Chapter 417: An Answer Far Beyond Expectations
The small gate, under the sycamore tree.
"I'm so hungry." Wang Yuhe stood under the tree, her long legs gracefully upright, "Yunyun, when is he coming?"
Chen Yunyun felt a bit awkward, her delicate face showing a blush. The snow-white scarf around her neck added a touch of warmth to the cold winter day.
"He should be here soon."
"It's already recess time, why did he ask us to come here?" Wang Yuhe was clearly a bit desperately hungry, "We can't open the gate anyway."
Chen Yunyun actually didn't know what Jiang Nian wanted, but since Jiang Nian sent a message like this, she chose to believe it first.
"Maybe...."
Wang Yuhe whined, "The uncle at the small gate is too stubborn, he doesn't budge at all. Even if Jiang Nian comes, he won't be able to open it either."
Hearing this, Chen Yunyun nodded.
"Indeed, often students argue with the uncle because they are a few minutes late. But maybe he has something to say."
"I bet! Yunyun." Wang Yuhe squatted down, hugging her knees, "He called us over to make fun of us for sure."
Chen Yunyun: "...."
After a while, Jiang Nian appeared from afar.
However, he didn't walk towards them, just waved at the two girls from a distance. Then, he turned into a building nearby.
Wang Yuhe instantly stood up, excitedly.
"Yunyun, look at him!"
"He's probably going to find the uncle to ask him to open the gate," Chen Yunyun said nervously, turning to reassure Wang Yuhe.
"Let's wait a bit, see what he says when he comes out."
Wang Yuhe responded with an 'oh' and then squatted on the ground to wait, her Sharingan focused intensely in the direction of the small gate's exit...
Opening the gate is actually bound by rules and regulations.
But since the small gate is manned, it's really the uncle who is the rule, because while rules are unyielding, they can be bent like smoke.
In the afternoon, in the lime-washed old house next to the small gate.
The uncle was about to close the window for a nap when he saw a student approaching from afar. His face immediately turned cold, ready to wave them away.
With a snap, a pack of cigarettes dropped in from the window.
The uncle saw it was Yuxi cigarettes and his whole demeanor instantly brightened. No wonder they say people get more transparent with age; he didn't even bother to pretend.
"You need to go out, right?"
In an instant, Jiang Nian felt the uncle seemed much kinder.
"Uncle, I'm the class monitor of Olympic competition Class 3. Two female classmates need to come in, they just saw a doctor and can't stand the wind."
Class monitor, doctor's visit, female classmates, all the elements lined up perfectly.
This is the politically correct stance on campus.
Actually, because of the Yuxi cigarettes, the uncle was already convinced. Hearing such a perfect excuse made his movements even more decisive.
"That's right, better safe than sorry, especially with the flu going around."
Saying that, Jiang Nian accompanied the uncle to the small gate. He pointed from afar at Chen Yunyun and Wang Yuhe and said something.
Outside the small gate.
Chen Yunyun was stunned. She had never seen the small gate uncle look like this before. Holding the keys, his face was full of kindness as he prepared to open the gate.
She remembers that previously, she'd barely gotten through before the gate was locked.
A male student missed the timing and pleaded with the uncle to open the gate. Despite all the coaxing and begging, he was flatly refused, leading to a furious exchange of words.
The argument got so loud that it drew quite a crowd.
Since then, almost everyone knew. The uncle at the small gate has a bad temper; after lunch, he won't open the gate for anyone but teachers.
"Are these the two girls?" The kindly uncle beckoned them in, "Hurry up, come in. The wind is strong outside."
Chen Yunyun: "?"
Wang Yuhe was even more bewildered, her face showing an Anya-like shock, squatting on the ground like a little confused chick.
"Huh?"
Clang, the small gate shut.
The two girls were led away by Jiang Nian, offering their thanks to the uncle before they left.
"Did you eat?"
However, instead of directly answering, Chen Yunyun and her friend asked.
"How did the uncle... open the gate?"
"Secret."
Wang Yuhe: "You, you, you... you must be his grandson, right?"
"I'm not his grandson; I'm the Motivational Star," Jiang Nian said, "I declared my identity, and the uncle was moved to tears."
"Liar!" Wang Yuhe leaned in closer, staring into his eyes, "A Motivational Star couldn't possibly work!"
Of course, it was all thanks to Yuxi cigarettes.
"Believe it or not, you slacker," Jiang Nian mumbled, too lazy to argue, turned to Chen Yunyun, and asked again.
"Did you eat?"
Chen Yunyun blinked and shook her head.
"No."
"All right then, just so happens I picked up a teacher's cafeteria meal card along the way." Jiang Nian pulled Chen Yunyun along, heading towards the teachers' cafeteria.
"Whoever dropped it must feel wronged, but we'll use it while it's still hot."
After the lunch break, the only place still serving meals in the entire school is the teachers' cafeteria. Some teachers like to finish work at this time.
"We won't get caught, will we?" Wang Yuhe closed her eyes, already starting to feel scared.
"Coward."
"You're the coward!" Wang Yuhe tugged on Chen Yunyun's hand, advising, "This is wrong, isn't it?"
Chen Yunyun didn't know what to say; she wanted to say "follow the chicken if you marry a chicken, follow the dog if you marry a dog."
The words came to her lips, but she swallowed them back down.
"Well, if we get caught, we'll just have to find a way to make it up."
Wang Yuhe: "?"
Jiang Nian also found it hard to hold back a smile hearing this; Chen Yunyun spoke as if she'd married a husband addicted to gambling and up to no good.
"Idiot, Lao Liu gave this to me."
Wang Yuhe couldn't help but chuckle, "You're the idiot!"
Beep beep.
Jiang Nian swiped through two meals, handing them over to the two who were almost shrinking into the corner as they ate.
"What, are you guys really that scared?"
Chen Yunyun pursed her lips, taking the tray.
"This is the teachers' cafeteria...."
"So what?"
"I'm not that scared, just don't want to pretend," Wang Yuhe sat across from Jiang Nian, perfectly blocking his view, like a CS genius.
"You're really something." Jiang Nian was speechless.
Chen Yunyun bit her lower lip, smiling softly.
As she lowered her head to eat, her heart was a mix of emotions. From yesterday to today, it felt like she had been dreaming a magical dream.
Perhaps, Jiang Nian's reliability far exceeded her expectations.
Even overflowed quite a bit.
.....
At noon, the three quietly entered the classroom.
Jiang Nian had wasted a lot of time eating with the two girls. So after writing for a while, he started his lunch break.
But clearly, it was worth it.
Whether it's money or cards, they're just things. When spent on the right people, they often have unexpected results.
Like Li Hua's cousin, who bought a phone for his blind date.
The person wasn't even interested, and it became a toy in Li Hua's hands, forced to navigate countless sketchy websites.
In another six months, such small amounts of money might not move anything at all.
So timing is crucial.
After lunch, Jiang Nian woke up leisurely.
He stuffed a palm-sized teddy bear into Zhang Ningzhi's desk drawer, then placed a few hairbands on the class monitor's desk.
Each was bought on a whim, and collectively they were less valuable than Liu Yang's pack of Yuxi cigarettes.
After returning from getting water, the hallway was bustling.
The boys from Class 3 leaned against the wall to catch a breeze, airing their hands. Most of them were probably Lu Duo, who had split urine and got it on his hands.
"Hua, did you get both hands wet?"
"Chi Shi, get lost!" Li Hua retracted his hands, asking rather flamboyantly, "What did you do on your lunch break?"
"Saw your cousin." Jiang Nian leaned against the railing, squinting, "Gotta say, she's prettier in person than in photos."
"Beast!" Li Hua grabbed Jiang Nian's collar.
"What cousin?" Lin Dong poked his head in.
"A middle schooler."
"Oh, then forget it." Lin Dong instantly lost interest and continued chatting with Sun Zhicheng, sharing strange stories.
Amidst the group of boys, Liu Yang asked.
"Really a cousin?"
"Genuinely, you beasts better stay away from my sister." Li Hua immediately turned into a brother-bear, "I'll take down anyone who comes close."
Jiang Nian looked at Liu Yang, joking.
"The world is complicated, Brother Yang."
Liu Yang knew he was referring to the Yuxi cigarettes, suddenly feeling guilty.
"Just occasionally, occasionally."
"By the way, isn't there a tug-of-war this afternoon?" Luo Yong, possessing some brute strength, was selected too, "The girls seem a bit weak though."
Li Hua scratched his head, suddenly shy.
"I think... they're okay."
Jiang Nian: "What do you mean by 'they're okay'?"
At that moment, everyone who understood immediately burst into laughter. The hallway was instantly filled with lively air and the sound of a wild dog barking.
After class started.
Jiang Nian returned to his seat, where Zhang Ningzhi tugged at his arm.
"Hmm?"
Zhang Ningzhi blushed, "Thank you."