Chapter 278: You Really Wanted to See It, Didn

"Hey, someone remind the duty student to clean the blackboard tomorrow!"

As Tao Ran finished speaking, the bell for evening self-study rang.

The classroom instantly erupted in noise; no one had clearly heard what he said.

"Fangfang, aren't we on duty tomorrow?" Li Hua asked.

Huang Fang turned to look at him, utterly speechless.

"Yeah, it's our turn."

Ever since Jiang Nian started calling her "Fangfang" every day, Li Hua and Wu Jungu had started doing it too. It wasn't wrong, just... creepy.

After a moment's thought, Li Hua spoke up.

"I'll come early tomorrow and clean the blackboard."

Hearing this, Huang Fang, who had been about to solve one more problem during evening self-study, froze her pen mid-stroke on the paper.

Before high school, she had often dry-wiped the blackboard in winter at her rural junior high.

The blackboards in junior high were real chalkboards; it didn't matter much if they weren't fully cleaned. But if the teacher was unhappy, he'd just refuse to teach.

Because the morning water in winter was freezing, no one wanted to touch it. The chore would either be dragged out indefinitely or ultimately fall to her.

The boys in junior high were all rebellious—they thought, "Who cares if class happens or not? I'm not listening anyway. That stupid teacher looks down on me and wants me to wipe his blackboard?"

Wiping a tombstone would be better.

Since Huang Fang was a top student who needed to listen, let her do it.

Huang Fang really did wipe it—not because she feared scolding, but because she thought the teacher's white down jacket would be hard to clean if stained with black marks.

Her hands dipped into the bone-chilling water; when lifted, they turned purple-red.

Tiny, piercing pains, like needle pricks.

"Sss~" She already felt phantom pain, involuntarily curling her fingers.

She thought for a moment and said, "I'll arrive even earlier—I'll clean it."

Li Hua, in matters like this, was pure male chauvinism. He waved his hand dismissively, signaling she needn't argue.

"No need to argue—I'll take the cloth home tonight."

Huang Fang: "."

The group leader's got a touch of idiot in him—getting more and more abstract.

The weather grew colder; the empty street.

Jiang Nian pulled his school uniform tighter, glancing at the wet, glossy road. The mottled water reflected dim, yellow streetlights.

He turned back to the girl with her backpack.

"Xu Qianqian, I've got something amazing to tell you."

Jiang Nian was a laid-back guy who spoke casually, but he'd never said "f**k," "damn," or "your mom" in front of Xu Qianqian.

Actually, he didn't even know if she minded those words.

Others didn't care, but he felt he should avoid them. After all, Auntie had helped him plenty—he owed her.

"I've got a juicy gossip too—want to hear it?" Xu Qianqian smiled with that "you know what I mean" look, distinctly flirtatious.

"I'll hear yours first," Jiang Nian decided instantly.

Compared to romance gossip, a car accident was totally weak—after all, the compensation wasn't for him, at most he was just witnessing injustice.

"Actually, nothing much—one girl in our class was talking to another guy," Xu Qianqian pursed her lips. "A guy came flying over and slapped him."

"Why?" Jiang Nian was confused.

"Secret relationship, what else?" Xu Qianqian didn't continue, since the rest involved some xxoo gossip.

Sharing that with Jiang Nian, a total downer guy, might drag her right in.

"That's normal—feigning one path while secretly taking another," Jiang Nian remarked sharply. "Some people just like that vibe—husband currently flirting."

Xu Qianqian was speechless—knew a dog's mouth couldn't spit out pearls.

"What were you going to tell me just now?"

"Oh right, it's like this..."

Their figures vanished into the street's end, turning down an alley.

Night gradually sank deeper.

After returning home.

Xu Qianqian picked out clothes for her bath, paused strangely when touching her underwear. Though dry, she wouldn't wear that set.

She knew it probably wouldn't happen—but what if it did?

They were adults now; no need to avoid sensitive topics. Besides, Old Xu was a urologist—some influence had seeped in subconsciously.

She wouldn't actively learn about it, but... she knew such things weren't shameful.

High schoolers have high hormones and strong desires—it's normal. But some boys indulge themselves, then end up with sore lower back and knees, dizziness, and tinnitus.

Would Jiang Nian?

"Achoo!!" Jiang Nian sneezed as he stepped out of the shower. "Late at night—who's thinking of me? Craving my body?"

After drying his hair, he happily flopped onto his bed.

Then he felt the position was uncomfortable, flipped over onto his stomach. Thump-thump-thump—he instinctively pounded the bed three times, finally feeling comfortable around his pelvis.

"Man, sitting all day—my butt's turned to iron."

Jiang Nian suddenly remembered Zhang Ningzhi had bought a seat cushion—truly a princess's billion-dollar subsidy, free perk.

Counting the days, the package should arrive soon.

He'd pre-registered for the driver's license theory test, but actual registration required a system number from the vehicle management office—only then was he officially enrolled.

It would take time, but Jiang Nian, as a VIP, didn't need to worry about it.

If he learns quickly and masters Subjects 2 and 3 in one day, then just wait for the exam to get his driver's license. Checking in? They'll handle that.

Bored out, Jiang Nian decided to video call Xu Qianqian.

Ding ding ding—predictably, rejected.

After half a minute, Xu Qianqian replied.

"What do you want? I'm showering."

Jiang Nian thought: Of course I know you're showering—that's why I'm calling.

"Nothing. Just suddenly forgot everything, and suddenly wanted to see your face—maybe I'll recover some memories."

Logically, there should've been no more messages. But a minute later, his phone suddenly popped up a message—from Xu Qianqian.

"You really wanted to see me, didn't you?"

Late night.

Jiang Nian shot upright in bed instantly, hooked like a fish with its mouth wide open by that one line.

His heart leapt, his chest slightly starved for air.

He thought: If I say I really wanted to see, she'll definitely reply "pervert," then cut off.

If I say I didn't really want to, she'll say I'm pretending.

Then no need to cut off—the chat ends outright.

On the other side, Xu Qianqian was almost done showering.

Steam filled the bathroom, hiding her graceful figure. Her hair was tied up under a shower cap; under the light, her back was smooth and pale.

She hadn't heard her phone ring. She thought: If Jiang Nian says he wanted to see, I can openly tease him before bed, then cut off.

I'll sleep well anyway, and go to school happily tomorrow.

I'll even test his self-control—just a little bluff tomorrow, and I'll know if he's got lower back pain, dizziness, or ringing ears at night.

If Jiang Nian refuses? Just ignore him.

Sending a photo of her toenail or a doll to show he's imagining things? Too obvious—like overdoing the fishing tactic.

Just don't reply. Let him toss and turn day and night.

Let him ponder whether he truly missed an opportunity, then at midnight, like a fool, send: "Are you asleep?"

Just imagining that scene made Xu Qianqian grin.

Little virgin, totally controlled.

After a while, her phone buzzed.

Xu Qianqian was dressing and ignored it. In this freezing weather, only earth-shattering news would make her check her phone.

Clearly, Jiang Nian's messages were all empty.

After dressing and no longer feeling cold, she picked up her phone on the stand. Jiang Nian had sent a long paragraph.

"The small window's scorching hot; in this bright, blazing summer, the thing I miss most is… blah blah, look at yours."

Xu Qianqian: "."

Jiang Nian always comes up with something fresh yet utterly unassessable.

On the other side, Jiang Nian was waiting.

Buzz—the reply came.

He eagerly opened WeChat. Only two words appeared.

"Not giving."

Jiang Nian flopped onto the bed, his heart itching from those two words. He thought: Between "not giving" and "giving," there's only one word—the "not" of feigned refusal.

But quickly, he realized this was the woman's sneaky trick.

Trying to make me sleepless, huh?

He thought a moment: A person should have his own rhythm. He switched to chatting with Chen Yunyun.

If you change the mood fast enough, you won't get hooked like a fish.

Hu Nianzhong stayed awake all night, his eyes bloodshot by dawn.

Gone.

Two thousand six hundred yuan principal, one thousand four hundred yuan profit—all gone.

He watched the app's numbers rise, yet saw "withdrawal unavailable." Clicking withdrawal showed: "Platform changed withdrawal dates—only available at midnight Sunday."

For immediate withdrawal, pay a handling fee—or deposit more money to reach the required balance of xxx.

He understood perfectly: the platform was cutting the kill.

They wouldn't wait until next Sunday—they'd flee this week. At that point, countless desperate suckers would throw in their last hopes.

Of course, it'd be like mud sinking into the sea.

Jiang Nian had predicted it exactly—down to the last detail.

Hu Nianzhong stared at the four thousand yuan under his pillow, unconsciously counting it with his fingers.

He couldn't bear to imagine: if he'd walked away right after the scare yesterday afternoon, then returned at night to find his money trapped on the platform…

What would he do? Collapse—or…

The more he thought, the colder his spine grew. His gratitude toward Jiang Nian deepened—and suddenly, he lost all desire to attend class. He just wanted to go home.

Return the money to Yu Tongjie. Give the rest to his family.

See his parents. Bow to the Temple's God of Fortune.

Thinking this, he quickly packed his bag. Layered the money in plastic bags—three red ones total.

He shoved two clothes into the bag, tucked the bus fare into his left pant leg pocket.

Finished, he slung the bag across his chest. Rose quietly, no desire to wash up, slipped on his shoes, and tiptoed to the dorm door.

Before leaving, he glanced back at the dorm room, seeing only the fogged-up window with white mist clinging to the glass, and the faint light of early dawn outside.

A hellishly absurd thought popped into his mind — if his roommate woke up in the morning and saw him cosplaying a Teru Teru Bozu, would they be pleasantly surprised?

Hu Nianzhong took a deep breath, gently slid the door latch open, and walked out.

Cold wind poured into the hallway, and he couldn't help but shiver. His mind cleared considerably, but his body trembled uncontrollably.

He clearly wanted to live, but if yesterday had really thrown that kind of combo punch at him, could he have taken it so well?

Perhaps only heaven knew the answer.

Outside, the sky was still dark as he walked down the stairs. Cold wind blew through his trouser legs; he took the stairs two or three at a time, his posture stiff.

The door of Building Five opened at half past five in the morning.

The old man occasionally slept in, sometimes opening at five forty-five. But most students who liked morning jogs would bang on the door directly.

Fortunately, the door opened.

Hu Nianzhong walked out the door, turned a corner toward the north gate. Passing through a dark little alley with a plastic awning overhead, he went straight to the bus stop to wait.

A thin, heavy mist hung in the air; street lamps still glowed in the distance. Faintly, one could hear the rhythmic swish-swish of sanitation workers sweeping in the distance, and puffs of white steam rising from the bun shop.

At six fifteen in the morning, there was a shuttle bus that went straight to Youshui Township's main street.

The sky slowly brightened, and at six in the morning the street lamps went out.

The shuttle came honking from afar and stopped at the bus stop — calling it a bus stop was a stretch; it was just a tin sign with red characters.

Dim lights glowed inside the bus, and a wave of stuffy, nauseating stench hit him in the face.

The ticket seller glanced sidelong at the student boarding, then at the empty street. Without a word, he shrank back into his seat.

Fares were usually collected only after the bus had left the county town a stretch and picked up a few passengers.

Hu Nianzhong found a seat in the middle and sat down. Even though he hadn't slept all night, leaning against the chair now, he felt not the slightest bit drowsy.

He stared at the street rushing backward outside the window and composed a leave-of-absence message to his homeroom teacher, Old Liu. Something about family matters, and so on, then added a line.

【I've already gotten on the shuttle home】

After sending it, his mood instantly lifted. After thinking for a moment, he added Jiang Nian as a friend in the class group chat, expressing his thanks in the request message.

Perhaps what he had gained was more than what he had lost.

Outside the window, sunlight pierced through the thin mist and fell on the old buildings, as if draping the cold world in a pale golden coat.

And he was on his way home.

A line suddenly popped into his mind: "The boat drifts lightly and gently afar, the wind blows and lifts my robe. I ask the wayfarer of the road ahead, and resent the faintness of the morning light."

"Shit, it's freezing." Jiang Nian got up, threw on a thicker jacket, still keeping up his habit of washing up early. "Who the hell added me this early in the morning?"

Oh, it's him.

Jiang Nian accepted the friend request and saw his thank-you message.

He was about to type some reply when the other side sent a photo first — fields outside the bus window.

"【Image】 I'm home."

Jiang Nian: "?????"

He typed a few question marks back, thinking, your mom — sending this kind of message first thing in the morning. No need to attend class, big deal, you think anyone's jealous?

Damn, screw it, better just delete it.

After washing up, Jiang Nian went out. The moment he stepped into the classroom, he noticed something piled on the podium.

"Hua?"

Li Hua was holding a basin, about to fetch water to wipe the blackboard. Hearing the voice, he turned his head involuntarily, saw it was Jiang Nian, and froze for a moment.

"Holy shit, why the hell are you here so early?"

"You animal! Telling me not to grind so hard, while you sneakily wake up early yourself!"

Jiang Nian felt a bit awkward — he did indeed have that kind of thought.

"I should be asking you — sneaking here so early, trying to go on a date with Fangfang, huh?"

There were only three people in the classroom — two boys and one girl.

Huang Fang sat in the back row doing homework. Hearing this, she couldn't help but look up at the two idiots at the podium, an exasperated expression crossing her face.

"Why are you talking about me?"

"Isn't it though?" Jiang Nian said, slinging his bag and walking toward the back row. "Caught you sneaking an early-morning date — intra-group romance, huh?"

"Eat shit eat shit eat shit!!" Li Hua couldn't be bothered with him, pulling a plastic bag from his chest containing the classroom cleaning rag.

"I specifically woke up early to wash the whiteboard. Who's like you, doing nothing useful all day."