Chapter 413: Is My Cousin Pretty?

The next day.

Jiang Nian opened his eyes, didn't even look at his phone, just threw off the covers and got up.

That's absolute trust in your biological clock.

While brushing his teeth, he glanced at his phone.

Five o'clock.

Oh shit!

He spat out a mouthful of foam, looked out the window, and froze.

So after washing up, he scrolled through a few more test papers before heading out.

"Maybe I really should hang a sign that says 'Heaven rewards diligence' at home."

The sky was just beginning to lighten; he yawned.

Lately he's had too many good friends, and he has to reply to messages every day—but unless it's an emergency, he usually replies only before bed.

Yesterday Xu Qianqian said something like that, then vanished like a hamster.

Jiang Nian wasn't in a hurry about it.

Xu Qianqian has a thin face and a stubborn mouth; she gets angry when pressed. Even if she were made of iron, she couldn't withstand him slowly driving in one rivet after another.

In front of the steamed bun shop.

Jiang Nian locked eyes with the owner, then stepped forward, walking openly past the owner toward the neighboring rolled pancake stall.

Guo Na Sai—bored of buns.

The owner's gaze was blank, utterly accustomed to this. His peripheral vision caught another half-familiar customer, and he instantly perked up.

"What kind of bun do you want?"

Zhou Haifei looked up, then lowered her head again under the owner's eager gaze, walking toward the rolled pancake stall and standing beside Jiang Nian.

"Is the three-yuan one good?"

"Add one more yuan—the four-yuan one's better," Jiang Nian said, speaking as a veteran, pinpointing the highest-value rolled pancake.

Hearing this, Zhou Haifei hesitated for a few seconds.

"Okay."

The bun shop owner stood frozen, watching the two take their rolled pancakes and leave together, his eyes now lifeless—the wound of betrayal never heals!

"The rolled pancake really is delicious," Jiang Nian remarked, then asked, "Did you get your bonus yesterday?"

"Yeah, six hundred yuan," Zhou Haifei said.

Jiang Nian stepped into school, took a bite of the rolled pancake.

"You're pretty impressive."

He took his championship prize and left, never bothering to check who came second, let alone the results of the girls' division.

"Did you watch my match?" Zhou Haifei asked curiously.

"No, I guessed," Jiang Nian said. "With two experimental classes squeezing the slots, you still got paid—that's definitely this."

(Thumbs up).

Hearing this, a faint smile appeared on Zhou Haifei's face.

"After all, there's money to be made."

So you're one of those who care only about money, not people? You're a professional assassin, right?

On the third floor, the two prepared to part ways.

"Alright, next time there's a paid event, I'll call you," Jiang Nian waved, preparing to head upstairs and keep grinding.

"Wait… wait a second," Zhou Haifei called out, stopping him.

"Hmm?"

"That… when you're free, and without your girlfriend getting the wrong idea, could you take me to lunch at the cafeteria?"

Jiang Nian: "?"

What a patchwork monster—Qing Bao has a successor.

"Is there a chance I don't have a girlfriend?" Jiang Nian held up one finger. "Do friends need to avoid suspicion just to eat together?"

Zhou Haifei thought for a moment, bit her lower lip.

"Even among friends, there's a first-come, first-served order… and… a harem battlefield."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian was stunned.

Sister Feifei is also a version-predicting player—her understanding of friendship runs so deep, it has the flavor of profound simplicity.

He scratched his cheek. "It probably… shouldn't be that bad."

Zhou Haifei looked up, unusually serious.

"I don't want to get beaten up."

True—Jiang Nian didn't want to get stabbed either.

Yandere types are best locked in the 2D world; if they break through the fourth wall into reality, they're at least Fujii-level urban legends.

"Alright then, let's pick a safe time," Jiang Nian nodded, accepting Sister Feifei's logic.

She didn't want to get beaten; he didn't want to get stabbed.

Though it sounded like sneaking around, it was in fact a pure friendship—only the underlying reason was heartwarming.

"How do I contact you?" Zhou Haifei couldn't help asking.

"Q…." Jiang Nian saw her pull out a keypad phone and immediately changed his answer: "I don't use QQ much—just text me."

He gave her his number. Soon after, a message came through; he saved it and added a note.

"No, you text me," Zhou Haifei said cautiously. "I'm afraid I'll be caught red-handed and can't explain it."

"Sure." Jiang Nian broke out in a cold sweat.

Great, it's the Body of Stolen Sunshine!

One can only say it's perfectly suited for three people living together.

Jiang Nian stopped fantasizing—after all, Sister Feifei was just a river crab he'd placed.

"Brothers, what are you up to so early in the morning?"

Li Hua saw a group gathered around the Seewo whiteboard at the podium, walked over for a look, and froze.

"Holy crap, Chinese chess?"

"Yeah, who let the dog in?" Jiang Nian turned back, patted Liu Yang's shoulder, and asked, "What's the number for our school's security office?"

"Eat shit!" Li Hua squeezed in.

"Checkmate!" Lin Dong began the finishing blow.

Tao Ran looked up at the ceiling, thought for a mo-

ment, then directly closed the interface.

"There's something dirty here, I'm done playing."

"Holy crap?"

Li Hua was wounded a second time, his face full of grievance as he returned to his seat.

"A bunch of brats."

"Huazi, that angry?" Jiang Nian also returned to his seat, looked left and right, and noticed Zhang Ningzhi and the class monitor hadn't arrived yet.

He'd been writing test papers all morning to avoid being labeled a test-paper dog. He'd just gone along with the crowd for a bit and watched the show.

One could only say the "sunshine" scent on him was getting heavier and heavier.

He just didn't know how to repay Sunshine Baby. If it were Old Liu, it'd be easy—give him a banner at graduation and he'd be grinning ear to ear.

A banner from an individual has limited effect; best to have an official seal on it.

"I'm not angry, I just want to laugh." Li Hua's mouth gradually twisted into a smirk as he pulled out a women's phone. "How did you guys even start playing on the whiteboard?"

"Where'd you get a phone?" Jiang Nian froze.

Li Hua had always maintained a strict-upbringing persona—his parents only gave him cash for living expenses. Even online shopping required asking friends to place orders for him.

He used a beat-up phone without a SIM card to watch videos, something he could never show off.

"Oh, it was my cousin's gift for his blind date." Li Hua said, "The girl wasn't interested, so my cousin didn't need it and gave it to me."

"Your cousin... really deserves to die, jacking up the price."

Hearing this, Li Hua froze. He thought about it, felt Jiang Nian had a point, and solemnly nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll use this simp phone with a critical mindset."

A while later.

"Old Ma, do you think tenosynovitis will affect my use of a new phone?"

"Where'd you get a phone?"

Such exchanges happened multiple times throughout the morning.

After morning self-study ended, the whole class lay on their desks catching up on sleep.

Zhang Ningzhi poked Jiang Nian's arm, lowered her voice, and asked curiously.

"Did the group leader go crazy?"

"Don't mind him, being single gave him hallucinations." Jiang Nian said, continuing to write his test paper, but noticed a gaze fixed on him.

He turned his head, and Zhang Ningzhi was staring at him with a faint, distant look.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." She turned her head away again, muttering softly, "Nothing at all, perfectly normal."

Jiang Nian was straight-up question marks, "?"

He examined himself three times and found he hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't stolen sunshine from friendship, nor casually harassed her.

As for everything else, it was no different from before.

So, what was off?

Thursday morning, first two periods back-to-back English class. Qian Bao entered, glanced at Jiang Nian first, and a smile waiting for praise appeared on her face.

Some students in the class were baffled, not knowing why Qian Bao was in such a good mo-

od today.

"Teacher, why are you so happy today?"

"Is there some good news?"

"Yes, yes, it's a friend's child." Qian Bao covered her mouth, laughed for a bit, then said, "Feels like a pretty good match."

Jiang Nian lay on the desk and rolled his eyes.

The old woman really could lie without batting an eye—if he had even eighty percent of Qian Bao's skill, he wouldn't have to worry about getting stabbed.

Wait, what was he even learning from the teacher?

【Ding! Standing at the crossroads of thirty-eight years old....:

A mechanically synthesized voice rang out in his mind again, jolting the drowsy Jiang Nian wide awake first thing in the morning.

He sat bolt upright from the desk, staring at the quest panel that had popped up before him.

Here it comes!

【Over the past half year, your appearance and temperament have undergone earth-shattering changes, and your relationships with the three women have grown increasingly close.

Congratulations on completing your first transaction of starting from scratch. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step—please continue building your commercial empire.

Quest: Complete one transaction and obtain a cumulative effective profit of one thousand yuan. Reward: Hundredfold return, Ex-Wife Memory Fragment.】

Jiang Nian finished reading and was completely baffled.

The hundred-fold reward mission he had guessed right; earning a thousand yuan wasn't too hard. First, he'd see if he could keep passing it from his left hand to his right.

But... the ex-wife memory fragment — that was a bit much.

He remembered the last time he'd seen the ex-wife was in 【Xu Qianqian's Memory Fragment】; as for when they'd met, Zhennan was too small.

So small that through any third person, you could find any given person.

With this fragment, it had...:... absolutely zero use for him. Whether the ex-wife showed up or not didn't affect his studying.

"If I really find her, do I beat her up ahead of time, or...:..." Jiang Nian muttered to himself, "But she doesn't seem able to screw me over anymore."

"Screw over who?" Li Hua's ears were sharp.

"Your sister."

"Huh? My cousin?" Li Hua shuddered, jabbing a finger at him, "You really are a born bastard — my cousin just started ninth grade."

"My dad is five years older than my mom, and they still..." Jiang Nian was utterly calm, his gaze suddenly flicking to Li Hua's pocket.

"By the way, can your phone sell for a thousand yuan?"

"You animal — fine that you've got your eye on my cousin." Li Hua's face was terrified, "Damn, you won't even let a classmate's phone go."

Jiang Nian couldn't be bothered with him; his heart held only the longing for the hundred-fold return, and he said offhandedly.

"Let me see your cousin."

"Eat shit!"

"If the people in class found out you added a freshman last time....

." Jiang Nian opened his mouth and it came out, "You even said.:

Li Hua immediately felt guilty and grabbed Jiang Nian.

"Let's negotiate — she has photos on her Qzone."

"Who are you interested in?" Zhang Nianzhi leaned over, then asked Li Hua, "Group leader, is your cousin good-looking?"

"Good... not good-looking, I don't know either." Li Hua chickened out, "I'm face-blind, damn, my phone's broken."

Jiang Nian, on the other hand, felt no guilt at all — after all, he was just looking at photos.

"Oh, let me see his cousin."

"By the way, Baby Zhizhi, do you have a cousin? Last time I heard you mention a cousin sister who got married — so you should have a cousin sister too, right?"

That's how Zhennan people should be — tough!

"Look at your head!" Zhang Nianzhi puffed up with anger, unable to contain it she pinched his waist again, "Don't talk to me!"

During the long break, Li Hua secretly pulled out his cousin's photo.

"Good-looking, right?"

In the photo, a pure-looking girl with single eyelids smiled like a flower. A few years earlier, she could've been a Qzone internet celebrity.

The kind of pure-looking girl whose photo, even after being reposted into blurry ruin, could still be used as a profile picture.

"Huh, why doesn't she look like you?" Jiang Nian was surprised, "You're so plain-looking — did Uncle and Auntie pick you up from the snow?"

"Eat shit, I'm the one who got picked up." Li Hua put his phone away, "My cousin has a whole bunch of suitors in middle school."

"And then?"

"Couldn't catch up with her, my uncle is..." Li Hua started to say then stopped, "Forget it, let's not talk about this, and stop eyeing my sister."

"No, no eyeing." Jiang Nian said, "QQ, right?"

"Holy shit, animal!" Li Hua was shocked, turning to look at him, "When the hell did you memorize it?"

"Just now."

The running-exercise bell had rung long ago; the class was almost empty.

Liu Yang shouted, "The rest of you, get down for the run!"

Jiang Nian walked over to Liu Yang, tossed the six-hundred-yuan meal card for the small cafeteria that Old Liu had given him onto Liu Yang's desk, and said calmly.

"Tap me in for attendance, brother."

Li Hua witnessed the whole scene and was utterly shocked.

"Damn, showing off like that?"

He silently pressed the brand-new phone he'd been about to pull out to show off to Liu Yang back into his pocket, thinking, byd, so what if you've got money?

"Hua, you eating?" Jiang Nian asked.

"Eating, bro, eating." Li Hua's face changed instantly, then warned, "But don't you go after my cousin either."

"She's pretty, sure, but she's got some personality issues. All spoiled by her family — not easy to get along with."

"Oh, oh." Jiang Nian didn't take his words to heart either.

Long break.

Almost everyone had gone to run exercises; Jiang Nian slipped off alone to the office and got a new meal card from Old Liu.

A balance of one thousand yuan — he was thrilled just looking at it.

This was a proper teacher's cafeteria meal card, food you couldn't eat even with money, way tastier than the cafeteria dishes.

"Thanks, teacher."

"Mm, you've earned it." Old Liu didn't ask why he hadn't gone to run exercises, hesitated a moment, then still spoke up.

"There's one more thing."

"Mm?"

"It's that...:... classmate interaction, unity and friendship are fine. But try to keep it friendly — don't let it turn into romance."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment.

"Oh... okay."

Old Liu watched Jiang Nian's retreating back, his brow almost furrowing. High risk, high reward — could he still make it to the other side?

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh — the Gao San students finished their morning run.

A crowd of them swarmed noisily up the stairs, laughing and horsing around, bustling and lively.

Yu Zhiyi and Zhou Yuting chatted, and the topic happened to drift to romance. As someone who'd been through it, she said with earnest weight.

"A boyfriend who only knows how to apologize isn't a good boyfriend. A truly qualified boyfriend should be the type who can communicate effectively."

Zhou Yuting nodded along in agreement, laughing awkwardly.

"As long as he knows how to apologize, that's enough, right?"

"Wrong. That's a fake apology — it doesn't solve the problem," Yu Zhiyi said seriously. "I have deep feelings about this."

Jiang Nian popped out from a stairwell entrance nearby, saying out of habit.

"This won't do, that won't do — give you a couple of smacks and that'll do it."