Chapter 105: Jiang Jiang, You Touched Me

Me too?

Miss Jiang looked at Teacher Yang Mei with a face full of confusion. When she received a nod from the expressionless woman, she froze as well.

At that moment—

Luo Shanshan gave Jiang Ning a puzzled look.

“Didn’t you say you did pretty well on the test?”

“Yeah, second in the class overall, fifth in the whole school for science. That’s not bad at all.”

“Then why are they calling you over?”

Hearing that, Jiang Ning rubbed her chin as if stroking a beard, mumbling to herself:

“Could there be something wrong with the scores this time?”

Then—

She suddenly remembered something and turned to look at the unusually quiet Zhu Hui.

“Xiao Zhu Hui, you got called out too?”

“Yeah, I remember you’re great at liberal arts…” Sun Qian added, echoing the question.

Zhu Hui simply let out a soft sigh.

“I only got 16 in math this time…”

Uh…

That explains it.

Sun Qian and Luo Shanshan exchanged glances, both seeing the word “lucky” reflected in each other’s eyes.

Because the difficulty of the math exam this time was no joke.

Even Jiang Ning, due to carelessness, missed a 5-point question and didn’t get a perfect score—so what about everyone else?

Math scores basically plummeted across the board.

More dramatic than a bull market.

Soon—

The group of students called out by Teacher Yang Mei followed her out with miserable expressions.

They arrived at the office.

Seven or eight of them lined up beside Yang Mei’s desk.

Around the office, similar scenes could be seen at other teachers’ desks too.

Only Yang Mei’s group had noticeably more students.

“What kind of scores are these?!”

“Do I need to call your parents to come see your grades?!”

“You’re honestly the worst class I’ve ever taught!”

The entire office was filled with such scolding.

It made Miss Jiang and the other students from Class Three shrink their necks, afraid Yang Mei would lash out the same way.

Fortunately—

Yang Mei didn’t unleash a mass AOE attack like the other teachers.

She opted for a single-target skill. Precise. Targeted.

“Ma Sucheng, explain this—what’s with your 89 in Chinese?”

“Every other subject you passed, but Chinese you failed, huh?”

“Your homeroom teacher teaches Chinese, and this is how you repay them?”

This kind of targeted scolding had the benefit of not affecting others.

But the downside was—it sometimes hit others’ funny bone.

In an instant—

Everyone else standing there couldn’t help but lower their heads and stifle their laughter.

“You’re still laughing!?”

“You really think I’m joking with you!?”

“Yang Chun! Li Shengjie!”

“You two are even better! Out of six subjects, one of you failed three, the other failed four!”

“Do you even want to study anymore?!”

“If you don’t, just say the word! I swear I’ll never care about you again!”

It was clear that Yang Mei was genuinely angry.

The group of seven or eight students all lowered their heads.

Jiang Ning included.

Actually, Jiang Ning could understand why Yang Mei was so furious.

Take Ma Sucheng, for example. When he transferred in last semester, he wasn’t a top student, but his grades were solid. Failing wasn’t even on the radar.

Who would’ve thought that just one semester later, he’d fall this far?

Same with the others.

Everyone who got called out had one thing in common—drastically dropped grades.

The truly failing students—the bottom ten? Not a single one was called in.

Tch.

Wait a second!

Don’t tell me… my score actually dropped?!

In that moment, even Jiang Ning—who’d been fully confident in her grades—suddenly felt uneasy.

Meanwhile, students from other classes also noticed Yang Mei losing her temper.

At first, they were just watching the drama unfold.

But when they spotted the pretty girl at the end of the line—

Each of them froze in shock.

Wasn’t that Class Three’s class belle, Jiang the Enchantress?

Wasn’t she ranked top five in science across the whole grade?

Why was she getting dragged into a lecture?

It wasn’t just students who were confused—even some teachers who knew the rankings looked puzzled.

Could it be Yang Mei was worried the girl would get cocky and brought her in to humble her?

But wouldn’t that hurt the poor girl’s confidence?

Wait.

If her mindset gets affected…

A few science teachers suddenly found themselves entertaining wild, unrealistic thoughts.

At this point—

Yang Mei turned her gaze to Zhu Hui.

Looking at the timid girl, she sighed.

The words of scolding that were on the tip of her tongue suddenly softened into something else entirely.

“Zhu Hui, maybe your study method for math isn’t quite right?”

“Would you like to sit next to Jiang Ning?”

“Luo Shanshan’s math score improved a lot at the end of the term. You could talk to Jiang Ning more…”

This comment, disguised as a question but clearly showing care, made a few of the boys nearby click their tongues in envy.

But this was something they couldn’t compete with.

Zhu Hui was naturally pale, delicate, and soft-spoken—a textbook liberal arts darling.

If not for her math score being absurdly low, she wouldn’t have been called in at all.

She was also the kind who barely talked and kept her head down when things went wrong—a perfect example of passivity.

Jiang Ning didn’t know what Zhu Hui was feeling right now.

But since Yang Mei didn’t scold her, maybe it wasn’t too bad?

Then—

Yang Mei suddenly spoke:

“Each of you write me a reflection essay.”

“Jiang Ning, you stay. The rest of you can go.”

???

Watching Zhu Hui and the others slowly leave the office—

Miss Jiang seemed to sense something.

She looked up—and met Teacher Yang Mei’s calm, unblinking eyes.

Just as she was trying to compose herself and brace for the storm—

Yang Mei’s supervisor pulled a plastic card out from the drawer.

“What’s this?”

Jiang Ning looked confused.

“This is an invitation card for the provincial Math Olympiad.”

???

“Uh… what’s it for?”

“A souvenir. Every participant gets one.”

A souvenir?

Jiang Ning held the card in her hand, feeling it. It didn’t feel quite like plastic, nor like paper—some unusual material.

Besides her name and ID number, it was also covered in mathematical formulas. Among them… was the Riemann Hypothesis.

Okay, now that made it collectible.

Jiang Ning immediately took a liking to it.

She held it up and examined it for a while, then suddenly remembered something. She quickly and carefully stuffed the card into her back pocket.

Then she looked up—

Nervously glancing at Supervisor Yang Mei.

“The provincial Olympiad is scheduled mid-month, at Ningzhou No. 14 High School. Your admission ticket will be handed out then. I’m just letting you know in advance.”

“Don’t be so forgetful, Ms. VIP.”

Cough cough cough.

She could hear the sarcasm—clearly a jab at how often she took leave.

Jiang Ning gave a sheepish chuckle.

“Alright, go back.”

“Huh? That’s it?” Jiang Ning stared at her, surprised.

“What, you want to get scolded too?”

“Oh—no, no.”

Jiang Ning slipped out of the office like she was escaping prison.

At the door, Zhu Hui hadn’t left yet. She was leaning on the balcony, quietly gazing outside.

Seeing this—

Jiang Ning tiptoed over.

And then—

Sneak attack. She hugged Zhu Hui tightly from behind, arms around her waist.

“Hey, not bad, little lady. Still waiting for me?”

But—

Zhu Hui, who usually would’ve squirmed or protested at being sneak-hugged, didn’t resist this time.

Instead, she leaned slowly into Jiang Ning’s chest.

“Jiang Jiang, do you think I really have a talent for drawing?”

Ah.

Girl’s feeling lost.

Supervisor Yang Mei might not have scolded her much, but that big red 16 on the math test had clearly hit her hard.

Jiang Ning immediately launched a flurry of over-the-top praise, going full rainbow-mode: Zhu Hui was clearly Van Gogh reincarnated, Picasso possessed.

First things first—get this girl’s confidence back.

“You really think my drawings look good?”

“Absolutely.”

“Among people our age, I’ve never seen anyone with more talent than you.”

And that was true.

Even including her previous life, Jiang Ning had never seen someone her age draw as well as Zhu Hui.

Well—excluding art school kids, of course.

Zhu Hui had no idea what was going on in Jiang Ning’s head. She just went silent for a long moment after hearing all that.

Then, she took a deep breath.

“…Then I’ll give it a shot.”

As soon as she said it—

Jiang Ning’s heart lit up.

After all—

Seeing a good friend set on the right path early… felt even better than earning a few extra thousand yuan herself.

But just as Jiang Ning was basking in good vibes—

A quiet voice floated to her ear.

“Jiang Jiang… has anyone ever told you…”

“You’re poking me…”

???

You want to die!?

Since when did little girls like this start flirting with me, the great Jiang Old Man!?

The tender, touching scene just moments ago—

Immediately turned into a wild chase.

But just as Jiang Ning caught the mischievous Zhu Hui—

A group of boys came out of the boys’ bathroom up ahead, arms slung over each other’s shoulders.

Normally, Jiang Ning wouldn’t even glance at scenes like that.

But this time, one figure among them made her stomach churn.

Luo Chengming.

So he really did show up.

At that moment—

Zhu Hui, still playing around, suddenly noticed Jiang Ning had frozen behind her.

She turned around, confused.

“What’s wrong?”

Jiang Ning didn’t want to bring her personal feelings into this.

So she smiled brightly. Before Zhu Hui could react, she gave her a sneaky pinch from behind—

And bolted.

Zhu Hui, face flushed, chased after her in a fluster.

Their commotion caught Luo Chengming’s attention.

One of the shorter boys next to him nodded toward Jiang Ning’s retreating back.

“That’s the flower of Class 3—Jiang the Seductress.”

“At least twenty guys have already fallen under her spell. Some of them were even second-year seniors.”

“Even official Li’s son…”

“Official Li?” Another skinny boy cut in.

“I heard his dad’s about to join the city committee.”

“Even someone like that fell for Jiang the Seductress.”

“So, Brother Luo… if you can conquer this icy flower, your reputation at No.1 High will skyrocket.”

Luo Chengming listened to their suggestions, chuckled twice, then asked back—

“Can she dance?”
(End of Chapter)