"Hmm." Li Qingrong glanced back at him, then at the stationery pouch in the classroom, thinking about whether to toss it there.
"Huh?" Jiang Nian was dumbfounded and pointed at the classroom where papers were still being collected. "If we leave now, won’t you need your stationery pouch?"
"I was afraid people would come down later in droves, so I asked someone to help collect it." Jiang Nian spoke honestly, without a trace of reservation.
"Let’s wait a bit, it won’t take more than a few minutes."
Li Qingrong thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel⦿fire.net
The two stood together, with eyes from all directions almost like flying insects, constantly passing through the corridor.
Though nobody stared openly, their gazes quickly shifted.
"How was your Chinese exam?" Li Qingrong asked.
"Hard to say, I’d say... passable." Jiang Nian replied. "Probably still around a hundred, not much change."
She calculated quickly, her eyes slightly lowered.
"That’s quite uncertain."
Jiang Nian didn’t argue but thought to himself.
He hadn’t finished the exam yet, but planned to deliver a surprise later. Once the class monitor relaxes vigilance, he’d inadvertently show the scores and surpass expectations!
The benefit of doing this is maintaining an air of nonchalant confidence.
Oh, I thought I wouldn’t have enough grades.
On the surface, it seemed like an unexpected joy; inwardly, he was laughing, pretending to be regretful while saying no, no.
"What are you laughing at?" Li Qingrong glanced at him.
"Nothing." Jiang Nian restrained his smile and looked at her. "I just remembered I get to have lunch with you soon, makes me happy."
By this time, the invigilating teacher on the second floor had come out with the exam papers.
Students oh-ed and rushed into the classroom. The corridor became instantly crowded, flowing irregularly like a liquid.
Li Qingrong moved forward, pursing her lips and leaving a remark.
Main road of the school.
Yang Qiming had just finished comparing answers for the Chinese multiple-choice questions with Huang Caicai, only to find none of their answers matched.
The more he thought about it, the more it didn’t seem right, destined for trouble.
Yang Qiming pondered for a moment and decided to test Huang Caicai’s basic knowledge of literature.
"What’s up, Brother?"
"Let me ask you, who is the author of Water Margin?"
Huang Caicai hesitated for a long time, staring at Yang Qiming with a wise look. For a moment, he really forgot, but suddenly a light bulb went off.
"Brother, it’s Lu Zhishen."
Upon hearing this, Yang Qiming was instantly relieved.
The correct answers from earlier must certainly have been Cailang’s mistakes. Still... Cailang getting so many wrong, that’s genuinely pitiful.
He felt a bit bad about it, so he said.
"Come on, let me treat you to lunch off-campus, a buffet. Haven’t been in a while, let’s grab a couple of beers."
Huang Caicai didn’t think too much about it and wasn’t too concerned with the Chinese score. He thought to himself, there’s food again. Suddenly, he beamed with happiness.
The two maneuvered through the crowd, surrounded by students. The youthful faces made Yang Qiming feel a wave of exhilaration.
"Ah, beauty has no permanence, delight comes from the good-looking ones."
Huang Caicai clapped reflexively and then asked curiously.
"Brother Yang, speaking of which, how are things going with that girl from the humanities class?"
"Don’t mention it, haven’t been in touch for a while." Yang Qiming said speechlessly. "Last time I shared a video with you, accidentally sent it to her."
"Shouldn’t have pinned it, it slipped over with just a swipe. I had no face to explain. QQ really needs a recall feature."
"What to do then?" Huang Caicai was confused.
"Just let it be." Yang Qiming led his little buddy out, glancing at the school gate. "Hey, isn’t that Jiang Nian?"
He pointed, and sure enough...
Jiang Nian and Li Qingrong were walking side by side out of the school gate, heading away from the bustling areas.
"The one next to him seems to be... the class monitor, right?" Huang Caicai asked in confusion. "Yes, it’s the class monitor. Where are they going?"
"Damn it!" Yang Qiming instantly panicked. "Where else, there’s three hours left till the afternoon exam."
"Of course, they’re going on a date, unbelievable!"
Jiang Nian and Li Qingrong turned the corner of an alley and stopped in front of a noisy shop.
Li Qingrong looked up. The environment here wasn’t bad and it’s close to school, so it wouldn’t delay his studying.
Sour and spicy shredded potatoes, enticingly tangy. Beer duck, a purely home-style dish, but the duck here isn’t frozen.
The two pots of soup are a bit expensive but made with authentic ingredients.
Jiang Nian shared a bit of his rice with Li Qingrong, visibly delighted with the dishes, and began eating with enthusiasm.
Li Qingrong picked at the shredded potatoes, her face expressionless. She ate quietly, chewing slowly.
When she looked up at Jiang Nian, it seemed like he’d swallow the bowl.
"Are you in a hurry?"
"No, just hungry." Jiang Nian slowed down his eating pace. "This exam took a lot out of me, can’t hold off the hunger."
"Then go ahead and eat." Li Qingrong nodded, making no further comment.
During the meal, she remained silent.
Until Li Qingrong finished paying and turned to him.
"Hmm?" Jiang Nian initially planned to return to the classroom to study and paused for a moment. "If you’re asking, then I certainly do."
If someone else asked? Depends on the situation.
He originally thought it was for a walk, but ended up following Li Qingrong into a snack shop. They bought a few packs of nuts and some boxes of yogurt.
"You didn’t eat enough, did you?"
Let’s just say, some people are amusing as soon as they open their mouths.
However, Jiang Nian can’t be blamed for this. He rarely eats such things, except when others offer them, he hardly touches snacks.
Ask and he’ll say he doesn’t like them, but if they’re free.
That’s a different story.
"For you." Li Qingrong finished paying and handed him the small bag. "Eat a little before the afternoon exam."
She paused then said.
"They stave off hunger."
"You... you paid for lunch earlier too." He pretended. "I’m starting to feel a bit embarrassed."
Li Qingrong glanced at him and said nothing.
Their direction was the school, but apparently... she never had the habit of napping in the classroom, so she stopped at the school gate.
Jiang Nian rarely got escorted by a girl, feeling somewhat strange.
"Oh, I’ll head up in a bit."
The two stood there, awkwardly, staring at each other, not speaking, letting time tick away.
"I’m heading back now." Li Qingrong said.
"Alright." Jiang Nian felt the class monitor probably had some matters to discuss with him, most likely concerns, but he hadn’t brought it up.
Math exam in the afternoon, hmm...
He thought for a moment, planning to make use of the lunchtime, but it wasn’t urgently down to the minute, so he followed up.
"Qingqing, does your family... have strong opinions about you living away?"
This was essentially a pointless question. Whether there’s an opinion, nobody understood better than him, but it served well as a conversation starter.
If it were family matters causing trouble, the class monitor might nod.
"Hmm." Li Qingrong nodded, with lowered eyes. "It just seems like those matters don’t have any substantial effect on me."
"Indeed, it’s quite annoying." Jiang Nian chimed in but didn’t specify anyone in particular for his complaints.
Qingbao’s cherished student, the untouchable.
"Since it doesn’t have much impact, just keep living there. Anyway, no one will disturb you, it’s quite peaceful."
Li Qingrong stared at him for a few seconds and nodded.
After they parted, Jiang Nian headed back to the classroom alone. In the fourth-floor corridor, he pulled out his math test paper and mistake notebook.
Ready to step into the classroom for a lunch break and review.
Chen Yunyun came out from the doorway and spotted Jiang Nian from afar. She waved to him lightly, with a bright smile.
"I was just about to look for you."
"What’s up?" Jiang Nian approached.
"Got you a drink." Chen Yunyun smiled. "Had lunch with Yuhe at West Gate and brought you a fruit tea."
"Thanks, but no rush, right?"
"But you don’t like fruit tea with melted ice, do you?"
"That’s true. If you bring it, I’ll definitely drink it." Jiang Nian thought for a moment. "I’m not that picky, it’s all the same."
With that, he turned toward the classroom. But accidentally stepped on the toe of Wang Yuhe coming out.
Jiang Nian pretended not to notice and tried to slip away.
She paused for a moment, quite annoyed.
"Don’t you know how to say thank you!"