Chapter 68: One Never Realizes How Little One Knows Until It Is Time to Use It

During the evening self-study session, Jiang Nian picked up his clothes and gave them a sniff.
Ew.
"Hua, do I smell a bit rancid?"
"Not rancid. Well... I'm a bit sleepy, I'm going to the toilet to do my test papers." Li Hua was sitting right on the edge of his chair, so close that turning his head meant he could practically kiss the person in the next group.
"Go on, go on. Take your chopsticks with you." Jiang Nian felt a bit less confident after saying that, and turned to look at his other deskmate. "Hey, can you smell any sweat on me?"
Zhang Ningzhi raised her head, stared at him for a couple of seconds, and shook her head with a blank expression.
"No, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I was just thinking... how could it be that dramatic? I only ran eight laps." Jiang Nian immediately felt reassured. Baby Zhizhi would definitely never lie.
That bastard Li Hua, on the other hand, was a different story.
Was saying that a bit too hurtful to him?
Whatever. I am the Little Emperor.
On the other side, Yu Tongjie of the first group spent an entire period of evening self-study finally coming to a realization.
Li Qingrong was still that same rigid Li Qingrong. She wouldn't coddle anyone; she would only state the solution in a dry, matter-of-fact way.
For instance, if you have a cold, she tells you to drink more hot water.
Rather than saying polite and flattering things, someone like Li Qingrong preferred to directly offer solutions. As for saving face, that was simply not something she cared about.
Therefore: don't force yourself to keep up with the pace, quit if you can't handle it, and health comes first.
A triple dose of care!
Though the words sounded blunt, if you set aside your pride and searched your conscience, those three pieces of advice hit straight home in his heart. They were precisely what he needed.
Compared to blindly keeping up with the pace just for the sake of pride, bursting a lung, and finally collapsing on the running track, maintaining your own pace and leisurely jogging through the whole course was much more dignified.
The absolute truth! It completely matched her persona.
So heartwarming.
This proved that his contribution to the class... oh no. To put it accurately, this was the sacrifice he made to spare her worries, and she had kept it in mind.
Yu Tongjie reasoned it back and forth several times, and the more he thought about it, the more logical it seemed. But just to be safe, he felt he needed to verify his hypothesis through observation.
He perked up his ears, carefully filtering out the noise of the bustling evening study break so he could catch the voice of Li Qingrong sitting two rows ahead.
Deskmate: "Monitor, I did so terribly on yesterday's English quiz!"
Li Qingrong: "Memorize more vocabulary."
Alright, confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Yu Tongjie raised his head, suddenly feeling that he could conquer the world again.
The monitor cared about all students in the class impartially; she only did it for the collective benefit of the class. He had already washed away his old impression of her, so why shouldn't he try a bit harder?
Besides, he had already signed up for the three-thousand-meter race, and the sunk cost was right there.
Should he shrink back and continue living under the shadow of the rumor-monger impression? Or should he persevere and do something to change it? Taking ten thousand steps back, at least he could leave a good impression.
Taking on more class responsibilities—so what if he didn't hold an official title? Being the backbone of Class Three sounded pretty great too.
There's a long way to go, and his father always said life is long, so there's no telling who will have the last laugh. Judging from family background, upbringing, and temperament, his chances of winning were very high.
Danzo is guaranteed to win.
During the final period of evening self-study, Biology teacher Zhong Qing sat at the podium grading test papers. She had been pondering for days, trying to cultivate a promising seedling to serve as a positive role model.
It was just that she couldn't easily pick someone on her own accord, as it might look like playing favorites.
Not only would the students have opinions, but it would also easily invite gossip in the teachers' office. Oh my, trying way too hard to show off, aren't we? Office politics much? What a jerk, punch your mom in the face.
Besides, if she started it herself and it fizzled out, it would be hard to wrap up. If she found the results unsatisfactory one day and abruptly stripped them of the role, it could easily hurt a student's self-esteem.
Although she was a new teacher, she was quite thorough in her considerations. Better to wait for the Academic Affairs Office to take the lead. According to the head of the biology department, the Academic Affairs Office was already making arrangements.
Zhong Qing hoped to stay completely neutral, achieving her goal without offending anyone.
Thinking thus, she raised her head and cast her gaze toward Jiang Nian in the second row.
Such a promising seedling.
I wonder how his psychological endurance is? Can he handle pressure? How are his grades in other subjects? If the workload is too heavy, will it affect his performance elsewhere?
Young boys cared deeply about their pride, especially in front of a pretty female teacher.
Zhong Qing was well aware of her own appearance and had taken this into account when selecting candidates, trying her best to find a student who didn't suffer from appearance anxiety.
Otherwise, what if the student became a "Zhong loyalist" and studied biology so fanatically that it caused severe subject imbalance? Parents would complain, and the head teacher would definitely come have a chat with her.
Would Jiang Nian become a Zhong loyalist?
Zhong Qing stared at the sixth group for quite a while—as long as half a minute.
Li Hua was trembling in his boots, thinking he had been caught secretly rereading *Grand Escape Against the Sunlight*. He couldn't be blamed; he simply couldn't resist the itch and wanted to save it all to finish later...
Zhang Ningzhi's body stiffened, and she didn't dare raise her head at all. When they had switched seats, the biology teacher seemed to have already noticed her, giving her a sensation of being completely seen through.
Huang Fang didn't notice and didn't look up at all. Wu Junheng was frowning, brooding over his girlfriend's worries—his girlfriend wanted to move from being a day student to a boarder—so he didn't look up either.
Zeng You immediately put away his smartphone at lightning speed, executing three fake moves in one second.
Jiang Nian had already finished copying his homework, doing what needed to be done and copying what needed to be copied. Looking up, he locked eyes with the biology teacher Zhong Qing, and subconsciously straightened his hairstyle.
Seeing this, Zhong Qing withdrew her gaze.
Alright, completely shameless.
She had decided on him.
Jiang Nian had no idea he had become "the chosen child." He was still pondering whether it would rain tomorrow and ruin the PE class.
Not playing it ≠ you can't skip it. Using formulas certainly makes solving problems fast.
Ring, ring, ring.
When evening self-study ended, Jiang Nian familiarly rendezvoused with Xu Qianqian.
"Did you sign up for any events at the sports meeting?" he asked casually, scratching his face. "I did. You could consider wearing a pleated skirt to give me an attack-speed buff."
Curiously, Xu Qianqian didn't make a sound.
The two of them mingled with the crowd pouring down the stairs, with only one flight of stairs left before the exit of the teaching building. The surroundings were bustling and noisy, and students were laughing loudly in the hallways.
The fluorescent lights overhead cast a glow, their shadows blanketing the entire staircase.
Feeling something was amiss, Jiang Nian turned his head to look at her.
"Giving me the silent treatment, huh!"
Xu Qianqian pursed her lips, staying silent until they walked out of the teaching building and moved some distance away from the main crowd heading home. Only then did she let out a breath, her mood low as she spoke.
"I asked for leave for the sports meeting. I'm going back to my hometown with my dad."
Hearing this, Jiang Nian paused, suddenly realizing what this meant. Old Xu was a busy man handling a thousand things a day; being able to squeeze out three days amid his hectic schedule to return to his hometown could only mean one thing.
Thinking back, it seemed to be right around these days.
Suddenly, Jiang Nian didn't know how to respond.
"Yeah."
The atmosphere was rather heavy all the way, and Jiang Nian didn't crack any jokes. It wasn't until they reached their doorstep and watched Xu Qianqian change her shoes and step inside that he finally let out a sigh of relief.
If only my emotional intelligence were a bit higher. Could the system drop a course on emotional intelligence? They had walked all the way in total silence.
Stepping inside and just as he put down his schoolbag, Jiang Nian's phone lit up.
A message from Xu Qianqian: "Thank you."