When evening self-study ended, Xue Yuantong purposely left the classroom alone, walking at a slow, dragging pace until Jiang Ning caught up from behind.
Jiang Ning was pushing his mountain bike, and Xue Yuantong lagged two steps behind him. As the crowd around them thinned out, she spoke up:
"Not bad, Jiang Ning. You're starting to surprise me."
"What are you referring to?" Jiang Ning asked her.
"You're really good at fighting," Xue Yuantong said. In the past, she had rarely been spared bullying because of her short stature.
Yet she never dared to fight back, reduced to slandering people only in her heart. Just like today, when Song Sheng knocked over her desk—had it not been for Jiang Ning, the matter undoubtedly would have been swept under the rug.
Moreover, she harbored a lingering doubt. She felt that Jiang Ning was neither a particularly righteous person nor someone who liked to show off. So why had he stepped forward tonight?
*Could it be because of me?*
Xue Yuantong felt suspicious. *Could Jiang Ning have ulterior motives toward me and want to use this to win the great me's gratitude?*
The more Xue Yuantong thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, and her expression grew unnatural. She was still just a child!
"Good at fighting? Not worth mentioning," Jiang Ning replied calmly. "Compared to resorting to violence, I prefer to win people over with virtue."
Seeing Jiang Ning's breezy, nonchalant attitude, Xue Yuantong grew doubtful all over again. She realized she couldn't see through him at all and had no idea what kind of person he really was.
"Get on." Jiang Ning straddled the bike, his toes resting on the ground.
"Mhm." Xue Yuantong skillfully sat sideways.
...
The remaining days of military training were much calmer. Perhaps because the incident that night had been too shocking, Class 8, Grade 1 didn't stir up any more trouble. Although minor conflicts arose in private, no one dared to settle scores in the open.
Instructor Li remained as strict as ever. Under the high-pressure training, the students cursed away to their hearts' content, yet gradually grew accustomed to it.
During every break, the freshmen gathered in groups of three or five to chat—discussing plans for their three years of high school, which university they wanted to attend in the future, their favorite video games, talking about everything under the sun.
Those who loved gaming and surfing the internet, those who scored high on the entrance exams, and those who came from the same junior high school formed one small circle after another.
Although the high school students were not yet fully mature, they had already adopted an adult set of rules for social interactions and conduct.
Some classmates tried to pull Jiang Ning into their circles, and Jiang Ning would cheerfully agree. When someone else came along to recruit him, he would agree just the same. Gradually, the classmates figured it out: Jiang Ning interacted with every circle, yet didn't truly belong to any of them.
This behavior made a few students slightly uncomfortable, but given Jiang Ning's impressive display that night, no one foolishly came looking for trouble.
On the surface, they still treated each other with polite courtesy. After all, they had all witnessed Jiang Ning's sense of justice; he was a person worth getting along with.
Naturally, romance is an indispensable part of high school youth. When the boys gathered together, they inevitably talked about the girls in their class.
Bai Yuxia was unanimously acknowledged as the best girl in the class, with Shen Qing'e following closely behind. Chen Siyu's identity as a twin was discovered, becoming a hot topic of animated discussion among many of the boys.
Taking advantage of the military training, some boys launched their offensives. Just from what Jiang Ning witnessed, a few took the opportunity during training to bring water to Bai Yuxia, only to be politely and coldly turned down.
Those with lower standards targeted girls with more average looks; a few even saw hope of escaping singlehood after just a few days.
As for the boys who launched offensives toward the pretty girls, most of them received rejection cards and failed to even add them on QQ.
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
On the morning of September 9th, the military training review was held.
The vice principal announced the top three classes for the exercise: "Class 1, Class 3, and Class 11."
The students of Class 8 beat their chests and stamped their feet with regret so intense it was almost unbearable. They had worked exceptionally hard during military training, yet they still missed the cut.
The top three winning classes had worked even harder than them. Class 11 in particular—not only did they train during the day, but while other classes were in evening self-study, they went back to the playground to keep practicing. There was simply no competing with that.
As for Class 1 and Class 3, they were already classes composed of top students, possessing a higher overall caliber than ordinary classes. Coupled with the fact that they worked just as hard, there was naturally nothing wrong with them taking the top spots.
The military training review concluded on the morning of the 9th, and the afternoon was given off as holiday. The next day was Teachers' Day, granting a three-and-a-half-day break.
Aunt Gu called to ask if Jiang Ning would be coming over to her place for dinner that evening.
Jiang Ning declined on the grounds of being too tired from military training; he had more important things to do tonight.
On the way home after school, the sun was blazing fiercely. Jiang Ning rode fast, and Xue Yuantong gripped the corner of his shirt tightly for fear of falling off.
Although Xue Yuantong had hugged Jiang Ning's waist during their speeding escapade last time, that had been under the duress of terror and a life-or-death crisis, where such details naturally didn't matter.
Now it was daytime; if she did that now, she would feel too embarrassed. Wouldn't it make her look cowardly?
Ridiculous! Was she, Xue Yuantong, that kind of person?
Still, she had to admit: the closer she pressed against him, the more coolness she could feel.
*Xue Yuantong, oh Xue Yuantong, you must be hallucinating!*
She cautioned herself thus.
"Jiang Ning, did you grow taller?" Xue Yuantong asked, possessing keen observational skills. She vaguely felt that Jiang Ning's frame had grown a lot sleeker and more slender. Although he was still thin, he now exuded an indescribable presence.
"Probably. I've been eating better lately." Given Jiang Ning's level of control over his body, he knew that in just ten days, he had grown from 1.65 meters to 1.7 meters, reaching the middle tier of his classmates.
He drank three cartons of pure milk and ate five eggs every day, went to the cafeteria for lunch where a single meal cost over twenty yuan, and constantly kept himself supplied with fruit. The money he had on hand was almost all gone.
His nutrition barely managed to keep up, combined with the Body-Tempering Thunder Art stimulating his muscles and bones while absorbing spiritual energy. Multiple factors working together during his prime growing years meant that growing five centimeters in ten days wasn't really all that remarkable.
In his past life, he had seen a classmate shoot up by seven or eight centimeters in twenty-odd days over winter break. Human potential was simply immense.
"Can you grow taller just by eating well?" Xue Yuantong's expression was full of yearning.
That was her ultimate dream! In the first year of junior high, she was 1.5 meters tall, and three years later, she was still 1.5 meters. It was simply too tragic.
"It's not just about eating well; you also need to step up your exercise. Things like height-touching jumps or playing basketball are all somewhat beneficial for growing taller," Jiang Ning said.
Xue Yuantong disliked exercising the most. Hearing this, she silently gave up. *Fine, short is short. At least I can kick my blankets off however I want.*
"My mom is coming back at noon today, and she cooked at home. She knows you've been bringing me home these past few days and wants you to come over for dinner," Xue Yuantong said.
Jiang Ning nodded. "Alright."
"It's a deal then! My mom is a fantastic cook, hehe."
Jiang Ning rode his bike down the levee and spotted Aunt Gu standing at the doorway in the distance. Aunt Gu was Xue Yuantong's mother. Jiang Ning had heard nearby residents mention before that Xue Yuantong's father had passed away from illness early on, and Aunt Gu had never remarried, raising Xue Yuantong all by herself.
Seeing Jiang Ning bringing Xue Yuantong back, a gentle smile bloomed on Aunt Gu's face as she walked up to them and said:
"Jiang Ning, thank you for bringing Tóngtóng home these past few days."
A few days prior, she had tried to walk Tóngtóng to school, but Tóngtóng had confidently insisted she didn't need it. As it happened, it was the busy farming season, and there were several mu of peanuts in the village that needed harvesting, so she had had to hurry back.