Chapter 63: Study Hard, Young Man

As the evening dusk settled, the warm streetlights stretched the shadows of pedestrians long on the road. Among them were four young men and women, walking side by side, pushing their bicycles in the cool autumn night.

“Hero, I didn’t expect you to be so good at gaming too!”

“That hand speed, that reaction time.”

“Unbelievable!”

“Really, when you guys left, you didn’t see it.”

“In that internet cafe, at least more than half of the people will remember you.”

“For the next month, some of them will probably hold a grudge against you!”

Hu Guigu, a gaming enthusiast himself, was still in shock over Jiang Ning’s almost invincible, exaggerated gaming performance. Even after they had already walked far from the internet cafe, he couldn’t stop talking about it, babbling on endlessly.

“By the way, Hero, how did you come up with those tactics?”

“Like space-time integration, or the one-burst rush tactics?”

Jiang Ning simply curled the corner of her mouth and gave a mysterious smile.

“Kid, you’ll understand someday.”

At that moment, Yao Yao suddenly spoke softly, calling out,

“Jiang Ning.”

“Mm?”

“Thank you…”

“Thank me?” Jiang Ning turned to look at this gentle and well-mannered girl in confusion.

“Why thank me?”

“I only… Oh.”

Jiang Ning seemed to realize something. Her gaze moved past Yao Yao to the quiet young man not far behind them. After a brief pause, she spoke first.

“Li Mingwei.”

“Do you have anything you want to say to me?”

Hearing this, Li Mingwei’s bike involuntarily stopped, and Jiang Ning followed suit, stopping her bike as well. Seeing Hu Guigu about to stop too, Yao Yao quickly reached out and grabbed the front of his bike, creating some space for the two to talk alone.

This was exactly what Jiang Ning wanted.

The main reason she had agreed to Li Mingwei’s request was to sort things out between him and herself.

Although she had already rejected him last time, it didn’t seem to have worked.

So this time, she came prepared with a decisive approach.

If the kid understood and stepped back, they could be friends.

But if he stubbornly insisted, then sorry, her body wasn’t something he could easily touch.

“Jiang Ning, my mom doesn’t like you.”

“I know.”

“So, I argued with her.”

Jiang Ning shook her head with a slight laugh.

“I knew it was for this reason.”

“Let’s go, we’ll talk as we walk.”

“Okay.”

The two of them then walked behind Hu Guigu and Yao Yao by about ten meters, pushing their bikes. The autumn breeze gently blew, causing leaves to drift. The street lamps stretched their shadows long on the road.

At this point, Jiang Ning spoke.

“Li Mingwei, what do you like about me?”

She directly got to the point.

“You’re straightforward, honest, and spontaneous.”

“Then, if I changed those things, would you still like me?”

These words caused Li Mingwei to momentarily freeze.

Jiang Ning smiled slightly.

“Those are just reasons. Actually, most of the time, when people like someone, it’s mostly just because of initial attraction.”

Li Mingwei immediately wanted to refute, but Jiang Ning stopped him with a wave of her hand.

“Wait a minute.”

“If that day, it was Luo Shanshan, or Sun Qian, or the cafeteria lady, or the store clerk, would you like them?”

Jiang Ning knew that Li Mingwei knew Luo Shanshan and Sun Qian because they had crossed paths at school a few times.

“Jiang Ning, there are no ‘ifs’ in this world.”

Jiang Ning laughed softly.

“Li Mingwei, we’re students. The main task of a student is to study. Thinking too much about other things will only distract you from studying, don’t you agree?”

“Yes, I know.”

Li Mingwei’s tone paused for a moment, and there was a hint of unease in his voice.

“But not everything will interfere with studying.”

Jiang Ning knew what he was trying to express, so she raised an eyebrow.

“Li Mingwei, stop talking nonsense. You know what I mean.”

At this point, the conversation was already clear.

So Li Mingwei fell silent.

After a long pause, when he spoke again, his voice sounded hoarse.

“I know what you mean.”

“And I also know that you said you wouldn’t date anyone during high school.”

“So, I’ve been trying my best to restrain myself, not thinking about you, not looking for you, not disturbing you.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning’s eyes brightened.

It seemed like things were finally moving in the direction she wanted.

However, the next sentence from Li Mingwei almost broke her composure.

“Jiang Ning, if I say I’m willing to wait until you graduate high school, can you give me a chance to pursue you?”

What the heck?!

MMP.

Hearing such love-filled words and seeing his sincere expression, Jiang Ning’s face stiffened.

Her mouth twitched slightly as she replied,

“No.”

“Don’t wait for me.”

Although he had anticipated Jiang Ning’s rejection, hearing her say it out loud caused the fire in Li Mingwei’s eyes to extinguish.

Watching him look as if his whole spirit had been drained, Jiang Ning suddenly thought back to her past life when she confessed her love and faced the kind of longing and helplessness that came from unrequited love.

Her mood immediately soured.

She sighed softly and said with a touch of melancholy,

“Li Mingwei…”

“Actually, love is a complicated thing.”

“It’s not something that can be explained by your simple ‘I wait for you, I like you’.”

“Let’s not talk about the distant future, your mom’s issue is something you can’t solve on your own.”

“I can solve it. Give me some time.” Li Mingwei suddenly said with determination.

But Jiang Ning simply shook her head lightly and rejected him.

“You eat, drink, and use everything from your mom. What confidence do you have to solve anything?”

“So…”

Jiang Ning spoke in a tone that suggested experience, offering him some advice,

“I suggest that if you really want to date, you could consider that girl Yao Yao, who has her heart on you.”

“She’s both beautiful and gentle, and your mom doesn’t object.”

“Tsk, what a pity, I’m not a boy, otherwise you wouldn’t even have a chance.”

Li Mingwei suddenly had a strange feeling, as if Jiang Ning was more interested in Yao Yao than in him.

Impossible!

He immediately dismissed this absurd thought.

At this moment, the group arrived at the entrance of the government complex.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to escort you?”

“No need, my task is to send you all home. If I have you escort me now, that would be ridiculous.”

With that, Jiang Ning turned and began walking, pushing her bike.

But at this moment, Li Mingwei suddenly called out to her.

“Jiang Ning, can we still be friends?”

Hearing this, Jiang Ning turned around and glanced at the somewhat awkward Hu Guigu and the dull-faced Yao Yao.

Finally, her gaze landed on Li Mingwei, whose eyes were filled with determination.

“Study hard, young man.”

“Summer won’t come back.”

With that, she flashed a smile, pushed her bike, and walked towards the neighborhood.

This scene was watched by the Director of the Women’s Federation, who stood at the window not far away, quietly observing and remembering.