Chapter 8: The Rival Is...

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The moment Jiang Nian saw the task panel, he was a bit stunned.

Five thousand yuan?

That’s right. This guy always looked at the reward first; the nature of the task didn’t matter.

Since he was on his way home and Xu Qianqian was talking to him, Jiang Nian only had time to glance at the reward before hastily closing the panel.

After acquiring the system, Jiang Nian’s mindset had changed.

Twenty years from now, he would get divorced.

If he continued on his original life path, he would endure twenty miserable, painful years—cowardly, insecure, degenerate, accomplishing nothing, and a failed marriage.

If the future was destined to be a tragedy, then to hell with it.

Unconsciously, the two had reached the downstairs entrance. Just as Jiang Nian was about to head up the dark staircase, Xu Qianqian suddenly called out to him, and he turned to look back at her.

“What’s up?”

“The ‘Return Home’ poem — I remember the line ‘Regretting the past, unable to mend it,’ but what comes after that?” she asked. In the darkness, only the vague outline of the girl was visible, her voice clear and bright.

Jiang Nian was momentarily stunned. He had recited all the classical poems for the college entrance exam from memory, so he instinctively recited aloud:

“...Knowing the future can be pursued, truly lost is the path not yet far, realizing today’s right while yesterday’s wrong.”

Xu Qianqian stepped forward, and her delicate face became clearer in the dim light. Her eyes, a mix of shadow and light, were like water, filled with earnestness.

“It’s not too late now; everything can still be changed.”

He understood she was talking about the college entrance exam, but in that moment, Jiang Nian felt a bit dazed.

All the tasks in the system involved Xu Qianqian. If it was still possible at age thirty-eight, then at eighteen—was he already on the wrong path from the start?

The person best suited for him might be right beside him.

Just as this thought surfaced, Xu Qianqian said,

“I have a set of English test papers...”

“Ahem, I got it,” Jiang Nian quickly interrupted, swiftly stopping her from pulling papers out of her bag mid-sentence. “It’s late. Can we look at them tomorrow?”

Xu Qianqian rolled her eyes and flicked her neat ponytail before heading upstairs.

“Suit yourself.”

Back home.

Jiang Nian tossed his bag aside, planning to shower and then lie down to study the task panel carefully. But his mother called him, asking about the delivery.

“Oh, I bought shoes for you and Old Jiang. They were on sale, quite a good deal.”

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“Why waste money on that? Just buy your own shoes,” his mother nagged. “I’m not short of shoes; don’t be so wasteful.”

Hearing this, Old Jiang also came over and said a few words. Basically, it’s good that he’s earning money; save it for himself, because there will be many expenses in the future.

Jiang Nian covered his ears and dashed to the bathroom—impervious, refusing to listen.

It turned out that parents always say one thing but mean another.

After Jiang Nian finished showering, Old Jiang’s new leather shoes had already been polished and placed on the top shelf of the shoe rack. His mother’s pair was also laced up neatly.

He smiled faintly as he dried his hair and returned to his room.

Jiang Nian skillfully turned on the air conditioner and electric fan, letting the breeze dry his hair naturally. Holding a cup of water in one hand, he opened the system task panel with the other.

“Hm? ‘Rival’?”

He skimmed the task description and paused at the part that said they had never spoken from high school to university. What kind of ruthless person is this? A secret admirer plot, huh?

Someone had a crush on Xu Qianqian; Jiang Nian wasn’t surprised at all. He had grown up knowing Xu Qianqian as a frenemy; they knew each other too well, and the romantic illusions were long gone.

To outsiders, Xu Qianqian was a well-behaved girl with fair skin, a good figure, and excellent grades.

Master bedroom of the Jiang family.

Li Hongmei tossed and turned, unable to sleep, thinking about the shoes her son had bought for them. In the darkness, she couldn’t help but nudge her husband.

Old Jiang shuddered and stiffened, pretending to be asleep.

“Stop pretending. You’re awake,” Li Hongmei said coldly.

“Huh? Hongmei?” Old Jiang turned over, looking groggy. “It’s so late, all the neighbors are asleep. What’s wrong?”

Just one sentence, and the tension broke.

Li Hongmei was speechless. “I’m talking about the serious stuff. Don’t you think we should intervene in Xiao Nian’s gaming? It’s good he’s earning money, but what about his studies?”

“Maybe we should talk to him tomorrow, tell him to stop playing?”

Old Jiang thought for a moment. “I don’t think that’s right.”

“What’s wrong with that? Don’t you know how important senior year is?” Li Hongmei became anxious, sitting up. “If he doesn’t get into a good university, he’ll hit a wall everywhere in society.”

“I know all that. Don’t worry, listen to me,” Old Jiang was patient as always. “Our kid just started earning money. Who did he think of first?”

“I guess Xiao Nian spent at least fifteen hundred yuan. Maybe all the money he earned went on us—food and shoes.”

Hearing this, Li Hongmei’s frown eased.

“Xiao Nian is a good kid, but good kids can’t find work. What if he doesn’t go to university?”

“Don’t worry. Wait until next week’s monthly school exam results come out, then we’ll talk to him.”

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“And you should praise him more these days. Don’t always look so stern.”

“I know, I know, you talk too much,” Li Hongmei curled up in her blanket. “Sleep now, we have work tomorrow. Quit nagging, you’re not so great either.”

Old Jiang: “……”

The next day.

Jiang Nian went out to buy breakfast, deliberately bringing one for Xu Qianqian. The two “happened” to walk to school together again.

Xu Qianqian curled her lips. “No good deed goes unpunished.”

“How is this no good deed? Didn’t you promise to help me with math?” Jiang Nian quickened his pace to catch up. They turned a narrow alley and reached the main street.

“Oh.” Xu Qianqian took a bite of her vegetable bun and squinted as she sipped her soy milk. “Why do you always buy soy milk? I want strawberry yogurt.”

“Stop messing around. Soy milk is good for your brain,” he said.

The sunlight was clear, the trees lush, and dappled light fell on the uneven street lined with shops. Breakfast stalls were crowded with students, steam rising in the air.

“Hm? I never heard soy milk is brain food?” Xu Qianqian walked ahead in her white sneakers, turning curiously. “Isn’t walnut milk better for the brain?”

Soy milk contains plant-based estrogen; if it nourishes a baby’s body, it nourishes the brain too.

Jiang Nian thought, it’s not your brain I’m nourishing. “Who told you walnuts are brain food? That’s all psychological.”

“Really?”

Sunlight filtered through the girl’s hair as their conversation faded behind them.

Just as they were about to enter the school gate, Jiang Nian casually asked,

“Hey, is there a boy named Zhou Haifei in your class?”

Xu Qianqian stopped in her tracks.

“A boy?”

“Yeah, why?”

“We do have a Zhou Haifei, but...” Xu Qianqian looked at Jiang Nian, her lips slightly parted, “She’s a girl. It should be Zhou Haifei—Zhou Haifei with a different tone.”

Jiang Nian was dumbfounded.

A girl?

What the hell! What aluminum copper?