Chapter 359: The Free Stuff Is the Most Expensive

When the big fat man Ma Guojun entered the classroom, he saw Li Hua slumped face-down on his desk, wriggling his butt.

He couldn't resist, reaching out to slap him hard.

The next second came Li Hua's shrill shriek.

"Ma, are you fucking crazy?!"

Ma Guojun grinned, turning to ask Jiang Nian.

"What the hell is this bastard yelling about so early?"

Jiang Nian glanced at Li Hua and said flatly, "Dunno. I can't understand the mindset of someone with such a low score."

"Red Stone! Red Stone!" Li Hua scrambled up from his desk, grabbing Jiang Nian's collar. "Is a few points still considered high?!"

Jiang Nian brushed his hand away, speaking indifferently.

"Rounded up, I'm ten points ahead. But I'm not an expert in this area, so I'm probably about fifty points higher than you."

"You're talking nonsense!" Li Hua snapped.

"You treating these few points like a Pinduoduo cut? But then again—are you even a user?"

Seeing Li Hua's ever-changing expression, everyone in Group Six laughed.

"Group leader, I got one more point than you," Huang Fang suddenly turned around, hesitating, delivering the final blow.

Li Hua: "..."

Morning self-study.

A ray of morning sun slowly rose from the front of the teaching building, streaming through the windows into the classroom.

Li Qingrong rested one hand on her desk, lightly flipping through her book. Sunlight slanted in from the side, gilding her pupils gold.

Her high ponytail trembled slightly, every strand lit up by the sun.

She was in good spirits—perhaps because of that strange conversation during last night's self-study—but she truly had no worries.

Or rather, she used to have them, but now, temporarily, none.

Someone else might already be obsessing over gains and losses. But Li Qingrong's sluggishness had long been ingrained, almost habitual.

It wasn't always like this before...

These past few years of drastic change had affected her like a rollercoaster, hurling her from one extreme to another.

Just as she entered puberty, it had inevitably shaped her personality—or to put it bluntly—

Profoundly.

End of morning self-study.

Li Qingrong saw Jiang Nian pull out his phone and sneakily text someone under the desk.

It wasn't that she was deliberately spying—Jiang Nian didn't even bother hiding. After sending the message, he'd wait for the reply, then show it to her.

"After first period, I'm going to take a short leave."

Li Qingrong glanced at him, didn't ask why he was leaving, just nodded.

"Mm."

In fact, she didn't even need to approve.

He just had to show his leave slip to Cai Xiaoqing before leaving; as for the class monitor... it was purely for entertainment. The Son of Heaven didn't meddle in trivial matters.

Qian Bao stepped into the classroom as the bell rang, still in her classic window-opening trio outfit, then frowned, hands on hips, scanning the class.

"Why does everyone look so listless?"

Jiang Nian scratched his neck—he was also part of the "low-energy" army. He'd woken up too early, hadn't slept enough.

His precious 【Healing】 skill had to be saved for the afternoon science class.

Was this a bit too formalistic?

Then again—

As everyone knows, ten minutes of napping in class equals one hour at home. When you're not truly tired, you just get more tired the more you sleep.

Sure, scientific sleep schedules are ideal—but as a veteran student of nine-year compulsory education, do you really need an expert to teach you how to nap?

As the saying goes: a qualified electrician can tell if there's current just by touching it.

Sorry, Qian Bao, I need to nap during your class.

Jiang Nian was the first to slump face-down on his desk, immediately falling asleep. But Qian Bao, sharp-eyed, spotted him—and ignored it.

The cruel woman picked Li Hua, half-asleep, on some flimsy pretext.

Li Hua wiped the drool from his mouth, glanced at Jiang Nian, still sprawled asleep beside him, and thought: fuck me.

He didn't report him—not because he was some righteous guy, but because this trick didn't work on someone like Jiang Nian, a 140-point monster.

Qian Bao would just ask, "Then what was your score on the last English exam?"

So he stayed silent, just grabbed his book and walked toward the back row, like he was going home, leaning against the cold blackboard.

Also emitting a contented groan was Sun Zhicheng, who'd voluntarily stood at the back of the classroom just to stay awake.

They exchanged a glance, felt awkward, then silently looked away.

At the podium.

Qian Bao clapped her hands. "Does anyone want to volunteer for a performance?" In a Chinese classroom, there are no performances—only extreme acts.

Naturally, the answer was no. The whole class mumbled and stammered.

"What's there to be shy about? Doesn't your class have to submit a performance for New Year's Eve?" Qian Bao rubbed her forehead,

utterly exasperated.

"Teacher, only one performance per class is required," said the English representative. "If you really can't think of anything, just do a group choir."

Qian Bao: "..."

When it comes to faking it, teachers really can't match the students.

But Qian Bao's goal had been achieved.

The previously lifeless class perked up at her mention of the New Year's Eve party, and students began chatting excitedly.

"Isn't the party supposed to start in the afternoon? If it's in the afternoon, that's great—morning has zero atmosphere."

"So we'd get the whole day off? Couldn't we just skip it?"

"I'm definitely taking a day off. The performances are super boring. Sitting on the playground in the wind? All you can do is sit there and play with your phone."

"Uh… does our class's psychological officer perform?"

"If she doesn't have a performance, won't she and the cultural officer have to go on?"

Yu Zhiyi, at the center of the topic storm, merely smiled silently and put on her rarely used glasses.

Wow, she's not that kind of woman anymore.

What are you muttering? You Japanese woman!

Yu Zhiyi sneered, adjusted her glasses—the symbols of culture and pretension—and thought to herself that she was already the biology class representative.

Shit, I quit being psychological officer.

Of course, she didn't say it out loud. After all, juggling two positions felt incredibly satisfying.

Amazing!

The psychological officer didn't really have to do anything—mostly just collect the psychological newsletter.

Besides, organizing events requiring performances alongside the cultural officer? In Gao San, the real tasks weren't moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, or labor education. No need to show off—just sign up for any random performance.

So as long as no one objected, she could hold both positions for a long time.

But then again, being psychological officer was just for fun. The real tangible benefit was being biology class representative.

After all, Qian Bao's carefully selected No. 002, improved biology scores meant a major leap in the comprehensive science score.

The nickname "Qian Bao" originally belonged to Jiang Nian, but Yu Zhiyi had secretly stolen it for herself.

Honestly, NTR was pretty satisfying.

She planned to start a fierce power struggle with Jiang Nian once she solidified her position as biology class representative: "I am the Empress!"

For now, she still had to flatter him.

Jiang Nian woke up to the chatter, squinted at Zhang Nenzhi beside him, and saw her eavesdropping—he couldn't help smiling.

"When's the New Year's Eve party this month?"

Zhang Nenzhi answered honestly.

"She said around the 25th, but she wasn't sure—it might be pushed back to the 27th or 28th."

"That's perfect," Li Hua walked over from the back row to join the conversation. "After all, our class has another party that night."

"After watching the school's performance, we have another one two days later. That whole week is exams, then reviewing papers—basically no classes."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian couldn't help giving Li Hua a silent thumbs-up.

"You're pretty good at planning."

"Of course—I live by this," Li Hua said proudly. After December ends, it's all about counting down to the New Year.

Gao San life is only hard in two places.

Super perverted schools under the Northern XXX model… and… the Douyin comment section.

Once you truly adapt, it's just like working in a factory screwing in bolts—standing twelve hours a day? Meh, it's average.

Since classes still had to happen, Qian Bao quickly shut down the discussion.

That's the old teacher's ease—livening up the classroom while sneaking in a few minutes of leisure, winning from start to finish.

Unfortunately, Jiang Nian skipped out during the second class.

Before leaving, he remembered to greet Zhang Nenzhi, so she wouldn't later grumble and interrogate him.

Before leaving, he remembered to greet Zhang Ningzhi, so she wouldn't grumble and question him afterward.

"Why didn't you forget the class monitor?"

Xiaoqi Zhi naturally had a knack for passive-aggressive remarks; Jiang Nian had no desire to endure it a second time, so he faithfully reported in.

Finally, he greeted Cai Xiaoqing before leaving.

Finally, he greeted Cai Xiaoqing before leaving.

Jiang Nian pulled out his leave slip and handed it to the guard, who glanced at it and waved him through.

He stepped past the school gate, and just then, the class bell rang behind him.

Nine a. m., the sunlight was faint.

Jiang Nian stood on the slightly shady sidewalk by the school gate, scrolled his phone for a moment, and received a message from his coach.

It basically asked if he had time next week—the driving school had no issue extending teaching hours, and he could prepare for Subject Two.

He replied "OK," estimating he could finish Subjects Three and Four by the end of the month and get his license smoothly.

As he thought this, he suddenly heard light footsteps behind him.

He turned—and there stood Song Xiuyun, eyes wide with shock.

"You… you're here?" The girl's eyes bulged as if seeing a ghost. "Jiang Nian, you're also on leave?"

"Not on leave," Jiang Nian snapped his fingers, unable to suppress a sly grin. "Zhao Jie asked me to take you to the hospital for a checkup."

According to the Law of Smile Conservation, Song Xiuyun did not giggle.

"Huh? My mom didn't tell me…" The girl pulled out her phone, dialed, and after the call connected, she froze.

She hung up and turned to walk back into the school.

Just as she lifted her foot, Jiang Nian's slow, deliberate voice came from behind—thick with seduction, like a demon's whisper.

After hanging up the phone, Song Xiyun turned around and was about to head into the school.

She had barely lifted her foot when Jiang Nian's unhurried voice came from behind her. Heavy with a tempting quality, like a demon's whisper.

"It's free—don't use it and you're wasting it."

The girl's raised foot, utterly uncooperative, retracted itself.

"The free stuff is always the most expensive!"

She said that aloud, but her body was honest—she still held out a sliver of hope, waiting to hear what Jiang Nian would say.

"It's a benefit for staff families and hospital insiders—no matter how expensive, the state pays for it," Jiang Nian rolled his eyes.

"Technically, only designated people are eligible. But I know people at the hospital, so Song Xiuyun was convinced—mainly because she'd always planned to tag along for the checkup, just assuming it would be her mother taking her."

Switching to Jiang Nian? Not unacceptable.

But...