Chapter 25: No, Bro, I Was Just Calling You for Fun

Upon hearing the words "Nanjiang Bay," Jiang Nian’s eyelids twitched. Some of the local students in the class couldn't help but exclaim, "Ohhh!!!"

"Holy cow, Nanjiang Bay? Those riverside luxury flats!"

"Damn, talk about a rich girl living in reality!"

Nanjiang Bay was the most expensive real estate in the county. It wasn't directly on the riverbank, but it offered a view of the Nanjiang River. The peak price for an unfurnished unit was 800,000, and with interior design, it would be at least a million. While this price wouldn't buy a toilet in Shanghai, it was the gold standard in Zhennan County. Even the local Country Garden development was only around 5,000 per square meter, while Nanjiang Bay was pushing 8,000. People who could afford a place in Nanjiang Bay were rare in any given classroom.

Zhang Ningzhi’s face flushed as she faced the teasing of her classmates. She lowered her head and hurried to her seat, pulling out her English textbook and clutching a pen, not daring to look up.

The two were assigned to the middle of the third row, filling gaps in different groups. By coincidence, Jiang Nian sat behind Zhang Ningzhi, in the seat to her back-right near the aisle. Unfortunately, he wasn't sitting in the "king of the back row by the window." But getting promoted to this class was good enough; he couldn't afford to be picky.

Jiang Nian reached out and poked Zhang Ningzhi’s back. She stiffened, then tilted her head up slightly; from his angle, he could see her reddened ears. Summoning her courage, the young girl shrunk her shoulders and turned around cautiously.

Jiang Nian leaned on his desk with a relaxed, free-spirited air. He held a pen between his ring finger and pinky, smiling at her as he made the shape of a "pen" with his mouth.

Zhang Ningzhi’s face turned bright red. She quickly turned back around, rummaged through a stationery bag in her desk, hesitated, and ultimately handed him two pen refills.

His seatmate, watching Jiang Nian and then the "rich girl" in front, had his mouth agape in an "O" shape. He lowered his voice and asked curiously, "You guys know each other?"

"I suppose so."

At noon, when class ended, Zhang Ningzhi turned around instinctively to look for Jiang Nian, only to find him gone. His seat was empty; looking toward the door, he had already left.

*Hmm...* She puffed up her cheeks in annoyance.

Jiang Nian didn't know someone was looking for him. The second the teacher said class was dismissed, he stood up. If you were slow at the cafeteria, there was no food left. He and Xu Qianqian always ate there. They didn't make plans to eat together—what was the point? By the time they finished coordinating, all the good dishes would be gone. Childhood sweethearts were like birds of a feather that scattered the moment hunger struck.

The cafeteria was packed. Students in their first and second years were listless when it came to studying, but their enthusiasm for gorging themselves was off the charts. *Bah, people who don't love to study.*

He moved quickly, choosing a shorter line. A glance over caught a familiar figure—or more accurately, a familiar pair of glasses.

Zhou Haifei? Zhou Haifei!

Isn't that my sister Feifei? The brave tomboy, the introverted, long-haired girl with glasses.

Jiang Nian saw Zhou Haifei heading toward the steamed bun and pancake stall. Not many people went there at noon, and her back was soon swallowed by the crowd. Jiang Nian pulled his gaze back, looked toward the front, and his pupils constricted.

*Damn! Son of a bitch, someone's cutting in line!*

*Motherf—!*

He was so angry his scalp felt like it was going to explode, but he was too far away to confront the person directly. The student who had been cut in line just accepted it, acting as if they hadn't seen anything.

Forget it. Jiang Nian didn't want to argue with an idiot before eating. No hope for them; they wouldn't even "elbow" the cutter.

During the wait, he pulled out his phone to check his bank balance. He had earned 30,000, given 30,000 to his parents, and spent 6,000 on courses. That left him with... 17,000.

A massive sum. For a high school senior, it was a fortune.

The line moved slowly. Jiang Nian habitually checked what was on the menu. Six yuan for two meat and two vegetable dishes. Everything in the school was expensive except for the food itself. He bought a six-yuan meal and found an empty seat to eat his chicken leg while scrolling through his phone.

After finishing, he went outside the school to buy fruit tea for Xu Qianqian, and grabbed an extra cup for Song Xiyun. Of course, he did it in Xu Qianqian’s name. Friendships like theirs were fragile if not properly maintained.

However, Song Xiyun didn't seem to appreciate it. Taking advantage of the lack of people, she pulled Jiang Nian into a secluded stairwell, looked around, and asked with red-rimmed eyes, "Why did you buy courses from my mom again! Are you..."

"Hold on," Jiang Nian interrupted her preamble. "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want. Does your mom know you're interrogating her VIP client?"

"No, bro, I was just saying that," Song Xiyun said, looking pained and tugging at her hair. "Do you really want to be my dad? You even topped the leaderboard for my mom."

"You misunderstood. I just want to get in shape," Jiang Nian said with a look of pure innocence.

Song Xiyun choked, looking at him with suspicion. "Then why did you buy my mom’s course, and ninety sessions at that?"

"Because I’m a good person."

"Go to hell! I knew it!!" Song Xiyun broke down, looking like she wanted to bite him. "Jiang Nian, what do I have to do to get you to..."

"That depends on your performance."

"What does that mean?"

"My shoulders are a bit sore. Sigh, I've tasted all the bitterness of studying." Jiang Nian stood at the stairwell, pretending to stretch his shoulders while watching her reaction.

She understood immediately, gritting her teeth. "Fine, I’ll rub them for you."

With that, Song Xiyun walked behind him with great reluctance and began massaging his shoulders. Finding her strength lacking, she switched to pounding them instead.

"Hey, why aren't you smiling?"

Song Xiyun sneered.

"You aren't cute at all. You're not even as good as..."

Song Xiyun forced out a smile like a beautiful girl.

Jiang Nian left, leaving behind one last sentence: "You have time during the National Day holiday? Help me copy my English homework. I don't really want to write it."

Song Xiyun: "........"

After the lunch break, Jiang Nian returned the two pen refills to Zhang Ningzhi. But no matter how he looked at it, something seemed off about the "rich girl." The look she gave him was filled with resentment.

????

What the hell?

In the afternoon, Zhang Ningzhi kept her head buried in her homework like a little ostrich. She didn't dare look up, and if people nearby spoke, she only perked up her ears to listen.

Jiang Nian was used to being laid-back. His grades were average, but his social skills were maxed out. By the end of the afternoon, he was already chatting and laughing with the people in the rows around him.

"Holy shit! You memorized all 3,500 words?"

"Yep."

"You're a monster. It hurts, it hurts so much." His seatmate, Li Hua—a boy of ordinary looks and dark skin, a top student in English essays but a total airhead in real life—sighed.

Jiang Nian was having a great time and was about to turn to say something when he caught a glimpse of the "rich girl" in front of him turning around, her eyes full of grievance.

"????"

He didn't seem to have offended her. Where could things have gone wrong?

In the afternoon, perhaps by chance or design, Jiang Nian ran into the tomboy Zhou Haifei in the cafeteria again. She seemed to have an impression of him, too, as she let her gaze linger on his face for a second before bowing her head and walking away.