Chapter 1213: Chapter 817: A Moment to Relax

"Have they arrived?"

"There’s a bunch of people, how can I see clearly?" Old Jiang felt a bit exasperated; his lungs were itchy from anxiety.

Inhaler is a hero’s friend.

"I gave birth to him, how can I not see clearly?" Li Hongmei was a bit annoyed. "That kid won’t hand in his paper early."

"And then run off somewhere to secretly play on his phone, right?"

"Hey, no signal, what’s the point of playing on the phone?" Old Jiang took out a cigarette but put it back because there were too many people around.

"You still think he’s a kid? In a few years, he’ll have his own kids."

With a bang, Li Hongmei lightly hit him, "You old rascal, what nonsense are you talking?"

There were many parents gathered at the school gate, some driving, some riding bikes, and many more who hadn’t come.

The college entrance exam is a monumental event for students.

But for parents, it’s more about planning one’s life. Passing is good, but if not, find another path.

In a word, face reality.

Life paths diverge north and south, even for classmates who spend every day together. From this moment, the amniotic water becomes the watershed.

Freedom bows only to money.

"There they are! There they are!" Li Hongmei said proudly. "What did I say? You can recognize him at a glance."

Old Jiang, speechless, was about to light a cigarette with relief. He had just reached into his pocket when he saw Jiang Nian walking alongside a girl.

They came over together, and his hand trembled a bit.

"Huh?"

Someone he hadn’t seen before.

And, she was a bit too pretty.

"Dad." Jiang Nian walked up to the parents and casually introduced, "This is our class monitor, Li Qingrong."

"Hello, Uncle and Auntie." Li Qingrong slightly lowered her eyes, appearing reserved.

"Hello... hello." Li Hongmei’s mind was blank. "The same last name, I’m also a Li."

"Mom, the Li surname has its differences." Jiang Nian grinned, "What do you think, our class monitor is pretty, right?"

"This girl is really lovely." Li Hongmei wanted to pull Jiang Nian’s ear on the spot, filled with unanswered questions.

"Why don’t you come to our house for a meal?"

"Thank you, Auntie, but there’s no need." Li Qingrong said, "My sister is waiting for me; I have to leave now."

Jiang Nian agreed, "I have to go back to school tonight to sort out some files, there’s no time for a leisurely meal."

Li Hongmei murmured, "Alright then."

"Goodbye, Uncle and Auntie."

As soon as Li Qingrong left, Jiang Nian felt a pain in his ear. He gasped, "Mom! What are you doing?"

"You still remember I’m your mom?" Li Hongmei released her grip, "What are you doing, causing trouble right after exams?"

"What trouble?" Jiang Nian feigned ignorance.

After exams, there was naturally no gathering. He had merely coincidentally bumped into the class monitor on the way.

After thinking about it, he decided to come over together.

So whether he died early or late, he’d die all the same, so he decided to ramp up the stress test for his parents and, in the meantime, ease the tension with Qingqing.

After all, they’re still classmates for now.

"Stop pretending." Li Hongmei felt tough vocally but didn’t actually scold him, "How were the last two days of exams?"

"Not bad, I’m sure of getting into the 985."* (985 refers to the 39 universities in China receiving a significant amount of government funding)

"What about Qing...?"

"Don’t ask, we’ll know when the results come out." Old Jiang cut in to reduce Jiang Nian’s pressure.

"Get a few packs of cigarettes ready to distribute later."

"Let’s go home, let’s go home." Li Hongmei felt mixed emotions, having a son just worries one a lot, so she decided to head straight home.

"You guys go ahead, I have something to do." Jiang Nian took a step back and started running away, "I’ll be home later tonight."

Li Hongmei and Old Jiang exchanged a glance, feeling an ominous premonition.

"Sigh."

"Come on, don’t sigh. Why aren’t you claiming you birthed him now?" Old Jiang was fine with it, accepting the situation quickly.

He planned to have a talk with him another day; everything was negotiable. They’d seen Qianqian grow up; it was hard to explain.

"What kind of talk is that!" Li Hongmei was displeased, "If I knew it would be like this, I might as well have sired a pig."

....

Jiang Pig.

He didn’t linger around the separate campus but headed straight back to school, ready to pack his things; finally, it was vacation time! 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Refreshingly, he’d first spend a night lying at home.

No, let’s hit the internet café!

Just as vacation starts, exam results would probably be out after the 25th of this month, so there’s a long free period ahead.

Once out of school, many people would be hard to meet again.

What?

The parts that can’t be broadcasted.

Hmm... it might get a bit bloody, but for now, there’s no real danger, after all, nothing’s been done yet.

Honestly, Jiang Nian felt a bit lost himself. If things really explode, he wondered if he’d be able to handle it.

Enjoy now, suffer later.

Forget it; we’ll deal with it later. Right now, he needed to pack his things, or else they’d likely be cleared away as trash tomorrow.

In the classroom, quite a few people were moving things.

There’s no elevator on the third-year floor, and all those books on the ground have to be either thrown or carried down by hand.

The fourth floor, such a perilous height.

Jiang Nian wasn’t in a hurry; he had returned early. Only a third of the people were there in the classroom, so he leisurely packed his things.

Most were exam books; some unused books had already been taken back home in batches before the college entrance exams.

Now that the exams were over, the exam books were rendered useless.

"All the answers are out. Did you estimate your scores?" Tao Ran came over from the front row and casually asked.

"Didn’t look." Jiang Nian didn’t even raise his head, focusing on putting textbooks into the book crate to take home and store.

The rest, he’d just leave.

"The exams are done; checking answers is pointless now." Jiang Nian straightened up and said, "Might as well leave it up to fate."

"That’s true." Tao Ran nodded, glancing at his book crate, "You’re taking your textbooks home?"

"You’re not taking yours?"

"Too lazy to carry them, but... fine, I’ll bring some back too." Tao Ran said, turning back to pack up.

At six o’clock, Jiang Nian felt too lazy to go anywhere for dinner, so he simply found a street vendor outside the West Gate and sat down to reply to messages.

From Zhang Ningzhi’s message, he proceeded down the list, replying to two days’ worth of accumulated messages from relatives as well.

"Wontons are ready!"

The vendor placed a steaming bowl on the table, "Be careful, it’s hot; help yourself to the side dish."