Chapter 89: Little Bear Hair Tie

On the way home that evening, Xu Qianqian suddenly spoke up.

"Don't you think tonight's essay topic is weird?"

Jiang Nian hesitated. "You mean the patina?"

"Yeah. Write an eight-hundred-word essay on patina." Xu Qianqian rubbed her chin, her dark brows furrowed. "I want to know what you wrote."

After a pause, Jiang Nian said, "Alright, I wrote that even when something old, if it's beautiful, it still retains its charm."

Xu Qianqian froze, then quickened her pace to put distance between herself and him.

After washing up, Jiang Nian lay on his bed and opened his bank balance.

One hundred seventy-one thousand three hundred yuan.

For a Gao Zhongsheng, that's enough to show off. For an adult, 170,000 yuan can still accomplish a lot.

But for Jiang Nian, this 170,000 yuan was his game points.

Between studies, he had to figure out how to allocate this money. Sometimes system tasks required spending, using system money to earn more.

So he had to keep enough reserved to avoid failing tasks.

Second, some money could always be fluid. Hoarding it all or spending only tiny amounts didn't match Jiang Nian's personal spending philosophy.

He'd already decided how to spend it: let the rich get richer, then help the poor catch up.

He'd get rich first, master the system, then bring Old Jiang and Comrade Li Hongmei along.

Comrade Li Hongmei was frugal and always wanted to move into a bigger house. If everything went well, maybe the whole family could live in a luxury high-floor apartment in the provincial capital.

Old Jiang had always been detached from fame and fortune. Jiang Nian wondered if he'd still be so detached when driving an Audi A8—would he still hand out cigarettes and smile apologetically?

Jiang Nian was practical. After seeing the system's task line, he just gave up. Money was money—spending it on fun was worse than spending it at home.

It wasn't him—it was Zhennan, this stupid place.

No, this place has high bride prices and low wages. Even someone like him, a local bottom-dweller from the county, can't rise up. What about the villagers? They're worse off. Who else to blame but Zhennan?

Hate, hate, hate—punch this stupid hometown into dust!

After calming down.

Jiang Nian pulled out a blank notebook and began listing the gold coins he'd dumped on his family, to better allocate funds and further build a better home.

First, he paid off water and electricity bills, then bought shoes for everyone. The remaining fifty thousand yuan went toward a washing machine, refrigerator, clothes, and a phone.

Right now, he could spare twenty thousand yuan to upgrade the family's quality of life. It had been nearly a week since his last cash-out; his parents had grown used to his gold-dumping.

This rhythm couldn't stop—he had to desensitize them. Otherwise, one day he'd suddenly drop an Audi A8, and Comrade Li Hongmei would panic and lose sleep all night.

After thinking it over, Jiang Nian first pre-deposited five hundred yuan into the water and electricity account.

The computer wasn't needed yet—wait until after the Gaokao. Games? Who pays for that? He barely had time to play during holidays anyway, and the original skins were fine.

Oh, the wardrobe—replace the bed and wardrobe. The kitchen's range hood, the pressure cooker.

He wrote each item down. If someday he couldn't afford a luxury mansion—or if the system failed and he couldn't even buy an Audi A8's tire—these things he did now would accompany his parents for twenty years.

Compared to the vague future, Jiang Nian knew he wasn't a saint. At Gao San, he had this mindset; by university, his filial piety might wither, forgotten amid partying.

He knew himself too well—a regular guy, neither good nor bad. Pure gold? He couldn't get it. Pure love? He couldn't handle it. He almost became a lickspittle.

He had many strengths, but his flaws were obvious too.

If he relied on future filial acts, he'd just keep delaying year after year. Amid endless trivialities and romantic pressures, he'd end up doing nothing—not even the smallest thing.

He bit his finger, thought it through, picked items on his phone, added them to his cart, and slowly compared them. He wasn't short on money, but he didn't want to waste it.

No rush—he planned to finish his purchase plan over a week.

The next day.

Zhou Yi continued with exams.

The morning was uneventful; the monitor had switched to a new hair tie.

Jiang Nian finished his English test early and, while staring blankly at Qian Bao, noticed something: Qian Bao always glanced at the monitor's hair when passing by—he realized she was just checking out the little bear hair tie.

Okay, okay, okay—Teacher's Day gift sorted.

Wait, next year he'd graduate—he couldn't celebrate Teacher's Day with Qian Bao anymore. Then it'd be New Year's gift. He'd been taking snacks from Qian Bao all the time; reciprocity was due.

Cao Cao liked married women—he didn't. Not at all.

Midway, Qian Bao stopped briefly by Jiang Nian's desk. Seeing he'd finished, she glanced over and nodded slightly, about to leave.

Suddenly, her arm was poked by a ballpoint pen cap.

"Huh?" She looked down.

That bastard Jiang Nian, propping his head up, boldly pointed at a multiple-choice question and asked the invigilator for the answer—his finger on option B, as if waiting for her to respond.

Qian Bao sneered, let out a scoff, and shook her head as she walked away.

Jiang Nian "Oh"ed, then filled in a different answer.

Thanks, Bodhi Old Qian.

After the English exam, the long break didn't require running laps due to the test. Most students left their seats—either to use the restroom or discuss answers.

Jiang Nian also stood to leave—he planned to go downstairs to the cafeteria and buy a plum-cabbage pancake for a snack.

He turned and saw the monitor still sitting at her exam seat, staring at her English test paper. She'd already turned in her answer sheet—why was she still looking at the test?

So serious?

Call Qian Bao over—she'd cry with emotion seeing this, she'd teach him anything.

Before leaving, he felt something was off about the monitor, but couldn't figure out why.

Had she bombed the English exam? Then better not provoke her.

After thinking, Jiang Nian greeted Li Qingrong before leaving.

"Monitor, I'm off."

Li Qingrong glanced at him, nodded, then turned away.

When he had fully left the classroom, Li Qingrong looked up, staring blankly at the desk.

Then she took a black hair tie from her pocket and replaced the bear-shaped hair band.

Jiang Nian met Le Zhi in the cafeteria; both felt awkward.

Actually, the two had been on good terms before, but they gradually drifted apart after that incident over the summer. This was their first meeting since Le Zhi helped move desks after the class promotion.

"Ha, small world," Jiang Nian said, holding a plum cake, his second sentence: "Oh oh, you bought this cake too—let's pay together."

Ding—he paid for Le Zhi's meal.

Le Zhi was at a loss, not knowing what to say. Jiang Nian's two sentences had built three thick walls; it was like Chinese class had bled into reality.

Master!

Jiang Nian also noticed Le Zhi had become much more reserved, while in Le Zhi's eyes, Jiang Nian had become much more outgoing.

Fuck, this isn't Jinjiang!

To avoid the atmosphere turning completely numb, the two walked out together.

They kept a small distance between them, fell silent for a few seconds, then Le Zhi asked if the Olympiad was very exhausting.

Jiang Nian replied with a laugh, "Not too bad," and the atmosphere froze again.

Le Zhi paused, "About Zhou Yuting—"

"Did you win her over?" Jiang Nian asked with a smile.

Le Zhi didn't know how to answer; he had once thought Zhou Yuting was the prettiest girl in the parallel class.

Maybe it wasn't because she was truly the prettiest, but because even an ordinary buffet, fought over with brothers, felt like an imperial feast.

After Jiang Nian was promoted, Le Zhi began to find a short-haired girl in the adjacent class, who had good grades, cute.

She sat at her desk after school doing homework, and when she laughed, she showed little tiger teeth.

He had already planned to ask for her QQ—not to date her, just to get closer to her.

He always felt such girls were more grounded, with a sunlit scent about them.

"I'm not chasing her anymore—I'm going to focus on studying," Le Zhi said with a bitter smile, scratching his head. "That circle around Zhou Yuting? I'm out of it anyway. It's boring."

"Oh oh, study hard, Little Master Le," Jiang Nian said automatically.

Two girls walked toward them; one spotted Jiang Nian and immediately pulled the other girl forward to tap him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Jiang Nian!"

"Chen Yunyun, where are you going?" Jiang Nian asked curiously. "Snack shop?"

"Cafeteria—I didn't eat breakfast this morning, I'm starving," Chen Yunyun said cheerfully, clearly having forgotten last night's incident. "Your friend?"

"Yeah, good friend," Jiang Nian smiled.

"Oh oh, we'll go then—we've got a math test soon, don't want to be late," Chen Yunyun waved at Le Zhi and hurried off with Wang Yuhe.

Le Zhi smiled, glancing at Jiang Nian.

"Not bad—you already got a girlfriend?"

"No, just a classmate."

"Ha, you little guy, still shy about it?"

"Really not."

Jiang Nian didn't care—his haste only made it look like he was hiding something.

As he ate the plum cake and walked toward the teaching building, a small lawn in front of the Grade 12 building was crowded with students soaking up the sun.

Both he and Le Zhi planned to finish eating before heading up, then chat a bit.

Just as they were talking, a pair of girls walked toward the two.

I'm guilty—I'm only posting two updates today, my update is weak, but I really didn't play games.

Don't wrong a person who uses a Xiaomi Generation One laptop—they can't even play computer games.

Second, I'm writing now—I'll post more tomorrow, faster updates.