Chapter 36: Ex-Girlfriend Zhang Nianzhi

"Can you still bite it open?" Zhang Nianzhi asked like a naive, curious child.

"Yeah, it's simple—you just do this, like this…" Jiang Nian pinched one corner of the milk carton and skillfully bit open a hole, "See? Opened."

Li Hua thought: Fine, fine, you opened it—I'm about to fucking die.

He felt like the older brother in "The Classmate's Younger Sister," who sat at his desk for two hours straight, pretending to be utterly focused on homework.

Geigei, stop flirting—the NPC can't take it anymore.

As soon as class ended, Nan Tong went crazy again—either multiple people merging layers on one desk, or hugging each other front and back practicing the Heimlich pregnancy method.

"How do you say: Wangzi Milk QQ Candy~"

"Eonbaby!"

"Yes~"

Class 3 of the Olympiad was full of talent, with a thick study atmosphere—people were infecting each other, zero energy everywhere.

"Damn it!" Li Hua was still seated when Ma Guojun and his crew rushed over, grabbed his limbs, and hoisted him up like a slaughtered pig.

"Jiang Nian, ah! Save me, save me!"

"Ignore him, Jiang Nian—we're here to deal with him today!" Ma Guojun adjusted his glasses.

Jiang Nian, still seated, looked embarrassed and stood up, "He's still my blood brother—I can't just stand by and watch."

"I'll take the left leg—I won't trust anyone else."

Ah, you mom—the tension finally died!

During the long break, rest time lasted only three minutes, then the running drill prep bell rang. According to the academic office rules, all Gao San students had to go down for running drill.

Li Hua got A-Lu-Ba'd twice within three minutes, utterly drained—but through self-sacrifice, he quickly pulled Jiang Nian into the circle of some boys in Class 3 of the Olympiad.

Jiang Nian had observed: Li Hua was one of those popular, emotionally intelligent guys in class—he could chat with anyone, even stray dogs, and had friends inside and outside the class.

As for Zhang Nianzhi, she was dragged off to the restroom for a double session by Yao Bei Bei right after class. Girls' cliques were hard to break into; Yao Bei Bei was trying to use restroom diplomacy to help her break out.

These teenage classmates weren't cruel—they were all helping the new student adapt to the group in their own ways.

On the other side, in stark contrast, was Yu Tongjie.

Since the class transfer, Yu Tongjie actively answered questions in class, his voice drowning out everyone else. After class, he didn't sleep—he sat slumped over his desk, silent and focused on problems.

This guy is impervious to reason—kid, you're invincible.

Fortunately, this was Chinese youth—classmates only thought he was a bit odd, chatted about him in their spare time, but never took action to play some 80.

"Let's go, running drill."

Jiang Nian and Li Hua walked past Group One, shoulders slung over each other's, glancing at Yu Tongjie, who was holding an English vocabulary book, preparing to head down alone for running drill.

What a hardworking young man.

Aside from being a piece of shit, he's still human.

"What? You know Bro B?" Li Hua asked. "He's the biggest faker in class—acts like some anime protagonist. Even Zero Class can't top his act."

Jiang Nian shook his head. "Not familiar."

He wasn't the type to repay evil with virtue, but neither did he hold grudges over every little thing. When people whispered behind his back like this, if it wasn't serious, he just let it pass like dog barking.

School was a giant newbie depot—countless small and large items, never fully cleared out.

Running drill was utterly ordinary—except some people were nearly dead.

The fat guy Ma Guojun ran side by side with Jiang Nian; after two laps, he vanished from sight. When Jiang Nian turned back, Ma Dun had fully merged into the back of the next class's formation.

What the fuck, who the hell are you, classmate?

Ma Guojun met the gaze of the neighboring class's PE monitor, adjusted his glasses while bouncing along, and grinned awkwardly.

"From the other class—just cutting in."

Holy shit, what a downer comment—thankfully the PE monitor was a guy. But less than half a minute later, the fat guy Ma Guojun sprinted back to Jiang Nian's side, face filled with horror.

"What happened?" Jiang Nian asked.

"Fuck, I just said 'cutting in,' and that white-sock PE guy blushed!" Ma Guojun's fat legs flailed as he sprinted, and in the final lap, he dared not fall behind again.

Jiang Nian didn't know if running drill improved physical fitness—but he knew Ma Guojun's fitness declined inversely with each lap.

One more lap, and the Reaper randomly named a school official's mom.

As soon as running drill stopped, Yu Tongjie's eyes instinctively swept across the girls in the class. His gaze landed on two of them—not including Zhang Nianzhi.

He was now disappointed in Zhang Nianzhi because she defended Jiang Nian.

But as his gaze swept past, he inevitably saw Zhang Nianzhi—her cheeks flushed, she turned her head instinctively, as if also locking onto someone in the class.

Jiang Nian stood tall on the outer ring, chatting with the low-quality Ma Guojun. He turned his head and suddenly caught Zhang Nianzhi's gaze—he couldn't help but stare a moment longer.

The girl caught red-handed blushed instantly, then recoiled like a willow branch snapping back.

Ah, saw it.

Covering your ears won't stop the bell.

Jiang Nian was about to laugh when suddenly—ding—his mind rang.

【At thirty-eight, you opened a plain box while tidying your room, awakening a long-buried past.】

【Your clear ponytail, your innocent face, photos and carefully prepared gifts now covered in dust.】

【Your gaze lingered on a food box—ten years ago, you broke your leg in an accident. On a snowy night, she carried that food box across a thousand miles to visit you.】

【You realized you weren't completely defeated—at least, once, you won the full love of a lovely girl.】

【Quest: Reestablish contact with your long-lost ex-girlfriend Zhang Nianzhi. Reward: 300 RMB.】

Looking at the pop-up panel, line after line of text, Jiang Nian was stunned. Dude, how come my future self in another timeline had an ex-girlfriend?

Having one ex-wife was already impressive—now I've got an ex-girlfriend too?

On the track, classes were dispersing in batches, the air buzzing with voices.

Jiang Nian fell into thought: Logically, he'd always been in the parallel class in high school. Zhang Nianzhi had the ability to enter the Olympiad class—so from high school to university, they should never have crossed paths.

Mm, reasonable.

Ten years ago, that would be twenty-eight.

Isn't that the year when another version of himself went on a blind date? Jiang Nian didn't remember too clearly—after all, it wasn't something he had personally experienced, just something he'd seen mentioned on the panel.

Just two years later and he was already splashing out gold coins for bride price—why the rush to get married? With such a great girlfriend, how did she become an ex? And in the same year, he was forced to start going on blind dates.

This life simulation... oh, wait, this life replay game really burns through money.

For Jiang Nian, it could be played like a game. But the information it revealed did have a faint sense of foreshadowing the future, even though many things would be changed.

Unable to figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it.

Better get the task done first.

If it were his thirty-eight-year-old self, completing this task would clearly be a loss. He might have to spend a fortune to make inquiries, or to track down Zhang Ningzhi's whereabouts.

But right now though.......