Chapter 11: Snow-White Feet

"Cheers! Bottoms up!"

Outside the barbecue joint, smoke billowed into the air as a large industrial fan blew the grease and fumes toward the sky. On the artificial turf, a dozen large round wooden tables were surrounded by pink plastic chairs. Under the glare of bright floodlights, eight or nine students clinked their beer mugs together.

"Why didn't Jiang Nian come?" someone asked.

"Probably out of money, who knows with him," a boy said carelessly, the small hot pot on the table bubbling and steaming. "He hasn't spoken to us at all these past few days."

Le Zhi sat in his seat, his expression awkward. He had a decent relationship with Jiang Nian and knew the real reason. Seeing the conversation veering further off course, he couldn't help but interject.

"Hey, it was just that thing the other day. He overheard us when everyone was joking around. Jiang Nian is probably just feeling a bit sensitive; it’ll be fine once we talk it out."

"What is there to talk about? If he wants to come, he comes; if not, he doesn't," Zhou Yuting said suddenly.

"Huh?" Le Zhi hadn't expected Zhou Yuting to speak up and immediately felt sheepish.

This group had formed around Zhou Yuting, and now that she had spoken, the others naturally became more aggressive, disparaging Jiang Nian without restraint.

"A loser is a loser, what's wrong with saying so?"

"Exactly. Why act so fragile? It’s pathetic if you can't even take a joke. If he doesn't want to show up, do we really need our class representative to coax him?"

Zhou Yuting was the class representative, consistently ranking in the top five. She was wealthy, smart, had a great figure, and was popular with the opposite sex.

Le Zhi liked Zhou Yuting, that was true, but hearing the people at the table relentlessly belittle Jiang Nian—what he thought would just be a few passing comments had escalated to insulting his mother. They kept at it, growing more fervent and crossing more lines with every word.

"Come on... is all this really necessary?"

"What do you mean 'necessary'? Are we wrong? A loser is just a loser. Poor parents raise poor kids; he'll never have any real ambition in his life."

Even though Le Zhi's relationship with Jiang Nian was nothing special, and he didn't want to contradict Zhou Yuting, he couldn't control his temper anymore.

*Bang!* Le Zhi stood up abruptly and roared, "Enough!"

"Are you all out of your minds? Jiang Nian isn't here, so there's no need to drag his family into this. Anyone listening would think he murdered your mothers."

"I really can't stand you bunch of idiots. Being friends with a dog would be better than being friends with you. Go drink your damn beer yourselves!"

Le Zhi shouted this in one breath, slammed three hundred-yuan notes onto the table, and walked away without so much as a glance at them.

***

Silence fell over the table.

After a few seconds, someone finally reacted. A boy stood up, clutching a beer bottle, his eyes red as he glared at Le Zhi’s retreating back.

"You idiot! Don't you dare walk away, you bastard!"

"What are you doing!" Zhou Yuting said, annoyed, glaring at the boy. "He’s already gone, what good does that do?"

"But..."

"Sit down!" Zhou Yuting crossed her arms and shot him a sharp look. "Do you know who Le Zhi’s father is? If you start a fight, you won't be coming out for fifteen days. Do you want to drop out of school?"

Liu Feipeng was sitting there, slowly sipping his beer, smiling silently as he listened. The corner of his mouth curled up in a sneer, mocking not just Jiang Nian, but the other boys at the table as well.

A bunch of poor, brainless dogs, thinking that ostracizing Jiang Nian would win them the favor of the goddess?

He saw the situation clearly. Le Zhi’s father was a leader at the county public security bureau. Although Le Zhi usually acted a bit soft, he clearly had some backbone when it counted. This made Liu Feipeng respect him a little more; at least he wasn't one of those brain-dead sycophants and was actually qualified to compete with him.

Furthermore, he knew Zhou Yuting was smart; she wouldn't alienate Le Zhi over this. She valued connections, and in a small county, connections and power were everything.

The cake of victory should be enjoyed by someone like him—steady and capable.

"Ahem." A smile appeared on Liu Feipeng's face as he broke the heavy silence. "How did you do on the test this time, Yuting? Any hope of moving up a class?"

With that, the atmosphere at the table returned to normal.

Zhou Yuting frowned. "I did okay, but I'm not sure if I have a chance."

"It's fine," Liu Feipeng said with a chuckle, projecting the image of a steady, reliable older brother. "I asked around. The exam was generally quite difficult this time; maybe a 530 will be enough to move up."

"Really?" Zhou Yuting’s eyes lit up. "I estimated a 510. If I get lucky, maybe I have a chance to touch the 530 line."

"Yeah, and even if you're a bit short, it doesn't matter," Liu Feipeng said, mentioning it as if it were an afterthought. "My father is quite close with our grade director. He mentioned it today—if it really comes down to it, I can put in a good word for you."

"Okay, then thank you in advance, Brother Peng," Zhou Yuting said, looking sweet and obedient.

The educational resources in the honors class were vastly different from those in the standard classes. It wasn't that the teachers were biased, but the foundations of the two levels were simply different. Zhou Yuting had consistently stayed in the top five, and her head teacher had spoken to her last week, encouraging her to prepare well and strive to move up to the honors class.

If she could move up and establish herself there, a spot at a top-tier university would be all but guaranteed. She had always dreamed of attending university in the seaside city of Lu.

***

Under the light, Jiang Nian opened a white box and solemnly took out a jar of medicinal ointment. As he opened the lid, a strong, pungent scent of herbs filled the air.

He turned around and shook his head.

"How on earth did you manage to twist your ankle? Xu Qianqian, were you daydreaming about romance while walking upstairs?"

In the Xu family's living room, Xu Qianqian, sitting on the sofa, gritted her teeth!

"You're the one dreaming of romance! It's because... because there was a mouse!"

"Mice are so cute, and you’re actually afraid of them?" Jiang Nian sighed repeatedly, walked over to her, and looked down from above. "Tsk, tsk."

Xu Qianqian was infuriated by his "tsk-tsking" and threw a pillow at him.

"Get out! I'll apply it myself!"

"That won't do. Old Xu isn't home from work yet, so I have to help you with the medicine." A sly grin appeared on Jiang Nian's face. "Besides, how could I pass up such a great opportunity?"

"Don't worry! I'll... be gentle!"

Xu Qianqian's face turned noticeably pale; no girl wasn't afraid of pain.

"Forget it, I'll do it myself."

"You need to treat a sprain immediately. If you don't use enough strength, you'll end up with pooled blood." Jiang Nian pulled over a small stool and raised an eyebrow. "Bring that stinky foot over here."

"Your foot is the stinky one! If you don't believe me, smell it!" Xu Qianqian, reluctant, stretched out her snow-white little foot.

Perhaps because she was obsessed with washing her feet, the soles were free of calluses. Instead, they were a rosy pink, and her toes curled up like little white rice balls.

Because of how she was sitting on the sofa, the hem of Xu Qianqian's pajamas tightened, outlining the soft, rounded curves of her chest, looking exceptionally alluring.

Jiang Nian glanced at her once and then looked away, wondering to himself when she had grown so much.

He poured some herbal oil into his palm and focused intently on the swollen edge of her ankle. He applied some pressure, then began to rub it in slow, circular motions.