Chapter 376: She

Thunderous applause erupted, as loud and exuberant as New Year's firecrackers.

"Welcome the Great College Jiang Emperor! Consume the Zhu Qilin Immortality Pill, and live a second life!"

"From now on, it shall be the Emperor Era!"

Jiang Nian felt uneasy; he thought things shouldn't be like this. Why was everyone fixated on his four hundred points?

Is this right?

Alright, I'm going to get awkward now.

If my guy dropped one line: "This isn't black history—this is my path."

This crowd would explode.

But after a moment's thought, he abandoned this explosive idea. According to Class Three's level of absurdity, after he said that,

he wouldn't get applause or glory—he'd get…:

Lailu Brother!

Ooooh, isn't this Lailu Brother?

Holy shit, where did my road go? Oh, Lailu Brother already walked it—no problem then. Did Lailu Brother just retrace his path today?

Class Three's stray dogs are like this—they love barking.

A guy's seemingly fiery words become a sharp sword for friends to use against him. You tear up, and your brother laughs until he's crying.

All you can do is stay silent.

So amid the tidal wave of applause and the boys' hooligan cheers, Jiang Nian sat like a partridge,

utterly frozen in place.

Li Hua patted him and laughed loudly.

"Nian, awesome! In this moment, don't you want to say something?"

Jiang Nian forced a smile and shook his head.

"My dad's an eight-point dad."

"You fucking—" Li Hua instantly cracked, tired of being fed the same cold dish, "An eight-point score? You're gonna chant that for a month, right?"

"Next month, I'll definitely redeem myself."

Hearing this, even Jiang Nian, who'd planned to stay reserved, couldn't hold it. A clear smile broke out, his lips lifting skyward.

Heath Ledger needed endless preparation to slip into the Joker. But Li Hua switched into Joker mode effortlessly.

The applause lasted a full minute.

Since the haters couldn't catch Jiang Nian in a boastful moment, they slowly warmed up under the girls' praise.

Maybe, my guy could too.

First, score four hundred, and let Old Liu get a few more nights of sleep.

Then suddenly surge to five hundred sixty, directly witnessing the Immortality Pill's rebirth—live a second life, stand alone through eternity.

Public opinion reversed in an instant.

"Come to think of it, Nian Brother's a thumbs-up."

"True. Four hundred points? No one imagined a way out—Jiang Nian just pulled himself straight to five hundred-plus!"

"To be fair, climbing from college-level to near 985 is genuinely inspiring."

"Why's everyone so serious? Dig up some of his black history!" Li Hua snapped, "Fuck, are you playing both sides?"

Clearly, Li Hua's plan had failed.

Jiang Nian's black history was in Zhou Yuting's hands. But Zhou Bro, right now, had zero interest in wielding jealousy.

All his pride had been ground away by repeated blows. Even if resentment still lingered, he had no energy left to act.

Yu Tongjie's ascension had made her fully surrender. Even if grudges remained unresolved, they were no longer on the same level. She couldn't possibly stab Jiang Nian now.

Amid the tidal wave of applause, Zhou Yuting imagined herself scoring six hundred, and felt momentarily dazed.

What if I were the protagonist?

Back in the parallel class, she hadn't lacked applause. But once she entered Olympiad training, she vanished into the depths—and lost her name.

No one remembered the five-hundred-point stray dog; only six-hundred-pointers could compete for Class Three.

Honor and praise turned to smoke. What remained was crushing pressure—and Jiang Nian, impossibly distant.

The gap was so vast, she could barely make out his silhouette.

Xiamen University…

Could she win?

It was exactly two in the afternoon.

The last sliver of sunlight slipped through the window and settled in the middle of the second row, gilding Jiang Nian's hair with a pale golden halo.

His upright spine, smooth profile, bathed in the fading light, resembled a white poplar tree soaking in the sun.

Amid the roaring applause, Chen Yunyun's gaze merged with the class's collective line of sight. Her brows softened, her lips curled slightly.

She'd never experienced such unified praise, but she'd seen Jiang Nian standing in the light.

So, in the crowd, she too was illuminated.

Amid the overwhelming applause.

Li Qingrong, as always, propped her chin on her hand, seated near the storm's center, gazing at the boy ahead—Jiang Nian.

Her expression calm, her gaze steady.

Seeing him so uncharacteristically restrained, so utterly unbothered, she couldn't help but smile faintly.

Honestly, it was kind of funny.

Jiang Nian suddenly wanted to play a song—just a little bit of showing off.

Yet surrounded by wolves and tigers, Jiang Nian dared not reveal his true nature; otherwise, he would already be standing on the podium.

He said softly, "The past cannot catch me; all the noisy distractions along the way have vanished, leaving only noise."

Noise Brother! (Hold up a sign!) "(Idol!)"

Fuck, Class Three is too abstract.

It was always this abstract, and it had nothing to do with him. Ever since he joined this class, he had keenly noticed it.

The root of the absurdity is Old Liu!

In Li Hua, in the loyal subjects of Class Three.

"Alright, cough cough." Old Liu cut off everyone's attention toward Jiang Nian, "Everyone should learn from Jiang Nian."

After speaking, he paused again.

"Of course, I mean the spirit of relentless effort and perseverance. Not that you should score four hundred."

That's not encouraged."

As soon as he finished, the class erupted in roaring laughter.

Jiang Nian's reaction? His expression vanished instantly—from grinning to not-grinning, then to shock.

You old bastard! How dare you repeatedly humiliate me!

Blue Silver Coiling!

But Jiang Nian had no martial soul to awaken, so the coiling existed only in imagination; thus, Old Liu on the podium remained unharmed.

"Four hundred? Four hundred?" Li Hua exclaimed in amazement, "I could step on the answer sheet and get five hundred."

"Chishi!" Jiang Nian unleashed his inner self.

Zhang Ningzhi stood aside, stammering, wanting to say something but unable to interject.

Fine, you're a traitor too!

As the saying goes: loyalty without absoluteness is absolute disloyalty. Immediately expel her from the Jiang Nian faction, revoke her Jiang Nian membership.

"Also, Jiang Nian, remember to go to the administrative building for the first evening self-study." Old Liu repeated it, clearly helping him show off.

At this moment, the class burst into "OooOooO" dog-like howls.

Meanwhile, other students in the class with similarly high scores grew dissatisfied with Old Liu's repeated praise.

"Old Liu, you have no heart!"

"In the end, I'm rejected, not as improved as other brothers. Fine, fine—I'm unworthy, having never scored four hundred."

"Your praise is reserved for him alone? Then I might as well die."

Jiang Nian, having seized the moment, forgave Old Liu's rudeness—showing off truly felt satisfying. A second wind, draining all gazes.

He was starting to like Old Liu.

He could, slightly, acknowledge Old Liu's status as a master teacher.

After class.

Everyone in the class lay down to sleep; the afternoon was truly exhausting.

Jiang Nian, who had just used a touch of 【Cure】, laughed as he wrote his chemistry test, recalling the previous class—his face nearly split from smiling.

Thus, two classes passed.

After the third class, the final short self-study session. Yao Bei Bei invited Zhang Ningzhi to the restroom for a duo session, and accidentally glanced at Jiang Nian.

"Bro, why are you always smiling?"

"Huh?" Jiang Nian slowly turned his head, a faint smile on his face, "Yellow Beibei, how do you know I..."

Yao Bei Bei thought Jiang Nian had grown even more insufferable—someone who, at a single glance, triggered an urge to utterly crush him.

Meaning: beat him senseless.

She tilted her head, feigning indifference.

"Is your six hundred and something really that high?"

Jiang Nian's expression froze—he hadn't expected Yellow Beibei to openly go for the kill. It felt like a humiliation beneath the belt.

Hmm... (thinking).

Not impossible.

But then again, he wasn't truly Zhennan Guinan—he wouldn't do something so base as beg for favor through charm.

"It's 616, bro," Jiang Nian smiled. "Eight of those points are the ones I surpassed Li Hua by—worth remembering."

Li Hua, suddenly called out, couldn't take it anymore.

Li Hua, suddenly cued, couldn't take it.

"Oh, I think..." Yao Bei Bei remained calm, scratching her cheek, "616? No real problem-solving thought behind it at all."

"Oh, I think..." Yao Bei Bei said with an indifferent look, scratching her face, "616 points, and not a single one of them came from my own problem-solving approach."

"More like someone with evenly balanced subjects who climbed up by luck, then secretly gloated over their score."

Every sentence spoke of scores, every word tied to the person.

Jiang Nian, after hearing it, was instantly enraged—and laughed.

"Hah, you fucking—"

Li Hua laughed heartily, gleefully ready to agree with Yao Bei Bei—until he noticed she was staring at him too.

What kind of look was that? Half-smiling, half-sneering.

Li Hua burst out laughing, gloating from the side. Just as she was about to chime in with Yao Bei Bei, she realized that woman was looking at her too.

"No, Yao Bei Bei," Li Hua said reluctantly, "You only beat me by a few points—why are you so full of yourself?"

Fuck, why not pick me too?

"No, Yao Bei Bei," Li Hua said, visibly reluctant. "You just have a few more points than me—do you really have to act like this?"

Yao Bei Bei glanced at him and spoke.

"Your 608 looks like you fell asleep during the exam. Saliva dripped onto the answer sheet and fried the machine."

Li Hua stared, stunned by the aggressive words.

"Huh?"

How come the King of Yellow Robes is so aggressive!

Jiang Nian had a way to deal with her, but they were in the classroom, and with Zhang Ningzhi present, he couldn't just grab Yao Bei Bei.

"Regardless, I have eight more points than Li Hua."

Plugging one's ears while stealing a bell—shifting the harm.

"I I I…::" Li Hua was speechless, looked around his group and found a circle of people with higher scores than him.

One point. Eight points.

At that moment, he understood what "born in hardship, die in ease" meant.

"Let's go, let's go, practice!" Li Hua tugged at Jiang Nian to leave, but was pulled back instead—he turned and saw Ji Ming coming.

After inspecting the grade group, the grade leader walked away slowly.

After school.

Since there was no venue and they couldn't take the team out to play, the three could only go to the edge of the soccer field and practice a little.

Boom.

Li Hua rode his bike past Ma Guojun, dribbled to Jiang Nian's front, tried to shake him off—but the ball was precisely intercepted.

Jiang Nian stood on the ball, wearing a mysterious smile.

"Noob."

Li Hua's grin vanished; he remembered something and spoke.

"Don't you think Yao Bei Bei has been too arrogant lately?"

"Nope, she just attacks you two," Ma Guojun said, "and you two love showing off too."

The elder brother doesn't scold the younger brother.

Jiang Nian looked up and said, "Huh?"

"Really?"

Hearing this, Ma Guojun couldn't hold it anymore—he pointed at him: "You're the biggest show-off here."

Jiang Nian didn't care; what's wrong with showing off when you're young? When you're old, you won't be able to—what's the point then?

"You're right."

Hearing this, Li Hua stared, dumbfounded.

"Holy shit, Nian, you really have no shame."

"Stop blabbering," Jiang Nian said, exasperated, "what's the point of you riding that bike all day?"

"When you actually play, you won't use it once. You just repeat one clumsy move—banging into people."

"You don't understand—I'm adapting on the fly!" Li Hua felt uneasy; his fundamental skill wasn't solid.

If they truly compared, he was probably on par with Sun Zhicheng.

Ma Guojun had even less to say—he either practiced as a spare, or stood there like a giant goalkeeper.

"Our team is truly garbage—no one here can play."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian and Li Hua both exclaimed "Hey!" and turned together to point at the fat guy Ma Guojun.

"You little brat."

"Damn, are you trying to start a group roast?"

p

The three were still in the fantasy stage of winning the championship—mainly pretending there was zero hope,

but what if?

Trapped in despair, shouting about friendship, the village, and other things—suddenly ignited, then swept the field.

"I've got an idea," Jiang Nian pointed to the soccer field ahead, "take off your shirts."

"Then we can claim the field."

Li Hua and Ma Guojun turned their heads simultaneously, staring at Jiang Nian in shock.

"???"

"Too much sun? Lost your mind?"

"No field—what am I supposed to do?" Jiang Nian sighed. "Even a clever housewife can't cook without rice. If we can't practice, what's the point of competing?"

"Stop rambling!" Li Hua gave up. "I think you're the biggest traitor—you don't even want the team to succeed."

Jiang Nian kicked the ball away, about to say something—

then he blinked, suddenly frozen.

"Shit, why is she here?" he muttered, immediately hiding behind Ma Guojun. "I've got an emergency."

"What?" Ma Guojun was confused.

Li Hua also stopped, his gaze fixed on Jiang Nian's side.

"Playing hide-and-seek?"

"No, I need to find somewhere to hide," Jiang Nian said quickly. "If someone comes looking for me, say I never came."

"Huh?" Li Hua didn't understand.

Before he finished speaking, Jiang Nian, using the fat Ma Guojun as cover, had already vanished.

At the edge of the field, Li Hua and Ma Guojun stared at each other.

"What is he doing?"

"No idea, probably had to pee."

Half a minute passed.

The two of them noticed a girl in a short down jacket over a full, puffy gray sweater jogging over from not far away.

At one glance, it was obvious something was bouncing.

Just one look and Li Hua was certain this girl was a cutie; a smile spread across his face too.

Hm? Why is there also a streak of green hair?

Forget it, never mind.

The green angel has descended, yay!

Han Xiao came to a stop, panting heavily. She swallowed once, then hurriedly asked,

"Hello, may I ask... was Jiang Nian here just now?"

In an instant, the expression on Li Hua's face froze. Never had his killing intent been heavier than at this moment—Jiang Nian, drop dead!

Your mother—!

Ma Guojun still remembered what Jiang Nian had said, and faithfully carried it out.

"He's dead."

"Huh?" Han Xiao was baffled. She looked at the two of them and said, "No way, when I just passed by I saw him playing soccer."

"Just died. Sudden death." Ma Guojun's face was dead serious. "Anyway, the body's already been taken to the hospital."

"Alright then." Han Xiao sighed, thinking to herself that boys really could keep a secret.

Li Hua's heart shattered into pieces, and he asked in a grief-stricken voice,

"You are—"

"I'm his seatmate." Han Xiao broke into a bright smile, waved at them, and left. "Bye-bye."

A few minutes later, Jiang Nian came back.

He looked left and right for a moment, saw that Han Xiao had indeed left, and only then let out a long breath. He turned to the two of them and said,

"Let's keep practicing."

"Practice my ass!" Li Hua grabbed him by the collar and said through gritted teeth, "Confess honestly—what's the deal between you two!"

"We're not close, really." Jiang Nian pushed his hand away and explained, "She's just a succubus, always thinking about strengthening me up."

The moment the words fell, Li Hua and Ma Guojun cursed out loud at the same time.

"Animal!"

"You dog bastard struck by lightning."

If Han Xiao's appearance had only made the two of them a little jealous, then one sentence from Jiang Nian turned that jealousy completely into hatred.

"You son of a bitch, don't flatter yourself." Li Hua pointed at him. "You mean to say that cute, big-chested girl is pestering you?"

"And... and wants to do that to you?" Ma Guojun added.

"Isn't it obvious? Bro's almost running away on all fours." Jiang Nian spread his hands. "Oh right, are you guys still practicing?"

"Jiang Nian."

"Yeah?"

"Drop dead!" Li Hua took off after him.

On the dimly lit soccer field, one fat and one thin boy chased after a Jiang Nian who wished he had four legs to run on.

Night fell quietly, and the stream of people on campus flowed like a weave.

Cafeteria.

Jiang Nian paid for both Li Hua and the big fatty's meals, and only then was the matter settled. The Fruit Robo Squad of three made up and were friends again.

Money talks—it's useful. "Whatever you want to drink, grab it, swipe my meal card."

"Okay, bro."

"Thanks, master."