Chapter 134: A Girl’s Troubles

Nighttime.

Jiang Ning lay in bed.

Her clear eyes stared gloomily out the window.

At this moment—

A bright moon hung high, casting a silvery glow across the land.

Outside the quiet window, a gentle breeze slipped through the cracks and stirred the girl’s hair.

But Jiang Ning had something on her mind.

Her delicate brows furrowed slightly.

“So annoying,” she muttered.

Then she rolled over and twisted part of her blanket into a long strip, hugging it between her legs.

She was vexed about spending money.

Honestly…

Jiang Ning had never thought spending money could be such a complicated thing.

Especially when you want to spend it on meaningful things.

That made it even harder.

First of all, Miss Jiang didn’t have an ID card.

Anything that required ID—like buying a house, a car, or land—was off-limits.

And if she couldn’t spend money on those…

Then the only option was to keep investing in new stores.

But expanding stores came with its own problems—

No people.

Sure, a few professional managers had come asking, but they were either total rookies or had ulterior motives.

Jiang Ning didn’t dare hire any of them.

And training someone herself would take time.

Don’t be fooled just because Xia Ling and Wang Chan were doing a decent job managing the branches.

That was only because Tian Wenhao was constantly running between shops, and Wang Jianguo’s paparazzo girlfriend gave real-time updates.

That’s why the two new shops were booming right now.

But if she opened one or two more?

With her current manpower, Jiang Ning simply couldn’t handle it.

Forcing it would only end in disaster.

There was no other choice—store expansion would have to wait until she had the people for it.

So right now, Jiang Ning was very distressed.

Was she just supposed to watch her money rot in the bank?

Suddenly—

Jiang Ning seemed to realize something crucial.

She had been reborn into this world for over half a year now.

She’d done quite a bit.

But thinking about it carefully—

She hadn’t really taken much advantage of the fact she had reincarnated.

Selling toys, opening fried chicken shops, even running the delivery team—

All of it relied on scaling up through market demand.

Nothing wrong with slow and steady.

But this was 2001.

The economy was about to take off.

If she moved too cautiously and missed her chance to leap forward, she’d regret it forever.

So—

Jiang Ning was ready to start something new.

——————

The next day.

Clear skies.

Temperature between 11 and 19°C.

Nice and comfortable.

Just like Jiang Ning’s mood.

Early in the morning—

Miss Jiang had breakfast bright and early, said goodbye to Boss Tian from the clothing store, and rode off toward school.

The wind in her face, humming a little tune, she arrived at the school gate.

The school was unusually lively today.

It was still early.

Yet there were already a bunch of students gathered out front.

Hm?

Something felt off.

With her sharp intuition, Jiang Ning noticed the strange detail—

Those upperclassmen standing in groups of two or three looked like they were chatting or waiting for someone, but in truth, they were forming a subtle circle.

Almost like they were trying to shield something.

She even recognized a few of them from the school’s wall of honor.

Ahem—the Honor Wall.

So… what were they up to?

Curious, Miss Jiang climbed up to a high spot.

Looking from above—

She instantly saw a guy clinging to a wall, holding a bouquet of flowers, down on one knee before a girl with a beautiful back.

Oh damn!

A public confession!?

The flames of gossip within Jiang Ning were instantly ignited.

She immediately tiptoed forward for a better view.

And saw—

In the center of the crowd,

A senior girl in a school uniform, looking very shy.

Her face was red, turned slightly to the side, saying something they couldn’t hear.

Then—

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, she bashfully accepted the flowers.

Amid a few joyful cheers—

The pair embraced under the crowd’s gaze, becoming an official couple.

But strangely enough—

Despite the commotion—

Not a single teacher showed up.

So what was going on?

Puzzled, Jiang Ning returned to class.

Just as she arrived, she heard her classmates discussing it too.

“That’s Xu Zihao!”

“A top-three student in the city!”

“And he confessed to Senior Yuan Yuan!”

“And she said yes!”

Hearing that name—

Jiang Ning suddenly understood and nodded to herself.

So it was Senior Yuan Yuan—

The flower of the broadcast club.

Not only beautiful, but her voice was super recognizable too.

Since their first year of high school, countless guys had pursued her.

But they all failed.

Who would’ve thought—

She’d fall for the academic star type like Xu Zihao.

Tsk tsk.

Seems like she’s got everything going for her—except taste in men.

Back at her seat—

Zhu Hui and Luo Shanshan were also discussing the incident.

Only they were wondering why the school didn’t step in.

“Maybe they think senior-year pressure is too high?”

“Bullshit. Didn’t they just report that tragic senior couple last week?”

“Is it because of their grades?”

“Could be—but would they really just let it slide so openly?”

“Then why?”

For a while—

The little group of girls sank into deep thought.

Just then—

Sun Qian appeared at the classroom door.

She ran over with surprise all over her face.

“Big news! Big news!”

“Xu Zihao’s got a guaranteed spot at Ningda!”

“Yuan Yuan’s got into Haixi Drama Academy!”

Well damn—

So they were both already accepted into their dream universities.

No wonder—

The school didn’t even fart in response.

The girls exchanged looks—

Their faces all showing the same “Ah, that explains it” expression.

Suddenly—

Jiang Ning realized something.

Stuff like this might only happen more often from now on.

Because for high school seniors—

One turn could be a lifetime.

If you didn’t go all out now—

The next time you saw them again,

Might be at their wedding banquet.

——

Afternoon.

Physics class.

The bespectacled physics teacher scribbled a few formulas on the blackboard and tapped the desk.

“Gravity…”

“The force exerted on an object due to Blue Star’s pull is called gravity…”

“Explanation: 1. Objects near the Earth…”

While talking, he even picked up a small ball to demonstrate gravity in action.

He taught with great focus.

Luo Shanshan, on the other hand, was sleeping just as intently.

Jiang Ning nudged her multiple times.

Each time, the girl woke up for less than two minutes before dozing off again.

Seeing that they were just getting to the key part of the gravity lecture—

Jiang Ning couldn’t take it anymore.

She sneakily slipped her hand under Luo Shanshan’s shirt.

Just as she was about to touch skin—

The teacher had suddenly appeared in front of her without her noticing, shook his head with a smile, and said:

“Let her sleep if she’s tired.”

“Being able to sleep that deeply in class is a rare skill.”

The whole class burst into laughter.

However,

The bespectacled teacher quickly waved his hand.

“As for me…”

“I haven’t been teaching for many years, and maybe my lectures aren’t as lively as some of the other teachers’…”

“They might not be as interesting either.”

“But I can guarantee that I will explain every point thoroughly.”

“I won’t let down any student who listens attentively in class…”

“As for those who don’t pay attention…”

At this point,

Luo Shanshan, still groggy, slowly woke up.

She looked at the bespectacled teacher with a confused expression.

Seeing this, the teacher smiled.

“In the future, if you encounter any problems, you can come directly to my office.”

“I’ll make sure to explain until you understand…”

This sudden shift left the students, who thought the teacher was about to scold them, in surprise.

Soon, someone started clapping.

Then, the entire class joined in, and the sound of applause echoed through the room.

There were even a few boys cheering and shouting.

This startled the bespectacled teacher.

Flustered, he tried to stop them.

Luckily, the bell for the end of class rang at that moment.

The teacher quickly shouted “Class dismissed!”

He hurriedly packed up his teaching materials and ran off.

Looking at the teacher’s disheveled figure as he left,

Jiang Ning surprisingly felt like she had never really known this teacher.

Or rather,

Not just the bespectacled teacher,

Even Math Teacher Ma Hongwei, PE Teacher Hei Dage, Chemistry Teacher Mo Li Hong, and even Leader Yang Mei.

Having lived two lives, Jiang Ning instinctively placed them under the labels of her previous life.

But they were people.

People are complex.

How could you represent a whole person’s character with just a simple label?

(End of Chapter)