Chapter 62: Parachute Lesson—The Kind Where You Jump Out the Window

Class meeting, Teacher Liu at the podium delivered a long stream of motivational nonsense.

Below the podium, Li Hua secretly made a Nike face, sneering.

He secretly turned to look at Jiang Nian, his sandwich-style desk partner sitting in the middle, and whispered.

"This is a lie—college guarantees singlehood; once you start dating, you snap to attention."

Jiang Nian was uninterested; October was still sweltering.

Under the desk, he adjusted his dantian—this damn weather, his underwear was turning into a thong.

The afternoon was especially stifling; the old fan whined and spun slowly.

He had to pull out a Biology II textbook from under his desk and swap it for the Chemistry Compulsory III he'd been sitting on. Why Chemistry Compulsory III? Because of organic chemistry.

"Hey, Jiang Nian, do you believe me or Teacher Liu?" Li Hua felt invincible again, seemingly fascinated by romance topics, his urge to share exploding.

He'd either found a freshly made-up story on Baidu Tieba or picked up precious wisdom from a porn group chat, where a few chu guys bragged about their conquests.

"So many people believe you—you don't need me." Jiang Nian, uninterested in claiming the throne of dating advice, muttered, "Hua, it's so damn hot."

"Huh? What's so hot?" Li Hua raised an eyebrow.

Some people are complicated, their minds filthy—mention "household registration" or "time flies," and they twist it into something lewd.

Jiang Nian had no energy to drive; he just chuckled and lowered his head to study.

"Derivative........"

He was utterly exhausted; the teacher at the podium kept talking, and he'd been solving problems at noon. His eyelids grew heavy, just as a natural breeze blew in from outside the window.

So...

He regained consciousness ten minutes later, his head nodding, his occiput swollen. His vision slowly focused—he looked down at his book.

The derivative was half-written—only a curved "求" remained.

At the front, Teacher Liu was delivering his final remarks.

Something about how effort changes fate, how cruel society is, how many rules there are, and how you must study hard to outpace others and become one of the elite.

Jiang Nian was equally lost about the future—he knew almost nothing about what was happening beyond the school gates.

Peering at the sky from a corner of the ivory tower, he saw only a blazing sun.

Sigh, so confusing.

Ding!

Fuck, forgot to turn off the cheat—this one's mine, totally ruined the mood.

Shit, Teacher Liu.

You've got your sweat; I've got my deep blue.

Panel popped up: 【At thirty-eight, you returned to the city where you once lived with Zhang Nianzhi—Yangcheng. In a daze, memories pulled you back ten years—to a stifling summer...】

Task: Complete a pleasant date with Zhang Nianzhi. Reward: Fishing Proficiency (Skill)

Jiang Nian's hand had been resting lazily on the desk, stroking his nape. He was used to these tasks—he guessed it'd be a date mission.

"Eh~! Bro, why's your system so damn weak~? Another thirty thousand? You little sly system, can't you drop anything else? Pathetic, total crap!"

Jiang Nian glanced at the reward—and instantly sat upright.

He rubbed his eyes—fishing?

Holy shit, that's so strong! Better than thirty thousand any day.

To be fair, it's not just middle-aged men who love this—since childhood, he'd adored it. Thirty thousand might not make him bow his head, but Fishing Proficiency? That'd make him beg.

The ultimate end of a man's kingship is fishing—even an emperor must sit alone in his imperial coffin, back turned to all, fishing through eternity.

Jiang Nian hadn't even received the reward yet—his lips were already curling upward.

He glanced at Li Hua beside him, his grin widening—he was already imagining the wish-fulfillment novel.

The fishing rod arrives tomorrow; for now, a bamboo pole'll do.

Oh my goodness.

The shocked sidekick Li Hua still had his fingers interlocked on the desk, sneering coldly at the teacher at the front—every word Teacher Liu spoke, Li Hua muttered a sneer in reply.

Mature bro, he's getting mature again.

He didn't yet realize that this ordinary afternoon would be the very beginning of his lifelong smirk as a man's king—his future social media feed would contain only one phrase.

"Bro~! Where'd you catch it, bro~? Smoke, Huazi, bro~! Give me a spot, bro~! Tell me, bro~! (Running) Bro! ~ I won't tell anyone~ Bro! (Running back and forth)"

The first afternoon class meeting ended; the whole class began switching seats.

The procedure was simple: push desks forward, swap the last row with the first. If the angle made the blackboard hard to see, students within groups should coordinate among themselves.

The classroom filled instantly with the screech of desk legs scraping the tiles; Jiang Nian stood and moved his desk forward.

As he shifted his desk, he glanced at Zhang Nianzhi.

She showed no sign of changing seats, carefully pushing hers forward, afraid to look back.

Whether she switched or not—it didn't matter; they were in the same group.

At the start of the term, Jiang Nian and Zhang Nianzhi had just been promoted to the new class; their seats were in the back of Group Three.

Two weeks passed; pushing forward again meant the first or second row.

Jiang Nian was about to sit down when he heard Huang Fang to his left speak up.

"Baby Zhizhi, can we swap seats? This one's against the wall—it's inconvenient to get out."

Zhang Nianzhi looked flustered, awkwardly replying.

"Oh, oh, okay."

Li Hua stared blankly at Huang Fang.

"If you need to get out easily, why not swap with me? Come to think of it, I actually like sitting against the wall—I just never dared ask you."

Huang Fang rolled her eyes. "Baby Zhizhi can't see the blackboard from the first row."

"Oh oh, mine, mine." Li Hua scratched his head, embarrassed, and opened his mouth as if to say more.

Huang Fang feared he might suggest swapping seats with Zhang Nianzhi; even though swapping with her was no different, sitting beside them as a third wheel was still awkward.

She decided to speak first, interrupting the spell.

"What are you doing? I already made plans with Zhizhi. Group leader, if you want to help a group member, swap with Ceng You—he sits where the blackboard looks like it's got a flashbang effect."

Li Hua was good at science and was the group leader of the sixth small group.

Before he could answer, the Game King Ceng You refused. He loved sitting by the wall—it gave him cover to play games, read novels, and nap without drawing attention.

"I won't swap!"

Li Hua froze, embarrassed, and grabbed the iced red tea from Jiang Nian's desk, drinking it through the air to calm his nerves.

Jiang Nian: "??? "

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh, Huang Fang and Zhang Nianzhi didn't switch desks—they just moved their books.

They swapped positions, so for the second class, third group, second row... Zhang Nianzhi sat by the window, with Jiang Nian to her right, and Li Hua at the very end.

Jiang Nian asked casually, "What class?"

He always asked Huang Fang this—it was his habit.

Even if Huang Fang one day said they were skydiving, he'd just walk out the window and down the stairs. The trust between group members was maxed out—warm, thoughtful.

Suddenly, a timid voice came.

"B... biology."

Jiang Nian realized his neighbor had become Zhang Nianzhi. "Oh oh," he murmured, suddenly feeling strange—until the taste of rust spread across his tongue, and he realized he'd just...

... his heart had skipped a beat?