Chapter 328: Then Touch Me

Jiang Nian wasn't idle either — during the break between class exercises, he ran down to the first-floor Integrated Sciences office.

He had already handed in the biology test papers to Qingbao yesterday. She was busy proctoring and grading, so the experience burst had been pushed to Tuesday.

Jiang Nian walked into the office and, out of habit, paid her a compliment: "Teacher, you look really pretty today."

Qingbao looked up from her seat. "Not pretty yesterday?"

"Huh?" Jiang Nian froze on the spot.

"Ahem, come on over." Qingbao took a tactical sip of water, as though she'd just won a round.

You're awfully pleased with yourself, aren't you! Qingbao!

"Teacher, have you finished looking through the test papers?" Jiang Nian walked over to the workstation by the window, changing the subject.

"All graded. Drag a stool over and sit down."

The desk was covered in test papers, sunlight dancing across them in scattered gold.

"Okay." Jiang Nian was obedient as Crayon Shin-chan.

The long break ended.

The preparatory bell for third period rang. Qian Bao walked out of the office holding an English test paper, ready to head upstairs to teach Class 3.

"Teacher, wait for me."

Hearing the voice from behind, Qian Bao couldn't help turning her head on the staircase. Seeing Jiang Nian coming out of the Integrated Sciences office, she said with a hint of vinegar.

"You walk right past the English office and don't even say hello, huh."

Jiang Nian had just caught up and, hearing that, said.

"But when I came by earlier, Teacher, you weren't in the office either."

"Ah? Was I really..." Qian Bao froze.

Oh great, so that's how the bad woman wants to play it?

If he hadn't happened to pass by and check today, he might well have swallowed that guilt fruit!

"Teacher, you're a little...." Jiang Nian attacked without mercy.

"Let's not talk about that. Have you booked Subject One?" Qian Bao went tap-tap-tap up the stairs, forcibly changing the subject.

"Booked it. Taking Thursday off." Jiang Nian hadn't managed to outplay Qian Bao — ginger really is the older and the spicier — and his attention was immediately diverted.

"What a coincidence, I just booked Thursday for Subject Two too." The old woman acted cute, blinking her eyes. Yay yay yay.

Cringe. The old woman who loves framing people — once a student confesses to her, she goes quiet.

Jiang Nian was speechless, but still offered a polite line.

"Teacher, you'll definitely pass no problem."

"I think so too. If I don't pass, you're done for." Qian Bao, in her Dr. Martens and long cotton skirt, went up the stairs.

Jiang Nian hurried after her, getting ahead to the fourth floor and into the classroom.

As usual, Monday test, Tuesday review. So third-period English class was especially uneventful.

The only fun came after third period, when a group of boys poured out of the classroom and crowded the corridor to soak up the sun.

Li Hua had a sudden whim, struck by inspiration, and asked.

"Hey, don't you guys think the phrase 'glimpse of the leopard through a tube' sounds dirty?"

Hearing that, Jiang Nian and Ma Guojun exchanged glances.

"What the hell?"

"Posting you on Xiaohongshu, cringe guy."

"No, I'm just having an academic discussion." Li Hua defended himself. "No dirty thoughts, just tell me — is it dirty or not?"

The three of them stood in a row by the corridor railing, silent for three seconds.

Jiang Nian turned his head and suddenly tossed out a line.

"What if I said... 'shooting both ways'?"

Ma Guojun could barely keep a straight face. "Shut up, I'm literally getting visuals now."

"Hey! You little—" Jiang Nian pointed at him and said deliberately, "Watching stuff and still not keeping it pure love? Drag him out and feed him to the dogs!"

The sky was high, the clouds light, the sunshine warm.

Li Hua blurted out, "The future is long — so who exactly is 'Long'? And could there be someone called '久生情'?"

The three fell into thought.

Noon dismissal.

"Going home to eat?" Jiang Nian asked Zhang Ningzhi, who was tidying her desk.

"Yep." Zhang Ningzhi answered, then added, "I heard someone say there's a really cute kitty over by the Ximen teachers' apartment."

"Cats... aren't they all cute in the eyes of you girls?" Jiang Nian was a bit at a loss.

"That's true, but that cat's different." She leaned in close, her big eyes shining with longing.

"How so?" Jiang Nian broke into a sweat.

"That cat's way of tucking its paws is especially cute, all chubby, and its fur is really clean." Zhang Ningzhi's voice went soft.

"Really? Have you pet it?" Jiang Nian turned to look at her, gazing at Baby Zhizhi like that — the latter visibly blushing.

Her face went red.

She pressed her lips together, looked away, and stammered.

"I'm afraid it'll scratch me."

"Hahaha, Lord Ye who loves dragons." Jiang Nian laughed.

"That's not it, I'm not talking to you anymore!" Zhang Ningzhi had been hit where it hurt, getting a little flustered, and turned around huffily to leave.

After lunch.

Jiang Nian came out of the cafeteria, originally planning to head straight upstairs.

But after a quick glance at the west gate, he immediately walked toward the small gate that was currently open. Outside the small gate was a narrow path, right next to the basketball court.

Tall paulownia trees arched overhead, and the direction the path led was the faculty apartment building.

A few electric motorbikes were parked along the roadside, fairly new models. They looked stylish, but in reality it was a bit like Lü Bu riding a dog.

Obviously a student's ride—the main point is it moves and looks cool, that's enough.

Jiang Nian walked forward, sparse sunlight falling on the little path. He planned to bump into Cat Teacher by chance and take a photo to send to Baby Zhizhi.

Bro isn't some Ye Gong who only loves dragons in theory—I'm poking her.

What's the point of doing this?

No point, just to nail down a meme I can use to tease Zhang Nianzhi. The moment cats come up, straight "Zhigong loves dragons."

A big yellow dog was circling under a tree by the road, finishing one lap then going around another tree. No cat in sight, but he did see a mouse flash past in a dried-up ditch.

This was the middle zone between the cafeteria and the faculty apartment area; outside the alley was a big dumpster, the mice here were even raised plump and glossy.

The sunlight made Jiang Nian a bit drowsy; he kept walking deeper along the path. Crack—he accidentally stepped on and snapped a dry twig by the road.

Finally, he spotted the cat at an unremarkable corner.

It was a raised yellow stone, with a calico cat lying on it. Its fur was neat and clean, didn't look like a stray.

Someone nearby must have been casually looking after it—being good-looking really does mean you won't starve,

The cat lay there lazily basking in the sun, eyes narrowed at a slant. The very picture of "meow, so bored, strangers don't touch me."

Jiang Nian saw it from afar, thinking bro's just taking a photo to tease a pretty girl.

Don't worry, I won't lick you.

He pulled out his phone, planning to stop at a not-too-close, not-too-far distance. But just as he lifted his foot, a person appeared on the uphill path at the corner.

Li Qingrong's attention was all on the cat, a cat treat pinched in her hand. She looked a bit nervous, her posture a bit stiff.

Looks like she's also afraid of getting scratched.

Generally speaking, the smarter someone is, the less likely they are to shove their face right up close. Whether you get scratched or not depends entirely on the kitty's mood.

Firing squad or death sentence—check the Douyin combat intensity.

"Ahem, you're here too?" Jiang Nian spoke up first, saving himself from walking into some awkward scene later.

Like the cat glancing at Li Qingrong, then turning and leaping away.

"Mm?" Li Qingrong turned her head; the dazzling sunlight dazed her for a moment, and the cool, aloof look on her face faded quite a bit.

Once she clearly saw it was Jiang Nian, her whole body involuntarily stiffened.

"You—"

"I surrender, didn't see a thing." Jiang Nian said it first.

Hearing that, Li Qingrong was instantly at a loss for words. Only the look she gave Jiang Nian was a touch resentful—being caught by him was a bit...

But Jiang Nian didn't notice, and walked up beside Li Qingrong on his own.

"Just tear open the cat treat packaging, someone has fed it before. The cat's used to it, it should come over on its own."

He had no interest in the Douyin "death sentence minimum, implicating nine clans" topic of feeding stray cats, only interest in the person.

Person feeds cat, person bad, cat scratches person, person bad.

What, you're from Zhennan?

Then forget it, you're not bad.

If you got cyberbullied and jumped, who'd keep the bride-price economy going?

Li Qingrong squatted down and tore open the cat treat. She pinched the treat and reached forward; the fingers holding the treat were slender, with clearly defined knuckles.

Jiang Nian isn't a hand person, but he still glanced a few more times.

To be fair, the class monitor's hands really are beautiful. The skin on the back of her hands was fair and fine, her wrists like frost and snow, her plain fingers like jade scallions.

The Creator isn't entirely fair either—always giving some people a little extra favoritism.

"Where'd you buy the cat treats?" Jiang Nian asked.

She heard that. She looked up, hesitated a moment, then said.

"At... at the pet shop on the street outside the tax bureau."

"Tax bureau, that's a bit far." Jiang Nian estimated the walking time from school to the tax bureau, then asked, "Have you eaten?"

Li Qingrong kept her posture of luring the cat over to eat the treat, and the calico did indeed move, ambling slowly toward her.

The corner where the two of them stood was a four-story building. Sunlight fell on the whitewashed wall of the first floor, the snow-white wall reflecting a halo of light.

By the cement road, a few people in the distance were playing basketball on the court,

Jiang Nian walked over beside her and squatted down together.

The calico cat single-mindedly licked the treat, tongue curling, the treat visibly shortening.

Li Qingrong clumsily squeezed the treat with both hands, lowered her eyes for a moment, and answered that question.

"Not yet—"

7

"There's a Three-Freshness noodle place near school that's pretty good." Jiang Nian asked another question, "Are you on a diet lately?"

Only then did Li Qingrong react, turning her head to look at him with a serious expression.

"Am I fat?"

"Very slim, golden ratio already." Jiang Nian couldn't help finding it a bit funny—even the class monitor cares about talk of fat and thin.

"The Three-Freshness noodles are pure meat, worried you might be avoiding certain foods."

"Have you eaten?" Li Qingrong kept her posture of feeding the cat.

"Already ate, watching you eat." Jiang Nian didn't pull the high-EQ move, saying straight out, "Want to spend a bit more time with you."

Plop—the cat treat fell onto the ground.

Sanhua froze, a tiny cat head full of great confusion.

It looked up at Li Qingrong, saw that this human female who fed it had a panicked look in her eyes, her face flushing visibly red.

Kitty was bewildered—hurry up and pick the cat treat up!

What am I supposed to eat otherwise!

Where's Douyin? Speak up for me!

Li Qingrong came back to her senses and realized she'd lost her composure. She hurriedly picked the cat treat back up and, flustered, continued feeding.

"... Mm."

After Sanhua finished eating, she didn't leave right away.

Instead she stayed in place, tucked her paws in. Like a maid receiving a guest, lingering after the meal to collect payment.

Li Qingrong's mind was a bit jumbled, staring blankly at the cat.

"She's waiting for you to pet her," Jiang Nian reminded her.

"Mm, okay." Li Qingrong came to, reached out and stroked Sanhua, and asked nervously, "Then what?"

Hearing that, Jiang Nian couldn't help but laugh.

He thought, is there really a procedure for this? Pet as long as you like, leave when you've had enough—surely we don't have to take out a loan for the cat?

Calico cat bride-price loan.

He said half-jokingly, "Then pet me."

As the words fell, Li Qingrong hesitated for a moment. She glanced down at the hand that had petted the cat, then extended her other hand.

Rustle, rustle.

The class monitor reached out and ruffled Jiang Nian's fluffy hair, then withdrew her hand. The same procedure as petting the cat—truly rigorous.

Jiang Nian froze—he'd gotten his head patted by the class monitor.

Some moments truly cannot be described in words. He only remembered the sensation of that instant, the breathing of the girl before him.

The sun climbed higher, and the two of them just stood there staring blankly at each other.

Truly, one dared to say it, the other dared to do it.

Until Jiang Nian stood up and casually pulled Li Qingrong up too. He openly got to hold that hand—the touch was cool and smooth.

"Let's go, get something to eat."

"Mm." Li Qingrong said very little.

To this, Jiang Nian had long grown accustomed. He took it simply as her personality—someone who didn't like to talk much, who didn't want to waste the effort.

Before leaving, he took a photo of Sanhua.

The two walked in silence along the cement road toward the main street.

In the alley right next to the cafeteria, two flashy electric motorcycles came roaring in, each carrying a young man on the back seat.

Their faces were a bit red—probably from drinking at lunch. As they rode in, all four were loudly laughing and cursing.

Jiang Nian pulled Li Qingrong to the side, and the two of them drew a little closer.

They came out of the alley mouth.

Li Qingrong followed behind Jiang Nian, walking about two hundred meters. The two stopped in front of a noodle shop—the sign was brand new.

Three-Fresh Noodles.

"Do you eat scallions and cilantro?" Jiang Nian asked.

Li Qingrong hesitated a moment, then shook her head.

"I don't."

It was near the lunch break, so there weren't many people in the shop.

Li Qingrong washed her hands at the shop entrance.

Jiang Nian said a word to the owner, grabbed two bottles of soy milk, paid on the way, and took two small bowls.

Although he'd already eaten, bringing someone here for noodles, he couldn't just sit and watch.

The Three-Fresh Noodles came in a slightly smaller portion—just casually keeping the class monitor company while eating a bit.

Li Qingrong sat quietly at the table, not on her phone, not looking around. Her gaze met his for a moment, then dropped.

Seeing that Jiang Nian had brought two sets of bowls and chopsticks, she spoke up.

"I don't eat much, you can... eat a little more."

"It's because you still remember that question I asked you, right—were you on a diet?" Jiang Nian scalded the bowl, poured the rinse water into the trash can.

"Class monitor, you really are petty."

Hearing that, Li Qingrong was visibly unhappy.

"I'm not."

"I don't believe it—unless you eat normally." Jiang Nian looked up at her and couldn't help but smile. "I've already eaten."

Li Qingrong hesitated a little—she had indeed just been planning to eat half-full and call it done.

"Mm."

Silence fell over the table again, and Jiang Nian switched into energy-saving mode. Since the two of them could be quiet without it being awkward, there was no need to talk.

"Three-Fresh Noodles, coming through!" The owner carried the plate over and set it on the table. "Condiments are self-serve—if you want to adjust the flavor just let me know."

"Alright, boss, your service attitude is really great." Jiang Nian went straight for the compliment. "A classmate recommended this place—no wonder business is so good."

"It's alright, pretty average." The owner looked a bit embarrassed, then added, "Oh, do you guys want a braised egg?"

"On the house, no charge."

And so, an extra small plate appeared on the table, holding one braised egg.

Li Qingrong lowered her head and ate the three-delicacy noodles, not making the slightest sound. Even when drinking the soup, she used a spoon, taking small sips.

Her moist lips were coated with a faint sheen of oil.

She didn't know what topic to bring up, so she passively waited for Jiang Nian to start one. What if he didn't?

Then she'd be unhappy, but she wouldn't show it.

Although Li Qingrong ate slowly, she felt her appetite was much better than usual today. And because she was mindful of his words, she chose to eat normally.

"Class monitor, what do your friends call you?"

"Name," she said, eating a noodle.

"Oh, I see." Jiang Nian lowered his head to eat his noodles. Calling her by name was a bit awkward. "Then... what about your family?"

Li Qingrong froze, and only after a long while said softly.

"Qing... Qing."

"Why not call you Rongrong?" Jiang Nian took the opportunity to ask. "Or Rongbao, Qingbao—wouldn't those sound nicer?"

Li Qingrong's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, and she turned her face to the other side. Pressing her lips together, she forcibly suppressed a great wave of shyness.

"I... I don't know."

"Alright, I was thinking—what should I call you to be more fitting?" Jiang Nian began to probe.

After a long pause, Li Qingrong tossed out one line.

"You... whatever."