Chapter 157: Volume 1 Chapter 157 Study Hard, Make Progress Every Day (1)

The darkness swallowed the last sliver of sunset, and the freely spreading night sky was dotted with countless stars; thin clouds, as if soaked in ink, set off the bright, brilliant moon, and the moonlight draped over the rural fields like a light gauze.

When Jiang Zhi woke up, her body had lost all strength, sinking downward; the suffocating feeling of drowning surged over her, her chest suddenly lacked oxygen, waves of pain spreading, and the cold water enveloping her took away her warmth.

Is this… dying…?

Just as she was about to lose consciousness, a black shadow swiftly appeared before her, wrapped around her waist, and dragged her toward the water surface.

Lying on her side on the ground, she clutched her chest and coughed violently, her lungs heaving as she breathed fresh air.

Her vision gradually cleared, and she saw clearly the black shadow that had rescued her.

He was a young boy with a buzz cut, dark skin, sharp and fierce brows and eyes, a pair of phoenix eyes devoid of warmth, exuding a ruthless, dangerous aura like a wild wolf.

【Host setting: cold beauty.】

Unlike 777's voice, this voice was even colder, mechanical without a trace of emotion.

Jiang Zhi knew very well that this system command could not be violated.

It had come specially to remind her of the original owner's setting, which seemed very important.

Jiang Zhi had no time to receive the original owner's memories and plot; looking at her lifesaver before her, her pallid lips pressed slightly together.

The buzz‑cut boy wrung out his soaked clothes, stood up, and prepared to leave, seeming to have no intention of talking to her.

Jiang Zhi staggered to her feet, hesitated, and said, "Wait a moment."

The buzz‑cut boy really stopped his steps, hands in pockets, his posture lazy and weary, his night‑like eyes glancing at her.

Jiang Zhi stepped forward with her weak legs and stopped before him, took out a handkerchief from her pocket, reached out to take his hand, and lowered her eyes to seriously wrap the hand that was oozing blood.

"Thank you." She shivered from the cold, her dense lashes fluttering as falling water droplets struck the back of his hand.

The boy paused for a few seconds, then suddenly pulled his hand back, stepped back, impatiently tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a small, sharp canine.

"Don't get so close to me!"

His voice was fierce and deep, as if roared from his throat.

Jiang Zhi was frightened by him, her face grew ever paler, her body tensed as she stood frozen on the spot, watching him warily.

The boy glanced at her irritably, then strode away.

His back disappeared into the night.

Jiang Zhi relaxed, her persona remained intact, and she had contact with him again.

Perfect.

777 suddenly spoke: "Host, he's not the villain."

Jiang Zhi: "???"

777 thought for a moment and said: "But he's also a villain's clone; they're the same."

Jiang Zhi shivered in the cold wind. "What nonsense," that little brat looks like trouble at a glance; she'd ended up provoking a ghost.

After receiving all the memories and plot.

This world is still modern; the original owner's name was Jiang Zhi, a third‑year junior high student who moved with her mother from the city to the countryside, where they opened a clinic in the town.

The original owner had been frail and sickly since childhood, with a poor constitution, spending most of the year ill, which caused her personality to become solitary and aloof.

After transferring to a junior high in the town, she was ostracized by classmates for not fitting in.

Today, the original owner skipped class to go to the nearby pond, intending to end her short life.

The buzz‑cut boy just now was her classmate, named Cheng Su, the type who studies while sitting in the back with his head down, sleeping, and causes trouble when he has nothing to do.

Despite his young age, he is fierce in fights, his reputation at school is formidable, and no one dares provoke him.

We must mention the original owner's mother's identity: Jiang Mu is the female lead who runs away with the ball in a melodramatic CEO novel, and the original owner is that ball.

Jiang Mu's health is not good; she suffered greatly when giving birth to the original owner, which is also a major reason for the original owner's poor constitution.

The original owner's father is the young master of the prestigious Xi family, Xi Ye.

When Jiang Zhi had less than a year left, that overbearing CEO father would come to take her away.

Only then would she be able to meet the villain.

Jiang Zhi hugged her body and trembled as she arrived at Jiang Mu's clinic.

When Jiang Mu saw her in that state, she was frightened to the point of almost fainting, and hurriedly wiped her drenched head.

"Xiao Zhi, where did you go? How did you end up like this?"

Jiang Zhi's face was calm: "I accidentally fell into the river."

Jiang Mu didn't doubt her words, took her for a hot shower, brewed a cup of cold medicine and ginger tea, and urged her to drink it.

Jiang Zhi sat in the chair, gulped it down in one go, and then sized up this female lead who runs away with the ball, Jiang Mu.

Her name is Jiang Chi, a typical Southern beauty—gentle and lovely, with skin fairer than snow, a figure not frail but rather delicate and well‑proportioned.

The original owner inherited her appearance and the CEO father's peach‑blossom eyes; at her young age, she is as exquisite and pretty as a porcelain doll.

"What's wrong, Xiao Zhi?" Sensing her gaze, Jiang Mu turned back with a puzzled look and asked.

Jiang Zhi shook her head: "I'm going back to my room."

She returned to her room to do homework, and let's not even mention that junior high homework is really heavy—three subjects occupied her entire evening.

By the time she finished her homework, the clock on the wall had turned to eleven.

Deadly.

——

Next day.

Early the next morning, Jiang Zhi woke up to find herself feverish; she had only soaked in water the day before, and today she had a fever—her constitution was truly terrible.

She received two bottles of saline at her mother's clinic, and after her fever subsided she shouldered her small backpack and went to class.

The school is right in town, very close to home—just a ten‑plus‑minute walk gets you there.

It was already afternoon; several students were squatting in the hallway, their uniforms worn loosely and sloppily. The boy leaning against the wall was precisely Cheng Su, who had saved her that day.

He held a game console, his thin fingers moving extremely fast, making people dazzled.