Mommy will give you a hug

Jiang Nian had originally planned to slip out during evening self-study and hit the gym. No particular reason-he had fought for this right, and it came with conditions and an expiration date.

How long it remained valid depended entirely on how long that bastard stayed in their class. If he packed up and fucked off at the end of the month, their lunchtime treaty would become null and void.

Even if he didn't go to the gym, wandering over to a bubble tea shop and taking a nap would be nice.

But they had a biology test that evening, so that plan was scrapped.

After evening self-study ended, Jiang Nian prepared to honor their best-friends reconciliation agreement. He went downstairs to wait outside Xu Qianqian's classroom so they could walk home together.

High school was a magical place, with a certain beauty that sealed away everyone's good looks.

As soon as Jiang Nian went downstairs, he saw a boy walking beside Xu Qianqian and saying something to her. She seemed to spot Jiang Nian too, and pointed him out to the boy.

The boy immediately looked crestfallen and slunk away.

Tsk. Made the "boyfriend" again.

When he got closer, Jiang Nian said smugly, "Xu Qianqian, when are you going to pay my boyfriend fee? I play your boyfriend every day. This face doesn't come free."

Xu Qianqian shot him a look. "You're nuts. What boyfriend?"

"I saw everything."

"Oh, that." With her backpack on, Xu Qianqian walked downstairs beside him and explained unhurriedly, "That guy insisted he liked me. It was annoying."

Jiang Nian clicked his tongue. "Man, that little fucker must have terrible eyesight to fall for you."

Xu Qianqian ignored him and stayed silent until they had left the school. Jiang Nian strolled along, and just as he had almost forgotten the whole thing-

She suddenly said, "I asked him if he'd seen Orphan. He said he had, so I told him I was actually thirty-four and had a kid when I was fifteen."

The smile vanished from Jiang Nian's face.

"He didn't believe me, so I had no choice but to tell him..." Xu Qianqian turned to Jiang Nian. "I said, 'See? That's my son. His grades are bad, so I'm just here to keep him company while he studies.'"

Fuck you!

Xu Qianqian!

Fine, fine, fine. So that's how you want to play it.

Xu Qianqian looked curious. "Jiang Nian, why aren't you smiling anymore? Were you born without a sense of humor?"

"You're one nasty woman, Xu Qianqian." Jiang Nian was speechless.

"Same to you. Don't be mad." Beneath a streetlight, Xu Qianqian tilted her head, beaming as she opened her arms. "Come here, baby Jiang Nian. Mommy will give you a hug."

Jiang Nian wasn't exactly a saint either. He sighed and said,

"Sure. I'm hungry anyway. Time for something tasty."

With that, he moved to throw himself into Xu Qianqian's arms. The girl was thin-skinned after all. Seeing that he meant it, she quickly dodged and ran aside, her cheeks burning red.

"Jiang Nian, are you a pervert?"

"Don't run!"

"Bleh!"

They ran along the dimly lit road, one chasing the other, the sounds of their scuffling carrying far into the night.

A torrential downpour.

When Jiang Nian woke up that morning, he thought he had forgotten to turn off the air conditioner. He was so cold that goose bumps covered his skin. He pulled back the curtains and found a dark sky, fierce winds, and sheets of rain outside.

Knock, knock, knock. Someone rapped on his bedroom door.

"Nian, come out and wash up. Your Uncle Xu will drive you and Qianqian to school in a bit," his mother, Li Hongmei, called. "Stop dawdling. Hurry up."

Fuck. I was going to ask for the day off.

Does anyone understand my pain?

Looking exhausted, Jiang Nian collapsed back onto the bed. Thunder rumbled outside, and waves of torrential rain battered the window. At that moment, he just wanted to die. A suffocating feeling washed over him.

If only we had today off. Fuck!

He got out of bed with enough resentment for two Evil Sword Immortals, left his room, and greeted Uncle Xu in the living room. When it mattered, Uncle Xu really did care about Xu Qianqian.

The downside was that Jiang Nian got dragged along too.

Xu Qianqian was in the Jiang Family's living room, eating the egg pancakes Li Hongmei had made. One look at Jiang Nian's shit-eating expression told her exactly what was going through his mind.

She pressed her lips together, her neat ponytail swishing.

Want to take the day off? Not a chance!

After breakfast, the three of them went downstairs together.

Jiang Nian walked beside Uncle Xu, chatting about this and that without the slightest sense that he was an outsider. Xu Qianqian followed behind, listening to them talk.

"Uncle, my deskmate Li Hua isn't doing too well down there. He's probably done for. He keeps calling me bro and Dad, asking if I know any ways to strengthen his kidneys."

"Do you really have a deskmate like that?" Uncle Xu laughed.

"I really do."

"Why are you asking about that? You look perfectly healthy to me." Briefcase in hand, Uncle Xu chuckled as he headed downstairs. "Just work your legs out more when you have time."

Following behind them, Xu Qianqian bit her lip and wished she could get as far away from those two as possible.

Outside the building, everything was a blur, with black clouds hanging low in the distance. Huge raindrops swept down on slanting winds, blanketing the entire county town in a dense curtain of rain.

With a pop, three umbrellas blossomed in the rain, as seen from above. The Buick's lights flashed twice, accompanied by a piercing beep.

There was no need for air conditioning inside the car. Xu Qianqian cracked her window open a tiny sliver. Cold air rushed in, instantly bringing a chill into the cabin.

Jiang Nian turned to glance at her and noticed that she was wearing a thin white school-uniform jacket that day. Underneath was a plain white long-sleeved shirt, its front filled out by her chest.

With a rasp, she pulled up the zipper.

She wore light blue jeans that hugged her shapely legs, leaving a strip of pale ankle exposed above a pair of white sneakers.

She really loved white.

With skin that fair, she could wear whatever she wanted and look good.

Their apartment building wasn't far from school; the drive only took a few minutes. The Buick traveled through the downpour, its headlights flickering through the curtain of rain.

Something seemed to occur to Jiang Nian, and he suddenly spoke up.

"Uncle Xu, yesterday Xu Qianqian said she..."

Beside him, Xu Qianqian's blood ran cold, her pupils nearly shrinking to pinpoints. She lunged at Jiang Nian and pinned him down right there in the back seat.

Clamping a hand over his mouth, she said through gritted teeth,

"Stop making things up, or I'll beat you to death!"

"Mmph, mmph, mmph..."

Uncle Xu chuckled as he drove, paying little attention to their horseplay. With the school now coming into view, he glanced at them in the rearview mirror and reminded them,

"We're almost there. Get ready to get out."

Xu Qianqian wanted to say something else, but suddenly felt something warm against the palm covering Jiang Nian's mouth. Something seemed to have licked her, and goose bumps instantly rose all over her body.

Unfortunately, they were still in her father's car, so she didn't dare make a scene.

Jiang Nian grinned smugly.

After getting out, Xu Qianqian held her umbrella in the rain and hurried ahead, her footsteps pattering as she put some distance between herself and Jiang Nian. Then she turned around and shook her delicate fist at him.

The threat was unmistakable.

Because of the downpour, hardly anyone was in the classroom before morning reading.

Jiang Nian had just entered when he saw Zhang Ningzhi heading out with a cup of water. Her face was a little pale, and her lips had hardly any color. She didn't look well.

"What's wrong?" He stopped her. "You look really pale."

"N-nothing. Maybe I'm just cold because of the rain." Zhang Ningzhi blushed.

Thank you to A Dash of Light Soy Sauce for the 500 Qidian coins, Summer's Heat for the 500 Qidian coins, Book Friend 3504 for the 100 Qidian coins, and Dongyuan for the 100 Qidian coins.

Thanks to everyone who supported me with monthly votes. There are too many of you to list, so let me bow to all you bosses first.

CGO

(End of chapter)