Chapter 234 Not Sitting at the Same Table as Low-Scoring Guys

Jiang Nian was standing in line at the teaching building’s cafeteria and didn’t see Xu Qianqian and her friends.

When he turned his head, he did see people from his class.

“Hey, you, let me cut in line.”

“Get lost!” Yu Zhiyi, who was queuing diagonally opposite Jiang Nian, crossed her arms. “You’re the one who’s annoying. I’ve seen through you; you just love to criticize people.”

“Tch.” Jiang Nian didn’t care and continued to play on his phone.

He actually…

Never mind, no explanation needed. Anyway, no one asked.

Pure color.

I don’t like you as a person, but being lewd is innocent.

Even in fire, water, grass, and forest, in earth, white clouds, or that girl’s skirt. I forgot the rest, but it’s basically about loving Poké Balls.

After getting his food, Jiang Nian put away his phone and started looking for a seat.

The cafeteria was a scorching battlefield, packed with people. A glance revealed nothing but first-year brats. These little rascals weren’t active in class, but they were champions at grabbing food.

Grabbing food wasn’t a big deal, after all, the early bird gets the worm. Natural selection is also a law of nature, but… using books to reserve seats was simply too much.

Some people dawdled, getting their food, then buying a drink or getting seaweed soup before sitting down. Half the cafeteria seats were empty, but the aisles were full of people looking for a spot.

Jiang Nian was fed up, but he could only keep searching for a seat.

“Sit here with me?”

A clear voice appeared, but Jiang Nian ignored it.

Damn it, standing too long was making him hallucinate.

A cafeteria girl, right?

“Damn, why isn’t there even a single seat?” Jiang Nian’s gaze kept scanning as he muttered, “If this continues, I’ll have to sneak out of the cafeteria with my tray to eat.”

Not everyone was willing to endure the pig-feeding-like dining environment of the cafeteria. Some ruthless individuals would take their food to a shady spot on the basketball court to eat.

The North District dormitory cafeteria even had a Genius, who would carry their tray up to the dorm to eat.

As for how to dispose of the tray, that was entirely up to one’s conscience. Some returned their chopsticks and plates after eating, while others simply threw them in the trash, getting their tuition fee’s worth.

Jiang Nian found going out too troublesome and couldn’t get past that mental hurdle.

After all, throwing away a tray could be considered one of the top ten ruthless acts on campus, comparable to the top 3 ruthless acts: indescribable acts on the rooftop, and ignoring risks with a girlfriend in the classroom.

Compared to that, it was better to just eat in the cafeteria.

“Is my voice very soft?”

The crisp voice rang out again, and she even tugged at his jacket.

Jiang Nian realized it wasn’t a hallucination and looked down.

It was a girl wearing a first-year school uniform. Although the blue and black uniform was loose and baggy, a closer look revealed her slender figure.

He looked down from above and saw the girl’s fair neck. She had a school-standard ponytail, delicate features, and very fair skin – definitely a pretty first-year girl.

Staring any longer would be impolite, old third-year.

“Oh~ you called me?” Jiang Nian snapped out of it, his gaze leaving the girl.

He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, how fresh she was.

He used to be a fresh-faced first-year too, full of longing for high school life. But two years passed, everything changed, and in a blink, he became an old stick-in-the-mud.

After watching, he was very moved, his body felt warm.

“Senior, you can sit next to me.” The girl’s small face lifted, her eyes clean and clear. “Hurry up, or the seat will be gone.”

She even used a little bit of subtle coercion, and to be honest, it worked a little.

Jiang Nian panicked and immediately sat down.

In the crowded and noisy cafeteria, the two were now sitting side-by-side. Their arms were pressed tightly together, and it was a bit cramped. More importantly, they were complete strangers.

“Thank you, Senior—”

He stopped halfway. In small towns, there weren’t really such Advanced titles as’Senior’. Those were for city people; country bumpkins usually just called each other by name.

“—a student who studies very well.”

The girl turned her head in disbelief. To be honest, her wrist holding the chopsticks was also quite pale. With her sleeves rolled up, her arm was incredibly fair.

Was she a bat, active only at night since childhood?

Her large eyes showed a shocked expression, which then turned to confusion.

“Senior, how do you know I study very well?”

Currently, her name was unknown.

But that didn’t stop Jiang Nian from socializing. Anyway, it was all just talking.

“Of course, I can tell by your demeanor. You look like the kind of girl who often goes on stage to receive awards after exams.”

“You’re exaggerating, Senior.” The girl chuckled and explained, “I actually only score around 700, occasionally over 800.”

“That’s pretty average, then,” Jiang Nian said.

The total score for first-year was 1050. Excellent meant getting 80% of the points, requiring over 840 points, which would translate to over 600 points in a third-year exam.

Her level was at best a mid-tier student, translating to about 525 to 578 in a third-year exam.

And Jiang Nian scored 590, which rounded up to 600. Translated to a first-year score, that was 826, clearly a good bit higher than her.

Upon hearing this, the girl almost choked on her saliva, encountering someone with low emotional intelligence. She was clearly a bit unconvinced, unconsciously bit her lower lip, and struggled to say something.

“Actually, it’s not bad; I’m first in our class.”

“In a parallel class, right?” The annoying guy started to exert himself.

“Senior, you…” The girl felt like spitting blood, but still tentatively asked, “Are you from the Olympiad class?”

Jiang Nian reined himself in, not letting the conversation continue.

“Don’t call me Senior anymore. I have a name, not Chu, just call me Xiao Jiang.”

The girl was stunned, thinking, is it really okay to call him that?

Xiao… Jiang?

“It doesn’t sound right to call you that, does it? It makes me sound like I’m already in high school… no.” The girl pursed her lips. “It sounds like I’m already working, too old.”

“Then how about ‘Uncle’? Uncle, I…”

“It makes Jiang you sound too old.” “Old ginger is spicier, very reasonable.”

“Senior Jiang, homophones cost money!” The girl giggled, her eyes curving into crescents. “My name is Lin Yuxi, the ‘Yu’ from ‘Jiang Bi Niao Yu Bai’ (The green river makes the birds whiter).”

“Oh, oh, thank you for letting me sit. No, anyway, thank you for the seat.” Jiang Nian said sincerely, “Otherwise, I might still be standing in the aisle right now.”

“Of course, there’s nothing wrong with eating while standing either.”

From the moment Lin Yuxi started chatting with Jiang Nian, she couldn’t stop laughing. From the time Jiang Nian sat down until now, she hadn’t eaten a single bite of food.

“Senior, aren’t you curious why I saved a seat for you?”

“A warm-hearted group member.”

“That’s not it at all. I saw you playing basketball yesterday, Senior.” Lin Yuxi giggled, not hiding her joy at all. “So amazing, so handsome.”

Jiang Nian’s eating movements stopped. He turned to look at Lin Yuxi, his eyes gradually filling with confusion.

“I wasn’t here yesterday; I took a leave of absence.”

Lin Yuxi’s eyes widened, and she let out an “Ah.”

“How could that be?”

“So you’ve mistaken me for someone else. I have a cousin who’s the same age as me.” Jiang Nian didn’t want to get involved with a stalker. “In fact, he looks very much like me—”

Lin Yuxi clutched her blue meal card tightly, a little displeased.

“Don’t pretend, Senior! I know it’s you!…Xiao Jiang.”

Jiang Nian glanced at her, unmoved.

“I’m Old Jiang.”

Lin Yuxi was a little breathless. In just a few minutes, her filter of Jiang Nian as a youth idol had shattered. He was such a good person, so why was his mouth so sharp?

Never mind, as long as he looked good.

Thinking of the half-court shot from yesterday, Lin Yuxi’s heart fluttered. Standing with her Young Miss friends at the time, she couldn’t help but shriek out loud.

So… so handsome.

It’s just that for some reason, the Senior kept vehemently denying it, looking like he didn’t want to admit it.

Could it be… he disdained fame and fortune?

Hehe, I like him even more.

Good-looking, skilled at basketball, from the Olympiad class, humble, and his conversation… well, at least he’s a person, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, he must have very few unwanted admirers!

Doesn’t she have a chance?

She knew her advantage. Who doesn’t like someone fresh?

She’d win in a second.

“Senior, can we be friends?” Lin Yuxi bit her lower lip, looking pitiful. “I’m very curious about third-year and want to ask you some questions.”

Jiang Nian was busy eating. After a moment of contemplation, he smiled.

“No, it’s not score discrimination, but I don’t make friends with people below 800 points.”

Lin Yuxi couldn’t maintain her composure. This wasn’t score discrimination?

So he wouldn’t share a table with low-scoring individuals, right!

“Senior, can we add each other on QQ?”

“Can you score 840?”

Lin Yuxi: “…”

On the other side, in the dormitory cafeteria, people were bustling.

Zeng You was eating while reading a novel, completely engrossed.

He had finished reading “Immortal” and his mind was filled with nothing but killing and kneeling like a dog. Now he had switched to a more lighthearted book to clear his head, starting “Ice and Fire Chef.”

It was simply like Qin Shi Huang on a swing, unbelievably grand.

The Peak of traditional kung fu, Tai Chi Eight Desolations.

Wu Jungu, sitting opposite him, frowned, seemingly pondering something.

After hesitating for a while, he suddenly looked up and asked,

“Zeng You, want to attend a banquet?”

“Cough, cough!!” Zeng You almost choked on his food, suppressing the urge to spit it out. He slapped his chest twice before he could catch his breath. “What did you say?”

Seeing this, Wu Jungu realized the other party had misunderstood.

“My cousin got married. The banquet is tomorrow at the Chuyun Grand Hotel. My aunt asked me to go eat, and I’d feel a bit awkward going alone, so I wanted to find a companion to go with.”

Upon hearing this, Zeng You finally understood.

A real banquet, huh.

The Chuyun Grand Hotel was located between Zhennan Avenue and the river, not far from the school. Although called a grand hotel, it was actually a small restaurant.

But no matter what, in this small county, it was considered a unique establishment in terms of grandeur.

Moreover, it was well known that wedding banquet dishes were usually top-notch. Whatever was expensive was served: soft-shelled turtle, pork hock, lobster, beef, chicken, duck, fish, and steamed pork with taro, not a single item missing.

Gulp, he simply couldn’t refuse.

Even so, Zeng You still hesitated for a moment.

“Do I need to give a gift?”

“Give a fart.”

Thud!

Yang Qiming placed the cola on the table and let out an “Ah~.”

“My mom has already sent the gift through someone. If they ask, just say we’re brothers. It’s a distant relative’s wedding; how would they know how many sons my mom has? Besides, they won’t ask.”

Yang Qiming picked up his chopsticks. Seeing Huang Cailang hesitate, he added,

“I don’t want to go alone. If you don’t go, I won’t either.”

Upon hearing this, Huang Cailang was stunned.

“How can that be!”

The thought of soft-shelled turtle, pork hock, lobster, and steamed pork with taro all leaving him made him feel like dying. If he wasn’t afraid of death, why would he be afraid of taking a little risk?

“Oh? Going?” Yang Qiming asked.

“Going!”