Chapter 403 You can be fooled like this?

In the afternoon, Jiang Nian walked around the alley with groceries in hand.

Hmm, it was indeed level.

It had to be him, otherwise, Old Xu would kill him next time. If he twisted his ankle in this alley, he might as well restart.

Being prepared was always his strong suit.

Thump thump thump!

A knock sounded, and after half a minute, the door opened a crack.

Jiang Nian, carrying groceries, forced his way in.

“Are you ambushing me at the door?”

“What?” Xu Qianqian suddenly felt a little guilty.

“Weren’t you hiding behind the door the whole time?” Jiang Nian lowered his head to change his shoes, looking around. “You walk silently, did you activate stealth mode?”

She had been careless; she had clearly hidden that small stool a few minutes before hearing Jiang Nian come upstairs.

Xu Qianqian: “…”

“…You found me out. I originally planned to knock you out with a stool.”

“Holy crap, you’re a bit yandere.” Jiang Nian casually turned on the light, grabbed an apron, and headed for the kitchen to start cooking.

“Oh, Song Xiyun will be here later too,” Xu Qianqian called from the living room, then hopped on one foot to the kitchen doorway.

“I’ve already steamed the rice; it’ll be ready by the time you finish the dishes.”

“Oh, she’s coming, so what?” Jiang Nian didn’t react much, giving her a warning glance. “Don’t come in and mess things up. Get out.”

Xu Qianqian gritted her teeth but obediently went out.

“You’ll regret this, Jiang Nian!”

“Oh, watching Naruto this afternoon, huh?” Jiang Nian didn’t even turn his head, skillfully slicing the beef against the grain and turning on the stove.

Then he blanched the beef, stir-fried it with scallions, ginger, and garlic. There was no time for a clay pot, so he just used a pressure cooker to braise it quickly.

She didn’t want to say that she had patrolled her territory in the afternoon, lest certain subjects who dared to defy her become complacent.

Emperors were always mysterious, never letting people easily guess their inner thoughts.

Just like a BOSS never reveals its health bar.

Xu Qianqian rolled back into the sofa, played with her phone for a while, and then tried to see if her foot could walk. It felt okay.

But to be safe, she temporarily decided to continue being a cripple.

After a while, Song Xiyun also arrived.

Fine beads of sweat dotted her nose, and she carried a large bottle of drink and some fruit.

Part of the money from the scratch-off ticket last time was used for medical treatment. The remaining portion hadn’t been used up, leaving her with ample funds.

Otherwise, she likely wouldn’t have visited with a third party present.

Yes, that third party was Jiang Nian.

“Qianqian, is your foot feeling better?” No sooner had Song Xiyun spoken than she suddenly squatted down and poked Xu Qianqian’s foot.

Xu Qianqian: “?”

In the kitchen, Jiang Nian heard movement outside. He stole a glance, and his eyes met Song Xiyun’s.

“You’re here?”

“Mm.” Song Xiyun immediately became reserved. She looked at Xu Qianqian beside her. “Should I go in and help?”

Xu Qianqian had already reclined on the sofa, waving her hand.

“Go on, go on, if you’re not afraid of him disliking you. This guy is like a dog; he’ll snap at you even if you try to help.”

However, Song Xiyun went in. Five or six minutes passed, but she wasn’t chased out as Xu Qianqian had predicted.

Xu Qianqian first froze, then gritted her teeth. “Jiang Nian, you bastard!”

In the kitchen, Jiang Nian naturally had no reason to scold Song Xiyun. After all, she was kindly helping, and she was indeed useful.

If it were Xu Qianqian, that would be another story.

At the dining table.

Song Xiyun’s arrival brought more laughter and joy to the house.

The two girls sat close together, whispering to each other. They seemed to be chatting about class gossip, occasionally letting out clear, bell-like laughter.

Jiang Nian was happy to see it; he didn’t have to liven up the atmosphere.

I’m just going to eat, eat, eat!

“Oh, you didn’t go to evening self-study?” Jiang Nian looked at Song Xiyun, asking casually, “Did you skip class to come out too?”

“Our class had a class match today!” Song Xiyun pursed her lips. “Otherwise, with our strict homeroom teacher, I wouldn’t have been able to slip away.”

Jiang Nian only asked that one question and didn’t chat with Song Xiyun afterward. He could tell the girl was nervous.

Although he didn’t know what she was nervous about, like Dongshan Xiaohong, as long as she didn’t talk to him and could laugh and chat, it was fine.

This made Jiang Nian feel depressed. Was he that fierce?

After dinner.

Song Xiyun voluntarily went to wash the dishes, and soon after, she brought out a plate of washed grapes. Seeing that the two were far apart, she divided them into two portions.

Jiang Nian chuckled, thinking, Little Song is quite thoughtful.

It was time to apply the medicine again. This time, it wasn’t Jiang Nian’s turn. The two girls were there, figuring it out, giggling as they massaged her foot.

Well, he was ignored again.

Jiang Nian glanced at the time, seeing it was almost six. He figured it was about time to leave, but he wasn’t in a hurry at all.

He rolled over on the sofa and began leisurely browsing shopping apps. He scrolled through and saw a VIP perk.

He sat up and asked the two girls.

“Do you want free milk tea?”

“Can we choose any?” Xu Qianqian hopped over on one leg, took the phone, and glanced at it. “Hmph, I don’t want it. Give it to someone else.”

“You’re so picky!” Jiang Nian was speechless.

He looked at Song Xiyun, and Song Xiyun looked at him. Their gazes met in the air for a moment, then quickly parted.

“There are exactly two, you can go redeem them with Song Xiyun.”

Hearing this, Xu Qianqian glanced at Song Xiyun. She didn’t ask, knowing that asking would only lead to evasion, so she changed her mind and agreed.

“Alright then.”

After a few minutes of delay, it was time to leave.

Jiang Nian got up from the sofa, but he didn’t ask Song Xiyun if she was leaving. Instead, he casually greeted the two girls.

“You two have fun, I’m going to evening self-study first.”

Suddenly, Xu Qianqian called out to him.

“Hey, wait.”

“What is it?” Jiang Nian turned his head, glanced at her foot, and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Young Miss Xu, are you also going to evening self-study?”

Xu Qianqian pouted, “I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

“Then…?”

“Song Xiyun also needs to go back to school for evening self-study. The alley is so dark and the path isn’t easy to walk, so you can take her out.” “Just take a leave of absence, wouldn’t it be better if you two played together?” Jiang Nian didn’t agree immediately. “That way you also have a companion and won’t be bored.”

Hearing this, Xu Qianqian hesitated for a moment, then snapped back to reality. Without ceremony, she pointed a fair finger at him.

“Bah, bah, bah! Who takes leave every day like you do!”

“I… I’ll just take a leave of absence.” Song Xiyun was also a little tempted, partly because she was worried about the awkwardness of walking with Jiang Nian.

“Don’t take leave! If you do, who will help me collect the papers?” Xu Qianqian, in a flurry, pushed her out.

Jiang Nian was already heading towards the stairs, yawning.

Song Xiyun was worried about Xu Qianqian, turning back every few steps. She saw her standing at the doorway, waving, with the dim and dilapidated stairwell behind her.

She was so small, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

With a click, the door closed.

Night fell, and the streetlights began to glow.

Song Xiyun walked through the alley, her head down, following behind Jiang Nian. Neither of them had spoken since they came downstairs.

She thought about Xu Qianqian alone at home, and her brows furrowed unconsciously.

“Are you worried about her?”

“Huh?” She looked up, realizing Jiang Nian was talking to her. “Uh… yes, Qianqian seems a little unhappy.”

“People like her are like that, don’t worry,” Jiang Nian said, walking ahead of Song Xiyun. “She can’t sit still; she’ll feel anxious.”

“It’s okay, she’ll be able to go to school normally tomorrow.”

“Mm.” Song Xiyun nodded.

She didn’t know what to say, so she looked down at the path. Suddenly, she noticed that the path seemed to have been recently repaired; she hadn’t paid much attention when she arrived because she was in a hurry.

Out of the alley, the streets near the school were bustling.

In the night, figures flickered.

Suddenly, Jiang Nian stopped halfway.

Song Xiyun was a little confused. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m buying milk. Wait for me.” Jiang Nian went into the convenience store, grabbed two small bottles of milk, and put one in her hand.

“Take it.”

“Mm, thank you.” Song Xiyun was now powerless to refuse and could only silently mark it down in her mental ledger.

By the time they entered the school gate, evening self-study was about to begin.

Someone downstairs was rushing around and almost bumped into Song Xiyun. Fortunately, Jiang Nian pulled her aside, saving her from the collision.

“Thank you,” she said, blushing.

“Mm, no problem.” Jiang Nian also knew he put psychological pressure on her, so he simply spoke less when not necessary.

After parting on the third floor, Song Xiyun walked a few steps towards her classroom.

Suddenly, she couldn’t help but look back again.

Jiang Nian went up from the third floor, slowly and leisurely. He even took out his phone to check it midway, seemingly replying to messages.

Class Three.

Jiang Nian entered the classroom just in time. When he returned to his seat, everyone around him was already standing for evening reading. He yawned.

Today’s intensity was a bit high; he had been on the go almost all day.

So, he simply lay down.

Li Hua cleared his throat and said to the few people in his group.

“Hey, hey, hey, guys, I bought some fruit. It’s for group unity, specially contributed.”

Hearing this, Jiang Nian was no longer sleepy.

He usually didn’t like to eat fruit and wouldn’t actively buy it. Even if his body lacked vitamin C, he preferred to just buy medicine.

But if it was fruit bought by someone else, that was another story.

Woohoo! Free!

Li Hua’s shout immediately drew the gaze of all five people in the group to his… fruit platter.

“Freshly packed, bought first and then cut by the boss in front of me.”

He said this to dispel Zhang Ningzhi’s concerns; he couldn’t possibly give the Young Miss of Nanjiang Bay a platter of rotten fruit.

“Stop blabbering, I’ll eat rotten ones too!” Jiang Nian was the first to reach out, grabbing two toothpicks, then turning to give one to Zhang Ningzhi.

“Did the group leader find money today?” Huang Fang said something hurtful.

“I want that cantaloupe, holy crap, don’t snatch it.” Zeng You jabbed with his toothpick, and the others, even Ma Guojun, came over.

“What’s good to eat?” Liu Yang rushed over from the back row.

The second to arrive was Yao Beibei, who directly took Zhang Ningzhi’s toothpick and started grabbing fruit. She didn’t even look, just stabbed whatever she could.

“Ah!!!” Li Hua screamed.

“Who!”

“Who the hell stabbed my hand! You bastard!”

Yao Beibei pulled back the toothpick, only to see half of it remaining. Feeling guilty, she directly snatched the toothpick from Jiang Nian’s hand.

Jiang Nian: “???”

Huh?

Li Hua turned around and saw Jiang Nian’s empty hand, instantly enraged.

“Damn it!”

“No, holy crap.” Jiang Nian tried to explain, “Your mom, I was eating just fine, Yao Beibei snatched my toothpick.”

“Is that so?” Li Hua looked at Yao Beibei.

“Huh?” Yao Beibei looked bewildered, having stabbed a piece of cantaloupe. “What?”

She thought for a moment, then with a flick of her small hand, the cantaloupe was offered to Zhang Ningzhi’s mouth.

Zhang Ningzhi naturally knew it had been used by Jiang Nian and couldn’t help but blush.

But Yao Beibei had already put the cantaloupe to her mouth, so she could only open her mouth and eat it, her heart instantly racing.

Meanwhile, Yao Beibei’s face showed no blush, and her heart rate was normal.

She speared a small piece of cantaloupe, swallowed it whole, and said calmly.

“Li Hua, how can you fall for that?”