Chapter 72

Li Hua didn't hold a grudge against Jiang Nian; he was already looking forward to it.

These past few days, he'd been clinging to life by a single thread—just thinking of Eri made his lips curl into a smile; Jiang Nian, a vulgar man, couldn't understand what pure love meant.

The final three evening self-study sessions.

The most grueling yet least troublesome hours—the first evening self-study was supposed to be with the math teacher, but he took leave for an emergency, so

"It's me!" Qian Bao playfully gave a peace sign.

The math evening self-study was replaced by her, and the remaining two sessions were English too—meaning the final three evening self-study sessions before the sports meet all belonged to Qian Bao.

The classroom fell silent for a second, then erupted in chaos!

"Long live the teacher!!"

"Play a movie! Play a movie!!"

The night before the sports meet was hardly different from the hours before a holiday; students, still confined to school, might as well have been on break.

No specific evening study tasks were scheduled for the next three days—just quiet self-study.

Qian Bao was the most approachable among all the teachers, unafraid of being caught by the grade head; she often set goals for monthly exams, then rewarded students with movies during evening self-study.

Add to that the fact that the sports meet itself was Movie Week, and every class was guaranteed at least one movie screening—this was, in every true sense, the sacred moment of Gao San life!

The only thing comparable was 【The Wind Rising on Campus Radio】.

"Quiet down, be still," Qian Bao strolled around the classroom, exuding the full aura of a wicked woman, hands behind her back, "You all want to watch a movie?"

"Yes, Teacher!"

A boy shouted, "I've dreamed of it!"

The whole class burst into laughter, every face lit with smiles; heads snapped up, eyes tracking Qian Bao's slow movements, brimming with anticipation.

Qian Bao was great—no words needed.

If Zhennan High had only one teacher bold enough to ignore the grade head, it had to be Qian Bao—wealthy, senior, well-connected, fond of cuteness, and a master of playing dead.

Even the principal couldn't touch her; in this small county town, everyone was related by blood or marriage—call someone "Uncle X" and you couldn't say a harsh word.

The old woman was cunning.

Tee-hee.

Jiang Nian propped his head on his hand; evening self-study was utterly exhausting. Bored, he watched the wicked woman pacing the room, luring every student into her trap with each sweet word.

Where did this Machima come from?

He yawned, tears welling up, then plopped his head onto the desk.

Just as he closed his eyes, his arm was prodded—he recognized it was from the left.

If it had been the right, he'd have launched an elbow strike immediately.

He turned his head, still lying on the desk, to look at Zhang Nenzhi.

"What is it?"

Zhang Nenzhi looked serious, "You said—if I see you sleeping in class, I should wake you up."

Jiang Nian fell silent—was evening self-study even class?

But he couldn't scold Baby Zhizhi; sigh—he'd let her decide.

Didn't ancient tyrants always do that? Whatever the concubine said, it was law.

Today, he'd be a tyrant.

"Alright," he struggled to sit up, rubbed his face with both hands, a thin red vein visible in his eyes.

The class's cries for a movie grew louder; the wicked woman Qian Bao finally revealed her claws.

She stood on the podium, grinning cutely.

"How about this—if ten of you promise to score above 140 on the next monthly joint exam, I'll let you watch a movie."

"If five or more of you actually hit 140 or above, the movie will be shown at the next joint exam. If fewer than five hit it, the movie reward for the monthly exam is canceled."

A sinister gamble—who'd fall for this?

Jiang Nian had no interest; he closed his eyes and feigned sleep.

Qian Bao was already casting her net, laying bait for hours, and now the fish were biting one by one.

"Me! Teacher! I'll do it!" A boy raised his hand first—Zhao Hao, the English class representative.

"Good, Zhao Hao—one down. Any others?" Qian Bao wandered the classroom like a beautiful dealer, "Any volunteers?"

"Teacher, here's one—Wang Yuhe!"

"This-this-this! Chen Yunyun!"

Qian Bao's tactic was ruthless—no matter how absurd her words, Zhao Hao, the English rep, would always lead the charge; Class Three was a veteran war wolf pack.

Once a few names were up, the rest of the class would see they were just a few short of ten—and who wouldn't get swept up in the urge to watch a movie?

A surge of heat in the head, or a classmate nudging you—suddenly, blood rushed to your brain.

Reason? What could a group of innocent students possibly use to resist this? Apologies? Zero chance. It was already off-track.

In short, Qian Bao was wicked—and she could be even worse.

"Alright, only two spots left—anyone else willing to step forward?" Qian Bao's voice dripped with temptation, "Last two spots—fill them, and you get the movie."

Lin Dong, the math rep, was desperate—he was more desperate than anyone else. If only his English weren't so bad he couldn't even reach 90, he'd have raised his hand himself.

Gao San had so few thrills—movies were the golden divine moment!

Who hasn't signed up yet?

Who else

Lin Dong instinctively turned his head, locking his gaze on Zhang Nenzhi in the third row, first and second desks of Group Three.

Right—Zhang Nenzhi's English was pretty good! And… oh yes! Jiang Nian! Jiang Nian's English was also quite good; the English teacher often called on him.

Lin Dong was about to shout out his name—when suddenly, his throat seized up.

The two of them—could there be something going on between them? Or rather, something was about to happen, and his shouting had just given it the final push.

Their names stacked together, up and down like that—shy and shy, and then their moms got together.

This kind of thing wasn't impossible either.

Then what about him? Wouldn't he be the idiot?

Gulp, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva and backed off. A movie is precious, but love is pricier. Jiang Nian, a poor student who had just moved up a class—what right did he have to have a puppy love!

Your mom is studying desperately, you little bastard!

Make way, brother!

In the front seat, niche-bro Sun Zhicheng was even more anxious, not even wanting to talk about his beloved LOL anymore. They were just two short of the ten slots, about to be filled up.

The whole person was like Tom Cat being toyed with in Qian-bao's palm, so anxious he was scratching his ears and cheeks.

"Stand up, damn it!"

"Who else hasn't stood up? What time is it already, and you're still hiding it!"

Sun Zhicheng was very anxious, standing up then sitting down, suddenly turning his head to see Lin Dong stunned in his seat. So anxious he was about to fly off—Brother Lin, say something!

"Brother Lin, who else hasn't stood up yet?"

Lin Dong was dazed for a while, opened his mouth but made no sound, and only spoke after a few seconds.

"I don't know."

"What time is it already, Brother Lin, and you're still spacing out?" Sun Zhicheng scratched his hair. The class was still noisy, and Qian-bao had already started the final countdown.

"Damn it! If you don't want this movie, what the hell are you alive for!"

In the group, Chen Yunyun also let out a sigh.

"If there's really no other way—"

Wang Yuhe frowned, and in the end could only let out a soft sigh.

"Yeah, what a pity, we have to go to self-study."

Lin Dong froze. He lowered his head and glanced at his desk. The class's clamor thud-thud-thudded off into the distance. As if the world had gone blank, leaving only him.

The power to change the situation was right in his own hands. Had no one noticed the correct answer?

How should he choose?

On one side were his group members—as group leader, he ought to seek benefits for them. On the other side might be the love of his latter half of life; the fear was that one misstep would become eternal regret!

Torn!

Lin Dong suddenly saw Wang Yuhe lie down on the desk, Chen Yunyun had already pulled out a test paper from her drawer, and even Sun Zhicheng had stopped scratching his ears and cheeks.

Qian-bao was already counting down the last ten numbers, asking one final time.

Thump-thump, thump-thump, Lin Dong felt even his breathing had grown long and drawn. The miracle he was hoping for couldn't possibly appear; the only key to opening the door was in his own hands.

Finally, he shouted one line.

"Teacher, Jiang Nian—Jiang Nian scored over a hundred and forty in English!"

Boom—it went quiet for an instant.

It wasn't that no one had thought of Jiang Nian, but those egging on were all boosting their own group members, or acquaintances. Failing that, someone had to take the lead and shout, and then a crowd followed.

On Jiang Nian's side, his group was quiet as quiet could be, and besides, he'd only just moved up to the class two weeks ago.

They weren't close, so no one felt comfortable shouting.

No one expected Lin Dong to be so brave, and instantly the whole class stirred.

"Jiang Nian! Teacher, there's still Jiang Nian!"

"Zhang Ningzhi is also good at English!! Exactly two people to round it off! Teacher!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

Qian-bao strolled over to the front row of the third big group, smiling as she stared at the two of them.

"Are you two going to stand up?"

Zhang Ningzhi blushed, lowered her head, and stood up on her own. Jiang Nian was also somewhat reluctant, but having been put on the spot, he had no choice but to stand up too.

He scratched his face, a bit speechless, and asked Qian-bao.

"Teacher, even if we're two people short, you'll still play the movie, right?"

Qian-bao giggled, and snapped her fingers.

"Of course, I love you guys so much!"

At this moment, a sunny boy named Lin Dong silently shattered. Watching the two of them standing together in the corner of the front row, hearing their names linked together.

Lin Dong's heart ached unbearably. He would never laugh again, and from this life on, there would be no more joy or sorrow.

Qian-bao clapped her hands and said with a smile.

"Alright, we'll start the movie next class, everyone can look forward to it. Class rep, write down the names of everyone who just stood up, and bring them to my office later."

Just as she was speaking, Qian-bao's gaze swept across and she gave a light "huh?"

"The student in the fourth row of the first big group—did they go to the bathroom? Why isn't anyone in the seat?"

Hearing this, the students in front and behind replied.

"Teacher, Yu Tongjie took leave."

"Oh, oh." Qian-bao nodded. Hearing it was Yu Tongjie, she didn't pay it much mind.

After class, a crowd of students from the class swarmed toward the school store.

Jiang Nian and a few others including Li Hua went downstairs to buy water; Zhang Ningzhi went to find Yao Beibei. By the time they came back, almost everyone's hands were holding snacks and drinks.

The curtains were drawn, the lights turned off, and the classroom instantly went dark.

Clatter-clatter, some students by the wall laid their chairs down horizontally. The chair against the wall, they lay their whole body on the backrest, looking up at the multimedia screen.

Sports commissioner Liu Yang and English class rep Zhao Hao were fiddling with the central-control computer on the podium, the two of them muttering about something, then suddenly laughing and chatting again.

In the dim environment, Zhang Ningzhi used the motion of looking at the screen to steal a glance at Jiang Nian from the corner of her eye.

His features were sharply defined, his black hair soft and loose, like the moon in the sky.

Thanks to the bosses for the support—back's good, kidneys are good, I'll kowtow first as a sign of respect.