Chapter 266: Speak. What’s Going On?

Night fell.

The great Keeper of the Lights exercised her supreme and unrivaled authority.

She plunged the entire 207 Dormitory into darkness.

And then—

The Keeper of the Lights dove into bed,

Leaving all the light to herself.

【Jiang Ning, I saw you doing the high jump today. What a pity—just a bit higher and you would’ve beaten sixth place.】

Ha. Thanks a lot.

Young Master Li.

You really know how to hit where it hurts.

Miss Jiang deleted the message without a second thought.

Next.

【Jiang Ning, I heard you unlocked a second profession. When are you coming over to my place to help me recharge the gas?】 —From Tao Tao.

???

How did this brat find out?

Miss Jiang was full of question marks and immediately fired back a reply.

【Who told you?】

Barely two seconds later, the reply came in.

【I have my sources.】

Sources?

You’re all the way in Ningzhou. What kind of source could you possibly have?

Oh.

Little Ye, huh?

Very good.

I’ll make sure you’re buried together.

Next came a message from Xu Suihe.

【Darling, I heard you were extra cute today?】

Damn my itchy fingers.

I knew nothing good ever comes from opening her messages.

So why did I open it anyway?

Miss Jiang couldn’t help but smack her own right hand.

Then she deleted the message and moved on to the next one.

【Boss, everything went smoothly at the shop today.】

A handful of scattered messages followed.

Each one packed with text.

Miss Jiang figured the telecom company must be having a hard time making money off Wang Jianguo’s text habits.

Three or four messages,

Probably added up to three or four hundred characters.

From today’s sales at Shi Ning Ji to updates on ongoing promotions, he went into great detail.

Even mentioned how the spicy sticks were selling as part of the meal combos.

Miss Jiang took a look.

So far, sales were just average.

That definitely didn’t live up to the “national snack” label it had in the future.

If necessary, it might be time to explore other sales channels.

Like convenience stores or supermarkets.

Actually—

If possible, the school’s campus shop would be the best outlet.

Thinking it over, Miss Jiang began forming a rough plan in her mind.

She continued reading the rest of the messages.

Hmm.

The factory’s dedicated shipping gate was finally set up.

All incoming and outgoing goods would now go through a different entrance.

From Wang Jianguo’s description, it seemed to be working well.

The only issue was the new security guard.

He’d blocked Wang Jianguo at the gate more than once.

Reading his complaints in the message,

Miss Jiang couldn’t help but smile.

As for the self-congratulatory lines at the end of his messages,

Miss Jiang chose to ignore them entirely.

Next message.

She opened it and—

Huh?

It was from her older cousin.

【Ning Ning, this evening a company suddenly placed a huge order for live chickens. The quantity was massive—almost as much as what one entire Shi Ning Ji store uses. From the way they talked, it sounds like they’ll be ordering even more in the future. I didn’t sign the deal right away, so I’m asking you first.】

Huh?

What kind of company needs that many chickens?

Could it be some new business moving into Jiangzhou?

No one had mentioned anything like that…

Weird.

Miss Jiang thought for a moment, then typed out a reply.

【Cousin, did the company say what kind of business they’re in or give an address?】

As soon as she sent it, the reply came almost instantly.

【It’s a food company called Huaxing. They didn’t go into much detail. Just said if we agreed, they’d sign a contract and pay when they came to pick up the goods.】

“Huaxing”?

Is there even a company called that in Jiangzhou?

She’d have to ask Hu Gugu to look into it later.

After all, any place that can go through one or two thousand live chickens in a single order—if you don’t dig a little deeper, it just feels off.

It’s not like they’re a zoo or something…

【Go ahead and take the order, Cousin. I’ll look into the rest.】

【Okay. Come home and visit when you have time.】

Go home?

Maybe during the New Year.

That last visit, with the toilet crawling with tiny white maggots, had left too deep an impression.

Then—

Just as Miss Jiang was about to shut off her phone and go to sleep,

A new message came in that made her eyes narrow instinctively.

【We found the person.】

——————

The second day of the sports meet.

The weather was still clear and sunny.

Miss Jiang sat high up in the stands,

Earbuds in her ears,

Head tilted back as she looked up at the blue sky, listening to her own song, “Sunny Day.”

Miss Jiang couldn’t shake a strange sense of dissonance.

It felt like someone up in the sky was waving at her, mouthing the words, “Hey, not bad!”

The thought made Jiang Ning laugh out loud.

Just then—

A commotion broke out near the track.

Miss Jiang looked down.

It was the finals for the boys’ 100-meter dash.

As one of the most thrilling and competitive events in track and field,

From the starting gun to the finish line,

It only takes a few seconds,

But the surge of adrenaline and testosterone is overwhelming.

So—

This event always drew a lot of attention.

Miss Jiang’s Class 3, Grade 2 didn’t have anyone in the finals.

But there was someone on the track she recognized.

Ge Hanwen.

The moment Miss Jiang spotted him standing among the finalists from Grade 1,

She was genuinely surprised.

If she remembered correctly,

This guy had excellent grades. One of the top three in the entire first-year cohort.

Who would’ve thought—

He was also this athletic.

Too bad his taste in girls was a bit off.

Otherwise, this guy’s overall condition would actually be considered pretty good.

Just then—

Yang Ke, who had just returned from outside, didn’t go back to her seat. Instead, she walked over to Miss Jiang.

She sat down.

“Jiang Ning.”

“What is it?” Miss Jiang took out one of her earbuds and looked at him, puzzled.

Yang Ke didn’t answer right away. She pointed downward toward the field.

“That guy on lane four—isn’t he the younger student who’s always waiting for you outside the dorm?”

Though she didn’t want to admit it,

It did seem to be the case.

Seeing the helpless look on Miss Jiang’s face,

Yang Ke gave a gentle smile, then pulled a folded note from her pocket and handed it to her.

“He asked me to give this to you when I was on my way to the restroom just now.”

“Said it’s something important.”

“Told me to make sure you got it.”

As Jiang Ning frowned and took the note,

Yang Ke added with a grin,

“I didn’t read it, by the way~”

With that,

She waved cheerfully and walked back to her seat.

“Another love letter?” Qi Wen leaned over and asked curiously.

Hearing that,

Miss Jiang shook her head.

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

As she spoke, she unfolded the note.

Just one glance—

And her eyes narrowed.

“What is it?”

Qi Wen leaned in, trying to sneak a peek at the note, but Miss Jiang quickly pulled it away and tucked it into her pocket.

“It’s nothing.”

Seeing Jiang Ning’s calm expression, Qi Wen assumed it really wasn’t a big deal and didn’t press further. She smiled and pointed toward the 100-meter sprint about to start on the field.

“It’s starting!”

“Let’s guess who’s going to win!”

“I’m betting on lane two!”

…

“On your marks…”

“Set!”

Bang!

With the crack of the starting gun—

Eight young men shot out from the eight lanes like arrows loosed from a bow.

At the same time,

On the stands, students from all grades—first years, second years, and third years—had their eyes fixed on the race.

Waves of cheers and shouting surged through the crowd,

Like waves crashing against rocks.

The intensity rivaled that of a battlefield.

They chased and overtook one another, racing toward the finish line.

In the end—

The runner in lane four crossed the finish line ahead of the others, a full stride ahead of the second-place finisher.

In that instant,

A section of the stands erupted in wild cheers.

Hearing the noise,

The runner from lane four, having crossed the finish line, waved toward the students in that section.

Which immediately triggered a wave of squeals and fangirl screams.

“Brother Ge! You’re amazing!”

“Hanwen!! You’re the best!!”

However—

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the first-place winner of the first-year 100-meter final didn’t return to his class.

Instead, after circling around beneath the stands, he suddenly sprinted off toward the outer edge of the stadium.

“Where’s Ge Hanwen going?”

“No idea…”

“Bathroom?”

“Didn’t he just go?”

…

Back in the stands,

Miss Jiang listened to Little Qi’s grumbling as she fiddled with the note in her hand.

After a moment’s thought,

“Wenwen, I’m going to the restroom…”

“Huh? Want me to come with you?”

“Of course. I need help putting on my pants.”

“Ugh, just go already!”

…

A short while later,

Miss Jiang passed the restroom, crossed the track, and walked toward the first-floor bathrooms of the teaching building.

At the entrance,

A young man in track spikes and shorts stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall.

When he saw her,

Miss Jiang walked over.

Under his gaze, she pulled the note from her pocket.

She raised it slightly.

“Well?”

“What’s this about?”

(End of Chapter)