Chapter 399 Fast forward to the Battle of Red Cliffs

The living room lights were bright, and on the soft sofa, Xu Qianqian had a dazed, sloth-like expression, letting out a long ‘Ah~’.

“Is this still Chinese you’re speaking?”

“Hmm, it’s exactly as you understand it, literally,” Jiang Nian nodded, raising a finger. “Give the old man some hope.”

Hearing this, Xu Qianqian was startled at first, then her pupils dilated.

Her face slowly turned red, then she took a deep breath. With a scream, she leaned back on the sofa and kicked forcefully in Jiang Nian’s direction.

“You, you, you! You pervert!”

Jiang Nian nimbly dodged her twisted foot, and couldn’t help but sigh.

“Sigh, the ‘Old Man’s Joy’ plan is gone.”

When Xu Qianqian heard the words “Old Man’s Joy,” she almost couldn’t hold back, thinking that Jiang Nian, that big pervert, was truly boundless in his lewdness.

“You should just shut up!”

“Alright, but I have one last thing to say,” Jiang Nian started to fidget again. “I don’t know if I should say it or not.”

“Say it,” Xu Qianqian said, watching him with her arms crossed.

Jiang Nian was about to speak, but looking at the curve pressed by the girl’s clothes on her chest, he couldn’t help but lose himself for a moment and swallowed hard.

“Pervert!” A throw pillow flew towards him.

Xu Qianqian held another light-colored throw pillow to her chest, adopting a defensive posture, looking at him with a disgusted expression.

“Is there anything else in your head besides dirty thoughts?”

Jiang Nian sat back on the sofa, looking thoughtful.

“Maybe…”

From the beginning, vulgar language, various paths, public and private vehicles, and tricycles had all appeared in this large living room.

But in reality, they were discussing a very heavy and sad topic.

That is, Old Xu would one day lose interest in this world. In a certain year, he would directly abandon Xu Qianqian.

Perhaps he would leave a letter, on which it would be written:

“Qianqian, your mother has lived alone over there for more than ten years. She is still waiting for me, and I am going to continue to be her husband.”

If that really happened, wouldn’t Xu Qianqian explode?

Jiang Nian knew very well, and Xu Qianqian also knew very well, that Old Xu would one day walk towards the mountain where her mother was buried.

So, the dirty things he said were just to dilute the heavy atmosphere and temporarily detach Xu Qianqian from it.

A person lives for thirty thousand days in total, and Jiang Nian wanted Xu Qianqian to have a little more hope for life, rather than letting her endure it alone.

In the living room, after a few seconds of silence, Jiang Nian looked up and said:

“Xu Qianqian.”

“Hmm?”

“There’s no need to overthink things that haven’t happened,” Jiang Nian deliberated. “Man proposes, God disposes; there will always be a way.”

Xu Qianqian didn’t know if she had taken his words to heart, she just nodded gently.

“Hmm.”

“How about considering the Old Man’s Joy?”

“Hmm.” Xu Qianqian was momentarily lost in thought, her gaze unfocused as she nodded, then immediately reacted, “If you say anything else like that, I’ll give you two punches!”

“Alright, I’m a bit sleepy,” Jiang Nian saw the conversation stall, so he actively got up. “I should head back now, you should go to bed early too.”

“Hmm.”

As he passed the sofa, he casually touched Xu Qianqian’s other foot.

“Hey, why is your foot swollen again?”

“Ah!!! You pervert!” Xu Qianqian kicked him angrily, yelling, “Go away, don’t bother me here.”

“How can you repay kindness with enmity?” Jiang Nian said. “Oh, right, tomorrow I’ll find someone to fill in that bumpy section of the alley entrance.”

Hearing this, Xu Qianqian didn’t take his words to heart. She just assumed he was embarrassed and said it casually.

Who would be so idle as to actually go and repair a road?

With a bang, the door closed.

The living room lights flickered, leaving only Xu Qianqian alone.

She slowly got up from the sofa, stood in the living room, and shook her head. Perhaps still not fully awake, she patted her own face.

“It will all pass.”

After saying that, her eyes became firm again. Taking a deep breath, she walked to the bedroom to get clothes and wash up.

Jiang Nian returned home and washed up first.

After drying his hair, he sat at his desk, cleared all the clutter from his mind, and first completed a chemistry test paper.

In a blink of an eye, it was midnight.

After checking his answers, he let out a long sigh looking at the chemistry test paper with over eighty points, and leaned back in his chair.

Grumble, oh dear.

When your mind is cluttered, thinking is a waste of time. Doing a test paper to calm down, his mind was indeed much clearer.

Jiang Nian knew very well that simply reasoning, using logical words, or emotional words to persuade Old Xu, was basically hopeless.

Because of their positions.

In simple terms, the head determines the butt.

Everyone’s words and actions are based on their own position. The so-called empathy and putting oneself in another’s shoes are just tools.

For example.

Jiang Nian wanted to sleep with Xu Qianqian, so of course, he hoped Old Xu would live a long life.

Perhaps he would empathize and say a few kind words from Old Xu’s perspective, but he would never allow Old Xu to find release.

This was his position; no matter what high-sounding words he spoke, it all ultimately came down to satisfying his personal interests.

Case closed, this is why there are so many mediation shows!

He could even imagine how ridiculous his expression would be when that time truly came.

Old Xu: “My mind is made up.”

Jiang Nian: “Then I ask you, then I ask you.”

He began to use the tool of contradiction to sort out this matter. First, the contradiction between Old Xu and Xu Qianqian, summarized as: wants to die, don’t die.

If this contradiction is viewed as a whole, then the solution must be persuasion, followed by hitting a wall, leading to a stalemate.

Speaking out without understanding the situation would only lead to complete defeat, like Song Jiang’s three attacks on Zhu Family Village.

First, Xu Qianqian is about to take her college entrance exam. Old Xu definitely won’t cause any trouble, but the thought of dying might have reached a critical point.

Therefore, intervention is necessary.

Ordinary children act out to gain parental attention. Xu Qianqian wouldn’t do such a thing; she has always been strong and independent.

But Jiang Nian felt that Old Xu could be asked for small favors. Over time, this would create a feeling for Old Xu that his daughter needed him.

After the college entrance exam, Xu Qianqian would go to university.

During this stage, the connection between university students and their parents is weak. They are all in a period of adapting to a new environment and making new friends.

But… what if Xu Qianqian wasn’t doing well?

For example, being isolated by dorm mates, failing in class cadre elections, or breaking up with her boyfriend (Jiang Dog).

Regardless of whether it’s true or false, Old Xu wouldn’t be able to stand by and do nothing.

If he had gone through the stage of being needed, he would subconsciously offer advice to his daughter, and then that plan would have to be postponed.

Later, Xu Qianqian graduated.

“Dad, Waaaaah, I’m pregnant with Jiang Nian’s child, and he doesn’t want me. I also lost my job, and I can’t get a taxi to the hospital.”

One sentence could make Old Xu break down.

“Dad, after my confinement month, I want to go out and work. I don’t want to be involved with the Jiang family, but there’s no one to take care of the child.”

“Dad, (the third generation of the Xu family) misses you.”

Under the desk lamp.

Jiang Nian unconsciously drew and scribbled on the paper, outlining the visible contradictions and the methods to resolve them.

“Sending a child” was too crude.

This version was the optimized plan, and in the Late Stage, as Old Xu’s mindset changed, some modifications would also need to be made accordingly.

Jiang Nian tossed his pen and leaned back in his chair, looking at the thought map.

“Hmm, I’ll discuss it with Young Master Xu another day.”

“The plan is great, I’m simply a Genius. It’s just that I’ll have to practice long and short-distance running these two years, lest I get stabbed by the old man.”

“I can’t go home either, I might get stabbed by the old couple.”

Jiang Nian finished muttering to himself while leaning on the chair, and the smile on his face instantly froze, unable to grin anymore. “Damn it, the cost is too high, isn’t it?”

However, by that time, as the biological father, he would also be able to openly use Xu Qianqian’s facial cleanser.

To remove oil and cleanse his face better.

Suddenly, his phone on the table buzzed.

Chen Yunyun: “Asleep?”

Jiang Nian swiped up and found that Chen Yunyun had sent several messages at eleven o’clock, but he was busy doing a test paper at that time.

“She’s asleep, I’m not.”

The message was sent, and Chen Yunyun immediately couldn’t hold back, replying instantly.

“?????”

“Who is she?”

“Good question, she is my fiancée,” Jiang Nian typed back, taking a photo of the small bear propping up his bed.

Smiling bear: “…Your mom.”

A few seconds later, Chen Yunyun sent another string of ellipses.

“(Embarrassed) You don’t seem to be faking it.”

Jiang Nian replied with an arrogant Dragon emoji, and taking advantage of this interval, he scrolled up through the messages and saw several pictures of test papers.

【11:03 Chen Yunyun: “This set of math test papers is all of regular college entrance exam difficulty, and the major questions are also very classic.”】

【11:03 Chen Yunyun: “Want me to send you a set too?”

“Do you want it?”】

Jiang Nian felt a bit teary-eyed at the words.

A test paper of regular college entrance exam difficulty, really?

He clicked on the pictures to examine them closely, and found that the major questions indeed included various trigonometric functions, solid geometry, classic derivatives, and conic sections.

Hiss, hiss, the test paper is indeed good.

After finishing, he replied to Chen Yunyun.

“Give it to me, I’m a student.”

After a while, Chen Yunyun sent a sweating yellow bean emoji.

“Okay.”

Jiang Nian grinned, it felt great to get something for free.

“Thank you, Yunyun.”

“(Dragon emoji).”

After a while, Wang Yuhe uncharacteristically sent him a message.

“I have some too! (Test paper picture)”

“What the heck, you’re not asleep?” Jiang Nian typed back, asking in confusion, “How did you know I was talking about test papers?”

Wang Yuhe: “I’m in Yunyun’s bed.”

Hmm?

Jiang Nian checked the time, confirming it was already midnight. Girls’ dorms usually would be asleep by this hour.

“What are you two doing?”

Wang Yuhe: “Sleeping, of course. (Sunglasses)”

“The bed is so small, how do you two fit?”

“We hug while we sleep.”

Seeing this, Jiang Nian pounded the question mark key.

“???”

How come he felt like he was being cuckolded? He could still distinguish between classmates and same-sex friends. Damn, his gaydar seemed to suddenly go off.

Not sure, let’s see again.

Chen Yunyun: “(Smiling) That clumsy Chai Muying accidentally got her quilt wet while soaking her feet.”

“If I don’t share my quilt with that clumsy girl, she’ll freeze to death in the dorm tonight.”

Jiang Nian understood then.

“I’m still curious how you two fit, where are the pictures?”

Chen Yunyun: “?”

“Take a picture of your sleeping posture, I’m a bit curious,” Jiang Nian replied, and casually sent a ten-yuan red packet to the three-person small group.

【Wang Yuhe claimed your red packet, Chen Yunyun claimed your red packet. The red packet has been fully claimed, Wang Yuhe is the luckiest.】

Chen Yunyun: “(Covering face) Do I really have to send it?”

“I don’t believe you can fit.”

Wang Yuhe: “(Picture) Hmph! Ignorance.”

Jiang Nian saved the picture immediately, then grinned as he zoomed in to look. The corners of his mouth turned up to the sky, and he felt sweet inside.

Good, good, fast forward to the Battle of Red Cliffs.

After a while, Chen Yunyun sent him a message, mentioning the test papers again.

“I’ll give them to you tomorrow at noon. Do you want me to mark the order for you?”

Jiang Nian replied, “If you have time.”

“Okay. (Slightly conflicted)”

Jiang Nian replied with an emoji, and peacefully fell asleep by the bed of blooming lilies, having material for his dreams tonight.

The next day.

Jiang Nian washed up and left as usual. When he exited the alley, he took a photo with his phone at the spot where Xu Qianqian had sprained her ankle last night.

He planned to find someone to pour asphalt and fill the pit at noon.

He wasn’t short on money and wanted to find someone to repair the entire road. He walked that broken, bumpy road every day, and it was too annoying.

But then he thought, so many people go in and out of the alley. A major repair would purely be a waste of money and invite complaints, so it would be enough to just fill that section.

He also didn’t know if Xu Qianqian’s foot had healed yet.