Chapter 445: Want a Paid Massage?

Won.

All he could say was, "I, for the Heavenly Emperor, shall suppress all foes."

Jiang Nian ran a cheat the entire match — god knows how many times he used 【Precise】. His brain was nearly fried, and he piled brutal pressure on the other side.

On defense, he was the most seasoned defender; on offense, the strongest forward.

Tatakai!!

The most outrageous time, he even secretly activated 【Verify】. Once he confirmed the opponent's shot couldn't go in, he simply didn't defend.

Go ahead and shoot, kid.

Naturally, it didn't go in — the ball veered off for no apparent reason.

"We won!! Our class won!" Zhang Nianzhi was ecstatic, threw her arms around Yao Bei Bei, and bounced up and down nonstop.

Yao Bei Bei was happy, but she hadn't yet discovered the "female lead" in her heart. She didn't understand football, but she did spot a blind spot.

"They've been playing for almost fifty minutes, and Jiang Nian's stamina is, uh, kinda something."

"Kinda what?" Zhang Nianzhi was puzzled. "What is it?"

"Nothing, just pretty good." Yao Bei Bei gave an example. "Like this guy Li Hua — like an old man out for a stroll."

Crude words, but not wrong — she wasn't the only one who noticed something off.

"Holy shit, I was about to shoot." the opposing fullback complained. "Damn it, this guy darted out like a ghost."

"Trash is trash."

"Your mom — did anyone tip me off?" The fullback's face flushed red, hitting red temperature. "Who shouted even one word? Answer me!"

"My bad, my bad." The nice guy stepped up to take the blame.

At the start, they were a stacked roster — a bot match.

After the match: early game, laughing buddies; mid game, infighting and sulking; late game, mics muted, camping the box.

"Honestly, you can't really blame us — the opposing main's stamina was just too freakish."

"True."

"Play defense when behind, attack when ahead." The runner-up team's defensive mid had the most say in this. "God knows how he doesn't get tired."

"Still lost in the end."

In the team, one sudden sentence shattered the friendly blame-shoving atmosphere.

I'm begging you, just get lost!

This year's strongest runner-up team gave a classic demonstration of what it means to arrive in one car of five, and leave in five cars of one.

Edge of the sports field.

"Yay, we won!" Wang Yuhe was thrilled. "Yunyun, we won, right? Why aren't they announcing the result yet?"

"Mm, we won." Chen Yunyun had also been sweating bullets for Jiang Nian. "They'll announce it in a bit. Let's head over first."

Soon, the result was announced on the field.

Class Three was the victor.

This time, not many people cheered — everyone was busy going to eat. The field instantly turned chaotic, the crowd scattering in all directions.

Amid this mess, Song Xiyun

suddenly remembered Jiang Nian's request,

【If our class wins tomorrow, the scene will definitely be chaotic, and I probably won't have time to eat with you guys.

After the match, you two don't waste time. Find somewhere to eat first, and I'll reimburse you with the prize money.】

"Qianqian, let's go eat first.

"Mm?" Xu Qianqian glanced at the chaotic sports field, hesitated a few seconds. "Too many people — let's go then.

The award ceremony wasn't done on the spot — once the jerseys were handed in, it was over.

"Let's go, time to eat!" Jiang Nian knew this wasn't over, and shouted, "Group dinner, group dinner — Li Hua pays for everything!"

"Eat shit! I never said that!"

"Grab Li Hua, don't let him run!"

Jiang Nian, surrounded by the crowd, marched out of the sports field in a grand procession. In the crowd, he caught a glimpse of Li Qingrong, Cai Xiaoqing, and Nie Qiqi walking out. She seemed to sense something, turned around, and glanced back.

All she saw in her line of sight was a dense black mass of people, so she turned back again.

Night fell.

Because the match had been moved up earlier, the team finished their group dinner without being late, returning to the classroom right as the evening self-study bell rang.

Four or five of them were flat-out drunk, and the rest weren't much better off.

"You drank?" Zhang Nianzhi looked up, squinting as she sized him up. "Let me check — is there any alcohol smell?"

"I drank tea." Jiang Nian swallowed his grievance and suggested, "Stop looking — just try it."

Try... try it!

Zhang Nianzhi was stunned by this outrageous line, her pupils dilating. Under the bright classroom lights, her face flushed red in an instant.

"You!! What are you saying!"

"Tea — I meant tea. What did you think it was?" Jiang Nian pulled a pack of tea from his pocket and tossed it onto Zhang Nianzhi's desk.

"When we were eating, I felt this tea tasted pretty good. Figured you'd like it, so I asked the owner for a pack."

He leaned in close, staring at Zhang Nianzhi, and asked curiously,

"Huh, why's your face red?"

"N-nothing!" Zhang Nianzhi turned her head away, then two seconds later swiftly pocketed the tea. "Classroom...

1

"What?"

"Hot."

Cai Xiaoqing walked in and scanned the room. Among those from the afternoon match, only Jiang Nian was completely normal.

"Come with me. Go to the sports office to pick up the trophy."

"Is it money?"

"Yes, the trophy is heavy." Cai Xiaoqing paused, then added, "Bring someone else with you, to avoid trouble."

Jiang Nian thought for a moment and simply went straight to the class monitor. The two left the classroom and walked down the stairs, the atmosphere calm and peaceful.

Quiet and harmonious.

"Finally won. Old Liu must be pretty happy too."

"Mm."

"What did you eat this afternoon? Too bad we couldn't eat together." Jiang Nian said. "That bunch insisted on drinking."

"Oh come on, I couldn't stop them."

"Did you drink then?" Li Qingrong turned to look at him.

"Of course not. I'm not into that." Jiang Nian grinned. "Come to think of it, these people have big appetites but lousy skills."

"Then what do you like?"

"Can I say that?" Jiang Nian hesitated. The stairs were empty. "I like studying. I aim for 650."

Hearing this, Li Qingrong tilted her head slightly.

"Mm."

In the sports office, after the teacher confirmed their details, he first gave them the trophy, then told them to go elsewhere to collect the money.

The team captain's medal can be picked up after two self-study periods.

Jiang Nian glanced at Li Qingrong, then at the other prizes on the desk. He immediately felt his head ache—collecting prizes was such a hassle.

"Teacher, can we pick them up next time?"

"Sure."

In the end, Jiang Nian carried the trophy and a bag of prizes back to the classroom. The trophy was placed in a prominent spot; the prizes were distributed to a few people.

During the middle of evening self-study, Old Liu came by once.

He wandered around, glanced at the few students lying asleep. He assumed they were tired from the afternoon and didn't wake them.

Until he passed the back row, when Li Hua suddenly mumbled in his sleep.

"Drink... can't drink anymore."

Old Liu's kind smile froze instantly. He looked at Jiang Nian immediately—purely a stereotype.

Yet at that moment, Jiang Nian was sipping hot tea brewed by Baby Zhizhi.

Sip—so refreshing.

"Hm?" He noticed Old Liu's gaze and suddenly remembered the prize Old Liu had promised him. "Teacher, what's wrong?"

"The teacher's prize hasn't been distributed yet. I'm not in a hurry."

Old Liu:

In the end, Li Hua and the others were all called to the office for a scolding. It was strictly one thing at a time—scolding was still necessary.

In the classroom.

Hu Nianzhong hadn't drunk, so he remained unharmed. Compared to alcohol, he was more interested in the food and drinks on the table.

Normally, opportunities to eat and drink freely were rare.

Even working part-time in the cafeteria, he could only eat vegetables. Expensive meat dishes—grabbing too many would earn him scolding. Joining the team had been the best decision he'd ever made.

At first, he'd only signed up to show face for Jiang Nian. But he never expected they'd actually win—and become champions.

Even more pleasantly surprising was the substantial cash prize.

He pulled out a calendar card given away by an eyeglass shop for advertising, his finger slowly tracing backward, stopping at Christmas Eve.

Every Christmas Eve, clever students always sold apples.

One apple in a box cost five or six yuan; some elaborately designed boxes could sell for ten or even twelve yuan.

In the past, he would never have dared to pursue this way of making money.

But times were different now—he had startup capital. And he knew well that some popular students would give out ten or more gift boxes.

In a single day, social costs alone could run fifty or even a hundred yuan.

Startup capital sufficient. Market vast.

First, ask around.

Three evening self-study periods passed in a flash.

As dismissal neared, Li Hua was fully awake.

He'd somehow gotten a tiny mirror advertising infertility, and kept staring at his face, sighing.

"Alcohol and lust have made me so haggard! Starting today, I quit...:::"

"Really quit?"

"Tomorrow... maybe the day after. These two days are for celebration," Li Hua said. "When families celebrate the New Year, don't they eat dumplings?"

Clearly, the dumplings Li Hua meant weren't the ones in Wang Wei's poetry.

Probably the kind that require a membership.

"You little punk." Jiang Nian had wanted to advise him to be moderate, but then thought better of it. "Captain, have a safe trip."

"Lock the door. Don't crash."

"Of course." Li Hua smiled, glancing at Ma Guojun. "You think Old Ma—he..."

"Li Hua, your mom—I heard that!" Ma Guojun pointed at him. "If you want to die, say the next word."

"What?" Li Hua played dumb, then had a sudden flash of inspiration. "Oh oh, I was asking if you want to game tonight. What are we playing?"

"That new one, what's it called... Mist, the shooter mobile game." The moment Li Hua said it, he really wanted to play. "Is Jiang Nian coming?"

"I have to write test papers tonight, but... forget it, I'm in." Jiang Nian stopped struggling on the spot. Whoever could hold back from gaming—is that even human?

"One, two, three—I'll pull a few more people in later." Li Hua was delighted. "We'll set a time then. I'll get online after I shower."

The moment he heard "shower first," Jiang Nian immediately let out a few pfft-pfft-pfft sounds and glanced at Li Hua.

Those who know, know.

After school.

"Bye-bye." Zhang Ningzhi waved at Jiang Nian, ready to leave the classroom. "I'm heading out first, okay. I made plans with Beibei."

"Alright, bye-bye." Jiang Nian thought to himself that Baby Zhizhi was really cute.

Before leaving the classroom.

He took a look around the classroom. The class monitor was still slowly packing up her things. Made sense—going home early or late didn't make much difference.

At the same time, Jiang Nian also realized something.

The old father-in-law was coming back soon.

Last time he'd thought about looking at houses, but with everything that came up afterward, he forgot. Gao San time really wasn't plentiful—he could only throw money at the problem.

He fished out the medal sent over from the office from his desk, casually grabbed it in his hand, and walked over toward Li Qingrong.

"For you."

The medal was a shiny yellow, a worthless piece of junk. The back even had a name engraved on it—probably something the school hastily stamped on.

"Mm." Li Qingrong tucked the medal into her schoolbag, thought for a moment, then dug out a piece of jade from her bag and handed it to him. "Want it?"

2

Jiang Nian froze, caught off guard by this little move.

"No need. Let's game together tonight."

"What game?"

"I'll send it to you on my phone in a bit, so head home early." Jiang Nian waved it around. "Let's both head home early."

"Mm, okay."

Down to the third floor.

Jiang Nian didn't see Xu Qianqian in the hallway, so he glanced down at his phone. Five minutes ago, Xu Qianqian had sent him a message.

"Went out for late-night snacks, come over by yourself. 【Image】"

A funeral in Zhennan generally takes three days, and during those three days, Song Xiyun would stay together with Xu Qianqian.

He left the school gate, bought a few bottles of drinks and carried them in his hand.

At the corner of the Postal Savings Bank, a few snack carts had gathered there. Two young girls sat at a low table, sharing a bowl of boiling-hot water-boiled dish, steam rising.

"Over here!" Xu Qianqian waved.

Jiang Nian walked over, found a plastic stool and sat down directly.

"Sigh, so tired today."

A warm, teasing smile appeared on Xu Qianqian's face—clearly pure bait.

"Oh, then how about a paid massage?"