Chapter 63: Introverted, usually only walks along high-voltage power lines when going out.

All afternoon, Zhang Ningzhi kept her head down, staring at her textbook, her ears perked up.

She pretended to listen attentively, but in reality, all the sounds in the classroom were amplified infinitely, like a tide, and she meticulously scrutinized every word.

It’s strange to suddenly change seats, especially after the homeroom teacher finished the class meeting.

It was as if she was deliberately going against the wind.

However, the seat change had been arranged with Huang Fang last week, so it wasn’t really going against the wind. At most, it was a premeditated act that happened to coincide with a crackdown.

Fortunately, two classes passed, and everything was safe and sound.

Zhang Ningzhi quietly breathed a sigh of relief, then subtly glanced at her ‘new deskmate’. Jiang Nian was completely different in class and out of class; most of the time, he was very quiet.

At this moment, he was wrestling with a difficult physics problem.

It was exceptionally hot today, with crimson-gold rays of light pouring down from the clouds, immersing half the class in the twilight. Some noticed it and pulled those in front, behind, and to their sides to look out.

“Holy crap! So beautiful!”

“Holy crap?”

“Holy crap! Take a picture, take a picture!”

Zhang Ningzhi looked at the sunset and felt a little moved. Just as her head returned to its original position, she suddenly felt a gaze from very close by, and her body froze.

She quickly glanced over, her eyes meeting Jiang Nian’s. Like touching a thorn, her gaze quickly dropped, and she hunched over her desk, her high ponytail swaying slightly.

Her exposed earlobes gradually turned red, making her attempts to conceal it even more obvious. Her heart was like wild grass, a tangled mess, scattering into pieces with a gust of wind.

Jiang Nian was actually thinking about the problem; he instinctively turned his head to look when he heard the commotion. Only when he saw Zhang Ningzhi hunched over her desk did he slowly come back to his senses.

Hmm. Huh? Who made this problem, your mom! Why is it so tricky?

He sighed softly and poked Zhang Ningzhi’s fair, soft arm with his index finger.

It was cool and smooth, like the touch of jelly, if you were to put it in your mouth—

“Wh-what’s wrong?”

“Can I borrow your red pen for a moment? Thanks.” Jiang Nian smiled, watching Zhang Ningzhi fumble and drop the pen three times before it finally landed in his hand.

He didn’t find it strange; Zhang Ningzhi was always introverted.

But to be fair, it’s not that Huang Fang isn’t pretty. It’s just that her previous deskmate, Huang Fang, was beautiful in her temperament and personality, while Zhang Ningzhi leaned more towards a visually pleasing beauty.

In short, a beautiful deskmate was quite nice.

During the break of the first evening study session, the classroom was brightly lit.

It wasn’t that no one was paying attention to the sixth group. Lin Dong, the new hero, had noticed Zhang Ningzhi had moved next to Jiang Nian’s seat that afternoon and almost passed out from Qi.

No, buddy, you two can’t sit together!

How could they sit together?

They just moved to the same class and immediately sat together; he dared not imagine the next step. No, was he the only one who cared about school rules? Why wasn’t Old Liu coming out to manage it?

He was feeling annoyed when Sun Zhicheng, the niche guy, came to talk to him again.

“I just calculated the Fizz’s…”

Lin Dong was in no mood to listen to the niche guy babble about Fizz’s stats. He glanced at the window. Zhang Ningzhi’s seat was empty, and he suddenly felt that he might have been overthinking things.

Third year of high school was so tough; where would there be so many crooked thoughts? Besides, positions like the first and second rows of the third large group had poor visibility of the blackboard during class, so changing seats was normal.

The niche guy chattered on and on, then suddenly realized his hype man was silent. He looked up and saw his good friend staring in Zhang Ningzhi’s direction again, still an empty seat.

Always hanging out together, Sun Zhicheng naturally knew his good friend’s little crush.

To be fair, he also liked Zhang Ningzhi. There weren’t many girls in this class to begin with, with the male-to-female ratio less than two to one, and only a few were good-looking.

Class monitor Li Qingrong, Zhang Ningzhi, Chen Yunyun, Wang Yuhe. Don’t even dream about the class monitor; one look at her was enough to make you shiver. Zhang Ningzhi’s personality seemed quite good.

He liked to speak the truth: Zhang Ningzhi and the class monitor were tied for first place.

Ever since he knew his good friend liked Zhang Ningzhi, although he felt regret, he still pulled himself together and reluctantly planned to pursue Wang Yuhe while encouraging Lin Dong.

He figured that if his friend’s confession failed after the college entrance exam, he’d have another source of amusement. He could later weave it into a story to use as conversation fodder with girls in college.

The niche guy had some conscience, but not much.

“Stop looking, brother. Did you add her QQ?” Sun Zhicheng asked.

Conversations between good brothers didn’t require names; it was encrypted communication, understood by those who understood.

“Pretty much, still pending verification.” Lin Dong sighed.

“Awesome! You’re halfway there!” Sun Zhicheng blinked his beady eyes, focusing on maximizing emotional value, “The day of victory is within reach.”

“We’ve had two holidays already; if she was going to accept, she should have by now, right?” Lin Dong frowned, feeling a dull ache in his heart.

“She’s definitely embarrassed, just add her a few more times.” Sun Zhicheng was afraid Lin Dong would give up, losing a piece of conversation material, “Even Emperor Zhaolie of Han had to visit Zhuge Liang three times.”

“Hmm, that’s true.” Lin Dong chose to believe first, then question.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you with all my might!” Sun Zhicheng said with a serious face, “Never act rashly; always consult me before doing anything.”

Lin Dong felt a bit touched by this; with his good brother acting as a wingman, his chances of success increased.

He would win!

Ring, ring, ring. The students slowly returned to the classroom.

Lin Dong suppressed his worries and decided to study hard this class. As the math class representative, he had many opportunities to perform well in class, and there would always be a turning point.

Besides, the third year of high school was really important; he couldn’t rot away in this county town.

Although he said that, he looked down at the test papers a few times. In the end, he couldn’t help but stare at the front door of the classroom, hoping to see Zhang Ningzhi’s figure.

Soon after, Zhang Ningzhi indeed hurried into the classroom, holding a box of milk.

Lin Dong, with his sharp eyes, recognized it as a slightly more expensive brand. His family also bought it; every morning, he would take a box out of the fridge to drink.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but smile, ‘Fate. How wonderfully inexplicable.’

Zhang Ningzhi sat down and saw Jiang Nian working on a difficult chemistry problem. Li Hua, at the very end, seemed to be doing the same problem with him; she had heard them betting on a ‘father-son’ game before the evening study session ended.

Boys were quite childish, liking to be other people’s ‘dads’.

Zhang Ningzhi thought for a moment, then nudged his arm. She knew Jiang Nian had a good temper. Even if his thoughts were interrupted while solving a problem, he would never be fierce or impatient.

Jiang Nian turned his head, “Hmm?”

“The convenience store didn’t have the milk I wanted to drink, and I don’t drink this kind, so I felt bad coming back empty-handed.” Zhang Ningzhi spoke the words she had rehearsed repeatedly in her mind, without stumbling.

“Do you want it?”

“Yes, yes, yes!!” Jiang Nian gave the highest emotional value, taking it, “The brand of milk you drink is too expensive; it doesn’t sell well at school.”

“I’m also introverted; I wouldn’t dare ride on anyone’s head when I go out. But when I encounter something I didn’t intend to buy, I sometimes feel awkward. Usually, at such times, I’ll explain, for example—”

“This store doesn’t have what I want to steal; I’ll go buy it elsewhere.”