If I had borrowed the Level 4 vocabulary book from Qianqian back then, perhaps it would have been even more effective.
On further thought, Jiang Nian felt it wasn't necessary.
The value of skills lies in specialization rather than quantity. Currently, the main obstacle is the college entrance exam. Three thousand five words are enough; it would be better to allocate the precious memory time to other subjects.
At this moment, with the subject knowledge in memory, attempting problems makes Jiang Nian feel... healthy and long-lived.
But he was stumped, unable to solve the math problems even after memorizing the formulas.
English can be done in an instant, biology and chemistry... with the subject memory, it's easier than before. As for Chinese, there's no point doing it; even if I did, it would be in vain, and physics... en...
There is still a year left until the college entrance exam. Jiang Nian mused that with his effort, he should be able to get into a "non-double" university.
There are a total of three evening study sessions in the classroom.
Almost every break, one could hear the boisterous laughter and teasing from Zhou Yuting's small group; flirty and loose... Jiang Nian rarely uses such a term to describe a group of people.
But that's the truth: both flirty and loose.
During the intervals between brushing up on problem sets, Jiang Nian would occasionally glance in that direction. In the past, he would have probably put down his pen and run over to join in the fun and laughter.
It wasn't that he wanted to be a sycophant; he just wanted to fit in.
Even without Zhou Yuting, he would still want to join this "life-of-the-party" clique. In simple terms, Jiang Nian was good-looking and wanted to contribute his looks to the clique.
He couldn't focus on studies, nor was he wealthy; such self-esteem issues naturally led to a bit of vanity.
The "life-of-the-party" clique was particularly attractive to teenagers, with beautiful girls, wealthy classmates, and boys who were good in both studies and sports.
Joining them, laughing and chatting, even doubling over with laughter, not only satisfied his vanity but also brought an illusory sense of "sophistication" not belonging to a goblin.
Now, Jiang Nian no longer harbored those childish thoughts.
Perhaps it was because he saw through things, or maybe the worldview of the system had impacted him. In any case, he felt a bit tired and didn't want to mingle with that flirty, loose group anymore.
Throughout the three evening study sessions, everything remained calm. The homeroom teacher came once and talked about the schedule and the monthly exam next week before leaving.
It wasn't until 9:40 p.m. that the last evening study session ended.
Jiang Nian walked out with the crowd, and when passing by the doorway, he exchanged a glance with Zhou Yuting. In reality, his mind was occupied with a math problem, and his eyes were completely blank.
He brushed past quickly without the slightest pause.
The classroom doorway was crowded and noisy. It was late September, and Zhou Yuting was still wearing a pink short-sleeve shirt that accentuated her figure, with jeans tightly hugging her hips.
In Zhennan County High School, there was no dress code, and only on specific occasions, like the sports day or Monday flag-raising, were students required to wear seasonal uniforms.
A sixteen-year-old girl looked youthful in anything, let alone a beauty like Zhou Yuting. With a bust as soft as the ridges of a spring hill and slender, long legs.
She found it hard to believe as she was just about to greet him, didn't he see her? Just brushed past like that?
They used to be quite familiar with each other.
She didn't care much for Jiang Nian; the only reason she played with him was because he was good-looking, could play basketball, and was physically fit.
Even though he inexplicably withdrew from her circle, Zhou Yuting felt nothing. After all, besides his physique, there was nothing about Jiang Nian that attracted her.
Seven or eight minutes later, Zhou Yuting walked out of the classroom with her two close friends.
Suddenly, one of her friends, He Cai, exclaimed.
"Isn't that Jiang Nian?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuting and the other girl, Luo Wanzhen, instinctively turned their heads. They saw Jiang Nian standing at the next class's doorway, walking together with a petite girl.
Occasionally, there was some physical contact, clearly looking at ease with each other.
"Is he dating someone? He never mentioned it; no wonder he hasn't been hanging out with us recently," Luo Wanzhen commented, half-jokingly, as she had no ill feelings toward Jiang Nian.
"Isn't that girl from the neighboring Olympic class? How come..."
"Who knows? She looks ordinary," Zhou Yuting said with the pride of a swan, glancing over the girl walking with Jiang Nian, who had a typical girl-next-door look.
Xu Qianqian was very pretty and had nice clothes at home, but dressed plainly at school.
In the eyes of girls like Zhou Yuting, she seemed pretty average.
"Did Jiang Nian like you before?" He Cai seemed to provoke, even though the three of them were close friends, she and Luo Wanzhen had a group excluding Zhou Yuting.
Of course, Zhou Yuting and Luo Wanzhen also had a separate group without He Cai.
"Who he likes is none of my business," Zhou Yuting tossed her head and headed towards the school gate. "I certainly don't like him."
....
"Teaching you math?" Xu Qianqian walked alongside Jiang Nian, her knuckles slightly white from clutching her backpack strap, "What suddenly got into you?"
The long street of the county was still lit, alternating between dark and bright, stretching towards the twilight.
She seemed to be seeing Jiang Nian for the first time, constantly observing him.
"In the afternoon, you even threw away the vocabulary book."
"That's because I've memorized it. If not, would you like to test me?" Jiang Nian knew he couldn't hide it, "Just say a word, within the 3500 for the college entrance exam."
Xu Qianqian thought for a moment and gave him an easy one.
"Connect?"
"Connect, c-o-n..." Jiang Nian responded without a second thought.
Xu Qianqian was slightly surprised and gave a more obscure one.
"Stimulate?"
"Stimulate, s-t-i..." Jiang Nian answered fluently.
This time, Xu Qianqian was completely stunned, standing at the street corner, examining Jiang Nian. Her expression was like she had seen a ghost, her mouth opening several times, unable to make a sound.
"Are you... really Jiang Nian?"
"Of course. You can verify if you don't believe." He smirked and explained, "I used to act that way just to fit into their crowd..."
It was best not to say too much; the more he said, the less credible it felt.
This explanation, however, seemed reasonable to Xu Qianqian, because she believed someone good at cooking couldn't be that dumb.
Moreover, Jiang Nian, this fool, would indeed do something like that.
"I don't even know what to say about you. Do you think you're being fair to Uncle Jiang and Aunt Li?" Xu Qianqian was sometimes stubborn and could be really stubborn.
Seeing her little face all stern, Jiang Nian couldn't help but smile.
"I understand. Haven't I corrected my course in time now? Don't worry, I won't let your guidance go to waste. How about I cook something delicious for you over the weekend?"
Gulp, Xu Qianqian swallowed a mouthful of saliva rather loudly.
"I... I can tutor you in math, for Aunt Li's sake. As for food, forget it, I'm on a diet recently."
Hearing Xu Qianqian's words that belied her true feelings, Jiang Nian couldn't help but laugh.
Then she suddenly asked, "Do you still like Zhou Yuting?"
The night breeze blew by, and under the dim streetlights, Jiang Nian was silent for two seconds.
"No, I don't."
Hesitating for that one second, he actually wanted to say he disliked her, but it wouldn't be nice to say such a thing in front of Xu Qianqian.
"Ding!"
[Thirty-eight-year-old you have discovered a potential rival; besides you, someone is silently pining for Xu Qianqian. Due to poverty, he never spoke to Xu Qianqian from high school through college, but now he is successful in his career.
Task: Defeat strong rival Zhou Haifei and make him give up on Xu Qianqian.
Reward: 5000 RMB.]