CHAPTER 33: CHAPTER 33: DO YOU REALLY NOT CARE ABOUT ANYONE AT SCHOOL ANYMORE?

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Liangsong’s gaze landed on Jiang Nian’s area, his expression as dark as water.

"If you don’t volunteer, do you want me to call you out myself?"

Zhang Ningzhi turned pale, probably never having been scolded by a teacher before. Her hands on the desk trembled a bit, and the well-behaved kid planned to stand up with her head down.

Jiang Nian kicked her chair to stop Zhang Ningzhi. He then intended to stand up, but was pulled back by Li Hua, who then stood up himself.

"Teacher, I want to report that Ma Guojun was also talking just now."

"Li Hua, damn your mother!"

Ma Guojun cursed quietly, the chubby guy stood up, adjusted his glasses, and looked down. His lips moved rapidly, presumably chanting a sweet spell.

I am Slytherin, Black Magic, this is Black Magic.

Even after sacrificing two people, Liu Liangsong’s expression still didn’t improve. Probably for fairness, he frowned, glancing over Zhang Ningzhi’s area.

"Only the boys? I clearly heard a girl’s voice. Are you going to stand up yourself or do you want me to point you out?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ningzhi was almost scared to tears.

But then Ma Guojun said, "Ahem, Yao Beibei, the teacher is calling you."

"You..." Yao Beibei stood up with an awkward smile, "Teacher, I was just reciting my book, just a little loud."

Liu Liangsong glanced over at Yao Beibei and sneered.

"The three of you, come out with me!"

The second evening study session ended.

Zhang Ningzhi followed Jiang Nian downstairs from the fourth floor. The corridor was somewhat narrow and not very bright, with shadows flickering around.

"Where are we going?"

Li Hua, Yao Beibei, and Ma Guojun hadn’t returned from the office yet, and Zhang Ningzhi was worried about them. She planned to go to the office and wanted to ask Jiang Nian to go with her.

Jiang Nian seemed to have something to say too, and just then he caught Zhang Ningzhi’s gaze as she bravely turned around from her front seat. He simply spoke up, asking her to follow after the study session.

She originally thought they would go to the office, but instead, they found themselves leaving the teaching building.

"To buy drinks," Jiang Nian paused for a moment, seemingly sharing a tip, "Li Hua and the others took the heat from Lao Liu, so I’m getting them a drink."

"Oh." Zhang Ningzhi was a bit confused, quickly catching up and whispering, "Earlier... I was actually going to stand up."

"I saw, but you better not." Jiang Nian said, "I kicked your chair to tell you not to. I’ll stand up instead."

"Why?"

The two walked with the crowd out, quickly leaving the brightly lit school building behind.

"You just joined the class, top grades and thin-skinned," he said, turning to the girl walking beside him. The light from the building reflected in her eyes, a mix of bright and dim.

"Getting called away by the teacher suddenly in a new class can leave a bad impression. You have to stay here for another year; how could you handle that? I don’t care."

"What about Yao Beibei and Li Hua, Ma Guojun? Are we betraying them by doing this?" Zhang Ningzhi felt awkward, yet still knew to use the word "betrayal."

"Quite the opposite, I was going to stand up, but Li Hua pulled me back," Jiang Nian explained. "They didn’t rat us out either, so now we’re getting drinks."

"What about them?"

"They have good grades and thick skins. They can still chat with other teachers in the office, no big deal," Jiang Nian noted that Zhang Ningzhi seemed quite dull about these matters.

Zhang Ningzhi cautiously glanced at Jiang Nian, noticing his straight, ice cream stick-like back. His neck was clean, his hair dark, and his expression somewhat nonchalant.

Following beside him, Zhang Ningzhi felt like she was tagging along with someone important. He was very patient and would slowly explain things to someone as clueless as her.

This feeling made her feel very secure, and she subtly sensed that she might be making some friends in the new class.

He’s really good at this.

Zhang Ningzhi curiously asked, "Are boys naturally good at making friends?"

Jiang Nian glanced at her, "Not necessarily, I have unique insights. I had some training in an ’Advanced Friendship Academy’ before."

"Is there really such a training program?" The girl was in awe.

"Do you want to know how to make friends?" he asked.

"Yes, yes."

With the convenience store getting closer, Jiang Nian controlled his pace and spoke seriously.

"The premise of making friends is mutual trust. For example, if I offer to wash your back, you only need to say thank you, rather than shouting ’How did you get in here,’ or something like that."

Zhang Ningzhi: ".... You really don’t have anyone you care about at school?"

Jiang Nian was indifferent, he only played around like this with acquaintances, because strangers would really take him for a fool.

"Let’s go, let’s each buy them a bottle, and remember to get one for yourself too."

"Oh oh." Just as she entered the crowded convenience store, she abruptly realized a problem, "Jiang Nian, what drinks do they like?"

"Just follow me and buy two bottles of iced tea and one bottle of pulpy orange juice," he said. "I’ll get Sprite. You pick whatever you want."

With the Tongtian Dai, it’s like doing problems fast, just copying homework.

In the crowded convenience store, on the other side of the crowd.

Xu Qianqian was hesitating in the snack section when she vaguely heard Jiang Nian’s voice. She suddenly turned her head, but realized it wasn’t him. She frowned, thinking Jiang Nian was really infuriating.

"Qianqian, did you pick one yet?" Song Xiyun held a bag of chips.

"Done, just this one, let’s go."

Ringing, ringing, the bell for the third evening study session rang.

The stairwell became crowded again, a group of people squeezed their way up. Zhang Ningzhi walked in front of Jiang Nian, always leaving a small safe area, and reaching the fourth floor, they ran into the three coming out of the office.

Jiang Nian called them over and handed out the drinks one by one.

"A little token, each of you take one."

"Thank you... guys." Zhang Ningzhi’s face turned red, mimicking, "Beibei, this one is for you."

"So polite, since it’s from Guojia, I’ll accept it." Li Hua and Ma Guojun grinned, taking the iced teas from their hands.

The two then swaggered into the classroom with a bottle in each hand. If someone didn’t know better, they’d think going to the office could earn them a drink.

"Skipping a study session and getting a drink, total profit," Li Hua marveled.

"If the homeroom teacher hadn’t kicked me out, I’d have stayed another session," Ma Guojun shamelessly, "Damn it, Lao Liu is most likely leaving early."

Yao Beibei clutched two bottles of pulpy orange juice in her arms, her right hand wrapped around Zhang Ningzhi’s arm, vividly recounting her strange office experience.

Jiang Nian was the last to enter the classroom, holding a bottle of Sprite. He noticed Zhang Ningzhi seemed to have bought herself a box of milk, carefully holding it in her hand.

After the evening study session, Jiang Nian routinely went downstairs to wait for Xu Qianqian to head home, only to find she had already left.