Chapter 78: Why Is This Woman So Annoying?

The next day.

Early morning, on the way to school.

Jiang Ning pushed her bicycle along the autumn road.

Fallen leaves turned golden, and the morning sun brushed against her face.

Although the autumn breeze carried a slight chill, it couldn’t dim the light in Jiang Ning’s eyes as she took in the beauty around her.

Of course—

It would have been even better if her bicycle tire wasn’t flat.

“Master, can you fix a tire?”

Jiang Ning pushed her bike to a roadside repair stand and asked pitifully.

The middle-aged repairman, around forty years old, merely glanced up before lowering his head again, continuing to rub a piece of tire rubber in his hands.

After a long moment—

He finally looked up again.

“Leave the bike there.”

“Oh.”

Jiang Ning obediently parked her bicycle in the designated spot.

Then, she stepped aside, rubbing her hands together, watching as the repairman leisurely walked over to her bike.

He bent down and pinched the tire.

“Your inner tube is ruined too. Did you keep riding after it started leaking?”

Hearing this, Jiang Ning thought for a moment. It seemed like she really had continued riding for a while after the leak.

“Maybe… so I need to replace the inner tube too?”

The repairman didn’t respond. In just a few quick movements, he had already pulled out the inner tube from the rear wheel of her pink bicycle.

Seeing the reddish-brown tube, worn down to fine sand, Jiang Ning seemed to understand.

“Alright then, how much for a new inner tube?”

“Good one’s 30, cheap one’s 15.”

Jiang Ning wanted to ask about the difference but, seeing the repairman’s impatient look, decided against it.

“I’ll take the 30 one then.”

The moment she spoke, the repairman suddenly stood up, walked briskly back to his stall, and pulled out a brand-new pink inner tube from underneath.

He swiftly tore open the packaging and hurried back, stuffing it into the wheel.

The smooth and efficient process gave Jiang Ning a vague feeling that she had been scammed.

This feeling lingered until she reached school, when it finally dawned on her—she really had been ripped off.

Oh well.

It was just a bike tube, after all.

At that moment—

As Jiang Ning parked her bike, she heard someone calling her.

She turned around.

“Qianqian, morning.”

The newcomer, dressed in a school uniform, was none other than Sun Qian.

With a bright smile, she walked over and linked arms with Jiang Ning.

“Jiang Jiang, we haven’t seen each other for two days. Did you miss me?”

Jiang Ning subtly moved her elbow.

Hmm, she’s been eating well lately.

“Of course, how could I not? I missed you so much!”

“Really? How much?”

“A lot…”

“How much is a lot?”

“……”

Why is this woman so annoying?

Jiang Ning instantly wanted to shake her off.

But Sun Qian just giggled and clung to her arm even tighter.

As the two playfully bickered—

A group of students gathered in front of the bulletin board caught their attention.

They exchanged glances.

Curious, they squeezed their way through.

Only then did they realize—

It was an announcement regarding last week’s sports festival couple—the ones oozing with hormones.

Jiang Ning leaned in to read it carefully.

To her surprise, the school had only issued them a warning.

Not even probation.

She was astonished.

“Qianqian, is that really all?”

Sun Qian found it strange too.

Although their school wasn’t overly strict, it usually tried to suppress public displays of affection as much as possible.

They had expected at least probation for the couple—

Maybe even expulsion.

But instead, it was just a simple warning, not even a formal reprimand.

This didn’t make sense!

Sun Qian and Jiang Ning grumbled about it all the way to class.

By the time they arrived, the morning reading session had already begun.

Under their English teacher’s calm gaze, the two girls quickly slipped into their seats and started their day of studying.

—

Noon.

Cafeteria.

Jiang Ning yawned as she stood in line behind Zhu Hui. Behind her, Luo Shanshan and Sun Qian were huddled over a lyric sheet.

Some parts were already circled in red ink.

“For your sunrise, for your soaring heart…”

“I really love this line from ‘Youth in Water.’ What about you, Shanshan?”

“I prefer the closing line.” Luo Shanshan pointed at the bottom of the lyrics.

“I walk with you to the horizon, towards death.”

“See? So poetic…”

Watching the two girls memorizing lyrics, Jiang Ning couldn’t help but recall her younger days.

It seemed—

She had done the same once.

Even etched some lyrics onto her desk.

Including a huge ‘Endure’ character.

Cough cough.

Jiang Ning still didn’t understand what exactly she had been enduring back then.

Thank goodness she had reincarnated into another world.

If she were still in her previous world—

She wouldn’t have been able to face her old desk.

At that moment—

Zhu Hui finished getting her food, and it was Jiang Ning’s turn.

“Auntie, two drumsticks, sweet and sour ribs, and rice~”

Moments later, under the trembling hands of the cafeteria lady, her tray was filled with food.

Jiang Ning carried her tray and found a spot by the window, where a sweet-looking girl was seated.

“Here, Wenwen, take a drumstick from your grandpa.”

She picked up a drumstick and placed it in Qi Wen’s bowl.

Qi Wen was still chewing her vegetables. Faced with the sudden addition of a giant drumstick, she sighed in distress.

“Jiang Jiang, have mercy on me! I can’t eat any more!”

“I’ve gained several pounds lately.”

Gained weight?

Jiang Ning, holding her chopsticks, looked Qi Wen up and down from the side.

“I don’t see it. Where did you gain weight?”

Qi Wen, full of grievance, pinched her waist.

“Look, I have love handles now!”

“Love handles are normal. Look at me—”

Jiang Ning pinched her own waist—then froze.

She could only grab a thin layer of skin.

A very thin one.

For Qi Wen, this was a devastating blow.

She immediately shoved the drumstick back into Jiang Ning’s bowl and silently resumed eating her plain meal.

At that moment—

Sun Qian and Luo Shanshan arrived with their trays.

Seeing Qi Wen’s sparse meal, they were taken aback.

“Wenwen, are you eating this little? Can your body handle it?”

“Yeah, we have PE class later.”

Saying that, Luo Shanshan picked up a meatball from her tray and dropped it into Qi Wen’s bowl.

“Eat up, I’m on a diet anyway.”

Hearing that, Zhu Hui and Jiang Ning couldn’t help but laugh.

“What a coincidence, Qi Wen’s on a diet too.”

For a moment, the girls all burst into laughter—except for Qi Wen, whose resentment grew even stronger.

—

After lunch, during their break—

Jiang Ning found Zhu Hui.

“Xiao Zhu Hui, can you draw anime characters?”

“Anime characters?” Lying on her desk, sketching something unknown, Zhu Hui looked up at the pretty girl in front of her.

“Yeah, I can. Why?”

Hearing that, Jiang Ning’s eyes curved into crescent moons.

“Xiao Zhu Hui, can you draw something for me?”

(End of Chapter)