CHAPTER 336: CHAPTER 296: BEST FRIENDS OF THE FIRST TIER

Jiang Nian glanced and then looked away, no other intentions.

Lao Liu stood at the back; the whole class was watching Li Hua, the idiot, with his fire starting tools. Since there was nothing else to look at, I could only gaze outside.

With a bang, the back door of the classroom closed.

Li Hua got taken away, time to pop the champagne!

"Scared me to death, why did the homeroom teacher come?" Zhang Ningzhi was a bit frightened, patting Jiang Nian’s arm, "Why didn’t you call me just now?"

"Huh? Wasn’t it okay since we didn’t get caught?" Jiang Nian retorted.

"Yeah, why didn’t the teacher catch me?" Zhang Ningzhi suddenly realized.

"Because... I pointed at Li Hua."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ningzhi’s face immediately turned red.

"You’re too devious, weren’t you deliberately screwing over the group leader?"

"You mean I should have reported you and covered for him?"

"No way, that would be even worse."

Jiang Nian clicked his tongue, "Then that settles it, if Li Hua’s screwed, he’s screwed."

Immediately, Zhang Ningzhi felt sorry for the group leader.

But on second thought, she remembered that short dream she had just before she fell asleep, in which the ground swayed back and forth, probably Li Hua starting a fire by rubbing sticks.

Suddenly, she felt that Li Hua kind of deserved it.

After a while, Jiang Nian felt thirsty and reached into his desk drawer to grab his water bottle. When he took it out, he found it empty and was momentarily stunned.

He was busy solving problems in the afternoon and hadn’t paid attention to anything else.

He sensed a particular gaze and turned to see Zhang Ningzhi’s round eyes staring at him, like a clumsy squirrel staring at pine nuts in autumn.

"What’s up?"

Zhang Ningzhi pursed her lips, her eyes slightly averting from him.

"Want some water?"

Jiang Nian thought about it and pointed at her thermos.

"I want something hot."

"Oh... alright then." Zhang Ningzhi immediately put away her lemon tea, took out her thermos, "Hand me your cup."

The thermos isn’t meant for direct drinking; you usually use the cup lid to pour hot water to drink.

She had a cute little glass cup, pouring just a bit to hold while warming her hands and drinking warm water, killing two birds with one stone.

Jiang Nian had nothing better to do than watch Zhang Ningzhi hold that little glass cup to drink, secretly marveling at how girls have so many trinkets.

Seeing Zhang Ningzhi gripping the thermos and looking at him, he couldn’t help but feel a little bashful.

"I don’t have a cup, can I...?"

With a smack, he felt a hit on his arm.

Zhang Ningzhi playfully scolded, "Hurry up and take it out."

"Oh." Jiang Nian immediately complied, handing over his cup, drinking with her side by side, gulping down the water.

With Li Hua caught while starting a fire, the back of the first group was suddenly left with only Jiang Nian and Zhang Ningzhi, allowing them to do whatever they wanted.

The two drank hot water together, and Jiang Nian even clinked cups with Zhang Ningzhi.

"Do you have any more small glass cups?"

Zhang Ningzhi honestly replied, "Got some at home."

Jiang Nian tilted his head, "If you accidentally broke this glass cup, would you bring a new one tomorrow?"

Zhang Ningzhi thought about it, frowning.

"I would beat you to death!"

"I really want a new cup, but I don’t have money." Jiang Nian pretended to be pitiful, "No cup, and money’s scarce."

The girl couldn’t help but roll her eyes, "I’ll bring you one."

"Thanks." Jiang Nian grinned.

.....

After the first session of evening self-study ended.

In the dimly lit classroom hallway, Lin Dong and Sun Zhicheng were chatting in a sheltered corner, perfectly positioned to see the back door of the classroom.

Chen Yunyun sat in Li Hua’s seat, chatting with Jiang Nian.

Lin Dong glanced over, his mind filled with curiosities about how to make Li Hua’s fire-starting tool. He was itching to replicate it seeing such an impressive thing.

Yet he heard a sigh from Sun Zhicheng, who let out a deep breath.

"Brother Dong, I’m done talking."

"You’re giving up already?" Lin Dong’s thoughts still on how to make the bow-drill for starting a fire, absentmindedly said, "Don’t take online chatting too seriously, just move on to the next after a nap."

"I can’t do that, Brother Dong." Sun Zhicheng, recalling the message he saw in the morning that gave him such satisfaction, couldn’t help but tremble.

Even more frustrating, after he shared the gossip with Lin Dong,

This shameless guy, immediately changed the little group chat’s nickname to reflect the situation. He’s really out of line, acting like a total beast.

"Have you thought it through?" Lin Dong casually asked.

"Yeah, I’ve thought about it the whole day." Sun Zhicheng turned away, deliberately avoiding the classroom’s back door, "It did feel fresh and fun at the start."

"But by the last day, a new chat’s tossed just like that, and the longest barely lasts a week. In the end, we’re just keeping each other company, it’s merely an illusion."

In the crowded hallway, bustling with people.

Lin Dong smirked, turned to glance at him.

"Ah Cheng, you’re wrong."

"The essence of flirting is to mutually extract emotional value; if you continuously think about providing emotional value to others, you’ll endure endless pain."

Upon hearing this, Sun Zhicheng seemed struck by lightning.

"So what should I do?"

Lin Dong didn’t offer advice but simply said.

"That’s up to you."

He sensed that Sun Zhicheng was being a bit extreme, expecting the worst from bad things and doubting the good. Opportunities arise, yet he doesn’t take them, and calamities come, he doesn’t let them go.

Why bother with so much, isn’t life vast and plentiful?

Sun Zhicheng hesitated for a moment, but ultimately gave up.

He couldn’t be as carefree as Lin Dong; reality might not be smooth, but it’s tangible compared to the virtual world, it feels more secure.

The day after tomorrow would be the coming of age ceremony, perhaps an opportunity.

The bell rang.

Zhou Yuting entered the classroom from the back door, seeing Sun Zhicheng hesitating at the entrance filled her with anger. Glancing at Jiang Nian, her expression turned complex.

She had a suspicion but wasn’t certain.

The chat group’s incidents remained a thorn in her heart, feeling like a sword dangled above her head, not knowing when it might fall.

Could it be Jiang Nian’s doing?

She knew Jiang Nian too well, sly and mischievous. From a subjective motivation standpoint, Jiang Nian had no reason to enter the group, but what if he wanted to keep a backup plan?

Or perhaps that "clown" was Le Zhi?

She had inquired, Le Zhi’s grades surged by nearly more than one hundred points in last month’s unified exam among 18 counties. If it wasn’t copying, she might as well jump off a building.

But just now, she asked her former classmate sisters, learning that during this period, Le Zhi stays seated writing problems, losing any worldly desires.

Thus, she felt lost as well.

However, to be safe, she decided to test Jiang Nian during the next class break.

...

Talking to Chen Yunyun, is it that enjoyable?

Zhang Ningzhi puffed her cheeks instinctively, cast a sly glance at him. But she wasn’t mad, as they were merely chatting regularly.

No hands-on or anything, nothing to nitpick.

"Do you still want a cup?" Zhang Ningzhi didn’t indulge Jiang Nian and posed a somewhat threatening inquiry.

Jiang Nian froze for a moment, not knowing why she was upset, yet given his plethora of mischievous deeds, he planned an immediate smooth surrender.

"I do, what should I do then?"

Seeing Jiang Nian’s attitude, Zhang Ningzhi’s anger dissipated halfway. After all, they were friends, having too much possessiveness might frighten others.

"So... among your friends, where do I rank?"

The classroom was in evening self-study, yet the back row received no attention. Whether it was chit-chatting or eating snacks, even starting a fire by rubbing sticks was possible.

Li Hua was still in the office, yet to return.

Jiang Nian froze, pondering his friend ranking for a few seconds.

"Top tier."

Zhang Ningzhi pursed her lips, "What about the group leader?"

"Second tier."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ningzhi breathed a sigh of relief.

If Jiang Nian had said Li Hua was at the lowest tier, it clearly would be a joke, which would mean, ranking her top tier was just jesting.

But if Li Hua were top tier, it would indicate the top tier could have many people.

Jiang Nian’s answer satisfied her greatly.

"You’re top tier too."

She declared directly, very straightforwardly.

Of course, Jiang Nian’s words were also sincere, with no play on words. No hidden top tier above, nor a universal best tier.

None of those tricks, Zhang Ningzhi was the only top tier friend.

Thus, he spoke with a clear conscience.

The issue with the class leader was complicated, Jiang Nian thought he shouldn’t just be baited like that. Maybe the class leader had no such intention, but getting obsessed every day was too detrimental.

So, Jiang Nian reverted to his problem-solving machine mode.

Nearing the end of evening self-study, he suddenly blurted out.

"Without Li Hua, it’s so peaceful."

At the classroom’s back door, Li Hua had just returned from the office and was about to push the door when he heard this sentence. The concern he originally felt, now completely vanished.

"You bastard!!"

"Whoa? You’re back already?" Jiang Nian’s face showed no sign of embarrassment for being caught.

Ma Guojun pushed his glasses and chuckled.

"Li Hua, where’s that set of your fire-starting tools?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than they heard cries of surprise from where the sanitization supplies were in the classroom.

"Whoa, it’s caught on fire, it’s caught on fire!"

The classroom filled with a burnt smell once more, attracting everyone’s attention. But this time, there were no visible flames, extinguished immediately.

Lin Dong’s voice grumbled, "The classroom’s too hot, almost started a fire."

Cai Xiaoqing put down her pen and called out.

"No fire-starting in the classroom, do it again, and I’ll tell the class teacher."

The class immediately turned noisy.

Li Hua returned to his seat, snapped his fingers at Ma Guojun.

"Inheritor, Dong."

After the second self-study, Jiang Nian was called out by Zhou Yuting.

"What’s up?"

"Let’s talk over there." Zhou Yuting pointed to the dark staircase corner near the bathroom.

Jiang Nian was indifferent, following her to the edge of the shadows and stopped.

"Speak."

Zhou Yuting, seeing his demeanor, paused in surprise.

"You still holding a grudge?"

"No." Jiang Nian shook his head, "If this is all you want to say, I’m leaving."

He truly bore no grudges against Zhou Yuting. After all, they weren’t deep-seated conflicts, new things always arise, and time fades the past.

To him, Zhou Yuting was just a memory point.

But having no grudges didn’t mean he’d treat Zhou Yuting differently.

Like, I’m not mad at you anymore, but when we meet, better be cautious. In a good mood, a slap; in a bad mood, two slaps; can mess you up if possible.

Being ridiculed in the summer, right or wrong long ceased to matter.