Chapter 77: Li Hua

Zhang Ningzhi shrank behind Yao Bei Bei. "That guy is so weird. Why's he staring at us all the time?"

"Dunno. Maybe he's got something on his mind." Yao Bei Bei shook her head, then her eyes suddenly lit up. "Here he comes! Jiang Nian's about to go on!"

After confirming his name, the referee teacher checked a box on the sign-in sheet without looking up.

"Begin."

He paused again, muttering under his breath.

"Jiang Nian? That name sounds familiar."

Jiang Nian didn't warm up at all—he stepped back five or six meters, then built up momentum for a sprint. His rapid, long strides weren't a leap—but

A forward flip!

His body traced a parabolic arc through the air, then landed with a solid thump in the sand pit.

"Wah!!" (uniform)

"Holy shit!!" (rising and falling)

"This fucking thing."

The referee teacher, who hadn't moved a single step since the competition began, shot to his feet in an instant, face flushing red!

Foul!

You damn anomaly! Why is it always you?! I just switched spots with the shot put team's teacher—how the hell did I end up with this fucking kid again?!

He landed steadily, and the measuring student sprinted over with the tape measure, snapping it out—pa-pa-pa—then glanced at the number.

"Six point two meters."

What does that mean? It means barely crossing the foul line.

Six point five meters is already excellent—the national second-class athlete standard. The first-class long jump standard is 7.3 meters—gifted by heaven itself.

Jumping six meters? In normal circumstances, winning first place at the school meet isn't guaranteed, but in the science group heats, it's an absolute wipeout. Ignoring the borderline foul, he's basically invincible.

Of course, on Douyin, six meters is garbage.

"Teacher, is this result valid?" the student official asked, turning around.

Hearing this, the surrounding students all fixed their gazes on the teacher.

Invalid? Should we make him try an even more dangerous move? Three attempts, best one counts—he's already passed. He won't use this takeoff posture again, right?

As for students copying him? That's got a threshold.

Who the hell told him to jump like that?!

The teacher looked up at the sky and sighed deeply. One time's a shock, two times's routine—some students were enough to shorten your life just by showing up. He took a deep breath, then let out a bitter chuckle.

"No foul. Result stands!"

In an instant, cheers erupted all around, the atmosphere soaring to its peak!

Zhang Ningzhi and Yao Bei Bei were cheering too—not out of friendship, but because what they'd just said had come true moments later! That kind of effortless fulfillment was just too cool!

Little stars were practically shining in the girl's eyes—if anyone said she had pink hearts floating in them, they'd be put on a list.

Open the door! Internet police! Check my browsing history right now!

Qian Shuhao, who had just finished jumping, stood stunned, turning to look at the cheering crowd. What do you mean valid? How was that judged? Didn't anyone ask for my opinion?!

But no one cared about him, and he didn't dare approach that intimidating-looking teacher.

He could only stare blankly as Jiang Nian casually jumped two more times.

In the end, he took first place.

Several classmates who had been watching acted like they hadn't seen him, walking off together, chatting as they went, their mouths spitting out words like "holy shit."

All events ended around 11:20, and it was only half past ten.

When Jiang Nian came running over with a bottle of Baishuisan, Zhang Ningzhi's heart quickened. She'd imagined this scene countless times—the boy she liked running toward her with a smile.

When you see someone you like, you run to them!

But before she could say anything heartfelt, Jiang Nian hadn't even stopped running—he blurted out the most depressing line imaginable.

"Remember what you promised?"

"Water. I'm drinking imported!"

Zhang Ningzhi froze. The colorful bubble filter in her mind instantly froze, turned gray and white, then shattered with a crisp crack—water? He wants imported water?

What the hell is that kind of comment?!

Aaaah!!! Why?!

The girl was on the verge of collapse. Why did Jiang Nian have such a perfect face? His grades were great, his performance flawless—why was his personality so abstract?!

"Huh? Why aren't you talking?" Jiang Nian waved his hand in front of her, smiling indulgently. "Something on your mind? Come on, tell me."

Baby, why aren't you smiling? Are you just not built to smile?

Yao Bei Bei sighed, turning to Zhang Ningzhi and spreading her hands.

"Zhi Zhi, it's come to this—you'll have to sacrifice yourself."

"No!"

Zhang Ningzhi's face instantly flushed crimson. How could anyone give a boy water they'd already taken a sip from? That wasn't just weird—it was perverted. Or… a couple?

In fact, if Zhang Ningzhi logged onto Zhouba, she'd find people had done even weirder things—like drinking foot-washing water.

Watching Zhang Ningzhi's face burn bright red, Jiang Nian and Yao Bei Bei stood beside her, heartlessly bursting into laughter.

Such a rare sight—the only honest one in the little group.

"Just kidding. You don't have to take a sip." He kept laughing, gently patting Zhang Ningzhi's shoulder. "Come on, cafeteria. My treat."

"Mm." She whispered in reply.

"Stingy jerk, can't we eat somewhere outside?" Yao Bei Bei protested.

Who asked you? Now you're picky too?

Get lost—you eat with the dog.

You!

In the sunlight, Jiang Nian and the two girls walked toward the cafeteria.

The wind stirred the leaves, rustling past.

After eating, Jiang Nian habitually went upstairs to nap.

The two girls went together to a milk tea shop.

In the county's milk tea shops, find something obscure—quiet and empty at noon. The air conditioning is on, you order a drink, lie back on the sofa, and just sleep.

Facing three invitations, Jiang Nian refused.

What joke? Sleep with the two of you? How could I sleep? In that milk tea shop atmosphere, the moment I step in, I always want to touch something round.

Back in class, a blink of an eye.

There had been a figure slumped by the window; Jiang Nian hadn't cared. He'd assumed it was Ceng You the Emperor, but when he got closer, he realized it was that damn kid Li Hua.

"Hua, what are you doing here? Aren't you going home to eat?"

Li Hua lifted his head, his face pale. He glanced at Jiang Nian, then slumped, spirit drained, and turned again to look out the window at the autumn sunlight, murmuring.

"Brother Nian, why is the sky outside blood-red?"

What the hell is this, starting from the red moon!

"What nonsense are you spouting in broad daylight?" Jiang Nian had wanted to ask if the flowers at Red Well had bloomed, but thought it too abrupt and swallowed the question.

"I'm not talking nonsense. Since I woke up this morning, I've been reading." Li Hua muttered to himself, as if seeking an answer, "Do you know?"

"I started from the chapter 'Escape from the Grand Sunlight' and kept reading. The more I read, the more I felt something was off—why is everyone dying?"

"Fuck, I just have one goblin in real life, and I just wanted to read a book in peace. I finally liked a character, and now they're dead."

"Birth! Fuck, birth!"

Li Hua rubbed his head by the window, consumed by immense pain. For the past couple weeks, his anticipation had nearly hooked him like a hooked fish—he'd smiled every day.

To some extent, he'd fully immersed himself.

Jiang Nian watched beside him, with no good solution.

When he first read it, he'd been just as confused; after reading it several more times, his curses grew richer.

But later, he gradually forgot—dragon clans were always a great tragedy. He didn't like tragedies; life was hard enough already, better to eat something sweet.

"Hua, stop thinking about it. Brother's treating you to iced black tea! Drink it straight from the bottle—today, drink as much as you want."

This stuff's strong—it'll bury whatever's weighing on your heart.

"No way! Fuck!" Li Hua slumped on the desk, sighing endlessly, "I waited over a week! I've been looking forward to it since last week!"

"And then I see the protagonist acting like a dog—fuck, so fucking stupid! Why didn't he just die in the wine cellar?"

"Shit! All he thinks about is Nono! Nono would never like him—even letting him sniff his underwear would be a holiday! Licking dogs are fucking dead weight!"

"Huh?" Jiang Nian's expression had already switched to the classic "small soybean sweating" meme.

Luckily, Li Hua's Dao heart had only cracked—he hadn't broken down crying. After cursing for about ten minutes and letting it out, he slowly calmed down.

Jiang Nian took him to the cafeteria to buy a meal, already going cold, then bought two large bottles of iced black tea.

In the shade of the basketball court.

Glug glug glug, Li Hua tilted his head and drank a third of the iced black tea, sighing.

"Nian, do you think there are girls like Himeari in this world?"

Jiang Nian took a sip of iced black tea, gazing at the sunlight's shadow line in the distance, squinting as he swallowed.

"A naturally ditzy noble lady?"

"Doesn't have to be noble. I mean someone with that kind of personality." Li Hua had made peace—he'd shoved Long Three and Long Four into Ma Guojun's drawer.

"Maybe. I know an uncle whose wife was exactly like that." Jiang Nian smiled, "Absolutely pure love—but Auntie passed away a few years ago."

"Ah, how could that happen?" Li Hua grew even more depressed.

"But many years have passed, and almost everyone around her still remembers her." Jiang Nian set down the iced black tea, "Isn't that another kind of living?"

"What dies is only the body. After it burns out, what remains is the soul."

"What kind of person was she?" Li Hua asked curiously, "Was she beautiful?"

On the basketball court of Zhennan Middle School, two boys sat on stone benches, talking about a dead woman. Above them, the tree leaves were sparse; the wind blew, rustling softly.

"Yeah, a beautiful woman with a disabled hand—gentle and kind," Jiang Nian said, "But a bit dense, always crying."

As he spoke, Jiang Nian did not continue further.

Auntie really was wonderful.

He'd once avoided thinking about her leaving, but now it brought on some emo. After all, it was someone close—its impact was different.

Thinking of this, Jiang Nian shook his head.

"Hua, stop obsessing over your damn romance."

He stood up, holding the iced black tea, his mouth curling into a Nike logo smirk.

"You don't know yet? I did a backflip in the long jump and came in first at noon!"

"Holy shit, really?" Li Hua stood up too, swaying as he walked shoulder to shoulder toward the classroom building, "Dude, when the hell did you learn backflips?"

"When I get a girlfriend, I'll say my friend can do backflips, and trick her into coming over."

"You just keep flipping one after another until me and her are piled on top of each other. Then you can stop and go to my house to rummage through the double-door fridge for iced black tea."

Jiang Nian sneered, "You're fucking dumb—if you've got a double-door fridge, why drink iced black tea?"

"True. What do you think I should put inside?"

"Beer. Isn't that always how it's shown on TV?" Jiang Nian said as they walked, "Put some Tsingtao Pure Draft—it's at least a brand people know. Drink Tsingtao beer, and you'll be hitting up relatives and friends."

"Country bumpkin!" Li Hua said, "I'd put in milk beer to attract girls."

The two figures walked farther and farther away.

A bit late, but I've caught up. I'll try to update earlier tomorrow.

While I'm at it, let me recommend my old book — the free chapters are pretty fun; after they're locked behind the paywall, it depends on personal taste.

I ran into some things during that period and wasn't in the right state. Feel free to skim or skip chapters — it won't affect your enjoyment.