Chapter 364

If they were distributing snacks like potato chips, Jiang Nian would go to the bathroom.

Because he didn't like potato chips.

But this time they were distributing Daliyuan small breads—and skipped him. He couldn't take it anymore and snatched one pack.

Then he took a toy gun worth a few jiao from Yao Beibei's desk, a thing powered by rubber bands with a trigger.

Technically, this thing exceeded that joule threshold.

It was a banned item on campus.

This thing was dangerously effective—it completely immobilized four boys in Group Six for an hour and a half of evening self-study; no one did their homework.

Elementary kids might be bored of it, but for Gao Zhongsheng, it was perfect.

Zhang Ningzhi watched, speechless, thinking, Is it really that fun? When Jiang Nian turned to look at her, she pouted.

"Let me play with it."

Jiang Nian hesitated, then warned sharply.

"You're not allowed to shoot me."

"Okay." Zhang Ningzhi nodded obediently, took it, fiddled with it, pinched a tiny paper ball, and shot Jiang Nian.

Patah—the paper ball fell from Jiang Nian's arm.

At that moment, Zhang Ningzhi's face flushed crimson. Her eyes darted, her eyelashes fluttered, and she froze like a dumb puppy.

Fine, I'm shooting you too.

Jiang Nian confiscated her toy gun and handed it to Li Hua, the Corporal.

"Keep it safe."

When he turned back to look at Zhang Ningzhi, he found her already slumped over her desk, pretending to be dead. Head down, diligently doing her homework.

Jiang Nian said nothing, waiting until class ended.

Baby Zhizhi tried to run, but he grabbed her and pinned her back in her seat.

Seeing that everyone around had left, he reached out and touched her tightly pressed thighs, his fingers lingering with warmth.

Zhang Ningzhi instantly squeezed her legs shut, letting out a squeak. She was dirty too—but this time, she had no leg to stand on.

If she hadn't been so nosy, she wouldn't have brought this on herself.

"Go wash your hands!" Zhang Ningzhi whispered, frowning. "What are you smiling at? Ugh, you're so annoying!"

"No washing. I'm not bothered by your pants being dirty," Jiang Nian said.

"You!" Zhang Ningzhi knew he was pretending ignorance—she just feared he'd smell his fingers. "You'd better not be a pervert."

"Of course not." Jiang Nian raised his hand.

Zhang Ningzhi stared at him, cheeks puffed.

"What are you doing?"

"My fingers are a bit stiff. Stretching them out." Jiang Nian turned to ask, "Wait, Baby, do you really care this much?"

"I do!" Zhang Ningzhi pouted.

Jiang Nian interlaced his fingers and propped them on the desk. Slowly leaning toward his fingers, he turned to observe Zhang Ningzhi's reaction.

Zhang Ningzhi stared—

"If you dare, I won't talk to you anymore."

Hearing that, Jiang Nian tested her several times. Seeing her face change like a chameleon's, he finally gave up.

"Forget it, forget it."

"Hmph." Zhang Ningzhi claimed final victory, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, handing him a wet wipe. "Wipe it clean."

"Aren't your pants dirty?" Jiang Nian blinked in confusion.

"I meant your hand, not your pants!" Zhang Ningzhi was nearly furious, acting like a tiny parent.

"Wipe your hands."

"Oh." Jiang Nian lowered his head.

He thought: It won't be long before I touch something else. So fierce—eventually I'll pin her down and kiss her. Baby Zhizhi won't hold out much longer.

Speaking of pinning her down and kissing, Jiang Nian remembered Xu Qianqian.

After kissing her neck yesterday, she hadn't replied to his messages much. He suddenly felt a flicker of anticipation for their meeting after evening self-study.

To be honest, he was eighteen.

He really was a bit lecherous.

Every guy would admit that—but normally, he was rational. Unless provoked, unless some switch got flipped.

What was that word again? Lust clouding the mind.

No—tasting the honey and craving more.

Not to mention at lunch, when he'd accidentally spotted a pale, creamy vertical line on the rooftop—he'd become even more unsettled.

Suspect Guo Xiaosi, understand Guo Xiaosi, become Guo Xiaosi.

No wonder he loved taking pictures of Ji Ni Tai Mei.

The temptations of adolescence were immense—if not guided by proper values, one would inevitably end up having an abortion.

What? The baby's born! My parents will raise it.

You're really a filial son.

Besides, can you afford a 300,000 yuan bride price? What about the gold, silver, jewelry, wedding gifts, car-up and car-down gifts, relatives' red envelopes?

Even if you stole your grandparents' pension money and pooled it all, you still couldn't get married.

So the bride price turns men into ghosts.

Thinking of this, Jiang Nian fell into a daze again.

He wondered what would happen if he got someone pregnant after graduating from high school—would Old Jiang and his wife laugh or not?

They'd probably beat him to death.

At that moment, the bell rang for class.

Zhang Ningzhi had planned to ease off, but Jiang Nian held her back—not obviously, so she had to hold it for another forty minutes.

Seeing Jiang Nian staring blankly, she couldn't help asking again.

"What are you thinking about?"

Jiang Nian replied, "Bridal gift fragments."

Zhang Ningzhi's face instantly flushed red; she thought Jiang Nian was overly conservative—it wasn't like touching a leg required paying bridal gifts.

"That kind of thing doesn't need to be... so urgent."

"Sigh." Jiang Nian sighed, slightly wistful, "It can't wait—I might end up getting screwed over by..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Hua walked in.

"I saw you two whispering at the classroom door—what were you talking about? So happy?"

"We were saying how much bridal gift you'll explode with when you get married." Jiang Nian, always fond of deflecting, flipped the script entirely.

"I'm not marrying anyone from Zhennan—why would I pay bridal gifts?" Li Hua smirked. "A true man's ambition lies beyond the horizon."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian asked curiously.

"Where are you going to flee to?"

"I haven't decided yet—maybe... He..." As Li Hua said "He," he saw Jiang Nian's lips curl upward.

"He... anywhere reasonable—just not staying in Zhennan."

After finishing his explanation, Li Hua was about to retort at someone.

But the words died on his lips—he thought, this damn guy already flirts with everyone in class; who knows where he'll end up later.

Forget it—no need to give him a chance to show off.

If this damn guy said his crush was right beside him, wouldn't I explode? Like something in my brain.

But I'm not jealous at all.

Pointy nose?

Where?

Second evening self-study session.

Not long into self-study, Qing Bao walked in. She sat on the podium for a while, then walked around the classroom.

She "went live" on the podium, answering students' questions, then walked over to Jiang Nian's row and called him out.

"Hm?" Chen Yunyun looked up.

She paid slightly more attention to Jiang Nian's side—mainly out of curiosity, wondering what the teacher wanted with him.

Maybe because of Jiang Nian's biology score, but 97 was genuinely insane.

This proves effort matters.

One sentence denied Jiang Nian's talent—if he knew, he'd definitely flush red and drag Chen Yunyun into a cuddle session.

Jiang Nian had dreamed of Chen Yunyun several times—first that thing, then that thing, then stopped just before completion, and woke up.

Across the classroom, Yu Zhiyi also noticed this scene from afar.

She gritted her teeth.

"Ming ming ming—is NTR already starting?"

After becoming the biology representative, she gradually understood Liu Bang and decided Jiang Nian was useless.

She planned to sneakily report him once they were even.

Who knew, today Jiang Nian gave her a lesson.

What do you mean, once a Crown Prince, always a Crown Prince? Why didn't Qing Bao call her out? Just a pure homework-pulling tool.

Yu Zhiyi's teeth were nearly ground to dust—one village can't have two Hokages.

"Jiang Nian, I'm the Hokage!"

"Hokage?" Xie Zhihao snapped his head up, looking around. "Where's the Hokage? I love Kakashi the most."

Yu Zhiyi thought, What idiot is this? She lowered her head and kept writing, vowing silently to ask Jiang Nian what was up later.

Outside the classroom, in the corridor.

Jiang Nian looked at Qing Bao, not far from him, and asked curiously.

"Teacher, what's up?"

"Nothing much—just telling you I made the list of outstanding teachers." Qing Bao tucked her wind-tousled hair behind her ear.

In truth, she had no one to share it with.

She was always reclusive in the office, spending work hours thinking only about biology teaching; after work, she just lay dead, playing games.

"That's great! Won't you get an award?" Jiang Nian asked excitedly. "Does making the shortlist mean it's confirmed?"

"Not necessarily." Qing Bao hesitated a moment. "If I'm actually chosen, they might ask you for study tips."

"Alright." Jiang Nian thought for a moment, reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out a scratch card. "Teacher, here's some luck."

Qing Bao took it and saw it was a ten-yuan scratch card. She immediately relaxed—anything over twenty, she wouldn't dare accept.

Not because she dared not—but because it was inappropriate.

"Why do you waste money on stuff like this?" Qing Bao frowned slightly, displeased. "How many did you buy?"

"Just one—bought it on a whim for luck." Jiang Nian brushed it off.

Qing Bao didn't bother listening further, waved him back inside, and didn't scratch it—she just slipped it into her pocket.

One self-study session passed.

She returned to her office and remembered there was a scratch card tucked inside her lesson plan—suddenly, she recalled his words about "luck."

Almost as if guided by some unseen force, Qingbao opened the scratch card.

Just then, a male teacher walked in, saw her carefully scratching at something, and stepped forward to take a look.

"Why buy only one ten-yuan card?"

Qingbao didn't know how to answer, so she said:

"Just for fun."

"The chance of winning with one card is tiny—it's basically a loss," the male teacher went on incessantly. "You should buy a whole booklet."

"Teacher Zhong, do you know how to pick scratch cards so you actually win?"

Qingbao found his constant chatter unbearable but didn't want to be rude and kick him out. She fell silent and kept scratching.

Though she didn't expect much, she still had to scratch it.

What if Jiang Nian asked about it next time and she couldn't explain anything? She'd feel guilty—or worse, invite misunderstanding.

As she scratched, she carefully compared the symbols—and suddenly froze.

"I won…"

"What?" The male teacher glanced over and immediately widened his eyes. "Teacher Zhong, you've got some serious luck."

"Too bad it's only twenty—just doubled your money."

Hearing this, Qingbao pursed her lips. She paid no mind to the teacher's words; if it hadn't been twenty, she probably wouldn't have dared to keep it.

But Jiang Nian had been right.

This really was "luck."

Ten-minute break.

Fourth floor.

Jiang Nian, just back from using the restroom, was called into a secluded corridor by the biology class representative.

Yu Zhiyi lowered his voice and demanded sharply:

"What did the biology teacher say to you?"

"Oh, the teacher said the new class rep isn't working out," Jiang Nian replied. "He wants me to cover for a while longer."

"Impossible!" Yu Zhiyi snapped, his movement so sudden he jolted himself. "You're lying!"

"Nothing important—just a secret of the direct disciple," he shot him a glance. "You'll know when you score 97."

"That's bullying!" Yu Zhiyi fumed. "Jiang Nian, remember—I'm the biology class rep."

Did the village get overrun by the Tailed Beasts again?

"Shut your mouth, you idiot. Who gave you the right to speak?" Jiang Nian wasn't fazed. "Go to the village gate and pick up two Tailed Beast Orbs."

"Forget it. I'll talk to the teacher and get you replaced. Damn, other people have rebellious napes—you've got a carrier deck parked on yours."

"Wrong, wrong, big bro!" Yu Zhiyi instantly knelt. "There are too many people around—I just spoke up a bit too boldly."

"You called me just to say that?" Jiang Nian asked curiously.

"Not exactly. There's another thing." Yu Zhiyi said. "That thing you promised me last time—when are you going to deliver?"

"That's not it, there's one more thing," Yu Zhiyi said. "That thing we agreed on last time—when are you going to make good on it?"