"The school does have one, and it looks quite professional," Jiang Nian recommended. "Next time she cries, suggest it to her."

"You’re crazy," Qianqian rolled her eyes and quickly walked ahead, "Why don’t you recommend it directly?"

Jiang Nian said shyly, "I’m afraid of getting scolded."

"And I’m not afraid?" Xu Qianqian got angrier the more she thought about it, turned back to smack him a few times, "Always coming up with bad ideas!"

After getting hit, Jiang Nian noticed Song Xiyun secretly laughing.

"You go tell her."

"I’m not going," Song Xiyun immediately straightened up, "Our homeroom teacher is too fierce, and her mood is unpredictable."

The three of them lazily strolled in the direction of the alley, the dim streetlights fading away, and their voices gradually becoming distant.

Finally, Jiang Nian consoled them with a sentence.

"It’s nothing, the stricter your homeroom teacher is, the sooner she’ll leave. The crying is just to test you guys."

"Why?" Song Xiyun didn’t understand.

Xu Qianqian quickly answered, "Hmph, it’s about saving face."

"Huh?"

"That’s how it is in the movies. They haven’t done anything good normally, but when they’re about to leave, they’re afraid no one will want them to stay."

They went home and upstairs.

As soon as Jiang Nian entered Xu Qianqian’s house, he heard Song Xiyun ask.

"Have you bought the movie tickets?"

He looked up and saw the two girls chatting.

"You two are going to see a movie?"

"Yeah, tomorrow night." Xu Qianqian threw down her backpack, "The math teacher took a leave, so we can catch up on sleep Thursday morning."

"Oh, I see." Jiang Nian nodded.

Before he could think more, he heard Song Xiyun speaking again.

"Are you coming?"

"Hmm?"

"The cinema is near the supermarket. The movie starts at eleven, we’ll go after the evening self-study and be back by one in the morning."

"The show ends quite late, and with just the two of us on the road... If you come, we can invite you."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian turned to look at Xu Qianqian. After all, it was unlikely that Song Xiyun would come up with such an idea, she was just relaying it.

"What do you say?"

"What do I say, I’m going to take a shower." Xu Qianqian turned around and went back to her room, closing the door directly.

In the living room, only two people were left.

"Do you have time?" Song Xiyun asked again.

"Yeah, I’ll go since it’s free," Jiang Nian nodded in agreement, "I’ll head back to finish my homework first."

"Oh, okay."

Song Xiyun instinctively lifted her foot to see him off. But remembering yesterday’s events, she immediately halted her action.

As Jiang Nian reached the door, he realized something was missing. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

He looked back and saw Song Xiyun just standing there in the living room, watching him from afar, not moving, seeming a bit hesitant.

In reality, he understood too.

Little Song used to be lively, only in the past six months, a lot had happened in her family.

Gradually, she became introverted. But it wasn’t a change in personality, just shifting from outward mischief to being reserved.

Her inner world was still vibrant and colorful.

With a bang, the door closed.

Song Xiyun instantly breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes drooping as she thought of yesterday’s incident. She was dazed for a while, then gradually cleared up.

In the empty living room, she slowly moved to lock the door.

"Did he leave?"

Qianqian came out with clothes in her arms, peeking her head out of the room. She looked at the living room, and seeing no one, she stepped out.

The light dimmed for a moment as the lamp flickered.

"Yeah." Song Xiyun thought for a moment and started a new topic, "That Provincial Excellence award, it seems like they’re going on stage to receive it."

"Don’t talk about it. Just thinking about it gives me a headache," Xu Qianqian held her forehead, "I used to enjoy going on stage, but now..."

"Isn’t going on stage a good thing?" Song Xiyun chuckled.

"We’re almost graduating, no one is listening down there," Xu Qianqian said, "As long as we get the stuff, it’s fine."

Song Xiyun thought about getting the prize money and couldn’t help but purse her lips.

"True."

.....

The following day.

Jiang Nian washed up and went downstairs with his bag, stopping by the breakfast stall. Seeing Zhou Haifei munching on a steamed bun, he couldn’t help but ask curiously.

"Saving money like this?"

Zhou Haifei didn’t say much, just lowered her head and softly replied.

"...The New Year is coming soon."

Jiang Nian knew about Feifei’s plan for the New Year, though he hadn’t given it much thought before, as the holiday season approached.

He kindly reminded her, "You can’t stay in the dorm, they’re kicking everyone out on the last day, at most until New Year’s Eve."

"We’ll see when New Year’s Eve comes," Zhou Haifei took another bite, "I’ll ask the auntie afterwards."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian suspiciously stared at Zhou Haifei.

"Do you have the guts for that?"

Zhou Haifei turned her head, not knowing what to respond. Naturally, she didn’t dare, but she didn’t want to give her friend any burden.

If she was kicked out, she’d deal with it later.

"I do."

"Stop joking, besides, the holiday starts on the minor New Year. You can only stay for three days, it’s useless to hang on until New Year’s Eve."

Zhou Haifei was at a loss for words, "I..."

Jiang Nian silently counted the days, with the minor New Year just about a week away, and finals imminent.

"How about this, I have a single room..."

"N-no need," Zhou Haifei cut him off instinctively, "I’ve figured something out."

"What did you figure out?"

Zhou Haifei: "....."

She hadn’t expected Jiang Nian to pursue the question so doggedly, and couldn’t think of a good excuse.

"There will be one."

Jiang Nian suddenly said, "If you have nowhere to go during New Year, you’ll be selling matches, right?"

"Pfft!" Zhou Haifei couldn’t help but laugh at the image he conjured, despite herself.

Realizing her lapse, she closed her mouth again.

"And you can still laugh?" Jiang Nian couldn’t hold back either, chuckling a bit, "Then I’ll wait to see your great plan."

"Alright," she replied.

He knew well, Zhou Haifei was just that kind of stubborn person.

Oh well, let’s see first.

The two of them walked to school together, as usual. The journey was pretty silent, with only the shuffling of their shoes to be heard.

Upon reaching the building, Jiang Nian tossed the trash from breakfast away. He glanced at Zhou Haifei but didn’t say anything.

It wasn’t until they were close to the third floor that he casually mentioned.

"Why do you look like you’ve lost weight after the exams?"

Upon hearing that, Zhou Haifei paused at the last step of the staircase, her nose almost instinctively tingling with emotion.

"It’s not..."

With that, she quickly headed toward the classroom.

She dared not slow down, nor look back, fearing her friend might see her vulnerable side and they wouldn’t remain friends.

A friend is supposed to be an equal.

She had grown accustomed to her tight lifestyle, adjusting her portions according to significant days, preparing frugally for the future.

It was a normal thing, something she’d long been used to.

Being told she looked thinner... Such words should have come from her parents or relatives, but being bluntly pointed out by Jiang Nian caught her off guard, emotions flooding through.

...

"Chi Shi!" Li Hua slid into the classroom, "How come I’m later even though I came earlier?"

"Early?" Jiang Nian was confused.

"You arrived late," Huang Fang remarked with authority, "When I got up, you were probably still sound asleep."

"The early worm gets eaten by the bird, this is survival wisdom," Li Hua scoffed, carrying his bag back to his seat.

"Hello, hello!!" Zhang Ningzhi was full of energy, "Morning, Fangfang! Want some fruit?"

"Morning," Jiang Nian waved at the starlet but was ignored, "Hey, why’re you ignoring me?"

"Hmph!" Zhang Ningzhi puffed up with anger over yesterday’s events, "I’m ignoring you, it’s not for you!"

Hearing this, Li Hua started laughing and pointed at Jiang Nian.

"Oh Jiang Nian, how funny, how funny."

Then, with an ingratiating smile, he turned to Zhizhi.

"Do I get some?"

Zhang Ningzhi said, "No, you guys are in cahoots!"

"Chi Shi, Chi Shi!!!" Li Hua exclaimed loudly, "I’m being wronged, how am I in league with him?"

"Hmph!"

Morning self-study began.

Jiang Nian still managed to get some fruit, although he basically snatched it from Zhang Ningzhi, touching it for quite a while before actually taking it.

"Three blueberries, hard-earned indeed."

After the playful mess, Zhang Ningzhi seemed annoyed, yet she felt much better, even though she’d occasionally get vexed.

Guess you could say, she’s a bit too much of a tsundere.

The morning classes were boring, and after the first class ended, the class representative Tao Ran quietly got up, left the classroom, and headed straight to the second floor of Building D.