Chapter 95: The Zang Ai Family Is Here for a Reunion

Li Duoyong had been waiting at the entrance of Happy Times since 1 p.m.

It took nearly thirty minutes before he finally spotted the two “young madams”—each wobbling along from a distance on a bicycle.

The moment he saw them, Li Duoyong ignored his frozen, trembling hands and rushed forward to grab the handlebars of Jiang Ning’s pink bike.

“Big Sis, you’re finally here.”

“What’s up?” Jiang Ning propped one foot on the ground and looked at the chubby boy in front of her, confused.

“Weren’t we supposed to meet at 1:30?”

“We’re not even that late, right?”

Just then, Luo Shanshan also stopped her bike and gave Li Duoyong a strange look.

Seeing this, Li Duoyong quickly explained:

“No, it’s not that.”

“Li Yang and Meng Qing somehow found out you were coming.”

“They’ve holed up in our private room and refuse to leave!”

“Who? Who did you say?” Jiang Ning looked utterly baffled.

And then, when Li Duoyong repeated those two names—

A long-buried memory suddenly surged up in Jiang Ning’s mind…

Li Yang: The Celestial Maiden of the Zang Ai Family…

Meng Qing: The Celestial Demoness of the Zang Ai Family…

And herself—

The Celestial Empress of the Zang Ai Family…

MMP.

Just thinking of those names now made Jiang Ning want to curl her toes so hard they’d carve out a Mariana Trench in the floor.

Such unbelievably cringe names.

And yet, she’d proudly gone by one of them for three whole years.

Now, the Zang Ai Family had come to reconnect.

Pfft, maybe they were here for revenge instead.

After all, she’d basically ghosted the “family” and left without a word.

“Ahem, uh, I think I might not be feeling so well today…”

“So, uh… I think I’ll skip the karaoke…”

She was about to flee, but unfortunately, Li Duoyong still had her bike pinned down.

“Delinquent Queen, they’re here for you!”

“You can’t run!”

“If you bail, our whole gathering’s gonna fall apart!”

“Ahem ahem ahem… what’s that got to do with me…” Jiang Ning was fully prepared to turn and bolt.

She’d thought, after one whole semester, those two girls would’ve forgotten all about her.

And yet, here they were—showing up in person.

No matter how she looked at it, there was no way she could go in now.

What if they dragged her back and hit her with an emotional bomb like “Love Like a Tidal Wave”…

Then her dear mom—

Ms. Tian Cuilan—would absolutely show her what “Love Like a Clubbing Stick” really meant.

However, right then, Luo Shanshan, who had stayed quiet all this time, suddenly spoke:

“Jiangjiang, if you really don’t want to be part of that whole edgy scene anymore, maybe just be honest with them? Shouldn’t be a big deal, right?”

“After all, you guys were really close in middle school…”

Really close…

More images surfaced in Jiang Ning’s mind, playing like a film.

After a moment—

She sighed.

Yeah, if memory served her right, they’d actually been very close.

How close?

When they didn’t have money, even a single yuan would be split three ways.

When they did have money, the best stuff always went to each other.

But now came the real problem.

In her past-life memories, Jiang Ning had also found some info on those two.

Li Yang—bold personality, clear-cut in love and hate, strong physical abilities—rumor had it she went to a sports academy later on.

As for Meng Qing, she’d left far less of an impression.

Jiang Ning had to dig deep before finally remembering a classmate mentioning once at a reunion that a girl named Meng Qing had developed a severe mental illness and had been sent to a psychiatric hospital…

No telling if that was the same Meng Qing.

If it was—

Suddenly—

Two conflicting memory streams began to merge in her head.

It gave Jiang Ning an unexpected headache.

Her brows furrowed involuntarily.

But it only lasted a moment.

Once the pain passed, she was left with a strange feeling in her chest.

Hard to describe.

Just… weird.

“Alright, fine. Let’s go in.”

In the end, that weird feeling won out, and Jiang Ning decided to face them.

Whatever else—

This could also be her way of saying goodbye to this body’s past.

A short while later—

With Li Duoyong leading the way, Jiang Ning and Luo Shanshan arrived at Room 305.

The door opened.

Inside, the long sofa was clearly divided into two camps.

One side had more than a dozen people, chatting, joking, and occasionally breaking into song.

The other end of the sofa held two girls.

One had short, ear-length hair, a cool and aloof face, arms crossed as she leaned against the backrest, one foot up on the table in front of her—looking downright smug.

That must be Li Yang.

Jiang Ning smacked her lips and shifted her gaze to the other girl.

Long, straight black hair covered her face, but her exposed neck revealed skin so pale it almost looked sickly.

In the past, Jiang Ning had always been the most over-the-top of the three.

So when she appeared at the door of the private room—

Most of the people inside were stunned by her looks—and also wondering who she was.

Until Li Duoyong pointed at her and announced:

“Jiang Ning! The Delinquent Queen! Everyone, give it up!”

With that one line, everyone—except those from No. 1 High—had the exact same expression.

Shock.

Utter shock.

But Jiang Ning had mentally prepared for this. Her focus was entirely on Li Yang and Meng Qing.

At that moment—

She finally saw Meng Qing’s face.

Just as she remembered—smoky eye makeup, a bit of baby fat, but large watery eyes that stirred an inexplicable urge to protect her.

Thinking back on everything in her mind—

Jiang Ning hesitated, then gave Luo Shanshan a light shove and walked over to sit beside Li Yang.

“Hello. Long time no see.”

Li Yang seemed stunned by Jiang Ning’s dramatic transformation and only managed a dazed nod.

On the other hand, Meng Qing seemed to handle things better. She turned her head and fixed her big, bright eyes on Miss Jiang.

“Queen, you look so pretty now.”

Cough, cough, cough.

Hearing that title, Jiang Ning couldn’t help curling her toes inside her shoes.

“How about we change that nickname going forward?”

Before she could finish, Li Yang’s voice cut in, full of sarcasm and passive aggression.

“Oh? Got into No. 1 High and left the clan behind—now we can’t even call you by your nickname?”

“So next time we see you, should we not even say hi?”

“No way.” Jiang Ning hadn’t expected this girl to be so sensitive over a nickname. She gave an awkward smile and explained:

“I just thought, since we’re all in high school now, maybe it’s time for a change…”

“Forget it—call me whatever you like.”

Jiang Ning decided not to dwell too much on the nickname issue and shifted the topic.

“So… how’ve you two been lately?”

“Not great. Can’t compare with the school belle of No. 1 High.”

Jiang Ning decided to ignore Li Yang, the walking jar of pickled sourness, and turned her gaze toward Meng Qing.

Feeling Jiang Ning’s eyes on her, Meng Qing’s cheeks turned red.

“We’re at No. 2 High. Every day it’s just going to class and going home…”

As she spoke, her eyes suddenly grew a little resentful.

“Queen, why did you drift away from us…”

Why did she drift away?

That was a question Jiang Ning had no way to answer. She didn’t even know where to begin.

What was she supposed to say? That the soul currently in this body is actually a thirty-something-year-old man?

But if she didn’t explain…

Looking into Meng Qing’s gentle, emotional gaze, Jiang Ning sighed.

Sorry, Mom.

The next second, her expression turned a bit pained.

Using a tormented tone, she spun a tale about her mother being a tyrannical overlord, forcing her to change her hairstyle and wardrobe into what it was now.

Then she added a voice full of regret, pouring out how miserable these last few months had been.

And because her signature hairstyle had changed, she didn’t dare to contact them.

She was filled with fear and inner conflict.

Both Li Yang and Meng Qing were still young. After getting hit with this emotional rollercoaster crafted by Old Jiang, their attitudes clearly softened.

Li Yang’s sarcasm eased significantly, while Meng Qing even grabbed Jiang Ning’s hand.

“Queen, don’t be sad.”

“You still have us. You still have the clan.”

Honestly?

If they hadn’t mentioned the word “clan,” Jiang Ning might’ve actually felt a rare sense of genuine sisterhood.

At that moment—

Luo Shanshan suddenly leaned in.

“Jiang Jiang, what are you guys talking about?”

“Wanna sing a song?”

Jiang Ning shook her head, just about to say no, when Li Yang suddenly interjected:

“Well, now that we’ve cleared up the misunderstanding, we won’t interrupt your little reunion anymore.”

“Demon Queen, let’s go.”

“Mm, okay.”

Meng Qing smiled and stood up with Li Yang.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning quietly breathed a sigh of relief, quickly standing to walk the two out of the noisy private room.

She escorted them all the way to the lobby entrance.

Before they left, Jiang Ning borrowed a pen and paper from the bar counter, scribbled down her phone number, and stuffed it into Meng Qing’s hand.

Meng Qing received it happily, her heavy makeup crinkling from her wide grin.

“Queen! Make sure to come hang out with us!”

“Don’t worry!”

Jiang Ning waved, then turned to Li Yang.

“If you ever need anything, you can call me.”

“Not to brag, but when it comes to money, I can solve anything.”

To make a money-loving person like herself say something like that—Jiang Ning figured she’d been way too influenced by the memories in her head.

But since the words were out there, so be it.

Two minutes later—

When Jiang Ning returned to Room 305, things were lively.

Several boys were cheering loudly.

Jiang Ning glanced over and saw the long-legged girl, Gao Jingyi, holding a mic and singing passionately.

She was singing that song Passing Through the Mortal World.

Seeing that, Jiang Ning quietly snuck back to her seat.

“They left already?”

“Yeah.”

In response to Luo Shanshan’s question, Jiang Ning gave a nod, then took a snack pack from her and munched while listening to Gao Jingyi sing.

To be fair—

She was decent.

At least among all the classmates here, Gao Jingyi’s singing was top-three material.

“You’re not gonna sing?”

“Nope. I can’t sing.”

When the song ended, Jiang Ning again turned down a middle school classmate’s encouragement and curled up on the couch, continuing to snack.

After that—

A few more classmates trickled in.

Among them was one of Jiang Ning’s best bros from her past life—

Hu Weiwei.

Right now, this bro still had hair and a skinny, angular face.

You’d never guess that ten years later, he’d be a bald, gold-chain-wearing brute.

Maybe that’s just the power of time.

Jiang Ning smacked her lips, gave Hu Weiwei a nod—a response to his greeting.

With the new arrivals, the room grew even more rowdy.

Except for the corner.

Where Jiang Ning and Luo Shanshan, both from No. 1 High, were still munching snacks nonstop.

Chatting quietly, not joining the singing.

Kind of out of sync with the rest.

Especially compared to the girls from No. 2 High.

The two of them had tried blending in earlier, but when all the conversations turned to No. 2 High gossip…

They quietly withdrew.

Jiang Ning didn’t mind.

She understood this was one of those necessary life transitions—when people slowly grow apart.

But Luo Shanshan didn’t get it. She was a bit sulky and grumbling.

Just then—

The private room door opened.

A guy came in from outside and headed straight for the group of boys.

After a burst of noisy chatter—

He was laughing and joking with them like he’d been part of the crew all along.

“Who’s that?”

“No idea.”

“Don’t know him.”

After a quick exchange, Jiang Ning and Luo Shanshan guessed that the guy must be a friend of the group from No. 2 High School.

After all, there weren’t many people from No. 1 High School who came today.

Tang Bo didn’t show—said he was at cram school and didn’t have time.

Wang Zekai, supposedly, went on a trip. Who knows if that’s true.

As for the others, they all had things going on too.

The only ones who actually showed were Li Duoyong and Chen Yang.

Of course, not many people from No. 3 High School came either.

Most of the attendees were junior high classmates from No. 2 High.

Just then—

Gao Jingyi suddenly sat down beside Jiang Ning, her eyes filled with admiration as she stared at her face.

“Bad girl, turns out under that explosion of a hairstyle, you’ve got such a pretty face.”

“No wonder you spent all of junior high hiding it…”

Sis.

Is there any logical connection between those two things?

Jiang Ning didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

But thanks to that conversation starter, Gao Jingyi successfully joined the No. 1 High girls in their chat.

At that moment—

A boy got pushed out from the crowd, then picked up the mic with a cheeky smile and spoke to all the girls in the room:

“Hey, sorry to interrupt.”

“My name’s Luo Chengming. Friends from No. 2 High should know me.”

At that, the guys and No. 2 High girls below started jeering and cheering.

“Brother Luo! Brother Luo!” they called over and over.

Especially that girl with light makeup—Chen Xue.

She looked like she was about to scream from excitement.

Jiang Ning remembered that girl being pretty reserved back in junior high…

Tsk tsk. Crazy.

Meanwhile, the guy kept talking.

“Everyone probably knows I’ve been chasing a certain girl, right? So today, I want to take the chance to sing a song for her.”

Oh?

Chasing a girl?

Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow and was just about to ask Gao Jingyi something—

But when she saw that the girl’s expression had gotten a little awkward, she immediately got the hint and nudged her lightly.

“He’s after you?”

Gao Jingyi nodded.

“You like him?”

Gao Jingyi shook her head.

“Then just ignore it. Let’s keep chatting.”

Jiang Ning had plenty of experience with this kind of thing by now. With just a few words, she steered the conversation back.

But—

Not everyone was happy about them chatting.

Especially that Chen Xue girl.

“Luo Shanshan, can you guys show a little respect and let Brother Luo finish his song before talking?”

Luo Shanshan wasn’t one to be pushed around. She shot right back:

“Who says people singing up there means people down here can’t talk?”

“So just because you’re singing nonstop, I have to shut up the whole time?”

As soon as she said that, Chen Xue exploded.

She stood up and snapped:

“Oh, I see how it is! Just ‘cause you got into No. 1 High, you think you’re better than us, huh?”

Seeing the tension rise fast, everyone around rushed to calm things down.

“We’re all old classmates…”

“Let’s stay cool…”

Jiang Ning also pulled the now-standing Luo Shanshan back down gently.

“Okay, that’s enough. We’re all here to have fun…”

Once Luo Shanshan sat back down, still fuming, Jiang Ning quietly asked:

“Who is this guy, anyway? Why’s he got so much clout in No. 2 High?”

“Luo Chengming. Rich kid. I heard his family runs a factory—something called Hongsheng,” Gao Jingyi whispered.

Hongsheng?

Why does that sound familiar…

Jiang Ning frowned and continued asking:

“I see he’s pretty into you. Won’t rejecting him cause trouble?”

“Nah.” Gao Jingyi let out a cheeky laugh.

“He’s transferring schools next semester—supposedly to No. 1 High.”

“Once that happens, I’m free!”

Transferring…

To No. 1 High?

Wait.

Hongsheng?

Isn’t that the place where Qi Wen jumped off the building in my past life?!

Could it be—!?

(End of this chapter)