Hitting on Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi Flies into a Rage

Ye Chen and Ma Xiaotao left the Training Room. Taking advantage of Ma Xiaotao's good mood, Ye Chen decided to go out for a walk on his own.

Ma Xiaotao naturally had no objections, but she still reminded him to sleep at her place that night. She had already arranged a room for him.

Ye Chen agreed helplessly.

By the time his spar with Ma Xiaotao had ended, it was already afternoon dismissal.

Ye Chen picked a direction and arrived at the academy's east gate.

There were quite a few vendors here, but the busiest business of all was a Grilled Fish stall.

A black-haired teenage boy wore a tense little expression as he diligently grilled the fish.

Beside him, a girl with a high ponytail helped sell them, sneaking bites as she did.

Ye Chen recognized the two of them at once. They should be Huo Yuhao and Tang Ya.

Ye Chen merely looked at them twice before shifting his gaze away.

Although Huo Yuhao was the Child of Destiny, Ye Chen had cheats, so there was no need for him to cling to Huo Yuhao and ride his luck.

Besides, he had chosen Class Nine and had nothing to do with Huo Yuhao.

At that thought, Ye Chen nearly forgot about today's check-in.

"System, check in."

Ye Chen muttered inwardly.

Check-in successful. Reward: "Spiritual Power +50"

The instant the reward was granted, Ye Chen felt his mind clear. His Spiritual Power had clearly increased by quite a bit.

Ye Chen realized that the system's check-ins were not random. They were related to his location.

Yesterday, his first draw had taken place at his family's herbal shop, which was why he had received "A Hundred Explanations of Acupuncture *1."

This time, perhaps because of Huo Yuhao, he had received an attribute reward for Spiritual Power.

Ye Chen passed by Huo Yuhao without even glancing at him, heading straight for a Noodle Stall in the distance.

Several tables were set up inside the stall. At one table in the corner sat a young girl.

She looked about fourteen or fifteen years old. Her figure was slender and well-proportioned, while her long golden curls cascaded behind her. Her skin was as fair as congealed jade, and her eyes resembled pools of autumn water, bright and radiant with every glance.

Yet before her was only a small bowl of utterly plain noodles. Nothing had been added to them; only a faint layer of oil floated atop the broth, making the meal look terribly meager.

But the girl did not seem to care about the taste at all. She ate in small bites, clearly enjoying it.

Ye Chen guessed that this girl was Jiang Nannan.

Jiang Nannan was one of the few commoners at Shrek Academy. Her family circumstances were poor, and although the academy provided subsidies, she remained extremely frugal in daily life. Still, Ye Chen had not expected her to be this frugal.

If she kept eating like this, what if she ended up underdeveloped?

At that thought, Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and sat down directly across from her.

"Hmm?"

Seeing a boy suddenly sit opposite her, Jiang Nannan instinctively frowned in displeasure, assuming that yet another student had come to strike up a conversation.

Jiang Nannan had just been about to speak when she looked up and saw Ye Chen's bright, sunny smile. She froze on the spot...

"Junior, is there something you need?" A faint, nearly imperceptible blush crossed Jiang Nannan's face as she asked softly.

There was an inexplicable gentleness in her tone.

She had countless admirers, including many outstanding young men, but this was the first time she had seen such a handsome boy. Just looking at him was pleasing to the eye.

Moreover, from his student badge, she could tell that he was a freshman who had only recently enrolled.

She had always been quite tolerant of freshmen, especially one as handsome as him.

"Senior, why are you eating so little?" Ye Chen asked curiously, pretending not to know.

"Um... it's nothing. I'm just trying to lose weight lately." Jiang Nannan covered her bowl and instinctively lied.

Everyone knew that she was thrifty, so she normally did not care what others thought. She was already used to it, after all.

But for some reason, facing Ye Chen made her feel an inexplicable sense of inferiority. It was as though she did not want him to see her embarrassing circumstances.

"Senior, being thrifty is a virtue, but you should also cherish your health," Ye Chen said helplessly.

As a Core Disciple, Jiang Nannan received no small amount of subsidies. However, she sent all her money to her mother and only kept a little for food. Usually, she mainly relied on the Core Disciples' Nutritional Meals.

But there was only one Nutritional Meal per day, which was still not enough for Jiang Nannan.

Ye Chen understood medicine and could tell that Jiang Nannan's aura was somewhat weak and unstable, likely due to malnutrition. It might not seem like a problem, but in truth, this condition would slow her cultivation speed. Over time, the impact would be considerable.

It was only because Jiang Nannan had been close to Huo Yuhao in the original story, sharing in quite a bit of his fortune and receiving many benefits, that she had been able to rise so rapidly.

"I... I was just..." Jiang Nannan seemed to have been struck where it hurt, and she lowered her head instinctively.

"Customer, your noodles."

At that moment, the stall owner's wife came over and delivered two large bowls of steaming noodles.

The two bowls gave off a rich fragrance. Minced meat covered their surfaces, and each bowl had two large pork ribs, forming a stark contrast with the plain noodle soup in front of Jiang Nannan.

"Senior, let's eat together. Consider it my treat." Ye Chen pushed a bowl of noodles in front of Jiang Nannan and said with a smile.

"N-No need... I'm full." Jiang Nannan instinctively refused.

She never accepted gifts from others. Xu Sanshi gave her money every day, yet she never even spared it a glance.

"Alright, I'll come clean."

Seeing this, Ye Chen spread his hands and said sincerely, "My name is Ye Chen. I'd like to ask Senior to be my personal coach and guide my cultivation!"

Ye Chen knew Jiang Nannan's personality. Knowing she would not easily accept gifts, he casually came up with an excuse.

"Ah... why did you choose me?" Jiang Nannan looked at Ye Chen curiously. Her beautiful eyes blinked lightly, carrying a trace of bewilderment that made her look especially cute.

"There's no particular reason. Maybe it's fate." Ye Chen smiled faintly.

"Junior, it's better if we—"

Jiang Nannan had just wanted to refuse when Ye Chen said, "I'll pay Senior 200 Gold Soul Coins each month as compensation. This is half the deposit."

As he spoke, Ye Chen pushed a cloth pouch in front of Jiang Nannan. There were 100 Gold Soul Coins inside.

"200 Gold Soul Coins..." Jiang Nannan subconsciously swallowed.

Normally, she took on some missions—part-time work, one could say—and without delaying her cultivation, she could only earn five or six Gold Soul Coins a month.

But now, simply guiding Ye Chen would earn her 200 Gold Soul Coins. This was practically giving her money for free!

This junior looked kind enough at a glance. He was definitely a good person and probably had no ulterior motives.

Jiang Nannan hesitated for a moment. In the end, considering Ye Chen's looks, she agreed. "Alright, since that's the case, I'll accept Junior's request..."

PS: Jiang Nannan's plot has been slightly altered from the original. The original was too disgusting, and Xu Sanshi's age was arbitrarily changed just to whitewash him, so it has no reference value.