Chapter 204: The Crafty Miss Jiang

Jiang Ning had always felt a strange affinity with the number three.

In her past life, she spent three years in Class Three.

Even when the classes were reshuffled in her second year of high school, she still ended up in Class Three.

And now, in this life, it was the same story.

First year—Class Three.

Second year—reshuffled again, and still Class Three.

So when she stepped into her new classroom, her feelings were hard to put into words.

It was strange.

And kind of magical.

She glanced around the room.

There were already twenty or thirty students present.

Most of them unfamiliar faces.

From the old Class Three…

Hmm?

Nie Yao?

Chen Mi?

And…

Well, if it isn’t Li Duoyong.

Miss Jiang gave a nod to the few familiar faces.

Then she tugged Qi Wen over to a seat by the window in the corner.

Three sides surrounded by people, window to the left.

A prime spot, feng shui-wise.

As she was quietly muttering to herself, Qi Wen had already started chatting with the classmates in front and behind.

“Hi, I’m Qi Wen, from the old Class Three.”

“Oh, so you were the one who did the bulletin board for Class Six? It was beautiful!”

“Aiya, that’s just people exaggerating. My dancing’s really nothing special…”

“Thank you, thank you.”

…

In no time at all, the pretty and sweet-talking little darling had already made friends with the students around her.

As for Miss Jiang…

To be honest, she just sat there like some kind of class mascot.

For some reason, no one came up to greet her.

Especially the two boys sitting in front.

They didn’t even dare make eye contact.

Cowards.

Back in the day—

Ahem…

Anyway, she was plenty bold, thank you very much.

After a while, more and more students trickled in.

Then—

A girl walked in through the door.

Wine-red crew neck tee, black leather mini skirt.

Her hair was streaked with red, and she wore oversized aviator sunglasses.

Was she even a student?

She looked more like a streetwise club kid than a high schooler.

But—

Those red highlights in her hair looked oddly familiar to Miss Jiang.

She squinted.

Well, well.

Wasn’t this the girl who was chasing after Tao at that banquet?

What was her name again…

She glanced at the girl’s rather prominent assets.

Oh.

Ye Na.

Just as she was puzzling it out, two girls behind her started whispering.

“So it’s true—Ye Na really is in our class!”

“I thought it was just a rumor.”

“Well, now we know.”

“There are quite a few hot topics in our class this year.”

“Yeah, things are definitely going to get interesting.”

…

Looking at the girl who had taken a seat not far away, Miss Jiang suddenly perked up.

She turned around and asked the girl behind her—Wei Juan:

“Hey, Juan.”

“Mind telling your bro a little something?”

“Uh?” Wei Juan was momentarily confused by Jiang Ning’s choice of words.

It wasn’t until her deskmate Ma Yueyue nudged her that she realized what Jiang Ning was asking.

After thinking for a moment, the two girls spilled everything they knew about Ye Na.

Sleeping in class.

Talking back to teachers.

Never doing homework.

Basically, a full-on Problematic Girl.

Jiang Ning nodded thoughtfully.

But just as she was about to turn back around, Wei Juan suddenly leaned in with a conspiratorial tone:

“I heard that over the summer, she went to a guy’s birthday party just to chase him.”

“And?” Ma Yueyue asked eagerly.

Even Qi Wen in front leaned back in her seat a little.

Clearly—

No matter how sweet a girl might be, the love of gossip never fades.

Wei Juan waved a hand dramatically.

“She gave him a watch worth nearly ten thousand yuan, and he sent it right back.”

“Whoa.”

“Ten thousand?!” Ma Yueyue looked stunned, her freckled face full of disbelief.

Qi Wen also turned around, eyes wide. “Seriously? Ten thousand?”

“A Longines!” Wei Juan said with absolute certainty.

Well then.

The girls fell silent.

Because in an era where the average monthly salary was just over a thousand yuan—

Dropping ten grand like that?

They were not even in the same league.

Only Miss Jiang—

She rubbed her chin, eyeing the girl with the dyed hair and… impressive figure.

Quite the little heiress, huh…

Before long, the classroom had nearly filled up.

Just then—

A man in his thirties or forties, with a gentle, scholarly look and a notebook in hand, walked in from the hallway.

As he entered, the noisy classroom gradually quieted down.

“Hello, everyone.”

“My name is Guo Ming. I’ll be your Homeroom Teacher, and also your Chemistry teacher for the next two years.”

“Nice to meet you all.”

Well, well.

It really was Guo Ming?!

Miss Jiang had thought Boss Yang Mei was joking with her earlier.

But no—this was actually happening?!

Which meant—

What about Big Mouth Zhao?!

Miss Jiang was completely baffled.

If this guy was really going to be their teacher for the next two years, then what was she supposed to do with the carefully crafted excuse plan she’d prepared for Big Mouth Zhao?

She had been planning to use her knowledge from her past life to cozy up to him as quickly as possible.

That way, she’d have more freedom to come and go from school for certain… necessary errands.

But now—

Her status as a boarding student had become a shackle instead.

Unacceptable.

I need to come up with a good plan.

Then—

After Guo Ming had briefly familiarized himself with everyone’s names in the class, he made an announcement on the spot.

“We’re switching seats.”

The words dropped like a stone into a still pond, sending ripples everywhere.

“Why, teacher?!”

“We’re perfectly fine where we are! Why change?”

“Exactly! Teacher, you need to be democratic! No dictatorship!”

That last line came from Miss Jiang.

She was against the seat change too.

She’d waited forever—counting stars and moons—just to finally have this sweet little cutie by her side.

And now they wanted to tear them apart with a seat change?

No way!!!

However—

Guo Ming simply smiled and raised his hand, quieting the class before continuing:

“I’ve looked over the class roster.”

“Some of you did very well last semester—top ten in the entire grade on the final exams.”

“But some of you didn’t do quite as well.”

“So I’d like to try a peer-support system—pairing stronger students with those who are struggling, to help everyone improve.”

“Do you all agree with this plan?”

So that’s what this was about.

A group of low-scorers in the class immediately perked up.

“Zhu Tao, what was your score on the finals last semester?”

“580. Sixth from the bottom in Class 7. You?”

“Yikes, I got 642. Tenth from the bottom in Class 11.”

“Hehehe… I heard the top girls in our class all have amazing grades…”

“So…”

The two boys exchanged a perfectly synchronized glance and looked up at the teacher on the podium.

“Teacher Guo is truly wise and just! I’m in!”

“Count me in too!”

“Me as well!!”

In an instant, several boys raised their hands in support of Guo Ming’s proposal.

As the classroom buzz grew louder—

Guo Ming raised his hand again.

“Hold on.”

“I’ve already arranged the pairings.”

With that—

Guo Ming scanned the room, then called out to Qi Wen:

“Qi Wen, come up and help me read out the list.”

Qi Wen hadn’t expected to be called. She froze for two seconds, then let out a soft “Oh” and quickly walked up to the podium.

She took the list from Guo Ming.

But the moment she glanced down at it—

Her head snapped up in a daze.

Her eyes immediately sought out Jiang Ning.

But before she could say anything—

Guo Ming suddenly turned to the corner of the classroom and said:

“Jiang Ning, come out for a moment.”

“I need to speak with you.”

???

And just like that—

Jiang Ning, still full of confusion, exchanged a glance with Qi Wen before following Guo Ming out into the hallway.

He closed the classroom door behind them.

The hallway instantly fell quiet.

Then—

Guo Ming looked at the girl before him—perfect in both appearance and demeanor—and smiled.

“Jiang Ning, I’d like to ask a favor.”

Any time a teacher pulled you aside for a “favor,” it was never something simple.

So Jiang Ning narrowed her eyes warily.

“Tell me what it is first, Teacher.”

Hearing that—

Guo Ming instantly understood why, back in the office last year, Yang Mei always had that helpless look whenever she mentioned this girl.

So cunning.

She didn’t act like a typical teenage girl at all.

In response—

Guo Ming could only clear his throat and get straight to the point:

“Jiang Ning, I’d like to switch Ye Na to be your deskmate…”

Huh?

Ye Na?!

(End of this chapter)