Chapter 640: Yuyu, Go Attack That Video!

Hearing that, he paused for a moment.

"No thoughts on it."

Jiang Nian actually had thoughts, but this was like New Year's red envelopes. He couldn't exactly say, old man, hook me up with some special treatment.

Way too unreserved.

Old Liu deliberated for a moment. "They say to advance another step when you're already at the top of a hundred-foot pole. You should try to fight for it a little too."

"Let me think of something." Jiang Nian scratched his head, looking like an honest sort. "Physics really is too hard."

Once the conversation reached this point, it was already full.

Old Liu pretended to think for a while, then sighed.

"So be it."

"Let me see if I can find you another teacher. The college entrance exam is right around the corner—what are we going to do?"

Jiang Nian almost laughed out loud. Damn, he never even wanted to get into Tsinghua.

"Then forget it."

"How can we forget it!" Old Liu raised his voice, a little anxious now. "You still have to fight for it!"

Hearing that, Jiang Nian felt slightly puzzled.

Last time the old thing had sworn up and down he'd find Jiang Nian a physics teacher, and now he was hinting again.

Could it be that he expected Jiang Nian to spend his own money to hire a famous tutor?

"How do I fight for it?"

"Ahem, desperate times call for drastic measures." Old Liu said, "In our school, the best physics teacher isn't in Gao San."

"Mm?"

"He's been assigned to the repeat-year class. Very relaxed."

"Why?"

"Tradition, I guess. After leading one cohort of Gao San, teachers from the Zero Class can voluntarily transfer to lead a repeat-year class."

Old Liu explained, "Higher pay, less work. Management is lax too, and once the college entrance exam is over, the bonuses roll in."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian roughly understood. The old thing had an idea, but couldn't get the guy.

"Then what do we do?"

"Ah, well, there is a way." Old Liu poured tea. "Go coordinate with Vice Principal Gao."

Jiang Nian: "???"

He was done. Wasn't this just telling him to go work the connections himself? No wonder he kept emphasizing fighting for it—what was there to fight for?

"I'm not doing it."

He refused outright. Boosting his physics score was certainly tempting, but running around asking leaders for favors—count him out.

Quietly sneaking up his score—every extra point was a gain.

Spend the effort and resources, and his score would draw the leaders' attention. If he succeeded in raising it, fine, but losing even one point would be pressure.

"Sigh...

2

Old Liu had originally wanted to keep persuading, but seeing Jiang Nian shake his head like a rattle-drum, he could only sigh and give up.

"Fine, head back for now."

Coming out of the office, Jiang Nian couldn't be bothered to return to the classroom. He went straight downstairs to the cafeteria and dug into the hot food.

When he went back upstairs, it was just

noon dismissal.

People trickled out of the classroom one after another. Jiang Nian, in extreme bliss, opened his test paper and began grinding away at his studies.

If everyone's studying, it's the same as no one studying.

Sneak-studying equals progress.

After a while, someone passing through the aisle stopped. She stared at Jiang Nian for a moment, then simply sat down.

"Hey, ask you something."

Jiang Nian looked up and glanced at Yu Zhiyi.

"What?"

"I heard the first mock exam is next month, but I don't know the date. I asked Qingbao, and she wouldn't tell me no matter what."

Hearing that, Jiang Nian deliberated for a moment.

"How could that be?"

He looked at Yu Zhiyi with a strange expression. "In front of me, how is Qingbao anything less than forthcoming?"

"Argh!!!" Yu Zhiyi was about to lose her mind. The moment this guy got a chance, he'd hit her where it hurt.

"I'm being serious with you—when exactly is the first mock exam?"

"Mid-March, probably." Jiang Nian gave a vague answer, then added, "Prep for the first mock starts on the tenth."

Yu Zhiyi: "Prep?"

"A few sets of problems, that kind of thing—one test paper a day." Jiang Nian said, "I heard the Zero Class for the olympiad gets six sets."

"Six sets..." Yu Zhiyi counted on her fingers. "So, the exam starts around the sixteenth?"

"Yeah." Jiang Nian twirled his pen and went back to looking at the problems.

Yu Zhiyi shot him a glance but said nothing. Not wanting to disturb his work, she quietly got up and left.

If it were someone else, she wouldn't have been so careful.

"Yang-ge, look over there."

"Which?"

Yang Qiming turned his head and saw a girl in the crowd outside the west gate walking by.

The girl had a simple ponytail, radiating a touch of youthful vitality, and her sweater was cinched at the waist.

With each step, her waist appeared slender and supple.

"Why is it her?"

Lü Xuan kept glancing at her watch—her class had an evening self-study activity and needed to arrive fifteen minutes early.

She pursed her lips, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

She turned her head and saw two boys staring at her. They looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't recall where she'd seen them.

She smiled at the two boys and slipped into the school gate like a gust of wind.

"Brother Yang, she smiled at you." Huang Cailang was slightly excited, "That means she remembers you."

Hearing this, Yang Qiming couldn't help but feel a ripple in his heart.

The next moment, he remembered the scene of her playfully roughhousing with Jiang Nian. Having learned his lesson, he shook his head.

"No, better not."

In the classroom, Sun Zhicheng lay sprawled on his desk.

He chatted on QQ with the Gao Er girl introduced by Lin Dong.

Ding-dong—a message popped up.

"The snack stand prices are so high."

Sun Zhicheng glanced at it and smiled. To him, the snack stand prices were completely reasonable.

"I'll treat you."

"Great!" The girl sent a thank-you emoji, pink and cute—Sun Zhicheng's heart quickened.

He typed, "Want to hang out this Sunday afternoon?"

The Gao Er girl showed "typing…" for a long while before sending a reply.

"Suddenly don't feel like eating snacks anymore."

Sun Zhicheng: "..."

The bell for evening self-study rang.

Chen Yunyun and the others returned, sat down, and immediately began solving problems. Occasionally, they turned to discuss solution steps.

Yang Qiming strolled in with Huang Cailang, entered the classroom, and sat down to chat with Ding Qiulan.

"Hey, tomorrow's hundred-day oath ceremony..."

A boy from the neighboring group turned and chatted with a girl in the back row. Snatches of conversation drifted into Sun Zhicheng's ears.

He turned his head and looked around the class—it seemed everyone had something to do, except himself, who couldn't muster any energy.

Lin Dong returned and, upon sitting down, noticed Sun Zhicheng's low spirits.

"Acheng, what's wrong with you again?"

"Feeling a bit down."

"Oh, feeling down, huh?" Lin Dong pondered for a moment, then forwarded to Sun Zhicheng the file Jiang Nian had sent him earlier.

"Acheng, I sent you a Motivational Master file. Remember: after you get home, take a shower before you open it."

"Huh?" Sun Zhicheng heard "take a shower before you open it," and instantly his spirits lifted.

He'd seen Search Officers, nurses—but never a Motivational Master.

"Is it good?"

"It's okay—we all watched it in our dorm." Lin Dong patted his shoulder and whispered, "Very smooth."

Sun Zhicheng's expression instantly turned resolute, and he nodded seriously.

"Alright!"

On the other side, Group Six.

Li Hua brought a bag of honey cakes and was distributing them to the group. Jiang Nian ate everything, swallowing one whole.

The base of the honey cake was crisp; with each bite, a rich oily fragrance emerged, blended with honey's sweetness—quite tasty.

Zhang Ningzhi, curious, broke off a small piece.

"It's delicious!"

"Yay yay yay~" Jiang Nian mimicked her.

"I'll kill you!!" Zhang Ningzhi puffed up, blushing as she punched him. "You're so annoying!"

Yao Bei Bei walked over, glanced, and showed no interest.

"Li Hua, why do you pick snacks with such weird flavors? You don't seem like a young person—more like an old man."

"Old? "

Li Hua looked puzzled. "Where's it old? I've loved this since I was a kid."

Yao Bei Bei sneered. "One bite and your neck could stretch two li."

"Chi Shi."

Still, she reached out and took a tiny piece. After tasting it, she found the flavor acceptable.

She returned to her seat and brought over a bag of tiger-skin chicken claws to distribute.

"Now this is what young people like."

Li Hua said nothing, pulling out peanut butter candy from his pocket.

"What about this?"

The wild style stunned everyone present.

Suddenly, someone in the class shouted.

"The grades are out!"

Whoosh—the classroom erupted like a rising tide. Everyone stirred, those with phones pulling them out.

Those without phones watched others pull theirs out.

"Which subject's grades are out?"

"Math, probably."

Jiang Nian unhurriedly logged into his account and took a look. Math: 123, a perfectly average score.

Just barely scraping the excellence line—passable, if you could call it that.

Zhang Ningzhi scored 136, also a normal performance. Li Hua went without saying, Empress Fangfang 134.

The most shocking was Ceng You, who scored 130.

"Red-stone, how'd you pull that off?"

"Jealous?" Ceng You ran a hand through his hair and said smugly, "There were two problems I couldn't solve, but bro's got sharp eyes."

The group fell silent—so it was a heretical technique.

At the end of the aisle, the big fatty Ma Guojun stared at his grades. His gaze was a little blank—he'd only scored 113.

"I'm done for."

"Class monitor, you got a perfect score?" Nie Qiqi came bearing good news, fawning like a lapdog. "That's amazing."

"Mm." Li Qingrong nodded.

"Can you teach me? I'm so dumb." Nie Qiqi stuck out her tongue, just about to lean in when she got caught.

"Idiot, restart." Cai Xiaoqing grabbed her and hauled her off in one hand.

"Shit, bombed it."

Tao Ran's group—several boys were sighing and groaning. By comparison, the study committee member was far more composed, reading manga.

Little Lark didn't do so well either, hugging her test paper and going wee-wee-wee.

"I'm done for, didn't review over winter break."

After sighing, she turned her head and glanced at Zhou Yuting.

"How'd you do?"

Zhou Yuting stared at the whiteboard, her pupils unfocused. Like a meteor plummeting at high speed, her lashes trembled.

She opened her mouth, but not a single sound came out.

"I did.... not well."

86 points.

For the Olympiad class, it was undoubtedly a glaringly

painful number. Even four more points would have spared her some dignity.

She had never imagined that after moving up a class, she could fail math.

What on earth happened?

Zhou Yuting tried to figure out where the problem lay, but a wave of anxiety and helplessness instantly swallowed her whole.

Zhang Ningzhi slipped her hand into Jiang Nian's pocket, immediately grinned in satisfaction, and took the chance to jab him.

"What are you doing?"

Jiang Nian turned his head and arrested her at the speed of light.

"Stealing my money, huh?"

"Hmph, no way!" Zhang Ningzhi puffed up angrily, pulled her hand back, and thought to herself this guy really doesn't get romance.

"You're so stingy!"

"Bullshit!" Jiang Nian wanted to argue back, but couldn't say it—how could he say her hand was too close to his junk?

That wasn't romantic, it was straight-up dirty.

"Hmph!" Whenever Zhang Ningzhi got unhappy, she'd huff and puff like a steam maid. "By the way, what clothes are you wearing tomorrow?"

"Whatever, why are you asking?"

"You're going up on stage tomorrow, right? You'll definitely dress up a bit, won't you?" Zhang Ningzhi asked, looking a little worried.

What if Jiang Nian dressed too well and attracted bees and butterflies again?

Forget it, better to look good.

After all, she had to look at him too.

"Mm.... you make a point." Jiang Nian nodded. "I'll disguise myself tomorrow, so I don't get beaten up after the speech."

Zhang Ningzhi: "

Guys' thoughts jump around too much, she just couldn't keep up.

"Don't dress up, I'm begging you, bro." Li Hua said. "Make yourself ugly, just wear the school uniform."

"Ten yuan." Jiang Nian rubbed his chin.

Li Hua dug into his pocket. "Fking here."

Zhang Ningzhi was greatly displeased—the group leader had ruined her plan. Originally, she'd wanted to help Jiang Nian come up with ideas.

To let him know who his capable little assistant really was.

But.... the school uniform was fine too, I guess.

End of first self-study period.

Jiang Nian received a message and found that Lan Lan had added him to a group chat, where a notice was pinned.

【In order to coordinate with the Hundred-Day Pledge Assembly and the school leadership.....】

He skimmed through it briefly—the TL; DR was basically a psychology lecture. About how to regulate your emotions after bombing an exam,

and that you had to find someone to hold a meeting with. It said to find someone who'd bombed an exam, but actually finding Li Hua would work too—pad the headcount and the task is done.

"Got it."

The moment he sent the message, Lan Lan DM'd him.

"Don't half-ass it. (Husky pointing at you)"

Jiang Nian immediately couldn't hold it together, wondering why Lan Lan had this stereotype seal impression of him—terrible.

"Teacher, where'd you get those stickers?"

"Students send them a lot," Lan Lan said. "I think they're pretty handy. Anyway, don't slack off again."

"Why?"

"Don't ask. Just take it seriously, that's all." Lan Lan sent another sticker—what you shouldn't ask, don't ask.

Logically speaking, someone at your level has no authority to inquire.

Jiang Nian found it even harder to keep a straight face, but figured Lan Lan wouldn't do him dirty.

"Fine then."

In a blink, evening self-study was nearly over.

Most of the class was buried in solving problems, and the atmosphere was a bit different from before—more people were taking it seriously.

After the bell rang, Jiang Nian said hi to Li Qingrong and grabbed his bag to head home.

Under the streetlight, Xu Qianqian kicked and shuffled the whole way. After walking on shadows for a stretch, she couldn't help but ask curiously,

"You're giving the speech tomorrow?"

"Yep."

"The hundred-day oath ceremony—why pick you again?" Song Xiyun was also puzzled. Logically, they wouldn't keep choosing the same person.

"Dunno, maybe 'cause I'm pretty handsome."

"Pfft, narcissist." Xu Qianqian rolled her eyes, then fished a bag of nuts from her pocket and started sharing them out.

She poured a few into Song Xiyun's palm, then poured Jiang Nian one. "WTF?"

"What?" Xu Qianqian raised an eyebrow.

"No way, why do I only get one?" He immediately couldn't keep a straight face, thinking Xu Qianqian was really impossible to figure out.

"Just one, take it or leave it!"

"Give me one more?"

"Why?"

"So I can eat two together."

Meanwhile.

Sun Zhicheng got home and lay down for a bit. Fifteen minutes later, he remembered the video Lin Dong had given him.

So, summoning his willpower, he got up and showered.

After finishing all his washing up, he turned off the lights, got into bed, and took out hearts in sync. He tapped the link, downloaded it, and hit play.

Only to see, amid a stretch of black-and-white footage, a well appear.

Fzzzzt—static flashed across the screen.

Sadako crawled out.