Chapter 234: Feels a Bit… Sticky

There were 98 contestants in the 16th National High School Olympic Math Competition.

Seven gold medals, thirty-three silver, and fifty-eight bronze.

Jiang Ning was one of the seven gold medalists.

But judging by the look on her face, she didn’t seem particularly pleased.

Especially during the group photo.

While the other kids were grinning from ear to ear, Miss Jiang stood there like she’d lost all will to live.

Not even a hint of a smile.

Her cold and distant demeanor made quite a few boys who wanted a solo photo with her hesitate and back off.

Ma Jian, Jiang Ning’s supervising teacher, had always paid close attention to this rare talent from Jiangzhou No. 1 High School—perhaps even the only one in all of Jiangzhou.

He’d wanted to ask her something during the awards ceremony that morning.

But with all the congratulations from old colleagues and friends, he never got the chance.

Now that everything had wrapped up, he called over a girl from Ningzhou No. 14 Middle School.

“Xu Suihe,” he said, “do you know what’s going on with Jiang Ning?”

Hearing the question, Xu Suihe, who had been smiling politely, suddenly couldn’t hold it in and let out a giggle.

But perhaps sensing Jiang Ning’s death glare from a distance, she quickly pressed her lips together and said,

“It’s nothing, Principal Ma.”

“Mm.”

“You know how it is with girls… there are a few days every month…”

……

Miss Jiang was, in fact, on her period.

It had come two or three days early.

After getting a scolding from her mom the night before, she’d had a nightmare in which her mom was chasing her with a stick.

Just like Luo Shanshan’s dad.

Trying to pull her pants down.

It scared Miss Jiang so much that she woke up on the spot.

She instinctively reached back to touch her butt.

Still smooth.

But… it felt kind of sticky…

Wait—what?!

Sticky?!

In a flash, Miss Jiang sprang up like a spring and turned on the light.

Then she threw back the covers.

Once her eyes adjusted to the brightness, a palm-sized blood-red stain came into view.

Right there, plain as day.

And right after that, the familiar ache in her lower back and waist hit her like a wave.

But what really broke her was—

For the first time ever—

The two things on her chest were also throbbing with a strange, sore tightness.

Later, the hotel cleaning lady came in to change the sheets.

She even thoughtfully brought over a pack of large sanitary pads and a cup of warm brown sugar water.

Before she left, the lady even turned off the air conditioning in Miss Jiang’s room.

“Little girl, you need to be careful, don’t catch a chill!”

Catch a chill, my ass.

So then, Miss Jiang sat curled up on the sofa by the window, hugging her cup of brown sugar water.

Staring wistfully at the moon.

Because there was one thing she just couldn’t figure out.

Why did everyone else’s “Auntie” knock before entering, but hers just barged in without even using a key?

Couldn’t she at least learn some manners?

Later on, Miss Jiang posed this exact question to Little Miss Xu.

And got laughed at for it.

Which pissed her off.

She ignored Little Miss Xu for the entire morning.

Anyone who asked got the same answer: “I deleted her. If she wants to talk, she can add me back.”

Xu Suihe didn’t quite understand what “add me back” meant.

But that didn’t stop her from reading Jiang Ning’s mood.

Clearly still in a huff.

Best to give her some space.

So, when the awards ceremony was almost over, Xu Suihe finally walked over to Miss Jiang with a bright smile and casually helped her dodge a lunch invitation.

“They invited me to lunch! Why’d you turn them down?” Miss Jiang snapped, still fuming, her words sharp and barbed.

Xu Suihe just gave her a look.

“Their parents are coming too. You sure you want to go?”

“I…” Miss Jiang was momentarily speechless.

But the more she thought about it, the more annoyed she felt.

“Mind your own business!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Jiang Ning wanted to slap herself.

What the hell kind of girly nonsense was that?!

Which only made her angrier.

Seeing the little puffball in front of her getting more and more worked up, like an inflated pufferfish, Xu Suihe’s eyes curved into crescent moons.

She suddenly reached out and grabbed Miss Jiang’s hand.

“Come on, big sis will take you to eat something good…”

……

There was no denying it.

Miss Xu knew how to eat.

In just one afternoon, she led Miss Jiang on a full-blown food tour.

Crispy, juicy pan-fried buns—one bite and your mouth was filled with the rich aroma of meat, oil, and sesame.

Then came the delicate, flavorful soup dumplings bursting with broth.

Golden, flaky crab shell pastries, rich but not greasy.

Fragrant, charred tiger claw pastries.

Rice cakes, scallion pancakes, beef-stuffed fried buns…

At some point during the feast, Miss Jiang’s face lit up with a genuine smile.

By the end, completely stuffed, she collapsed onto a wooden bench by the roadside.

Patting her belly, she murmured,

“So full…”

“Can’t eat another bite…”

“My stomach’s all puffed up…”

“No way,” said Little Miss Xu, eyeing her skeptically. “Your stomach still looks flat to me.”

Unconvinced, Miss Jiang stuck her belly out in protest.

Then—

Xu Suihe reached out and pressed her hand against Miss Jiang’s belly, frowning slightly.

“Huh… it does feel a bit bigger…”

“But not by much…”

“I should feel it again…”

As she spoke, she reached her hand toward the inside of her shirt.

Miss Jiang finally realized what was happening and smacked Little Miss Xu’s hand away, her face dark with exasperation.

Damn it!

This pervert.

Always trying to cop a feel when you’re not paying attention.

No way.

She had to get even.

Otherwise, she’d be at a serious loss.

After thinking for a moment, Miss Jiang suddenly had an idea.

She beckoned to Little Miss Xu.

“Have you seen that island nation’s pirate king on the sea?”

“Hm?” Xu Suihe wasn’t a bookworm who only buried her head in books.

She consumed very diverse content normally.

From opera to traditional theater, from novels to anime.

One could say her interests were very broad.

So, the instant Miss Jiang finished speaking, she understood what she meant.

She replied with a smile.

“I’ve seen it, why?”

“Then do you know about the Rubber Boy’s bloodline?”

“I do, the D clan…”

Before she could finish. Miss Jiang pinched hard at the mark of the D clan on little Miss Xu’s body.

Then she bolted.

And with that, a string of silver-bell laughter echoed through the streets and alleys.

——————

Afternoon.

On the ride back.

Miss Jiang lay sprawled across the back seat, holding the palm-sized gold medal in her hand.

She studied it for a long time.

In the end, she couldn’t resist. She opened her mouth and gave it a little bite.

“Hiss…”

So hard.

Couldn’t bite through it.

Fuck.

Definitely fake.

Miss Jiang tossed the medal aside with a look of utter disdain.

Her every move was caught by Principal Ma, who was driving. He chuckled and said,

“Jiang Ning.”

“That medal represents an honor. Did you really expect it to be made of real gold?”

Miss Jiang’s face flushed red with embarrassment.

“Hehe, I was just curious, that’s all.”

To ease the awkwardness, she reached into a bag nearby, pulled out a pear syrup candy, and passed it to the front.

“Here, Principal Ma, have a candy.”

“Driving in the afternoon makes you sleepy. This’ll perk you up!”

Ma Jian smiled.

“You have it, Jiang Ning.”

“My blood sugar’s high. I can’t eat sweets.”

“Oh, alright then.”

Hearing that, Miss Jiang didn’t hold back. She unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth.

Not bad.

Just then, a teasing voice came from the front seat.

“Jiang Ning.”

“I heard a lot of students called you last night?”

???

How did Old Ma know?

Was the phone tapped?!

Shit, does that mean even the half-hour scolding I got from my mom got leaked?!

Maybe it was the rearview mirror, or maybe he just sensed her panic.

Ma Jian chuckled and reassured her,

“Relax.”

“One of the boys dialed the wrong number and ended up calling me.”

Oh, that’s what happened.

Miss Jiang let out a sigh of relief and gave an awkward smile.

“Uh, sorry for the trouble, Principal…”

Ma Jian waved it off with a laugh.

“No trouble at all.”

“This kind of thing is nothing.”

“As long as you don’t blame the school for any trouble it causes you in the future.”

Huh?

What did that mean?

Miss Jiang asked and found out—

The school was planning to use her photo and name for publicity.

And not just posters—actual news coverage.

Honestly?

Just having her face plastered on the school gate wall had already brought her a ton of unnecessary drama.

Now they wanted to put her on TV?

In the papers?

Oh no…

Her back hurt.

Her stomach hurt.

Even her boobs hurt.

(End of Chapter)

———

“Auntie” (姨妈)

A common Chinese euphemism for menstruation/period. Jiang Ning jokes about her period not “knocking before entering” – complaining it arrived unexpectedly early.

One Piece Reference

“海上贼王” (Pirate King on the Sea) = One Piece manga/anime

“橡胶娃娃” (Rubber Boy) = Luffy, the main character who ate the Rubber-Rubber Fruit

“D之一族” (D Clan) = The mysterious “Will of D” bloodline in One Piece

The joke: Jiang Ning pinches Xu Suihe’s chest (the “D” mark) as revenge for being groped earlier. The “D” pun refers to both the One Piece clan and breast cup size.