Chapter 335 The Hero Isn’t Me, It’s You

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Nian asked.

Zhang Ningzhi shook her head, “Nothing.”

After morning reading ended, the class slumped over their desks.

Jiang Nian also wanted to rest for a while, but his arm was poked. He turned his head and saw Zhang Ningzhi handing him a bookmark.

The bookmark was entirely crimson, with golden runic patterns and the character ‘Pass’ (guò – pass) at the top.

In the blank, platinum-colored area in the middle, three elegant small characters were written with a black pen: “Subject One.”

Jiang Nian accepted it, thought for a moment, and said,

“Thanks. I’m not entirely confident myself, actually. With this, I can pray to heaven for blessings; maybe I’ll guess correctly.”

Li Hua had already fallen asleep, but hearing this, he couldn’t help but laugh. He immediately sat up from his desk and asked with a puzzled expression,

“Isn’t Subject One easy?”

“I have a relative who took it after the college entrance exam. He said he just studied for a few hours before the test, did some practice questions, and then took the exam, passing with a perfect score.”

Hearing this, Zhang Ningzhi felt a bit embarrassed.

It had already been given out; she couldn’t take it back now.

“Oh, impressive.” Jiang Nian casually slipped the bookmark into his pocket. “So, the question is, did he have a bookmark?”

Li Hua was stunned. His relative was indeed highly intelligent, but he liked to show off and had several relationships that ended because of it.

He was speechless. Indeed, saying such things, apart from showing off, was useless.

The first two periods in the morning were consecutive Chinese classes. Jiang Nian left after the first class.

He walked out of the school gate with his leave slip. The security guard glanced at it, took the slip, and then waved his hand, signaling that he could go.

After leaving the school, Jiang Nian saw Coach Tian Yongsheng’s car by the roadside.

With a honk, Old Tian poked his head out of the car window, enthusiastically waving at him and shouting loudly,

“Boss, over here!”

Jiang Nian was already used to being called ‘Boss,’ so he directly went around to the passenger seat and got in.

With a thud, the car door closed.

Old Tian had already greeted the people at the vehicle management office. Perhaps some might wonder why greetings were needed for Subject One.

It was for speed, so he wouldn’t have to wait endlessly.

Jiang Nian arrived at the vehicle management office and, within minutes, received a red vest and entered the waiting room. Ten minutes later, he officially entered the examination hall.

Old Tian, meanwhile, chatted with staff outside. Not long after, a staff member looked up and said,

“Score qualified, he passed.”

Hearing this, Tian Yongsheng was also a bit surprised.

“He passed that quickly? Young people just have quick minds.”

He squinted his eyes, recalling his youth. He stopped reminiscing when he realized he hadn’t attended high school.

“It’s good to study…”

Thinking of this, he suddenly had an idea and asked a nearby staff member,

“I saw a topic on Douyin: if you could go back to high school, would you choose seven million or seven hundred points?”

The staff member looked up from the computer screen, startled by the question.

“Of course, seven million.”

“Why?”

“How would you give me seven hundred points? Seven million is simple.”

The car stopped at the school gate.

As Jiang Nian got out, he checked his phone; the third period hadn’t ended yet.

He thought for a moment and walked into a nearby accessories shop. He bought a snow-white bear hair clip with an unusually high price, paid, and then left.

After playing with it for a while, he put it in his pocket before entering the school gate.

A hair clip for a bookmark, a fair exchange.

During the ten-minute break of the third class, Jiang Nian appeared in the classroom as if he had just returned from the restroom.

In fact, he had taken the entire morning off, but he was still happy to come back to class.

“Did you pass?” Zhang Ningzhi asked curiously, looking slightly nervous, as she had given him a blessed bookmark.

“Mhm.” Jiang Nian reached into Zhang Ningzhi’s shirt pocket. “My hands are a bit cold; let me warm them in your pocket.”

“No way!” Zhang Ningzhi slapped his hand away.

Just then, the bell rang.

People who had been sunbathing in the corridor outside trickled back into the classroom. In the sunlight at the doorway, dust motes could be seen dancing in the air.

When Li Hua saw Jiang Nian, his eyes widened, and he looked incredibly surprised.

“Bro, you took leave and still came back to class?”

“What do you mean?” Jiang Nian raised an eyebrow.

“I was just chatting with Yao Beibei. She said you probably went for a massage after the exam.” Li Hua shook his head, marveling.

“Massage my ass.” Jiang Nian casually retorted.

Li Hua paused slightly, “That service of yours must be quite expensive, right?”

“Scram, scram, scram.”

Halfway through the fourth class, Zhang Ningzhi subconsciously wrote with her right hand. Her left hand was in her pocket, seeking warmth, and when she reached in, she froze.

Something hard and cold.

She remembered her habit of putting her hands in her pockets during class, and her left pocket was definitely empty.

She pulled it out to see a snow-white bear hair clip. It was so new it couldn’t be newer, clearly just unwrapped.

Zhang Ningzhi turned to look at Jiang Nian, giving him a quick glance before looking away.

She pursed her lips, feeling a little guilty. One who accepts gifts is soft-mouthed and short-handed; thus, she couldn’t be angry. She felt like she had lost out.

After school.

Jiang Nian didn’t go to eat, already mentally prepared to eat leftover cafeteria food.

The joint exam, it turned people into ghosts!

But he did urgently need a victory to boost morale at this crucial juncture; anyway, it was rather complicated to explain.

Because… Chinese New Year was approaching.

As long as he maintained above six hundred points before the New Year, the Jiang family could have a good year. His parents could also hold their heads high and make humble remarks at banquets.

However, looking at his goal of 110 for Chinese, he couldn’t help but be lost in thought.

Maybe lower it a bit, 100 would be fine.

After all, how many points he got in Chinese wasn’t up to him; just finding a direction to improve his Chinese score was enough to keep him studying for half a day.

Before lunch break, Chen Yunyun and Wang Yuhe arrived in the classroom together.

“Jiang Nian!” Wang Yuhe excitedly walked over, teasing, “I’m a bullseye thrower now, can you do that?”

“Awesome, you’re amazing.” Jiang Nian didn’t compete.

He reached out, grabbed Chen Yunyun from behind Wang Yuhe, and pulled her over.

“Do you know this problem?”

Chen Yunyun didn’t resist and casually glanced at the test paper. Her hair fell from her shoulders, and she slowly hummed in understanding.

“I’ve done this problem before, but on a different paper.”

“Please, sit.” Jiang Nian offered his seat.

“First, find the derivative…”

Wang Yuhe, who had been ignored, was stunned. She looked slightly displeased and huffily ran to the back of the classroom to play ‘pitch-pot.’

After explaining the problem, Chen Yunyun paused.

“Did you pass Subject One?”

Although they often chatted online, they were in their third year of high school. They saw each other every day, so some topics they chose to discuss in person.

“Yes, I passed. I should be able to take Subject Two around mid-next month.”

“Don’t you need to practice driving?” Chen Yunyun was surprised.

“I’ve finished practicing.”

“Weren’t you practicing Subject One? That’s just doing questions.” Chen Yunyun became increasingly confused. She had clearly looked it up on Baidu.

Were the two of them talking about the same thing?

“I finished learning Subject Two last week, and today I even took it out for a spin.” Jiang Nian thought for a moment and said directly,

“You could say I know how to drive, but I haven’t taken the test yet. I should get my driver’s license by the end of next month.”

Chen Yunyun was startled, blinking her eyes.

“Still, that’s not right. Don’t they require a certain amount of study time?”

Hearing this, Jiang Nian waved his hand vaguely.

“Don’t ask about that. There will be a way. Once I get my driver’s license, I’ll take you for a drive during the New Year.”

Chen Yunyun’s eyes curved, revealing a smile.

“Alright.”

After saying that, she added,

“What if you go back on your word?”

“You said ‘what if,’ so don’t doubt it; believe it first.” Jiang Nian didn’t commit fully, leaving some room for maneuver.

“Hmph, then what you said is no different from not saying anything!” Chen Yunyun was a bit speechless.

“How can it be the same as not saying anything? New Year… won’t you have to stay home?” Jiang Nian defended himself.

“I can go to the county town.” Chen Yunyun rolled her eyes at him. “If you don’t look for me, I’ll go traveling with Yuhe.”

“Traveling? Where would you go during the New Year?”

“Alright, I get it.” Jiang Nian quickly interrupted. “How come your lives are all so colorful?”

As lunch break approached, there were few people in the classroom.

The two chatted by the podium; as long as they spoke softly, no one would hear them.

Chen Yunyun’s lips curved, and she said casually,

“What’s so special about that? You can come too.”

“A threesome?” Jiang Nian said.

The answer was too explosive.

At that moment, Chen Yunyun’s face flushed from his unrestrained words. She couldn’t hold back and playfully slapped him.

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“No, I didn’t mean it that way.” Jiang Nian coughed. “Uh, I need to find someone to split the room fee with.”

It wouldn’t be very polite for a guy to stay in a single room alone, right?

Would it be okay to find a guy?

No.

Chen Yunyun looked at him meaningfully, pursing her lips.

“You’d better not speak.”

“Hmph.” Jiang Nian stopped the topic and asked again, “Let’s not talk about that far ahead. Will there be a holiday next month?”

“I don’t know, I heard others say there might be…” Chen Yunyun replied.

The two chatted for a while longer. Chen Yunyun checked the time. Even though she still wanted to talk, she stood up, preparing to leave.

Her homework wasn’t done yet; if she didn’t do it at noon, she wouldn’t finish it by night.

Before leaving, she suddenly asked Jiang Nian,

“Hey, are you going to eat at the dormitory cafeteria this afternoon?”

Jiang Nian lowered his gaze, thinking for a few seconds.

He had a small matter in the evening, and if he went to the dormitory cafeteria for lunch in the afternoon, going back and forth, the time clearly wouldn’t be enough.

After some thought, he still declined.

The afternoon passed quickly.

Zhou Yuting’s mood was relatively more anxious. After school, she was restless and had no appetite to eat.

The leave had already been approved.

She often did this before. Although Old Liu was difficult to deal with, he eventually said, “Be safe,” and approved the leave.

She had also made arrangements with the person.

However, two months had passed, and everything had changed.

After being promoted to the new class, Zhou Yuting had already half-given up on Liu Feipeng. He had tried to chat with her multiple times, but she had always used studying as an excuse to fend him off.

Deep down, even if she wanted to kick Liu Feipeng away, she didn’t want to be completely ruthless; at least on the surface, things had to be decent.

Now, at Jiang Nian’s request,

She once again invited Liu Feipeng out, using the same excuse as before: to gather before the joint exam.

But she knew very well that tonight’s gathering… might turn into a fight.

All sorts of terrifying images flashed through her mind, and she even heard phantom police sirens in her ears. Fortunately, she only needed to invite Liu Feipeng out and didn’t need to do anything else.

Afterward, she would still have room to maneuver.

5:40 PM.

Zhou Yuting came before Jiang Nian and lightly tapped on his desk.

“Let’s go.”

Jiang Nian stopped writing and got up, walking out of the classroom.

It was already dark.

In the dim corridor, Zhou Yuting walked ahead. Her heart pounded, and after licking her lips, she gathered her courage and asked,

“How are you getting there?”

Hearing this, Jiang Nian’s voice was slightly surprised.

“You didn’t ride your bike?”

He remembered Zhou Yuting had an electric bike, and it was quite nice.

“Ride… ride my… car?” Zhou Yuting was stunned, subconsciously gritting her teeth. “No, why should I?!”

On the stairs, Jiang Nian stopped, pondering.

“You wouldn’t want…”

Zhou Yuting was almost driven crazy by his words. She thought about it and still chickened out.

“Here! Take it!”

She pulled the keys from her shirt pocket and threw them to Jiang Nian, then couldn’t help but ask curiously,

“How do you plan to deal with Liu Feipeng?”

Jiang Nian didn’t speak until they had walked out of the third-year building. He then turned to look at Zhou Yuting, took a deep breath, and said,

“Wrong, it’s… how are *you* going to deal with Liu Feipeng.”

Not a Dragon Slayer, but a Dragon-Slaying Tool Girl.

Hearing this, Zhou Yuting’s pupils widened instantly.

“Wh… What did you say?”