Chapter 264: The Decline of Morals!

The format of the sports meet was the same as every year.

Opening ceremony.

Watch performances.

Listen to speeches.

But this year was different from last year in one key way.

There were no student performers this time.

Probably because they didn’t want a repeat of last year’s fiasco.

If another couple’s duet broke out again, what would happen to Jiangzhou First High’s reputation?

So this year, they brought in some art students from other schools to perform.

And to be fair, the performances were much more visually appealing.

Those waists.

Those legs.

That level of hip movement.

It was practically—

“Absolutely disgraceful!!!”

Miss Jiang let out a furious cry, even raising her fist toward the stage.

Only after Little Qi’s gaze drifted past her did Miss Jiang quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

She resumed watching—no, critiquing—the hot dance performance on stage with a judgmental eye.

To be honest.

A few days ago, Old Guo had actually approached her too.

He wanted her to go up and sing a couple of songs.

But Miss Jiang brushed him off with excuses like inflamed tonsils and finger cramps.

One performance was enough.

Did they think she was free labor?

Didn’t they know that ‘Jiang Jiang’s’ digital appearance fee had already reached 50,000 per show?

But that aside.

Miss Jiang had the confidence to refuse. But why didn’t Little Qi participate?

She asked, but Little Qi wouldn’t say a word.

This woman was getting more and more disobedient!

“Jiang Jiang~ do you think their dancing looks good?”

“It’s hideous. All they know is how to wiggle around seductively. No substance at all.”

“Not even a fraction as good as our adorable Wenwen.”

As Miss Jiang spoke these hypocritical words, her eyes still couldn’t help but drift back to the stage.

And right then.

From her angle.

She caught a flash of dazzling white.

She instinctively swallowed hard.

And then—

Miss Jiang’s waist started to ache.

Ten minutes later.

The performance ended.

Miss Jiang rubbed her waist.

She hadn’t expected Little Qi to be so jealous.

All she did was appreciate a bit of artistic expression with her eyes.

And she got pinched for it.

If this kept up in the future…

Ahem, ahem.

The house might just explode.

No, she needed to come up with a way to help Little Qi embrace the idea of universal harmony.

Otherwise, life was going to be very difficult.

“Jiang Jiang.”

“What!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hmph!”

“Jiang Jiang~”

“Speak!”

“I didn’t mean it~”

“Hmph!”

“Jiang Jiang~”

“Hmph!”

“Let’s sleep together tonight~”

“Okay!”

——————

Just like last year.

The sports meet started in the afternoon and ended the following afternoon.

Two full days.

Dozens of events.

So from the moment the afternoon began, the school’s athletic field was bustling with activity.

Whistles, cheers, laughter everywhere.

Occasionally even a few excited screams.

Truly—

The morals of society are in decline!

“Yeah, right there, a little harder.”

Miss Jiang was sitting in the stands, while Little Qi gently massaged her back from behind.

This pampered position.

Even Yuan Lu, sitting nearby, couldn’t help but cast an envious glance.

“Wenwen~ I want one too~”

“Heehee~”

Faced with such an outrageous request, Qi Wen just giggled and floated past it.

Only Miss Jiang knew.

The reason Little Qi was willing to give her a back rub had a lot to do with that pinch from earlier.

Because she’d actually left a very noticeable red mark on Miss Jiang’s waist.

When they went back to the dorm at noon to change clothes,

Qi Wen saw it.

She nearly cried on the spot.

But Old Jiang didn’t care about such a minor injury.

Originally, she wanted to play it cool and laugh it off.

But then she thought,

Why suffer a loss?

So she took the opportunity to make a few small demands.

The back rub was one of them.

Feeling those small hands gliding across her shoulders,

Miss Jiang was in bliss.

Just then,

A girl from the athletics committee came over and called out.

“Jiang Ning, the girls’ high jump is gathering now.”

“Oh~ I’m coming!”

That’s right.

Just like last year,

Miss Jiang had signed up for the high jump again.

Mainly because it was convenient and easy.

One of the few events in the entire meet that didn’t require much effort.

As for the others—

Running? She was too top-heavy. Running would draw too much attention.

Not exactly appropriate.

Long jump? Standing long jump was okay, but too many people had signed up. By the time she remembered to register,

All the spots were gone.

And things like shot put or discus? Forget it.

The girls’ 4kg shot put—sure, she could throw it maybe 7 or 8 meters.

But this was a competition.

Any random girl here could throw over 10 meters.

Was she going to be the laughingstock?

Only the girls’ high jump met her criteria.

Plus, there were plenty of long legs to admire.

So Miss Jiang headed off to the event in high spirits.

And then—

She got stuck outside the crowd of spectators.

It took quite a bit of effort just to squeeze her way in.

In the end—

Just like last year.

She didn’t even make it past the group stage.

The whole thing took barely half an hour before she was back.

So much so that the athletics committee girl was surprised and asked,

“Jiang Ning, you haven’t gone yet?”

To which Miss Jiang replied with a fake smile,

“Congratulate me, I made it to the elimination round.”

Then she bolted.

Leaving the athletics girl standing there, completely confused.

“Our school’s high jump has elimination rounds?”

Back at her seat.

Miss Jiang took the bottle of mineral water Mai Wanting handed her.

She asked curiously, “Where’s Wenwen?”

“She’s competing.”

“Oh.”

Upon hearing that, Miss Jiang remembered that Qi Wen had signed up for an event too.

The women’s 400-meter race.

Little Qi loved running, and she had a pair of strong, athletic legs to show for it.

Unlike herself.

Miss Jiang glanced down at her own long, porcelain-white legs and sighed, shaking her head.

Then she picked up the bottle of water and took a small sip.

By now, the afternoon sun had lost its summer heat.

The warmth on her skin felt unexpectedly pleasant.

Lazy and comfortable.

Miss Jiang really liked this feeling.

But just then, Yuan Lu came over carrying a bag of snacks and sat down beside her.

“Jiang Jiang~ did you hear?” she said.

Jiang Ning casually reached into Yuan Lu’s puffed snack bag and fished out a shrimp stick, popping it into her mouth.

“Hear what?”

“That rumor about Luo Chengming from Class 14.”

Miss Jiang perked up a little and sat straighter.

“Hm? What about it?”

“They’re saying it was an accident. That he accidentally knocked that senior girl off the second floor, and that’s how she ended up disabled.”

“They also said he paid a lot in compensation and even sent her abroad for treatment.”

Well now.

Young Master Luo’s got some brains after all.

He knows the best way to fight a rumor is with another rumor.

Still, this explanation feels a bit flimsy.

That senior wasn’t exactly a loner. She had classmates and friends.

All it would take is a few questions to find out the truth.

Oh, right.

There’s an information gap between Second High and First High.

Unless someone deliberately digs into it, news doesn’t really travel between the two schools.

And with the Luo family actively suppressing the incident…

Even if someone did ask around, chances are they’d get a similar story.

Still, spreading a rumor was only the opening move in Miss Jiang’s plan.

The real trump card was still on its way.

Meanwhile.

Luo Chengming was in a foul mood.

Ever since that rumor started circulating in his class, the girls who used to be friendly with him had all grown noticeably colder.

That really pissed him off.

But to maintain his image, he forced himself to swallow his anger.

He came up with a carefully crafted explanation, and combined it with some of the damage control efforts from before.

Together, they were just barely enough to suppress the rumor in class.

He figured that if he just waited a bit longer, the gossip would naturally die down.

Then everything would go back to normal.

“How’s the investigation going?”

Up in the stands, Luo Chengming kept his eyes on the competition below as he asked the question without turning his head.

Beside him, Liang Minglei lowered his head in guilt.

“Sorry, Luo-ge.”

“I…”

Hearing the shame in Liang Minglei’s voice, Luo Chengming was clearly annoyed, but he still smiled and nudged his friend with his elbow.

“Hey, it’s fine.”

“I just wanted to talk to her and explain things.”

“After all, what happened at Second High really was my mistake.”

“I didn’t expect that one careless moment would send someone tumbling down the stairs.”

At those words, a guy sitting in front of them suddenly turned around and handed Luo Chengming a bottle of soda.

“Luo-ge, don’t say that. We all believe in you.”

Luo Chengming looked touched as he took the soda, cracked it open, and took a big gulp.

“Refreshing!”

Then, the group of guys started joking around again, tossing banter back and forth.

They also threw in a few comments about the girls’ 400-meter race happening below.

At that moment, Luo Chengming’s gaze landed on a certain sweet and fresh-looking figure.

His eyes lit up.

Suddenly, he spoke.

“Hey guys, can I ask you for a favor?”

(End of chapter)