Chapter 323: Xu: He

After evening self-study ended.

Just as Jiang Nian stepped out of the classroom to head home, the system panel suddenly popped up.

【At thirty-eight, you flew to the city where Song Xiuyun was located—the same city as your university, Nan City.

After reuniting, she wore a mask and spoke coldly. You noticed she couldn't help but cough at regular intervals—not like the flu.

The daily grind of a corporate drone made you quickly notice: Song Xiuyun showed no signs of long-term employment, and her spirit was worn down.

Her clothes were clean, but outdated models from years ago.

Task: Complete a pleasant date with Song Xiuyun. Reward: Skill: Verification (refreshes every three days)】

Before reaching the third floor, Jiang Nian had read every piece of information on the panel, lost in thought.

The system is becoming increasingly humanized—put yourself in the shoes of a thirty-eight-year-old mid-level worker.

Before and after the date with Song Xiuyun, the system revealed all the information at once, terrified the host might miss certain details, and hammered home the hints.

Jiang Nian, as an observer.

Across a twenty-year river of time, gazing at the moment of their future reunion.

What he saw was less, and the information obtained... relatively incomplete.

He could only infer from the reason they broke up in university, and Song Xiuyun's state during the date.

Illness?

Chronic illness, requiring vast sums of money; after twenty years, the disease was already uncontrollable.

They met immediately upon contact; marital status should be blank. Economic condition was poor; she was too sick to work and maintain financial balance.

Half-working, half-ill, a walking medicine bottle.

Besides, Nan City had no university directly under the State Council, and neither of them scored high enough—they only got into a third-tier school, and graduated as broke students.

Money.

Back to the crux of the problem: no money.

But these were just his guesses; the actual situation still required memory fragments, likely in the next task reward.

Descended to the third floor.

After Jiang Nian and Xu Qianqian crossed paths, they walked down the stairs together in unspoken agreement. Song Xiuyun was nowhere to be seen—probably left early.

He didn't take the date task seriously at all.

Any casual meal at the cafeteria or outside counted as a date; the difficulty lay in Xiao Song and Xu Shao being inseparable.

He needed a suitable excuse to carry out the task.

Also, the reward skill: Verification.

No description at all; following the principle that the fewer the words, the more powerful the skill—and with a three-day cooldown after one use, it must be insane.

Three-day cooldown after one use? He almost mistook it for a cooldown of three days between uses.

What kind of intermediate weapon!

Although he hadn't received the skill reward yet, Jiang Nian could reasonably guess it was a highly applicable...:... conceptual skill.

Perhaps a form of minor superpower—a concept skill... but like 【Precision】, not overwhelmingly overpowered.

For example, though he had no game understanding, he could use Precision to enter the IPL league and become the most promising player of the year in the LPL.

Or just enroll at Harbin Institute of Technology and build an aircraft carrier by hand.

Of course, whether Harbin Institute of Technology would even accept this low-scoring kid was another matter entirely. Precise—but not entirely precise.

For instance, even when repeating high-precision tasks, he occasionally still made mistakes.

In short, Jiang Nian was very interested in this non-absolute Verification ability, and his first reaction was to speculate on the system's motives.

His second reaction was... could it verify lies?

Detective Conan would absolutely love this skill: first deduce from evidence, then find someone to verify—immediately, the killer is found.

Outside the school gate, on the way home.

Jiang Nian remained mostly silent the whole way, making Xu Qianqian curious; she turned to look at him several times.

Finally, she couldn't help asking.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing. I'm just wondering where to start licking if I actually scored 610." Jiang Nian said, face calm, uttering a thoroughly off-putting remark.

Hearing this, Xu Qianqian broke out in goosebumps.

"Are you horny?"

"Well, you know what? Don't say it—don't say it." Jiang Nian mused, "Xu Qianqian, what animals go into heat in winter?"

Xu Qianqian pursed her lips and corrected him.

"That's called beasts."

"I know you didn't mean me, but I have a friend who's feeling unwell." Jiang Nian pointed at her, giving a Husky warning.

"How do you know I didn't mean you?" Xu Qianqian shot back.

Under the streetlamp, Jiang Nian stopped walking.

"You know, there are many people with the same name in this world."

"The ID number is—"

"Chasing you down, Xu Shao." Jiang Nian turned to look at Xu Qianqian; the girl's profile was Bai Xi, her skin smooth and dewy.

Sliiiip sliiiip.

So much want to lick.

But Jiang Nian's interest was purely aesthetic appreciation—he had no vulgar "open a supermarket" thoughts.

The main point: respect friendship.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Xu Qianqian frowned, giving him a suspicious glance, thinking, What a little Chunan.

Ha, that's it?

Just glancing a little longer and you can't hold back—puberty's power is truly amazing.

Then again, I heard some boys in puberty do... handiwork... for their fantasy objects.

Jiang Nian wouldn't be...

If not me, then who?

Zhou Yuting?

"Nothing, I just get awkward around girls who are too beautiful," Jiang Nian quoted the anime protagonist's famous line.

"Of course it's a romance anime—what else could it be?"

"Could it be Pokémon?"

"Can't be Lucky Star, right?"

"Holy shit, what the hell is Autumn ** Sky?"

Jiang Nian guessed she'd be smug, so he went along with flattery. Maybe if she was in a good mood, she'd hand him something for free.

They were just too familiar—too familiar to even think about early romance.

Even Jiang's parents, Li Hongmei, didn't really approve. Xu Qianqian was too outstanding, too high-minded.

Meanwhile, Jiang Nian kept getting worse; a thick barrier now separated them.

Before Jiang Nian's class promotion, Li Hongmei had never entertained any thoughts. Only recently, seeing them walk home together every day, had she begun to entertain a few ideas.

Run Tu... no—Jiang Nian looked at Xu Qianqian.

Sure enough, he saw a trace of smugness on her face, and thought, That's it? Just a few compliments and she's floating?

But he still had something important to ask, so he continued.

"What are you doing tomorrow noon?"

Hearing this, Xu Qianqian looked puzzled.

"Why?"

Jiang Nian hesitated. "I want to go on a date with you—of course... if you bring Song Xiyun, I won't mind."

"Who are you dating, you loser?" Xu Qianqian sneered, giving him a look of contempt, as if he were trash.

"I don't have time to play with you at noon. Xi Yun was selected for some evening self-study meeting, so I have to help her finish homework."

Jiang Nian's eyes instantly lit up, but he feigned disappointment.

"Alright."

They slipped into an alley and walked through its narrow passages.

Though she said nothing, Xu Qianqian secretly enjoyed Jiang Nian's reaction—a tiny bit of satisfaction.

She pressed her lips together, flattening the curve of her smile.

So he really wants to go on a date with me?

We'll see how you perform.

Downstairs, Jiang Nian stopped and turned back, curiously watching Xu Qianqian's slow steps.

"Miss Xu, what are you doing?"

"Thinking about how to smash your dog head!" Xu Qianqian quickened her pace, brushing past him, leaving behind a waft of fragrance.

He was certain Xu Qianqian never used perfume.

A light, subtle blend of girlhood scent—fast-forward to "Bro, you smell good."

Xu Qianqian walked ahead and climbed the stairs first. The motion-sensor light in the stairwell turned on, and she immediately turned back to accuse him.

"What are you doing? Don't tell me you've got improper thoughts about me?"

"No, no, never!" Jiang Nian thought: ignoring gender differences, wouldn't showering separately waste more water?

Xu Qianqian had no idea the thoughts swirling in his head could fill a Xiaohongshu comment section with a thousand replies.

"Today I'm in a good mood, so I'll let it slide."

Damn, Miss Qianqian is kinda low-key too.

Jiang Nian didn't know how to refute her, so he just silently accepted it. After all, when you've got enough lice, one more doesn't matter—he really had been imagining things.

"Alright, I'm heading back."

Two thuds—the two doors closed one after the other.

Xu Qianqian put down her bag and went to her room for clean clothes, wondering if Jiang Nian would use her as inspiration while showering.

Whatever. The price of beauty.

Doing wrong is wrong—but if the object of his wrongdoing is me, then maybe a little leniency is acceptable.

In front of the mirror, Xu Qianqian pressed her lips together, then expertly slipped on a shower cap. With a light tap on her phone, the bathroom played "Sunny Day."

The little yellow flower of the story...

Shhh shhh shhh.

Under the showerhead, Jiang Nian washed his hair, barely managing to open his eyes. He reached out a wet hand and precisely tapped the shelf without looking.

The song paused by water droplets resumed playing.

【On a windy day, I tried holding your hand...】

In the steam-filled bathroom, he tilted his head back, momentarily stunned—he'd never truly held Xu Qianqian's hand.

Even when there had been occasional contact, it was only a grip.

【Someone loved you for a long time... I want to ask again, will you wait or leave?】

Jiang Nian sighed softly, washed quickly, dried his hair, and plunged back into his problem-solving battle.

Men gotta fight!

Don't act like a delicate girl—there's no savior to save you, only yourself.

The next day.

Jiang Nian woke up as usual, yawning as he headed to school.

Outside, it was freezing cold, the sky just beginning to lighten. Streetlights glowed, and breakfast stalls poured out huge clouds of white steam.

The moment he got his scalding hot buns and soy milk, Jiang Nian came back to life.

Isn't getting up early all for this one thing?

It was pure Zhenan flavor—pure and authentic.

He suddenly remembered Zhou Haifei, that poor girl, who probably hadn't even drunk pure soy milk. Every day she just ordered hot water and swallowed red sugar buns at her seat.

What if there was no hot water?

Jiang Nian didn't dare imagine it, not in this freezing winter...

If only he could make sure she drank soy milk every morning, or ate a bun.

It wouldn't cost him much—just a little slipped through his fingers would be enough.

This thought came purely from his simple values—but it didn't mean he'd suddenly approach her and impose psychological pressure.

Chinese people can't stand seeing others go hungry.

You say you're not happy? What's it to me?

You say you don't want a lot of money, you want a lot of love? Bullshit.

But if you say you go hungry every day, or eat terribly little and badly—that's truly unbearable.

Bro doesn't have much money... but I won't miss you having this one bite.

After all, whose ancestors didn't starve to death?

Direct keyword extraction: tree bark, grass roots, eating bran, foraging wild vegetables, starving so badly it became a collective memory.

Although Zhou Haifei ate the cafeteria's poorly made red sugar buns, it was just to save money and fill her stomach.

But if there was a suitable opportunity to help Zhou Haifei get one extra cup of soy milk for breakfast, Jiang Nian would do it without expecting anything in return.

The problem was there wasn't one, so he'd leave it for now.

After entering the classroom, Jiang Nian went to get hot water and asked Huang Fang a question.

"Got hot water yet?"

Huang Fang looked up, slightly puzzled.

"No."

Empress Fangfang was quite independent, but with the Sixth Group helping each other, she never lacked fruit or drinks.

"Then give it to me—I'll fill them together," Jiang Nian said, extending his hand.

"No, you can't carry three thermoses alone," Huang Fang said, standing up. "I'll go with you."

"Great, let me piggyback on your card," Jiang Nian said.

Hearing this, Huang Fang paused, then smiled.

"Sure."