Chapter 90

"Jiang Nian! You're sneaking snacks!" Yao Bei Bei gave Jiang Nian a light punch from behind.

He was eating plum vegetable cake and chatting when suddenly he was struck by the Rising Dragon Fist. Instinctively turning, he lost another small bite of the cake from his hand.

"Why did you two come down too?"

"To go to the office building to pee." Yao Bei Bei spoke without restraint.

Zhang Nenzhi beside her instantly blushed, immediately regretting following Yao Bei Bei down.

Two giant yellow queens meeting—no one knows what insane things they might say.

Jiang Nian casually introduced the two girls, "This is my friend, from my old class."

Just a quick glance—no need to exchange names.

Then he briefly introduced Le Zhi, "This is my desk partner; the other one is Huang Beibei."

"I'm surnamed Yao! You're the one surnamed Huang!" Yao Bei Bei snapped.

"Oh oh, mixed them up."

"Mixed them up my foot! You did it on purpose!" Yao Bei Bei yelled loudly.

She clawed at him, snatching the remaining half of the plum vegetable cake and handing it to Zhang Nenzhi.

"Beibei."

Zhang Nenzhi covered her face and pulled her away, slipping Jiang Nian a box of strawberry-flavored fruit milk as compensation for Yao Bei Bei stealing the cake.

Le Zhi watched behind, stunned. "Is that Huang your girlfriend?"

"Stop watching so much anime on campus—I don't have that many girlfriends," Jiang Nian swallowed the last bite of plum vegetable cake. "Let's go, math exam."

"You've got too many ordinary classmates," Le Zhi followed him upstairs, thinking the other girl seemed even prettier, but that Huang thing probably had a closer relationship with Jiang Nian.

"By the way, is Yu Tongjie in your class?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh, nothing, just curious." Le Zhi didn't want to mention Yu Tongjie cursing at the dinner table—he'd been cursed too.

Judging by Jiang Nian's reaction, he probably didn't know about it—no need to bring it up. Better to avoid offending both Jiang Nian and Yu Tongjie and ending up hated by both sides.

"Oh oh, I'm not that close to him," Jiang Nian used diplomatic language.

In the past, he would've told Le Zhi straight: "Yu Tongjie's an idiot." Now their relationship had cooled—he had to watch his influence.

They reached the third floor and prepared to part ways.

Jiang Nian was about to go upstairs when Xu Qianqian appeared with Song Xiyun in the hallway. Seeing the fruit milk in his hand, she tapped his shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Give me thirty yuan," Xu Qianqian extended her hand, palm up, white and smooth. "I'm treating Xi Yun to rice with sauce for lunch—I'll pay you back at home."

Sliiiip sliiiip, I really want to lick it.

"Here's fifty. No need to pay back," Jiang Nian pulled out a fifty-yuan note from his pocket and slapped it into her hand.

Xu Qianqian: "So generous?"

Watching her tuck the money away, Jiang Nian continued.

"Fifty doesn't need paying back—just pay a hundred yuan late fee. Supports Coin King points settlement, baby."

"Get lost!" Xu Qianqian dragged Song Xiyun away. "I won't pay back. Deduct it from my credit."

Le Zhi hadn't walked far when he turned back, stunned by the scene. He began counting his fingers, Jiang Nian's words from downstairs echoing in his ears.

"Stop watching so much anime on campus—I don't have that many girlfriends?"

Not bros—how come upgrading classes comes with an anime dungeon? Fine fine, you wanna play like this? Wait a sec, I'll go to the kitchen and get you something tasty!

Le Zhi watched Jiang Nian turn upstairs with the fruit milk, then turned back toward his classroom.

The math class representative had already taken the papers and was counting them quietly at the podium.

After sitting down, Le Zhi involuntarily glanced at Zhou Yuting. She had a low ponytail, head down on the desk, memorizing vocabulary, utterly detached from the world.

He thought: this is the last chance to upgrade classes.

For a replacement spot, Zhou Yuting probably couldn't get into Jiang Nian's class. But according to rumors, she'd likely make it into the Olympiad Class One.

So after all this, only I'm left in the parallel class?

He began regretting his delay—watching the blank exam papers pass from front to back. He wondered: if I'd studied over summer, would I now…

Class 403.

The moment Jiang Nian received his math exam, he checked the last few big questions—his expression changed.

"Trigonometric functions, solid geometry, derivatives? And now conic sections?! You fucking—"

Two weeks of grueling study, and he froze at derivatives. After finishing the first sub-question of conic sections, he could go back and tackle the second sub-question of solid geometry.

Who the hell designed this exam? Bastard.

Never mind the rest—Jiang Nian's math was truly terrible. Normally, if your math was good, your physics wouldn't be bad either, so your comprehensive science score wouldn't be low—you'd easily pass for a second-tier university.

Now, Jiang Nian had strengthened his liberal arts, but math and physics remained weak spots. He'd worked hard recently, but you can't swallow a whole fat man in one bite.

He wrote everything he could, skipped what he couldn't, estimated he'd lose at least thirty points. Finished the entire paper, he still had ten minutes left.

He glanced at the classmates beside him—each with different expressions.

Some scribbled furiously, others looked around nervously, scratched their heads. Some popped zits, dug out raisins, bit their pen caps, stared blankly at the blackboard.

Zhang Nenzhi hadn't finished—she usually scored 120+, still writing furiously. Yao Bei Bei was also around 120+, sitting in the corner, out of sight.

Ma Guojun too—he was still writing, the fat guy hunched into a ball. His face flushed, mouth moving rapidly—he was probably cursing the exam setter's parents.

His hand on the desk looked like Doraemon's steamed bun hand.

Where's Li Hua?

Holy shit—he's still using his pen refill to dig holes? What is this, The Shawshank Redemption?! This guy probably finished the exam long ago—minimum 140, maybe higher.

In this little group, Jiang Nian was the best at English—and the worst at math.

He got hurt.

He turned to look at Li Qingrong beside him; the monitor seemed to be checking her calculations. Her serious expression looked so nice—sliiip-sliiip, she was doing the math. That's the monitor.

If we get caught later, it'll be troublesome. Better to take a more serious attitude.

Hm?

Where's the little bear hair tie that seduced Qian Bao? He still wanted to add this trash item to his campus gift wholesale warehouse, to buy several more later and give them away.

As for boys giving gifts being too gay—give sneakers, and you're clearly after his ass; give a 4080, and they think you're not just after his ass, you want to be his dad.

So usually it's just sharing drinks, or grabbing some snacks, maybe gifting a game skin or QQ membership at most.

After staring for a while, Li Qingrong put down her pen.

Oh, finished checking?

Ding-ding-ding, the dismissal bell rang.

Exam papers began to be passed orderly from back to front; Jiang Nian's paper was a mess. But it was probably around 110 points—still decent.

Li Qingrong was still tidying her desk: a thin exam cushion, a few pens in a transparent pen bag, with a small yellow flower reflected on it.

Jiang Nian paused for a moment, hesitated, then asked curiously.

"Monitor, where's your little bear hair tie?"

Hearing this, Li Qingrong glanced at him, then lowered her eyes.

"Lost it."

"Oh oh, what a shame—it was really pretty." Jiang Nian rubbed his neck and picked up his transparent grid exam bag, walking off.

The cafeteria doesn't wait; it fills up in minutes.

Again, again, again—he's eating. The lone wolf always eats.

Jiang Nian returned from the cafeteria; the corridor sunlight was warm, like a beautiful woman's arm.

Lunch break lasted two hours; he still had to finish half a math exam paper. Practice more dishes—he went first to the toilet at the end of the corridor to relieve himself, then bent over the sink to wash his face.

Recently, autumn had arrived with pleasant temperatures—one layer wasn't cold, two layers weren't hot.

He guessed that in another week, temperatures would likely drop.

His face was damp when he returned to the classroom; few people were there. A few boarders were doing homework. Day students usually went home; most boarders chose to nap in their dorms.

Jiang Nian walked in and saw Chen Yunyun and her boarder group chatting, Wang Yuhe always beside her. He seemed to be doing homework, occasionally looking up to join the conversation.

"Are you going home this weekend?" Chen Yunyun asked, leaning on the desk. Seeing Jiang Nian return to his seat, she turned her gaze away.

"Hey, are you guys going back?"

One girl said, "I want to go home and bring clothes, but it takes two hours just to get there. Add the whole trip, round-trip is at least seven hours."

"Ah, where's your home? So far?" Wang Yuhe asked curiously.

"Longkou Town, on the edge of Zhenan County," the girl said, looking helpless. "Our house is on the edge of Longkou Town—walk a bit further, you're already in the neighboring county."

"That's really far. Round-trip is too troublesome," Chen Yunyun sighed, then asked, "Chai Muying, didn't you bring a blanket?"

"No, it's inconvenient to carry in summer, and the bus was packed when I came," Chai Muying nearly cried. "I planned to bring it during National Day, but I had too much fun and forgot on the way back."

"It's fine—you can ask your dad to have someone bring it along." Chen Yunyun comforted her. "Or go back at month-end; there should be a day off then."

"If all else fails, I brought an extra school uniform jacket. If it gets cold, you can borrow it."

"Thank you."

"No problem—we're in the same dorm," Chen Yunyun patted her. Girls in the science class were all bold. "My home is Yunmu Town—only an hour away."

"If it gets too cold, we can just go back and get the blanket."

"Probably not," Wang Yuhe looked up. "It's mid-October now; temperatures won't drop until early next month. If it does, I'll go back—I can share a blanket with you."

Jiang Nian sat at the front window seat, pretending to work on a mock exam paper, but inside he was already enjoying the conversation. A path where lilies bloom? Sleeping on a tiny bed together?

Keep going, keep going—let me hear more.

Unfortunately, the three girls dropped the topic and switched to chatting about celebrities. The joy of eavesdropping vanished; Jiang Nian suddenly felt bored.

Fortunately, a few minutes later, a short boy returned from eating and brought the topic back to bringing blankets for the cold.

As they chatted, the guy suddenly froze, then asked unconsciously.

"How can two people fit on such a small bed?"

Brother, you're a genius!

"Pfft, of course girls can," Chen Yunyun scoffed. "You think we sleep like you guys, sprawled out everywhere? We just hug close and sleep."

Jiang Nian's lips curled upward. Good. I like it. Tell me more.

"Who sprawls out?" The boy, Luo Yong, was short and always stood in the front row during PE. "Even though I don't live in the dorm, I never slept like that before."

"You don't board anymore?"

"My parents handled my day student paperwork; the homeroom teacher approved it," Luo Yong said proudly, boasting. "I live alone now—super comfortable."

"I'm so jealous. I wish I could move out with Yuhe," Chen Yunyun complained. "No hot water in the dorm, long lines for the toilet, and it's so cramped."

"Isn't day student paperwork supposed to require a parent to live with you?" Wang Yuhe spotted the flaw, curious. "Luo Yong, do your parents live with you too?"

"Of course not. My parents finished the paperwork and went to Guangdong," Luo Yong smirked. "My dad and mom don't have time to live with me—they've got to earn money."

"So cool—living alone," Chen Yunyun sighed again, envious.

Jiang Nian nodded silently. Living alone—on holidays, you could sleep till the world ended. A free bird, a lonely island—Brother Yong was truly enjoying it.

Besides higher rent and electricity bills, and using more toilet paper, the benefits were many.

Like being able to charge your phone anytime, napping at your rented place during lunch, sleeping alone at night with full control over lights and sleep schedule.

No worries about roommates waking you in the morning, unlimited hot water for showers.

Renting off-campus only requires parental consent under the pretense of "parental accompaniment." The school doesn't care how you actually operate—it won't even ask.

Jiang Nian learned these details from Wu Jun Gu, his study group member, who complained about it. Homeroom teacher Old Liu was very unhappy about his switch to day student status.

From the way he spoke, this matter wasn't guaranteed to succeed, so Wu Jun Gu made two plans: if switching to boarding didn't work, he'd rent an apartment off-campus directly.

Couples renting off-campus—no need to explain the value.

For this reason, Wu Jun Gu specifically told Jiang Nian to keep it secret. Jiang Nian immediately swore his mouth was harder than iron and wouldn't leak a single word.

But then again, at this time of year, there were few rental options left—good apartments had all been taken in August and September.

This year's Gao Si repeaters were numerous, mostly liberal arts students who'd been knocked down by the score cutoffs. With tuition at third-tier universities costing twenty to thirty thousand, they all chose to start over.

As a result, rental housing near the school was tight; the small cluster of self-built houses in the village near the main gate was nearly full of Gao San and Gao Si students.

Next were the faculty housing units by the school's west gate, or the migrant worker apartments near the north gate—either renting alone or finding roommates were decent options.

One could only say that the gentle Wu Junge was pushing himself too hard—nothing like his herbivorous exterior suggested.

He'd probably transform into a Wolf King and devour Monday's plumpness first.

Ah, friends' meals had to be eaten—but what really broke you was this.

Just as he was thinking, he looked up and saw Chen Yunyun sitting again in front of his seat, straddling the chair, facing him, and smiling.

"Jiang Nian, why do you always eat at school?"

"So what? Can't I like the school auntie's cooking?" Jiang Nian propped himself up and started teasing again, "Why don't you rent off-campus?"

Chen Yunyun glanced toward Luo Yong's direction, her expression strange, and whispered quickly,

"Why would I rent? Waste money?"