Chapter Fifty-Seven: Rivals in the School (End of Fifth Update)

Seven days slipped by in a quiet, uneventful manner. Although Song Nianqiang was reluctant, today he had to return to school. He met up with the big, chubby guy at the school gate. Judging by the healthy glow on his friend’s face, it was clear he was in good shape again.

“Hey, fatty! Haven’t seen you for a while, and your clothes already look looser!” Song Nianqiang chuckled, walking up and giving his friend a hearty slap on the back.

“Please, I’ve been resting well these past few days, of course I look refreshed!” the big guy laughed, slinging an arm around Song Nianqiang as they headed toward the school gate.

It was already past nine, and neither of them was wearing their uniform. As expected, they were stopped by the guard at the entrance.

“Where do you two think you’re going?” The school had a strict policy: students were required to wear uniforms and carry their student IDs during school hours, otherwise they weren’t allowed in. Song Nianqiang and his friend had never bothered with such rules, so being stopped was nothing new.

“Uncle, could you move aside a bit? You’re blocking my phone signal!” Song Nianqiang said as he reached for his phone to check the time, only to find the guard blocking his way.

“Cut the nonsense. Are you students here or not? No uniform, no student ID—go home and change if you want to get in!” The guard was a burly man and didn’t take the two boys seriously. The gate wasn’t very high—just over a meter and a half—but it wouldn’t be proper to just jump over it.

“Come on, can’t you make an exception? My house is really far, it’ll take hours to go back and forth!” Song Nianqiang pleaded, clinging to the gate, though his expression betrayed an utter lack of concern.

“No exceptions! Move along!” The guard was getting impatient, waving them away.

Just then, the bell rang for the end of class. Students who’d finished PE were crossing the small plaza in front of the gate on their way back to the classrooms. Song Nianqiang spotted Jiang Ningzhi at a glance.

“Hey! Hey! Jiang Ningzhi!” He leaned over the gate and shouted at the top of his lungs, startling the guard, who was only a few steps away. That shout probably echoed through the entire school.

Hearing someone call her name, Jiang Ningzhi looked around and finally spotted Song Nianqiang at the gate. She smiled, waved, and was about to leave. That wouldn’t do—so in his urgency, Song Nianqiang vaulted clean over the meter-and-a-half-high gate from outside.

Seeing Song Nianqiang ignore the rules, the guard grabbed his shirt, intending to restrain him. But he soon regretted it—Song Nianqiang simply twisted the guard’s hand and flipped him onto the ground, then dashed toward Jiang Ningzhi.

Watching Song Nianqiang risk it all for Jiang Ningzhi, the chubby guy shook his head with a grin. He couldn’t leap a meter and a half, but that wasn’t a problem for him. He simply pried open the electric gate with his bare hands, showing not the slightest sign of effort. At that moment, the guard finally remembered who these two were.

By now, there was hardly anyone in the school who didn’t know these two. Students who’d dared to hit the dean had only appeared once in the school’s history, and their legendary feat had topped the school forum for a week, only to be displaced by rumors about the school beauty, Jiang Ningzhi.

Rumors were rumors, after all. The star student Ren Tian was said to have successfully won over Jiang Ningzhi. Someone had seen him personally escorting her back to her dormitory. But Song Nianqiang, who’d been absent from school for several weeks, had no idea.

Chasing after girls requires a thick skin, so Song Nianqiang shamelessly trailed Jiang Ningzhi, chattering non-stop. Jiang Ningzhi didn’t seem annoyed, either. After all, Song Nianqiang’s reputation had already spread throughout the school—he was always taking leave, never on a fixed schedule, a first in the school’s history.

Jiang Ningzhi was a model student, and naturally her ideal was someone just as exemplary. While she didn’t dislike Song Nianqiang, any further development between them was nearly impossible—unless something unexpected happened.

Ren Tian was different. His family had helped Jiang Ningzhi’s family a great deal, paving the way for her father’s business success. Ren Tian himself was handsome. Next to him, Song Nianqiang fell short in every respect. Good grades, a solid family background, and good looks—such a boy was fatally attractive to any girl.

When Song Nianqiang followed Jiang Ningzhi to her classroom, he brazenly found a seat and sat down. He never studied in class anyway, so it didn’t matter where he sat.

Just then, the dashing Ren Tian walked in, sweaty from basketball, laughing and chatting with several tall boys. When he saw Song Nianqiang sitting next to Jiang Ningzhi, his eyes narrowed slightly. Unlike most students, he wasn’t one to get jealous—he was calculating, deeply so.

“So, when did the school’s celebrities start showing up in our class?” He took his seat. The laughter between Song Nianqiang and Jiang Ningzhi died away at the sound of his voice. Song Nianqiang frowned and glanced back, spotting a guy who was clearly more handsome than himself sitting behind Jiang Ningzhi. Seeing Jiang Ningzhi’s smile fade at Ren Tian’s words, Song Nianqiang could easily guess her feelings.

“Heh, just bored and thought I’d come sit for a while. Not welcome, is it?” Song Nianqiang stood up as he spoke. Jiang Ningzhi knew him too well and quickly pulled him out of the classroom. Song Nianqiang feared nothing and no one—who knew if he might start a fight right there? Ren Tian was good at basketball, but Jiang Ningzhi was certain that Song Nianqiang could drop him with a few punches.

Who told Song Nianqiang to spend all his time fighting for fun? “There’s nothing between me and him. At least in high school, I don’t want a relationship!” If Jiang Ningzhi couldn’t figure out why Song Nianqiang was famous, she might as well hang herself with a noodle. “Class is about to start. You should get back. I’ll see you after school in the hallway.” With that, Jiang Ningzhi hurried back to her classroom.

“There must be something going on!” Song Nianqiang muttered discontentedly to himself. He returned to his own classroom, grabbed the dozing, texting chubby guy by the collar, and said, “Find out who that guy sitting behind Jiang Ningzhi is!” His tone was sharp; clearly, he’d been upset.

“Damn! Who the hell dares mess with you?!” Seeing Song Nianqiang’s expression, the chubby guy was annoyed as well. “Jingning, go get Shell!” He waved to the boy sitting in front of him, who quickly ran off.

A few minutes later, Shell arrived and answered Song Nianqiang’s questions in detail. The guy was a transfer student. He’d originally been admitted to Second High, but while discussing business with his father, he happened to meet Jiang Ningzhi and transferred to First High instead, entering the honors class.

“His father is the city’s Lenovo computer distributor, worth tens of millions—so his old man has influence!” Shell revealed Ren Tian’s background. He’d gone to considerable lengths to dig this up. The moment he saw Ren Tian and Jiang Ningzhi eating together, he was sure Song Nianqiang would be back and looking for trouble, so he had prepared in advance.

“Boss, there’s a rumor going around the school forum that Jiang Ningzhi and Ren Tian are together. But it really is just a rumor.” Seeing Song Nianqiang’s face darken, Shell hurried to add the second half. “Damn it! That kid’s asking for trouble. I’ll deal with him when I get the chance!” Song Nianqiang slammed his desk, clearly furious.

“All right, class is starting. Head back for now.” After calming down, Song Nianqiang took out his phone and sent a text to a few of the big troublemakers outside school. But they all refused his request—they couldn’t afford to cross Ren Tian’s father.

“Well, this is interesting,” Song Nianqiang laughed. All this time, he’d never met a real rival at school. Now, a strong opponent had appeared, and things were about to get much more interesting.

“Bro, just say the word and I’ll put him in the hospital—let him learn a lesson first!” the chubby guy said carelessly. His family was just as wealthy as Ren Tian’s, so he didn’t see him as a threat. But Song Nianqiang shook his head. “Ren Tian’s not simple. Looks like we’re in for a good game!” At that moment, Song Nianqiang had already set thoughts of Jiang Ningzhi aside.