Chapter 377

Evening self-study.

Jiang Nian stepped out of the administrative building and plunged into the night.

The award ceremony had just ended; the leaders spoke for half an hour, sending everyone into a daze, and only began handing out prizes in the final ten minutes.

"Hey, slow down."

A slightly resentful voice called out from behind, stopping Jiang Nian.

"Why rush off like that? I called you for ages at the stairs, but you didn't even look up—"

"I'm furious!"

Hearing this, Jiang Nian stopped and turned around.

"You tell me."

"What am I supposed to say?" Han Xiao's chest heaved with anger; she gritted her teeth. "Come on, do I look like I'm gonna eat you?"

Jiang Nian thought for a moment. "Hard to say."

"Jiang Nian, you big idiot!" Han Xiao said, shoving the gift box into his hands. "Here, take it. I don't need it."

The gift box was issued by the school, containing only one "Star of Motivation" medal, plus notebooks, pens, and other prizes.

The most valuable item was a 200-yuan fixed-amount meal card.

Jiang Nian had no idea how this big idiot had managed to snag the prize, but he refused to believe she'd taken the Six-City Unified Exam.

Bought it, planning to post it on TikTok, right?

"Ah, I really can't take this," Jiang Nian said, reaching into the box anyway. "It's really not appropriate."

The next second, he pulled out the most valuable meal card and, right in front of Han Xiao, slipped it straight into his pocket.

After finishing, Jiang Nian returned the gift box to her.

"Keep it safe—it's an honor, after all."

Han Xiao held the gift box:

Be a human being, Jiang Nian.

"If you're not talking to the Silver Demon, why did you suddenly come back to school?" Jiang Nian, swayed by the meal card, decided to chat with her for five minutes.

"Dropping out is fine. Studying isn't the only way out."

"Drop your mom!" Han Xiao snapped, directly losing focus and launching a flurry of punches. "I've told you hundreds of times!"

"Art! Art student!"

Jiang Nian grunted. "Then can you draw?"

"Draw...:.:" Han Xiao took a deep breath, then remembered something and stepped back. "Jiang Nian—"

"Draw...:.:." Han Xiao took a deep breath, then seemed to think of something and stepped back. "Jiang Nian,

"Really?" Jiang Nian hesitated for an instant. "Then cooperate fully with your doctor. Don't give up hope."

"Is that so?" Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment. "Then cooperate well with the doctor's treatment, and don't give up hope of living."

"I'm going to take an exam, not die," she growled. "I just suddenly felt like coming back to school."

"Oh, okay. Good luck with your exam," Jiang Nian replied just as dismissively. They were both ancient foxes—what was the point of talking about ghost stories?

"Oh oh, then I wish you a smooth exam." Jiang Nian was equally perfunctory — they were all thousand-year-old foxes, what was the point of talking about Strange Tales.

"After tonight, we won't see each other again until the New Year. Honestly, I'm not even sure I'll make it—I've been anxious this whole time."

"Jiang Nian, I've always thought of you as my best desk partner and friend."

She bit her lower lip, glancing shyly at Jiang Nian.

"Can I hug you?"

"Bro, your Yan Kingdom map's a bit too long," Jiang Nian smirked. "Of course, my good friend."

""Bro, your Yan Kingdom map is a bit long." Jiang Nian's lips curved up. "Of course, my good friend."

The administrative building lobby was empty now. Several massive stone pillars were bathed in the red glow of the college entrance exam countdown screen.

"Really!" Han Xiao's eyes lit up. She dropped the act, licked her lips, sprinted forward, and launched herself at him.

"Really!" Han Xiao's eyes lit up. He simply stopped pretending, licked his lips, ran a few quick steps, and pounced straight over.

Jiang Nian instantly shifted his position and casually patted her head.

"This building's windproof."

He turned and walked away.

Second period evening self-study—the classroom was brightly lit.

Jiang Nian returned from the teachers' office, now holding another meal card. It was Old Liu's monthly cafeteria card.

Jiang Nian returned from the teacher's office with another meal card in hand. This was Old Liu's cafeteria monthly card,

Thirty yuan per day for meals—no overspending. If unused, thirty yuan was still deducted daily—effectively forced consumption.

To be fair, is the cafeteria owned by that guy?

Kinda tyrannical.

Zhennan High had three cafeterias: originally one west and one north, but after students complained about lack of food, a small cafeteria was added.

This reward was a meal card issued exclusively by the small cafeteria.

Old Liu had no interest in competing with the school for meals—he could eat soft rice at home. So he casually handed the card to Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian himself had little interest in the small cafeteria—the food was mediocre, often just fried tofu.

Jiang Nian actually had no real interest in that small cafeteria either — the food was honestly just so-so, with fried tofu served constantly.

Eat this every day—the tofu vendor must've been buried alive!

But it's still money. Bad taste is one thing; whether you take the card is another. First, get it in hand.

But in the end, it's all money—tasting bad is one thing, whether or not you take the card is another; first get it in hand.

Every day, his obsession was getting the tuition back.

Entering the classroom, another "Wow!" rang out.

Jiang Nian, facing the teasing, remained remarkably calm. He had already slipped the medal into his pocket, to avoid letting the bastards pin it on him upside down.

Look at me! Look at me! What am I?

Moti-va-tion Star!

That's right—I'm talking about Li Hua.

"Ooh ooh, the Motivation Star's back!" Li Hua, the eldest son, leaned forward, flipping through the gift box. "Ah, where's the medal?"

"Threw it away." Jiang Nian drank with one hand, pulling out his exam paper with the other. "By the way, have you seen anything I lost?"

"What?"

"Lost eight points. Any thoughts?"

Li Hua:

Zhang Nenzhi listened the whole time, smirking quietly beside him.

"So cute."

But Baby Zhizhi, who said that, was even cuter.

Of course, "cute" wasn't meant to describe Li Hua with 608 points. It was just that Jiang Nian seemed... a little off.

"Did you finish your homework?" he asked.

"Yep. Want to copy?" Zhang Nenzhi didn't even struggle—she was used to having her homework copied, and she understood.

After all, Jiang Nian had gone to the administrative building since evening reading.

"Yes. Flip your notebook to that page." Jiang Nian was feeling cocky. "Stack it all together and put it on my desk."

"I'll finish this exam first, then I'll copy."

Before he finished speaking, his arm was twisted hard.

"Flip it yourself!"

In truth, Jiang Nian was just bluffing. Turning pages—maybe letting the monitor help was fine, but he'd rather not.

Objectively speaking, Zhang Nenzhi was a bit stingy.

"Fine. I'll flip it myself."

After the second class ended.

Zhang Nenzhi went to the back row to find Yao Bei Bei, and Jiang Nian, having drunk too much water, also stood up to go outside.

Before he could rise, someone poked him sharply on the back.

Jiang Nian turned his head, looking at the desk behind him.

"What?"

Currently, his relationship with the monitor had gone from... dewdrop... no, from gentlemanly friendship as light as water—don't ask what kind of friendship.

Relationship.

From gentlemanly friendship, it had slowly become real friendship—the kind where they'd agreed that once they reached a certain goal, they could kiss.

"Real friend."

Is that how you define "real friend"?

Yes.

Just as "Baby" had been downgraded emotionally, so too had "kiss," downgraded along with Tao Bao customer service.

No, I'm the Motivation Star.

So what if I kiss you?

Jiang Nian finished his mental justification, and thus... his gaze toward Li Qingrong was clear, like a polished mirror.

Li Qingrong lifted her eyes, glanced at him, then slipped a box of pens from her sleeve.

"For you."

"Huh?" Jiang Nian froze for an instant—but when he came to, the pen box was already in his hand. He couldn't help but be annoyed at his own speed.

Sun Zhicheng, who was about to leave the classroom, happened to walk past the aisle again. Overly attentive, he turned his head.

He saw it right then.

Anyone else wouldn't have cared.

But... Sun Zhicheng knew secrets others didn't. And precisely because of that, witnessing this moment made him sour.

Fine. Increase the pressure.

Push harder.

Sun Zhicheng walked out of the classroom, smiling. Like a covert agent hidden in darkness, patiently waiting for the day of light—he believed it would come, and he would be reborn from the flames!

Jiang Nian examined it closely: a box of three quick-dry pens.

Opening it, just from the packaging and design, he knew this thing was priced at assassin-level.

For some inexplicable reason, he glanced at his own battered Bic pen on the desk—the round black cap had rolled away somewhere.

He fell silent for a few seconds, then awkwardly said:

"Thanks then."

Li Qingrong nodded upon hearing it, giving a cool, curt "Mm." After lowering her gaze, she paused for a few seconds, then lifted her eyes again.

"Where's your medal?"

"Oh, right—I put it in my pocket." Jiang Nian, never one to hoard, pulled it out and handed it to her. "Here it is."

Li Qingrong took the medal and glanced at it.

The medal gleamed in noble gold, yet was featherlight—no weight at all, not even bothering to use a piece of iron.

On the back was engraved Jiang Nian's name, along with the words "Zhennan Middle School" circling around it.

One minute passed.

Jiang Nian noticed the class monitor fidgeting with the medal over and over, not saying a single word.

He was... a little desperate for the bathroom.

No, wait — that's weird. What's there to look at in some crappy medal? Could it be that Li Qingrong also wants to win the Inspiration Star award?

To be fair, her chances were slim.

The class monitor had too little room to advance. Her exam scores barely fluctuated, and progress... not falling behind was already progress.

So, did she secretly harbor a dream of winning the Inspiration Star award?

"Embracing Qingqing, do you really want this?" Jiang Nian lowered his voice and asked softly, a smile on his face.

Hearing this, Li Qingrong froze, a rare blush rising to her cheeks.

Hmm, Jiang Nian looked on, completely puzzled. He thought, no way... wanting an Inspiration Star medal, why would she blush?

Alright, alright, looking down on the Inspiration Star, are we!

"If you want it, I'll give it to you. I'm honestly not that interested in the medal," he said carefully, not wanting her to feel embarrassed.

Low scores weren't her fault.

Li Qingrong nodded. "Mm, thank you."

She tucked the still-warm medal into her pocket, then felt uneasy about it. So she took it out again and wrapped it in a few sheets of tissue.

She carefully placed it into the inner compartment of her schoolbag and zipped it shut.

After she did all this, she looked up. The seat in front of her was already empty — Jiang Nian had left at some unknown point.

Li Qingrong propped her head on her hand, her fingers lightly pinching her rouge-tinted ear, her lowered gaze falling on the test paper on the desk.

Her expression was as usual — cool and detached.

Jiang Nian came out of the bathroom after relieving himself, thinking the class monitor was rather innocent and carefree.

She even wanted a loser medal.

Perhaps it was some unknown collecting habit. Like how a rich person spends ten thousand to buy a poor kid's wire ring.

Outside the bathroom, the lights were dim.

"The school really is stingy — where the hell did all the money go?" Jiang Nian muttered. "It's so dark outside the bathroom."

Swoosh — the faucet was turned on.

He cursed the damn school a couple more times, shook the water off his hands, and headed toward the other end of the corridor. Turning his head, his gaze involuntarily froze.

A familiar figure stood by the railing, perhaps waiting for someone.

He recognized her at a glance — Huang Beibei!

At that moment, she had both hands tucked into the pockets of her cotton-padded jacket, seemingly gazing into the distance.

Jiang Nian recalled the afternoon's humiliation, when Yao Bei Bei had blabbered and mocked him. He glanced left and right, then quickly walked over.

He raised a cold, half-dry hand and slipped it straight into the back of her neck.

As half his palm disappeared in, Yao Bei Bei's shoulder jerked sharply.

"Ah!!"

She whipped her head around to look behind her and saw Jiang Nian pretending to be passing by.

"Jiang Nian! Are you sick?!"

"Huh?" He looked up, wearing a completely clueless expression. "You mean the person who just attacked you?"

"I saw him — he ran upstairs."

"Still playing dumb!" Yao Bei Bei gritted her teeth, thinking this bastard was truly shameless. "You... you're being a pervert!"

"Now, I don't like hearing that," Jiang Nian said. "Bro, is your neck plated with gold? Can't touch it?"

"I'm a girl!" Yao Bei Bei clenched her fist.

"I don't believe it." The moment Jiang Nian opened his mouth, he nearly drove her to death. "Who's the one with no reading comprehension here, after all."

Hearing this, Yao Bei Bei immediately felt guilty.

That afternoon, she had indeed said something along those lines. But at the time, it was only because she couldn't stand watching those two scumbags showing off.

So she couldn't help herself and had the urge to put them in their place.

And now, karma had arrived.

Yao Bei Bei could only endure the shame, watching helplessly as Jiang Nian walked away completely unscathed.

Just you wait, you bastard!

After a while, the bell rang.

Zhang Ningzhi came out of the bathroom — the queue had been rather long. Seeing Yao Bei Bei still there, she quickly washed her hands and hurried over.

"Let's go."

She took Yao Bei Bei's arm, preparing to head back to the classroom for self-study.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Don't even mention it — ran into your seatmate," Yao Bei Bei took a deep breath.

"What did he do?" Zhang Ningzhi asked curiously.

"Nothing, anyway nothing decent," Yao Bei Bei said, pulling her toward the classroom. "I'll tell you next time. Let's go."

"Let's go."

"Oh, okay."

The two girls jogged down the corridor and made it to the classroom just in time.

For the third evening self-study period, the supervising teacher was Qian Bao.

The old woman stepped into the classroom with crisp footsteps, a smile playing on her lips. As usual, she had someone open a window to air the room out for ten minutes.

"Today we're handing out two test papers, class rep, go to the office and count them."

At her words, the class instantly erupted in wails of despair.

Qian Bao still wore a smiling face as she made a round of inspection through the classroom. She strolled leisurely, that faint, elusive smile never leaving her lips.

Group Six.

Li Hua covered his mouth with his hand and nudged Jiang Nian.

"Why does Qian Bao keep smiling?"

Hearing this, Jiang Nian raised his head and shouted out loud directly.

"Teacher, Li Hua is asking why you keep smiling. Did you pick up money on the way? If so, share a little with him."

"Because he's a stu—"

Before he could finish, Li Hua, his face a picture of terror, clamped his hands around Jiang Nian's neck.

"Holy shit!!"

The voice cut off abruptly.

The class fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Qian Bao laughed too, but the old woman had zero sense of humor. Her face changed in a flash, and she casually hauled Jiang Nian outside.

In the hallway.

Qian Bao grinned and enlarged a screenshot on her phone.

"Take a good look. What's my score on Subject Two?"