Chapter 57: Healing

Xu Qianqian, in a pout, stormed up the stairs and bent to unlock the door.

In her frustration, even the lock seemed to resist her.

It's all Jiang Nian's fault!

"You're turning it the wrong way, you idiot," Jiang Nian couldn't take it anymore, reached over, placed his hand over hers, twisted hard—click—the lock snapped shut.

The air was thick with awkwardness.

"Ha, playful," Jiang Nian acted as if nothing happened, turned, and headed for home. "Go to bed early. Goodnight."

Xu Qianqian clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

"Are you trying to die, Jiang Nian!"

"Alright, alright, it's no big deal," Jiang Nian immediately dismissed the obvious solution. "Why not ask your dad to open it from inside?"

"He's working overtime. Not back yet."

"Move aside. I'll open it for you." He stepped forward, fiddled for a while, changed direction, pushed hard—still didn't open—pushed again, and with a sharp click, the lock gave way.

He checked the time: 8:30. Still early. He might as well be decent—he carried all her bags inside, then sat on the sofa and turned on the TV with practiced ease.

"Don't you have a TV at home?" Xu Qianqian bent to put her drinks in the fridge.

"Is that the same thing?" He acted like he belonged here, though the empty house did feel cold and quiet. "Hey, do you play games?"

"Doing worksheets. Previewing lessons." Xu Qianqian ignored him.

She fetched her worksheets from her room and slowly wrote them out in the living room. Though she claimed she wouldn't play, she lifted her head every thirty seconds to glance at the TV.

Her pace was painfully slow—she spent nearly twenty minutes on six multiple-choice questions.

Watching TV alone was dull, but a friend made all the difference. With someone beside you, even the most boring show gained a little charm.

Jiang Nian lay on the sofa, scrolling on his phone while watching TV.

He'd only done a few multiple-choice questions on his physics worksheet, yet he wasn't worried. Li Hua hadn't written anything either—he was still battling online at the internet cafe, having played games all day.

Li Hua thought the same way.

Didi-di-di!!

In the message bar, two red numbers appeared beside Zhang Ningzhi's avatar.

"Finished your worksheet? (cute)"

Hmph, asking such a private question.

"Not yet. Weekend learning anti-addiction mode activated," Jiang Nian typed back. "Lend me your physics worksheet tomorrow. I'll buy you… Fruit Milk."

"What flavor do you like?"

Zhang Ningzhi had no choice—she typed for ages, then finally sent a single character: "Fine."

Seeing this, Jiang Nian instantly felt better.

Today he'd annoyed Xu Qianqian several times; getting her physics worksheet was pure fantasy—he might even end up trampled under her feet.

Though Jiang Nian didn't mind the Jailor's reward, right now he just wanted to be a quiet, handsome guy watching TV, not provoke Xu Qianqian into a rage.

A QQ message from Li Hua popped up: "Nian, I think I've got superpowers—I've been online all day and I'm not tired at all!"

"【Photo】 I just logged off. You missed it—today I won almost every match."

"【Match results photo】 Pretty cool, right?"

Jiang Nian thought for a moment, then replied: "I finished my worksheet."

A kind word warms three cold winters; a harsh word chills even June's heat.

Li Hua fell silent for minutes, then sent a broken-expression meme.

"You little brat! How could you?! You said you were playing with your phone in the morning, napping in the afternoon, and shopping at night!"

All's fair in war, Huazi—this is a classroom ruled by strength!

Study Sun Tzu's Art of War, live a Qiang-powered life.

"Just do it when you get home," Jiang Nian typed coldly. "You finished by five a. m. Wash your face and you can head to class."

"Ahh! Your mom!" Li Hua's defenses shattered.

In the living room.

Xu Qianqian heard the laughter and glanced at him, curiously asking:

"Hey, what happened with Zhou Yuting after that?"

"What do you mean 'what happened'?" Jiang Nian sat up on the sofa, exasperated. "I have nothing to do with her. Didn't you see that day?"

"Why are you so defensive?" She smiled faintly.

Holy shit, can this person read minds? Did you go to Hogwarts in kindergarten?

"Defensive? Pfft. We're done. That bunch of idiots never treated me like a friend." Jiang Nian remembered the birthday party again.

"What about Zhou Yuting?" Xu Qianqian put down her pen, intrigued. "She's pretty, and tall."

Jiang Nian lay back on the sofa and sneered.

"Not interested."

Xu Qianqian smiled slightly, though she wasn't sure why.

Who cares what he thinks.

He didn't leave until ten, dragging his shopping bag out the door—then suddenly said, "You looked nice today."

Bang—the door shut.

The girl stood inside, half-dazed, then slowly came to her senses.

She felt weightless, her heart like a ship adrift on a midnight sea, unsteady and drifting.

Jiang Nian had just finished showering, dried his hair, and lay on his bed when he received a message from Li Hua.

"Any healing romance novels you'd recommend? I've been hoarding Long San's book and haven't dared to read it yet."

He was a little curious, so he typed and asked, "Where are you up to?"

Li Hua: "Running into the sunlight in a grand escape. I'm planning to read it bit by bit during Chinese class next time."

"Oh oh, no problem, it's sweet." Jiang Nian replied, "That fast? You already finished the test paper?"

Li Zihua took five minutes before replying, "Did a third of it. Super easy, no difficulty at all. No way anyone's spending a whole day on it, right?"

Jiang Nian wasn't annoyed either. He replied calmly, "Bro, take a rest. Even half an hour of reading is enough. Let me recommend you a few books."

Li Hua sent over a sunglasses emoji, and said smugly, "Bring it on."

Jiang Nian didn't really read angsty literature. He casually searched up a list of gut-punch books, sent them over to Li Hua one by one, and went to sleep.

The next day.

Jiang Nian waited for Xu Qianqian to go to school together. Their relationship was sometimes good, sometimes bad, usually depending on whether Jiang Nian had done anything decent.

The main reason was that Song Xiyun lived on the north side of the county, in the completely opposite direction from Xu Qianqian's home, so the two best friends couldn't walk to and from school together.

Entering the classroom, Zhang Ningzhi had arrived early and was reciting biology knowledge points.

The classroom lights were on in the morning. Jiang Nian handed her a carton of fruit milk. The physics test paper had been placed on her bookshelf early, held down by a red pen.

Quite trustworthy, worth a deep friendship, a good companion.

"Thanks, I'll copy it and return it to you." Jiang Nian took the test paper back to his seat and began quickly copying and pasting.

Around the time of morning reading, his toxic friend Li Hua stumbled in, barely making it on time, slipping in from the back of the classroom as if he had pink eye.

"Damn you, Jiang Nian! Your mom! What the hell did you recommend to me!!! Ah!!"

Jiang Nian had just finished copying the physics test paper. Without leaving a trace, he covered Zhang Ningzhi's physics test paper and looked up with a blank face.

"What?"

"You're truly a piece of trash!" Li Hua sat down, trembling all over. "Siba, what kind of romance novels did you recommend? I was emo all night, and everything looks red when I woke up this morning."