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墨書 Inktalez
Before dinner, Feng Ning's first task upon returning home was to excitedly check on the Xiao Xi tomatoes she had planted in the yard. Squatting beside the flowerpot, she observed them carefully for a while and found that they were growing quite well.
She nodded in satisfaction, picked a few, and took them to the sink to wash. After cleaning them, she popped a couple into her mouth. The juice burst in her mouth, sweet and sour, embodying the taste of summer.
As for why Jiang Wen had inexplicably come over to mock her, Feng Ning thought about it for a moment but couldn't make sense of it, so she simply pushed it out of her mind—she didn't have the time to dwell on such nonsense.
Qilan had prepared a feast waiting for her and called from inside, "Go call Zhao Weichen and Yaoyao to eat together."
With her mouth full, Feng Ning protested, "Forget it, Shuang Yao just got home today; she should be having dinner with her parents."
Qilan was getting anxious. "If you won't go, I'll call them myself. I've made so much food!"
Sighing, proud as she was, the only person Feng Ning couldn't argue with was her mother. Unable to resist, she reluctantly went door to door to call people.
The stars were bright that night, and the moon hung high in the sky. The Big Yellow Dog occasionally darted around her feet as Feng Ning tossed a few pieces of bone into its mouth. Above the dining table hung a warm yellow light bulb, and several children gathered around eating and laughing together, creating a cozy atmosphere. Qilan fanned herself with a palm leaf and asked about their school life.
Zhao Weichen had never been as quick-witted as Shuang Yao or Feng Ning; his mind worked slower, and he was somewhat rigid in his studies. Thanks to Feng Ning's extra tutoring sessions, he managed decent scores on his high school entrance exams and eventually chose a high school not far from home. Although its teaching quality couldn't compare to Qide's, it was still considered prestigious in South City.
Shuang Yao stuffed her mouth with fried eggs, chewing before saying, "Actually, there hasn't been much going on lately. Our homeroom teacher said that we have a monthly exam coming up soon—it's just a preliminary test to gauge the students' levels."
"Is that so? You all need to study hard at school. Education is really important; high school isn't like Junior High School—competition is fierce, so don't take it lightly."
Feng Ning replied with an "mm-hmm," "Have I ever made you worry about my studies? Besides, do you even understand what you're worrying about? Mom, you should go back to what you were doing; we'll wash the dishes ourselves after dinner."
The Mahjong Parlor usually started its night session around seven o'clock. Qilan glanced at the clock and saw it was almost time; she sighed and stood up. "Alright, I'll get back to work."
Recently, Feng Ning had been studying several books on Western baking and developed a keen interest in it. After finishing her meal, she dragged her two little followers into the kitchen, determined to make a cake batter.
Shuang Yao sighed helplessly. "Don't get ahead of yourself; your house doesn't even have an egg white whisk."
Feng Ning was never one to give up easily. Undeterred after pondering for a while, she rolled up her sleeves and declared defiantly—"Just watch me!" She then began pouring egg whites into a bowl and manually whisking them vigorously for nearly an hour until her arms felt like they might fall off.
Zhao Weichen sat on a small stool nearby in admiration. "Sister Ning, you truly deserve the title of the strongest arm in Rain River Alley."
Feng Ning took a deep breath and glared at him. "Hiss, why does it sound like you're not saying anything nice?"
"Hehe, this is a compliment," Zhao Weichen scratched his head.
While gritting her teeth and struggling with the egg whites, Feng Ning lectured him, "You need to be more artistic with your words. Stop being so abrasive; it's really annoying."
In the end, she managed to whip up a half-finished product that actually tasted pretty good. They each took some and headed to Shuang Yao's house to watch a movie on the projector. They played until the early hours of the morning before heading home and sleeping until the next afternoon.
Feng Ning sneaked over to Shuang Yao's house to put on some makeup. Realizing she was running out of time, she hurriedly changed her clothes. "I have to go to work now. I told my mom I’d be sleeping at your place tonight, so don’t let it slip."
Due to Qilan's health issues, the family had spent a lot of savings on treatment and still owed some money to relatives. Feng Ning felt sorry for her mother and had secretly been working outside since junior high to save up. Fortunately, she had always been adventurous and wild, often running around outside, and with Shuang Yao and their friends helping her cover up, Qilan never found out.
In her second year of junior high, she suddenly shot up to 165 cm. With a bit of makeup and dressing more maturely, it was hard to tell she was just a junior high student. Since she still had to focus on her studies, Feng Ning could only find part-time work at a bubble tea shop.
She was sweet-tongued and knew how to play nice, understanding social dynamics well. Eventually, the bubble tea shop owner introduced her to a friend who owned a bar where she worked as a waitress.
It turned out that the bar owner was a distant relative of Zhao Weichen. Last year, they successfully marketed during the cultural festival, and now the bar was quite popular, becoming an Internet Celebrity Store that many young people loved to visit.
In such a lively bar where many people gathered, promoting drinks brought in high profits that could be counted towards performance for commissions. Feng Ning was clever and likable; she would often create an atmosphere by singing a couple of songs on stage. Eventually, she became a living advertisement for Jian Tang (the bar's name), affectionately dubbed the soul of the place by everyone.
*
At home over the weekend, Xi Gaoyuan and others called several times asking what he was doing and wanting Jiang Wen to come out and play. He wasn't interested at all and turned them down.
That evening, guests came over for dinner—old comrades of Old Master Jiang. During the meal, the elder exchanged a few words with Jiang Wen, who responded absentmindedly.
"Xiao Wen, mind your manners."
After being looked at by his sister twice in succession, Jiang Wen reluctantly perked up and added a greeting.
The guest chuckled, "This kid seems much quieter than before; I remember he was quite mischievous when he was little."
The Jiang family rose to prominence in Chongxi, belonging to the Jiangzuo Merchants. Jiang Zhouguo was busy with business, and in less than ten years, he had firmly established "Mao Hang" in South City, becoming a local "tycoon." Although he was particularly strict with his youngest son, he had many factories and workers to manage, leaving him little time for personal supervision.
His eldest sister, Jiang Yuyun, was older than Jiang Wen by several years. After graduating from high school, she stopped her studies to help her father manage the family store. Jiang Yuyun had always spoiled her younger brother, which allowed the wild Jiang Er Shaoye to gather a group of childhood friends around him and run rampant in South City, acting like a little emperor.
At that time, after finishing elementary school, Xi Gaoyuan met a streetwise older boy. They were young and reckless, following others and nearly causing a serious incident. This infuriated Old Master Jiang, who insisted on sending Jiang Wen to a Private Military Training Base, making a firm decision without room for rebuttal.
After that experience, Jiang Wen's temperament mellowed considerably.
After dinner, he went upstairs.
Jiang Wen ran off to play video games alone. As he played, he became distracted until a blood-red "game over" flashed on the screen. He snapped back to reality, tossed aside the controller, and cursed under his breath.
"Damn it."
Two days of vacation passed in the blink of an eye.
On Monday morning, Feng Ning dropped a copy of "When Nietzsche Wept" onto Zhao Binlin's desk.
Surprised, Zhao picked it up and examined it from front to back. "What is this?"
Feng Ning settled into his seat and rested his head on the desk, looking a bit sleepy. "It's your birthday gift."
"Huh?? This is your big gift??!"
"Yep! I also have an assignment for you. After you read this, think about the value of existence." Feng Ning spoke with an air of seriousness that resembled a fortune teller. "I'll give you a conclusion: the value of existence is suffering. You can ponder that on your own."
Zhao Binlin's family was involved in coal mining. With an older brother and second brother supporting the family business, his parents had low expectations of him and rarely monitored his activities.
He had grown up without ever seriously reading a book. He suspected he might have some difficulty with words; at most, he glanced through magazines or game guides. In simple terms, his world was filled with class beauties, cars, basketball, video games, and friends.
For the first time in his life, Zhao Binlin unexpectedly came into contact with philosophical literature, feeling both surprised and somewhat incredulous.
So, Zhao Binlin seriously treated it as bedtime reading for a few days and actually pondered over it, feeling particularly cultured. Whenever he had free time, he would turn to Feng Ning and enthusiastically discuss Nietzsche.
Since Jiang Wen confronted Feng Ning last time, she no longer deliberately teased him. According to Jiang Wen, she should not try to attract his attention and should maintain a certain distance.
Compared to Jiang Wen's deliberate indifference, Feng Ning appeared much more casual. It wasn't a case of playing hard to get; she simply had many other things to attend to.
Thus, Feng Ning also stopped initiating conversations.
It seemed as if all her previous enthusiasm for him was merely an illusion created by Jiang Wen.
Zhao Binlin, being the oblivious person he was, failed to notice that Jiang Wen had been in a bad mood. After finishing a basketball game one day and walking out of the gym, Zhao Binlin mentioned to a few friends that a girl told him "the value of existence is suffering." As he spoke, others found it interesting. "So, do you like her? When will you introduce us?"
"Don't bring up such trivial matters all the time," Zhao Binlin said with a click of his tongue, gossiping lightly, "She seemed to have some interest in the top student."
The others chuckled and teased Jiang Wen, but he seemed not to hear them at all, maintaining his indifferent expression.
Pei Shurou casually raised an eyebrow and smiled gently, "What do you mean by being interested?"
So Zhao Binlin recounted the story of the frog and the swan.
The only one not excited was Jiang Wen. While others continued to joke around, he walked away alone.
*
The placement test at Qide was arranged quickly; it took only two or three days to complete. The teacher Tie placed great importance on this exam and emphasized several times before it started that they should all put in effort to start their high school journey on a good note, hoping for auspicious beginnings.
Feng Ning usually just moved on after exams and was too lazy to check answers. She sat in her seat chatting with Meng Taoyu when a female voice called out from behind, "Meng Taoyu, come out for a moment."
Feng Ning looked up.
The girl, unable to contain her impatience, kicked her chair and said, "Did you hear me? Move aside."
Feng Ning glanced at her and then looked away, continuing to drink water. She recognized the girl as the one with the Lobelia Hairstyle from the Opening Ceremony that day.
Meng Taoyu stood up nervously and said softly, "I'll go out." It was as if Feng Ning hadn't heard her; she pulled Meng Taoyu's wrist and said, "Sit down."
The girl with the Lobelia Hairstyle was very impatient, her eyes narrowed and her lips slightly sharp. She raised her voice, "Hey, I told you to move aside. Are you deaf?"
Feng Ning remained indifferent, sitting steadily in her seat with one corner of her mouth lifted in a smirk.
Seemingly sensing her disdain, the girl with the Lobelia Hairstyle widened her eyes in disbelief and approached to pull at her. "What the..."
Her words were abruptly cut off.
Feng Ning raised her hand and splashed the entire cup of water onto the girl's face.
The classroom fell silent as if no one was present. Jiang Wen turned his head upon hearing the commotion.
The girl with the Lobelia Hairstyle was stunned for a few seconds, as if someone had thrown a timed bomb into her mind. When she regained her senses, she trembled with anger, biting her lower lip and raising her hand high.
Just as she was about to strike down, Jiang Wen caught her wrist. Meanwhile, Feng Ning grabbed her hair from behind and laughed, "Hey, you're so tough. Which row do you sit in at big meetings?"
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