Jiang Yumo finally regained her senses and thought, “Was my reaction too exaggerated? Maybe a little?“
The three of them were all looking at her.
Jiang Yumo’s heart was pounding, and she appeared somewhat flustered, but she quickly calmed down and lowered her gaze, saying, “Yan Qing, you said that transfer student came from Yanjing?”
Yan Qing nodded, “Yes, so what?”
“Yanjing!” Jiang Yumo said, “What kind of city is that? He’s not a local, he transferred from Yanjing.”
She stopped herself from saying more.
That was also her true thought. Maybe others didn’t know yet about Zhou Ji’s background, and they might think he’s just an ordinary person. But she knew the future, she had read the entire novel. Zhou Ji was very capable, or rather, his family was very influential. Even in a big city like Yanjing, the Zhou family held a prominent position.
Zhou Ji’s parents had a political marriage, a union between two powerful families. Zhou Ji’s mother was from Hong Kong, with a deep foundation, while the Zhou family was a prominent family in Yanjing. The two families had important cooperative projects under their names, and in order to solidify their relationship, they joined in marriage. However, the couple appeared estranged, with rumors circulating about Zhou Ji’s mother staying in Hong Kong all year round and Zhou Ji’s father being involved with some female celebrities. In other words, they were leading separate lives, which was not uncommon in these political marriages.
But in this abnormal relationship between husband and wife, the one who suffered the most was their child, Zhou Ji.
Since childhood, Zhou Ji had been rebellious and unruly. This time, he caused trouble and was sent to Ningcheng by his father, partly to make him reflect, and partly to avoid the limelight.
Zhou Ji himself didn’t want to attract attention, so no one in Ningcheng knew that his family was incredibly wealthy. In the end, the Zhou family survived that ordeal and became even more prominent. Zhou Ji, as the only child of Father and Mother Zhou, was a genuine second-generation rich.
So, it was best not to provoke Zhou Ji. They were all from ordinary families, and couldn’t withstand the revenge of such a powerful family, even if it was just sporadic.
Zhao Zheng was stunned for a moment, “He transferred from Yanjing? Is the news accurate?”
Yan Qing poured vinegar into her bowl and said, “Of course! If you don’t believe it, go and ask. You’re in the same class, there’s nothing you can’t ask.”
Zhao Zheng pointed at his own nose in disbelief, “You want me to go and ask him?”
Yan Qing said, “If you’re curious, just ask.”
Duan Ye continued to pick scallions for Jiang Yumo.
He didn’t say anything.
Jiang Yumo continued, “Most importantly, he hasn’t offended any of you, why would you go and pick a fight with him? I don’t want you to cause trouble.”
The last sentence was directed at Duan Ye.
In the original plot, Duan Ye and Zhou Ji didn’t get along and had tendencies to confront each other in school, but they didn’t have any personal grudges or conflicts.
She knew that Duan Ye was not the type of person who would start trouble.
However, Zhao Zheng and Guo Shichao liked to stir things up, which was annoying.
Duan Ye finished picking the scallions and pushed the bowl in front of her, then casually picked a few pieces of beef from his own bowl and handed them to her, saying, “Don’t worry. It won’t happen.”
And the topic passed like that.
Yan Qing was very disdainful of Zhao Zheng, “Why do you eat noodles like a pig?”
He made a very loud noise!
She thought she was in a pigsty.
Zhao Zheng wiped his mouth casually and said indifferently, “That’s how men eat.”
“Are you saying that Brother Duan is not a man?” Yan Qing clicked her tongue, “Look at Brother Duan, he doesn’t eat like you. You eat like you’ve been hungry for eight generations.”
Jiang Yumo looked sideways at Duan Ye.
Duan Ye ate quietly, without smacking his lips or making loud noises.
Zhao Zheng snorted, “There’s no one in this world manlier than my Brother Duan,” he smirked suddenly, his expression turning lewd, “We brothers all know.”
Yan Qing didn’t understand.
Jiang Yumo was even more confused.
Duan Ye furrowed his brows and Zhao Zheng immediately stopped talking.
What did the brothers know? Well, they had gone to the restroom together after all.
After leaving the restaurant, Yan Qing and Jiang Yumo wanted to go to the stationery store. It was the start of a new semester, so of course they needed to buy stationery. There’s a saying that goes, ‘Good students have a lot of stationery…’ Yan Qing and Jiang Yumo loved browsing in stationery stores, buying decorative stickers for their handbooks, pens with different colored pearl decorations, and even erasers they wouldn’t actually use. The two girls entered the store like fish to water, while Duan Ye and Zhao Zheng waited for them at the entrance.
“Don’t say those kinds of things in front of her next time,” Duan Ye said casually.
Zhao Zheng hadn’t caught on yet, “What kind of things?”
Duan Ye glanced at him. “Don’t go around hitting people, be more careful.”
Zhao Zheng nodded. “I really think that kid deserves a beating.”
“He provoked you?” Duan Ye asked. “If you want to beat him up, go ahead, but don’t talk about it in front of her.”
Zhao Zheng suddenly realized, “Oh, I see, you’re worried about scaring Sister Mo.”
Duan Ye remained silent.
Zhao Zheng chuckled, “Brother Duan, I know you like Sister Mo. Well, we all like…,” his words came to an abrupt halt.
There was no other reason, Duan Ye was staring at him intently.
Zhao Zheng slapped his own mouth. “My bad, my bad. What I meant to say is, we all think Sister Mo is great.”
He continued, “But, Brother Duan,” he hesitated for a moment, “don’t you think you’re protecting Sister Mo too well?”
Who is Duan Ye? Even in junior high, Zhao Zheng had heard of his reputation despite not being in the same school as him.
He was ruthless, both in his actions and his fists, fighting as if he had nothing to lose.
Even some of the local thugs in Ningcheng recognized him as “Brother Duan,” which was quite rare for an inexperienced youngster who hadn’t even graduated yet. But Duan Ye had achieved it.
Zhao Zheng had heard before that now Duan Ye was still in school, but if he had dropped out after junior high and started hanging out in society, would that Zhang guy still have his reputation in Ningcheng?
Even if he was fierce, as long as he was still in school, it gave people a sense of childishness.
Duan Ye was currently disguising himself at school, or rather, keeping a low profile.
Most people at school had not seen that side of him, including Jiang Yumo.
Even though Duan Ye was getting impatient, Zhao Zheng still bravely said, “Anyway, I won’t hide it from my future girlfriend. I’m not afraid of her seeing it. Haven’t they all said it? Honesty is the best policy.”
Duan Ye looked at him, staring at him so intensely that Zhao Zheng’s scalp tingled, and cautiously said, “What are you saying.”
Duan Ye turned his head and looked away.
In front of the stationery store shelves, Jiang Yumo was playing with a fan, fanning herself and then fanning Yan Qing beside her, with an innocent and simple smile.
His gaze was gentle, and his voice was low and deep, he continued, “Tell me all this when you meet someone you like.”
Before meeting someone you like, all these are just nonsense.
Zhao Zheng pursed his lips. It’s better not to meet someone then, otherwise, like Brother Duan, his joys, anger, and sorrows are all controlled by one person, how terrifying is it!
There wasn’t much difference between third year and second year in high school, except that evening self-study was pushed back to ten o’clock and morning exercises were cancelled every week.
Perhaps it was still the first semester, and the pressure from the teachers was not too great.
Influenced by the original plot, Jiang Yumo is now studying harder than before. In any case, it would be better to aim for an undergraduate degree, although there was also the option to transfer to an undergraduate major later, going directly for an undergraduate degree was much more convenient. Jiang Yumo also worried that with Zhao Zheng as an impulsive accomplice by Duan Ye’s side, he might instigate Duan Ye to have a conflict with Zhou Ji from time to time, and she would occasionally inquire about the current situation in Class 10… She breathed a sigh of relief when she knew that Duan Ye was not as childish as Zhao Zheng. Duan Ye was very measured and had no contact with Zhou Ji. No contact was a good thing, it meant there would be no conflicts.
However, Zhou Ji was obviously not a pushover either.
It had only been two weeks since the start of school, and he had already made a name for himself at school.
…Just like Duan Ye, he also used his fists.
Teenage boys are really immature!
Fortunately, Jiang Yumo knew the plot in advance. In the original plot, Zhou Ji became another leader among the students in just half a year.
Jiang Yumo : “…”
In mid-September, the weather had been too dry before, started raining every day for the past few days. Especially today, the weather forecast said it was a heavy rain on the level of rainstorm. Jiang Yumo was not worried, as her father usually came to pick her up on rainy days.
Duan Ye also knew that, so he only sent a message to confirm that Father Jiang would come to pick her up, and didn’t say anything else.
Yan Qing had something to do at home and took a day off today.
Sun Mengting was arranged to stay temporarily at a teacher’s home by her parents. In the third year of high school, many parents would arrange like this. They were reluctant to let their children stay in the school dormitory, but the time was tight in the third year of high school, and they hoped their children could have more time to study. So they would send their children to stay temporarily at the teacher’s home. The teacher’s dormitory was right next to the school, close to the school, and they could ask for help anytime if they didn’t understand their homework. The learning atmosphere was good.
Today was a heavy rain day, and the students’ evening self-study for that day was canceled by the teacher before the last class.
The umbrella could hardly hold up, and after Jiang Yumo finally got on the car, she found that her pants were all wet.
Father Jiang quickly handed her a towel, “Wipe yourself dry, or you might catch a cold.”
Father Jiang’s car is a second-hand car, worth only about 20-30 thousand yuan… The reason why he bought a car was because when his daughter was in the first year of high school, he rode a bike to pick her up in the rain, and she ended up getting soaked and catching a cold. Parents always feel guilty towards their children, especially when they see the row of small cars parked outside the school, the guilty feeling reaching its peak. After discussing it, the Jiang parents bought a second-hand car from an acquaintance.
The car drove slowly and passed by a bus stop, where several students were waiting underneath.
Father Jiang sighed, “The rain is so heavy, it’s difficult to wait for the bus.”
Jiang Yumo quickly looked out of the car window, hoping to see any familiar classmates, so she could give them a ride.
With a glance, she saw Ning Zhiyu standing alone on the side.
“Dad, stop!” Jiang Yumo shouted.
Father Jiang stepped on the brakes, shifted to neutral, knowing his daughter’s thoughts, and said with a smile, “Are you going to give your classmate a ride? Do you know her?”
Jiang Yumo nodded, opened the car window, and the rain immediately poured in, hitting her bangs and eyelashes. She didn’t mind, and smiled, revealing shallow dimples.
Later, Ning Zhiyu always felt that she would never forget this scene—
In the curtain of rain, Jiang Yumo waved at her, her voice sounding distant, “Ning Zhiyu, come up, I’ll give you a ride!”