of persuasion, first "persuading" Zhou Yuting into the Olympiad, then guiding the academic slacker Le Zhi onto the right path.

Now he's pressuring the low-scorer Lin Yuxi, who keeps coming to him repeatedly.

Whether there's a future is unknown, but the path ahead will surely be bright.

He's going to create a new "Persuasion to Study"!

Does Xunzi ride in a carriage? He walks too!

Mid-meal, Lin Yuxi put down her spoon, turned to Jiang Nian, and said seriously.

"Senior, you're not allowed to call me low anymore."

"Low-scorer," Jiang Nian cheerfully added.

"Didn't I say not to say that?!" Lin Yuxi nearly spat blood.

Jiang Nian didn't know why those three words struck the low-scorer's sore spot, but he was a kind man, so he immediately agreed.

"Alright."

"You can call me by my full name, or Xixi." She pulled a little trick.

"Xixi?"

Lin Yuxi: "Senior, that's not funny at all."

"It's fine—I think it's pretty funny," Jiang Nian said indifferently. "How about this: if we're changing names, you stop calling me Senior too."

"Then what should I call you?" Lin Yuxi thought inwardly: lowdown senior.

He paused a moment, then spoke to Lin Yuxi.

"I'm socially anxious. You can call me by my childhood nickname."

"Mm-hmm," Lin Yuxi nodded.

"When I was little, I loved peeing everywhere, so my nickname is Xixi."

Lin Yuxi was utterly speechless—what kind of mouth does this guy have? But it didn't matter; she endured it. Even the most poisonous tongue is soft when kissed.

"Pick another."

"Oh, looks like you don't get my humor."

"You saying that is funny, haha," Lin Yuxi thought, wondering how someone could be so absurd—but still, he was interesting.

"Alright then, call me Jiang Nian, or Brother X from now on."

"Fine, but you're not allowed to call me low-X-scorer," Lin Yuxi said.

"Damn, you're learning fast," Jiang Nian remarked. "You've already figured out the X usage—your future's looking bright, Lin Yuxi."

After lunch, Lin Yuxi held an umbrella and walked Jiang Nian to the Gao San building.

She didn't find it strange—she was actually happy.

The first step of a genius: walking in the rain with an umbrella, looking cool.

At least their relationship had improved; roughly speaking, they were friends. This thought lasted until the Gao San building, where Jiang Nian used her and then left.

"Thanks for the umbrella. Bye."

"Huh? That's it?!"

Hearing this, Jiang Nian suddenly realized and addressed her umbrella.

"Mine, mine—I thanked the wrong person. Thanks, Umbrella Brother."

After saying that, he turned and climbed the stairs, leaving Lin Yuxi alone, bewildered in the wind.

For some reason, she felt like a turtle.

Dog man, I'll get you back someday!

Jiang Nian was in good spirits—he'd persuaded another student to study.

So people really must strive upward; at least, now he had no white commoners among his associates.

As the saying goes, one university is merely the threshold to meet him. Only after entering a top university does one become a mayfly seeing the blue sky—have you seen the sun at seven hundred points?

He hadn't seen it either.

But it didn't matter—he had the class monitor to borrow authority from.

To be honest, few in Class Zero could outscore Li Qingrong. But the class's privileges were higher, and grades were the iron fist that shattered chains.

Class Zero's limit was not Li Qingrong's limit.

During lunch break, the classroom was crowded. Some couldn't go home, so they bought snacks at the cafeteria or convenience store.

Chen Yunyun and the elementary student washed their hair on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and with rain falling, they naturally napped in the dormitory.

Jiang Nian welcomed the quiet, lying face-down on a back-row seat, closing the back door, then shoving a folded note tightly into the door crack.

No wind could enter, no one could enter.

He'd used his healing skill once that morning to recover from cramming for Subject One; the cooldown hadn't refreshed. He still had the afternoon's Science Comprehensive quiz, so sleep was his only way to recover.

He drifted into a drowsy sleep, but was soon awakened by noise.

He looked up and saw Yu Zhiyi looking embarrassed, struggling to rise from her seat, as if she'd tripped over the desk and barely steadied herself.

Jiang Nian glanced at the watch in Li Hua's desk drawer: 1:37.

Twenty-three minutes remained until the lunch break bell—what a waste. He'd just lost half his golden nap time.

"You woke me up! How are you going to compensate?" he whispered.

Yu Zhiyi was only embarrassed, not afraid of Jiang Nian. If it were someone else, she'd worry about conflict—but it was Jiang Nian.

Though Jiang Nian was lecherous, spoke nonsense, and acted unreasonably—with countless flaws—she knew he was a good man, easy to soothe.

"I didn't do it on purpose. Look for the cause within yourself."

Jiang Nian heard this and initially wanted to get angry.

But seeing the other person sit down right in front of his seat, and noticing something flash by as they sat, his anger flared briefly then vanished.

After thinking it over, it was all Li Hua's fault!

Who asked him to keep thinking about his teammate's ex-girlfriend? That damn yellow-haired bastard dragged him into this—let him rot in hell.

Yu Zhiyi looked at Jiang Nian with confusion, wondering why he wasn't angry anymore. She'd originally planned to save face by whispering a few soft words.

Why did his anger disappear so quickly?

She thought for a moment, reflected on herself, and whispered:

"I might be partly to blame."

"Forget it, forget it—I probably did something wrong too," Jiang Nian said, unusually soft; he'd seen it clearly, so he'd let it go.

He'd give her face—after all, both of them were at fault.

Yu Zhiyi didn't understand, but solving the problem was enough. Honestly, it was terrifying to be stuck on Jiang Nian's little list forever.

After lunch break ended, the classroom gradually filled with people.

Zhang Ningzhi arrived with a box of drinks, no need for Jiang Nian to beg. She didn't explain why, but placed it directly on his desk.

"For you."

"Ah, thanks," Jiang Nian thought she might've forgotten the drama at lunch dismissal—and her sensitive neck—"your neck—"

Zhang Ningzhi had offered the drink to distract him. She hadn't expected this guy had the nose of a dog—he'd struck straight for the vital point.

"Ah! You're not allowed to say that!"

In truth, her neck wasn't sensitive like in manga tropes. She was just naturally ticklish—light brushing there made her shiver uncontrollably.

After a long tussle, she finally subdued Jiang Nian—at least for now, he wouldn't keep staring at her neck. It was too embarrassing.

Soon after, Li Hua and Ma Guojun arrived.

Yao Beibei didn't care much about the weekly quiz; she came straight over to talk to Zhang Ningzhi. They discussed hand cream, then moved on to face masks—everything after that was just product names.

The Trio of Fruit Swordsmen huddled together, returning to their apocalyptic topic.

Ma Guojun said, "I watched an apocalyptic movie yesterday—if the end came, I'd definitely die."

"Not necessarily. If it's a zombie outbreak, I'll just take over the school snack shop. If it's an ice age, I'll stick my hand in my pants to keep warm."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian froze instantly.

"Did you wash your hands before sticking it in?"

"I'm sticking it in my own pants—what's it to you?" Li Hua said with defiant bravado. "Backup hidden energy source. Use it however I want."

Jiang Nian could understand that.

After all, some guys in winter wake up and the first thing they don't do is open their eyes—they pull their hand out of their thermal pants and sniff it.

"What if there's a pretty girl beside you who wants to stick her hand in too?"

Li Hua didn't hesitate—he sneered.

"Why?"

"She likes you, looks like Himeari, has a Rukia-style figure, and helps you become self-reliant," Jiang Nian kept adding imaginary details.

"Damn, that's already over—what's left to discuss?" Li Hua said without pause. "Fine, come on—I'll turn my pants upside down."

Lin Dong folded his umbrella and hung it outside the classroom window.

He walked into the classroom with high spirits, in good mood. He'd originally been set to get soaked in the rain, but happened to meet the math rep from the next class.

He knew she apparently had a boyfriend, so he deliberately brought up topics she liked—the atmosphere had been quite pleasant.

Over ten minutes, she complained about her boyfriend seven times.

Lin Dong had planned to invite her to eat together, but then she dropped: "My ex-boyfriend, blah blah."

"Ex-boyfriend?"

"Yeah, we broke up. I'm single now."

"Hmm, my roommate apparently hanged himself in the dorm—I need to go check."

Catching up from yesterday—got delayed by something, doesn't affect today's update.