Chapter 109 – Tsk Tsk, Smells So Good

February 10th.
Saturday morning.

The Lantern Festival had just passed, but the remnants of firecrackers still lingered on the streets.

In roadside shops, rabbit lanterns, hand lanterns, and other festival lights were still on display, as if the festive atmosphere hadn’t fully dissipated.

At this moment, a girl wearing a dark red wool coat, her hair down naturally, straight corduroy pants, and white sneakers, was standing by the roadside with a small bag on her back, waiting for someone.

As she waited, she grew a little bored and kicked at a broken popper on the ground.

She kicked it hard, but her aim was off—it flew right into the middle of the street, nearly hitting a passerby.

That person turned around, ready to scold someone, but the moment he saw the culprit—dressed like a lucky mascot, with a fairy-like face—any trace of anger disappeared.

He even smiled at her instinctively.

Just then, a sedan pulled up in front of the pretty girl.

The window rolled down, revealing a middle-aged man with thinning hair and glasses.

“Student Jiang Ning, you’re dressed festively today.”

“Hehe, hello, Principal Ma.”

“Happy Lantern Festival.”

Miss Jiang responded with a bright smile, looking unexpectedly shy.

“Get in,” he said.

Jiang Ning moved to open the back door, but as it swung open, she saw three people already inside—three pairs of eyes staring straight at her.

“Oh, sorry.”

She quickly closed the door, but Principal Ma called out again.

“Jiang Ning, sit in the front.”

“Oh, okay.”

A moment later, after Jiang Ning buckled her seatbelt, the car started moving.

Only then did she glance into the rearview mirror and see the three young men in the back seat—two wore glasses, one didn’t.

They seemed to be seniors in the second year of high school.

Jiang Ning gave them a polite nod in greeting.

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and asked, “Principal Ma, weren’t five students selected from our school?”

“Student Qian Kun isn’t traveling with us. He has his own arrangements,” Ma Jian answered, eyes still locked on the road ahead.

Judging by how he was driving, he didn’t seem very experienced behind the wheel.

This made Jiang Ning purse her lips, not daring to distract him—after all, they’d be getting on the national highway soon, and her life was on the line.

The car drove for a while.

Once they got on the highway, the three boys in the back suddenly started chatting.

They talked about a lot of things lately—something called 1040, some leader wanting to develop tourism, even how Xinglan Plaza had halted construction.
Then they brought up CFC, McRonald’s, and Jiang Ning’s own “Shi Ning Ji.”

To these students, CFC and McRonald’s were still the top-tier choices for fried chicken. They only ate at “Shi Ning Ji” for the mascots and collectible toys.

Well, opening the market with toys—guess that’s a form of successful marketing too.

Jiang Ning leaned against the window, yawning as she stared at the monotonous scenery outside.

Just then, Principal Ma suddenly asked,
“Jiang Ning.”

“I heard that Teacher Lu Cheng from Ningzhou No. 14 High School approached you with an invitation?”

You even know his name and still frame it as a rumor?
Principal Ma, you’re playing some deep conversational games here.

At his words, the three boys in the back also went quiet, all eyes on the pretty girl in the front seat.

“Ahem, yes, that happened,” she said.
“But I turned it down.”

“Why?” Principal Ma pressed.
“That’s Ningzhou No. 14 High School, one of the top schools in the province.”

Damn.
What exactly are you trying to get at, Principal Ma?

Jiang Ning cursed inwardly, but kept a modest expression.

“Ningzhou No. 14 is great, but I think our No. 1 High School isn’t bad either,” she replied with a smile.

“Even if there’s a gap now, I believe, with the foundation our school has, we’ll catch up eventually!”

She’d originally wanted to add, “under your leadership,” but that sounded too much like flattery.
Why would a beutiful high school freshman like her bother flattering a principal?

Hearing all this, Ma Jian chuckled, reminded of some rumors he’d heard about this girl.

“You’re quite the character, young lady.”

To such ambiguous remarks, Jiang Ning typically just smiled and stayed silent.

Luckily, Principal Ma didn’t press further.

Half an hour passed, and they entered Ningzhou City’s urban area.

Ningzhou—capital of Linjiang Province.
It didn’t cover much more land than Jiangzhou, but its population was nearly double.

With such a massive population advantage, Ningzhou was poised for a decade of rapid urban development:
Overpasses, subways, and intercity rail lines would soon spread out like a web.

But that was in the future.

Right now, Jiang Ning and the others were stuck on an overpass, crawling along barely faster than walking speed.

“Good thing the exam’s in the afternoon. At this rate, we’d be late otherwise.”

“Yeah, didn’t think Ningzhou would be this congested.”

“But it sure is thriving.”

The boys muttered from the back seat, while Jiang Ning leaned back, calmly gazing out the window into the distance.

She actually knew Ningzhou quite well.
Her university years in her past life were spent in this very city.

Thinking of her old roommates…
Thinking of her college days…
And those two girls from back then…

One stirred her heart.
The other stirred her loins.

The first was always smiling, always eager to share everything with her.
Together, they had wandered through every alley and street of Ningzhou.

As for the second—her looks might’ve been ordinary, but those two abundant fruits… they were truly something else.

Even after all these years, she still remembered the scene when she first laid eyes on them.
It was like the entire world faded away, leaving only that luscious pair.

And that one line:

“Be gentle… I’m scared it’ll hurt.”

Tsk tsk tsk.

“So damn hot…”

The nostalgic murmur from Jiang Old Man reached Ma Jian, the driver up front.
He twitched his nose.

“Student Jiang Ning, what did you just say?”

“Ahem, nothing, nothing! How much longer till we get there?” Jiang Old Man quickly covered up her dreamy expression and changed the subject.

“About ten more minutes.”

Ten minutes.

Jiang Ning mentally recalled where No. 14 High School was and estimated the distance. Seemed about right.

Sure enough, just over ten minutes later,
they arrived at the gates of Ningzhou No. 14 High School.

By now, a separate lane had been designated just for the school.
So even though they were in the city center, there was no traffic jam at the entrance.

Just like that, after passing inspection, the car slowly entered the school grounds.

Honestly, Jiang Ning had a great first impression of No. 14 High.

A row of plane trees, old tiles covered in dried vines. In the quiet campus, only the faint rustle of leaves in the wind could be heard.

It gave one the sense of being steeped in history.

Jiang Ning quite enjoyed the feeling.
If it weren’t for business and family reasons, she wouldn’t have minded transferring here at all.

Soon after, Principal Ma brought Jiang Ning and the other three to a place that looked like a reception hall.

Registration. Filling out forms.
After finishing the paperwork, a student from No. 14 led them to the cafeteria for lunch.

The schedule was simple, and the walk wasn’t long.

But what Jiang Ning didn’t like was the faint air of arrogance that hung in the No. 14 student’s tone as she spoke with them.

“You guys in Jiangzhou… do you have amusement parks?”

“Oh wow, no subway at all?”

At first, this upperclasswoman only chatted with the three senior boys.
But soon she turned her gaze directly to the quiet delinquent girl—Jiang the Wild.

“Wow, Jiang Ning, you’re only a freshman and you can already compete in the provincial-level Math Olympiad? Your family must be impressive!”

“Oh, absolutely,” Jiang Ning smirked.

“My mom can stretch a dollar into a buck fifty.”

“My aunt can knit a single strand of cotton into Super Saiyan hair.”

“And my dad? He visits me in dreams every night to gossip about Einstein’s love life.”

At first, the upperclasswoman kept a normal expression. But as she listened on, her face slowly stiffened.

With a forced smile, she managed a couple of “that’s amazing,” then turned away and resumed chatting with the three boys.

And so, under her lead, the group arrived at the school cafeteria.

It wasn’t big. But it had charm.

Iron tables, porcelain bowls, white brick walls with green paint. Stained glass in floral colors added little accents throughout.

It looked like a trip back in time—fifty years ago, maybe.

Jiang Ning had just taken her seat, appreciating the retro vibes, when
a lazy female voice drifted over from beside her.

“See the clock above Serving Window No. 2?”

“That’s an antique from 1939.”

“That exit sign over the safety door? Hung there in 1984.”

“And the fan above your head…”

Jiang Ning instinctively looked up—
only to find her line of sight blocked by a delicate, petite face with an almost-smile.

“Welcome to Ningzhou No. 14 High.”

It wasn’t the first time Jiang Ning had seen Xu Suihe’s pair of coffee-colored, almond-shaped eyes. But for some reason, every time she saw them, she felt that same inexplicable sense of awe.

Damn. This woman is dangerous.

Jiang Ning quickly looked away and lowered her head.

“What are you doing here?”

“This is my school. Why wouldn’t I be here?”

Xu Suihe casually pulled out a chair and sat down right next to her. Then she leaned on the table, beaming as she stared at Jiang Ning’s face.

“So pretty…”

The stare made Jiang Ning squirm, a blush rising to her cheeks.

“Can you not look at me like that?”

“Nope.”

Xu Suihe shut her down with zero hesitation.

Frustrated, Jiang Ning turned her back on her, focusing on the food in front of her instead.

Just then, Tao Tao showed up.

He was holding two trays—he slid one over to Xu Suihe, and took a seat on Jiang Ning’s other side with the other tray.

Great.

Left and right, Jiang Ning was sandwiched in the middle.

She glared. “What exactly are you two trying to do?”

Tao Tao just grinned.

“Welcome to Ningzhou No. 14 High.”
—
(End of Chapter)