Chapter 168: Make Sure to Take Safety Precautions

They say a June sky
is like a child’s face—
it changes without warning, without mercy.

Just moments ago the sun was shining.

But halfway through Jiang Ning’s ride on her electric scooter,
the sky had already started to darken.

Then came the drizzle, as fine as cow hair.

By the time she arrived at the bike shed in the rain,
the drizzle had evolved into a full-blown downpour.

Crap.

She was going to be late.

Jiang Ning glanced at the watch on her wrist and let out a pained groan.

“Jiang Ning, want to go together?”

A boy—she didn’t even know his name—offered her a sincere invitation.

Jiang Ning looked out at the sheets of rain,
then glanced at the boy whose class she couldn’t even place.

She was just debating whether her discomfort outweighed the risk of being late when—

A soft, sweet voice reached her ears.

“Jiang Ning, let’s go together.”

“Okay!”

Faced with Yao Yao’s invitation, Jiang Ning had no reason to refuse.

Happily, she slipped under the umbrella with the glutinous rice ball,
grabbed the handle, and let Yao Yao link arms with her.

Pressed shoulder to shoulder, they headed toward the school.

After entering the school gates
and stepping over the puddle at the entrance,
Jiang Ning suddenly asked,

“How’s Gugu?”

“He’s at home playing video games…”

“Oh wow, turning misfortune into a blessing, huh.”

Hearing Jiang Ning’s joke, Yao Yao puffed up her cheeks and replied crossly,

“Yeah, he’s happy now that he doesn’t have to go to school.”

“Let’s see how smug he is come final exams.”

True.

It was already early June.

Finals would be at the end of the month.

Once exams were over and summer vacation passed,
Hu Gugu and the others would officially enter the final sprint of high school.

Senior year…

Thinking of this,
Jiang Ning gently rubbed the palm of the glutinous rice ball’s hand.

“Yao Yao-jie, which university do you want to get into?”

“Ningzhou University…” Yao Yao’s voice faltered, then continued:
“My parents don’t want me going too far away…”

“Really?”

Hearing this,
Jiang Ning’s eyes were full of amusement as she stared at the glutinous rice ball.

“Is that really the only reason?”

Two seconds.

The latter’s complexion turned from rosy-pale to a blushing pink.

“R-really…”

“Aiya, Jiang Ning, you’re so annoying! You always tease me!”

Hearing the glutinous rice ball’s complaint, Jiang Ning giggled,

“Yao Yao-jie, want me to teach you a trick?”

“It might just make Little Li fall for you instantly…”

As she spoke,
she tiptoed and whispered a few words into Yao Yao’s ear.

The next second—

The glutinous rice ball’s face turned bright red.

Then—

Before she could respond,
Jiang Ning turned and ran,

bounding up the steps of the teaching building in just a few strides.

Then—

She turned back,
looked at the delicate girl standing in the rain with an umbrella, and said,

“Yao Yao-jie!”

“Don’t forget to take proper safety precautions!”

“Wouldn’t want anyone dying~”

With that, she dashed into the hallway, giggling.

To be honest, Jiang Ning had only said all that for fun.

Just to tease the glutinous rice ball.

After all, based on her understanding of Yao Yao,
expecting her to wear black stockings and a miniskirt to seduce Li Mingwei
was more far-fetched than getting them drunk and tossing them onto a bed together.

Who knows—
after a few drinks, something really might happen.

And with Little Li’s personality, if something did,
he’d definitely marry her.

As for whether he liked her or not,
they could fall in love after getting married.

Marrying first, loving later—
wasn’t exactly rare in the future world either.

Besides,
after more than ten years as childhood friends,
there was no way they didn’t feel something for each other.

Anyway, Jiang Ning didn’t believe in the “sudden stranger beats childhood friend” trope.

If it happened,
it was probably just lust at first sight.

Back in class—

The English teacher, Zhao Hongxia, was standing at the podium, pointing at the board:

“Finish memorizing these 20 words during morning study.”

“Dictation before class ends.”

“Reporting!”

Zhao Hongxia looked at the rain-drenched silhouette outside the door.
She wanted to scold her, but the words turned into:

“Come in. Leave earlier next time it rains.”

“Got it, Miss Zhao.”

Jiang Ning responded and quickly walked into the classroom.

But as she passed the podium, the English teacher suddenly handed her a pack of tissues.

“Dry off, don’t catch a cold.”

Surprised,
Jiang Ning paused, then took the tissues.

“Thank you, teacher.”

Then Zhao Hongxia turned to address the whole class in a stern voice:

“Less than a month left until finals.”

“You all…”

While the teacher scolded from the podium,
Luo Shanshan, watching the rain-soaked Jiang Ning, kindly whispered:

“Jiang Jiang, wipe your back first.”

“Why?”

Jiang Ning looked puzzled and patted her lower back.

Didn’t feel that wet.

At that moment—

Zhu Hui quietly said from behind her:

“It’s your bra strap…”

“Ah? Oh, crap!”

Three words—
each showing a different stage of Jiang Ning’s emotional breakdown.

In short—

So annoying.

That morning,

after two classes,
the rain meant no morning exercises,
so they suddenly got an extra twenty minutes of break.

During the break,

Jiang Ning leaned back in her seat, staring out the window.

She looked like she was watching the rain—
but in truth, she was deep in thought.

First, there was Hongsheng Group’s “Emperor’s Chicken.”

Just one brief encounter, and she could tell
that the young woman Shang Jie wasn’t easy to deal with.

From the store’s interior design
to the marketing strategy—
they clearly copied from Shi Ning Ji.

Which meant that woman was clever.

Though KFC and McDonald’s both had mature chain restaurant models,
their operational models weren’t something a new shop could realistically imitate.

Trying to copy them blindly would only lead to bankruptcy.

Even with heavy investment,
losing money would still be the norm.

But Shi Ning Ji was different.

They started from low prices,
built a friendly image,
used promotions to gain traction,
and eventually captured the market through chain expansion.

Now, even though “Emperor’s Chicken” hadn’t followed the exact same path,
they had capital—
they just threw money at the market to force their way in.

This brute-force approach disgusted Jiang Ning.

Sure, it worked,
but it was crude and heavy-handed.

So she’d been thinking these past few days:
Was there a way to disgust them back?

The second matter was the real estate investment Li Mingyu mentioned.

The equity contract was already settled.

Invest 3.2 million for 15% of the first-phase project.

Construction period: about 200 days.
Start date: August.

In other words, once she invested the 3.2 million,
Jiang Ning would own 15% of a residential complex with ten six-story buildings.

Which translated to a full one-and-a-half buildings to her name.

According to the blueprints,
each building had three stairwells, two units per floor.

That meant 36 units per building.

Right now in Jiangzhou,
the average housing price was between 1,000 and 1,500.

The apartment sizes vary, but on average, let’s say 100 square meters per unit.

Do the math.

The profit would be between 5.4 million and 8.1 million.

That means with just over half a year of waiting, Jiang Ning’s 3.2 million investment could double.

Although this doesn’t account for the time it takes to sell the properties.

But based on the current market…

There’s basically no worry about finding buyers.

Thinking back to her past life—

Working hard for years, scraping together some savings, and carrying a 30-year mortgage just to barely afford a small place.

But now?

She’s buying properties by the building.

The contrast made Jiang Ning feel like this world was utterly surreal.

Then came the third matter.

Also something that needed to be handled soon.

Last night—

Liao Liao messaged her.

Told her to prepare a few songs well, to aim for the charts during the summer season.

It was called “aiming for the charts,”

But in essence, it was a showdown with other companies.

Thanks to the songs Jiang Ning had provided earlier—

Top Entertainment was now a rising star among domestic entertainment companies.

As long as they followed the original plan—

And turned “Jiang Jiang” into a top-tier singer in the country—

Top Entertainment could use her influence to break into the ranks of first-class entertainment companies.

So when Liao Liao sent her that message,

She emphasized one thing: quality.

What a joke.

When has a song that came from old Jiang’s hands ever lacked quality?

Seriously.

At that moment—

Luo Shanshan suddenly leaned over.

“Jiang Jiang.”

“Hmm?”

“Did you do the English homework that was assigned after the morning reading class? Let me take a look.”

“Homework? What homework?”

Jiang Ning was still busy thinking about which songs would blow people away—

So hearing that out of nowhere left her stunned.

“It’s fine, carry on playing.”

???

Wow.

Testing the limits of life again?

Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow, and with a swift move, pulled a “monkey stealing a melon.”

Ding! Theft successful.

Tactile feel +1.

Then, just as Luo Shanshan shrieked and prepared to strike back—

Qi Wen suddenly walked over and placed a thick letter on Jiang Ning’s desk.

“Jiang Jiang, your mail.”

Huh?

In this day and age—

Someone actually wrote a letter to me?

Could it be a love letter…

Jiang Ning took the envelope with a puzzled look.

And at that moment—

Several girls nearby leaned in curiously too.

All wanting to know who the sender was.

And when Jiang Ning looked down at the stamp on the envelope—

She paused in surprise.

It was sent from America?

Could it be…

(End of chapter)