Chapter 99: I’m Sorry

Facing the dirt Li Hua threw and the class’s jeering, Jiang Nian looked like he didn’t give a damn.

So what?

The class enjoyed the moment for a while but was soon suppressed by Lao Liu.

His intention wasn’t aimed at Li Hua and Jiang Nian; now that the map of Yan had been unrolled to the end, Lao Liu stopped wasting words and took Wu Jungu away.

After Wu Jungu left, Li Hua murmured.

“Brother Jun is in danger.”

Jiang Nian looked up from the sea of problems and turned his head.

“A blessing in disguise. If Brother Jun gets called out by Lao Liu this time and reaches a sudden enlightenment, he might not only hold great truths but also see his grades skyrocket.”

Li Hua let out an ‘ah,’ “Then I’ll be crying with jealousy.”

Zhang Ningzhi was a bit puzzled; Jiang Nian was actually talking sense with Li Hua. However, to prevent him from making a follow-up move, she decided to keep watching.

If she turned her head now and got caught, he would definitely think she was paying a lot of attention to him. (Life Qi)

“Hua, you single dog,” Jiang Nian’s map of Yan wasn’t long either; the dagger was revealed, and he leaned back tactically, “you’re actually worrying about a little couple who has truths to talk about!”

“Where were you when they were kissing under the moon? Watching gigi the piggy?”

This sudden critical hit from Jiang Nian was like a strike for 99,000 damage straight to Li Hua’s heart. A “holy crap” escaped his lips, and Li Hua felt so stifled he didn’t want to speak.

Truth be told, Li Hua’s defenses were truly shattered.

Thinking about Wu Jungu usually kissing and touching his well-endowed girlfriend in the milk tea shop, maybe even reaching inside her clothes… he suddenly felt a bit miserable.

How come everyone else’s youth was so successful?

Damn!

“Stop it, brother, in reality, I’m just a virgin that no one even throws a hook at,” Li Hua covered his head and whispered mournfully, “You fucking poked me right where it hurts.”

“Hahaha.”

He was about to say something when the Discipline Committee Member shouted for silence, and he immediately swallowed his words. The number one lesbian leader under Li Qingrong—scary, scary.

Halfway through the second period of Evening Self-Study.

Sun Zhicheng tilted his head back in his seat, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath.

He had been focused on Chen Yunyun for the entire Evening Self-Study, getting nervous every time the break approached. It felt like fearing his wife would cheat with some blond guy, yet he couldn’t stop it.

He wasn’t anyone to Chen Yunyun. Thinking of this, Sun Zhicheng felt pained. If only he were her boyfriend, then he could stop it openly.

Lin Dong turned around, glanced at Sun Zhicheng, and asked with concern.

“Sun Zhicheng, do you need to pee urgently?”

Sun Zhicheng: “.”

Ring, ring, ring. The second period of Evening Self-Study ended.

During the break, the classroom was brightly lit and noisy. Some were sleeping, some were loudly discussing problems, and others were leaving the room to use the restroom.

Chen Yunyun stood up from her seat, looking a bit dazed. She called Wang Yuhe, but the latter didn’t budge. So she just went by herself and left the classroom.

The moment she stood up, Sun Zhicheng was already alert. Hearing that Chen Yunyun was just going to the restroom, he relaxed again, but he still instinctively looked at the front row.

One look was all it took for his heart to sink; Jiang Nian’s seat was empty.

He instinctively wanted to go out and check, but his reason stopped him.

Sun Zhicheng, oh Sun Zhicheng, don’t lose your dignity.

Is it right to be so worried about gains and losses all day? You aren’t even a couple. Hurry up and face reality; stop thinking about Chen Yunyun’s affairs.

Thinking this way, his eyes regained their Qingming Festival, as the saying goes: without desire, one is strong.

However, eight minutes later.

When he saw with his own eyes Jiang Nian and Chen Yunyun walking in through the classroom door talking and laughing, and Jiang Nian even put his hand over her head to measure her height.

Not knowing what Jiang Nian said, Chen Yunyun immediately dodged and even gave him a light pat.

In that instant, Sun Zhicheng’s defenses were easily shattered again, and he felt pained. Can’t she just stay away from Jiang Nian! He’s not a good person!

Sun Zhicheng took a deep breath and closed his eyes again. He couldn’t help but wonder what they had just talked about and done outside.

The corner of the stairs by the restroom was very dark; even if they pinched faces or touched hands inside, they wouldn’t be caught. Looking at them, they must have done that kind of thing just now.

Lin Dong looked at his deskmate Sun Zhicheng with a puzzled expression. Seeing him slumped on the desk with a pained look, he let out a “holy crap” and pushed Sun Zhicheng.

“Cheng, are you sick? Don’t push yourself!”

Sun Zhicheng just shook his head, his fingernails digging into his palms. He decided to confess; it didn’t matter what the result was, at least it would end the pain.

He liked Chen Yunyun, but he hadn’t cared to this extent before. After Jiang Nian arrived, everything started to go wrong—to be precise, after the sports meet.

Are girls all attracted to the strong?

If it’s two gold medals, he could get them too, as long as he was given time to prepare. An unequal comparison between himself and Jiang Nian was inherently unfair!

Back at the seat.

Li Hua leaned in and asked suspiciously.

“You’ve been getting quite close to Chen Yunyun lately, haven’t you?”

Zhang Ningzhi, who was originally solving problems, couldn’t help but purse her lips. She even felt a bit touched; Li Hua was actually quite good, at least he cared about the lives of his group members.

The strongest spokesperson, highly rated.

“Not at all, you’re overthinking it, right?” Jiang Nian didn’t care and flipped open his review book. “Baby, we’re just friends. You’re overstepping, you know?”

Li Hua: “Scumbag!” (Zhang Ningzhi thought simultaneously: Scumbag!)

“Baby, if you keep being so willful, I’m going to go play with the math Class Representative.” Jiang Nian casually flipped through the thin answer booklet and saw another wrong calculation.

He was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but sigh, putting down his pen.

“Alright, to satisfy your jealousy, I just ran into her at the classroom door. She asked me how high my English score was, and I showed her with my hands that it was about that much higher than hers.”

Hearing this, Zhang Ningzhi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Hua was a bit annoyed. “Brother, teach me how to talk to girls. I’ll do anything.”

Jiang Nian thought for a moment and refused. “No, you’re too Southern Communication, I’m afraid you’ll use it on me.”

“Holy crap! You fucking.”

During the third period of Evening Self-Study, Wu Jungu finally returned from the office. His face didn’t look too good. After whispering with Li Hua for a while, they swapped seats.

Jiang Nian was curious and turned to look at Wu Jungu.

“What’s up?”

“Brother Nian, do you have time after school?” Wu Jungu hesitated. “There’s something I want to ask you. I can’t make up my mind and want to use you as a reference.”

Jiang Nian didn’t expect that a casual chat consultation would lead to a repeat customer.

While Wu Jungu waited for Jiang Nian’s answer, the other four in the group also pricked up their ears. Senior year was too damn bitter; they too damn loved gossip.

Li Hua almost shouted out. He pretended to do problems while silently urging in his heart: Agree to it! Agree to it! You bastard, hurry up and agree!

It was clear that Huazi really wanted to hear the love gossip between Wu Jungu and Monday’s Fullness.

“No, I have a partner to go home with after school. It’s not good to stand them up.” Jiang Nian refused almost without thinking. Xu Qianqian’s weight was too high.

So high that he went to the countryside to set off fireworks for her—how ridiculous is that?

Although he didn’t have expectations for the future and could accept any future accidents, nor was he restricted by rules or set a framework for his life…

…he would still do something to try and grasp onto some things.

Wu Jungu sighed but still accepted it, nodding.

“Then I’ll add you. Talk on the phone?”

“Sure, but I won’t stay up late.” Even though Jiang Nian was kind-hearted, it wasn’t like before. “I get sleepy when the time comes; I’m basically dead asleep before twelve.”

Zhang Ningzhi, sitting next to him, was stunned. She thought about how he had chatted with her in the middle of the night when he took leave to go back to his hometown during the sports meet. So, she wasn’t in that category?

The category of ordinary friends?

Suddenly, Zhang Ningzhi really wanted to know her ranking in his heart.

On the surface, she was still solving problems calmly, but in reality, various details were connecting in her mind. The slight bitterness accumulated over the day was smoothed out at this moment.

His interpersonal relations were very good, his abilities were strong, and it was normal to have many friends. He had only been in the class for half a month, yet so many people called him Brother Nian and asked for his help.

She really envied the person who could go home with him; they must be able to talk about many interesting topics.

“116 on the math test? What kind of small fry are you?”

Xu Qianqian spoke with the sarcasm that fit her character, tightening her backpack straps. Walking on the road home after Evening Self-Study, with the crowds surging, she was happy the whole way.

“In fact, this score of mine is enough to show off in the parallel classes,” Jiang Nian sneered. “How much did you get? One hundred and thirty or one hundred and forty?”

Xu Qianqian stopped upon hearing this and then tilted her head.

“One hundred and fifty.”

Jiang Nian was silent for a while. Is that a score a human can get?

Seeing him stop talking, Xu Qianqian said with a bit of pride.

“Why aren’t you laughing? Feeling inferior?”

To her surprise, the usually foul-mouthed Jiang Nian didn’t refute. Instead, he chuckled softly and scratched his neck a bit sheepishly under the streetlight.

“I’m sorry. Even though you explained similar problems to me, I still couldn’t do them and didn’t get a high score.”

In that instant, Xu Qianqian froze, suddenly feeling so guilty she wanted to die.

“It… it’s fine, it’s already very high. I… I was just joking with you. Actually, 116 is also very impressive. Just take it slow; you’ve only been studying for half a month.”

She spoke dryly, her voice getting smaller and smaller.

“Haha, you don’t need to comfort me. I know my own level.” Jiang Nian didn’t mind, walking forward along the road as he spoke.

“Studying isn’t that easy. I reckon it’ll be good if I can raise my total score by about fifty points after a year. At least I can secure a 211, and maybe even aim for a 985.”

“Work hard; raising your score isn’t hard.” She looked down, still feeling guilty in her heart. “If you don’t understand something, you can ask me. I’ll teach you.”

“Of course I’ll ask. I won’t be polite with you.” Jiang Nian didn’t think there was anything wrong with his words. “You should be able to secure a spot in a Key University, and aiming for Tsinghua or Peking University isn’t hopeless.”

The System hadn’t leaked too much information, so he didn’t know what university Xu Qianqian ended up at. He guessed she’d have a high degree and become an OL right after graduation, or maybe study medicine?

Medicine was probably unlikely; Xu Qianqian wasn’t interested in it.

“Mm.”

“After the College Entrance Exam is over, I’ll see if I can get into a school close to yours. If it’s in The Capital, I won’t go.” Jiang Nian rubbed his chin, considering seriously.

“With my score… I only have an advantage in the four provinces of Jiangnan F4. Staying within the province might be just right, or maybe even overkill. I’ll see the situation then.”

“I don’t really want to go to the North; going there for fun is fine. If you really have the ability to get into Tsinghua or Peking, go for it. Although I know you covet your buddy’s beauty…”

Hearing him get more and more ridiculous, Xu Qianqian couldn’t take it anymore and turned around.

“Go to hell! Jiang Nian!”

She punched Jiang Nian in the stomach but clearly felt the thin layer of abdominal muscles.

Jiang Nian sneered and spat out.

“Baby, you’re so impatient even before we get home?”

Xu Qianqian instantly went crazy!

“Get lost!”

Sure enough, don’t feel compassion for a jerk! Peel back his heart, and it’s still layers upon layers of abstraction! No! This guy Jiang Nian has no heart at all!

Back home.

After washing up, Xu Qianqian went back to her bedroom alone and set the alarm for the next day. Before the screen turned off, seeing that fireworks picture on the lock screen made her daze for a moment.

Click. Lights out.

The bedroom was pitch black. She stared at the dark ceiling and closed her eyes. Strangely, the fireworks wouldn’t leave her mind.

“Give it a rest!”

Only her own voice was in the room. Xu Qianqian tried to cover her eyes with the quilt. But after a while, she thought of the scene on the road where he said “I’m sorry.”

“Aaah!” She suddenly sat up from the bed, covered her face with both hands, and kept rubbing them in the darkness. “Why did I say that? Why!”

Then she collapsed onto the bed, rolling over and over.

Thinking of how Jiang Nian looked when he said “I’m sorry,” Xu Qianqian felt a pang in her heart as if it were pricked by a needle. She really wanted to knock on Jiang Nian’s door and tell him that poor grades weren’t his fault.

He had already done well. Pat his head.

The wall clock’s minute hand had moved a quarter of the way, but Xu Qianqian still couldn’t sleep. After muttering “I really deserve to die” for a while, she curled into a ball on the bed.

After she stopped squirming, she realized that after October came November. There was less and less time between them, and maybe they really would part ways next summer.

Should she be a bit nicer to him?

Xu Qianqian didn’t remember how she fell asleep. She had a long dream. In the dream, she returned to that midsummer year, standing at the entrance of the old alley, looking at the street sign.

Jiang Nian, holding a popsicle, ran over excitedly from a distance and then split it in two.

Tiny ice fragments splashed onto her face, icy cold, carrying the fragrance of mung beans. The flow of people was constant, and fragments of sunlight moved through the streets.

The air was baked hot, and the sound of cicadas was continuous.

【Xu Qianqian, your score is so high; I can’t be in the same class as you anymore.】

【Who told you not to study?】

【I can’t get into it. I wasn’t very smart to begin with. It’s okay; anyway, as long as your placement test score is good, let me copy from you in the College Entrance Exam later.】

【Do you want to go to jail?】

【Is food and housing included?】

Upon Awakening, Jiang Nian thought of what gift to give Xu Qianqian. Something that wouldn’t waste money, would complete the task, and he could enjoy himself.

Give her a set of JK.

If nothing else, this is truly impossible to refuse. If it’s twin tails…

Opening the door.

He was stunned. Xu Qianqian had actually gone out at the same time as him, which was unprecedented. Seeing her eyes were red, Jiang Nian couldn’t help but ask.

“Is it your period?”

“No.” Xu Qianqian sniffed. “I had a dream last night. I dreamed you were chasing me calling me ‘Mom.’ You were kowtowing and shouting at the same time, and it moved me to tears.”

Jiang Nian: “.”