chapter 166

“Who’s looking for you?” Li Hua asked, turning his head.

“I don’t know.” Jiang Nian stood up, his long legs stepping through the gap Li Hua had wiggled out of. “Probably something about the biology enrichment class.”

Teacher Qingbao was a typical responsible teacher; if she hadn’t looked for him this afternoon, she would eventually look for him to review the test papers.

Upon going out, he discovered it was Le Zhi, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Huh? You’re looking for me?”

The atmosphere was a bit subtle, like meeting an ex-girlfriend.

What a gay metaphor.

In fact, boys have a stronger sense of dullness. They can be more open about seasonal friendships, but meeting a friend you’ve fallen out with is indeed awkward.

The falling out between boys usually doesn’t have much of a process; it isn’t like girls, who have a process of trying to make up. It’s purely looking at each other with blank expressions.

The crack grows wider and wider until the mountain collapses, and then they treat each other like air. Even if they make up later, it’s impossible to be as close as they were before.

Most likely, there’s a thick barrier between them.

However, there really wasn’t anything to miss. Le Zhi hadn’t done anything excessive; they had just chosen different paths.

“Yeah, I have something to discuss with you.” Le Zhi was also a bit awkward; if he had a choice, he would rather pay for tutoring than come up to the fourth floor.

But tutoring couldn’t make him improve by eighty or ninety points in a month, not if he couldn’t score five hundred in the higher-level Six-City Joint Exam next month.

Yeah. Screw it, screw it, might as well just jump.

Right now, Le Zhi only had one thought in his mind: regret, just extreme regret! From now on, this shitty life would only have two stages.

Before cheating, and after cheating.

Maybe he could forget it in many years, but the recent humiliation would follow him for a year. He could almost start preparing to repeat the year; this shitty mentality was a direct sprint toward a private school.

Discuss? Hearing this word pop out of Le Zhi’s mouth, Jiang Nian couldn’t help but look confused.

“What’s up? You go ahead.”

He’d listen for a bit, but he didn’t guarantee he’d help, and even if he did, he wouldn’t necessarily give it his all. Anyway, remember, being brothers is in the heart; if you need anything, leave me a message in a drift bottle.

“Um, I scored 521 on this exam.” Le Zhi scratched his head. “You should understand…”

When he looked up, Jiang Nian was gone.

Le Zhi was stunned. He shifted his gaze up and found that Jiang Nian had already moved five meters away.

“Why did you run so far away?”

“Nothing, I suddenly remembered that the rice at home is still in the washing machine.” Jiang Nian scratched his head. “I’m heading off. If anything comes up, contact me via drift bottle.”

“No, you…” Le Zhi was dazed for a long time before he reacted. “I f***ing really scored 521, damn it, stop with these cheesy jokes!”

Hearing this, Jiang Nian slowly walked back and asked.

“Isn’t it pretty good to score over five hundred?”

“Good my ass. Do you think I…” Le Zhi lowered his voice. “I’m a slacker who usually scores around four hundred. Can I really score five hundred?”

“Huh? Didn’t you just score it?” Jiang Nian didn’t really want to bicker with him. He’d rather go back to the classroom and take a nap on his desk with that time.

Le Zhi hesitated for a moment. “I used some tech.”

“Impressive.”

Le Zhi: “??? No, I didn’t want you to praise me. Jiang Nian, Brother Nian, save me. If I can’t score five hundred next month, I’m doomed.”

“That’s simple. Just use more tech.” Jiang Nian said smoothly.

Pushing him back and forth like a ball; he was already taking on the shape of Teacher Qingbao’s non-stick pan.

“I can’t keep using it. I can’t go on like this forever.” Le Zhi said. “Can you help me? How can I raise my grades in one month?”

“Get some Doraemon memory bread.” Jiang Nian said.

“Brother, stop joking.” Le Zhi thought he was talking about cheating and sighed. “Just now at Evening Self-Study, I heard someone call me ‘Tech Bro’.”

Jiang Nian scratched his face, thought for a moment, and then spread his hands.

“There’s no good way.”

“Sigh, if I had known, I wouldn’t have joined that group to buy the test questions.” Le Zhi sighed.

“What group?” Jiang Nian glanced at him.

Le Zhi had come to ask Jiang Nian for help with sincerity. He knew Jiang Nian wasn’t the type who couldn’t keep a secret, so seeing that he was interested, he just spilled the beans.

Ring ring ring!! The third session of Evening Self-Study had begun, and people were returning to their classrooms from the hallway one after another.

After listening to Le Zhi’s account, Jiang Nian’s gaze gradually became distant.

Seeing that the people in the hallway were almost all gone, Le Zhi panicked a little. After all, this was the Olympiad Class floor; it would be awkward if he ran into a teacher and they asked questions.

“Um, I’ll go down first, and I’ll tell you on my phone.”

“I’ll go down with you; let’s talk as we walk.” Jiang Nian was no longer as indifferent as before. “About helping you raise your grades, we can discuss it further, but…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll send you a red envelope.” Le Zhi was quite savvy.

“I don’t want money; I want the account you used to buy the questions.” Jiang Nian said. “At most, I can only tell you how to catch up on your grades; I can’t teach you hand-in-hand.”

“Deal.” Le Zhi agreed readily.

Actually, he didn’t really want to stay with Jiang Nian for too long; it always felt quite awkward. Sigh, they used to be tight, but now they could never go back.

Thinking of this, he asked again.

“What do you want my account for? You aren’t going to report that group, are you? Don’t get me reported as well; if my dad finds out about this, I’m finished.”

“Hmm?” Jiang Nian glanced at Le Zhi while walking downstairs. “I don’t have that strong of a sense of justice. Such groups won’t last long; I don’t need to report them.”

“Then what is this for…”

“Oh, I think I have a friend who might have bought the same set of test questions as you.” Jiang Nian said. “Lend me the account; I won’t mess around.”

“What are you going to do with it? If you blackmail for over two thousand yuan, you’ll go to jail.” Le Zhi was quite familiar with reciting this, and who knows what his dad would think if he knew.

“Just chatting, it’s legal anyway.” Jiang Nian walked him to the door and, seeing they were about to part ways, said, “Decide for yourself, I don’t mind.”

After saying this, he turned and left.

Le Zhi stood at the classroom door, his expression looking slightly conflicted. If Jiang Nian wouldn’t help him, he’d only be able to find an extracurricular tutoring agency. Should he trust them or Jiang Nian?

As for that small group, even if things came to light, only the people selling the questions would suffer. There were so many buyers; they couldn’t possibly manage high school students from over a dozen counties.

To take a step back, if the case had to be traced from the handlers, the worst that could happen was kneeling before his own dad and admitting his mistake. As long as his grades went up, what did committing a small mistake matter?

The old man had always wanted him to get into a police academy or go to a decent university.

When Jiang Nian went up to the fourth floor, he happened to lock eyes with Zhou Yuting, who was coming up from the third floor. In the empty stairwell, the two didn’t look away.

Zhou Yuting’s face was no longer haggard; she held her head high with pride, like a little swan.

However, just as Jiang Nian’s figure was about to disappear into the stairs, he threw out a sentence.

“Idiot.”

Zhou Yuting immediately gritted her teeth and looked up angrily.

“You’re the one who…”

“Ahem.” Grade Group Leader Teacher Ji Ming was walking up from the second floor, clutching a mobile phone.

“Anyway, remember, if anything comes up, just shoot me a message in a drift bottle.”

“Who’s looking for you?” Li Hua asked, turning his head.

“I don’t know.” Jiang Nian stood up, his long legs stepping through the gap Li Hua had wiggled out of. “Probably something about the biology enrichment class.”

Teacher Qingbao was a typical responsible teacher; if she hadn’t looked for him this afternoon, she would eventually look for him to review the test papers.

Upon going out, he discovered it was Le Zhi, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Huh? You’re looking for me?”

The atmosphere was a bit subtle, like meeting an ex-girlfriend.

What a gay metaphor.

In fact, boys have a stronger sense of dullness. They can be more open about seasonal friendships, but meeting a friend you’ve fallen out with is indeed awkward.

The falling out between boys usually doesn’t have much of a process; it isn’t like girls, who have a process of trying to make up. It’s purely looking at each other with blank expressions.

The crack grows wider and wider until the mountain collapses, and then they treat each other like air. Even if they make up later, it’s impossible to be as close as they were before.

Most likely, there’s a thick barrier between them.

However, there really wasn’t anything to miss. Le Zhi hadn’t done anything excessive; they had just chosen different paths.

“Yeah, I have something to discuss with you.” Le Zhi was also a bit awkward; if he had a choice, he would rather pay for tutoring than come up to the fourth floor.

But tutoring couldn’t make him improve by eighty or ninety points in a month, not if he couldn’t score five hundred in the higher-level Six-City Joint Exam next month.

Yeah. Screw it, screw it, might as well just jump.

Right now, Le Zhi only had one thought in his mind: regret, just extreme regret! From now on, this shitty life would only have two stages.

Before cheating, and after cheating.

Maybe he could forget it in many years, but the recent humiliation would follow him for a year. He could almost start preparing to repeat the year; this shitty mentality was a direct sprint toward a private school.

Discuss? Hearing this word pop out of Le Zhi’s mouth, Jiang Nian couldn’t help but look confused.

“What’s up? You go ahead.”

He’d listen for a bit, but he didn’t guarantee he’d help, and even if he did, he wouldn’t necessarily give it his all. Anyway, remember, being brothers is in the heart; if you need anything, leave me a message in a drift bottle.

“Um, I scored 521 on this exam.” Le Zhi scratched his head. “You should understand…”

When he looked up, Jiang Nian was gone.

Le Zhi was stunned. He shifted his gaze up and found that Jiang Nian had already moved five meters away.

“Why did you run so far away?”

“Nothing, I suddenly remembered that the rice at home is still in the washing machine.” Jiang Nian scratched his head. “I’m heading off. If anything comes up, contact me via drift bottle.”

“No, you…” Le Zhi was dazed for a long time before he reacted. “I f***ing really scored 521, damn it, stop with these cheesy jokes!”

Hearing this, Jiang Nian slowly walked back and asked.

“Isn’t it pretty good to score over five hundred?”

“Good my ass. Do you think I…” Le Zhi lowered his voice. “I’m a slacker who usually scores around four hundred. Can I really score five hundred?”

“Huh? Didn’t you just score it?” Jiang Nian didn’t really want to bicker with him. He’d rather go back to the classroom and take a nap on his desk with that time.

Le Zhi hesitated for a moment. “I used some tech.”

“Impressive.”

Le Zhi: “??? No, I didn’t want you to praise me. Jiang Nian, Brother Nian, save me. If I can’t score five hundred next month, I’m doomed.”

“That’s simple. Just use more tech.” Jiang Nian said smoothly.

Pushing him back and forth like a ball; he was already taking on the shape of Teacher Qingbao’s non-stick pan.

“I can’t keep using it. I can’t go on like this forever.” Le Zhi said. “Can you help me? How can I raise my grades in one month?”

“Get some Doraemon memory bread.” Jiang Nian said.

“Brother, stop joking.” Le Zhi thought he was talking about cheating and sighed. “Just now at Evening Self-Study, I heard someone call me ‘Tech Bro’.”

Jiang Nian scratched his face, thought for a moment, and then spread his hands.

“There’s no good way.”

“Sigh, if I had known, I wouldn’t have joined that group to buy the test questions.” Le Zhi sighed.

“What group?” Jiang Nian glanced at him.

Le Zhi had come to ask Jiang Nian for help with sincerity. He knew Jiang Nian wasn’t the type who couldn’t keep a secret, so seeing that he was interested, he just spilled the beans.

Ring ring ring!! The third session of Evening Self-Study had begun, and people were returning to their classrooms from the hallway one after another.

After listening to Le Zhi’s account, Jiang Nian’s gaze gradually became distant.

Seeing that the people in the hallway were almost all gone, Le Zhi panicked a little. After all, this was the Olympiad Class floor; it would be awkward if he ran into a teacher and they asked questions.

“Um, I’ll go down first, and I’ll tell you on my phone.”

“I’ll go down with you; let’s talk as we walk.” Jiang Nian was no longer as indifferent as before. “About helping you raise your grades, we can discuss it further, but…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll send you a red envelope.” Le Zhi was quite savvy.

“I don’t want money; I want the account you used to buy the questions.” Jiang Nian said. “At most, I can only tell you how to catch up on your grades; I can’t teach you hand-in-hand.”

“Deal.” Le Zhi agreed readily.

Actually, he didn’t really want to stay with Jiang Nian for too long; it always felt quite awkward. Sigh, they used to be tight, but now they could never go back.

Thinking of this, he asked again.

“What do you want my account for? You aren’t going to report that group, are you? Don’t get me reported as well; if my dad finds out about this, I’m finished.”

“Hmm?” Jiang Nian glanced at Le Zhi while walking downstairs. “I don’t have that strong of a sense of justice. Such groups won’t last long; I don’t need to report them.”

“Then what is this for…”

“Oh, I think I have a friend who might have bought the same set of test questions as you.” Jiang Nian said. “Lend me the account; I won’t mess around.”

“What are you going to do with it? If you blackmail for over two thousand yuan, you’ll go to jail.” Le Zhi was quite familiar with reciting this, and who knows what his dad would think if he knew.

“Just chatting, it’s legal anyway.” Jiang Nian walked him to the door and, seeing they were about to part ways, said, “Decide for yourself, I don’t mind.”

After saying this, he turned and left.

Le Zhi stood at the classroom door, his expression looking slightly conflicted. If Jiang Nian wouldn’t help him, he’d only be able to find an extracurricular tutoring agency. Should he trust them or Jiang Nian?

As for that small group, even if things came to light, only the people selling the questions would suffer. There were so many buyers; they couldn’t possibly manage high school students from over a dozen counties.

To take a step back, if the case had to be traced from the handlers, the worst that could happen was kneeling before his own dad and admitting his mistake. As long as his grades went up, what did committing a small mistake matter?

The old man had always wanted him to get into a police academy or go to a decent university.

When Jiang Nian went up to the fourth floor, he happened to lock eyes with Zhou Yuting, who was coming up from the third floor. In the empty stairwell, the two didn’t look away.

Zhou Yuting’s face was no longer haggard; she held her head high with pride, like a little swan.

However, just as Jiang Nian’s figure was about to disappear into the stairs, he threw out a sentence.

“Idiot.”

Zhou Yuting immediately gritted her teeth and looked up angrily.

“You’re the one who…”

“Ahem.” Grade Group Leader Teacher Ji Ming was walking up from the second floor, clutching a mobile phone.