A Potential Romantic Rival

If he had asked Xu Qianqian to lend him her CET-4 vocabulary notebook back then, the results might have been even better.

After thinking it over, Jiang Nian decided there was no need.

Mastering a skill mattered more than collecting a bunch of them. His main obstacle right now was the college entrance exam. Those 3,500 words were enough; he would be better off allocating his precious memorization time to other subjects.

Now that Jiang Nian had Subject Memory, he tackled practice questions with vigor. Healthy and long-lived vigor.

Good grief. Even after memorizing the formulas, he still couldn't solve the math problems.

He could breeze through English. With Subject Memory, biology and chemistry were easier than before. He skipped Chinese-it would be pointless anyway. As for physics... hmm.

With a year left until the college entrance exam, Jiang Nian figured that if he put in some effort, getting into a university outside the two elite national university programs shouldn't be a problem.

There were three evening self-study periods in the classroom.

During almost every break, he could hear Zhou Yuting's little clique laughing and play-fighting. Slutty and wild-Jiang Nian rarely used words like those to describe a group of people.

But that was exactly what they were: slutty and wild.

Between practice questions, Jiang Nian occasionally glanced in their direction. In the past, he probably would have dropped his pen and gone over to laugh along with them.

It wasn't that he wanted to be a simp. He just liked fitting in.

Even without Zhou Yuting, he still would have wanted to join that clique of popular kids. Put bluntly, Jiang Nian was good-looking and wanted to use his looks as his ticket into the group.

He couldn't focus on studying, and he didn't have much money. His insecurity inevitably left him a little hungry for status.

A clique of popular kids held plenty of appeal for an adolescent boy: pretty girls, rich classmates, and boys who got good grades and knew how to have fun.

Joining them, bantering and laughing until they doubled over, would not only satisfy his vanity but also give him an illusory sense of being "a cut above" the goblins.

Now, Jiang Nian no longer entertained those childish ideas.

Perhaps he had seen through it all, or perhaps the system's worldview had shaken him. Either way, he was tired and no longer wanted to mingle with that bunch of slutty, shameless assholes.

All three evening self-study periods passed without incident. The homeroom teacher stopped by once, said a few words about the schedule and next week's monthly exam, then left.

At nine forty, the final evening self-study period ended.

Jiang Nian followed the crowd out, briefly meeting Zhou Yuting's eyes as he passed the doorway. In truth, he was thinking about a math problem, his gaze completely unfocused.

He passed her in an instant without pausing.

The classroom doorway was crowded and noisy. It was late September, and Zhou Yuting was still wearing a pink short-sleeved top that accentuated her figure, paired with jeans that hugged her backside.

Zhen'nan County Middle School didn't require uniforms every day. Only on certain occasions, such as sports day or Monday's flag-raising ceremony, did all students have to wear their summer or autumn uniforms.

A sixteen-year-old girl looked youthful in anything, especially a budding beauty like Zhou Yuting, with a bosom like the soft contours of spring hills and slender, long legs.

She could hardly believe it. She had been about to greet him. He had clearly seen her, hadn't he? And he had just walked right past?

They used to be pretty close, too.

She didn't care that much about Jiang Nian. She only hung out with him because he was good-looking, played basketball, and had a nice physique.

Even his inexplicable departure from her social circle hadn't bothered Zhou Yuting. After all, aside from his body, there was nothing about Jiang Nian that attracted her.

Seven or eight minutes later, Zhou Yuting left the classroom with her two close friends.

Suddenly, one of them, He Cai, let out a surprised sound.

"Isn't that Jiang Nian?"

At that, Zhou Yuting and the other girl, Luo Wenzhen, instinctively turned to look. Jiang Nian was standing outside the neighboring classroom, walking alongside a petite girl.

They occasionally brushed against each other and looked completely at ease together.

"Is he dating someone? How come he never mentioned it? No wonder he hasn't been hanging out with us lately," Luo Wenzhen said with a click of her tongue, half joking. She had nothing against Jiang Nian.

"That girl's from the Olympiad Class next door, isn't she? How did he..."

"Who knows? She looks pretty average." Like a proud swan, Zhou Yuting sized up the girl walking beside Jiang Nian, who was dressed like an ordinary girl next door.

Xu Qianqian was very pretty and had nice clothes at home, but she dressed simply at school.

To a girl like Zhou Yuting, that made her look unremarkable.

"Didn't Jiang Nian used to like you?" He Cai was trying to stir things up a little. Although the three were close friends, she and Luo Wenzhen had a separate group chat without Zhou Yuting.

Of course, Zhou Yuting and Luo Wenzhen also had a group chat without He Cai.

"What does it have to do with me who he likes?" Zhou Yuting tossed her head and headed toward the school gates. "I don't like him anyway."

"Teach you math?" Xu Qianqian walked beside Jiang Nian, her knuckles turning slightly white around her backpack straps. "What brought on this sudden change?"

The county town's long streets were still lit, alternating between light and shadow as they stretched toward the glow in the sky.

She kept looking him over, as though meeting him for the first time.

"You even threw away your vocabulary notebook this afternoon."

"That's because I'd memorized everything in it. Test me if you don't believe me." Jiang Nian knew he couldn't keep this hidden. "Pick any word from the 3,500 on the college entrance exam list."

Xu Qianqian thought for a moment and chose an easy one.

"Connect?"

"Join together. C-o-n..." Jiang Nian answered without a moment's thought.

Slightly surprised, Xu Qianqian chose a less common word.

"Stimulate?"

"Provoke or excite. S-t-i..." Jiang Nian replied smoothly.

This time, Xu Qianqian froze completely. Standing at the street corner, she stared at Jiang Nian as though she had seen a ghost. Her mouth opened several times, but no words came out.

uhcnisH ...ot devom I yhw eveileb reven ll'uoY

️‍ , , ,️ :sijome ni efil yM

selgniSteeM

uhcnisH ...ot devom I yhw eveileb reven ll'uoY

️‍ , , ,️ :sijome ni efil yM

selgniSteeM

yadot uhcnisH ni enoemos rof gnikooL

tem ew woh tuoba eil ot gnilliW

trilfelgniS

yadot uhcnisH ni enoemos rof gnikooL

Willing to lie about how we met

Singleflirt

"Are... are you really Jiang Nian?"

"Isn't that obvious? You can inspect the goods if you don't believe me." He pursed his lips and explained, "Before, I just wanted to fit into their circle, so I pretended..."

He couldn't say too much. The more he said, the less convincing his story would become.

To Xu Qianqian, however, that explanation made sense. She figured someone who could cook so well couldn't be all that stupid.

Besides, Jiang Nian really was enough of an idiot to do something like that.

"I don't even know what to say to you. How could you let Uncle Jiang and Auntie Li down like that?" Sometimes Xu Qianqian latched onto a principle, and once she dug her heels in, she was truly stubborn.

Seeing her stern little face, Jiang Nian couldn't help smiling.

"All right, I get it. Haven't I turned things around before it's too late? Don't worry, I won't let your tutoring go unrewarded. How about I make you something delicious this weekend?"

Xu Qianqian swallowed with a rather audible gulp.

"I can teach you math for Auntie Li's sake. Forget the food, though. I'm trying to lose weight."

Hearing Xu Qianqian say the opposite of what she meant, Jiang Nian couldn't help smiling.

Then he suddenly heard her ask, "Do you still like Zhou Yuting?"

The night breeze swept past. Beneath the dim yellow streetlight, Jiang Nian fell silent for two seconds.

"No."

During that moment of hesitation, he had actually wanted to say he disliked her, but it didn't seem right to say that in front of Xu Qianqian.

Ding!

[At thirty-eight, you discovered a potential romantic rival. Someone besides you had been silently watching over Xu Qianqian. Because of his poor family background, he never spoke to her throughout high school or university. Now, he has built a successful career.

Mission: Defeat your formidable romantic rival, Zhou Haifei, and make him give up on Xu Qianqian.

Reward: 5,000 RMB.]

(End of chapter)