Chapter 34: Don’t Play Dumb

Zhuang Heyang called Guan Jingxu back.

“Bro, be honest—are things heating up for you two?”

Guan Jingxu was facing the ocean, eating seafood, and responded to the interrogation with the classic three-step denial act.

“What are you talking about?”

“I have no idea.”

“Nothing happened.”

Zhuang Heyang clutched his bird’s-nest-like hair in frustration and shouted, “Still pretending?! Last night a damn lovesick puppy called me, couldn’t go half a sentence without mentioning Jiang Mingzhi!”

Guan Jingxu’s expression didn’t change. “I was just sharing what I saw at the beach. You said you wished you were here, so I kindly shared my experience. Why are you accusing me?”

Zhuang Heyang hadn’t expected him to deny everything the moment morning came, even turning the accusation back on him.

“You’re such a dog!” he growled. “You’re that kind of scumbag who pretends nothing happened the moment he puts his pants back on!”

Guan Jingxu stayed calm and even gave a warning before hanging up: “Don’t go spreading rumors, or I’ll sue you for defamation.”

Zhuang Heyang was so angry he wanted to fly to Sanya just to punch him.

That evening, Jiang Mingzhi’s family set off to return to Beijing.

Guan Jingxu didn’t see her again—just sent a goodbye message on WeChat.

After getting back to Beijing, Jiang Mingzhi spent the next two days at home studying, while Pei Jinyang went out with friends two nights in a row.

Pei Zhaohua even joked, “He’s got more social engagements than I do.”

Around seven or eight in the evening, Jiang Mingzhi would go to the second-floor living room to play a few rounds of badminton with Qiu Tang. The room was a large multi-purpose space that wasn’t used often. Pei Jinyang’s drum set had been here before, but it had long since been moved out.

Pei Zhaohua originally just watched them play, but soon his hands got itchy, and he asked Qiu Tang to step out so he could have a few rounds with Jiang Mingzhi himself.

Jiang Mingzhi was happy to foster a better relationship with them and gladly joined in.

She could sense Pei Zhaohua’s attitude toward her had changed.

At first, he was polite but distant—after all, she was just his wife’s daughter. To say there were real feelings there would’ve been a stretch.

But after spending time together, he noticed her strengths: she was obedient and outstanding—pretty much the ideal daughter most people dream of. And she didn’t reject the idea of a stepfather; on the contrary, she brought genuine emotional value to the family.

Now, Pei Zhaohua truly saw her as his daughter.

After playing badminton and working up a sweat, Jiang Mingzhi returned to her room to shower.

After showering, she packed her schoolbag and prepared the textbooks she’d need for the next day.

On the first day back after the short holiday, the teacher’s first words were: “Vacation’s over. Time to refocus.”

Easier said than done.

After five days of freedom, most students’ minds were still floating somewhere else. The disciplined ones would snap back in a class or two. The undisciplined? It could take two or three days to adjust.

Jiang Mingzhi belonged to the “extremely self-disciplined” category.

One: she had no wild tendencies to begin with. Two: she’d already been studying at home for two days. So during class, she was more focused than most.

At noon, when school was dismissed, the students dashed toward the cafeteria. Jiang Mingzhi put her pen down and nudged Meng Yuanyuan.

“Let’s go eat. I’m craving that spicy hotpot on the second floor.”

The school cafeteria had three floors—plenty of food options, though quality varied. The best spots always had lines.

Meng Yuanyuan pouted. “I’m not hungry. You go ahead.”

Jiang Mingzhi’s stomach was growling. She touched her now-flat belly and said, “Then I’ll go first. At least you won’t have to fight the crowd if you go later.”

After returning to school from Sanya, she noticeably felt hungrier and slept better.

In her past life, after starting college, she’d struggled with insomnia—probably due to mental stress—and her appetite had also been poor.

So now, she paid much more attention to her health. Not only did she work out regularly, but she also made sure to eat on time.

Would you like me to continue with part (2)?

When she came back from the cafeteria fully satisfied, she saw that Meng Yuanyuan was still sitting in her seat.

“You haven’t gone to eat?”

Meng Yuanyuan lowered her head and replied, “I’ve eaten.”

Jiang Zhi Zhi didn’t ask more and got ready to lower her chair and take a nap.

The weather was getting hotter and hotter. Without a nap, the afternoon would be unbearable.

The school chairs were also very user-friendly — they could be reclined halfway. Though you couldn’t lie down completely, it was still more comfortable than sleeping face-down on the desk.

If there wasn’t enough space at the desk, the chair could be placed in the aisle. It was said the chairs had just been replaced last semester because previously, students often slept face-down and got bloated stomachs. A student’s parent reported it to the parent committee, and the committee decided to replace all the chairs.

Many parents in the committee were influential. They didn’t even need the school’s approval — they handled everything with internal donations.

Jiang Zhi Zhi had just closed her eyes when she heard someone softly calling her name from the back door.

She looked over and saw Lin Wan sticking half her body in, calling her.

Jiang Zhi Zhi walked out of the classroom. “Why are you here?”

Lin Wan stuffed a paper bag in her hands. “I brought you a souvenir from my trip abroad.”

“Wow, thanks,” Jiang Zhi Zhi opened it briefly and glanced inside. “Wait a second — I brought you something back from Sanya too.”

It was a fridge magnet and a color-changing lip balm, bought at the airport on a whim.

Because in Sanya, she basically stayed at the hotel and didn’t go anywhere else, she could only grab a couple of small things at the duty-free shop for Lin Wan and Meng Yuanyuan.

As for Guan Jingxu and Zhuang Heyang — there were no gifts for them.

Lin Wan smiled extra sweetly and pulled Jiang Zhi Zhi aside in the hallway to quietly chat for over ten minutes, sharing things she saw and heard while abroad.

Jiang Zhi Zhi suppressed a yawn. “Let’s talk tonight. Go back and take a nap now, or you’ll get punished for sleeping in class this afternoon.”

Only then did Lin Wan stop talking, regretting a little. “True, I’ll head back then.”

The next two days passed as usual: class, dismissal — Jiang Zhi Zhi lived a simple routine life of school and home.

On Wednesday afternoon, after the second class ended, Zhuang Heyang returned from the teacher’s office holding an A4 sheet of paper. He stood on the podium and announced some news.

“The school sports meet will be held the week after next. Please actively sign up for events — good ones are first come, first served.”

After speaking, he waved the A4 sheet in his hand and began reading the list of sports events.

He was the PE class rep and normally didn’t have much to do, but when the sports meet rolled around, it became his headache.

Events like long jump and relays were easy to fill, but events like the 800m and 1500m — he had to beg classmates to sign up.

The boys were still okay, but the girls — even if he wore out his lips persuading them, no one would sign up, let alone for the 3000m, that inhuman event.

Though not everyone had to sign up for something, it was about class honor. In the end, they’d tally which class won the most medals, and of course the teachers hoped everyone would sign up for more events.

Once the news of the sports meet was out, everyone’s minds — which had just calmed down — started drifting again.

The classroom buzzed with discussion, though not about the sports meet.

The sports meet meant no classes for three days, no evening study sessions — what difference was that from a holiday?

Jiang Zhi Zhi’s back was poked with a pen. She turned her head.

Guan Jingxu asked her, “What event are you planning to sign up for?”

Jiang Zhi Zhi thought for a moment. “Maybe the long jump?”

Guan Jingxu: “You’re pretty athletic. Why not sign up for more? Like the 3000m.”

Jiang Zhi Zhi glared at him. “If you want me dead, just say it.”

Where did he get the idea that she was athletic? From surfing? Playing and competing were not the same thing.

Guan Jingxu laughed. “Just kidding.”