Chapter 334: The Brave One Isn't Me—It's You

"What's wrong?" Jiang Nian asked.

Zhang Nianzhi shook her head. "Nothing."

After the morning reading session ended, the whole class slumped over their desks.

Jiang Nian was about to lie down and rest for a bit when someone poked his arm. He turned his head and saw Zhang Nianzhi handing him a bookmark.

The bookmark was bright red all over, with golden seal-script characters as the base pattern, and the character "Pass" at the top.

In the blank platinum-white area in the middle, three delicate little characters were written in black marker: "Subject One."

Jiang Nian took it and thought for a moment before speaking.

"Thanks. Honestly, I wasn't a hundred percent sure in my heart either. With this thing I can pray to the heavens for protection—who knows, I might just guess right."

Li Hua had already lain down to sleep, but hearing those words he couldn't help but laugh. He crawled up from the desk and asked, face full of confusion.

"Isn't Subject One not that hard?"

"I have a relative who took it after the college entrance exam. He said he just watched a few hours before the test, breezed through some practice questions, went in, and got a perfect score—passed with flying colors."

Hearing this, Zhang Nianzhi couldn't help feeling a little awkward.

She'd already given it away—how could she take it back?

"Oh, impressive." Jiang Nian casually stuffed the bookmark into his pocket. "So here's the question—did he have a bookmark?"

Li Hua was dumbfounded hearing that. His relative really was smart, but he did love showing off—dated several girls and they all fell through.

He was suddenly at a loss for words. Indeed... saying something like that served no purpose other than showing off.

The first two periods in the morning were both Chinese, back to back. After the first period ended, Jiang Nian took off.

He walked out the school gate with an excuse slip. The security guard glanced at it, took the slip, then waved his hand, signaling he could go.

After leaving the school gate, Jiang Nian spotted Coach Tian Yongsheng's car by the roadside.

Beep—a honk. Coach Lao Tian poked his head out of the car window, waving at him enthusiastically and shouting loudly.

"Boss, over here!"

Jiang Nian was already used to being called "boss," so he went straight around to the passenger side and got in.

Bang—the car door shut.

Coach Lao Tian had already made arrangements with people at the DMV in advance. Some might wonder—what's there to arrange for Subject One?

Because it's fast—no need to wait around forever.

Within just a few minutes of arriving at the DMV, Jiang Nian got his red vest and went into the waiting room. Ten minutes later, he officially entered the exam room.

Coach Lao Tian, meanwhile, stood outside chatting up the staff. Not long after, a staff member looked up and said.

"Result: pass. He made it."

Hearing this, Tian Yongsheng couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Passed that fast? Young people really do have good brains."

He couldn't help squinting his eyes, drifting back to his own youth. The moment he realized he'd never even attended high school, he cut the memory short.

"Still, studying is the way to go..

Thinking of this, he got a sudden whim and asked the staff member beside him,

"I saw a topic on Douyin—if you could go back to high school, seven million yuan or seven hundred points, which would you pick?"

The staff member looked up from the computer screen, and was momentarily stunned.

"Seven million yuan, of course."

"Why?"

"How would you even give me seven hundred points? Seven million yuan is simple."

The car stopped at the school gate.

When Jiang Nian got out, he glanced at his phone—the third period hadn't ended yet.

He thought for a moment, then walked into a accessories shop nearby. He bought a snow-white little bear hair clip with a ridiculously high price tag, paid, and walked out.

After fiddling with it for a while, he tucked it into his pocket before going through the school gate.

Hair clip for bookmark—nice and even.

During the ten-minute break between third and fourth period, Jiang Nian appeared in the classroom as if he'd just come back from the bathroom.

In fact, he'd taken the whole morning off, but he still felt like coming back for class.

"Did you pass?" Zhang Nianzhi asked curiously, looking a little nervous—after all, she'd given him a blessing bookmark.

"Mm." Jiang Nian reached his hand into Zhang Nianzhi's jacket pocket. "My hand's a bit cold—let me borrow your pocket to warm it up."

"No way!" Zhang Nianzhi swatted his hand away.

Just then, the bell rang.

The students who'd been sunbathing in the corridor outside drifted back into the classroom in twos and threes. In the sunlight at the doorway, you could see the dust in the air.

When Li Hua saw Jiang Nian, his eyes went wide, face full of disbelief.

""Bro, you took the day off and still came back for class?"

"What do you mean?" Jiang Nian raised an eyebrow.

"I was just chatting with Bao Weiwei, and she said you probably went for a massage after the exam." Li Hua shook his head, clicking his tongue in wonder.

"Massage my ass." Jiang Nian shot back casually.

Li Hua was slightly stunned. "That kind of service must charge a lot, right?"

"Get lost, get lost."

Halfway through the fourth period, Zhang Nianzhi instinctively wrote with her right hand. Her left hand was tucked in her pocket for warmth, and the moment she reached in she froze.

Something hard. Something cold.

She remembered she had a habit of keeping her hand in her pocket during class, and she definitely hadn't put anything in her left pocket.

He took it out for a look — it was a snow-white little bear hair clip. The finish was about as new as new could be; clearly it had only just been unwrapped.

Zhang Ningzhi turned her head to look at Jiang Nian, glanced at him once, then looked away.

She couldn't help pressing her lips together, feeling a little guilty. Eat a man's food, your mouth goes soft; take a man's gift, your hand grows short — with this, she couldn't stay angry.

Felt like she'd lost out.

After school.

Jiang Nian didn't go eat, having already steeled himself for the leftovers in the cafeteria.

Joint entrance exam, you've turned people into ghosts!

But he really did need a victory right now — something to lift spirits at this critical juncture. Explaining it properly was a bit of a hassle.

Because... the New Year was almost here.

As long as he stayed above six hundred points before the new year, the Jiang family could have a good holiday. His parents could straighten their backs and offer a few humble words at the banquet.

Still, looking at the target of one hundred and ten for Chinese, he couldn't help zoning out a bit.

Better lower the bar a little — one hundred would do.

After all, his Chinese score wasn't up to him alone; just figuring out which direction to push for Chinese improvement was enough to keep him busy half the day.

Before the lunch break, Chen Yunyun and Wang Yuhe arrived at the classroom together.

"Jiang Nian!" Wang Yuhe bounced over and bragged, "I can hit the target every time at pitch-pot now — can you?"

"Wow, impressive." Jiang Nian didn't compete for it.

He reached out, grabbed Chen Yunyun behind Wang Yuhe, and pulled her over in one motion.

"Do you know how to do this problem?"

Chen Yunyun didn't resist either, taking it in stride and glancing at the test paper. Her hair fell from her shoulders as she unhurriedly let out an "oh."

"I've done this one before, just on a different paper."

"Please, sit." Jiang Nian gave up his seat.

"First, take the derivative..."

The neglected Wang Yuhe was dumbfounded, her expression slightly disgruntled. She huffed off to the back of the classroom to play pitch-pot.

After finishing the problem, Chen Yunyun paused.

"Did you pass Subject One?"

Although the two of them chatted online often, they were still Gao San after all. They saw each other every day, so some topics they chose to ask face-to-face.

"Passed it. I figure I can go take Subject Two around the middle of next month."

"Don't you need to practice driving?" Chen Yunyun was puzzled.

"Already finished practicing."

"Didn't you just do Subject One? Just answering questions." Chen Yunyun grew more and more confused — she'd clearly looked it up on Baidu.

Were the two of them even talking about the same thing?

"I finished learning Subject Two last week, and today I took it out on the road for a lap." Jiang Nian thought for a moment, then said directly.

"You can think of it as: I can drive, but I haven't taken the test yet. Probably by the end of next month, I should have my license back."

Chen Yunyun was shocked, blinking her eyes.

"That's still not right — isn't there a required practice-hour minimum?"

Hearing that, Jiang Nian waved his hand vaguely.

"Don't ask about that — there'll be a way. Once I get my license, I'll take you for a spin during New Year."

Chen Yunyun's eyes curved into crescents, and she smiled.

"Sure."

After saying that, she added another line.

"What if you break your promise?"

"You said 'what if' yourself, so don't doubt it — just believe it first." Jiang Nian didn't close the door completely, leaving himself some room to maneuver.

"Pfft, then isn't that the same as not saying anything at all!" Chen Yunyun was a bit speechless.

"How could it be the same as not saying anything? During New Year... won't you be staying home?" Jiang Nian began defending himself.

"I can go to the county town." Chen Yunyun shot him a look. "If you don't come find me, I'll just go traveling with Yuhe."

"Traveling? Where would you even go during New Year?"

"Alright, I get it." Jiang Nian cut her off in time. "How come all of your lives are so colorful?"

As lunch break approached, there weren't many people in the classroom.

The two chatted by the podium — as long as they kept their voices down, no one could hear them at all.

Chen Yunyun's lips curved slightly, and she pretended to say it casually.

"What's the big deal? You could go too."

"A party of three?" Jiang Nian said.

The answer was too explosive.

In an instant, Chen Yunyun's face flushed at his unfiltered words. She could barely hold it together and swatted him in annoyance.

"What nonsense are you spouting."

"No, no, that's not what I meant." Jiang Nian coughed. "Uh, I need to find someone to split the room cost."

A buddy staying in a single room alone — isn't that kind of impolite?

Would it work to find a guy?

No.

Chen Yunyun stared at him quietly, pressing her lips together.

"You'd better not say anything."

"Tch." Jiang Nian cut off the topic and asked, "Let's not talk that far ahead. Is there a holiday next month?"

"I don't know, I heard someone say it seems like there is..."

." Chen Yunyun chimed in.

The two chatted for a while longer, and Chen Yunyun glanced at the time. Even though she was somewhat reluctant to part, she still got up to leave.

The homework wasn't done yet; if she didn't write it at noon, she wouldn't be able to finish it at night.

Before leaving, she suddenly asked Jiang Nian.

"Hey, are you going to the dorm cafeteria to eat this afternoon?"

Jiang Nian lowered his eyes and thought for a few seconds.

He had some small matter in the evening, and if he ran to the dorm cafeteria to eat in the afternoon, going back and forth, the time clearly wouldn't be enough.

After thinking it over, he still refused.

An afternoon passed quickly.

Zhou Yuting's mood was comparatively more nervous; after school she was even more restless, and had no appetite to eat at all.

The leave had already been arranged.

She had often done this before; although Old Liu was hard to deal with, in the end he said one line about being careful and approved the leave.

The person, she had also arranged to meet.

Only two months had passed, and everything had already changed beyond recognition.

After Zhou Yuting moved up a class, she had long since half-given up on Liu Feipeng. Every time he came to chat with her, she turned him away under the pretext of studying.

Deep down, even though she wanted to kick Liu Feipeng away, she was unwilling to go all the way—at least on the surface things had to remain passable.

Now, at Jiang Nian's request.

She once again asked Liu Feipeng out, using the same old excuse as before. Before the joint exam, get together for a bit.

But she was very clear that tonight's gathering........ a fight might break out.

All kinds of terrifying images flashed through her mind, and she even heard the phantom sound of police sirens in her ears—fortunately she only needed to ask Liu Feipeng out, and didn't need to do anything else.

Afterward, she would still have room to maneuver with Zhou Xuan.

Five forty.

Zhou Yuting came up to Jiang Nian and gently tapped the desk.

"Let's go."

Jiang Nian stopped his pen, stood up, and walked out of the classroom.

It had already gotten dark.

On the dim corridor, Zhou Yuting walked in front. Her heart pounding, she licked her lips, gathered her courage, and asked.

"How are you getting there?"

Hearing this, Jiang Nian's voice was slightly surprised.

"You didn't ride your bike?"

He remembered Zhou Yuting had an electric scooter, and a pretty nice-looking one at that.

"Ride..... ride my..... bike?" Zhou Yuting was dumbfounded, instinctively gritting her teeth. "No, why should I!"

On the staircase, Jiang Nian stopped his steps and said thoughtfully.

"You also don't want to.

Zhou Yuting nearly went crazy hearing this; she thought it over and still backed down.

"Fine! Fine, take it!"

She fished the key out of her jacket pocket and tossed it to Jiang Nian, then couldn't help asking out of curiosity.

"How are you planning to deal with Liu Feipeng?"

Jiang Nian said nothing, not until they had walked out of the Gao San building. Only then did he turn back to look at Zhou Yuting, take a deep breath, and say.

"Wrong, it's...... how you deal with Liu Feipeng."

Not the dragon-slaying hero, but the dragon-slaying tool girl.

Hearing this, Zhou Yuting's pupils dilated in an instant.

"What...... what did you say?"