Chapter 619: The Elementary Schooler's Duck Foot

"Your IQ is in serious doubt."

"I got full marks in biology last semester, what's the point of telling Qingbao that?" Jiang Nian was speechless and walked off directly.

Yu Zhiyi was furious, but still had to go downstairs to fetch the test papers.

"Just you wait!"

"Oh."

Jiang Nian wasn't fazed at all, went straight upstairs and back to the classroom. After calling out the report, Qingbao nodded and let him in.

Once seated, Li Hua asked.

"Where'd you go?"

"The cafeteria." "

"Dammit, should've told you to bring me some food up." Li Hua rubbed his belly and let out a sigh.

"Just ate this afternoon, and now I'm hungry again."

"Bottomless pit, huh?" Ceng You turned his head, unable to hold back a laugh. "Group leader, you're so skinny, how can you eat so much?"

"What do you know, it's called eating like crazy and never gaining weight."

On the other side, Zhang Ningzhi pricked up her ears, eavesdropping the whole time. She glanced up at Jiang Nian, then couldn't help pressing her lips together.

This guy was hungry, yet didn't come to her first for snacks.

Hmph, ungrateful wretch.

In fact, it wasn't that Jiang Nian didn't go to her. He'd already searched, felt it wouldn't fill him up, so went to the cafeteria instead.

There are only two situations when a person's appetite is at its peak. One is after heavy physical labor, the other is after overusing the brain.

Quite a few people in the class eat four or even five meals a day.

Among them, Liu Yang is the most outrageous. Got a girlfriend, came back after New Year, and his abs are gone.

After a while, Yu Zhiyi came back carrying the test papers.

"Ahem, biology exam."

To prepare for next Monday's entrance placement test, Qingbao specially carved out time to put together a comprehensive test paper.

After the self-study period ended, Jiang Nian wandered over to Lin Dong's group.

Wang Yuhe lay sideways on the desk, Chen Yunyun had gone to hand in homework. She puffed out her cheeks and blew on a piece of paper like a fool.

The phrase "so bored it hurts" just became tangible.

"What are you doing?" Jiang Nian asked, acting like a parent, reaching out to pinch up the paper she was blowing. "I'll do whatever I want, you can't control me!" Wang Yuhe said, stretching out a leg to kick Jiang Nian.

But her movements were clumsy, and her leg got pinned under the table leg by Jiang Nian instead.

"Any duck feet left?"

"Not giving you any!" Wang Yuhe said matter-of-factly. "I only eat three a day, I only have one left for tonight."

"If I give it to you, I'll be hungry tonight."

"Keep eating, you'll eat yourself to death."

"I'm not fat!"

"Then keep them for yourself, gnaw away till your cheeks puff up like a squirrel." Jiang Nian left behind a threatening remark.

Wang Yuhe heard it and her face went pale. Gnawing duck feet inevitably involves chewing, she didn't

want to turn into an ugly squirrel.

"Fine, here, take it."

She steeled herself, her face aching with reluctance, and handed the duck foot to Jiang Nian.

"You have to treat it well."

Jiang Nian didn't listen to her blabbering on. What was she mumbling about? He tore it open right away and took a bite on the spot.

Wang Yuhe saw Jiang Nian treating her duck foot like this, completely ignoring her words, and couldn't help turning her face away.

She kept lying there, deciding not to talk to him anymore.

In a flash, evening self-study dismissal was approaching.

"Hahaha, let me tell you....." Lin Dong chatted with another boy in the group about his daytime experience entering the girls' dorm.

Zhong Liwei listened with an envious face, only now realizing that doing hard labor could also get a girl's number, and he regretted it so much he slapped his thigh hard.

"Dong-ge, if only I'd gone too."

Lin Dong held back his laughter. "First come, first served."

People's joys and sorrows have never been the same.

Sun Zhicheng set down his pen with an expressionless face, his gaze sweeping across the desk. It touched the glasses case, and a flash of pain crossed his face.

Ever since being told by Chen Yunyun yesterday that they didn't look good, he had permanently sealed away the glasses he took pride in.

Sigh, the great hand of fate.

As always......

He turned his head and saw Yang Qiming chatting with that girl who had switched groups, the two of them laughing and talking in a way that was painfully glaring.

That idiot Yang Qiming, showing off again. Like a peacock fanning its tail, loving every girl he sees.

That was the girl whose taste in earphones matched his own!

For Sun Zhicheng, this was adding insult to injury. In his depression, he could only find Lin Dong to quietly complain.

"That's fucking ridiculous, keeps clinging to that girl talking to her."

"A-cheng, can't really say that." Lin Dong said something fair. "If you aren't the fish, how do you know the fish's joy?"

Sun Zhicheng: "....

"How could a girl like that old toad, she'd at least have to look like...... Jiang Nian, right?"

Hearing this, Lin Dong was slightly taken aback.

"Who?"

"That's not important. What's important is he doesn't deserve her." Sun Zhicheng's face reddened a little too, even willing to take a hit to his own pride.

He even dragged Jiang Nian into it!

"Well, about that." Lin Dong stroked his chin and said, "Then why is it that blondes never lack for girls?"

Sun Zhicheng froze, his lips squirmed twice. He opened his mouth, but in the end couldn't get a single word out. After evening self-study let out.

Jiang Nian slung his bag over his shoulder and went downstairs first. He waited a while at the school gate, and casually took off the jade from around his neck.

He only needed to wear it when he was with the class president.

But he didn't have that habit; wearing it was always a bit

uncomfortable. Now that school was out, naturally he didn't need to wear it.

School gate.

Under the dim yellow lamplight, a sea of heads surged. Students leaving evening self-study poured out of the narrow school gate like sardines.

Jiang Nian waited about four minutes before Xu Qianqian and Song Xiyun appeared. Breaking away from the crowd, they walked toward him.

"We're planning to grab a late-night snack. Are you coming?"

"Hungry?"

"No, just feel like eating, that's all." Xu Qianqian waved her hand, "But, if you're willing to cook…"

Jiang Nian: ".

#

He immediately gave her a dead-fish stare, thinking to himself she'd set another trap for him.

"Not doing it."

"Fine, then it's the late-night stall after all." Xu Qianqian looked at him and sighed, "I'm just that kind of frugal person."

"Hm?" He gave Xu Qianqian a glance.

"Think about it. The three of us eating a late-night snack costs at least thirty yuan. But if you cook, it only costs ten."

Xu Qianqian said, "No need to praise me. This principle of careful calculation has already seeped into my very bones."

"I think you've been possessed by the spirit of rice and fruit." Jiang Nian couldn't be bothered with her, turned his head to look at Song Xiyun, and asked,

"Are you feeling better?"

"I... I'm better." Song Xiyun hadn't expected him to suddenly ask her, and her reaction seemed a little flustered.

"All better?" he asked, puzzled.

Song Xiyun: "Much better."

The night wind brushed her face. Her cold hadn't fully healed. As the wind blew, she couldn't help but cover her mouth with her sleeve and cough a few times.

Probably feeling embarrassed, she suppressed the sound of her coughing.

Jiang Nian followed her sleeve with his gaze. Song Xiyun stood beside Xu Qianqian, her figure looking a little thin.

Like a candle flame in the wind, flickering on and off.

"Let's go."

"Your treat?" Xu Qianqian linked her arm with little Song's, beaming, "Or use your game budget from last time."

"Either works." Jiang Nian said.

Song Xiyun followed along, head lowered, replaying Jiang Nian's last look. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it felt oddly strange.

When you care about someone, you always pay extra attention.

Even if it's just a look, or an expression. These things don't shift with the will, but are subconscious behaviors. She suddenly felt her face grow warm, realizing she'd been paying too much attention to Jiang Nian. This wasn't a good sign.

So, from the late-night snack all the way home afterward, Song Xiyun deliberately adjusted her gaze, keeping Jiang Nian completely shut out. It worked somewhat, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. "Those grilled skewers weren't fresh, and the prices were way too high."

"It's this late, there's no choice."

Jiang Nian and Xu Qianqian were still discussing the barbecue they'd just eaten. As for Song Xiyun,

she had a bowl of porridge.

"Sixty yuan, basically a day's living expenses for the three of us."

"Exactly. Three yuan can buy a huge bunch of chives."

"And those potato slices, just over one yuan a jin. The boss's pricing was way too outrageous, selling them like fresh silkworm potatoes."

The two of them actually weren't short on money, but whenever they ran into barbecue with outrageously inflated prices, they would tirelessly calculate away.

Chatter chatter chatter for a while, as if they'd already broken even.

Jiang Nian was used to being poor, but Xu Qianqian was stingy even with money. On this front, the two of them were rare kindred spirits. Back when he was getting by on three hundred yuan a month, he still lived just fine.

As for who dropped the gold coins, that didn't matter.

After getting home.

Jiang Nian habitually hung around Xu Qianqian's place for a while. Xu Qianqian smelled like barbecue, so she went to take a shower first.

Song Xiyun casually went to the kitchen and washed some fruit. Being alone in the living room with Jiang Nian, she felt a little awkward.

She was just about to head back to her room when she heard Jiang Nian ask,

"Did you take your temperature today?"

"No."

"Take it in a bit. The thermometer's in the second drawer of the TV cabinet."

"I took it back to my room last night."

Jiang Nian didn't say anything more, but she didn't feel right just getting up either. The living room was quiet; she could even faintly hear her own breathing.

A little short, one breath after another.

The balcony window was left open, cold wind pouring in and making the curtains flutter with a whooshing sound, making the silence all the more pronounced.

Song Xiyun's fingers drooped onto the sofa, drawing absent-minded circles.

She realized that she usually talked quite boldly in front of Qianqian, but once she was in front of Jiang Nian, she became clumsy of mouth.

Her thoughts drifted slightly; the aftereffects of her cold started acting up again.

After a long while, Song Xiyun couldn't stand the awkward atmosphere. Finally, she spoke up first, her voice a bit hoarse from the cold.

"Then I'll head back to my room."

"Mm."

Song Xiyun stood up, her body swaying a bit. She was somewhat dizzy — partly because of the cold, and partly because she was trying not to overthink, treating it as if Jiang Nian was only acting out of a friend's duty of care, or simply out of kindness.

Some boundaries weren't easy to cross, and there was nothing to gain from it.

But it's hard for a person to give up hope. A heart like withered grass — a single wildfire can't burn it all, and when the spring breeze blows, it grows again.

The next day.

Jiang Nian suddenly craved the vegetable rolls from the Beimen; he'd eaten them once with Chen Yunyun before, and the taste was quite good.

The West Gate had them too, but the stall couldn't compare to the one at the Beimen.

The vegetable rolls of Zhennan were made with a thick dough skin, wrapped around shredded potato or braised eggplant, folded into a palm-sized square.

Before setting up the stall, the boss would stack them neatly one by one, cover them with a thick insulating cloth, and ride a tricycle to the North

Gate.

When students came to buy, he'd brush on a thick layer of oil or chili sauce.

Jiang Nian made his way to the Beimen, stood in front of the steaming little stall cart, and glanced at the vegetable rolls stacked high.

"How much?"

"Shredded potato is two yuan, eggplant is three." The stall owner, brush in one hand, "How many? Want chili sauce?"

"One of each, spicy please."

"Sure."

Jiang Nian watched with great interest as the stall owner brushed on the chili sauce. Hearing footsteps behind him, he instinctively glanced back.

"Hm?"

Zhou Haifei was a bit flustered; the back of the person she'd just seen looked just like him.

"Morning."

"Oh, morning." Jiang Nian fished a five-yuan note from his pocket, handed it to the stall owner, and took the vegetable rolls at the same time.

Once Zhou Haifei finished buying, she also had a bag of shredded potato vegetable rolls in hand.

Seeing Jiang Nian sizing her up, she suddenly stammered.

"I... I don't eat them often."

"Don't be so nervous, I'm not interrogating you." Jiang Nian smiled. "Did you get the volunteer work hours?"

"Got them." Zhou Haifei nodded.

The two walked into the Beimen together, heading inward along the internal road. They wove through the dormitory clusters, cloaked in the morning light.

"Teacher Lan Lan is a good person," she turned and said.

"Indeed."

"You also..."

"Hold it — I'm not a good person." Jiang Nian pointed at her, thinking to himself, good thing, he almost got handed a "good person" card.

"Mm, anyway, thank you." Zhou Haifei said sincerely, "Without you, I really don't know what I would've done."

"There's always a way," he said.

Zhou Haifei nodded. If Jiang Nian hadn't appeared, she would've found a way on her own too — just one that would've been more agonizing.

For instance, her family would've used a missing person report to threaten her into coming home.

But after Jiang Nian introduced her to Lan Lan, she had an excuse to stay, claiming she was remaining at school for a work-study program.

Once her family heard there was money to be made, they stopped asking questions.

What she hadn't expected was that, despite being told it was volunteer work — even though she hadn't actually done any tasks — she really did get paid.

Lan Lan was a good person, and so was Jiang Nian.

It was as if from the moment she met him, her luck had started turning.

Fourth floor, Sanban Sect classroom.

"Morning, Fangfang." Jiang Nian reached out directly and felt her forehead. "Your forehead's really hot."

"Ah!" Huang Fang raised her head, looking at him utterly exasperated. "Your hand's like a block of ice — it'd be weird if I weren't hot."

"Isn't this me caring about you?" Jiang Nian reached for his thermos.

"Thanks, but no need." Huang Fang forced a smile. "You sparing me is the best care you can give me."

"Don't get it." he said.

Huang Fang: "..."

After a while, the class gradually filled up.

When Zhang Ningzhi entered the classroom, wrapped in a scarf and wearing a hat, she glanced at Jiang Nian and couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Hmph."

"Oh big star, still holding a grudge?" Jiang Nian waved at her. "Hello hello, got anything to drink?"

"Nope, none for you!" Zhang Ningzhi lightly smacked him. "Move aside, I need to get back to my seat!"

Jiang Nian shifted aside a bit, and as Baby Zhizhi passed his seat, he pinched her leg — and got another beating for it.

Jiang Nian scooted over a bit, and as Baby Zhizhi climbed into the seat he pinched her leg, earning himself another beating.

"Ssshh～～!!"

"Stop pretending!"

At the other side of the classroom, Wang Yuhe sat by the window, watching the fog on the glass as she exhaled a puff of white mist.

She leaned slightly to the left, then swayed to the right, cupping her cheeks and imitating the sound of a little train.

"Choo... choo... choo."

"What are you doing?" Jiang Nian had just been about to look for Chen Yunyun when he saw this, "Frozen stupid this morning?"

Wang Yuhe glanced at him. "I'm enjoying the morning."

"Fine, keep enjoying." Jiang Nian bent down to peek under her desk. "Next time remember to bring duck feet."

"I won't bring any. I'll sneak-eat them and drive you crazy." Wang Yuhe remained calm—she had already checked.

Eating three duck feet a day won't make your cheeks swell at all!