Chapter 64: Access to the Internet Depends on Your Attitude

When evening self-study ended, Jiang Nian grabbed his bag and left immediately.

The night was thick. In the distance, he spotted Xu Qianqian standing motionless among the crowd of students leaving for the day, clutching a phone. The head of the grade director walked right past her, glanced at her briefly, and then went off the clock.

That old geezer was probably in a rush to transform into a magical girl after work; how could he miss a phone that big?

Jiang Nian stepped closer. "What are you looking at? So focused?"

Xu Qianqian knitted her delicate brows. Instead of hiding it, she held the phone right up in front of him.

"Got into an online argument with someone. I'm losing."

"Let me see." Jiang Nian took the phone. Not quite as daring as Xu Qianqian, he looked left and right first to make sure no teachers were around before inspecting the screen, where a dozen comments had already piled up.

"Let's walk and talk." He tucked Xu Qianqian's phone into his pocket.

"Oh."

The two of them blended into the crowd heading downstairs, where specks of starlight fell upon the campus pathways.

"I told you not to go around offering study advice to people online. When they post stuff like that, they're just looking for comfort." Jiang Nian scrolled through her comment feed, reading the original poster's sarcastic replies.

[Hehe, my grades might not be ideal, but I'm really not open to unsolicited advice. I'm the type of person who values the process much more than the result. Sister, your tone is dripping with superiority. Do you lack emotional intelligence completely?]

"Is it my fault?" Xu Qianqian asked with a puzzled expression.

"Of course it's not your fault. Just look at what she wrote in the caption," Jiang Nian said while pointing at the phone screen as they walked, patiently guiding her. "Look at what she posted: [So what? What does working hard for two years even mean?]"

"Her peak scores barely scraped into the double digits, and she hasn't gotten above 40 on a single subject. If she played just one less match of Identity V over the past two years, her scores wouldn't be this pathetic."

"Ohh, well then I won't reply." Xu Qianqian seemed a bit slow-witted when it came to these matters.

Jiang Nian clicked his tongue. "No need, I've already replied for you."

Hearing this, Xu Qianqian's pupils dilated and she instantly snatched the phone back.

"Don't go replying with random nonsense, your account will get banned."

She unlocked it and almost fainted from shock upon reading the reply.

[If I have to care about your mood just to use the internet, I might as well go fuck your mom.]

"Why are you replying with such filthy language again? Honestly..." Xu Qianqian gave him a punch, but she didn't delete the comment, quietly backing out instead. "Good thing I registered this high-imitation backup account using your profile picture and nickname."

In a split second, the smile froze on Jiang Nian's face.

"What?"

"Huh? Did I say something?" Xu Qianqian looked utterly innocent, bathed in the gentle glow of the streetlamp, her beautiful eyes sparkling. "Oops, we need to get back early, I have worksheets to do today."

"Xu Qianqian! Give me that phone!" Jiang Nian lunged forward.

"No way, bleh!"

The two of them chased each other down the dim street, their elongated shadows gradually blurring into the corner.

Early the next morning, it was drizzling.

With every autumn rain came a drop in temperature. Xu Qianqian stood in front of the mirror, putting on a light khaki cardigan. She solemnly adjusted her meatbun hairstyle, grabbed her schoolbag and an umbrella, and headed out the door.

Click. Across the hall, Jiang Nian came out with his backpack too.

Only part of the delivery had arrived, and with nobody home to collect it, he would have to wait until tomorrow to pick up everything together.

In the mottled stairwell, the light wasn't very bright due to the overcast rainy weather. The girl's bun made her look even cutelier, adding a touch of reticence compared to usual.

"Oh, changed your hairstyle? Looks pretty nice." Jiang Nian reached out, wanting to give it a poke.

Xu Qianqian swatted away his greasy hand. "Touch it, and you lose games for a whole year."

"Damn, you're vicious!" Jiang Nian instantly pulled his hand back, knowing his "daughter" better than anyone. "And here I was, yesterday helping you amicably handle your internet relationships."

"Tch." Xu Qianqian curled her lips and said nothing.

Still, watching that blogger have a mental breakdown last night and fire off ten consecutive essays was deeply satisfying. Although it wasn't very nice to say, but... whatever.

The karma points would go to Jiang Nian anyway.

The two went downstairs, opened their umbrellas, and stepped into the curtain of rain. One black and one blue Heaven umbrella blossomed in the downpour. Walking through the alley full of puddles, they reached the main street of Zhennan in a few minutes.

The fractured tiles on the street were like landmines; you never knew what would happen when you stepped on one.

"Sports meeting is the day after tomorrow. Can they even hold it in this weather?" Jiang Nian brought it up, shaking the water off his umbrella surface, and was promptly punched by Xu Qianqian beside him.

"Don't shake it on my side!"

"I figured since you're wearing three layers, you must be hot," Jiang Nian said cheekily. Every time he walked with Xu Qianqian, he just couldn't help but provoke her.

"Who told you to only wear a short-sleeved shirt out? You deserve it!" Xu Qianqian sneered. "If your eyes don't work, donate them to the cafeteria. I only wore tw—"

Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly realized what she had said, and her face flushed red.

"You want to die, Jiang Nian!"

Jiang Nian took two quick steps to widen the gap, turning the black and blue umbrella canopies into a single-file line. In the blink of an eye, they blended into the sea of more colorful umbrellas and vanished.

Reaching the fourth floor, he ran right into Li Qingrong, who seemed to be coming from the water dispenser in the corridor.

"Monitor." Jiang Nian shook his umbrella, letting the rainwater drip into the corridor.

"Yeah." Li Qingrong nodded, then suddenly came to a halt. "The sports meeting registration forms have already been handed in. It looks like you signed up for the three thousand meters?"

"Ah, what's wrong?" Jiang Nian looked confused.

Yu Tongjie shouldered his umbrella and barged into the senior high teaching building, stowing it away and letting the rainwater drip-drop down the canopy. The corridors and stairs were soaked anyway.

He drooped his face, his mood as gloomy as the weather.

Truth be told, he wasn't all that keen on going against Jiang Nian; he simply looked down on cheaters. The moment he discovered it was a misunderstanding, he had already felt some regret.

However, it was too late to say anything now, and he didn't care for Jiang Nian's aggressive attitude either.

Buzz.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and Yu Tongjie pulled it out to take a look.

Zhou Yuting: "The sports meeting is the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow night during self-study, we're planning to ask for leave and go hang out outside. Are you coming, Yu Shao? Liu Feipeng will be there too."

Yu Tongjie lowered his head, thought for a moment, and replied.

"Yeah."

He wasn't actually close with Zhou Yuting, having only added her because of nodding acquaintanceship with Liu Feipeng. To be honest, he didn't really like Liu Feipeng's circle.

He only bothered chatting with her because of her decent grades.

As for anything else, Zhou Yuting wasn't even a fraction of one percent as good as Li Qingrong.

Thinking of Li Qingrong, Yu Tongjie couldn't help letting out a sigh.

If it were the previous two years, he might have had a chance. After all, though Li Qingrong was rigid in personality, she was attractive, and more importantly, possessed that unique temperament.

However, ever since Li Qingrong's uncle was transferred to the city, Yu Tongjie had basically given up hope.

Now, with the class reshuffling, they happened to become classmates again.

If not for the conflict during the English class that day, perhaps there still would have been a chance. But after things turned out like that, and with Li Qingrong being such a rigid person, her impression of him was probably...

Fortunately, he had signed up for the sports meeting. They were short one person for the men's three thousand meters, and nobody else had stepped up.

His action could be considered doing her a favor.

Perhaps, her impression of him might change for the better.