Chapter 312: I'm Not a Low-Score Loser

After finishing the group photo, Jiang Nian gave a slight smile, intending to make a graceful retreat.

He thought to himself that those grandsons must be jealous out of their minds, probably red-eyed with envy.

Those who chant "Brother Song" get the friendship bond.

But a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle right in front of him, so he'd better play the role of the south-running man for once.

Jiang Nian had just prepared to sprint when Li Hua, who had been stalking him, spotted him. Showing no regard for their father-son bond, he immediately launched a backstab.

"He wants to run!"

"Damn it, grab him, don't let that dog get away!"

"byd, give him an aluba!"

The playground instantly descended into chaos, with over a dozen boys furiously chasing in the direction Jiang Nian had left. They chased all the way outside the sports field, running in circles nonstop.

The other classes of Gao San hadn't completed the "Leaping the Longmen" yet, so they were still waiting. Some of the classes further back had even grabbed stools to rest on the spot.

Students from other classes watched the boys running past the outer edge of the sports field with puzzled faces, wondering why that group was roughhousing.

"What are they doing?"

"Didn't you hear? Aluba."

"Then when we dismiss later, how about we aluba our homeroom teacher?"

"Sure, I'll ask Brother Shui if he's in."

The neighboring class overheard the discussion, so they turned to ask the backbone of their own class's boys.

"Brother Hui, the next class is planning to aluba the homeroom teacher."

"Then we'll do it too, wait until Old Huang comes over."

"Okay, I'll find a few more people."

Zhang Ningzhi and Yao Bei Bei left the sports field, carefully avoiding any mention of the dragon gate incident from earlier. Partly out of shyness, partly because it was too chaotic.

The grade-level leaders had given the order on the fly, leaving almost no time to think.

Besides, each person only crossed the dragon gate once—hesitate and you'd miss the chance. Even if you couldn't figure out what was going on, you had to go up in a daze.

After dismissal, Zhang Ningzhi also came back to her senses.

She felt a bit uncomfortable...

"Jiang Nian is a total scumbag." After taking a photo with her, Yao Bei Bei turned and said seriously, "Zhizhi, don't be fooled by him."

"Huh?" Zhang Ningzhi, wearing a skirt, looked completely blank.

The two girls were in a small grove, the evergreen branches sparse. Platinum sunlight pierced through the leaves, falling on the shaded path, fine dust swirling.

"Isn't it obvious?" Yao Bei Bei said.

"Obvious... what?"

Zhang Ningzhi knew what Yao Bei Bei was talking about. Undoubtedly, Jiang Nian did have a bit of a rotten-cabbage suspicion, but the cabbage hadn't started rotting yet.

So far, Jiang Nian hadn't done anything substantive in terms of fooling around.

Unlike that couple in their class, who simultaneously held hands with their boyfriend and roughhoused with their male bestie, with physical contact happening every now and then.

By comparison, Jiang Nian was very clean.

If you had to say something, you could only say the cabbage's mouth wasn't clean.

Anything beyond friendship was even less so.

Taking a step back, if Jiang Nian wanted to go beyond friendship, he should have shown it somewhat by now. Could it be that he skipped over her entirely?

Thinking of this, Zhang Ningzhi got a little angry.

Setting aside things that hadn't happened, Jiang Nian was somewhat disrespectful to her.

"He's clearly trying to string you along, the scumbag is the worst." Yao Bei Bei had been thick as thieves with Zhizhi for months, and a deep friendship had long been established.

Otherwise, she wouldn't say things that hurt others without benefiting herself.

If Zhang Ningzhi made up with Jiang Nian again, and these words reached Jiang Nian's ears, then she would definitely be caught between a rock and a hard place, a pure Bai Yanlang.

Precisely because she knew Zhizhi was a good Miss, not the kind of love-brained bitch who sells out her bestie to please her boyfriend.

That was why she was willing to take a tiny little risk and speak up for righteousness.

"It's alright, his mind should be on the college entrance exam." Zhang Ningzhi didn't deny the word "string along," because Jiang Nian was indeed very lecherous.

From head to toe, the word "lewd" took the lead.

Actually, she had secretly caught Jiang Nian swiping through suggestive Douyin videos.

So on this point, she couldn't refute.

"His mind is on the college entrance exam?" Yao Bei Bei asked soulfully, posing a hypothesis, "What if after the college entrance exam, he confesses to someone else?" At these words, Zhang Ningzhi's eyelid twitched violently.

"N-no... he won't."

However, even though she said so, her heart ached sourly. She had unknowingly put herself in that position, and had already started feeling phantom limb pain.

A deskmate should be private property.

Just like the pigs parents raise—even though they say it's fine if they run away, deep down their true thought is: if they run away, straight to the slaughterhouse!

Although Zhang Ningzhi was a bit flustered, she wasn't completely without ideas. She knew Yao Bei Bei was considering her, but didn't want to get sucked into this topic.

She thought for a moment, then changed the subject.

"The college entrance exam is still far off, I haven't thought that much about it. The college entrance exam is the most important thing for Gao San, and Beibei, you're also very important."

She took Yao Bei Bei's hand, acting cute.

"Our grades are about the same, when we get into college we can still be together."

Hearing this, Yao Bei Bei also smiled.

"Got it."

Although Yao Bei Bei was crude and abstract, her personality was relatively mature, and she also cherished Zhang Ningzhi as a friend.

On one hand, Zhang Nengzhi has a great personality and similar grades to her.

On the other hand, fundamentally, she has a clearer understanding and plan for her future.

Unlike her peers, who are still lost and suffering over raising their scores to enter undergraduate school, she has already begun learning about key universities and future university life.

Even the planning after graduation, the real situation of graduates after employment, and so on—she gathers information from all sides and understands it deeply.

The employment outlook for the future is not optimistic.

Precisely because of this, before her last diagnostic exam, she broke her usual pattern and studied in silence, securing a backup plan: returning home after graduation to take the civil service exam.

She chose a finance and accounting major, leveraging family connections to work at the municipal tax bureau.

Coincidentally, Zhang Nengzhi is passionate about education-related majors.

Moreover, Zhizhi is an only child, and both her parents live in Zhennan. With her affluent family background, she will most likely choose to return home and become a teacher at a municipal high school.

This means their friendship will last a long time—perhaps a lifetime of close girlfriends.

They'll attend the same university, work in the same city after graduation, follow a 9-to-5 schedule with weekends off, meet up after work by car, and travel together on weekends.

For this reason, she could never watch Zhang Nengzhi "fall."

Fortunately, she saw that Zhang Nengzhi's character was resilient; after a brief emotional fluctuation, she buried it deep inside. She couldn't help but feel admiration, thinking no wonder Zhizhi got promoted to the higher class.

Yao Bei Bei thought for a moment, then volunteered,

"After we finish taking photos, shall I ask Jiang Nian if he's willing to come join us for a group picture?"

Hearing this, Zhang Nengzhi smiled slightly, pressing her lips together.

"Okay."

Seeing Zhang Nengzhi's expression, Yao Bei Bei couldn't help silently muttering again in her heart.

Bastard deserves to die!

"Fuck, stop chasing me, guys—I'm not taking photos!" Jiang Nian, separated from over a dozen others by some distance, spoke with slightly breathless exertion.

Opposite him, over a dozen boys led by Li Hua leaned on their knees, panting like oxen.

"Run… keep running!"

"Fuck, even if you do nothing else, today I'm gonna A-Lu-Ba you—gotta rub you hard up and down, grind you flat!"

"Is that really necessary? You can't catch me anyway."

Jiang Nian was speechless—these dumbasses, obsessed with him after the physical test.

If they'd shown this level of effort during the autumn sports meet, Class Three would've won at least a few more championships.

"We're more numerous—we can't catch you, but we've got sons, and our sons' sons, endlessly!" Li Hua, dizzy from running, his chest burning, spoke incoherently.

The only thing that never faded? Hatred!

"Bro, I'm sorry." Jiang Nian surrendered—he still had to take photos with Xu Qianqian and the others, and didn't have time to waste on these idiots.

"A… A-Lu-Ba!" One boy was nearly collapsing, yet still spat venom.

"Damn, I give up." Jiang Nian winced.

He ran; they chased.

Another ten minutes passed, and the bell rang for the end of the third class. Students from Gao Yi and Gao Er flooded out, gathering to watch the Gao San coming-of-age ceremony.

Li Hua and the others realized they simply couldn't catch Jiang Nian—his stamina was unfathomable.

So they abandoned the A-Lu-Ba, turning instead to demand:

"What the hell is your relationship with the monitor?"

Honestly, if Jiang Nian had crossed the gate with Zhang Nengzhi and Chen Yunyun together, the guys would've cursed a bit—but wouldn't have lost their minds like this.

After all, one was his desk mate, the other closely associated with him.

Saying it was pure friendship was actually plausible.

When Liu Yang crossed the gate, he had a female classmate on each side—he was sunny, cheerful, athletic, 1.8 meters tall and a bit dumb, so it was normal for him to have good luck with girls.

Jiang Nian's mistake? He was Gou Gou Da-ing the monitor!

He deserves to die!

"Holy shit, there's really no relationship!" Jiang Nian looked falsely wronged. "You know me—I never interact with the monitor."

Only this week, since tomorrow is Sunday.

I'll be back in front and behind the monitor again—heehee.

"Then how come…?" someone asked.

"Pure friendship," Jiang Nian shrugged.

"Fuck, kill him!"

Motherfucker, a bunch of people who can't stand their brothers doing well.

Jiang Nian was about to sprint toward the school gate, using the small grove to shake off these sticky bastards, when suddenly a lively voice sounded beside him: "Hi, senior."

He froze, turned his head, and saw Lin Yuxi standing there, fresh and bright, smiling warmly and waving at him.

"Jiang Guoguo, are you wearing a base layer for your coming-of-age ceremony?"

Hearing this, Jiang Nian thought: Shit, I'm done.

Sure enough, the group of bastards not far away, seeing Lin Yuxi greet him and hearing her warm tone, went completely insane.

"Grab him! I'm furious!"

"Don't let him run—kill this bastard!"

Even Li Hua and the others, who all secretly plotted Gou Gou Da schemes—from first words to marriage and children's names—yet loved to pretend to be cold and aloof,

Primarily indulging in wild fantasies while staying passive in action,

Now, seeing Jiang Nian… even had a junior classmate… they could no longer suppress their inner resentment—they had to punch this alien to death.

Are you seriously trying to pull shit in campus?!

Bastard!

Jiang Nian cursed under his breath and kept running forward,

At the edge of the basketball court, Lin Yuxi stared blankly as the group walked away. She pouted slightly, her phone still buried in her clothes.

She had originally planned to try one more time, to add them on QQ.

Hmph.

Forget it—the final joint exam is coming up at the end of next month.

I'll… just follow the agreement a little, won't let the senior look down on me. Lately, I've been studying hard for love too.

Me! Lin Yuxi.

I'm not a low-scorer!