Chapter 297: Thank You to Patron Jing Bian Wu Tong: Li Qingrong the Demon King Is Also from No

Did I contribute anything to Class OSA-4?

Negative contributions count too.

Probably, maybe a few dozen points.

"What if someone from another class impersonates yours to deduct points?" Jiang Nian couldn't help asking the question that had puzzled him all along.

"I don't know. After a new homeroom teacher took over, she stopped caring much." Xu Qianqian's ponytail swayed as her voice grew firmer.

"Maybe she just wanted an excuse to blow up."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian hummed in understanding—he'd already formed his judgment.

Because of the point deductions, she didn't want to manage class affairs at all, so she resorted to authoritarian rule. A blunt one-size-fits-all approach gave her a reason to fly off the handle anytime.

"But why extend class hours?"

"Intentionally, of course." Xu Qianqian spoke flatly, tightening her backpack straps. "The class is furious—there'll be more arguing later."

"Are they trying to form a new Class Four?" Jiang Nian asked.

"What are you talking about? No way." Xu Qianqian understood the club memes. "Honestly, I don't care who wins—as long as they don't extend class."

Jiang Nian smiled. "I'm picking Uncle Deng—he gets downstairs faster."

Xu Qianqian turned her head with a mischievous tone. "Actually, I don't like that homeroom teacher either—I want to see them fight."

Fine, fine, fine—not a single good person here.

That way, it won't look like I'm the only bad one.

Since neither was hungry, they didn't eat snacks on the way. Instead, they strolled home slowly along the familiar route.

"What are you wearing for your coming-of-age ceremony the day after tomorrow?"

"A JK skirt—perfect, no waste." Xu Qianqian turned her head and saw his lips curled upward; she scowled. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing. I just figured you've got a whole closet full of JK skirts, yet you still wore one." Jiang Nian chuckled. "Hey, why not wear the one I gave you?"

"Get lost."

Jiang Nian asked casually, "Does Song Xiuyun wear the same one?"

"Of course she does—otherwise how would I dare wear it?" she said. "I'll check when I get home. All my skirts are knee-length; no one will stare too much."

Xu Qianqian was just a homebody—tiny in courage.

Shouldn't all JK skirts be exactly thirty-three centimeters? So cute and petite. But no—Jiang Nian only saw ultra-short ones on TikTok.

In real life, encountering a JK short skirt is very hard.

For example, the skirts in Xu Qianqian's closet were mostly cheap, non-premium JK skirts. Some weren't even authentic—she bought them purely for the collection thrill.

Have to say, this hobby is pretty nice.

Song Xiuyun naturally followed Xu Qianqian's lead, wearing knee-length JK skirts—barely acceptable, still conservative for high school.

They returned home.

Jiang Nian sent Xu Qianqian a WeChat message: "Need audience extras for color rehearsal? Send me a look."

Xu Qianqian: "【Image】."

She actually sent it—since she'd wear it the day after tomorrow anyway, there was no point hiding it, and she secretly hoped for praise.

It was a classic "good student JK" photo.

Taken in front of a full-length mirror: a blue shirt with a gray vest on top, a pleated skirt falling past the knees, complementing Xu Qianqian's long legs perfectly.

The photo ended at the neck—no face shown.

Even without seeing her face, the subject clearly felt tense—or deeply uneasy—waiting for positive feedback.

Jiang Nian finished viewing and immediately praised her.

"Beautiful. Everything looks great. Looking forward to seeing thigh-high socks."

With a soft swish, Xu Qianqian replied.

"Really?"

"Won't it look weird? I'm still debating whether to change clothes. It's a Chinese school—if I stand out too much, it'll be over."

Jiang Nian thought for a moment and gave her advice.

"Prepare two options. Tomorrow, see what others wear—or check the situation tomorrow morning. If everything's chaotic, just wear it."

Xu Qianqian quickly accepted this compromise and replied with one word.

"Fine."

After washing up that night, Jiang Nian lay in bed staring at the photo. Suddenly curious: if Xu Qianqian looked so innocent in it, what about Xiao Song?

He slowly closed his eyes, recalling the simulation fragment he'd seen from the system days ago.

So, along the normal timeline:

Song Xiuyun would attend the same school as him—a mediocre second-tier university.

For some reason—perhaps because they both knew Xu Qianqian as a link, or because, as strangers in a foreign place, fellow townsfolk naturally clustered together for warmth.

In any case, they ended up together and enjoyed a carefree college period.

So the question arises: what caused the breakup?

Last time he saw the memory of the twenty-eight-year-old with Zhang Ningzhi, they broke up too—for some reason. Family issues were only speculation; the exact cause remained unknown.

Byd, does my emotional life really have to be this tortuous?

Is it all because of bad grades?

Missed the chance to advance classes, lost Zhang Ningzhi in high school, caught Song Xiuyun in college, broke up, then ran into Zhang Ningzhi again.

But in every case, it was because of my own faults?

That's insane—aren't online stories saying life has high error tolerance?

Wasn't life supposed to be about experiencing things? Why does it feel like I'm not experiencing happiness—or even suffering or comfort?

How is tolerance for error also judged by IP?

Jiang Nian let out a long sigh. His parents could give him a hard cap of just over a million as a safety net. That was the entire family fortune — once it was handed over, they'd be broke overnight.

The trajectory of his life had already changed; there was no need to splurge on so much betrothal money.

Then what about the trajectories of their lives?

The few points Jiang Nian actually cared about were these: Baby Zhizhi's parents, Song Xiyun's grades, and whether he had ever dated Xu Qianqian? He was genuinely a little scared.

And the ex-wife.

From marriage to divorce — had he ever dated Xu Qianqian?

If it were the past, Jiang Nian would absolutely pound his chest and swear on it. Impossible, absolutely impossible! What does he take being buddies for, a stallion?

Now he really wasn't sure, after all it did seem like something he would do.

Always suffering hardships, but never short on peach blossom luck?

To be fair, Jiang Nian suddenly felt a little like finding someone to ask about his fate chart.

Just as he was thinking.

With a buzz, a new message popped up on his phone.

He picked it up casually and saw it was from his super-cute seatmate Zhang Ningzhi.

"【Image】 Would giving a cup as a gift have a bad meaning?"

Jiang Nian glanced at the message and couldn't help but nod, quite agreeing. He thought, according to the simulated fate line, our ending really is nothing special.

But the worst outcome was just breaking up, which was actually fine.

He thought for a moment, then replied.

"It's only a tragedy when cups come in a set. A single one is just a cup. No need for so many taboos — a cup of water holds deep affection. Besides, if you just give it directly, does it even count as 'giving'?"

Zhang Ningzhi: "Alright."

"See you tomorrow (cute)."

Jiang Nian typed back, "Mm, see you tomorrow. 【Dragon meme】"

Zhang Ningzhi: "Your meme is so ugly."

"That's just my taste. Then share a couple of nicer memes with me." Jiang Nian figured he'd steal a couple of normal memes to send the class president.

In a moment, Zhang Ningzhi really did send seven or eight cute memes.

Jiang Nian: "Stole them, stole them."

Zhang Ningzhi: "Hmph."

The chat ended there.

Jiang Nian glanced at the time, ready to roll over and sleep. But the system went ding and popped up, the quest panel unfolding instantly.

【Congratulations, you have initially completed the reconnection quest with your childhood sweetheart and ex-girlfriend. As a reward, you receive one shopping voucher of your choice, shopping fund 30,000.

A mature fashion sense is a man (blah blah blah).】

He glanced at it without even lifting an eyelid.

Seeing that this crappy benefit didn't stipulate the money had to be spent on himself, he directly opened his phone and started picking out clothes for his parents, all sorts of shoes and hats.

A mature fashion sense — his parents were already plenty mature.

He pulled up the shopping list, a full 30,100. Paid immediately — ding on his phone for the deduction, ding on the system as the shopping fund arrived.

Gotta say, freeloading just feels good.

After the system quest was done, Jiang Nian didn't pay it much mind and just flopped onto the bed.

Click — the light went off.

In the dark, his phone buzzed again.

Jiang Nian's eyes snapped open. This hour, this classic opening message — no doubt about it, it had to be a message from the class president.

No way, bro is really about to be hooked into a pouting mouth.

Bad woman.

He quietly reached for his phone, held his breath, and glanced at the message.

Li Qingrong: "Are you asleep?"

Nope, nope — instantly wide awake.

"No, what's up?"

Li Qingrong said honestly, "Looking for someone to chat with you."

Jiang Nian curled up in bed and instantly turned into a pouting mouth in one second.

Does someone looking to chat just come out and say it?

Damn, the class president is way too cute.

Could it be the class president's bad-woman tactic for hooking a pouting mouth? That possibility couldn't be entirely ruled out either. In any case, right now he was a bit of a willing fish taking the bait.

At this, Jiang Nian coughed once and still kept enough composure.

"Can't sleep?"

"Mm."

"Why?" Jiang Nian typed and asked.

When a person has insomnia, there must be a specific cause — either a physical factor. Or something weighing on the mind, an obsession keeping them awake.

For example, a guy accidentally stumbles onto some mysterious website and discovers that a category he quite likes actually has six hundred pages! No repeats, all premium picks!

Thanks a lot!

Don't expect to sleep that night — guaranteed he'll click through page by page, scrolling until he passes out.

If he wakes up in the morning and finds the curtains drawn open. The window also opened for ventilation, his taken-off pants put back on, and the tissues by the bed vanished without a trace.

Then don't ask so much, just get some more sleep.

Elsewhere.

Li Qingrong leaned against the headboard; only one dim bedside lamp remained lit in the room.

"What do you want to chat about?"

After a while, Jiang Nian's message popped up.

"Anything works. Class Monitor, did you used to be at No. 1 High School?"

Li Qingrong hesitated for a moment, then typed a reply.

"No. 2 High School."

"What a coincidence, me too." Jiang Nian's reply was longer. "That place was really no good — the people were no good, the roads were no good, pretty chaotic."

Jiang Nian rolled over in bed, held up his phone, and saw the Class Monitor had replied with just one word.

"Mm."

He immediately felt it was a little strange — the Class Monitor didn't seem interested in her No. 2 High School alma mater at all. But then again, that place was famously trash.

A girl like the Class Monitor must have, back then, hated No. 2 High School and that's why she worked hard at her studies, gradually becoming the great demon king of Grade Three at Zhennan High School.

Truly inspiring — practically the same as him.

P. S., the chapter missed on the 1st is being added.

The rest will be added one by one. Also, begging for monthly votes, big shots.

Thanks to Alliance Leader Jingbian Wutong, boss, may your waist and kidneys stay strong.

Friendly recommendation: *That Year in Han City*

A quality new Korean-entertainment book, guaranteed in both quality and character.