When Feng Ning got home before dinner, the first thing he did was to go to the yard to look at the tomatoes he had planted. He squatted beside the flowerpot and observed them carefully for a while, and found that they were growing very well.
She nodded with satisfaction, picked some, washed them in the pool, and put a few into her mouth. The fruit pulp burst in her mouth, sour and sweet, with a very summery taste.
As for why Jiang Wen came to mock her for no apparent reason, Feng Ning thought about it for a while but couldn't figure it out, so she just put it out of her mind - she didn't have the time to study such nonsense.
Qi Lan had already prepared a table full of dishes for her, and shouted from inside the house, "Go and call Zhao Weichen and Yaoyao to come and eat together."
Feng Ning mumbled in protest, "Forget it, Shuangyao just came home today, shouldn't she have dinner with her parents?"
Qi Lan was anxious, "If you want me to go, go. If you don't want to go, I'll call myself. I've cooked so many dishes."
Alas, as proud as Feng Ning is, the only person who can stun her in this life is her mother. She can't be stubborn, so she has no choice but to go door to door to call for help.
There were many stars tonight, and the bright moon was hanging in the sky. A big yellow dog jumped around at my feet from time to time, and Feng Ning threw a few bones into its mouth. A yellow light bulb hung above the dining table, and several children gathered together to eat and laugh, which was very warm. Qi Lan fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan and asked about their situation at school.
Zhao Weichen was not as smart as Shuangyao and Fengning since he was young. He was slow to react and was rather dull in his studies. Thanks to Fengning's tutoring, his high school entrance exam results were acceptable, and he finally chose a high school not far from home. Although the teaching quality was not as good as Qide, it was still considered upper-class in South City.
Shuangyao stuffed her mouth with a fried egg, chewed it and swallowed it, thinking for a while, "There hasn't been much to do recently, but our class teacher said that we will have a monthly exam soon, which is a test to test the students' level at the beginning of the semester."
"Really? Then you must study hard in school. Studying is still very useful. High school is not like junior high school. The competition is very fierce. Don't take it lightly."
Feng Ning hummed twice, "Have I ever made you worry about my studies since I was a child? Besides, do you understand why you worry? Mom, go and get busy. We will wash the dishes after dinner."
The mahjong hall's night session usually starts at 7pm. Qi Lan glanced at the wall clock and saw that it was almost time. She sighed and stood up, "Okay, I'm going to get busy."
Feng Ning had recently studied several books on Western baking and had a strong interest in this area. After eating and drinking, she dragged her two little followers to the kitchen and insisted on making a cake base.
Shuang Yao was helpless, "Don't think that it's just a one-shot deal. You don't even have an egg white whisk at home."
Feng Ning never gives up until she achieves her goal. She pondered for a long time without giving up, and finally rolled up her sleeves, angrily said, "Watch me!" Then she began to pour the egg white into the basin, stirring it manually with a click, click, click, click, stirring for at least a few hundred times, which lasted for nearly an hour, and her hands were almost numb.
Zhao Weichen sat on a small bench next to him and exclaimed, "Sister Xiaoning, you really deserve to be the strongest arm in Yujiang Lane."
Feng Ning took a breath and glared at him, "Hiss, why don't you sound like a good thing to me?"
"Hehe, that's a good thing to say." Zhao Weichen scratched his head.
Feng Ning gnashed his teeth while arguing with Dan Qing, while teaching him, "You should be more artistic in your speech. Don't always be so harsh. It's so annoying."
In the end, he managed to make a semi-finished product for Feng Ning, and it tasted pretty good. They each took some and ran to Shuang Yao's house to watch a movie on the projector. They played until the early morning and went home, sleeping until the next afternoon.
Feng Ning sneaked to Shuang Yao's house to put on some makeup, and when she saw that she was running out of time, she hurriedly changed her clothes and said, "I have to go to work. I told my mom that I'll sleep at your house tonight so that I won't be caught."
Because of Qi Lan's health condition, the family spent a lot of savings on medical treatment and owed some money to relatives. Feng Ning felt sorry for her mother and secretly worked outside to earn money since junior high school to save it. Fortunately, she had been wild since she was a child and ran around outside all day long. With Shuangyao and others helping her to lie, Qi Lan never found out.
In her second year of junior high school, her height suddenly jumped to 165cm. With a little makeup and a more mature look, she could not be seen as a junior high school student. After all, she had to take care of her studies, so Feng Ning had to find a part-time job in a milk tea shop.
She is sweet-talking, good at acting cute, and understands the ways of the world. Later, the owner of the milk tea shop introduced her to work as a waitress in a bar opened by his friend.
In fact, the owner of this bar is a distant relative of Zhao Weichen. Because of a successful marketing campaign at the cultural festival last year, the bar is now very popular and has become an Internet celebrity restaurant. Many young people like to go there.
In such a crowded and lively bar, selling alcohol is profitable and can be recorded as a commission. Feng Ning is smart and likable. He would occasionally create atmosphere and sing a few songs on the stage. Later, he became a living signboard of Jiantang (the name of the bar) and was jokingly called the soul of the bar.
During the weekends at home, Xi Gaoyuan and his friends called several times, asking what he was doing and asking Jiang Wen to hang out. He was not interested and refused all of them.
In the evening, a guest came to the house for dinner. He was a former comrade-in-arms of Mr. Jiang. At the dinner table, the old man said a few words to Jiang Wen, but he answered absent-mindedly.
"Xiao Wen, be polite."
Jiang Wen was stared at twice by his sister, and he forced himself to cheer up and added a greeting.
The guest laughed and said, "This boy looks much quieter than before. I remember he was very naughty when he was young."
The Jiang family made their fortune in Chongxi and belonged to the Jiangzuo business group. Jiang Zhouguo was busy with business, and in less than ten years, he had firmly established "Maohang" in Nancheng, becoming a local "local tyrant". Although he was particularly strict with his youngest son, he had many factories and workers to manage, so he did not have much time to personally supervise him.
The eldest sister Jiang Yuyun is a teenager older than Jiang Wen. She stopped studying after graduating from high school and helped her father manage the family store. Jiang Yuyun has always doted on her younger brother, so the wild-growing Second Young Master Jiang has gathered a bunch of childhood friends around him since he was a child, and he is domineering and arrogant in South City.
At that time, Xi Gaoyuan had just graduated from elementary school and met a gangster. They were young and ignorant, and they were particularly crazy. They followed others and almost caused a death. This made Mr. Jiang angry, and he insisted on sending Jiang Wen to a private military training base, making the final decision without giving him any room for rebuttal.
Since then, Jiang Wen's temper has become much more restrained.
After dinner, go upstairs.
Jiang Wen went to play the game console alone, and lost his concentration until a blood-red "Game Over" appeared on the screen. He came back to his senses, threw away the game controller, and cursed.
Oh shit.
The two-day holiday passed in the blink of an eye.
On Monday morning, Feng Ning put a copy of "When Nietzsche Cried" on Zhao Binlin's desk.
He was surprised and looked at it from front to back. "What is this?"
Feng Ning sat down at his seat, lying on the table a little sleepy, "This is your birthday present."
"Ah?? This is your gift??!"
"Yes, I have a task for you. After you finish reading this, think about the value of existence." Feng Ning was like a charlatan, and his expression was very serious as he fooled him, "I will give you a conclusion first. The value of existence is painful. You can go back and think about it yourself."
Zhao Binlin's family is in the coal mining business, and his older brothers support the family business. His parents have very low expectations of him and don't pay much attention to him.
He had never read a book seriously since he was a child. He thought he might be a little word-shy, and usually he would just read magazines or game guides. In short, his world was filled with the most beautiful girls in his class, the most beautiful girls in the next class, cars, basketball, games, and brothers.
For the first time in his life, Zhao Binlin actually came into contact with philosophical books. He was surprised and a little bit unbelievable.
So Zhao Binlin read the book seriously as a bedtime reading for a few days, and he actually figured out something from it. He felt very cultured, and whenever he had free time, he would go over to discuss Nietzsche with Feng Ning enthusiastically.
Ever since Jiang Wen confronted Feng Ning last time, she no longer teased him on purpose. She did as Jiang Wen said - don't try to attract his attention and keep a considerable distance from him.
Compared to Jiang Wen's deliberate indifference, Feng Ning seemed much more casual. It wasn't that she was playing hard to get, she just had a lot of other things to do.
So Feng Ning stopped taking the initiative to talk.
It seemed as if all her previous enthusiasm for him was Jiang Wen's illusion.
A person like Zhao Binlin, who is a bit thick-skinned, didn't notice that Jiang Wen was in a bad mood. After playing basketball that day, when he was walking out of the basketball hall, Zhao Binlin told a few of his buddies about a girl who told him that "the value of existence is pain". As he was talking, the others also found it interesting, "Why, do you like her? When can you introduce us to each other?"
"Don't bring up such mundane matters all the time." Zhao Binlin clicked his tongue and gossiped, "She seemed to have some interest in the top pick before."
Everyone sighed and went to make trouble for Jiang Wen, but he seemed not to hear anything and his expression remained indifferent.
Pei Shurou frowned inadvertently and smiled gently, "How are you interested?"
So Zhao Binlin told the story of the toad and the swan again.
The only person who was not excited was Jiang Wen. While others were still making a fuss, he walked away alone.
The Kai Tak pre-school placement test was arranged very quickly and was completed in two or three days. The Iron Lady attached great importance to this test and emphasized it several times before the test, asking them to work hard and get a good start in their high school career, which was also a good omen.
Feng Ning always passed the test as soon as she finished it, and she didn't bother to check the answers. She was sitting in her seat chatting with Meng Taoyu, and a female voice behind her said, "Meng Taoyu, come out for a moment."
Feng Ning looked up.
The girl couldn't stand it anymore and kicked her stool with her foot, "Did you hear me? Move aside."
Feng Ning glanced at her sideways, then looked away and continued drinking water. She recognized this girl as the one with the pear-shaped hair at the opening ceremony that day.
Meng Taoyu stood up in panic and whispered, "Let me go out." Feng Ning pretended not to hear her and pulled her wrist, "Sit down."
The girl with the pear-shaped hair was very impatient, with drooping eyes and sharp lips. She raised her voice and said, "Hey, I asked you to move aside. Are you deaf?"
Feng Ning remained indifferent, sitting firmly in his seat with one corner of his mouth raised.
As if sensing her contempt, the girl with the pear-flower-haired head widened her eyes, irritated by this smile, and pulled her over with an incredulous look, "Fuck..."
Halfway through the conversation, the voice suddenly disappeared.
—Feng Ning raised his hand and poured the whole glass of water onto her face.
The whole classroom was silent as if no one was there. Jiang Wen heard the noise and turned around.
Lihuatou was stunned for a few seconds, as if someone had dropped a time bomb on her brain. When she came to her senses, she was shaking with anger, biting her lower lip and raising her hands high.
The moment she fell, Jiang Wen grabbed her wrist. Feng Ning grabbed her hair and said with a smile, "Hey, you are so cool, which row do you sit in during the National People's Congress meeting?"