CHAPTER 930: CHAPTER 541: TAKING THE INITIATIVE (2)

"Their grades may be good, but their study attitude isn’t. They’re far worse than you." He continued to criticize.

Bai Yuxia stopped her pen and said, "I study hard just to earn this kind of privilege."

Chai Wei’s eye twitched.

Leaving ten minutes early meant perfectly avoiding the big crowd heading out, making the bike shed quiet, as Jiang Ning led Xue Yuantong to their titanium-grey electric bike, its lights dazzlingly bright upon ignition.

On the wide main road of the campus, there wasn’t a soul around, just lawns, gardens, and rockeries on either side. Jiang Ning sped over a hundred meters towards the school gate.

Once past the school gate, he started to slow down. Outside, various snack stalls lined the street, with Xue Yuantong inspecting them like an Emperor.

If she stumbled upon a stall that caught her interest, she would get off to buy something.

Tonight, she happened to find a stall selling grilled squid. The squid was spicy and delicious, its texture chewy, and sprinkled with a layer of chili and cumin powder, it tasted quite tempting.

For a regular student, grilled squid is considered an expensive snack. Normally, they buy fried skewers or grilled sausages for 1 yuan, chicken tenders and ribs for about 1.5 yuan, but a single skewer of squid tentacles costs 2.5 yuan, and they’re not even big.

If it was a large squid slice, it could even cost 5 yuan a skewer.

This price is something many students are reluctant to spend on; previously, Xue Yuantong couldn’t afford it either.

She nudged Jiang Ning: "Can I?"

If Jiang Ning refused, she wouldn’t eat it.

Seeing the grilled squid stall, Jiang Ning remembered the taste and felt a bit nostalgic: "Sure."

The owner of the grilled squid stall was a woman in her early thirties, who stood up quickly when customers arrived.

Jiang Ning called out: "Four skewers of squid tentacles, two skewers of squid slices."

That would cost 20 yuan, which made Xue Yuantong a bit upset: "I can’t finish it..."

Jiang Ning: "No worries, you eat one skewer, I’ll eat five skewers."

Xue Yuantong pouted, her cheeks resembling little buns.

Making grilled squid takes a while, so the female owner tried to make conversation to keep them from getting impatient. Given they were students, the topic naturally turned to studies:

"You guys get out of school pretty early."

Jiang Ning replied frankly, "We left early."

The owner was briefly taken aback, glancing towards the school gate in realization: "No wonder, I was wondering why the dismissal bell hadn’t rung yet."

Her impression of the two became a bit odd since students skipping class aren’t usually the good ones, but since they were customers, she didn’t say much more.

She looked at the small girl and asked, "Are you guys from the first year?"

"Second year," Jiang Ning answered.

"Second year and still skipping class..." The owner’s understanding of the two became clearer.

But still, they were customers, so she remarked, "Isn’t the coursework in the second year intense? I have a niece who studies until 11 p.m. every night."

Xue Yuantong: "The courses aren’t that bad, not difficult."

Seeing the girl’s confidence, the owner thought for a moment and complimented: "Looking at you, I can tell you must be a good student, you’ll definitely get into a university... at least a tier-two one!"

Yu Zhou Fourth Middle School is one of the top three high schools in the urban area, with about a 50-60% university admission rate each year, some of which are tier-three. The owner believed she had praised them quite generously.

After hearing that, Xue Yuantong was slightly dissatisfied: "I’m buying from your stall, why don’t you give me a better prediction..."

...

Class 8.

Huang Yuzhu finished sweeping the floor, emptied all trash into the bin, and put the lid on.

Tang Jing walked over, laughing sweetly: "Yu Zhu, thank you so much for today, or else I would’ve been in trouble."

Huang Yuzhu shrugged it off: "No need to thank me, no need at all."

While they chatted, Huang Yuzhu slung his backpack over his shoulder, and called out to Chen Qian in the outer corridor: "I’m leaving."

Without looking back, Chen Qian responded: "Mm."

Confidently leaving the classroom, Huang Yuzhu was followed by Tang Jing, who continued chatting and building rapport.

Cleaning was just the setup; Tang Jing’s real play was yet to come.

She stood by the bike shed, waiting for Huang Yuzhu to bring his bike.

When Huang Yuzhu brought out his bike, Tang Jing continued: "Yu Zhu, you’re really nice, I’ve never met someone like you."

A sincere smile appeared on Huang Yuzhu’s somewhat tanned face. Rarely had girls complimented him so directly, making him feel awkward and at a loss for words: "Others are nice too."

Tang Jing looked at the increasingly empty campus main road and said casually, following Huang Yuzhu: "Oh, the other boys all start running as soon as class is over, no one is as good as you."

"When it comes to responsibility, they’re miles behind you. For boys, responsibility is the most important trait. When I think about getting married, I prioritize responsibility, way above looks."

Huang Yuzhu didn’t know how to respond. He pushed his bike, the dim streetlight casting a glow on his honest face. After a long pause, he finally said, "I used to do chores at home all the time, pulling peanuts, picking corn, it’s no big deal."

Tang Jing suddenly sighed, "Sigh~"

Huang Yuzhu didn’t understand, "Why are you sighing?"

Usually sharp-tongued, Tang Jing feigned a particularly sentimental tone, "I’ve never met someone like you before, I feel a bit sorry for you."

Huang Yuzhu: "What’s there to feel sorry about? We’ve been like this since we were kids."

Chatting all the way as they walked, they eventually reached outside the school. Seeing the food stalls along the way, before Huang Yuzhu could refuse, Tang Jing said:

"Wait for me a moment."

She bought two servings of grilled cold noodles, added sausage and pork floss, spending a total of 10 yuan.

Tang Jing handed one serving to Huang Yuzhu and said with a smile, "Thanks for helping me with the cleaning, my treat."

Huang Yuzhu quickly refused. Even though now was the age for growth, he never bought snacks after evening self-study, always going home to eat leftovers.

Tang Jing pushed it towards him, "I’ve already bought it, if you don’t eat it, I’ll throw it away."

Huang Yuzhu had no choice but to accept.

Tang Jing held the box, using a bamboo skewer to pick up a piece of golden grilled cold noodles, pairing it with special sauce, the flavor was very smooth.

She took a couple of bites and noticed Huang Yuzhu just holding the grilled cold noodles, still not eating.

She was puzzled, "Why aren’t you eating?"

Huang Yuzhu honestly said, "I’m taking it home for my sister to eat."

Tang Jing: "You’re really good to your sister."

Huang Yuzhu: "I’m the eldest in the family, it’s my responsibility."

"Such responsibility, I admire guys like you," Tang Jing said, pretending to make a great sacrifice, picking up a piece of grilled cold noodles, "Come on, try it."

Huang Yuzhu quickly waved his hands, panicking, "I can’t, I can’t!"

Tang Jing’s plan failed. She reflected, realizing she was moving too fast, Huang Yuzhu couldn’t handle it.

’But that’s even better. If I can conquer him, I can use him even more effectively!’

Once Tang Jing finished the grilled cold noodles, they reached the intersection outside the school.

As they walked, Tang Jing suddenly pretended to be anxious, "Oh no, I forgot my deskmate had something to do, they left first, how am I going to get home?"

She looked at Huang Yuzhu with a delicate, bewildered expression, like a truly helpless girl.

Tang Jing’s aim tonight was precisely to get a ride on Huang Yuzhu’s bike. What better way to get closer than sharing the same bike?

As long as she managed to get on his bike tonight, she could rely on this method every evening after self-study to remain invincible.

"Um, Yuzhu, can I ride with you?" Tang Jing pleaded pitifully.

Though Tang Jing wasn’t remarkably pretty, she had an average appearance.

For many ordinary guys, having a girl like this as an acquaintance wasn’t bad at all. Many beauties after makeup in the future would look just like this, not to mention Tang Jing was at the most beautiful age for girls, sixteen or seventeen.

She assumed Huang Yuzhu definitely wouldn’t refuse.

And indeed, just as she expected, Huang Yuzhu didn’t refuse. However, he looked at the back seat of the bike, troubled:

"My back seat is just a metal rack, it might not be comfortable to sit on?"

After all, for high school students, not many bikes came with a cushion on the back seat like Jiang Ning’s mountain bike.

Tang Jing: "No problem, it’s fine."

Huang Yuzhu was still hesitant.

Tang Jing was just about to forcefully get on the bike.

Suddenly, Huang Yuzhu paused, took out the bike key, and placed it on the back seat.

Decisively he said, "Why don’t you ride my bike home!"

Tang Jing was stunned by his thinking, she never expected Huang Yuzhu to respond this way, so she couldn’t help but ask:

"If I ride your bike, what about you?"

Huang Yuzhu tightened his backpack, ready for action, his slightly tanned face exuding determination: "I’ll run home!"

Tang Jing: "??"

Before she could say anything else, Huang Yuzhu kicked off, his figure shooting forward, quickly covering more than ten meters.

Tang Jing panicked, hastily shouting, "Wait for me!"

Without looking back, Huang Yuzhu continued sprinting forward.

Helpless, Tang Jing clumsily got on the bike, pedaling hard behind him, but the faster Huang Yuzhu ran, the more she couldn’t catch up...