Chapter 466: A Friend

As the commotion on that side ended, the security guard came over to shoo them away.

Lin Dong promptly withdrew, just as Jiang Nian and the others happened to be there; he casually helped by carrying the box across the dark basketball court.

"Why is it so heavy?" Li Hua was utterly exhausted.

It was too dark to see clearly, but when they reached a well-lit area, he turned his head—and damn, Jiang Nian and Ma Guojun hadn't lifted a finger.

The two of them barely held the edges of the apple box the whole time, slacking off completely.

"Fuck!" Li Hua couldn't take it anymore, his neck turning red, "Are you two even human?!"

Jiang Nian shot him a warning glance, displeased.

"Lin Dong hasn't complained—your mouth is too loud."

"Of course he won't complain!" Li Hua exploded, "I'm the one carrying the whole damn thing—no wonder it feels so heavy!"

"Hey hey, do you really need seven or eight minutes to rest?" Ma Guojun shook his head, "Forget it, forget it—I'll carry it with Jiang Nian."

Li Hua glanced at the long path they'd come from, then at the small door right in front of them.

"Fuck!"

Besides a few boys, Li Qingrong had also followed along, silent the whole way, as if merely curious and tagging along to take a look.

Lin Dong said, "We're almost there—it's a half-open courtyard."

Jiang Nian glanced over—the courtyard looked familiar. Of all things, Lin Dong's storage spot was right next door to his rented room.

At this moment, the first-floor storage room was locked.

Two towels—one pink, one blue—and other drying cloths hung by the door, inconspicuous in the dark.

Jiang Nian rarely came here; he'd only been once after digging for gold, and even then he'd just dropped off his tools and left in a hurry for class.

Now that he saw it again, it felt strangely peculiar.

The girl didn't belong to him, yet she was entangled with him in countless subtle ways—a hazy feeling, addictive.

Pfft.

In plain terms: a lecher.

After opening the door.

Click—light flooded the room.

The first-floor storage room was empty, laid out just like the one next door. Fine for storing goods, but once water got in, the dampness became overwhelming.

So, unsuitable for living in.

After setting down the goods, Ma Guojun clapped his hands and looked around.

"Does everyone around here live here?"

"Yeah, some are in Gao San, others are retaking it," Lin Dong said. "Let's go, class is about to start—give me a bag."

The room was too small, so everyone stepped back out.

As Li Hua stepped out, he saw Jiang Nian and the class monitor chatting in the courtyard. He nearly choked, muttering under his breath.

"Fuck… all the perks go to him."

After a while, Lin Dong came out and locked the door.

In his hand he carried a bag filled with the apples Jiang Nian had ordered.

Jiang Nian took it, then glanced again at Li Qingrong.

"Uh… it's not mine."

"Mm, I know," Li Qingrong lowered her eyes.

Know?

She must've heard it around noon—good, saved him the trouble of explaining, since he'd already said he wouldn't give her apples.

On the way back to the classroom, Li Hua seized the chance to pull Jiang Nian aside.

"Your mom's!"

"Hm?" Jiang Nian leaned back tactically. "What's your status to curse me? I'm the Commander of Class Three, granted nine honors, permitted to wear swords and shoes into the palace…"

"Cut the crap. Tell me the truth," Li Hua yanked him. "When did you get close to the class monitor, you know… that way?"

"What 'that way'?"

"Don't play dumb!"

"Play dumb about what?"

"Fuck!" Li Hua, seeing Jiang Nian pretend ignorance, shoved him away. "How about I give you two hundred—will you break up with the class monitor?"

Jiang Nian burst out laughing, curling his lips into a Nike swoosh.

"Sure."

He usually messed around with Zhang Ningzhi, but never too openly.

The class monitor didn't seem to mind either.

She wasn't the type to bottle things up inside, so Jiang Nian felt perfectly at ease, teasing one, then another.

In short, they were all good friends.

He knew well that this state lasted mostly because of the crushing pressure of the Gaokao environment.

Perfect timing, perfect place, perfect harmony.

Once they left the Gao San classroom, he'd better hide himself well.

Ten minutes after evening self-study ended.

Yu Zhiyi passed through the narrow corridor when suddenly her foot caught on something soft; she looked down. "What's this?"

"Hm?" Tao Ran leaned over, then looked suddenly enlightened. "Oh, sorry—it fell."

Saying that, he shoved the mummy-like bundle back into place.

This was something Jiang Nian had promised—he'd give him a beast-ear girl doll if he won. Back then he was blind, but he made it up to him later.

All one can say is, Tao Ran is a character.

"This… what is this?" Yu Zhiyi's face turned pale. "Study monitor, you're too… too perverted."

"What else could it be?" Tao Ran glanced at her dismissively. "What, can't guys buy big plush dolls?"

"I…" Yu Zhiyi had nothing to say.

She left the classroom and saw a group of boys in the hallway, blowing air. Jiang Nian was surrounded in the center, chatting half-heartedly. Yu Zhiyi walked over and tapped Jiang Nian on the shoulder.

"Hey."

Li Hua

Hearing it, he turned his head faster than Jiang Nian. Seeing Jiang Nian pretend not to hear, he just grabbed him and shook him.

"They're calling you!"

"What?" Jiang Nian was utterly speechless. Reluctantly, he turned his head and shot Yu Zhiyi a sidelong glance. "What do you want?"

"What kind of attitude is that?"

"Dad's attitude."

"You…" Yu Zhiyi stormed off, furious.

Li Hua sighed deeply, quite disappointed. But remembering Jiang Nian was just this kind of guy, he went back to chatting.

"Do you think Lin Dong's apples will sell?"

"Dunno. Doubtful."

"The school doesn't ban giving apples. Tomorrow it'll probably be fine," Jiang Nian analyzed. "You've got to give them to teachers, right?"

"True. Last year we did too," Ma Guojun nodded.

"What about Liu Yang?" Jiang Nian turned.

"I gave them to kids in other classes—about twenty or so," Liu Yang smiled. "Too many friends, too many girls. What can you do?"

"Dead scumbag!" Li Hua cursed, then asked sourly, "Damn it, how many girls have you hooked up with?"

Liu Yang was tall and broad, always wore sporty streetwear, a level above even online sports-athlete stereotypes.

"No, just a few close friends."

Hearing this, Li Hua grew even more sour and lunged at him.

"You bastard!"

At that moment, English monitor Zhao Hao suddenly spoke up.

"Why doesn't Yang-ge pick someone from our class?"

Hearing this, Liu Yang was momentarily speechless. He thought: Isn't that obvious? It's not that I don't want to—it's just that there's no one worth picking.

Someone's side was packed with immortals, all top ten in the class.

Excluding those few girls, the rest were picky. Should he pick Cai Xiang? Or that aluminum-copper Nie Qiqi?

Zhou Yuting and Yu Zhiyi were hard to handle; the remaining girls were either plain or too quiet, and if they weren't either, they were just average-looking.

Baby Zhizhi was okay, but it was more comfortable to pick someone from another class.

Of course he couldn't tell the truth. After some thought, he said:

"I don't date close to home."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian raised an eyebrow.

You're pointing at me?

There's grass right beside the nest—why run all over the mountain like a dog with its ass on fire?

Near the end of evening self-study.

Jiang Nian watched Zhang Linzhi solve a problem, stared for a while, then nodded. He appeared to be discussing the question, but was actually zoning out.

Zhang Linzhi smells so good.

What laundry detergent does she use? How can she smell this good?

"Got it?" Zhang Linzhi asked.

"Mm…:." Jiang Nian snapped back, his gaze fixed on the second derivative, then followed

downward for a moment, tapping with his finger.

"I'm stuck here."

"Oh, let me see." Zhang Linzhi leaned in to look, nearly enraged—wasn't this exactly what she'd just whispered?

She instantly puffed up, glaring at Jiang Nian. As if muttering a silent reproach, she rolled her eyes and turned away, whispering softly:

"Then you'd better listen carefully."

"Mm-hmm." Jiang Nian's apology attitude was always solid—whether he'd change depended on his mood. "Go ahead. I'm listening."

Zhang Linzhi gave him another glare and began earnestly explaining the problem.

"First, take the derivative…"

»

Gao San time is tight; some people aren't willing to explain problems. But explaining big problems isn't without benefits.

Truth becomes clearer through debate; being able to explain a problem clearly proves full mastery.

After evening self-study ended.

Jiang Nian said goodbye and left, heading for the homebound squad.

Having one more person was kind of nice.

He went down to the third floor and realized only Xu Qianqian was there. He frowned for an instant, wondering why Song Xiuyun wasn't around.

But he didn't ask directly—he pretended not to notice.

"Let's go."

"Why don't you ask where Song Xiyun went?" Xu Qianqian looked at him.

"Oh, right...::::" Jiang Nian looked suddenly enlightened. "I was just thinking about the problem and didn't notice—why isn't she here?"

The stairs were crowded, and Xu Qianqian didn't get a chance to speak. Only after they descended from Gao San floor and merged out of the crowd did she finally say it.

"Aunt Zhao is leaving the day after tomorrow, so Song Xiyun has been staying home these two days."

"Oh, I see." Jiang Nian nodded. He also hoped Zhao Qiuxue could break through and bring back some good news.

Even though the internet is well-developed now, information gaps still exist in some industries.

I hope this path is open—it's Xu Qianqian's opportunity after all. Starting a year or two earlier should make it smoother.

This isn't seizing an opportunity—it's accelerating it.

If Jiang Nian had plunged into making money as a freshman, he definitely would've brought Xu Qianqian along too; they'd do something together.

Xu Qianqian is capable too—after all, brothers fight tigers together.

Whoever wants to join the ad agency can go; no one gets funded or rises up.

Sleep with the boss?

The two strolled home together. On the way, Xu Qianqian wanted to speak but held back—she really wanted to ask what Jiang Nian was giving tomorrow.

But she didn't want to be the first to speak, and she wrestled with herself the whole way.

Hmph!

At the building entrance, before stepping into the stairwell.

Jiang Nian seemed to finally sense something and turned to look at her.

"You..."

"

Xu

Qianqian blinked, waiting for him to speak.

Then a hand rested on her forehead.

"Huh?" She looked utterly confused.

"Are you running a fever? You haven't said a word all the way." Jiang Nian stepped forward, the distance between them shrinking rapidly.

"Wh-where?!?" Xu Qianqian stepped back sharply, her face instantly flushing red. "I'm just curious... about your gift tomorrow..."

"Oh, the gift?" Jiang Nian suddenly understood.

Xu Qianqian pursed her lips, waiting for his answer. But after a moment, she saw he had no intention of saying anything.

"Hm?"

"You didn't say anything—I almost forgot."

Hearing this, Xu Qianqian huffed, glaring as she stormed upstairs.

"Who cares."

Jiang Nian smiled and strolled upstairs slowly.

The next day.

After washing up, Jiang Nian stared at the three characters on his phone screen—【Christmas Eve】—muttering as he slipped on his shoes.

"I hope today really is peaceful and safe."

After going downstairs, he stuck to his daily study routine.

It's not that he was afraid—after all, the first Digimon to evolve was Agumon, proving that courage comes first in everything.

Passing the breakfast stall, Jiang Nian was about to enter the school gate.

Suddenly, someone called out to him.

"Jiang Nian!"

He turned and saw a figure emerge from the small pavilion. After a few quick steps, the shape became clear.

It was Zhou Haifei.

She carried an old bag and walked up to Jiang Nian, pulling out a beautifully wrapped apple and handing it to him. "For you."

Jiang Nian stared for a long moment, then took it and said:

"Isn't this a waste of money?"

"Not a waste. I know you don't lack for this," Zhou Haifei shook her head. "But... we're friends, so you have to take it."

"Alright, fine." Jiang Nian put the gift into his bag.

"I'm going to memorize my lessons." Zhou Haifei spoke quickly, turned, and hurried back to the pavilion.

Jiang Nian nodded and walked toward the Gao San building.

Hm