Chapter 85: Li Hua Didn

Xiaolongtan Village, the night wind was slightly cold.

On the second-floor balcony of his family's self-built house, Director Xu hesitated for a moment after hearing this.

"You mean practicing driving before the college entrance exam?"

"I'm eighteen, aren't I supposed to practice driving?" Jiang Nian leaned back in his chair, spreading his hands. "I don't want to spend the summer sweating under the sun. After the exam, I plan to travel."

"Three months of summer vacation—I don't want to be stuck under the sun grinding driving lessons."

Director Xu put down his teacup and actually gave it serious thought.

"Practicing now is definitely off-season—summer has lots of students, and during the New Year, returning workers flood the driving schools. But if you practice now, what about your studies?"

Only Director Xu could say something like this. If it were his own parents, they'd already exploded.

"My grades are stable—English is consistently around 140." Jiang Nian turned his head, earnestly explaining. "My performance in other subjects is also steady. Practicing driving won't affect my grades."

Director Xu glanced at him and delivered one sentence that shut him down.

"What do your parents say?"

"Huh?" Jiang Nian felt his forehead break into a cold sweat.

Sure enough, glasses-wearers are all schemers—Director Xu had just been analyzing the feasibility of practicing now, and the next sentence was a direct gut-punch, cementing his heart shut.

What else could he say? Break their legs, that's what.

Jiang Nian really wanted to say, "Help me out—I'm about to steal your daughter!"

"How about this?" Director Xu offered him a way out. "Xu Qianqian told me you're having a major joint exam this month, right? If you do well, I'll consider it."

"Fine." Jiang Nian sighed.

It was true it was off-season, and the fees were low. But in this small county town, if you wanted convenient driving practice, you either paid extra or had someone pull strings.

Jiang Nian didn't want his parents to find out, and he definitely didn't want to waste money.

He wouldn't dare claim to know everything, but he understood the idiots who taught driving well enough. At night, when students gathered for meals and drank some cheap liquor, they'd happily turn his story into a joke.

"Idiot Gao San student—spends four or five thousand extra, shows up to practice right after class."

Around nine, Jiang Nian prepared to head home.

In Xiaolongtan Village, the two self-built houses were separated by a rice paddy, about a hundred meters apart in a straight line.

Xu Qianqian came downstairs to see Jiang Nian off and locked the courtyard gate.

The night was deep as water; his grandparents had already gone to sleep, and everything around was silent.

The courtyard on the first floor was lit up; she wore a long-sleeved autumn pajama set—blue and white, plain in design, yet on her it carried a unique charm.

This must be what they meant by "beauty in the eyes of the beholder."

Outside the courtyard gate, Jiang Nian pulled out his motorcycle keys and waved his hand.

"Alright, no need to see me off—go back inside."

Xu Qianqian stood beside the cement gate, soft light falling on her head. Half-burned incense sticks stuck in the ground, a few clusters of withered weeds lay nearby.

The Spring Festival couplets, half-fallen, had long faded, their characters reading "Peace, Joy, Happiness."

She didn't answer, turned to look back at the second floor, then turned to him again.

"Hey, are you getting your driver's license?"

"Yeah, why?" Jiang Nian raised an eyebrow. "Are you excited about riding in big brother's BMW? Don't worry—I'll save you the front seat before I get a girlfriend."

Xu Qianqian looked thoughtful. "I heard the accident rate for new drivers…"

Jiang Nian's face changed—he swung his leg over the old motorcycle and zoomed off with a putt-putt-putt.

At the same moment, South Town High School, Gao San boys' dormitory.

Building 5, North Gate.

The dormitory lights were still on; Net-Love Brother Lin Dong sat on the edge of his bed, replying to messages on his phone.

He'd been involved in online romance since middle school.

He still remembered his first time using QQ, filtering girls by age using the search function and drifting bottles, adding sisters from Tiannanhaibei, hoping they'd accept his friend request.

But first experiences are always awkward—he chatted with a girl with a pink penguin avatar for half a month. Then one day he logged on, and her avatar never lit up again.

Another time, he couldn't contain his primal urges—he frantically demanded photos from girls, only to be viciously scolded by one for being rude and lewd.

Back then, Lin Dong was still a pure-hearted novice—he panicked instantly, apologized endlessly, and finally earned her forgiveness, only then breathing a sigh of relief.

As time passed, he grew increasingly skilled at online chatting. He no longer bothered with user filters, drifting bottles, forums, or expansion groups to find sisters to chat with.

Now, he used Momo, Soul, YiGuan, TikTok, Xiaohongshu, Genshin Impact, and Honor of Kings as his personal ponds, casually fishing a few lines whenever he had free time.

Lin Dong had at least five or six years of online chatting experience—from his initial cluelessness to complete maturity. What kind of storms hadn't he seen?

The most intense case almost led to dating his cousin—he didn't know her identity at the time. They chatted for over a month, reaching the borderline where they could exchange photos and send KKP jokes.

Luckily, he noticed something suspicious during the New Year and fled immediately.

Because of this, his cousin was heartbroken for a long time.

Not just with Skinned Liuli—Lin Dong poured corresponding energy into every ambiguous online relationship. Because half-heartedness shows; only sincerity can earn sincerity.

Isn't this, in its own way, pure love?

So when this particular online flirtation crashed, Lin Dong truly felt regret—but not because he regretted Skinned Liuli; he regretted the wasted time.

If you want to raise a black pig, why not go to the mountains? Why use a phone to raise it from afar?

After five or six years of online chatting, Lin Dong was no longer the innocent boy he once was. He knew better than anyone that online flirting carried risks, crashes were normal, and you just had to kill, kill, kill!

No more sorrow for Skinned Liuli—now a new hero had arrived.

Yao Yao!

"Studying is just my talent; fishing is my hobby."

"Wow, you're so impressive," Yao Yao sent an emoji with sparkles in her eyes. "Do people in the fishing circle use really expensive rods?"

"Average, average—I used a bamboo pole today," Lin Dong sent a photo. "(Grinning) 【Image】."

The message had just been sent, but Lin Dong felt the grinning emoji was too glaring—like "Lick Ass Cheng"—so he promptly recalled it.

"Bamboo pole?" Yao Yao was typing, then sent a confused emoji, "Can you even fish with a bamboo pole?"

"Of course. Fishing depends on skill, not gear," Lin Dong replied calmly. "I usually use a fishing rod, but nothing beats a simple bamboo pole."

As soon as he sent the message, Lin Dong hastily exited and sent a message to Sun Zhicheng.

"Ah Cheng, take a photo of your dad's luxury fishing rod and send it to me."

Sun Zhicheng was already annoyed; seeing Lin Dong's message made him even more irritated.

Though irritated, he still got up and walked to the corner of the living room—his father Sun Jianguo's equipment storage. He pulled out his phone, and in a glance, spotted that rough bamboo pole.

It was just too glaring—crude craftsmanship, haphazardly tied fishing line.

Bad luck!

Buzz—Lin Dong's message came again.

"Bro, take a pic of your dad's catch too (grinning)."

Seeing that line, Sun Zhicheng finally snapped and burst into curses.

"Your dad!"

After cursing Lin Dong, Sun Zhicheng cursed Jiang Nian—knowing full well he was pretending to be cool, yet deliberately pulling this stunt. He must've known. He must've planned it!

He's probably watching me laugh behind my back, maybe even whispering about it in that little group with Li Hua and the others!

【Haha, that idiot called his dad!】

The more Sun Zhicheng thought about it, the angrier he got, but he swallowed it down. Angering him had no consequences—he dared not mention this to Jiang Nian at all.

To speak would be to admit fault. Better to pretend he didn't know.

Almost pinching his nose, he moved Jiang Nian's crude bamboo pole aside, then took a photo and sent it to Lin Dong. As for the fish, he had no intention of sending a picture.

"【Image】."

(Lin Dong): "Bro, what about your dad's fish? Send me a pic."

Sun Zhicheng was irritated. "Gone."

"What do you mean 'gone'?"

Are you done yet?! Lin Dong, you total idiot! Keep asking, asking, asking!

Sun Zhicheng scratched his head and gritted his teeth in reply.

"I fucked it to death!"

Lin Dong typed for three full minutes, then sent nothing. He suffered a case of network aphasia, tossed out "So cool," and vanished.

The next day.

Jiang Nian woke up half-asleep, chilled to the bone.

Temperatures dropped sharply at night in the countryside. Last night, after showering and drying his hair, he chatted with Zhang Nenzhi. While chatting, he scrolled through TikTok, fell asleep without covering himself.

Luckily, his cock kept him warm—he didn't catch a cold, just had a slightly itchy throat.

Today was the day to return to school.

Xu Qianqian told him there'd be no breakfast delivery this morning—the whole family was going to the ancestral shrine and temple for worship. They couldn't reach him by phone, so he should drink some cold water to fill his stomach.

So thoughtful—remembering to tell him to drink cold water to stave off hunger.

Afraid he might even have a chance to come back to life.

He'd packed food: several drinks and a few instant noodles. He'd eaten all day at Xu Qianqian's house, so they'd gone unused. He boiled water and barely ate two mouthfuls.

The temple was too far—he didn't want to go—so he dragged a polished bamboo chair to the rooftop to sunbathe and play with his phone.

The rooftop was actually the fourth floor of the self-built house, with only a low wall and a large open platform for drying things, level with the treetops.

Standing there, he could see the whole village: a clean two-lane road stretched from afar to near. On both sides lay yellow-green rice fields; in the distance, endless Qingshan mountains.

The autumn sun was serene, golden light falling on Jiang Nian's face.

Jiang Nian thought for a moment, then took a photo and sent it to Zhang Nenzhi. The Young Lady of Nanjiang probably hadn't seen this—his village still used wood stoves for cooking.

The Young Lady replied instantly: "(Wow)! Is this your hometown? So beautiful."

"Yeah, I'm sunbathing on the rooftop."

"【Image】. The sports meet's almost over—our class's final match," Zhang Nenzhi sent a photo. "By the way, Ma Guojun seemed angry yesterday."

"Angry?" Jiang Nian was startled, typing slowly: "Why?"

"Dunno. He threw his book in the trash," Zhang Nenzhi sent a confused emoji. "Oh, Li Hua also took the day off—he didn't come."

Jiang Nian chuckled—he could guess what had happened.

"Did you finish your homework? I'll get back early this afternoon—I'll probably need to copy for two or three hours."

Zhang Nenzhi frowned. "That long?"

"Some problems still need solving—you can't just copy everything," Jiang Nian explained.

"Oh okay," Zhang Nenzhi sent a little yellow face emoji. "(Cute)."