Chapter 306 We can’t ask for a bride price, can we?

At half past eleven, Jiang Nian was still writing diligently at his desk.

His phone was playing music on the table, with the screen set to never turn off.

The phone buzzed with a notification, and he glanced at it once, then a second time.

He hesitated for two seconds, then tapped to open the image and zoom in.

Is this what a horse-face skirt looks like?

To be honest, this skirt wasn’t that appealing. He only looked at it back and forth more than twenty times, zooming in on every corner.

The lower part was a black skirt with gold trim along the pleats. The upper part was a white Chinese-style shirt with frog buttons, and together they exuded a sense of cool detachment.

It wasn’t particularly antique or as beautiful as a maiden stepping out of a painting.

After all, the clothes were clearly a modern adaptation and didn’t look brand new. Jiang Nian even suspected they might be custom-made because they fit so perfectly.

Traditional clothing also needs to be demystified; not everyone is suited to wear it.

Generally speaking, slender people look good in it quickly.

This means that slender people wearing traditional clothing, with a regular physique, have better adaptability. For example, when wearing a horse-face skirt, the buttocks won’t bulge out awkwardly.

This is commonly known as ‘pleat explosion.’

For example, if someone with a pear-shaped figure like Yu Zhiyue were to wear traditional Chinese clothing, it would only bulge out both front and back, appearing bulky and heavy.

Li Qingrong was clearly not a traditional ‘thin’ person either; she was the type who looked thin in clothes but… He didn’t know about that, but she clearly had a good figure.

But in the photo she sent, her upper body didn’t look bulky, and her lower body didn’t have ‘pleat explosion.’ This outfit was most likely custom-made.

Darn, what kind of family is this?

Jiang Nian thought of his VIP treatment at the driving school, the video check-ins for Subject One, and how the coach handled all the subsequent Subject Two practice.

Forget it, forget it, he’d bow down to the big boss first.

A few minutes later, there was no more activity from Li Qingrong. It was as if she didn’t plan to send any more messages after that one, or perhaps she didn’t know what to send.

Jiang Nian finished looking carefully and replied.

“Very beautiful.”

Silence, Li Qingrong replied almost instantly.

“Mm. (Smile)”

In his room, Jiang Nian looked at the smiling emoji on his phone screen, a hint of confusion appearing on his face.

“Is the class monitor being sarcastic with me?”

“That shouldn’t be the case.”

So, it was just a simple smile.

Jiang Nian smiled, saw that the chat had stopped, and waited a while longer. Feeling that no more messages would come, he buried himself back into his biology test paper.

Beauty is precious, but knowledge is more valuable. Six hundred points is not worse than five hundred points.

What’s wrong with six hundred points? If pushed, I’ll still aim for it.

What’s wrong with Tsinghua University!

He couldn’t get into that one. Forget being pushed, he couldn’t get in even if he died.

Being pushed isn’t being crazy; he could still distinguish between the two.

Under the small desk lamp, the pen tip rustled across the test paper.

Jiang Nian’s brows were serious, his gaze sweeping over every line of text on the paper. Each time he completed a question, he could find the corresponding knowledge network diagram in his mind.

He could instinctively apply what he learned, gradually gaining a sense of fulfillment.

Just like that, time flowed by unknowingly.

The phone vibrated with a ding.

Jiang Nian was writing the sixth test paper and was starting to feel overwhelmed. He thought it was a message from Chen Yunyun, so he casually opened his phone. To his surprise, the message was from Xu Qianqian, a selfie of her and Song Xiyun in front of a full-length mirror.

“【Image】 How is it? Will it look strange?”

Jiang Nian replied,

“(Thumbs up) It could be a wallpaper.”

Across the hall.

After washing up, Xu Qianqian and Song Xiyun were lying on their beds playing with their phones.

The two girls were very close, easily able to see each other’s phone screens. When Xu Qianqian sent the message, Song Xiyun was playing a game.

She liked playing MOBA games, but her phone couldn’t handle them.

So she had to settle for playing match-three games. Those games would flash with colorful ‘bangs’ when items were cleared, serving as a decent way to pass the time.

She turned her head and saw Xu Qianqian sending the photo, and suddenly felt it was strange.

The photo was a selfie of the two of them, and actually didn’t reveal much. On the contrary, it was a perfectly normal photo, at most showing a bit of their lower legs.

Just as Song Xiyun was not paying attention, she happened to see Jiang Nian’s reply. She was stunned, turned to look at Xu Qianqian, and Xu Qianqian was also looking at her.

The two girls couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Hypocrite.”

“I think so too.”

Jiang Nian, who was labeled a ‘hypocrite,’ was still doing questions diligently under the moon and stars.

The moon was hidden, the night deep, and a thin mist settled.

The next day.

Jiang Nian groggily woke up from bed, his memory still lingering on writing questions at his desk.

He didn’t remember how he got into bed last night; perhaps his body, out of habit, unconsciously climbed into bed, pulled the quilt over his chest, and fell asleep.

His head felt a bit heavy, and he struggled to get up and wash.

He didn’t use his once-a-day healing skill because the coming-of-age ceremony was in the morning. He could rest if he got tired in the morning, but in the afternoon, he still had regular classes. With nearly two hundred days until the college entrance exam, what if he relaxed for one day?

He would die from overwork.

Basketball players rely on muscle memory for shooting, and the college entrance exam is the same. If you stop training after a joint exam, the next joint exam will teach you a lesson.

The System had completed his foundation, so scoring five hundred points was not difficult. For scores around six hundred, relying solely on textbook knowledge points was useless. He needed to repeatedly memorize various problem-solving methods, integrate them, until they became muscle memory.

The System didn’t give him a second piece of bread, but he felt he could achieve it on his own.

The feedback from frequent practice gave him the confidence of being well-prepared.

Jiang Nian gargled and spat out his mouthwash, then clinked his toothbrush into the cup. He never used a cup to brush his teeth, simply cupping water with his hands to finish.

The sky outside the bathroom window was just beginning to lighten. He splashed cold water on his face and prepared to leave.

In the living room, Li Hongmei, still sleepy, called out to him.

“Isn’t your coming-of-age ceremony today?”

Hearing this, Jiang Nian, who was carrying his bag, looked a bit surprised.

“Mom, you know about this?”

“What do you mean? I saw it in the parents’ group.” Li Hongmei pointed at him, hesitating, “You’re going so early, will the classroom be open?”

Jiang Nian thought of Huang Fang and nodded.

“It will be.”

“Go on, go on.” Li Hongmei thought for a moment and asked, “Do you still have money?”

“Are you short on money?” Jiang Nian asked, surprised.

Hearing this, Li Hongmei’s face immediately fell. Giving him money used to be like throwing it into the water. Now she wanted to give him money, but it seemed there was no opportunity.

“I’m asking if you need any.”

Jiang Nian perhaps felt that he had seemingly prematurely deprived his parents of their worries, and also deprived them of the joy of giving him money, which was probably similar to owning a pet.

Suddenly one day, you discover your cat can earn its own cat food. It even started live streaming and earned more than you, taking care of everything.

The only downside was that the cat was going to leave for a foreign land.

“No need, I have plenty of money. I’ll tell you if I need more.” Jiang Nian didn’t completely close the door. “By the way, a few packages will be delivered today.”

Li Hongmei was startled, “What did you buy again?”

“For you all, some winter clothes and shoes.” Jiang Nian didn’t waste words, finished speaking, and slipped out the door. “I’m off to school.”

In the living room, only Li Hongmei was left standing in place.

She frowned slightly; to be honest, she was a bit anxious. The pig that had been free-range for many years was prematurely fattened before it was even ready for market, and it would never run wildly across the mountains again.

One day, she would become a left-behind elder, lamenting, ‘Here remains only the Yellow Crane Tower.’

Li Hongmei thought for a moment, then went into the room and woke up Old Jiang.

“Still sleeping? Your son bought you things again. How can you sleep!”

Old Jiang, still groggy, looked at his wife, who had weekends off.

“Wasn’t I sleeping?”

After Li Hongmei’s explanation, Old Jiang was even more confused.

“Isn’t this a good thing?”

“Good thing, my foot!” Li Hongmei couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong, but she just wasn’t used to it. “You say he’s so diligent, is it because of Qian…”

Old Jiang propped himself up from the bed, put on his glasses, and pondered for a moment.

“Then Old Xu shouldn’t ask us for a bride price, right?”

With a smack, Li Hongmei slapped Father Jiang’s arm.

“Is that all you can think of!”

Old Jiang chuckled, “I’m just joking. I’ve always thought Old Xu living so awkwardly isn’t a solution. He doesn’t remarry and doesn’t really take care of Qianqian.”

“You know, if we really gave him a grandson or granddaughter, wouldn’t it be great for our two families to raise them together?”

Hearing this, Li Hongmei was a little tempted.

“Is that kid reliable?”

“I don’t know, but their relationship seems pretty good lately.” Father Jiang rubbed his head, “If it really doesn’t work out, you’re free today, why not go to school and take a look?”

“Look at what? What would Qianqian think?” Li Hongmei refused without thinking. “I’ll watch them both together once they confirm their relationship.”

“After the change of address, she’ll at least have a mother, right?”

Father Jiang didn’t persuade her either. They didn’t have that many parenting philosophies. Like most families, they relied entirely on the children’s self-awareness, at most serving as role models.

As for why they didn’t focus on parent-child education?

Why don’t they eat meat?

When Jiang Nian left, he saw Xu Qianqian’s and Song Xiyun’s shoes on the shoe rack.

He calmly went downstairs with his bag, heading to the classroom early as usual.

The front door of Class Three was locked, but the back door was open.

Huang Fang, wearing her school uniform, was sitting in the classroom reading. She seemed indifferent to the ‘coming-of-age ceremony.’ In fact, it was also because she had no choice.

Jiang Nian also didn’t feel much about the coming-of-age ceremony; it was mainly just to feast his eyes. But he had more choices; he could passively participate and look at the girls.

“Morning, Fangfang.”

“Morning.” Huang Fang didn’t even lift her head; she was doing her homework.

“Did you open the door?”

“Yes, I got the back door key from Chai Muying last night.” Huang Fang was still doing questions, then suddenly paused. “Why are you here so early?”

Her tone was slightly surprised, and she looked up.

“Today doesn’t start until nine o’clock…”

“Ding ding ding, of course, it’s because I have test papers I haven’t finished writing.” Jiang Nian sat down, too lazy to get hot water now; he could do it at eight o’clock.

“Oh, I see.” Huang Fang turned back. After a while, her muffled voice came, “Jiang Nian, you’re so diligent.”

“Next time, just praise me for being handsome; that feature is more obvious,” Jiang Nian said.

Huang Fang smiled, then buried her head and wrote more diligently.

One group, no two ‘exam kings’ allowed!

The classroom instantly fell silent, the lights bright, with only the rustling sound of the two of them writing.

The sky gradually brightened.