Near the end of the evening self-study session. Tao Ran walked into the classroom carrying four stacks of test papers and plopped them directly onto the teacher’s desk, causing an immediate outcry from the students. "We just finished a test and now you give us this many papers? Can we even cover all of it?" "We might not cover everything, but you still have to finish them." "Chi Shi!!" Li Hua complained, thoroughly disinterested, "What’s the point of this?" "You gotta do this homework, bro." Jiang Nian replied calmly, "Hey, there’s even a math test paper in here!" Li Hua squinted at the sight. "Don’t you usually hate doing math test papers? How come you’ve suddenly changed? Spill the truth, will you?" Jiang Nian feigned ignorance, "What truth are you talking about? Is it wrong to want to bump up my scores? Zeng You was on his phone for a whole evening self-study session." "You’re deflecting the topic so awkwardly, it’s stiffer than my... never mind." Li Hua was speechless, completely flustered by Jiang Nian’s cryptic ways. "How does this involve me?" Zeng You turned his head, "The provincial joint exams are over. Can’t I just relax a bit?" "There’s still the college entrance exams." Zhang Ningzhi reminded him. Upon hearing this, Zeng You pondered for a moment before speaking. "You’re right, but that’s a matter for after the new year. I plan to enjoy myself until then and buckle down afterward." Zhang Ningzhi: "...." "You’re amazing, Brother You." Jiang Nian gave a thumbs-up. This made even Zhang Ningzhi feel something was off. He widened his eyes and stared directly at Jiang Nian. "Jiang Nian, you’re acting weird." "What’s weird about it? I don’t understand what you’re talking about." He waved his hand dismissively, "These questions... look really interesting." "Hmph!" Seeing his refusal to explain, Zhang Ningzhi puffed up angrily, "Fine, don’t tell me. Just don’t talk to me." Jiang Nian was more than happy with that, as the evening self-study was about to end. "Alright then, no talking today." After all, there are still plenty of tomorrows, with over a hundred days and nights to go. We’ll see each other every day until the count resets to zero. Maybe even twenty years later. Just as he finished speaking, Jiang Nian felt a light thump on his thigh. He looked at Ningzhi with a cheeky smile. "Alright, I’ll keep talking." Upon hearing this, Zhang Ningzhi’s chest heaved. She didn’t know what she was angry about, but seeing him was enough to rile her up. What a rascal, grinning foolishly. Li Qingrong glanced at Jiang Nian and suddenly chimed in. "Is Teacher Qi pretty?" Li Hua was sipping water, and upon hearing this, he ended up coughing uncontrollably. He pounded his chest like a gorilla. Zhang Ningzhi was utterly baffled, "Who’s Teacher Qi?" She had moved up from a parallel class and usually buried herself in her studies, oblivious to outside happenings, never having heard of Qi Xue. "Damn! Qi Xue?" Ma Guojun couldn’t hold back, even from across the aisle. He used his middle finger to adjust his glasses. "Wait, how did you end up in there?" Before Jiang Nian and Zhang Ningzhi moved up to the advanced classes, Li Hua and his friends had been frequenting the office since their first year. Qi Xue had also just started working and initially taught a parallel class for humanities. After the class divisions, she started teaching math in the science stream. In the first semester of their third year, because the math teacher for the top science class got pregnant, Qi Xue was brought in to cover the class. "I wasn’t in there; I was just auditing." Jiang Nian, realizing he couldn’t hide it anymore, admitted, "I’m not anyone important, just an outer disciple." At the same time, he turned to look at Li Qingrong. Li Qingrong didn’t respond, just propping her head up and pretending to be engrossed in the questions in front of her. Li Hua snapped back to life, eyes wide open. "Wait, is it really Qi Xue?" "What’s the point in questioning it? He already mentioned it." Zeng You put down his phone and turned to Jiang Nian. He first cracked a smile, then asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. The top class and the third class weren’t on the same floor, so the chances of running into each other were slim, and if they did, it was just a fleeting glance. "I don’t have a good memory for faces; I was too focused on the questions." Jiang Nian replied earnestly, "The problems were a bit challenging." "Chi Shi!!" Li Hua cursed. "I swear you’re annoying!" "By the way," Jiang Nian unexpectedly turned to the two girls and asked, "are you still playing that one-dollar treasure hunt thing?" "Nope." Qianqian shook her head, "We stopped before the provincial joint exams; the draws would always happen at midnight, and I just can’t stay up that late." Song Xiyun furrowed her brows slightly and added. "That promotion doesn’t seem great lately; they’re mostly giving out phone credits and some kind of currency, which is nice, but..." "Can’t be converted into cash?" Jiang Nian asked. "Yeah." Song Xiyun nodded, explaining, "This ’certain currency’ can buy game skins, something guys might like more." She actually enjoys gaming too, but her phone isn’t great. As for internet cafes, she feels they’re a waste of money and too chaotic. So, she hasn’t really played any proper games. She occasionally plays simple puzzle games on her phone during breaks or some small games that don’t take up much storage space. "I don’t play much either; skins don’t matter to me," Jiang Nian said, "but it’s just about doable; they can be used for recharge services." Song Xiyun continued, "But it’s hard to find someone interested, and it might take a while to use up what we’ve earned." "That’s true." Jiang Nian nodded. He hadn’t paid much attention to this matter, just offered a way and left it be, leaving Qianqian to handle it, but it wasn’t a big deal. She wasn’t lacking money, practically a half-rich girl. It was more to ease Zhao Qiuxue’s burden a bit, so she wouldn’t have to worry about her daughter and could focus on her career. "Jiang Nian, are you hungry?" Qianqian suddenly asked. "Um....." Jiang Nian looked at her, "I’m not hungry, and you shouldn’t be either. Don’t go thinking about asking someone to make supper." "No, you are hungry!" Qianqian declared seriously, "You might not understand your stomach, but you shouldn’t go to sleep on an empty stomach." "Hmph." Qianqian was filled with negative emotions. Even though she was hungry, she didn’t want to eat from the snack stalls. It was always the same few things, and she was tired of them. You could say, no one knows a daughter better than her father. Jiang Nian predicted her prediction and cut off her longing in advance. Qianqian still wasn’t giving up, planning one last attempt. She let out a cry, pretending to faint from low blood sugar. She didn’t fall in Song Xiyun’s direction, afraid she couldn’t catch her. Mr. Xu still valued his life. "What are you doing?" Jiang Nian caught her steadily, looking puzzled, "Your acting is too fake, isn’t it?" "I have no strength left." Qianqian said like Lin Daiyu, "Wah wah wah, I’m so hungry, there’s some boiled rice cake..." "If there’s nothing to eat, I can’t move; I’ll just sleep on the stairs tonight." Qianqian pouted pitifully. "Eating late-night snacks every night, you won’t die from being too fat!" She didn’t eat much, she just wanted to taste it. She wouldn’t gain weight at all. Jiang Nian was particularly annoyed by this, if too little was made, it wasn’t enough, but she never finished it, so he’d have to eat with her every time. Luckily, Song Xiyun came, which solved the problem. With three people sharing, the amount was just right. Hearing this, Song Xiyun was bewildered. Realizing Jiang Nian was talking to her, she became a bit flustered. "I... I’m fine with whatever." "Okay." Jiang Nian nodded, then looked at the frail and delicate Qianqian, "Can you get up now?" "I can." Qianqian made a victory hand gesture, a triumphant smile on her face, "Remember to add some green garlic." Spending time with someone is a time-consuming thing, similar to a nurturing game, requiring a huge investment of time. Jiang Nian watched the rice cake roll in the pot, with puffs of white smoke rising, and turned to look at Song Xiyun. "No... it’s just I’m not that hungry." Song Xiyun pursed her lips, hurriedly washed some fruit, and walked out. Just then, the phone buzzed. A message from Zhang Ningzhi, with just a grumpy face emoji. Zhang Ningzhi sent another knocking emoji, this time with a question. "What are you doing?" He glanced at the pot, took a quick photo and sent it. "Cooking late-night snack (picture)." "You’re eating all that by yourself?" Zhang Ningzhi asked curiously, "(picture) Picking pajamas, about to take a bath." In her wardrobe were seven or eight sets of winter pajamas, all in cute cartoon styles. "Yes, I have a big appetite." Jiang Nian replied, "The blue pajamas look nice." Zhang Ningzhi was standing in front of the wardrobe, chatting with Jiang Nian through her phone. Her face was a little warm from the message. After sending that picture, she regretted it a bit. Felt like she was flirting. But after Jiang Nian’s reply, she was happy. Those were new pajamas, and her favorite set. "Right?" Zhang Ningzhi sent several emojis, "I think so too, blue looks the best." Jiang Nian: "Great minds think alike." "Pfft, at most you’re just a bear." Zhang Ningzhi typed back, "Alright, my mom is urging me to take a bath." Jiang Nian put the phone in his pocket, casually scooped the late-night snack from the pot, and snapped a picture. Sent it to Zhang Ningzhi who went to take a bath. She responded instantly, "(pig emoji)." Jiang Nian typed, "Weren’t you going to take a bath?" This time, Zhang Ningzhi didn’t reply with text. Instead, a green voice message popped up after a few seconds. Clicking, there was the sound of splashing water and the playful voice of a young girl. "I can reply to messages even while bathing." Indeed, replying to a message has nothing to do with bathing. Even if you’re truly bathing, you’ll reply as soon as you pick up the phone. Those who don’t want to reply can be silent for a night or even several days. Jiang Nian: "I’m having a late-night snack." Under the ceiling light, three cans of drinks gently clinked together. Song Xiyun suddenly thought, having company for a late-night snack felt quite nice, chatting intermittently. The drinks in the fridge, all sponsored by Jiang Nian. In the dead of night, laughter could occasionally be heard. Jiang Nian got out of bed, gathered the unfinished papers from his desk, and carelessly stuffed them into his bag. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel⁂fire.net Papers had become a habit. He had grown accustomed to this high-intensity daily routine of solving problems. At present, it didn’t feel particularly tiring. Once liberated someday, he might never want to do homework again. Outside the pancake shop, morning mist lingered. "Huh?" Zhou Haifei was startled, and looked towards the sound, seeing a familiar figure emerging from the fog. Realizing it was Jiang Nian, he let out a sigh of relief.