Chapter 33

As his words fell, Liu Liangsong's gaze settled on the small area where Jiang Nian sat, his expression dark as water.

"You won't raise your hand yourself, so you want me to call you out, is that it?"

Zhang Ningzhi's face turned deathly pale—she'd probably never been scolded by a teacher before. Her hands on the desk trembled slightly; the obedient girl prepared to lower her head and stand up.

Jiang Nian kicked her chair, stopping Zhang Ningzhi's movement. Then he prepared to rise, but Li Hua pulled him back—Li Hua stood up instead.

"Teacher, I report: Ma Guojun was talking too just now."

"Li Hua, fuck your mom!"

Ma Guojun muttered under his breath, then stood up, adjusting his glasses and bowing his head. His lips moved rapidly, likely reciting some sweet incantation.

I am a Sterlingite, black magic—that's black magic.

Even after sacrificing two people, Liu Liangsong's expression didn't improve. Probably to appear fair, he scowled and swept his gaze across Zhang Ningzhi's section.

"Only boys? I clearly heard a girl's voice—do you stand up yourself, or shall I call you out?"

Hearing this, Zhang Ningzhi nearly burst into tears.

But then Ma Guojun chimed in, "Cough cough, Yao Bei Bei, the teacher's calling you."

"You..." Yao Bei Bei stood up, smiling awkwardly, "Teacher, I was just reciting my lesson—my voice was just a little louder than usual."

Liu Liangsong's gaze swept over Yao Bei Bei, and he let out a hollow laugh.

"All three of you—get out here!"

The second evening self-study session ended.

Zhang Ningzhi followed Jiang Nian down the stairs, trailing him all the way from the fourth floor. The corridor was narrow and dimly lit, shadows shifting everywhere.

"Where are we going?"

Li Hua, Yao Bei Bei, and Ma Guojun hadn't returned from the office yet; Zhang Ningzhi was worried about them. She planned to check on them and was about to call Jiang Nian along.

Jiang Nian seemed to have something to say too, and just as Zhang Ningzhi, gathering courage, turned around from her front seat, their eyes met. He spoke up directly, telling her to follow him after self-study.

She had assumed they were going to the office, but realized they were leaving the classroom building.

"To buy drinks," Jiang Nian said, stopping and turning back, as if imparting wisdom, "Li Hua and the others took the brunt of Old Liu's rage—get them each a bottle of water."

"Oh." Zhang Ningzhi looked confused, quickening her pace to catch up, whispering, "Just now... I was about to stand up."

"I saw. But you shouldn't have," Jiang Nian said. "I kicked your chair to stop you—I'd stand up instead."

"Why?"

They walked with the crowd, soon leaving the bright zone of the classroom building, the surroundings growing dark.

"You just transferred in, your grades are good, and you're shy," he turned to look at the girl walking beside him, the classroom lights reflecting in her half-lit eyes.

"If you're suddenly taken away by a teacher in your new class, people will form a bad impression. You'll have to stay here for another year—how could you bear it? I don't care."

"What about Yao Bei Bei? And Li Hua and Ma Guojun? Isn't this betrayal?" Zhang Ningzhi fidgeted, even using the word "betrayal."

"Exactly the opposite," Jiang Nian said. "I was going to stand up myself—Li Hua pulled me back. They didn't expose us, so now we go buy drinks."

"And them?"

"Their grades are good and they're thick-skinned—they can chat with other teachers in the office. They're fine," Jiang Nian realized Zhang Ningzhi was genuinely slow to grasp these things.

Zhang Ningzhi cautiously glanced at Jiang Nian, noticing his straight, ice-cube-like shoulders. His nape was clean, his hair jet-black, his expression casually indifferent.

Walking beside him, Zhang Ningzhi felt like she was clinging to a powerful backer. He was patient—even with someone like her, who asked three questions and got no answers, he explained slowly.

This feeling made her feel safe; she vaguely sensed she might make a few friends in her new class.

He's so good at this.

Zhang Ningzhi asked curiously, "Are boys naturally good at making friends?"

Jiang Nian glanced at her. "Actually not. I have unique insights—I once attended a preparatory course at the Friendship Academy."

"There's a class like that?" the girl gasped.

"Do you want to know how to make friends?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm."

As the convenience store drew nearer, Jiang Nian slowed his pace and spoke seriously.

"The foundation of friendship is mutual trust. For example, if I offer to scrub your back, you just say 'thank you,' not 'How did you even get in here?'"

Zhang Ningzhi: "....... In school, really, there's no one you care about?"

Jiang Nian wore a look of utter indifference—he only acted silly around people he knew, because strangers would truly think he was an idiot.

"Come on, let's buy each of them a bottle—and remember to get one for yourself too."

"Oh oh." She stepped into the packed convenience store, then suddenly realized a problem: "Jiang Nian, what drinks do they like?"

"Just follow me—two bottles of iced black tea, one bottle of fruit pulp orange juice," he said. "I'll take Sprite—you pick one for yourself."

With a transcendent proxy, doing homework is fast—just copy directly.

In the crowded convenience store, on the other side of the crowd.

Xu Qianqian was hesitating in the snack aisle, faintly hearing Jiang Nian's voice—then turned, realizing it wasn't him. She frowned inwardly, thinking: Jiang Nian is such a bastard.

"Qianqian, have you decided?" Song Xiyun held up a bag of chips.

"Yes, this one. Let's go."

Ding ding ding—the third evening self-study bell rang.

The stairs grew crowded again as people surged upward. Zhang Ningzhi walked ahead of Jiang Nian, always keeping a small safe zone; by the time they reached the fourth floor, they met the three boys emerging from the office.

Jiang Nian called out to them and passed out drinks one by one.

"A small token of appreciation, my loyal ministers—each of you, one stick."

"Thank you... you guys," Zhang Ningzhi blushed, mimicking him, "Beibei, this is yours."

"So polite—if it's Guojiao liquor, then I'll accept," Li Hua and Ma Guojun grinned, taking the iced black tea from their hands.

These two fools strode down the corridor, each holding a bottle in either hand, swaggering into the classroom—anyone watching might think entering the office triggered a free drink ritual.

"Skipped one evening self-study period and still got to drink a beverage — pure blood profit." Li Hua said with feeling.

"If the head teacher hadn't chased me away, I'd really have wanted to stay for another evening self-study period." Ma Guojun said shamelessly, "Shit, Old Liu's probably gonna leave early."

Yao Bei Bei hugged two bottles of pulpy orange in her arms, looped her right arm through Zhang Ningzhi's, and vividly described her wonderful experience in the office.

Jiang Nian was the last one into the classroom, a bottle of Sprite in his hand. He saw that Zhang Ningzhi seemed to have bought herself a carton of milk, held carefully in her hand.

In the blink of an eye, evening self-study was over. Jiang Nian went downstairs as usual to wait for Xu Qianqian to walk home, only to find she had already left long ago.