10

 Pei Shuheng was already on edge all night, and was in a state of extreme excitement. He strode forward and said coldly, "Let go of my wife."

"Your wife?" Zhong Rui found it amusing. Everyone in the academy knew that Jiang Nian didn't have a steady husband, and that she had no intention of being in a serious relationship. Pei Shuheng was truly mentally ill; he couldn't understand this either. Zhong

Rui retorted, "Does Jiang Nian consider you her husband?"

Before he finished speaking, Pei Shuheng punched Zhong Rui in the face.

Zhong Rui hadn't expected Pei Shuheng to be so irrational. Seeing this, he released Jiang Nian, took a step back, dodged the attack, casually threw his expensive backpack on the ground, and, with his hand on his neck, tilted his head and said nonchalantly, "Want to fight?"

"Then let's have a fight."

Both of them moved away from Jiang Nian, ignoring the students who had stopped to watch. Both of them had studied martial arts, and their fight was brutal, with every punch landing with a thud that made your teeth ache, but neither of them showed any sign of weakness.

This was the first time someone had fought for Jiang Nian, and Jiang Nian felt bewildered.

The second time someone fought for Jiang Nian, Jiang Nian felt worried.

The third time, she was calm.

The fourth time, she was numb.

The fifth time, the sixth time, the nth time…

Jiang Nian was annoyed by it all.

He frowned slightly, not afraid of being involved, and walked forward, standing in front of the two who were fighting fiercely, and said, “Stop fighting, you’ll be late for class!”

“Especially you, Pei Shuheng! Stop it!”

His voice wasn’t loud, but both of them could hear him. Pei Shuheng immediately stopped fighting, like a big dog asking its master for a reward. He wanted to talk to Jiang Nian, but after being glared at by her, he stopped in his tracks.

Zhong Rui also stopped fighting. He didn’t really want to fight in the first place, but Pei Shuheng provoked him first.

However, after calming down, Zhong Rui also realized that he had acted impulsively. If he were Jiang Nian’s boyfriend, it would be fine, but he had only known Jiang Nian, yet he had gotten carried away and fought for her.

Zhong Ruijun's expression vanished instantly. He brushed imaginary dust off his arms, bent down to pick up his schoolbag from the ground, and, not wanting to witness Jiang Nian and Pei Shuheng's intimate moment, prepared to leave. But Jiang Nian grabbed his sleeve first, and Zhong Ruijun couldn't break free, or rather, didn't struggle.

He wanted to see what Jiang Nian was going to do.

Jiang Nian didn't speak, only her expression was filled with heartache. She stood on tiptoe, raised her right hand, and pulled at her clothes, revealing a section of

her fair, jade-like skin. Zhong Ruijun's mind went almost blank, unable to function. Jiang Nian was too close; her breath hit him, sending shivers down his spine.

A faint fragrance, not strong, yet domineeringly filled the air around him.

Soft fingertips landed on Zhong Ruijun's hard cheek, like being touched by a ball of cotton, gentle and soft, touching Zhong Ruijun's heart for a moment.

His lowered eyes met Jiang Nian's bright eyes, her innocent and lovely face, her faint worry—all of this belonged only to him.

But it was fleeting.

Jiang Nian gently touched the bruise on Zhong Rui's face, then withdrew her hand, saying, "Little brother, does it hurt a lot? Come to me during the long break, I'll put some medicine on it

for you." Leaving aside the fact that this injury was nothing to Zhong Rui, the fact that she had to wait until the long break to put on the medicine was unnecessary; it would be much longer, and Zhong Rui could have done it himself. It was clearly just polite talk.

But even the usually clever Zhong Rui made a mistake at this moment.

He hummed in response, his voice muffled.

Then he said, "It doesn't hurt."

"That's good," Jiang Nian said.

Pei Shuheng, who had been ignored by Jiang Nian, couldn't stand seeing her being so nice to Zhong Rui and wanted to get her attention

. He had just opened his mouth, "Wife..." before he could finish ,

Jiang Nian, who had always appeared mild-mannered throughout the academy, turned around with a cold face and slapped Pei Shuheng hard across the face. The crisp sound rang out in front of everyone.

Pei Shuheng's face was twisted in pain.

Jiang Nian's palms were slightly numb. He curled his fingers to relieve the sensation. He hadn't planned to fall out with Pei Shuheng so soon, but Pei Shuheng was just too persistent and oblivious. So Jiang Nian said to Pei Shuheng, "Pei Shuheng, you're too immature. You always live in your own world, which disappoints me."

"Stay away from me from now on."

After saying that, Jiang Nian didn't even look at Pei Shuheng. He wrapped his small hand around Zhong Rui's fingers, took Zhong Rui's hand, pushed through the crowd, and left.

Pei Shuheng was left standing there stunned. After the crowd dispersed, he mechanically raised his hand and touched the small handprint on his cheek. At that moment, blood unexpectedly flowed from Pei Shuheng's nose.

Jiang Nian's strength wasn't enough to cause a nosebleed; Pei Shuheng was simply taken aback by Jiang Nian's coldness.

Pei Shuheng ignored his own unsightly appearance; his eyes were filled with infatuation. If someone were close, they could hear his persistent, distorted whispers: "Wife... even like this, you're still so cute."

The lower and upper grade classrooms weren't in the same building. Halfway there, Jiang Nian let go of Zhong Rui's hand. Zhong Rui felt a moment of emptiness, but had no reason to continue holding her hand.

They reached a fork in the road. After agreeing on a time, Jiang Nian, carrying some slightly cold dumplings, ran to her classroom.

She was immediately surrounded by people. After greeting them all, she returned to her seat with a pile of snacks. There were still a few minutes before class started. Jiang Nian picked up a dumpling and popped it into her mouth, but the cold food didn't taste as good.

She ate one and was already tired of it, so she gave the rest to her deskmate. Her deskmate was happy to be fed by her, not caring whether she was using him as a food processor.

Soon it was time for class. Jiang Nian hurriedly drank a sip of hot soy milk and saw that instead of English class, his homeroom teacher walked in.

The homeroom teacher was a very serious middle-aged man. He gripped the edge of the podium and said to the students, "With heavy academic workloads, the academy has organized a trip to relax everyone. We're going to climb Anshan Mountain and stay overnight. The lower grades will go with our grade. There's no class today. Go back and pack your luggage. Meet at the third playground in two hours."

The announcement of the trip made everyone cheer with excitement, as they could have a few days off.

Flüder Academy often organized student trips or exhibitions, all part of the learning experience. Jiang Nian had joined the academy midway through his studies, and this was his first trip with his class.

After the homeroom teacher left, everyone rushed to Jiang Nian, asking him what to bring, offering to help him if he didn't have anything. Jiang Nian declined, feeling that he didn't need to bring anything for a trip.

Because the notification came so suddenly, Jiang Nian forgot about Zhong Rui and didn't try to flirt with anyone else, so she went back to the dormitory with her deskmate.

When she got back to the dormitory, Tan Shisheng wasn't there, which was normal, since Tan Shisheng was a year ahead of her and should be in class at this time.

As soon as Jiang Nian opened her suitcase, she remembered Zhong Rui. She checked her phone and, sure enough, saw a bunch of messages, all asking if she wanted to join them on the trip. Jiang Nian didn't reply, but instead opened Zhong Rui's message box.

【193 Freshman Indifferent】: I'm at your classroom door, where are you?

【193 Freshman Indifferent】: Back already? Or went to the bathroom?

【Niannian Loves You】: Sorry little brother, I'm already back in the dorm. Did you wait long? I'll have to apply the medicine for you next time.

【193 Freshman Indifferent】: Didn't wait for you, um, then we'll talk next time.

【Niannian Loves You】: Cat rubbing against me.jpg

【Niannian Loves You】: Okay, see you when you go hiking, little brother.

【193 Freshman Indifferent】: Okay.

There wasn't much else to talk about. Jiang Nian put her phone away, carefully selected a few casual outfits from her wardrobe and packed them into her suitcase, also preparing some toiletries.

Usually, others would prepare these for Jiang Nian, so this preparation was only what Jiang Nian considered perfect.

Because of the mountain climb, Jiang Nian changed into her school uniform, wearing a simple short-sleeved shirt and shorts that revealed her shapely and straight calves. She wore white socks and black sneakers. After thinking for a moment, she grabbed a black baseball cap, which covered most of her face, leaving only her delicate nose and bright red lips visible from a distance.

Getting ready took a long time, but soon they arrived at the meeting point. After confirming she hadn't forgotten anything, Jiang Nian picked up her suitcase and went out. Outside, Fu Qing, who had been waiting for some time, was standing.

Fu Qing was leaning against the wall with his suitcase beside him. Seeing Jiang Nian come out, he immediately straightened up, smiled, and walked over to help her with her suitcase.

Fu Qing was always more thoughtful and proactive than others.

Fu Qing carried two suitcases without feeling tired. As he walked, he said to Jiang Nian, "Sweetie, you didn't reply to my message. I know you're too busy to see your phone, so I had to come by myself."

Jiang Nian didn't really want to reply, but she wasn't so tactless as to say it outright. So she smiled sweetly at Fu Qing and said coquettishly, "Brother is the best."

Fu Qing's eyes darkened slightly, and he smiled back, "It's enough that you remember how good your brother is."

"The academy's organized tour is a bit strict, but I could come to find you. Have you ever climbed Anshan? I'm quite familiar with the area and can tell you about the scenery. If you get tired, I can carry you."

After stating his purpose, Fu Qing finally had time to look at Jiang Nian's clothes. His gaze lingered on Jiang Nian's pale calves before he looked away and complimented, "Sweetie, you look really good today."

Jiang Nian politely replied, "Brother too, you look very handsome."

"Sweetie, you have such a sweet tongue."

Fu Qing had been trying to make Jiang Nian happy the whole way, but the meeting point was different for each class. After dropping Jiang Nian off at her class's location, Fu Qing left.

Several rows of luxury long-distance buses were parked on the playground. Jiang Nian was chatting with his deskmate when the teacher leading the group called him aside. Jiang Nian obediently followed. After everyone was seated, the teacher, carrying Jiang Nian's suitcase, said, "All the seats are full. You'll sit with the student council members; there are still seats available on their bus."

Jiang Nian was somewhat surprised. "The student council is going too?"

"You didn't know? Oh, right. You just transferred to this college not long ago, and the trip was arranged through the student council. They'll send some people to accompany you." The teacher explained simply, then reassured him, "It's just sitting together on the bus; you don't need to feel too much pressure."

"Okay, teacher." Jiang Nian didn't have any other feelings, just worried that the student council members might be a little cold and look down on him.

He thought they were just student council members from his own grade and lower grades.

But after putting his suitcase down and stepping onto the bus, the first person he saw as he walked up the steps was Lei Zhanxing, sitting in the front row, lightly asleep.

As if sensing Jiang Nian's gaze,

Lei Zhanxing opened his beast-like eyes.

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