Chapter 370: Eloping

In the blink of an eye, night fell.

Before evening self-study, Jiang Nian reluctantly left his seat. The chemistry test paper on the desk was half-done, but his mind was full of chemistry problems.

At this hour, the cafeteria was already out of food.

But he could leave through the school's west gate to eat—the snack street had plenty of food options.

Turning his head, he saw Li Qingrong also stand up.

"Hmm?" Jiang Nian was puzzled, thinking the class monitor probably needed to use the restroom. That was indeed on the way, so he said nothing.

The two walked out of the classroom one after the other and stopped at the stairwell.

He went down the stairs, turned around, and found Li Qingrong still following.

"You—" Li Qingrong tilted her head, her expression cool, and silently looked away.

"Where are you going?"

Jiang Nian thought for a moment. "To pee."

This time it was Li Qingrong's turn to be dumbfounded, unsure how to respond for a moment.

"Mm."

After saying that, she could only turn around and head back to the classroom.

The class monitor's intentions were too obvious.

"Hey, wait..." Jiang Nian was at least being a decent person. "I was actually planning to, after peeing, head out the west gate to grab something to eat."

Li Qingrong thought for a moment, then turned and followed again.

Auto-follow engaged.

Jiang Nian couldn't help muttering to himself, wondering how the class monitor could be so secretive. If she had something to say, why not say it—did it have to be outside school?

After finishing up in the downstairs restroom, Jiang Nian headed out.

The night was deep.

Li Qingrong stood by the flower bed not far from the sink, almost blending into the night. From a distance, her expression looked somewhat indifferent.

After a minute, Jiang Nian shook the water off his hands and walked toward her.

"What's wrong with you today?"

Li Qingrong shook her head, saying nothing.

As the saying goes, a woman fears a persistent man, and Jiang Nian was an extremely patient person. After walking a stretch, just as they were about to leave the school gate, he turned and asked again.

"In a bad mood?"

Luckily, the class monitor wasn't playing riddles either—she spoke plainly.

"My parents are coming back next month. I don't want to stay at home."

"Hmm?" Jiang Nian was stunned, inadvertently drawn into a family conflict. "Then rent a place and hide out, then—no comfort, no questions asked.

Straight to solving the problem.

He figured the class monitor wasn't short on money. If she just didn't want to see her parents, then finding a place to hide would do—safe and easy.

The public order in Zhennan was still decent; finding a small apartment for two thousand was top-tier.

Two thousand yuan could put you in the central area of the city proper.

Not to mention in a county town next to the city—the budget could go all out, and one could find quite a decent place to stay.

If the class monitor was short on money, then he'd be even happier.

I'll take care of you.

More than willing—after all, he still hadn't repaid the favor from the driving school VIP. The friendship had always carried that debt, and it never felt quite right.

Walking to the entrance of the snack street.

The lanterns had just been lit as night descended.

A cold evening wind swept across the brightly lit street; across the way was a row of food plaza shops with neon signs hanging high.

Li Qingrong paused for a moment upon hearing that.

Jiang Nian had almost entirely taken her side, which made her suddenly sigh with relief, a warm current welling up in her chest.

"I can't find a place..."

"Leave it to me." Jiang Nian said directly. "If next month gets rough and you want to run away, just message me."

"Mm." Li Qingrong nodded.

She sat down with Jiang Nian at a small stall, watching him order a bowl of Fuding meat slices and a bag of chicken cutlet.

Originally she had prepared a lot of words, planning to handle Jiang Nian's questions.

But none of it was needed.

She was very happy.

Jiang Nian didn't know what the class monitor was thinking; most of the time she was spacing out. Or watching people pass by, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.

She seemed to be in a better mood, even a little... happy?

He didn't understand, but as long as the result was good, that was enough.

This month was bound to be eventful, but Jiang Nian was already completely indifferent. More things to handle didn't bother him—bring it on.

In front of the snack street.

Two figures darted out.

"Brother Xiaofan, class is about to start." Cao Yang chased after him quickly. "We're still going out to eat? We'll get caught."

He had already been disciplined before, and couldn't help feeling uneasy. The school couldn't expel Zhang Xiaofan, but making his life difficult was easy.

Tell his parents, and he'd get pinned down for a beating.

"You coward, what are you afraid of?" Zhang Xiaofan scoffed. "What's a grade-level supervisor? Ji Ming isn't any better either."

He preferred Dog Head Strategist Ceng Ceng Yunde over bringing Cao Yang along.

Unfortunately, Ceng Ceng Yunde went to the emergency room at noon, his face swollen like a pig's head. After the IV, he chose to go home and rest.

Cao Yang is truly a coward, and he's grown so tall for nothing.

Last time he crashed his bike into a tree, he didn't check if any of his body parts were missing—he went and patted the tree instead. What a pathetic, cowardly bastard.

Suddenly, Cao Yang slapped Zhang Xiaofan on the shoulder.

"Bro, bro, look who's over there."

Zhang Xiaofan hadn't planned to eat here—he looked down on the food stalls in this square, thinking they were beneath him.

He'd only hurried past earlier, intending to eat at a restaurant on the other side of the snack street.

"What's wrong?" He grew impatient, turning to follow Cao Yang's pointing finger. "Holy shit, isn't that—"

Inside a makeshift windbreak, beneath an old tungsten bulb.

Jiang Nian sat at a table with a girl, whose back view was stunning—tall, with a beautiful high ponytail.

Just by her back, you could tell she was a great beauty.

Her slender, cold-white neck, a small patch of skin exposed to the chill, glowed pale and creamy under the orange light.

Zhang Xiaofan stared at the scene before him, ready to explode with rage.

What the fuck, did he switch girls again?

Jiang Nian, why don't you just die?

At that moment, he had to admit it—he was jealous. He didn't even like lemons, yet his mouth flooded with sourness.

"Fuck! Let's go over there!" Zhang Xiaofan couldn't take it anymore—he had to get to the bottom of this. "What the hell is this guy made of?!"

"Bro, calm down," Cao Yang, timid as ever, grabbed his arm. "Let's eat, bro. It's not worth it."

He didn't say the other thing: what if he got punched so hard he threw up? How would he eat then?

"Don't hold me back!" Zhang Xiaofan, blinded by jealousy, charged forward. "Jiang Nian, you fucking—" Before he could finish, he stepped forward and naturally saw Li Qingrong's face.

The curse he'd just shouted froze halfway out.

Not because he feared Jiang Nian—only because Zhang Xiaofan recognized Li Qingrong, and his whole body shuddered.

He was friends with Sheng Zeyang and Lü Xuan, not because he liked interacting with them, but because they were the limit of his social reach.

Beyond them, people didn't even acknowledge him.

As for Lü Xuan and Li Qingrong, they were worlds apart—not even in the same circle.

So when Li Qingrong lifted her eyes to look at him, he wisely cut off his curse.

But the words were already out—he had to salvage something.

Zhang Xiaofan's face instantly flushed red. "You, uh… you, good student… it's almost time for self-study—why are you out here?"

Jiang Nian froze, thinking: What the hell is this idiot possessed by? Talking like a school principal—"good student" of all things.

"Don't act crazy here."

Li Qingrong glanced at him, then lowered her eyes, peeling off the last white filament from the tangerine flesh and extended it toward Jiang Nian.

"Peel done."

This scene nearly made Zhang Xiaofan's eyes pop out. The tall Cao Yang, who arrived right after, was equally stunned.

What the fuck, are you addicted to peeling tangerines?

You did it at the cafeteria at noon—and now again?

Jiang Nian took the tangerine, glanced at Zhang Xiaofan standing stiff as a new recruit, and found him increasingly odd. "What do you want?"

If he were alone, his words would've revolved around his mother's organs—but the monitor was here.

And after transferring to Class Three,

he'd mellowed a bit, no longer as defiant as when he first hit the gym—his temper had shifted from open explosion to hidden eruption.

Mostly because Zhang Xiaofan was just too pathetic—arguing with him lowered his own standards.

"Nothing. Just remember to get back to class on time," Zhang Xiaofan said earnestly, making Jiang Nian's spine chill. For a moment, months of cultivated composure shattered.

"Are you possessed by Ji Ming?!" Jiang Nian's expression cracked. "With this much responsibility, you should be vice-principal."

Zhang Xiaofan didn't care what Jiang Nian said—he remained calm inside. If he were truly brainless, he'd never have befriended Sheng Zeyang.

"Anyway, just remember this."

After saying this, Zhang Xiaofan seized the chance and left immediately—as if he were just a righteous bystander reminding Jiang Nian to return to class.

Cao Yang, standing nearby, was utterly confused, wondering why Xiao Fan had changed so suddenly. He hurried after him, curious.

"Bro, what just happened?"

"Don't mention it—I almost kicked a steel plate." Zhang Xiaofan wiped sweat from his forehead, then cursed Jiang Nian again.

Cao Yang was even more baffled and couldn't help asking again.

"Steel plate? Jiang Nian?"

"He's not even worth it," Zhang Xiaofan sneered.

"Then who—"

Cao Yang thought: there were only two people at that table—either Jiang Nian or the girl. "That beautiful girl?"

The moment he pictured the girl's face, Cao Yang sucked in a sharp breath.

"Bro, that girl looks really hard to approach."

"Get lost!" Zhang Xiaofan snapped. "Can't you shut up even while eating?"

Snack Street.

Sun Zhicheng rushed toward school from the other end, late for lunch, and nearly collided head-on with Zhang Xiaofan and Cao Yang.

He jolted instantly and turned into the bookstore beside him.

Zhang Xiaofan's car keyhole and both tires were his doing. Revenge felt great, great, great—but getting caught wouldn't be so funny.

Fortunately, those two didn't seem to be coming for him; they hurried off in the other direction.

Sun Zhicheng immediately let out a breath of relief, bought two pen refills from the bookstore, glanced left and right, and continued on his way.

Passing a certain snack stall, perhaps because his pace was too quick.

He only saw a blur, and even in that single glance, he still recognized Jiang Nian, and that cool, aloof figure.

Class monitor?

Holy shit, still on a date this late?

In Sun Zhicheng's eyes, those two dating was normal. But he hadn't expected them to still be out at this hour, with class about to start.

Trying to elope?

He suppressed his excited thoughts and hurried toward the school. Gazing at the brightly lit school ahead, his heart felt just as bright!

At the little stall, Li Qingrong turned her head and glanced around.

With evening study hall approaching, there were already few students on the road. The snack street looked empty, and quite a few stall owners had nothing to do.

The lively night was quietly falling silent.

Yet Jiang Nian and she still remained here, as if eloping.

She lowered her eyes, and a sudden premonition stirred in her heart. If she said she didn't want to go back to school, Jiang Nian would probably ask for leave along with her.

The night wind blurred everything, and her heart quietly settled along with it.

In the end, Li Qingrong gave up on that thought. Having already experienced it, there was no need to repeat the same feeling.

It was nothing more than stretching out the time spent together endlessly—three hours...

Let's take a walk by the river..

Li Qingrong felt a slight stirring of interest.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Nian had finished eating, tore off two napkins to wipe his mouth, and said, "Back to the classroom, or keep walking around outside?"

At that moment, Li Qingrong's eyelid twitched.

"Let's go back to the classroom."

The night sky was that kind of translucent deep blue, blending with a strange yellow, showing a layer of gradient gray haze. Li Qingrong walked along the road back to school, her eyes slightly lowered.

His grades weren't great, so a single evening study hall period was extremely important—to digest the results of the day's problem-solving.

A riverside stroll was certainly passionate, but it couldn't compare to being tucked away in the everyday.

Cutting it close to the bell.

The two of them entered the noisy classroom one after the other, with a large group of people standing in the aisle chattering away—different from usual.

Jiang Nian was baffled, pulled Li Hua over and asked.

"What's going on?"

Li Hua raised an eyebrow. "I heard we're going to the administration building for a lecture in a bit."