Chapter 93

Outside the window, the sky was dark; inside the classroom, the lights burned bright.

Wu Jun Gu was absent; Chen Yunyun had gone to his seat to chat with Jiang Nian.

She realized she was growing fonder of chatting with Jiang Nian—no matter what she said, he always had a reply.

The key was that Jiang Nian's replies flowed smoothly, never once stumbling. Chatting with him felt like a fish in water, making her happier the longer they talked.

Only when evening self-study was about to begin did Chen Yunyun reluctantly leave.

Her desk mate Li Hua had also joined the conversation and knew exactly who Chen Yunyun was after. Honestly, he found such chatter hard to accept—it might hurt their studies.

One's own failure was regrettable, but a friend's success hurt even more.

"Bro, when did you two get so close?"

"Who?"

"Chen Yunyun—she came all the way over just to chat with you."

"Huh? What do you mean 'just'?" Jiang Nian gave him a confused look. "Didn't she come ask you for math answers too?"

That excuse held water—Chen Yunyun didn't just chat with Jiang Nian; she'd also drawn Li Hua and Huang Fang into her circle, front, back, left, and right.

Wu Jun Gu hadn't come; Ceng You was absorbed in his own world, ignoring everything else.

Baby Zhizhi hadn't joined the chat either—she'd spent the whole time hunched over her desk doing homework, refusing to speak up.

Li Hua mimicked Conan, adjusting imaginary glasses.

"Sure, but she's clearly your new friend, right?"

At that moment, Lin Dong walked over carrying a stack of math tests. He stopped before Li Hua's seat and used one test to interrupt their conversation.

"Here, Year-ge, your test."

Year-ge?

Li Hua froze, stunned by the groveling tone—he stared at Lin Dong. Lin Dong called him Year-ge? When had they become this close?

Wasn't Chen Yunyun also in Lin Dong's group? What was going on?

Baby Zhizhi was drawn in too—she lifted her head from her mountain of problems and glanced curiously at Jiang Nian's score.

"You got 116? That's amazing."

The look in her eyes wasn't mockery.

But Jiang Nian felt even worse. "Ha, didn't even make excellent—what'd you get?"

"I don't know, the test hasn't—" Baby Zhizhi hadn't finished when her test was handed to her. "—been returned."

Not just hers—every test from Group Six had been pulled out.

"Alright, Year-ge," Lin Dong bowed out, deeply conceal achievements.

Group Six.

The few who'd enjoyed this privilege turned their gazes toward Jiang Nian—one by one, every pair of eyes, except Wu Jun Gu's, still absent, stared at him with strange expressions.

Li Hua couldn't hold back anymore. "You didn't switch groups, did you?"

"No."

Ceng You said: "The traitor has revealed himself!"

Huang Fang: "Something's fishy."

Baby Zhizhi nodded: "A tomcat on the prowl."

"What the hell is that term?" Jiang Nian was sweating now. "I'm just making more friends—isn't that normal?"

"Year, as group leader, I'm glad you're good with people. But shouldn't you prioritize internal group unity over external diplomacy?"

"What do you mean?" Jiang Nian laughed.

Li Hua rubbed his chin. "For example, Brother Jun has been coming back to class right before it starts every day—don't you care about that?"

Hearing this, Baby Zhizhi bit her lower lip and nodded fiercely in agreement.

"Exactly, exactly."

"Huh? No—" Jiang Nian was speechless. "Isn't Brother Jun busy with his girlfriend? Isn't he the one who cares least about the group?"

Huh? Why was Baby Zhizhi sounding so annoyed?

"Brother Jun's girlfriend is so beautiful—it's only natural he'd spend more time on her," Li Hua wasn't letting this go. "If it were me, I'd double the bride price."

"You're a disgrace to men from Zhennan—no girlfriend and all you think about is spending gold coins," Jiang Nian sneered. "Here's your 380,000 bride price—you deserve it."

"Don't stereotype Zhennan," Li Hua wiped sweat. He patted Huang Fang in front of him. "Hey, Huang Fang, how much is it where you're from?"

Huang Fang glanced at him, muttered "You're crazy," and turned back around.

Everything was understood without words.

"County towns… they're not that bad," Li Hua insisted. "Ask Baby Zhizhi—don't buy into these stereotypes."

"The county seat. The county seat is different, it's not as scary as you say." Li Hua said stubbornly, "Go ask Zhang Ningzhi, hey, don't make these stereotype seals."

"Hahaha, your mom—" Jiang Nian burst into uncontrollable laughter.

People from Zhennan had their own regional jokes.

From evening reading onward, subject representatives took turns copying answers onto the blackboard. First up was math—Lin Dong stood at the front copying answers, while below, a chorus of "cao" echoed.

Cao, cao, cao—the sound of "cao" filled the air.

Baby Zhizhi looked up at the blackboard, then rubbed her eyes.

Zhang Ningzhi looked up at the blackboard, then rubbed her eyes.

"Huh?" She jumped at Jiang Nian's sudden question, then whispered a soft "Mm," "A little—the board's reflecting too much."

"Alright, wait a sec." Jiang Nian climbed over Li Hua's seat, went up to the podium, said something to Lin Dong, who nodded.

When Jiang Nian came back down, Li Hua stared at him with a mournful, betrayed expression.

When Jiang Nian came down, Li Hua stared at him with a face full of grievance.

Traitor!

The wound of betrayal never heals—you little bastard wants to leave the group, huh!

"What are you staring at?" Jiang Nian flipped Li Hua aside and slid back from behind the chair. "Move over. My dad's Guobao Mecha is returning to its position."

Li Hua whimpered, "Betraying the group, injuring brothers—die beneath ten thousand blades!"

"You've got the group rules down pretty well, Hua," Jiang Nian said casually, then turned to Zhang Ningzhi. "The answers will be brought over soon—do something else for now."

"Oh, okay," Zhang Ningzhi murmured, warmth stirring in her heart.

Li Hua's heart ached more—Jiang Nian had grown so close to Lin Dong already. Asking the class rep for the original answers to win over girls!

Buddy, I helped you succeed, not to succeed like this!

So frustrating!

"Nian, I made Ma Guojun eat the exam paper—break up with Lin Dong," Li Hua said, eyes brimming with tears. "Really, Ma Guojun will do anything."

Jiang Nian shook his head, solemn and earnest.

"Baby, I've been improving, while you're still content with the status quo. Lin Dong is the math class rep—you're just the top math student in our class."

"He has a position. You can't stop me from moving toward someone better, can you?"

Your mom! The first sword after climbing ashore—swung straight at your brother!

"Seriously, how did you two suddenly get so close?" Li Hua whispered. "That guy, what can I say—he just loves showing off."

"Nothing much. I helped him with a small favor."

After a while, Lin Dong indeed came down with the math answers, handed them to Jiang Nian, and left. Jiang Nian took them and showed Li Hua the solution to the final small question.

After Li Hua finished reading, Jiang Nian passed them to Zhang Ningzhi.

The answers circulated through the group; everyone enjoyed the privileges granted by this advantage. Gradually, Li Hua's lips could no longer suppress their upward curve. He changed his tune.

"That guy Lin Dong isn't so bad after all."

The answer-checking process lasted from evening reading straight through to the second evening self-study session. The whole class whispered and discussed, almost all of them understanding their mistakes by themselves.

Except those with severe subject imbalances and weak foundations.

Zhang Ningzhi was carefully explaining a math problem to Jiang Nian: "First, draw the front view of the cone. The angle between the slant height and the base is called α. The other—"

Jiang Nian listened intently, so he had Zhang Ningzhi explain it twice.

Ssssli ssssli—the sound was so pleasant.

Li Hua sneered beside him—how could she not explain such a simple problem clearly? Jiang Nian was blind—too proud to ask him for help on this kind of question.

Hmph. Can't understand it.

Suddenly, the brightly lit classroom plunged into total darkness.

The classroom fell silent for two seconds.

The next moment.

"Ooooh!! Ooooh!!"

"Power outage!! Holy shit!"

"Power outage!"

Darkness instantly swallowed everyone; cheers erupted like a porcelain vase shattering, thundering through the classroom.

The entire room erupted in chaos. Students leapt straight from their seats! Cheers rose and fell endlessly. Everyone was ecstatic, like caged birds finally freed!

The moonlight streamed through the windows, revealing scattered lights of countless homes glowing in the night.

"Quiet!" The discipline officer stepped forward to restore order.

No one listened. Some even stood up in disbelief, eyes wide open—all their pressure and frustration vanished instantly!

"Ooooh!! Power outage!"

Some slipped out during the chaos—Wu Jun Gu, for instance, went to find his girlfriend in the next classroom.

Class monitor Li Qingrong watched the chaotic classroom with no expression, making no move to go out and inquire. What's meant to come will come; if it doesn't, it doesn't.

The classroom was too dark to do homework. She stared ahead for several seconds, then turned toward Jiang Nian's seat—only a dark blur, faint silhouettes visible.

She touched her bear hair tie, loosening her hair slightly.

Someone began groping in the dark to hit others with books. "Who hit my head? Which bastard—was it you? Or you?"

"Holy shit! You pervert! Don't touch my cock!"

There were a few couples in the class, but Teacher Liu never enforced rules. During self-study or even class, they secretly swapped seats—now, with the power out, they merged completely.

Some took the chaos to confess their feelings; others confessed on behalf of others. Everyone was stirred, the suppressed energy inside them demanding to break free, to run, to shout.

"I, Sun Zhicheng, like Chen Yunyun!"

"Get lost!! Don't you dare spread rumors!"

Or they simply embraced each other.

"Baby, don't be scared—it's so dark, even the teacher can't see anything."

"Okay."

Someone began singing: "I'm looking… how much time is left…"

"Fuck, can we switch songs?!"

"Sleep, sleep—this is the perfect time to sleep when the power's out. Wake me if the homeroom teacher comes—I'm going to sleep now."

"Where's my glasses? Anyone have a light? Help me find them—I can't see my glasses!"

A few had already left the classroom—to use the restroom or check the hallway. Li Hua was the first to bolt, slipping straight to the administration office to inquire.

The first child: Li Hua.

Only Huang Fang remained quietly memorizing vocabulary in the dark, using the faint glow to open her textbook. Empress Fangfang was truly the only Emperor in Group Six—unswervingly focused on study.

In that instant the power went out, Ceng You's face had been bathed in divine light—he nearly died of fright. Seeing no one noticed, he pulled out his phone and continued hiding it beneath his books.

In the flickering moonlight, Zhang Ningzhi quietly turned her head to look toward Jiang Nian's position. The instant she turned, her gaze collided with Jiang Nian's.

Her eyes instantly went wide, and she sucked in a sharp breath.

In the dim moonlight, the girl's face curved like a crescent moon. Her hazy lashes trembled faintly, and her gaze darted about like a mouthful of popping candy held between the lips.

Thump-thump-thump, a maiden's heart was thrown into utter disarray in that moment.

The sweetness of the joy and excitement from the power outage ticks up by one.