Chapter 69: Too Much Downer Energy

Jiang Nian was distracted while showering, not noticing until he dried his hair and lay in bed.

What is Xu Qianqian doing?

Crying? Probably not—she's likely showering right now.

Damn, now there's a mental image—this is gonna make it even harder to sleep.

He tossed and turned in bed, silently cursing himself for being downer. But then again, it's been so many years—there's probably just a faint sadness left.

His excessive concern might seem like reopening old wounds.

She was just a little sad and wanted to be alone, but you come in with low-EQ comfort: "It'll pass." And suddenly she's bawling.

Okay okay, the kitchen water's boiling—go turn it off.

Three cuts, six holes.

After thinking it over, Jiang Nian decided he still had to say something.

It couldn't be too heavy, but also couldn't be too frivolous. He thought about how those EQ guys on the internet talk to girls—time to find some reference.

...... Check yours?

Shit, how did I accidentally enter Tieba?!

Jiang Nian backed out, tapped into the Pure Love forum, and quietly exited three seconds later. So what if it's Nantong? What's the point of slapping "Pure Love" on it like some fancy brand?

After all that fuss, seven minutes had passed.

Tieba only had abstract nonsense—Jiang Nian decided to switch apps for better material.

His Xiaohongshu username was nono, and people often mistook him for someone else, letting him slip in unnoticed. So his private messages weren't many—just over twenty.

"God's mill grinds slowly, but it grinds exceedingly fine."

Jiang Nian's face was full of question marks—this didn't feel like a healing quote at all. And whenever he saw Jesus, he thought of that stupid priest-and-boy meme.

Screw it—I'll make something up myself.

After dawdling for ages, he sent one.

"Taking three days off?"

Five minutes later, Xu Qianqian replied with a single "Mm."

Jiang Nian thought for a moment, then typed a reply.

"Go to sleep early."

On the other end, Xu Qianqian didn't reply again. Jiang Nian guessed she'd just send an "Okay" or another "Mm." His emotional intelligence was barely adequate, and his abstractness came and went unpredictably.

The next day.

Jiang Nian didn't remember when he fell asleep—he must've dozed off for a moment and passed out.

Gao San time is incredibly tight; you never get enough sleep. Either burn your lifespan head-on, or prioritize your life and sleep early.

In the words of Jiang Nian's cousin: "Don't let your body get depleted."

Otherwise, once you get to university, you'll catch a cold just peeing in winter.

He picked up his phone and saw Xu Qianqian had replied at 11:40—not "Okay," not "Mm," but a money transfer.

"Holy shit!"

Oh right—three yuan. Yesterday I bought her baozi.

Scared the hell out of me, you little brat.

Tap-tap-tap, he typed: "Don't send money late at night—it's creepy."

Xu Qianqian must've woken up—she sent back a string of question marks.

"Then don't take it."

"Hah, what a joke—call me Dad and I'll send it back." Jiang Nian typed the line with practiced ease, his mood lifting—Xu Qianqian was back to normal.

"Dream on!"

After washing up, Jiang Nian tossed the hairpin gift meant to repay Zhang Ningzhi's kindness into his bag.

His backpack had books; the piggy bank was too big to carry, so he planned to give it to Song Xiyun during the sports day. As for Xu Qianqian's phone, his mom said now wasn't the right time to return it.

Yeah, just have to wait for the right chance.

In the morning, they walked to school side by side, no different from usual—as if last night's heavy moment had never happened.

But it's like pregnancy—even if you wash it, you can't pretend it never happened.

I only have two events at the sports day—if I could get leave... Jiang Nian thought, then acted, pulling out his phone.

Nah, better not tell her yet.

I'll see if I can get leave later—if it doesn't work out, it'll be a mess. With my personality, I might just skip outright, and then I'd face a three-way interrogation.

With my mom's temperament? "Early romance?" She'd slap you dead.

Oh, early romance with Xu Qianqian? Hmm... let's see.

Just kidding—I and Xu Qianqian have zero interest in early romance. What buff does early romance give you in Gao San? Doesn't seem worth it.

But there's some ambiguity—nothing pure or innocent.

Both families are only children, and our parents have always gotten along well. They've always hoped we'd end up together—though of course, it never happened.

Why were we so distant in junior high and early high school? Hard to say.

Rebellion, vanity... brain damage—there's a bit of all of it.

In high school, I realized this kind of relationship beyond friendship... was rare. Suddenly I noticed: oh—childhood friends are actually precious.

The key point is she's hot. Solid.

Teenagers don't think far ahead—at seventeen or eighteen, you can do anything. Just enjoy it, don't go around calling each other "my husband."

Later?

What's that?

Morning reading.

Li Hua yawned; tomorrow was the sports meet. He had looked forward to this day for so long, he wished he could just fast-forward straight to it.

Thinking of this, he slapped Jiang Nian on the shoulder.

"What's first period?"

Jiang Nian turned to look at Baby Zhizhi; she immediately fumbled through her schedule. Her loose school uniform couldn't hide her balanced figure, her slightly flushed cheeks, her fair swan-like neck.

Who the hell invented girls? They're just too damn beautiful.

Sometimes in class, Jiang Nian caught the faint, elusive scent drifting from beside him. He nearly blurted out something perverted: "Baby, can I lick you?"

Saying that would be game over! Olympos Class Three's Orochimaru—Jiang Nian!

"First period… English," Zhang Nianzhi stammered, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen during her lean back behind her ear. "After that's English, then math, then PE."

"Oh, English class," Jiang Nian thought. Time to go begging again.

Qian Bao's snacks were pretty tasty, and she was like a treasure chest—every day they were full, and Qian Bao never hoarded anything; he could always steal a little each time.

Goblin mode activated! Deploy Gluttony Card!

After morning reading, half the class collapsed onto their desks, including Zhang Nianzhi. She adjusted her arm, preparing to find a comfortable angle to lie down.

Suddenly, her arm was prodded.

She startled but didn't lift her head from the desk—only turned her face, revealing a pair of eyes blinking rapidly.

Jiang Nian held something in his hand and, while no one was looking, slid it toward her desk drawer.

His five fingers opened like a lotus blossom, revealing a blue rabbit hair clip.

Zhang Nianzhi froze, staring at the rabbit hair clip, her mind going blank. After two or three seconds, her heart leapt into her throat: What… what?

"Huh?" Seeing she didn't react, Jiang Nian shoved it straight into her loose school uniform pocket.

Can a rabbit hair clip really paralyze you this long?

I have an immature thought.

A shiver of numbness surged through Zhang Nianzhi's heart; all ten fingers curled involuntarily, her face buried in the crook of her arm wrapped in her autumn uniform jacket.

Her face turned completely red; she had no strength left even to thank him, her heartbeat pounding fiercely.

Outside the window, the sunlight seemed to thicken at this moment.