Chapter 339: Some People's Weaknesses Are Pretty Obvious Too

Just sat down for evening self-study.

The corridor was already piled high with book baskets and all sorts of book stands.

Zhang Nianzhi turned her head and glanced at her deskmate—Jiang Nian's seat was empty. She couldn't help but pause, lowering her eyes to think for a moment.

Logically speaking, she wouldn't pry either.

But on second thought, tomorrow was the joint exam for the six cities—arguably the highest-stakes joint exam Gao San had faced so far.

What if he came back smelling of alcohol again?

Who celebrates someone having a baby by going to a KTV and drinking themselves silly? It was obviously a half-hearted excuse, and an absurdly over-the-top one at that.

Still, Zhang Nianzhi didn't think Jiang Nian went to the KTV to fool around. Because even though her deskmate was awkward, he was very proper.

He must have some unspeakable secret, which was why he chose to make excuses and brush her off.

Meanwhile, in the office.

Jiang Nian was drinking tea and chatting with Qian Bao. Plenty of teachers in the office had also called students in for heart-to-hearts ahead of tomorrow's joint exam.

What they discussed was exam mindset, subject strengths, and test-taking techniques.

On the other side, what Jiang Nian and Qian Bao were chatting about was her failing Subject Two of the driving test yesterday afternoon—driving techniques.

"Teacher, if you just don't get nervous, you'll pass."

Jiang Nian shared quite a few driving tips with her, focusing on the timing for reversing into a parking space. His sense of timing was sharper than most people's.

He didn't say too much either—say too much and she wouldn't get it, the more she listened the more confused she'd get.

Some details only click once you get hands-on, and feel them out slowly.

For instance, after a beginner has driven a few times, they can faintly sense the tracks the tires leave on the road surface—how would you describe that feeling?

Very smooth.

"It's fine, Teacher, just try again next week." Jiang Nian consoled her. "It's perfectly normal not to pass on the first try, no need to be upset."

Compared to the other teachers' workstations in the office, the vibe over here was practically upside-down.

"Sigh, now that you say it I'm even more heartbroken." Qian Bao took a sip of tea, her dead-fish eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Can I actually do it?"

Class Four's English teacher Mo Gaowen walked in from outside the office, and seeing Qian Bao like that couldn't help but grin, greeting her.

"Teacher Zhuang, having a heart-to-heart with a student?"

"My student here scores a hundred and forty on English every time—what heart-to-heart is there to have?" Qian Bao waved a hand, putting on a breezy, effortless flex.

Women are like that—emotions come fast and leave fast.

Mo Gaowen let out an "oh?" and couldn't help but take another look at Jiang Nian. He thought to himself that with those looks, the kid didn't seem like the type to buckle down and study.

"That's impressive then. Class Three's English is going to take first place in the grade again this time."

"Ah, just luck." Qian Bao shook her head, pulling out a headache expression. "These little brats never do their homework."

"Heh, that is a headache." Mo Gaowen had already lost interest in keeping the conversation going, and shifted topics. "By the way, did you get the director's signature for the test paper copies?"

"The director's not in, off to a meeting." Qian Bao waved a hand. "Just forge the handwriting a bit, everyone over there knows the drill."

To be fair, Qian Bao's old-hand ways and flexing skills opened Jiang Nian's eyes. He thought to himself that the old woman's experience really was rich.

After chatting for a while longer, Jiang Nian figured he'd head back.

Looking back from the office doorway, Qian Bao waved at him with a smile on her face, as if saying bye-bye.

Before going upstairs, he detoured to the neighboring Comprehensive Sciences office to take a look.

Qing Bao was having a heart-to-heart with two students—one was the biology class rep. The other was the top-tier student Yu Zhiyi, who was leaning against the wall listening.

Yu Zhiyi seemed to have spotted him too, and after a moment actually chased after him. Her chest rippled gently like water.

"Wait up."

Jiang Nian turned back on the stairs, looking puzzled.

"What?"

She caught her breath, smoothed out her rounded chest, then spoke to him.

"The biology teacher wants to see you."

"Alright." Jiang Nian walked past Yu Zhiyi, his gaze not shifting in the slightest, and strolled unhurriedly into the office.

In the Comprehensive Sciences office.

Qing Bao glanced at Jiang Nian in the doorway, then said to her class rep.

"That's about it, you can head back first."

"Alright." The biology class rep left, smiling and greeting Jiang Nian standing at the door. "Done chatting with the English teacher?"

Hearing that, Jiang Nian felt a touch awkward.

"Yeah."

Qing Bao leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples. Her eyes had been narrowed in rest, then she casually pointed at a cup.

"You're thirsty, right? There's tea leaves on the desk."

Jiang Nian: "..."

He silently brewed a cup of tea for Qing Bao, and casually made one for himself too. Feeling shortchanged, he then swiped two tea bags right in front of her.

"Teacher, have some tea."

Qing Bao picked up the teacup and blew on it, then set it down without taking a single sip.

"Thanks. How's your revision going lately?"

"Pretty alright, maybe I can hit ninety this time?" Jiang Nian rattled off casually. Scoring above ninety in biology would mostly take luck.

"Oh, that's impressive." Qing Bao brushed it off just as casually—didn't she know her own star student's level perfectly well?

Nonsense.

But after getting to know Jiang Nian for a while, she'd also picked up the skill of "brushing off." Mhm, mhm, mhm, whatever you say.

Have to admit, after learning this skill, work went a lot more smoothly.

Sometimes in the workplace, just being capable and keeping your mouth shut isn't enough. Being too capable just means more burden gets piled on you; occasionally slacking a bit is actually pretty good.

Hearing this, Jiang Nian was slightly surprised. He didn't know which wire had crossed in Yu Zhiyi's head, that she'd actually responded to his nonsense.

"Just average, mainly the teacher taught well."

"Oh right, there's something I need to tell you." Yu Zhiyi suddenly switched her tone. "The class rep said he doesn't want to do it anymore."

Jiang Nian froze for several seconds, inexplicably feeling a bit guilty.

"Why?"

"Couldn't get it out of him, probably felt being class rep was too tiring." Yu Zhiyi took a sip of tea, looking not too bothered.

The one in front of her was Jiang Nian, not the class rep, so she didn't need to stay tense.

She would even think, if the class rep were Jiang Nian. Then she could save a lot of worry too—Jiang Nian was the type who says what he means straight out.

Sigh, students' thoughts are so hard to guess.

Jiang Nian's face was full of confusion; he didn't quite get it. Why did Yu Zhiyi suddenly show that kind of "baby is suffering" expression.

"And then? Teacher."

"Mm, what I mean is, are you interested in being the biology class rep?" Yu Zhiyi hesitated a moment, but still said it out loud.

"No." Jiang Nian was quite firm.

Yu Zhiyi actually hadn't planned to insist Jiang Nian be class rep—after all, with so many people in the class, someone was bound to want the position.

This position belongs to the worthy.

If Jiang Nian had been wishy-washy, or hesitant. Then this matter would be dropped—just asking him first based on closeness, that's all.

But the other side refused too quickly, and the attitude was overly. Harsh.

So, being a woman, Yu Zhiyi. A rare flicker of petty emotion popped its head up—"Then let me ask you," "then let me ask you"!

"Why?"

Jiang Nian glanced at Yu Zhiyi's smile-that-wasn't-quite-a-smile, thinking to himself women really are scary. Clearly angry, yet still able to smile.

But still had to refuse, nothing to hesitate about.

"Because I don't really want to be class rep, I'd rather spend my time catching breeze in the hallway, or sneak in a nap."

Too real, zero dedication.

This is clearly not a proper thing to do—after all, being part of a collective. How can you not even pretend, or come up with some excuse to brush it off.

Yu Zhiyi, hearing this, actually smiled instead.

"Fine if you don't want it, other people are fighting to be class rep."

"Yeah, let someone else do it then." Jiang Nian spread his hands, didn't take this matter to heart, and left the office not long after.

Just as he was about to head upstairs, someone suddenly patted his shoulder.

"Hm?"

"It's me." Yu Zhiyi looked at Jiang Nian who had turned his head, and flashed a friendly smile. "Got something to discuss with you."

"No."

"I haven't even said what it is yet and you're already refusing." Yu Zhiyi frowned, face full of displeasure. "Jiang Nian, what do you mean!"

"Oh oh, sorry, spoke too fast." A wave of apology rose on Jiang Nian's face. "You say it first, then I'll refuse."

"At the end of the day, you're still going to refuse, huh?" She was done, rolled her eyes. "Can you be serious for once? I'm talking real business."

"Go ahead." Jiang Nian made a "after you" gesture.

"It's like this, I want to be biology class rep." Yu Zhiyi bit her lower lip. "Chief Steward Jiang, can you help me—"

"Are you for real, what did you just call me?" Jiang Nian's fist hardened.

Yu Zhiyi had only been playing around; seeing him genuinely angry. She couldn't help but panic a bit, and immediately said something without thinking.

"Good brother."

"But then again, why do you want to be class rep?" Jiang Nian wasn't the type to be overbearing and unreasonable.

"Like it, just want to try." Yu Zhiyi spoke honestly. "Besides, biology is my weak spot—those by the water get the moon first."

"Then once your biology grades go up, will the first sword of your success fall on Yu Zhiyi?" Jiang Nian asked aloud.

Yu Zhiyi?

So Jiang Nian calls the teacher that in private? The relationship really is unusual—saying he's the steward is selling it short.

Number one favorite in the imperial court, basically.

Yu Zhiyi was dazed for a moment, then immediately came back to herself.

"Of course not, whether my grades go up or not I won't go on strike. Not—wait, what's that supposed to mean? Am I that kind of person?"

"Don't have a fit here, I'm not your boyfriend." Jiang Nian pointed at her, directly warning her and giving her a verbal smack.

"You still want this job or not? With that attitude of yours, I find it hard to believe you can do the job properly—you'll probably just give Yu Zhiyi more headaches."

Hearing this, Yu Zhiyi's face went pale.

"I didn't mean it like that, what I just said doesn't count, redo, redo! You didn't remember anything, forget it!"

"You don't think you're being cute, do you?" Jiang Nian critiqued sharply.

Honestly, for that one moment.

Yu Zhiyi kind of wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into—she felt this person's words really were harsh, with no mercy at all.

She felt Jiang Nian was like the old witch in a fairy tale, wearing a cloak standing in front of Princess Bai Xue, saying in a mocking tone—

"What kind of forest orgy is the little— opening?"

Anyone would break.

Jiang Nian's mouth was vicious beyond belief—the type who'd make a girl cry, then chase after her with "Oh, you're crying?"

In short, Yu Zhiyi was a bit heated.

"I didn't."

Even so, she still had some sense. After all, she was a student in the Olympiad class, and she realized Jiang Nian wasn't without weaknesses.

On the contrary, his weakness was obvious.

She was silent for a few seconds, then leaned close to Jiang Nian's ear and whispered something. Then she immediately pulled away, quietly waiting for Jiang Nian's answer.

Jiang Nian was stunned too. He thought for about ten seconds.

"Fine."

Hearing that, Yu Zhiyi immediately breathed a sigh of relief. A fairly sweet smile appeared on her face as she said sincerely,

"Then I'm counting on you, ha."

Jiang Nian returned to the classroom and took his seat.

"You went to the KTV again?" Li Hua asked curiously.

Zhang Ningzhi, hearing this, turned to look at Li Hua. She thought to herself that besides showing off all day, the squad leader occasionally did something decent.

Thanks, squad leader.

Although she also wanted to ask, she was still a young girl after all. She wanted to keep some reserve, to avoid letting a certain someone think she was easy to push around.

Not juicy gummy candy!

It's fruit hard candy!

"Go to some hammer KTV, am I sick?" Jiang Nian pulled out his books. "Just chatting in two offices, where else could I go?"

The moment he heard it was the office, Li Hua's eyes went red.

As the big exam approached, teachers of every subject would basically find students to have heart-to-heart talks. Basically the subject top-scorers, or simply the top three in the class.

Heart-to-heart talks with students who are weak in one subject are useful normally, but right before a big exam? Besides adding pressure to those students, it's useless.

"Damn it! Two offices, you eat really well!" Li Hua bit his sleeve. "Why, why didn't you call me?"

"I went to the English office, you?" Jiang Nian laughed out loud.

The comprehensive science subjects rarely call students in for chats alone—after all, the three subjects rise and fall together.

If you call a student in to talk, it's nothing more than making them pay more attention to one subject. It will inevitably affect the other subjects, even affecting the total score.

So, heart-to-heart talks at ordinary times don't matter.

At a critical juncture like this big exam, the comprehensive science subjects basically find some suitable people to have heart-to-heart talks with, to ease their tension.

Or to give them a boost, to encourage them.

Li Hua felt it was unfair, lying on the desk and pounding hard.

"Shameful betrayal!! The wound of betrayal never heals! You damn Jiang Nian, you really should die!"

Jiang Nian couldn't be bothered with him. That dog would have to start putting on airs after finishing math tomorrow.

He did a few math problems. After the second evening self-study period, he turned around and asked Li Qingrong at the back desk for her chemistry test paper.

Li Qingrong thought for a moment, took out a stack of test papers clipped with a pink clip from her drawer, glanced at them, and handed them to him.

Lowering her eyes for a moment, she asked,

"Do you want the physics one too?"

Jiang Nian thought for a while, thinking to himself that his physics wasn't good either. After hesitating for a few seconds, he looked up and asked,

"If I take it, what will you look at?"

Without blinking, Li Qingrong answered,

"I don't need to look."

Almost instantly, Jiang Nian took a critical hit to the heart. He thought to himself that he was being foolish—what test papers would the class president need to look at?

"Alright, thank you."

Li Qingrong hummed, stood up and prepared to leave her seat. Just as she stood up, she bent down again, took a stack of test papers from the desk belly, and handed them to him.

"These are the math ones."

"Huh? Okay." Jiang Nian broke out in a small yellow-bean sweat.

Throughout the entire evening self-study, the classroom atmosphere was very restless. As the end of school approached, it got even more chaotic, with everyone chatting.

Jiang Nian was no exception. He looked at the test papers while chatting off and on with Zhang Ningzhi.

Until, with a ding-dong,

Students, class time is over, teacher—

The classroom instantly erupted!