Chapter 24 The Eldest Daughter of Nanjiang Bay

The heavy book basket landed on the ground. Jiang Nian straightened his back and wiped away non-existent sweat.

Zhang Ningzhi offered a tissue, which he promptly put into his pocket. This action left the Young Miss stunned, speechless for a moment with her mouth agape.

Jiang Nian was in a good mood. “Oh, I’m saving it to wipe the table later. I’m also transferring to 403.”

“Really?” Zhang Ningzhi was delighted. Joining a new group of strangers, having a companion was always a comfort. “From now on, you can just get tissues from me.”

At school, tissues were hard currency.

Zhang Ningzhi was genuinely happy. The transfer list only showed students from her own class. She hadn’t known that the boy who sat behind her in the exam hall had also transferred.

As she spoke, she fumbled in her desk for a moment and pulled out another pack of tissues, handing them to Jiang Nian.

With the box of fruit-flavored milk he had given her earlier, accepting things from Zhang Ningzhi seemed natural, and their relationship grew closer with this back-and-forth.

Soon after, another boy arrived at the door of Class 403. He wore glasses and seemed somewhat quiet. Jiang Nian noticed he was moving his desk alone, so he stepped forward to lend a hand.

“Buddy, are you also transferring?”

“Yes, my name is Yu Tongjie.”

“Jiang Nian, and this little beauty is Zhang Ningzhi.” He greeted them, introducing Zhang Ningzhi as well. “There aren’t many transferees to 403; it should just be the three of us.”

Zhang Ningzhi spoke softly, and Yu Tongjie was a quiet person. So, after a brief chat, silence once again fell over the corridor.

Jiang Nian also gave up, leaning on the corridor railing and gazing into the distance.

Zhennan County Middle School was located in the very center of the county town’s old street, with the old campus situated in the most prosperous area. Outside was a main road, flanked by various shops for food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

There were two large supermarkets, the First and Second People’s Hospitals, and at the end of a turn was the Zhennan County Government. The Education Bureau was diagonally opposite the school, with several roads stretching out and various units scattered like stars.

The Agriculture Bureau, Maternity and Child Care, Epidemic Prevention Station, Tax Bureau—a multitude of agencies and units surrounded Zhennan County Middle School like stars orbiting the moon, with no tall buildings in the vicinity.

It was only about a kilometer further out that one could see low-rise old residential communities. Beyond that circle was the high-end residential area of Nanjiang Bay, where bare-frame houses cost over 800,000.

Further out was the riverside, where a branch of the Nanjiang River flowed into Zhennan County, forming an alluvial plain.

The county government had built Nanjiang Park along the bank, and Zhennan Bridge connected to the distant mountains, leading to Qingmu Ridge, one of the county’s most famous spots for hiking and sunrise viewing.

Buzz, buzz, buzz. The morning exercise was over, and a bustling sound came from the stairwell.

The top students from the Olympiad Class were back.

Compared to the regular classes, the Olympiad Class was like the Outer Sect Disciple. Class Zero was the Inner Sect Disciple, the apple of the grade’s eye, a reserve force for Tsinghua and Peking University’s Double First-Class universities.

The atmosphere in the Olympiad Class was relatively relaxed, similar to the regular classes. A group of boys went upstairs laughing and joking, chasing each other and shouting, while the girls walked in groups of two or three, like a flock of light white seagulls.

Before entering their classrooms, they curiously glanced at the three people carrying desks and chairs upstairs, roughly understanding that these were the three transferees.

However, whether they were new classmates was still uncertain, as there were two transfer exams: one at the end of September and one at the end of October. September was a diagnostic test, and October was the joint exam for eighteen counties.

November was the joint exam for six cities, and at the end of the year was the provincial joint exam led by the Education Department.

These arrangements were made very clear by all homeroom teachers. The opportunity for transfer only existed in September and October, but it didn’t really affect the internal stability of the classes.

It was very difficult for those below to move up, and very difficult for those in the Olympiad Class to move down. The main fluctuations were among the transferees; if they couldn’t adapt or if their scores were inflated, they would move down.

Ultimately, the October joint exam had no impact on those in the Olympiad Class. It was merely a quality check for that group of transferees, and the last chance for students in lower classes to transfer up.

Zhang Ningzhi lowered her head under everyone’s gaze, instinctively hiding behind Jiang Nian, like a little ostrich.

Jiang Nian found it amusing and asked curiously.

“How many points did you score this time?”

Zhang Ningzhi looked up at his words and weakly reported a score, “609.”

Holy cow, this was the real Devil King! A regular class student scored enough for a key university!

Although it was just a diagnostic test and the questions weren’t too difficult, and she might not even rank high in the Olympiad Class, in a regular class, she was absolutely in a league of her own, number one by a wide margin.

“What about you?” Zhang Ningzhi asked.

“Lower than you, 573.” Jiang Nian smiled.

“Oh, 573.” Zhang Ningzhi seemed not very good at comforting people, and said softly, “It’s okay, 573 is also very high.”

I’m sorry, Zhizhi-chan, I didn’t satisfy you.

Jiang Nian didn’t have strong feelings about his grades. As long as he could maintain a middle-tier level, it was fine. The knowledge points were already imprinted in his mind, and with some understanding, it was enough to handle exams.

As for aiming for the absolute highest, he didn’t have that idea for now.

Are you kidding me? Me fighting Sukuna?

Before long, Class 403’s homeroom teacher arrived. He was short, thin, with sparse hair, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and introduced himself as Liu Liangsong, a Chinese language teacher.

Liu Liangsong asked the three to wait, then went into the classroom to make some announcements. He found a few people to help the three demoted students move their desks downstairs and encouraged them a few times before they left.

One boy had a good attitude, “Old Liu, luckily I didn’t join your support group. If I had, wouldn’t you have worked for nothing? Will we meet again, Old Liu?”

“When we meet again, you must be happy, okay, Old Liu?”

Old Liu was speechless, “Study hard, stop messing around, and improve your grades.”

Finally, Old Liu sighed and turned to look at the three newcomers. He asked for their names individually, presumably to match their scores with their names.

“Go in. Zhang Ningzhi and Jiang Nian, go to the empty seats in the third group. Yu Tongjie, the first group.”

At the back door of the classroom, someone was already curiously peeking out.

Jiang Nian glanced at Zhang Ningzhi and offered.

“We’re both in the third group. Shall I help you move your things in first?”

“Okay.”

Liu Liangsong had originally intended to call a few class cadres to help, but hearing Jiang Nian, he dismissed the idea. It was just moving a desk, not a big deal.

So, under everyone’s watchful eyes, Jiang Nian moved Zhang Ningzhi’s desk in first, and Zhang Ningzhi then followed him out to help him with his chair.

At the same time, Yu Tongjie had also moved his desk and chair and sat down in the first group, by the wall.

The English teacher arrived. The homeroom teacher, Liu Liangsong, smiled apologetically, taking a few minutes to let Jiang Nian and the other two take turns introducing themselves.

Jiang Nian was the first to go on stage, “My name is Jiang Nian, from Class 303 downstairs.”

With him setting an example, Yu Tongjie was the second to go on stage, essentially following Jiang Nian’s template. The self-introduction was quite simple: name, where they came from, and where they lived.

After all, it wasn’t October yet, so they couldn’t be fully considered classmates. Just stating the key points was enough.

Zhang Ningzhi was a bit timid. She was the last to go on stage, stuttering a few sentences.

“My… my name is Zhang Ningzhi. My previous class was 307, and I live in Nanjiang Bay.”

Thanks to Coastal Sunset for 100 Qidian Coins, thanks to Ming Tao in Sakura for 1 monthly ticket, Bloodthirsty October for 2 monthly tickets, Luo Shijie for 1 monthly ticket, and Xizi Ya for 2 monthly tickets.