Chapter 156: I’m Going to Start Biting You

Back home.

Mom was lying on the couch, flipping through the account book.

Hearing Jiang open the door, she didn’t even look up and said,

“There’s porridge in the pot. If you’re hungry, help yourself.”

“And wash the pot after you’re done.”

Hunger wasn’t the point.

Washing the pot clearly was.

Jiang clicked her tongue, tempted to say she wasn’t hungry.

But seeing her mom completely focused on the accounts, she thought for a moment, sighed, dropped her backpack, and ran into the kitchen.

A while later.

When Jiang came out of the kitchen, she bumped right into her mom.

“Ouch.”

That hurt.

Jiang Ning rubbed her chest.

“You little rascal, honestly.”

Mom rubbed her own arm.

But compared to Jiang Ning, she didn’t seem to feel much pain.

After rubbing a few times, she spoke directly:

“I’m heading to Haicheng in a couple of days to restock.”

“You’ll stay at your aunt’s place for the night.”

Haicheng to restock?

Jiang Ning blinked.

“Mom, I thought your clothes were shipped directly from Haicheng?”

“Why go in person?”

“Some items don’t quite match the photos. I think it’s better to choose them myself.”

Got it.

Products not matching pictures.

That’s a common issue with online shopping in the future.

Photos look amazing.

It’s Louis Vuitton.

But in hand?

It’s “Lu Yi Fei Deng.”

Sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.

“Mom, when are you going?”

“Saturday. There’s a 9 p.m. bus that night. Sleep on the way and arrive next morning.”

“Is it safe?”

Spending a night on the bus made Jiang Ning a little anxious.

After all, these days aren’t like the future.

Around the year 2000, train station muggings in Guangdong were infamous nationwide.

While not as bad elsewhere, theft and pickpocketing were still rampant.

“Your Aunt Chen and Aunt Hu are going too.”

“And that bus is mostly for people from Jiangzhou in the clothing trade.”

That reassured Jiang Ning a bit.

So that bus had basically become a special route for Jiangzhou clothing shop owners.

In that case, safety would be somewhat better.

As for those two aunts, Jiang Ning had heard about them—friends of her mom’s who’d been in the women’s fashion business for years, more experienced than her mom.

Seeing that, she didn’t say more. After chatting briefly about school and studies, she went to wash up.

By the time she was done and in bed, it was already past ten, nearing eleven.

Lying down, she opened her phone under the cover of a thin blanket.

First message—still that guy Li Mingwei.

[Jiang Ning, I didn’t expect you to be there today. It was dangerous. Please don’t do that again, okay?]

[I worry about you.]

Reading those last words gave her goosebumps.

She quickly deleted the message and pretended she never saw it.

After taking a deep breath, Jiang Ning opened the next message.

[Boss, why do high schoolers have to do morning reading!!!]

[Ahhhh! I have to get up at six now!!]

[Boss! Didn’t we agree I’d be YOUR secretary!? Why do I have to be Meng Qing’s chauffeur now!?] — from one enraged paparazzi girl.

Ha.

Sorry.

Jiang Ning almost burst out laughing at that one.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Jiangzhou Tianxia was too far from No. 2 High School, and there was no direct school bus.

So for now, Wang Jianguo had to take Meng Qing to and from school.

Once they brought over a few electric bicycles, she’d assign one for that.

As for comforting this grumpy paparazzi girl, Jiang Ning thought for a second and replied with just two words:

[More money]

A moment later, she got a reply from Wang Jianguo.

[Deal]

Seeing those two words, Jiang Ning shook her head.

Then she opened a message from Yao Yao.

It wasn’t long, but quite direct—summarizing her recent interactions with Luo Chengming.

A quick read showed that Young Master Luo had set his sights on Yao Yao after that aerobics performance.

Using “let’s be friends” as an excuse, he approached her.

Given Yao Yao’s soft and glutinous personality, she didn’t refuse regular friendship.

But she wasn’t stupid either.

After a few “coincidental” meetings, she grew suspicious.

After some probing, she found out his intentions.

So she rejected Luo Chengming with a “my heart already belongs to someone” excuse.

But Luo Chengming didn’t give up.

In fact, he pursued her even more fiercely.

Flowers became a daily routine.

Snacks, chocolates, and small gifts came regularly too.

All the things girls usually find romantic.

He did them all.

However—

Yao Yao truly had someone in her heart.

Deeply rooted feelings.

So no matter how hard Luo Chengming tried, she didn’t budge.

Eventually, he got frustrated. One day, when he tried to grab her hand while delivering flowers, Hu Gugu gave him a beating.

Which led to the showdown on the sports field.

At this moment—

Jiang Ning wondered if Qi Wen in her previous life had gone through something similar.

Thinking about that scumbag now going after other girls made her furious.

After a moment of thought, she turned over and pulled a folded sheet of paper from a compartment in her backpack.

Under the moonlight outside the window, she studied the contents of the paper carefully.

Then picked up her phone and sent out a message.

Once done, she put the paper back and lay down on the bed.

Staring at the crescent moon outside.

Her thoughts drifting far away.

Hongsheng Group.

I, Jiang Ning, am going to start biting…

——————

Meanwhile, in a villa at Horton Manor—

Luo Chengming stood in a lavish study, face dark, being scolded by a middle-aged man in pajamas.

“I pulled strings! Used my connections! Got you transferred to No. 1 High for what?!”

Then came a slap.

A loud smack landed squarely on Luo Chengming’s cheek.

The force left a clear five-finger mark.

But Luo Chengming didn’t move.

Or rather, he couldn’t.

He knew his father well.

Only by standing still and letting the storm pass could he do anything else afterward.

Otherwise, worse would follow.

“Women! Women!”

“You already got messed up by a woman at No. 2 High!”

“Do you know how much money I spent settling things with that crippled mother and daughter?!”

“And now what, you think you’re hot shit at No. 1 High?”

“Getting involved with the daughter of the Patrol Bureau chief?”

“If your Uncle Wei at the district bureau hadn’t called—”

“Do you know you might be in jail by now?!”

Luo Guosheng, enraged, grabbed the ashtray from the table and was about to smash it at Luo Chengming.

But he was stopped by the elegant woman who had been standing silently beside him.

“Guosheng, just say a few words.”

“If you really throw that thing—”

“Aren’t you afraid of people laughing at our family?”

At her words, Luo Guosheng’s hand paused.

Then he suddenly slammed the ashtray to the side.

It scraped right past Luo Chengming’s cheek.

With a loud crash, it hit the floor.

The crystal ashtray shattered instantly.

“Get out!!”

“I don’t want to see you!!”

With that, Luo Chengming left the study without saying a word.

Face dark, he returned to his room.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He began smashing everything in the room that could be moved.

After he finished, and while a servant came in to clean, he pulled out his phone and stepped onto the balcony.

He dialed a number.

“Huālian, help me find a few tough guys at No. 2 High. I want to teach someone a lesson.”

“No problem, Luo-ge. Who do you want to deal with?”

“A fat guy.”

At that, Luo Chengming seemed to recall something.

He narrowed his eyes.

“And a girl. Really pretty. Deal with her too.”

“A girl? Luo-ge, you know we have our rules…”

“I get it. Brotherhood code or whatever. Fine, just get someone to slap her around a bit.”

His tone dripped with disdain, clearly unimpressed by the so-called moral codes of the streets.

After a pause, the person on the other end suddenly said:

“How about this, Luo-ge.”

“There’s this chick at No. 2 High, goes by Sister Yang or something.”

“Her punches are brutal.”

“Most guys can’t take it.”

“I’ve dealt with her a few times. I can get her to take care of the girl you mentioned.”

“Sound good?”

“It’s a deal.” Luo Chengming couldn’t help but grin cruelly.

But the next second, his expression twisted in pain.

Because smiling tugged on the slap mark on his face.

(End of chapter)