Chapter 85: The Old Man’s Dignity Is Completely Gone

“Cluck cluck cluck, Sister Mingyu, look! That utility pole is dancing!”

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh, that electric scooter just did the splits—so amazing…”

“Hee hee hee, I’m flying…”

“Eh? Little Mingyu, your body is so soft. Touching it feels so… hehe…”

Feeling her upper body being groped, Li Mingyu helplessly pried Jiang Ning’s mischievous hand off her. Then, supporting the tipsy girl, she continued walking toward the residential complex.

She truly hadn’t expected this.

Just half a pot of mild liquor, and this girl was already this drunk.

For a moment, Li Mingyu regretted letting her drink in the first place.

But fortunately…

Aside from talking too much and making some odd little movements, Jiang Ning wasn’t—

As she was thinking, Li Mingyu suddenly shuddered.

Her cheeks flushed as she reached behind to pry Jiang Ning’s hand away from the curve of her lower back.

“Little Jiang Ning! If you keep this up, I’ll leave you here!” Li Mingyu’s voice carried a hint of anger laced with embarrassment.

But when the words reached Jiang the Old Rogue’s ears…

After being filtered through alcohol, they sounded almost coquettish.

Hearing this, Miss Jiang’s eyes sparkled playfully. She chuckled, and while Li Mingyu was distracted—she lunged in.

With a loud “smack,” she planted a kiss.

Satisfied, Jiang the Old Rogue smacked her lips.

“Little Mingyu, your lips are so soft~ Cluck cluck cluck…”

Little did she know…

That single kiss sent an electric jolt through Li Mingyu.

She instinctively squeezed her legs together.

And then…

Utterly embarrassed and furious, Li Mingyu grabbed Jiang the Old Rogue by the ear.

“You little rascal!”

“How dare you tease your sister!”

“See if I don’t teach you a lesson!”

Dragging the pleading Jiang girl along, she marched straight to her apartment.

Retrieving the key, Li Mingyu unlocked the door.

Inside, the place was dark and empty.

With a soft sigh, she helped Jiang Ning into the house.

She turned on the lights.

After tossing Jiang Ning onto the couch, she went to the kitchen and fumbled for a glass of water.

By the time she returned, Jiang was already curled up on the sofa, fast asleep.

Looking at this slumbering beauty, like a fairy from a painting, Li Mingyu couldn’t help but chuckle wryly. She took a sip of water and shook her head in exasperation.

That night, Jiang Ning slept soundly.

She barely dreamed at all and slept straight through to morning.

However—

When she woke up…

Seeing herself in pajamas, lying in her bed—

First second: Calm.

Second second: Confused.

Third second: Slightly dumbfounded.

By the fourth second, as snippets of last night’s events resurfaced in her mind—

Jiang Ning bolted upright in shock.

She didn’t even care about the cold.

She leaped out of bed, strode to her bag in two steps, and pulled out her phone from the side pocket.

Opening it—

A flood of notifications popped up.

Ignoring the countless messages from boys and girls, she scrolled directly to the most recent one.

[Little Jiang Ning, I’m guessing it’s morning when you see this. Yep, your big sis carried you home, your big sis put you to bed, and of course~ your big sis changed your clothes. Yep, including your underwear.]

Jiang Ning’s face instantly burned.

She dove back under the covers and continued reading.

[Not gonna lie, Little Jiang Ning, your figure is seriously envy-inducing. Last night, your big sis almost couldn’t hold back and ‘punish’ you on the spot!]

[Listen to your big sis—never, ever, ever touch alcohol again!]

[Oh, and your bicycle? I had someone bring it back. It’s downstairs.]

And that was the end of the messages.

To be honest, Jiang Ning wanted to call and ask for more details about last night.

But the pride of an old man wouldn’t let her lower her dignity.

Getting that wasted in front of a girl…

That was seriously embarrassing.

She really hadn’t expected her new body to be so sensitive to alcohol.

How much had she even drunk?

MMP.

She really couldn’t touch the stuff anymore.

If she ever passed out drunk outside—

Hiss…

Jiang Ning shuddered at the thought.

Just then—

Her mom’s voice suddenly rang from outside the door.

“Ning Ning! Why didn’t you put your bike back in the garage last night?!”

Huh?!

——

In the days that followed, Jiang Ning found herself truly busy.

She squeezed in time at noon to help out at the station store, and in the evenings, if she had time, she’d swing by to check on things.

This constant back-and-forth left her nearly dozing off in class multiple times.

But thankfully—

Once both stores gradually settled into routine, Jiang Ning was able to refocus on her studies.

Slowly but surely—

December arrived.

“Haah—”

During a break, Jiang Ning cracked open the window slightly and exhaled a misty breath into the cold air.

“Jiang Jiang! Why are you opening the window?”

Luo Shanshan huffed, rubbing her hands together.

“It’s freezing, you know!”

“Hehehe.” Jiang Ning chuckled, not bothering to explain that this was a habit carried over from her past life.

At that moment, Zhu Hui, who was behind her, suddenly handed over a sheet of paper.

Jiang Ning took it and glanced at it.

It was a pencil sketch.

The subject?

Herself, leaning toward the window, blowing out mist.

The pose… kind of resembled a little puppy.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Ning let out a low hum.

“Oh-ho, Little Zhu Hui… you dare to mock your Grandpa Jiang?”

“You’re dead!”

She tossed the sketch aside and stood up, ready to mess with Zhu Hui.

But before she could move, a voice interrupted.

She turned to see—

Li Duoyong.

“Jiang Ning, the boss wants to see you.”

Boss?

Oh.

That was what the guys called the homeroom teacher.

Jiang Ning responded with a quick “Got it,” then threw down a casual, “Wash yourself clean and wait for Grandpa Jiang to deal with you later!” before heading to the office.

A moment later—

She arrived at Teacher Yang Mei’s office.

At this moment, Yangmei was sitting behind her desk, holding something that looked like a sheet of paper, intently focused on whatever she was reading.

Jiang Ning grinned foolishly as she walked over.

“Boss, you called for me?”

Hearing this title, Yangmei shot a glance at the pretty little girl beside her, clearly unimpressed. Then, she placed the paper in her hand onto the desk.

“The essay you wrote last week won second prize.”

As she spoke, she pulled an envelope out of the drawer and placed it on top of the certificate.

“This is the prize money—50 yuan. Take it.”

50 yuan?

Jiang Laohan’s current net worth was at least 500,000.

Would she even care about a mere 50 yuan?

So, Jiang Ning cheerfully accepted the envelope.

“All thanks to your guidance, Boss.”

“Cut the flattery. I have another matter for you.”

“Go ahead, Boss.” Jiang Ning casually folded the certificate a few times and held it in her hand.

“The city’s math Olympiad competition date has been set.”

“It’s this Saturday, at No. 2 High School. Don’t forget.”

With that, Yangmei handed her something.

Jiang Ning looked down—it was an admission ticket.

She took it and held it in her hand.

At that moment, Yangmei’s tone suddenly grew serious.

“This time, the city’s education bureau is placing great importance on the competition.”

“The top five will qualify directly for the provincial Olympiad.”

“I hope you take this seriously.”

Taking the competition seriously?

In other words, the prize money must be substantial?

Jiang Ning naturally ignored the first part of the sentence, her eyes suddenly lighting up.

“Boss, how much is the first-place prize?”

“One thousand!”

“Consider it done!”

———

Math Olympiad.

Officially called the Mathematical Olympiad, it refers to high-level competitive mathematics education activities.

Its original purpose was to cultivate students’ mathematical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

But at some point, the Math Olympiad became a tool for competition between middle schools.

Whenever a student won a provincial or even a national competition award, the school’s honor wall at the entrance would be covered with their photos—

Like advertisements.

At this moment, Jiang Ning was standing at the gate of No. 2 High School.

Looking at the walls outside, she saw rows of student photos showcasing various awards.

Math Olympiad, physics competition, English contest—even Latin dance and Go tournaments had a place.

Luckily, No. 2 High School had a large gate. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough space for all these portraits.

“Jiang Ning, you’re here?”

“Mm.”

Faced with a fellow contestant from No. 1 High School, Jiang Ning wasn’t one to completely ignore people.

Of course—

No one should expect much enthusiasm from Jiang Ning, especially toward boys.

A response was already generous.

“Jiang Ning, look—the guy at the front, Qin Kai, won a silver medal in last year’s provincial Math Olympiad. I heard he can get an extra 10 points on his college entrance exam.”

“And the second one, he won a silver medal in the provincial physics competition. Some universities with independent admissions prioritize students like him.”

“And the ones behind…”

As he spoke, a breeze swept through, lifting the girl’s long black hair.

She reached up to smooth it down, calming those three thousand strands of trouble—

But she couldn’t calm the young man’s fluttering heart.

However—

What the young man didn’t know was—

At this moment, Jiang Ning’s eyes were filled with the photos of beautiful girls on the wall.

Each time she spotted a particularly good-looking one, her eyes lit up a little more, and she quietly memorized the name, making a mental note to check them out later.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind.

“Li Tianyu, I heard you didn’t even make the top three in No. 1 High School’s Math Olympiad selections this time?”

“Tsk tsk, what happened to all that big talk?”

Upon hearing this, the boy who had been introducing the photos to Jiang Ning furrowed his brows and turned to look at the speaker.

“Qian Wei, second place at No. 2 High, selection score: 79.”

“I heard your school’s first-place scorer was a full 10 points higher than you?”

At these words, Qian Wei’s face instantly darkened, and he said coldly,

“You sure get your information fast.”

“Too bad my pen broke during the exam that day. Otherwise, first place…”

“Still wouldn’t be yours.”

Qian Wei was in the middle of his tough talk when a calm voice floated in.

Immediately, both Li Tianyu and Qian Wei turned their eyes toward the speaker.

It was a tall, fair-skinned young man with glasses, exuding a scholarly aura. He carried a satchel and smiled politely at Qian Wei.

Seeing the newcomer, Qian Wei’s expression changed instantly, turning sullen.

“Yu Xiao, don’t get cocky. Just wait until this exam—I’ll crush you.”

After throwing out this threat, he turned and left the honor wall area.

Only then did Li Tianyu realize that the tall, bespectacled young man in front of him was actually the first-place scorer in No. 2 High’s Math Olympiad selection exam—

The one who had scored 89 points.

To put this in perspective—

The selection exam was notoriously difficult, and all the schools in the city used the same test.

So, the selection itself was like a small-scale city-wide Olympiad competition.

Scoring above 85 in this exam was already an extraordinary feat—only a handful of students at No. 1 High had managed it.

Thinking of this—

Li Tianyu subtly glanced at the girl still staring at the honor wall beside him.

If anyone was truly a monster…

It was her.

At that moment—

The bespectacled young man, Yu Xiao, suddenly approached the girl and politely asked,

“Hello, my name is Yu Xiao.”

“Are you the Jiang Ning from No. 1 High who scored 95 in the selection exam?”

Hearing her name called—

Jiang Ning withdrew her gaze from admiring the beauties on the wall and looked up at the person beside her.

He was quite tall—she had to tilt her head to look at him.

“What do you want?”

At these words—

The bespectacled young man narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled.

“I don’t like having women above me.”

“So, in this competition, can you step aside?”

???

What kind of nonsense…

Hearing this blatantly provocative remark—

Jiang Ning immediately lost interest in conversing with him.

She didn’t even bother to move, continuing to admire the honor wall.

Because she noticed that some girls had even posted their personal life photos.

And honestly, they were quite wealthy.

Just not very generous.

Yu Xiao saw that the girl ignored him, but he didn’t mind. He politely nodded to Li Tianyu beside him and then turned to leave.

Watching the bespectacled boy walk away, Li Tianyu frowned slightly and whispered,

“Jiang Ning, I heard that guy has quite a background.”

“He was the top scorer in our Jiangzhou high school entrance exam. He originally had a free pass to Jiangzhou No. 1 High School, but for some reason, he ended up at No. 2 High School instead.”

“He even swore that he’d win the top spot in the city’s college entrance exam for No. 2 High School.”

“Oh, impressive.” Jiang Ning praised half-heartedly, not even blinking.

Seeing her lack of interest, Li Tianyu wanted to say more.

But just then—

The announcement played.

“Time’s up. All candidates, please enter the exam hall in an orderly manner.”

Hearing this, all the students gathered outside began moving toward the school.

Jiang Ning and the others were no exception.

Right before they split up to find their assigned rooms, Li Tianyu suddenly called out—

“Jiang Ning!”

“Hmm?”

“Good luck!”

“Thanks.”

———

The difficulty level of the city-level math competition exam was definitely different from school exams.

Even Jiang Ning had to think for a moment before figuring out some of the solutions.

Let alone the other students—

Some were scratching their heads in frustration.

Others, with weaker mental endurance, were already on the verge of giving up.

Lu Cheng, one of the proctors sent from the province, was also the one who wrote this exam. Naturally, he knew how difficult it was.

So, watching the students struggle with the problems he designed filled him with an indescribable sense of superiority.

However—

As he patrolled one of the exam rooms—

He unexpectedly saw a stunningly beautiful girl writing furiously, her pen never pausing.

Lu Cheng was intrigued.

Narrowing his eyes, he walked into the room and stood directly beside her desk.

The girl continued writing as if he wasn’t even there.

Lu Cheng said nothing and simply observed her paper for a long time.

First question—correct.

Second question—correct.

Third question—correct…

He checked over ten questions in a row—no mistakes. Even her problem-solving process was flawless.

Lu Cheng was shocked.

After finalizing this exam, he had given it to his top students to try.

None of them had such a high accuracy rate.

None of them had explained their solutions so perfectly.

And mind you—

He taught at Ningzhou No. 14 High School, the best school in the province.

Suddenly—

Lu Cheng became very interested in this girl. His gaze instinctively moved to the top of her exam paper.

Jiangzhou No. 1 High School, Jiang Ning…

Just then—

The girl looked up, her clear eyes meeting his.

“Sir, may I submit my paper early?”

“No.”

Just two words.

Lu Cheng ultimately refused Jiang Ning’s request.

Left with no choice, she lowered her head and began checking her answers out of boredom.

Once, twice, three times…

Oh, look at that—

She actually found a flaw.

After thinking for a while, Jiang Ning rewrote her solution using a different method, this time perfecting her answer.

And just as she finished—

The bell rang, signaling the end of the exam.

Later, as Jiang Ning handed in her paper and walked out with the crowd—

Suddenly—

A teacher called out to her.

“You’re Jiang Ning, right?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m Lu Cheng, a teacher at Ningzhou No. 14 High School.”

Oh?

Ningzhou No. 14 High School?

A household name.

One of the top high schools in the province.

Every year, double-digit numbers of students from there got into Tsinghua and Peking University.

As for other elite universities, their numbers were even greater.

Rumor had it that even students who got into 211-ranked universities wouldn’t dare brag about it there.

Jiang Ning didn’t know if that was true—

But it definitely spoke to how prestigious the school was.

So why was this teacher stopping her?

Jiang Ning asked politely,

“Hello, Mr. Lu. How can I help you?”

“Well, it’s like this…” Lu Cheng cleared his throat and got to the point.

“Jiang Ning, have you considered transferring schools?”

Huh?

Of all the possibilities she considered, she never expected this to be a recruitment attempt.

Surprised, she pointed to herself.

“Me? No. 14 High School?”

“Sir, you’re joking, right?”

Lu Cheng chuckled, ignoring the students lingering nearby to eavesdrop. Adopting a kind tone, he said—

“Don’t be surprised.”

“I wrote this Jiangzhou math competition exam, and I believe you have the ability to win a provincial-level Olympiad medal.”

“Our Ningzhou No. 14 High School would be honored to have a student like you.”

Jiang Ning looked troubled.

“Sir, but my family lives in Jiangzhou…”

“That’s not an issue.” Lu Cheng explained kindly,

“Our school has special dormitories for top students, providing free accommodation.”

“Plus, we offer a monthly scholarship to help cover living expenses.”

Impressive.

No wonder No. 14 High School was one of the best—just their funding alone was on another level.

However—

Jiang Ning had no plans to leave Jiangzhou for now.

Not to mention whether her mother would agree—

Even if she did, what about her two stores?

Remote management?

That might work short-term, but long-term, there would definitely be problems.

Besides, she also caught onto a key phrase in Lu Cheng’s words—

“Top students.”

All the perks were for top students.

But what exactly defined a “top student”?

Top 50 in the entire grade?

Top 20?

Or even the top 10?

Although Jiang Ning was confident in her math and science, she wasn’t so sure about her language arts.

So, she politely declined the offer.

But the other party didn’t seem to mind. He simply smiled, handed her a business card, and left after saying she could call him if she changed her mind.

At this moment, Li Tianyu suddenly appeared out of nowhere, staring at Jiang Ning in shock.

“Jiang Ning, are you transferring schools?”

Transfer my ass.

Jiang Ning rolled her eyes.

“I’m not.”

Then she walked straight past Li Tianyu and headed downstairs.

Just then, two familiar figures suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her way.

Jiang Ning looked up.

“Xiazhi?”

“You took the math competition too?”

“Of course.” Xiazhi replied confidently, but then her brows furrowed.

“Hey, wait a minute, Jiang Xiaoning, what do you mean by that?”

“Are you looking down on me?”

“Hehehe…” Jiang Ning chuckled awkwardly and quickly shifted her gaze to Tao Tao.

“Xiao Taozi, why are you blocking my way?”

“I’m leaving.” Tao Tao said calmly.

“Leaving?”

“Transferring schools.” Xiazhi added on the side.

“Transferring to the provincial capital.”

Jiang Ning was surprised.

“You’ve only been in high school for a few months, and you’re already transferring?”

“Yeah, it’s my family’s arrangement.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ning could only purse her lips, unable to help.

“In that case, I wish you a smooth journey…”

As soon as she said that, Xiazhi burst out laughing.

“Jiang Xiaoning, Brother Tao is transferring schools, but not today.”

“Why are you in such a hurry to say goodbye?”

Oh.

Jiang Ning gave an embarrassed smile.

“Alright, then when is it?”

“Tomorrow. So, can you come to the station to see me off?”

See him off? Tomorrow?

Jiang Ning immediately felt troubled.

She was supposed to help out at the station shop tomorrow afternoon. One of the employees had taken sick leave, and the store was short on staff, so she had to cover.

Everyone else was busy too.

So she was the only one who could step in.

Seemingly noticing her hesitation, Xiazhi glanced at Tao Tao, the corners of her mouth curling up as she gave him a teasing look, as if waiting to see what he would do in this situation.

Tao Tao’s eye twitched slightly, and he simply said:

“You owe me a favor.”

“OK! Deal!”

They say paying back money is easy, but repaying a favor is hard.

Jiang Ning was someone who valued her credibility.

So, whenever she owed someone a favor, she would try to repay it as soon as possible.

She didn’t mention anything to Li Mingwei since he hadn’t brought it up.

As for Tao Tao—seeing him off wasn’t a big deal.

After all, they played ball together and had a decent relationship.

Besides, it was just at the station. She could see him off and then immediately head to work. It wouldn’t take much time.

That was the main reason she agreed.

———

The next day, Sunday.

At noon.

Jiang Ning grabbed a quick meal at home, then threw on a coat and headed out.

The weather was bad.

There was a light drizzle every now and then.

So instead of biking, she opted for the bus at her doorstep.

Since the last stop was the station, there was no need to transfer. Super convenient.

Half an hour later.

Jiang Ning arrived at the station and went to Platform 8 as planned.

She looked around.

No one.

Did she go to the wrong place?

Or miss the time?

As she scanned her surroundings, Xiazhi’s voice suddenly rang out from behind her.

“Over here!”

Jiang Ning turned around.

She saw Tao Tao already standing at the ticket checkpoint, seemingly ready to board at any moment.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning quickly walked over.

Tao Tao watched her approach, his lips moving slightly.

“Don’t forget what we talked about.”

“Got it, I’ll keep an eye on things for you.”

Hearing this, Tao Tao nodded subtly.

At this moment.

Jiang Ning finally arrived in front of them, looking a bit apologetic.

“Sorry, I took the bus and miscalculated the time…”

“It’s fine. You came, that’s what matters.” Tao Tao smiled generously.

Seeing that he wasn’t upset at all, Jiang Ning let out a small sigh of relief.

But then—

The guy suddenly said,

“A favor for you almost being late to my send-off…”

“Doesn’t seem like a fair deal.”

“So how about—”

“How about what?” Jiang Ning narrowed her eyes, staring at him suspiciously.

“How about you give me a gift?”

As he said this, Tao Tao’s gaze subtly drifted to the red string bracelet on Jiang Ning’s wrist.

But Jiang Ning had no idea what he was thinking.

Hearing his words, she let out a long sigh.

Since he was leaving, giving him a small gift wasn’t unreasonable.

But the problem was—

She had rushed out today and didn’t bring much money.

And everything at the station was ridiculously overpriced.

So, what could she give?

Jiang Ning looked a little awkward, but then her eyes suddenly lit up.

“Wait a sec.”

Then, she turned and sprinted away, disappearing into the crowd in a flash.

Leaving one man and one woman staring at each other in confusion.

But it only took two minutes.

When Jiang Ning returned, she was holding a light pink pig plushie in her hands.

“Here, this is for you.”