Chapter 431 Patting the Duck’s Head

Hiking, but if there are too many people, we won’t go.

Beware of three knives and six holes.

Jiang Nian just thought that there’s no sea in Nansheng, and for a one-day round trip activity, there didn’t seem to be a better option than hiking.

Fewer people, watch the sunrise, night hike.

Quite nice.

If there are many people, call Ningzhi and the others too. Going there will be happy, poetry and distant lands, but coming back will be bodies and police.

So, we’ll see then.

If it really doesn’t work out, we’ll choose to review around a stove. Hiding at home, no one can stab him, happily preparing for the provincial joint exam.

Studying is the best way out for young people.

Back in the classroom.

The seating arrangement had changed.

The group Jiang Nian was in moved to the back row of the second large group. The group Li Qingrong was in moved back to the first row of the third large group.

Half a classroom apart, gazing at each other from afar.

Not happy.

But the good thing is that the back row is spacious, so he can stretch his 1.8-meter long legs. He can even lie down in class and listen while Lying down.

“It’s the weekly test, don’t dawdle.” Li Hua glared at him and muttered, “In the Dao of contention, how will you beat me?”

Jiang Nian slowly moved up from the chair against the wall.

“Hua, look at Tao Ran’s glasses on the podium.”

“What’s there to look at?”

“Don’t look at them horizontally, look at them vertically.” He pointed to the podium, “See those glasses? Don’t they look like the 8 points I have more than you?”

“red stone, red stone!”

Li Hua pointed at him, warning him like a husky.

“Society has no heaven-shading trees, don’t take eight points as forever.”

“Eight generations of eight.” Jiang Nian pointed back, also starting to clear his desk, muttering, “The Chinese weekly test is so boring,

I really want to cheat.”

Zhang Ningzhi was tidying up her things and frowned upon hearing this. She turned to look at him, her expression fierce.

“Only bad kids cheat on tests, good kids do their own work!”

“Alright.”

Jiang Nian was just saying it, doing the Chinese test wasn’t that painful. Just choose randomly and improvise.

“What time did you wake up this afternoon?”

“Five… o’clock.” Zhang Ningzhi was a little embarrassed, “We were too tired from shopping after school, and we all overslept.”

Hearing this, Jiang Nian paused for a moment.

He’s been a bit busy lately, almost forgot to ask how things were with Yao Beibei. He couldn’t ask Ningzhi either, so he’d have to see tomorrow.

“Okay, I’m going over there first.”

“Okay, don’t copy the class monitor’s.” Zhang Ningzhi said seriously, holding a stack of books, “Understand?”

“Alright, I won’t copy anyone.” Jiang Nian nodded.

“Good boy.”

Jiang Nian: “?”

Evening self-study was the usual weekly test, the classroom brightly lit.

“Clap!” Jiang Nian sat down according to his student number and snapped his fingers at Li Qingrong, “Can I see your essay this time?”

Li Qingrong lowered her eyes, turned her head and glared at him.

“No.”

The test papers were being passed down in front, Jiang Nian turned to look at the class monitor. He rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and then said.

“I think it’s fine.”

Li Qingrong turned her head away, no longer paying attention to him.

In the classroom.

“Cough cough!”

“Thump thump thump!”

“Hmm~~~ Hmm~~”

The sounds of coughing, leg shaking, and soft singing mixed together, forming a unique little tune for the evening self-study weekly test.

Jiang Nian occasionally looked up at the clock on the podium.

“Time passes so slowly.”

He wrote all the questions except for the reading comprehension, including the essay, in one go, then let out a breath.

He turned back and slowly enjoyed the story in the reading comprehension.

He instantly felt like drinking a cold cola on a hot summer day, refreshed from head to toe, utterly invigorated.

Li Qingrong heard the movement, turned her head and glared at a certain person.

Hmm?

After watching for a while, she came to a conclusion.

Although she couldn’t understand the boy’s inexplicable happiness, he must have thought of something joyful, so he was gesticulating wildly.

After Jiang Nian finished writing, he stopped dancing.

The pen clattered onto the desk, his head thumped onto the desk, and the smell of the test paper lingered around his nose.

Can’t breathe, bro.

He immediately looked up at the wall clock. There was still an hour left until the end of the exam, and the people around him hadn’t finished yet.

He leaned over again and glanced at the class monitor’s test paper.

Li Qingrong noticed and covered her test paper, not allowing Jiang Nian to snoop. Other test papers didn’t matter, but the Chinese test paper had an essay.

“Write yours.”

Jiang Nian spread his hands, “I’m done.”

He added: “Let me see yours.”

Li Qingrong: “…”

In the end, Jiang Nian still didn’t see Qingqing’s essay. He could only lie on the desk and sleep to pass the time, while also doing an inventory.

He had quite a few meal cards in his pocket, and he gave one or two to Xu Qianqian and the others.

The one he was using was a 600 yuan meal card that could be used in any cafeteria. And a small cafeteria meal card that he didn’t use much,

It deducts money every day for nothing.

Eating without spending money is like getting it for free.

Oh, right, Sister Feifei still owes him a meal.

Currently, after completing the business deal with Xu Yuanshan, the Prodigal System’s hundredfold return resulted in a 100,000 yuan bonus.

He roughly calculated that he had over 420,000 yuan in hand.

Buying a house, not enough.

House prices in Zhennan County were ridiculously high; even if he emptied all 400,000-plus yuan, he could only buy a set in Lishi Quyuan in the suburbs.

To be neighbors with Ningzhi, he would need to earn enough money for a two-story building.

What about being neighbors with the class monitor?

The house prices in the River View Villa area were also terrifyingly high.

One can only say, the young man still needs to work hard.

As for buying a car, he would probably get his driver’s license next week. Logically, buying a car would be fine, but it’s not very useful in senior year of high school.

Time is tight, even finding time to go to the bathroom is difficult.

With only six hours off on Sunday, he couldn’t even travel back and forth within the province. If something really came up, he could use his dad’s or Old Xu’s car.

As for buying things, his family already had everything. After the initial purchases, the most expensive large expenditure left was probably the bride price.

Besides that, he glanced at his skills.

Several skill panels showed 【Lottery】 and 【Recalculate】 were still on cooldown. 【Fishing】 was just for fun, completely useless.

The most frequently used were still 【Precision】 and 【Heal】.

Jiang Nian slid his finger across the panel, pondering for a while. He guessed that there should be more skills in the Late Stage, not yet activated.

As for the rest, all System tasks were completed.

There was one unopened reward, memories of his ex-wife. Opening that thing would make him fall asleep instantly, not suitable for opening outside.

He planned to open it before bed after evening self-study.

So as not to cause misunderstandings in class, falling asleep elsewhere isn’t as scary. In senior year of high school, it carries the suspicion of sudden death.

Bro, how did you die?

Poke him, call 120.

It’s not that Jiang Nian couldn’t afford the ambulance fee, after all, this isn’t Gotham, where you’d have to pay for the siren with the rest of your life.

It’s just that, he really can’t afford to die, thank you.

He opened his eyes, and Xu Shao, Xiao Song, Ningzhi, the class monitor, and Chen Yunyun were all by his bedside, five beautiful girls.

Isn’t that too happy?

Wrong, he would probably be overwhelmed by the sweetness of reality. He wouldn’t dare to open his eyes, only hoping this was his hallucination. Why would there be chainsaw sounds in a hospital?

Where are my legs?

To be honest, that would be worse than dying.

After half an hour.

Tao Ran stood up from his seat, turned and glanced at the noisy classroom. After thinking for a moment, he simply walked to the podium to collect the test papers.

“Cough cough, pass the answer sheets forward from the back.”

After passing the answer sheet, Jiang Nian reluctantly glanced at Li Qingrong. He didn’t find an opportunity tonight, neither touching her hand nor seeing her essay.

Not happy.

Hiding even an argumentative essay, that’s outrageous!

“Hmm?” Li Qingrong lowered her head to tidy her things, then turned to look at him, her eyes full of confusion, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… nothing.” Jiang Nian waved his hand, he couldn’t very well say he wanted to touch her leg, “We changed seats, we’re so far apart.”

Li Qingrong’s eyes dimmed slightly upon hearing this.

“Mm.”

The last evening self-study class.

Li Qingrong sat in the middle of the first row of the third group, with the blackboard and the sanitation corner in front of her.

There was no particularly unpleasant smell, after all, the winter smell in the class was strong enough to completely numb one’s sense of smell.

Even if there was a smell, you wouldn’t be able to detect it.

Just after the Chinese weekly test, the classroom was noisy and the desk in front was empty. Li Qingrong was slightly dazed. A rubber duck sat on her desk, looking somewhat comical.

Most of the time, the two of them were front and back desks. Suddenly separated, a strange feeling arose, a bit unaccustomed.

“Class monitor, what’s wrong?” Nie Qiqi leaned over from behind, her infatuated face about to press against Li Qingrong’s.

“Nothing.” Li Qingrong dodged.

The timid smiling tiger was unhappy, yet she spoke with extreme flattery. Her demeanor and tone were just like a cunning fox.

In this class, the person she liked the most was Li Qingrong.

The person she disliked the most was Jiang Nian, wanting to punch him every time she saw him. But she never dared to strike hard, because she was a timid smiling tiger.

Ew, my sisters.

Resist male green tea, I’m physiologically disgusted, my family.

“Class monitor, is this seat uncomfortable?” Nie Qiqi offered advice, “You can sit with me, you know?”

“So, do you want to switch seats?”

At this moment, Nie Qiqi showed Anya’s signature smile. Even if it hadn’t happened, her mind was already wildly fantasizing.

Li Qingrong: “No.”

“Huh?” Nie Qiqi’s expression was blank.

She was just smiling, and in an instant, she turned into Tian Xiaocao again. She looked at the class monitor, then pursed her lips, and after a long time, she managed to say one sentence.

“Why?”

Of course there was a reason, but Li Qingrong just shook her head.

“Nothing.”

After speaking, she turned her head. She picked up her pen, ready to write her homework to pass the time, but for a long time, she couldn’t put it down, always feeling that something wasn’t right.

Finally, Li Qingrong’s gaze fell on the duck on the desk.

She reached out and stroked the duck’s head.

That’s right then.

Back row of the second large group.

“Holy crap, the back row is so wide!” Li Hua immediately leaned his chair back against the wall, “No wind blowing on me, and no one filling water.”

“Bumpkin.” Ma Guojun said disdainfully.

He sat in the last row of the third large group, which was the spot Li Hua had just mentioned, where people often filled water.

The Fruit Warrior trio were still in the same row at the back of the classroom. Suddenly, Yu Zhiyi came with a water cup to fill water. Ma Guojun quickly made way, pulling his chair in.

“Thank you.” Yu Zhiyi pursed her lips.

“Cough.” The big Ma Guojun pushed up his black-rimmed glasses with his middle finger, not knowing what to say.

One movement from Yu Zhiyi, two people tense.

Li Hua, this guy, too, was holding his pen in a pose for a while. Then he pretended to be profound, and finally just knocked Jiang Nian over, “You bastard!”

Jiang Nian was still happily looking at the test paper, waiting for Zhang Ningzhi to correct it later, when he was suddenly tackled by the neck.

He was completely bewildered, instantly full of question marks.

“Hmm?”

As he struggled, Jiang Nian caught a glimpse of a certain very capable Yu Dundun out of the corner of his eye. He immediately lost his composure and couldn’t help but curse.

“Damn it! Li Hua, are you even human?”

Love brothers or love women, love brothers or love women?

Women!

Too damn real.

After filling her water, Yu Zhiyi looked at Li Hua and the others upon hearing the noise. Her eyes curved, and she covered her mouth with her hand, laughing.

“Haha, you guys are so interesting.”

Li Hua immediately scratched his head and continued to grapple with Jiang Nian.

“Jiang Nian never acts like a human!”

One can only say, it’s a bit of an inversion of the Dao.

After struggling for a while and subduing Li Hua, Jiang Nian became even more unhinged and couldn’t help but attack Yu Zhiyi as well, “You bastard, stop loitering here, get out after you’ve filled your water.”

“Hmph.” Yu Zhiyi turned and left with quick steps.

Once the carrot was gone, the donkey-like stubbornness in Li Hua also disappeared. He sat in his seat, scratching his head in embarrassment.

Jiang Nian pointed at him, but said nothing.

One can only say, he understood.

Another advantage of the back row is that it’s sufficiently concealed.

Since his left side was obscured by Li Hua and there was no view from behind, Jiang Nian could now brazenly touch Zhang Ningzhi’s leg.

Occasionally launching a sneak attack.

When he said “touch,” it was actually just a brush.

Zhang Ningzhi would immediately puff up like a pufferfish, swatting his hand away angrily. Then she would frown and stare at him, scolding him endlessly.

“If you do that again… I won’t talk to you anymore.”

“Oh.” Jiang Nian nodded, pretending to admit his mistake but not changing his behavior.

Before school ended.

Jiang Nian watched Yao Beibei pack her schoolbag three minutes early, then walk to the last row and sit on a chair with Zhang Ningzhi.

His gaze shifted down; poor Ningzhi had half her bottom suspended in the air.

“Do you want a chair?”

“No!” Zhang Ningzhi’s face was slightly red, thinking, where is this person looking? Isn’t this clearly saying she’s taking up space?

“Oh, you’ll fall off.”

“Still no!”

“Oh, you can actually…” Jiang Nian said half-way, then wrote on his scratchpad, “【Sit on my lap】.”

Zhang Ningzhi’s fist hardened, and she hit him.

“Absolutely not!”

Then, she also picked up a pen. After the five words Jiang Nian wrote, she waved her hand and added two words, “【Pervert】!”

In all fairness, he was a pervert.

In the last minute, Jiang Nian also packed his schoolbag. Idly looking around, he met Yao Beibei’s gaze.

He offered an inquiring look, asking if things went smoothly.

Yao Beibei’s parents only argued and didn’t divorce, and they even dragged her in to mediate. It was hard to bear for a highly educated family to act like this.

All thunder and no rain, purely emotional venting.

Jiang Nian gave her a suggestion, telling her to run to Zhang Ningzhi’s house to hide for a while, and let them argue for a few days. Without an audience, the conflict wouldn’t escalate.

Did they really never think about divorce?

【Recalculate】 said so, and the System was quite accurate in this regard.

Yao Beibei nodded, then shook her head. Jiang Nian was confused, not knowing what she meant.

The bell for the end of evening self-study rang.

Whoosh, a group of people stood up.

Jiang Nian was not to be outdone, he squeezed out of the classroom door without thinking too much. Following the flow of people, he met Xu Qianqian’s eyes.

“Go?”

“Mm.”