Chapter 47 That Year, the Apricot Blossom Rain, I glanced down at the quest panel.

Jiang Nian made a mental note of the time he returned home after evening self-study.

October 6th, the second day after making up with Xu Qianqian.

Xu Qianqian: Why are you being such a little girl!

High school students possess a slender, untamed, vibrant beauty. But this excludes high school students after evening self-study, as classes don’t end until 9:40 PM.

In Zhennan County, even textile factories wouldn’t dare to work overtime that late.

The bodies of some high school students were already shattered by the demonic schedule, leaving them listless, with acne and oily skin, and greasy hair all day long.

Only a few were radiant and well-groomed, mostly day students with good grades and wealthy families, or boarding students who were just plain rich, damn it.

Rich people truly don’t need to be too anxious; they focus on enjoying the climb.

Xu Qianqian’s good skin was because she genuinely went to bed early. Old Xu wasn’t necessarily home every day, randomly refreshing between the hospital and home, a routine she had long adapted to.

Anyway, meals were handled at school, and holidays depended on the situation.

Old Xu wasn’t neglectful; he just had a tendency to drown his sorrows in work. However, with no woman in the house, it was naturally quiet and he didn’t need to cook.

Plus, with the help of the Jiang family next door, he didn’t have to worry too much.

The two walked home, the streetlights dim, one on each side.

Jiang Nian yawned, “I’m super sleepy today.”

“When are you not sleepy?” Xu Qianqian pouted, then couldn’t help but put on a serious face and admonish him, “You just moved up a class, so you still need to work harder. There’s another exam at the end of the month.”

“I forgot about that until you mentioned it. There’s still such a thing?” Jiang Nian chuckled.

Looking at Xu Qianqian, who was a head shorter than him and enveloped in the orange glow of the streetlight, he had a somewhat dark thought: with her height, no matter how she kicked off her blanket at night, no draft would get in.

“Hmph, I’m too lazy to care about you anymore!” Xu Qianqian gritted her teeth, turned, and walked away.

“Hey, why are you getting mad after just a few words? What a ‘King of Haste’ you are.” Jiang Nian chased after her, continuing the conversation, “I just happen to have a math problem I want to ask you about.”

October 7th, 6:30 AM, no rain.

He still wanted to ask for leave.

He had already been to school yesterday, so why did he have to go to school again today?

He heard that a top student in his class, whose grades were comparable to Xu Qianqian’s, went to bed at 10:20 PM, woke up at 5:30 AM, and did an extra hour of practice every day before leaving for school.

He did this consistently, without fail, for two months. While Jiang Nian was sleeping, the other person was working hard; by the time Jiang Nian was working hard, the other person had already become a god.

Brushing his teeth, facing the mirror, Jiang Nian said earnestly.

“I can’t keep being so decadent! Youth is for striving, not for wasting! Tired? Who isn’t tired? As long as I don’t study myself to death, I’ll study my heart out!”

“Nian-ge, don’t sleep anymore, get up, class is starting soon.” Li Hua nudged Jiang Nian, who was slumped on his desk.

Jiang Nian sat up like a zombie, his eyes seemingly glued shut. After slowly recovering in his seat for a while, he asked a classic question.

“What period is it now?”

“It’s the third period. You slept so terrifyingly during the first two English classes, I was really afraid you’d die next to me.”

Hearing this, Jiang Nian was bewildered; two classes had passed in a daze.

“Why didn’t Qianbao call on me?”

“Who knows? Qianbao glanced at you and then continued teaching.” Li Hua looked wistful, “Maybe she thought you were awake and doing math anyway, so it was better not to disturb you.”

What kind of victim mentality was that?

It was the truth; Qianbao couldn’t stand to see him make progress.

After a brief, hushed chat, Li Hua’s expression turned strange.

“You’re saying that for the sake of studying, you’ve been anxious night after night, putting in a lot of effort. And you already have moderate anxiety and severe bipolar disorder?”

“Yes.”

“Then what time did you finish your homework last night after getting home?”

Jiang Nian’s expression was a little hard to maintain, “Ten o’clock.”

Li Hua froze for two seconds, then immediately gave him a big, ‘prisoner’s finger’.

“School ends at 9:40 PM. So you’re telling me, you didn’t do a single second of work, huh!”

During math class, Jiang Nian, who had rested for two English classes, was now attentively listening. High school senior year was so exhausting; it was perfectly normal to allocate energy wisely.

Ding! The System panel popped up.

Don’t do this, I’m in class!

Jiang Nian reluctantly glanced at the virtual System mission panel.

“At thirty-eight, your gym workouts are finally showing results. You’ve lost three kilograms. Maintain your mindset; appropriate self-rewards are also a crucial part of your comeback.

Mission: Indulge in spending (only using remaining System reward currency). Reward: Triple cashback.”

After reading it, Jiang Nian casually closed it.

It’s blocking my math problem.

He looked up, “Huh? Where are we in the lesson?”

He had just been listening with great interest, frequently interacting with the math teacher, so how could he have missed…

He glanced at his deskmate, Li Hua; his scratch paper was blank, as if he understood everything. He marked the previous problem, intending to ask Li Hua after class.

He dared not ask the math teacher. The middle-aged math teacher had little patience for students with average math grades.

Unless Jiang Nian scored above 120, the math teacher would only glance at him. Then he would question what the hell he was doing in class, asking questions after not listening during the lesson!

Being lectured while the problem was explained was an utterly suffocating experience.

In contrast, Li Hua, the science ace, seemed much more reliable. Just point to what you don’t understand, and ask him directly.

With him, steady improvement in math grades was not a problem. Even if there wasn’t a qualitative leap, at least he should climb a small step.

As soon as class ended, Li Hua bolted.

Jiang Nian, quick-eyed and quick-handed, grabbed him, “I need to ask you a question, don’t leave.”

“Come in the afternoon, urgent!”

“Bladder about to burst? No problem, I’ll bring the trash can over for you in a bit.” Jiang Nian was diligently persistent, “Worst case, I’ll ‘duo queue’ with you in the restroom, alright!”

“No, bro, it’s PE class!” Li Hua was practically flying, struggling to break free, “I can’t talk to you anymore, the basketball court is almost taken.”

At the door, Ma Guojun called out.

“Li Hua, hurry up, are you secretly camping?”

“Coming!”

Jiang Nian watched their retreating figures, lost in thought.

Bang bang bang!!! After free activity in PE class.

Jiang Nian executed a fluid early change of direction, completely faking out Li Hua, and banked the shot in with a ‘bang’. He then returned in front of Li Hua and shouted loudly.

“Do you like PE class, hmm? Baby! Speak!”

Li Hua said with a long face, “Bro, I’m just a goblin. Guard someone else, stop faking me out!”

“Tell me the solution to the third sub-question from class, and I’ll go back to the classroom right now.” Jiang Nian said, “Otherwise, I’ll guard you until school’s out.”

“Alright, alright, I give up.” Li Hua stepped off the basketball court, picked up a white stone nearby, and found a patch of concrete to write out the problem.

Five minutes later, Jiang Nian suddenly understood.

“Sou ka, go play basketball now.”

Li Hua was curious: “Are you really going up to do homework, or are you coming to play with us?”

“No, there’s a little sister up there.” Jiang Nian waved him off.