Chapter 645: The Bet Between the Two Girls Next Door

*Tap-tap-tap. *

The closer they got to the sixth floor of the administrative building, the quieter it became. Zhou Yuting followed behind a certain someone, matching his every step.

For some reason, she was actually a little nervous.

*BANG*—Jiang Nian pushed the door open and walked straight in. Zhou Yuting behind him short-circuited on the spot, frozen stiff.

Hey, what are you doing!

No matter how arrogant a person is, it wouldn't go this far, right? The teachers inside are giving a lecture, and you just shoved the door open and barged in?

For a moment, she didn't even know whether to follow him in or not.

"What are you doing?" Jiang Nian turned his head, glanced at Zhou Yuting. "Come in, what are you waiting for?"

Zhou Yuting could even see people in the large conference room turning their heads to look.

"Oh, oh."

She followed in uneasily, watching Jiang Nian stride boldly straight down the middle aisle. Her heart hammered with fright, yet she didn't dare not follow.

In a setting like this, being the only one standing alone was even more terrifying.

Up on the stage, Lan Lan glanced at Jiang Nian. She kept rolling her eyes inside, but still ticked his name off on the sign-in sheet.

"Take a seat."

Jiang Nian picked a spot near the front, then without even looking at Zhou Yuting, casually pulled a test paper out of his pocket.

If you're not doing problems, what else can you do? Time's running short, after all.

Damn, the sprint is almost here.

"Oh, oh, okay." Tingzi clearly wasn't in any sprint mode, clutching two or three books in her arms, confused about what was going on.

Three books—how much could you even read in one class? Only a drowning person would grab at anything within reach.

Just as the blue-bar skill refreshed, Jiang Nian casually placed it on Tingzi, looking forward to the reward payout.

Three days of surveillance, and you could see the other person's daily energy consumption distribution. Three days to settle, and you get the reward.

On stage.

Lan Lan read from her little notebook, lecturing until her mouth went dry. From pre-exam stress relief, to where to seek help after class.

Blah-blah-blah, she talked for a solid hour and a half.

Although Lan Lan was usually pretty out there herself—even a little absurd—she really did have some real skills.

Her professional knowledge was solid, and she took those students whose confidence had been shattered by the diagnostic test and handed the list straight to the Gao San grade group, setting up a mentoring program.

Honestly, it was mostly psychological.

The main point was to use artificially increased attention—an external force—to quickly repair their self-confidence.

The Gao San grade group was happy enough too; having a list made things easy to set up.

After it ended.

Jiang Nian had originally planned to bolt, trying to slip away unnoticed. But Lan Lan made a phone call and called him right back.

Standing beside him was also Zhou Yuting, dumb as a wooden chicken.

It's over, I'm about to lose face.

"I sent you a message, why did you leave me on read?" Lan Lan said coldly, black tights stretched over her legs.

Black looks slimming, and long socks are convenient for shaping.

In Jiang Nian's memory, the first time he saw Lan Lan, she was already wearing black stockings, legs crossed.

Far from the teaching post, she had a lot more freedom now.

Normally speaking, most students were thin-skinned. They wouldn't let their eyes wander, staring at the psychology counselor's legs.

That's right, I'm talking about Jiang Nian.

"Teacher, my phone was locked up." Jiang Nian had plenty of excuses ready, pulling them out at will. "I don't touch it normally."

Zhou Yuting tilted her head at that—she had seen Jiang Nian using his phone in class more than once.

It's just that the teachers all pretended not to notice.

She had occasionally caught him, and afterward started paying attention on purpose. Slowly, she actually picked up on a pattern.

Apart from math class, physics class, and chemistry class, he could basically pull out his phone and use it anytime during class.

Truly a bit... unrestrained.

Lan Lan couldn't be bothered to argue—getting into it with someone like Jiang Nian was just too exhausting. Better to play on her phone for a bit.

"I asked you to handle something, you didn't slack off, did you?"

Hearing that, Jiang Nian looked at Lan Lan's dead-serious face. He felt immensely relieved, thinking to himself, good thing he didn't drag Li Hua into this.

"I didn't."

Lan Lan's gaze lifted slightly, passing over Jiang Nian. She glanced at Zhou Yuting and saw the girl clearly wasn't in good shape.

Mm, Jiang Nian really hadn't slacked off.

"Alright then."

Zhou Yuting was uncomfortable all over—the psychology teacher's gaze made her feel oddly uneasy, a little guilty.

Lan Lan still had things to do and didn't keep Jiang Nian around to talk.

"You two can head back first."

She waved her hand, shooing them off. The rest of the matter would simply fall into place on its own.

Going downstairs.

Zhou Yuting looked at Jiang Nian ahead of her and couldn't help asking.

"Are you... pretty close with the teacher?"

She didn't like gossip, but the way the two of them talked was just too strange. It didn't look like teacher and student—more like friends.

"Mm." Jiang Nian responded.

His connection with Lan Lan began over Zhou Haifei's issue. One from each of them, and the matter was settled.

Once familiar, the relationship improves.

But all this has nothing to do with Tingzi, because this isn't special treatment—it's a grade-wide project.

Everyone gains something from this trip.

Triple win.

"Alright." Zhou Yuting nodded.

Seeing Jiang Nian's reluctance to elaborate, she remained curious but didn't press further.

Whatever, I'll pretend I don't know.

The classroom was brightly lit.

"Fucking hell, I skipped the entire evening self-study." Li Hua said enviously, "And the girl—guess you had your fun."

"Not bad." Jiang Nian was organizing exam papers.

Forcing an explanation felt like trying to hide the obvious. Li Hua, that bastard, was just afraid he'd say something outrageous.

Like, say, the group member's ex-girlfriend.

Zhang Nenzhi gave him a slow, sidelong glance, unable to suppress a twinge of jealousy.

"You're the psychological officer?"

"Yeah, already taken office." Jiang Nian nodded. "Low-rank post. Not announced yet."

"Only the Emperor announces officially." Li Hua corrected. "You? At best, you're a wanted poster."

"Heh. Group member's ex..." Jiang Nian sneered, still holding firm to Li Hua's weak point.

"Heh, team member Qian..." Jiang Nian let out a cold laugh, his hand all along gripping the vital point of Li Hua's life.

Li Hua cut him off, continuing to talk back—but dared not speak loudly anymore, now completely obedient.

He slumped onto the desk and went back to playing Brawl Busters.

Jiang Nian glanced over and delivered his verdict.

"Dumb dog toy."

"Shi—"

"Let me play."

"Hey you—"

"Group One's got me cornered." Jiang Nian now held two sets of Brawl Busters cards. He tossed one, then another, playing with glee.

Zhang Nenzhi lay on the desk, one eye peeking out from between her arms, watching him.

Zhang Ningzhi lay sprawled on the desk, peering at him through the crook of her arm with a single eye.

But Jiang Nian kept playing.

Finally, she couldn't take it. She reached out and tapped his shoulder, looking at him seriously.

"I have psychological issues."

Without hesitation, Jiang Nian pulled a sharp compass from his desk drawer.

"Then you need to bleed."

Li Hua saw it and yelled, "Holy shit, how did my compass end up with you?"

Li Hua took one look and said, "Holy crap, how did my compass end up over there with you?"

"Shit!"

Zhang Nenzhi jumped, thinking he'd actually stab her finger—she quickly shoved both hands into her pockets.

Zhang Ningzhi got a fright, thinking he really meant to prick her finger, and hurriedly stuffed both hands into her pockets.

The remark was too insulting for Jiang Nian to respond to. He put the compass away—it was his own, after all.

"I don't understand psychological issues. I'll bring you a small cake tomorrow."

"Great!" Baby Zhizhi instantly brightened—it was from him, after all. "Where do you buy small cakes?"

"That place at the crossroads—Fier Snow."

He didn't know where the pricier shops were—he never ate this stuff, so he'd done his best.

But this revealed a blind spot to Ceng You. There were no magic lamps in reality—but there were psychological officers.

So, if you had psychological issues, you could make wishes?

He turned, cleared his throat, and spoke.

"I have psychological issues too."

"Stop jerking off."

Laughter erupted around them. Zhang Nenzhi turned away, her ears slightly red, thinking Jiang Nian was filthy.

In Group Six, it was hard to stay pure.

"No..." Ceng You froze.

Empress Fangfang had just finished writing an assignment and leaned over, smiling to join in.

"I have problems too."

"I can tell." Jiang Nian reached out and touched her forehead. "You're seriously ill. I'll get you one too."

"I can tell." Jiang Nian reached out and felt her forehead. "You're pretty sick — I'll bring you a portion too."

During the third evening self-study, Old Liu returned from the meeting. The grade team assigned tasks simply according to the list.

That's why he'd made a point of touring the classrooms before leaving work.

Precisely because of this, he made a point of inspecting the classroom once before leaving work.

After making a round, he took the opportunity to announce something. Regarding the change of the Psychological Committee member position, Jiang Nian would be taking over.

Rounding up, it counts as a ninth-rank sesame official.

The class's reaction was rather enthusiastic, heckling nonstop,

"What does the Psychological Committee member do?"

"Sexual repression."

"Holy shit, that authoritative?"

Jiang Nian stood at the storm's center, called up by Old Liu. Telling him to walk two steps on stage—no, to say a few words.

He stood at the podium, rubbed his face.

"If any classmate has any issues, you can come find me. I'll provide everything—any help except help."

As his words fell, the class erupted in boos.

Only then did he begin to get to the point, briefly saying a few sentences. What kind of situation counts as an abnormal psychological state.

How to self-check, how to book a consultation, and so on.

Finally, a round of applause rang out. Jiang Nian returned to his seat. He continued burying his head in problems until evening self-study let out.

As dismissal approached, the classroom was in chaos.

Jiang Nian packed his bag, bored out of his mind waiting for school to end. He felt someone watching him, so he turned his head.

"Hmm?"

Li Qingrong shifted her gaze away and said calmly.

"I have a question too."

At first, Jiang Nian was stunned for two seconds. He thought, what problem could the class monitor possibly have. It took him a few seconds to react.

Then it's fine, deliver it to my residence and I'll slowly treat you.

"Ask tomorrow then." Jiang Nian pointed at her, "You'd better not end up unable to say a single word."

Or only making single-syllable sounds.

That's not unacceptable either.

Li Qingrong turned her head away, not responding to him. But that motion still gave people the feeling of a pout.

Jiang Nian: "???"

After evening self-study let out.

Xu Qianqian and the other girl still walked ahead, arm in arm chatting as they went, while Jiang Nian dawdled behind.

Most of the time, the three of them were in this state.

Jiang Nian and Xu Qianqian needed no further explanation—the bond of black-stockinged leg-touching. And with Song Xiyun, things were also a bit hard to explain.

Too familiar, getting along was actually more casual.

Xu Qianqian said, "This entrance exam wasn't hard, the questions were average, I just don't know if the first mock exam will be hard."

"It should be pretty hard, right? The head teacher said..." Song Xiyun thought, "Seems like it's gaokao difficulty."

"Is that really accurate?" Xu Qianqian took a skeptical stance.

Song Xiyun: "Should be."

Jiang Nian quietly listened to the two girls discuss, temporarily having no desire to interject, until they entered the alley before he spoke up.

"Don't you guys feel that exams without stakes aren't much fun?"

Under the streetlight, the two girls both turned their heads at his words.

"Huh?"

"What stakes?"

Jiang Nian said, "Like a bet. Could it be that you have no desires, nothing you want?"

The two girls exchanged glances, slightly hesitant.

"It's not... not that we don't." Xu Qianqian said, "It depends on what the stakes actually are."

"Mm." Song Xiyun nodded, expressing agreement.

Originally she had no gaming addiction, but during New Year's she was cultivated into one by Jiang Nian. Now upon hearing "wish," her hands itched subconsciously.

Always wanting to play something, do some farming.

"Hmm?" Jiang Nian stopped in his tracks. He originally hadn't held out hope, just habitually taking a shot whether or not there were dates on the branch.

Who knew, the two girls actually didn't refuse.

"So, what do you want?" he said in a low voice, "I made a bit of small money recently, I can put it all up."

"Not playing, can't win against you." Xu Qianqian shook her head, "And you're so underhanded, there must be some scheme."

"I also don't......" Song Xiyun said.

Can only say, women turn their faces faster than flipping a book. One second there was hope of making a deal, the next second they outright refused wildly.

Jiang Nian thought for two seconds, putting on an indifferent look.

"Oh, alright then."

There's an old saying, success and failure depend on each other.

After going upstairs, Jiang Nian didn't go to Xu Qianqian's place. Instead he went straight home, washed up, and sat at his desk.

He picked up his phone, and Xu Qianqian had sent a message.

"Any condition, I'll agree?"

Jiang Nian's spirit instantly lifted, but he didn't agree right away.

"Depends on what stakes you offer?"

Xu Qianqian: "(Contemptuous) Cut the act. Don't think I don't know what's running through your mind."

Jiang Nian typed a reply, "What?"

Xu Qianqian: "Then forget it."

Seeing this, Jiang Nian instinctively wanted to reply. But just before his fingers touched the screen, he stopped himself and waited patiently.

Once you lose the initiative, what you get is usually scraps.

It's basically a battle of wits.

Whoever is more anxious loses. You can only be led by the nose by the other party, and in the end, suffer a crushing defeat full of regret.

Another twenty minutes passed, just as Jiang Nian was beginning to think he'd lost.

Buzz!

Xu Qianqian sent a message, "Are you mad?"

"No, I'm really not a good person." He replied instantly, giving her a way out first.

After all, what Xu Qianqian said wasn't actually wrong.

He really did lust after her body.

Jiang Nian was playing his cards openly—his treacherous intent was obvious to every passerby. But precisely because of that, he needed to keep his composure all the more.

Only, he also had to spare Xu Qianqian's pride from time to time. Otherwise, if she got angry and embarrassed, all his effort would end up like drawing water with a bamboo basket—nothing to show for it.

Xu Qianqian: "Good that you know. (Thumbs-down)"

Jiang Nian didn't bring up that topic again. After the two reached a tacit understanding, they switched to a different subject.

"What do you want?"

He glanced over and saw that Xu Qianqian was showing as "typing" on his screen.

Buzz!

Jiang Nian instinctively checked the message, only to find no new message in the chat. He instinctively backed out, and his heart gave a small jump.

Song Xiyun—extremely rare—had sent him a message.

"Are you there?"

In the latest messages column, one of the two women hadn't replied at all, while the other had sent a new message. Jiang Nian was starting to feel a little unsettled too.

Were they reaching out separately? Or had they discussed it together?

The latter was less likely.

Jiang Nian typed a reply, "What's up?"

Song Xiyun hadn't replied yet—she was typing.

He waited a while without getting a reply, then tapped into Xu Qianqian's chat window, only to find she was also showing as typing.

Jiang Nian gripped his phone, and suddenly felt a strange sensation.

He muttered inwardly, go ahead, send it.