Have You Said Thank You

Although Li Shiyan was also wearing four layers of clothing, the combined thickness of her four layers wasn't as much as Xia Yanchun's single thick coat. Only her outermost layer was somewhat warm.

She spent most of the morning huddled up like a turtle. As soon as school was out, she skipped lunch and ran to the school gate to get the clothes her family had brought, finally feeling comfortable once she put on the warm coat.

For some girls with small appetites, a few snacks or a small bread were enough to tide them over until the afternoon. But Shen Nian was different; if he didn't eat lunch, he'd starve to death at school.

In a sense, he could be considered a bit of a foodie, burning through energy faster than the average high school student.

He was starting to understand why the system had given him that specific, not-too-much, not-too-little amount of money—it was probably to make sure he had enough for meals.

"Why did Chen Dong ask for leave?"

"No idea. I messaged him on QQ, and he said he was taking a family member to the hospital for a follow-up appointment."

Shen Nian took a bite of his food with a serious expression. "Damn, I hope nothing's wrong."

"Should be fine. Last night while I was killing time on my phone in the bathroom, I poked him. That idiot thought I was asking him for website links and sent three over without even asking what I wanted. If he can still send links, it's probably nothing major."

"Did you save them?"

"Nah, I've cultivated incredibly strong willpower," Ma Mingfan said with a faint smile.

Before seeing 'Candy Super Sweet,' he never imagined men could be that... beautiful.

Haha, just kidding, really.

Shen Nian believed him, gave Ma Mingfan a thumbs-up, then dragged him to the school store to buy drinks, treating him to one.

A 500ml bottle of iced Iced Tea for 4.5 yuan.

"Trying to bribe me with something like this... Alright, who do you want me to kill?"

"Kill my ass. Don't want it? Get lost."

"Righteous Father!"

"You may rise."

Shen Nian bought himself a drink with a "prize under the cap" promotion and twisted it open right at the checkout.

Well, no luck this time either.

The five points in Luck attribute, so far, hadn't made him any luckier. At present, they were less useful than those two extra points in Stamina.

Luck itself was a kind of mystical thing. Maybe one day it would come in handy to avert some disaster. He wasn't asking to become incredibly fortunate, just hoping it wouldn't make things worse.

Time would tell.

Shen Nian went up to the classroom. There weren't many people left. A few girls who usually ate late were gathered around Xia Yanchun's desk asking questions. When they saw Shen Nian arrive, the girl who wanted to ask about math immediately came over with her test papers.

Finally, when it was time for dinner, the girls all went to eat together. Xia Yanchun only returned just as the afternoon rest bell rang, holding a bottle of Nutri-Express in her hand.

"Phew..."

Xia Yanchun let out a breath. The classroom windows were tightly shut, unlike the chilling wind outside. In places like Cinan, humidity hit a hundred percent when it rained. Even on dry days, it was around seventy or eighty percent. When the wind blew, it felt bone-chilling to girls who couldn't handle the cold.

"Is it really that cold?" Shen Nian propped his chin on his hand, looking at her. "Want me to lend you my jacket?"

"Then wouldn't you freeze into an ice cube with just two layers?"

"Who do you think you're looking down on? I'm wearing a sweatshirt underneath." Shen Nian unzipped his jacket to show her—he really was wearing a hoodless sweatshirt.

Xia Yanchun pouted. She had sweatshirts too, just not the fuzzy kind. Her four layers of clothing weren't very warm, especially the outer coat, which was just a thin one, purely for looks.

"Okay, okay, you're amazing. But I don't need the jacket."

"Well, well, little lady, quite the tough one."

"Call me 'big sister.'"

Shen Nian clicked his tongue. He was tired of hearing 'big sister, big sister' all day and couldn't be bothered to argue.

This kind of person was a classic 'big sister' thinker, always wanting others to call them that no matter what. Shen Nian had backbone; he'd long stopped being a bad woman's plaything.

If he could get a look at her legs, then he'd take that back.

Unfortunately, Xia Yanchun was bundled up tightly. Seeing her legs was impossible, but her hands were fair game.

Xia Yanchun unscrewed the bottle cap, took a small sip of the Nutri-Express, then swigged some warm water. Curious, Shen Nian asked and learned that the warm water was to prevent bad breath.

Drinks are high in sugar, which can easily cause bad breath. Xia Yanchun was quite mindful of this and always paid attention after eating anything with a strong smell or that was likely to cause bad breath.

Thinking about it carefully, even when Xia Yanchun spoke first thing in the morning, her breath was very mild.

No wonder she was so exceptional—she was a detail-oriented monster.

"I acknowledge you. Let's get close."

"Don't just find a random excuse to sit over here..."

"Don't touch my hand in the classroom, okay..."

"If you want a hug, just hug me, don't rub your head against me..."

"I'll hit you, hit you!"

...

In the afternoon, Su Kexi came to the classroom and posted the seating chart for tomorrow's exam on the back wall.

Time to start packing up books again. Shen Nian was quite generous, unceremoniously stuffing the books he couldn't fit into Xia Yanchun's and the little loli girl's boxes.

"We're almost out of space ourselves, and you're still taking up room here."

"Did you say thank you?"

"Drop dead." Xia Yanchun huffed, crumpling a bunch of miscellaneous papers into a ball and shoving them at Shen Nian.

Shen Nian then gathered his own trash along with it into a small bag and had Li Shiyan help throw it away.

Li Shiyan, who didn't dare disobey anyway and had received so many favors from Shen Nian, twinkled and readily became the errand girl.

Xia Yanchun: ...

Sigh, mysterious.

During evening self-study, Shen Nian eyed his deskmate Ma Mingfan, who was miraculously memorizing ancient poetry for once, and kicked the leg of Ma Mingfan's chair from underneath.

Ma Mingfan let out a soft hum.

"..." What an appropriate sound.

Shen Nian almost couldn't help but break into a sweat, lowering his voice to say, "Wanna play Gomoku?"

"Aren't you reviewing?" Ma Mingfan looked surprised. "Weren't you the biggest grind before?"

"I prefer to grind where you can't see me. Wanna play Gomoku or not?"

"Not cool, man, that's just mean. You'll get all the multiple-choice questions wrong, guess every one incorrectly."

"I'd still score higher than you. You playing or not?"

"Think good grades let you do whatever you want?"

"Are you playing or not, damn it?"

"Nah, hehe. I'm memorizing Chinese poetry here."

"You should've said so earlier. Spit out my Iced Tea."

"Ahem, sorry about that, Nian-ge. I really need to brush up on the ancient poems. Haven't memorized a lot of them. I'm starting to take studying seriously, you know?"

"..."

Well, if he's calling me 'Nian-ge,' what more is there to say? Shen Nian waved his hand. "Go on then."

He turned to look at Chun Bao (Spring Treasure).

As if sensing his gaze, Xia Yanchun soon turned her face too. Her beautiful big eyes blinked, looked at Shen Nian for a moment, then she opened a book, stood it up, and used it as a shield so he couldn't see her.

Shivering with rage and cold—he was being given the cold shoulder.

Shen Nian, a man who had done good deeds all his life, ended up alone and friendless in the end. It was midterm exams, and he couldn't even find someone to play Gomoku with.

Do good people really get no reward?

He'd need a good hug from Chun Bao after school to feel better.

Until the end of school, Shen Nian sat alone at his desk, fiddling with his own stuff.

He built a spaceship out of pen caps.

"School's out."

Li Shiyan already had her small backpack on. Since Xia Yanchun always went home with Shen Nian, she didn't wait for her and ran out of the classroom with the other girls.

"Let's go too." Shen Nian didn't have much to pack, just some snacks in his backpack, which made it light and easy to carry.

"Wait for me to organize my things."

"Are you taking books back?"

"Hmm, it's a bit too full now. It's all your fault for shoving your books in here. Next time, put your own stuff away yourself," Xia Yanchun grumbled.

"Don't be so heartless."

"It's only right not to trouble others."

"Let me carry your backpack for you."

"No need."

Xia Yanchun was a bit stubborn. She believed in carrying her own things, and it was only a few books anyway.

Just kidding. The moment Xia Yanchun stepped out of the school gate, her attitude changed. She took off her backpack and tossed it to Shen Nian. "You carry this for me."

"You refused my help just a second ago. Were you just putting on an 'independent, strong woman' act for your classmates?"

Xia Yanchun tuned him out. They had a good twenty-minute walk ahead, and having a younger brother was too convenient not to use. What older sister in the world didn't boss her little brother around?

Although the weather had turned cold, there were still plenty of street vendors along the roadside. Seeing Shen Nian burdened with both backpacks, Xia Yanchun felt a rare surge of generosity and bought two hotdogs. Then she ate both of them herself.

What, you thought you were getting one?

You get to carry my bag AND eat a hotdog? You think all the good things should go to you?

Shen Nian found this familiar and wasn't really annoyed. He nudged her with his elbow. "I'll throw your backpack away in a minute, just you wait."

"You dare!"

"Ugh... little fairy, shrimp-head, this is society's oppression of men, this is—"

"Shut up. Here, you can lick the skewer."

"111, for real?"

Yan Xi reminds you: Due to Tomato's request for over 3 million daily visits causing excessive server load, it is now recommended you use sources provided by other esteemed developers.