Chapter 426 A Touch of Charm

Jiang Nian could see the future.

Not a future divided into five parts; that would be too terrifying.

He couldn’t be called a scumbag right now; pure friendship couldn’t hurt anyone. Whether it was the class monitor or Zhang Ningzhi, there was a barrier in the way.

It could only be said that a five-part friendship wouldn’t lead to a bad ending. (√)

With a ‘yu’ sound, a video call popped up.

It was Xu Qianqian calling.

Jiang Nian casually answered, but found the phone camera pointed at the dark night outside, and Xu Qianqian’s voice came from off-screen.

“It’s raining!”

“Huh?” Jiang Nian was stunned. He looked outside for a moment at the falling rain. “Indeed. Let me taste what it’s like.”

“You’re sick,” Xu Qianqian said with a look of disdain.

“Then I’ll taste you… *click*, hung up.

Jiang Nian glanced at the chat interface where the call had ended and thought, “Young Master Xu is really not easy to tease, and his temper is fiery.”

On second thought, it was normal. If Xu Qianqian wasn’t that type of personality, she wouldn’t have remained entangled with her future self.

But couldn’t he just be honest?

Jiang Nian gazed at the ceiling, pondering that his future self should be a good person, at least kind-hearted.

Back in junior high, he even got into a heated argument with someone he disliked, causing a big scene.

Directly or indirectly, he had helped some people.

But some things, whether for good people or bad, if there’s no ticket, you can’t get in; if you miss the timing, there’s nothing you can do.

God closes a door for you and simultaneously gives you an RPG.

He lived honestly, and in the end, he didn’t even get to drink from a ditch. He struggled until he was thirty, gasping for breath, and hastily entered marriage.

Utterly defeated, half his life had passed in a blink.

If he were the only one with bad luck, he would have accepted it.

However, that wasn’t the case; everyone… wasn’t doing well.

With less than half a year left of senior year, he only wanted to seize the 【opportunity】 and do the right thing at the right time.

Buzz, a new message came on his phone.

He rolled over to grab it, feeling a bit sleepy. He found it was Chen Yunyun asking how the juice tasted that afternoon, which surprised him.

“Did you drug it?”

Chen Yunyun sent a message: “(Smirking) Guess?”

“I was thirsty and drank it all. Now my stomach feels warm.” Jiang Nian got out of bed and went outside to wash his face with cold water.

Returning to his room, he pulled out a chair and sat at his desk.

Click, he turned on the desk lamp.

As usual, he pulled the test papers from his bag, placed them on the desk, then unlocked his phone and checked Chen Yunyun’s message.

“I added a tiny bit of sugar. (Playful)”

Jiang Nian casually typed a reply, “Didn’t I tell you not to add sugar! (Serious)”

Chen Yunyun: “(Rolling eyes) You didn’t even drink it, did you! I didn’t add anything, it’s freshly squeezed juice.”

“I was just tricking you, I drank it all.” Jiang Nian casually opened his album, sent a photo of the empty cup, and said, “The Dao is one foot high, the Devil is ten feet high, and of course, there are masters.”

After all, he was Zhang Ningzhi’s senior Disciple, so he had taken photos early that afternoon, purely as a precaution.

If he couldn’t play the non-stick pan game well, it would truly disgrace his master.

Why was he so meticulous?

It was just a matter of convenience.

Chen Yunyun: “…Alright.”

Jiang Nian didn’t let Chen Yunyun off the hook either. He turned around and sent her two difficult chemistry problems she couldn’t solve, telling her to do them in bed.

If you can’t argue, then get out and reflect.

After a while, he replied to the class monitor’s message. He didn’t mention the afternoon’s events, only discussed some news about the provincial joint exam at the end of the term.

Li Qingrong: “I heard the provincial joint exam is preparing the papers. They’ve assigned a few teachers to write them.”

“Hmm, they’re preparing,” Jiang Nian typed in reply. “650 points is still too tricky. Can it be lowered a bit?”

Actually, he was just habitually probing.

The next second, Li Qingrong replied.

“No.”

Teacher Qingqing was unexpectedly strict today, rejecting Jiang Nian’s evil probe.

“Not a single point less.”

“Alright,” Jiang Nian looked up.

Then he chatted with the class monitor for a couple of sentences, took a photo, asked two questions, took a deep breath, and continued to bury himself in writing the test papers.

The next day.

Jiang Nian opened his eyes and crawled out of bed like a zombie. The cold air instantly enveloped him tightly.

“Damn it!”

“Damn, why is winter so cold!”

In an instant, he was wide awake from head to toe. It was a good thing he was healthy, otherwise, such a shock in winter could easily shut him down.

The living room was dim, and a rustling sound came from the balcony.

Jiang Nian knew it was raining, but that couldn’t stop him from studying. While washing up in the bathroom, he looked up at himself in the mirror.

He looked a bit haggard, but his spirit was high.

“Books hold houses of gold, books hold *hiss, hiss*.”

Jiang Nian walked out of his door. Xu Qianqian’s pink sneakers were still on the shoe rack at the opposite door, looking clean.

Thankfully, he wasn’t an experienced pervert, or he would have already taken a sniff.

Outside the old building, it was still a bit dark.

The rain wasn’t heavy, just a drizzle. Raindrops fell on the concrete courtyard, and the water flowed together into the drain.

He opened a black umbrella and stepped forward into the rain.

It was still dark and raining, so the road was bound to be empty.

Jiang Nian walked along, smelling the earthy scent, buying soy milk from the east and a rolled pancake from across the street. He wasn’t in the mood to tease the steamed bun shop owner and didn’t even glance at him.

After entering the school gate, he saw a figure on the rain-shrouded basketball court.

It was a girl.

He had originally wanted to avoid her, but he had already begun his life-and-death challenge of walking along the brick seams of the drain, counting out one hundred Qi breaths.

If he failed, he would die.

So, Jiang Nian continued to walk forward with his umbrella, counting Qi.

Any boy who had played this challenge game would understand the value of this moment; one hundred counts was definitely a man among men.

Ninety-two, ninety-three, four, five, six… seven, eight, nine, ten.

Jiang Nian stopped just a short distance from the girl, then began to gasp for air without warning, startling the girl.

“Huh?”

Don’t ‘huh’ yet. I’m Li Hua from Olympiad Class 3. Although I accidentally scared you by passing by, did you say thank you?

He was naturally aloof and a bit morally bankrupt.

Jiang Nian was about to ignore the girl when his gaze landed. He happened to see a phone soaking in a puddle, which shocked him.

“Classmate, your phone fell in the water.”

“Yes, I know,” the girl said, squatting on the ground like a mushroom under her umbrella, looking up. “I threw it.”

The umbrella slowly moved, revealing a delicate face without makeup.

The girl was wearing a purple down jacket, which made her skin look very fair. Her grape-like eyes were round, and her hair was slightly disheveled.

Squatting on the ground, she gave off a feeling of being both smart and not-so-smart.

“This is my phone. I’m not sure if it’s broken,” the girl said hesitantly. “Oh, I’ve been squatting here for three minutes.”

Jiang Nian, out of kindness, reminded her.

“If you pick it up now, it might still be salvageable.”

Hearing this, the girl uncovered her umbrella again. She curiously glanced at the delicate boy in front of her, holding an umbrella and wearing a light jacket.

“I want it to die. It’s hindering my studies.”

What a ‘human phone killer’ incident at Zhennan Middle School. I accidentally stumbled upon the crime scene. No offense, I’ll just leave.

“Your phone…” Jiang Nian took one last look and reminded her, “It seems to be waterproof, so you…”

The girl was stunned. She fished her phone out of the water. She burst into tears with a ‘wah’ sound, spouting various words while crying.

Things like repeating a year, grades, failing exams.

Jiang Nian looked down at her, his heart unmoved. Blaming the phone for failing exams, huh? You’re quite the Judge Bao.

Since they were strangers, he, out of humanitarian spirit, offered a word of comfort.

“Classmate, don’t rush to cry. If you have any worries, you can tell the top student from Olympiad Class 4 who scored over 620 points.”

Before morning self-study.

Zhang Ningzhi collected her umbrella in the hallway. The rain lines drew a line on the ground. A moment later, they disappeared into the brick seams. “Hello! Hello!”

After entering the classroom, she greeted the abstract group members of the sixth group with a face full of collagen and vibrant Origin Qi.

“Morning, Fangfang.”

“Morning… Why aren’t you answering me!” She pouted instantly, hitting Jiang Nian’s arm. “Campus isolation.”

“Where did you learn that word?” Jiang Nian yawned. “Why do you always hit me lately? You’re getting a bit violent.”

“It’s all because of you… you!!” Zhang Ningzhi couldn’t argue with him. She huffed and sat down. “Anyway, it’s all your fault!”

Unreasonable!

Illogical!

Oh, I often secretly touch her leg, so it’s fine then.

But speaking of which, Jiang Nian didn’t often touch her. More often, when no one noticed, he’d just place his hand on her leg when the mood struck.

He didn’t rub it back and forth, then sniff his hand in an epic manner. He just rested his hand on her leg, tapping it lightly with his fingers.

No matter what, it was mainly to tease the little girl and relieve study fatigue. It had nothing to do with *that*, at most it was a bit of fun.

“Alright, it’s my fault.” Jiang Nian didn’t care much. He turned to ask her, “Did Yao Beibei sleep with you last night?”

“Ang.” Zhang Ningzhi lifted her chin, adopting his catchphrase.

When a ‘couple’ spends a long time together, they do become more and more alike. Zhang Ningzhi belonged to the type who didn’t learn the good things, but learned all the bad ones. “What were you doing hugging each other last night?” Jiang Nian asked.

“Pfft! You’re the one hugging!” Zhang Ningzhi’s face flushed slightly. “We each slept on one side, my bed is quite big.”

Hearing this, Jiang Nian couldn’t help but laugh.

“Really?”

“Of course!” Zhang Ningzhi didn’t realize what he was laughing about, and continued excitedly, “We chatted until past three in the morning before sleeping.”

“That much to talk about?” Jiang Nian followed up, knowing that if he played along, the girl would be happy. “What did you two talk about?”

“Girls’ secrets!” Zhang Ningzhi pursed her lips and smiled.

“Auntie…”

“No way!” Zhang Ningzhi’s face instantly turned red with anger. She couldn’t help but punch his arm. “You’re so annoying!”

“Hmph, I’m not talking to you anymore!”

With that, she turned around and started writing her homework, leaning on her desk.

Jiang Nian was used to it. He glanced at the back seat. Li Qingrong hadn’t arrived yet; she probably would arrive just a few minutes early again today.

The class’s top student, a privilege for a Tsinghua/Peking University candidate.

“Damn! Today was truly a red stone day.” Li Hua quickly entered the classroom from the doorway. “Halfway on the road, my umbrella broke.”

Jiang Nian sat in his seat, his gaze lowered, looking at Li Hua’s pants.

“What happened to your pants?”

“Don’t even mention it, damn it.” Li Hua sat down, throwing his backpack on the desk. “The breakfast cart moved and snagged my pants.”

Hearing this, Zhang Ningzhi held her pen, a sympathetic expression on her face.

“Group leader is so pitiful.”

However, Jiang Nian and Ma Guojun exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Frail and weak, bullied by kids on the road, huh? On a rainy day, they broke your umbrella and tore your pants with a kick, didn’t they?”

“red stone, red stone! I am Zhao Zilong of Zhennan!” Li Hua pointed at the two scoundrels. “Quiet, I’m calling my mom.”

Hearing this, Jiang Nian asked.

“What’s the matter that we need to bother our mom?”

“Probably calling for backup. His mom’s job is pretty relaxed,” Ma Guojun said with a cheeky grin. “He’s probably calling his parents to fight his battles for him.”

“I’m asking my mom to bring me a pair of pants, otherwise, my morning will be ruined,” Li Hua said, dialing a number.

“Shh!”

As soon as the call connected, Ma Guojun said in a squeaky voice.

“Internet cafe manager, where’s my instant noodles?”

Li Hua suddenly turned his head, pointed at the big Ma Guojun, made a warning gesture, and mouthed ‘your mom’.

“Hey Mom, do you have time to bring me a pair of pants?”

“Pants, what happened to your pants?”

Jiang Nian pinched his throat and tapped on the table beside him, saying.

“Sir, your breakfast has been placed at your door. If you require room cleaning service, please dial the front desk.”

The surroundings were bustling but not noisy.

Just then, Yao Beibei came to find Zhang Ningzhi. As soon as she hugged her, she heard Jiang Nian’s act and, following suit, said in a high-pitched voice.

“Um, room 304 checking out.”

Li Hua was stunned, staring dumbfounded at the circle of scoundrels around him.

“No, Mom, listen to me. My classmates are just joking. If you don’t believe me, I’ll video call you, hey Mom, I don’t have…”

After explaining for a while, he hung up the phone.

“You guys, you really don’t do anything human!” Li Hua exploded in anger, pointing at Jiang Nian and Yao Beibei and spewing.

“You two are simply… in cahoots.”

Jiang Nian grinned, taking pride instead of shame.

“Wolves are quite handsome, but Yao Beibei certainly is. I heard that badgers have very short legs, which fits Yao Beibei’s image quite well.”

“Get lost!” Yao Beibei was speechless. Using Zhang Ningzhi to command Jiang Nian, she said, “Don’t you believe I’ll expose… *explosion* for you to see.”

She suddenly remembered that Jiang Nian also had dirt on her.

No solution.

It rained all morning, and by 9:40 AM, it still hadn’t stopped.

During the long break, a group of boys gathered in the hallway, watching the rain.

Lin Dong leaned on the iron railing, murmuring as he looked at the rain outside the building.

“It’s so nice when it rains. No need for morning exercises.”

“But it’s troublesome to get to school in the morning, everything’s wet,” Sun Zhicheng added. “Unless you drive.”

“Couldn’t get out of bed, overslept today,” Yang Qiming complained. His relationship with Lin Dong had now recovered.

“Did you write down the names?” Zeng You asked curiously.

“I wrote down Class 4.”

“That’s pretty good.” Lin Dong gave a thumbs-up, then looked at Jiang Nian. “Brother Nian, why do you always come so early?”

“Studying, what else?” Jiang Nian looked at the rain curtain, then suddenly remembered something. “Oh, that’s right.”

“What?” Lin Dong looked at him.

“Last time you sent me that off-campus apartment building for rent across from Building 5, didn’t you say there was a senior sister from the fourth year who was…”

Hearing this, Lin Dong, Zeng You, and Yang Qiming all looked at Jiang Nian.

“Oh~!!!”

“And then?”

Jiang Nian turned to look at them. “This morning, I met a senior year girl who also lives in that building.”