Zhang Ningzhi

Biodata

Background / History

Education and First Meeting

Zhang Ningzhi attended No. 2 High School for middle school before studying in Class 307 at Zhen Nan Middle School. She had previously been accused of cheating and endured lingering suspicion, an experience that later shaped her response to accusations against Jiang Nian 24 27 32.

She first met Jiang Nian while sitting directly ahead of him during exams. He borrowed her eraser during mathematics and gave her a carton of fruit milk before the final English exam as thanks 10.

Jiang Nian helped carry her desk and books into the new classroom. Relieved to have a familiar face nearby, she offered him tissues and later lent him two pen refills. Her introduction revealed that she lived in South River Bay, prompting teasing from classmates about her affluent background 23 24 25.

Defending Jiang Nian

Adjusting to the new class proved difficult: the girls already had established friendship circles, and Zhang Ningzhi felt neglected when Jiang Nian quickly began socializing with others. When Yu Tongjie contacted her on QQ and alleged that Jiang Nian had cheated his way into the class, she rejected his warning 27.

The accusation brought back her own experience of being doubted and left her in tears. She added Jiang Nian on QQ, identified Yu Tongjie during a subsequent voice call, and reassured Jiang Nian that she believed him because they had sat together during the exams. She urged him to prove himself through future scores rather than fight and risk being demoted 27 28.

Friendship and Growing Affection

After National Day, Jiang Nian’s conversations with Zhang Ningzhi drew Yao Beibei, Li Hua, and Ma Guojun into their banter. When Liu Liangsong caught them talking during self-study, Jiang Nian stopped Zhang Ningzhi from standing, hoping to spare her a bad first impression in the new class. They later bought drinks for the three classmates who had taken the reprimand 32 33.

Zhang Ningzhi found Jiang Nian’s patient explanations reassuring, while Yao Beibei helped her enter the girls’ social circle. Her interest in Jiang Nian became increasingly apparent through expectant glances, blushing, and small gestures such as offering him milk 31 33 35 36.

During a rainy school day, she felt unwell and experienced lower-abdominal pain. Jiang Nian caught her dropped cup, closed the window to keep her warm, and brought her porridge after she skipped lunch. She sent him fifty yuan for the purchase and later discovered that he had also filled her insulated cup with brown sugar water 43 44 45.

Although they remained ordinary friends, she interpreted his consideration as increasingly meaningful and felt her heart race when their eyes met. She subsequently left fruit milk on his desk, but became upset when he told Ma Guojun that he had “found” it—even though she had also feared the embarrassment of him naming her publicly 44 46.

System-Revealed Alternate Timeline

Jiang Nian’s life-review system identifies Zhang Ningzhi as an ex-girlfriend of his thirty-eight-year-old self in another timeline, not as a former girlfriend in the current school storyline 36 44.

In the system’s account, that older Jiang Nian discovers dusty photographs and carefully prepared gifts associated with her. A food carrier recalls how, ten years earlier, she traveled a thousand miles through heavy snowfall to visit him after he broke his leg. The passage establishes her devotion but does not explain their breakup 36.

The system assigns Jiang Nian a mission to reestablish contact with her for 300 RMB. Because she is already his classmate in the present, borrowing her mathematics revision workbook completes the mission. He remains skeptical of the system’s relationship label and treats its account like a game rather than a binding prediction 36 37 44.

Appearance

Zhang Ningzhi is described as very pretty, with an innocent-looking face; the system’s remembered photographs depict her with a neat ponytail 27 36.

• Full figure: She avoids clothing that emphasizes it and becomes embarrassed by Yao Beibei’s comments about her measurements 37.
• Visible blushing: Teasing readily reddens her face and ears; after learning the innuendo behind one of Jiang Nian’s jokes, her blush spreads down her neck 25 32.

Personality

Zhang Ningzhi is markedly socially anxious. She uses her phone to avoid eye contact when alone, prefers text to voice messages, and struggles to attract a waiter’s attention. Public introductions and a teacher’s reprimand leave her particularly distressed 24 32 33.

She is considerate and sensitive to other people’s discomfort. Her own experience of false cheating accusations makes her protective of Jiang Nian, and she worries both about classmates being punished on her behalf and about Jiang Nian being injured in fights. During his confrontation with Yu Tongjie, she becomes tearful from imagining herself in either boy’s position 27 33 38 46.

Her affection is usually indirect: she watches Jiang Nian, offers small gifts, and hopes he will notice her. She also shows mild jealousy, questioning why he added another girl on QQ before adding her, then hastily ending the call when he points out how closely she follows his actions 25 28 35 46.

Relationships

• Jiang Nian — Classmate, trusted friend, and developing romantic interest. The system separately identifies her as his ex-girlfriend in an alternate timeline 28 33 36 44.
• Yao Beibei — Friend who defends her from teasing and helps her integrate into the class’s female friendship circles; also embarrasses her with frank comments about her figure 32 33 36 37.
• Yu Tongjie — Fellow promoted student whose unsupported cheating allegations she rejects. She initially responds through a temporary QQ chat rather than accepting his friend request 24 27.
• Li Hua and Ma Guojun — Classmates who join the banter around her and take the teacher’s reprimand without exposing her participation. She helps thank them with drinks 32 33.
• Liu Liangsong — Homeroom teacher of Olympiad Class Three; his reprimand during self-study frightens her almost to tears 24 33.

Notable Quotes

“Don’t be angry. I believe you. We sat right in front of and behind each other during the exam.” 28

“You really shouldn’t fight. It’s easy to get hurt, isn’t it?” 46

Trivia

• She visited Dali and Erhai Lake with her parents during the National Day holiday 32.
• She enjoys posting on QQ Space but limits casual acquaintances’ access to travel photographs to avoid rumors 27.
• Despite her strong placement score, she makes a physics mistake described as “overturning Newton’s third law,” earning Jiang Nian’s teasing 42.