Extra Chapter Two: If Timeline(4)
In winter, besides morning runs, what students hate most is assemblies.
The principal was giving a passionate speech on stage, while many below were dozing off. And Jiang Siyi, standing at the back of the formation, was clearly the sleepiest of them all.
A sudden increase in the volume of the speech startled her awake. Jiang Siyi yawned and was forced to applaud along with everyone else. When her vision finally cleared, she thought helplessly—
Absurd.
So it turns out that summer can turn into winter in just one night.
Perhaps the game program glitched again.
Jiang Siyi guessed, but she was too lazy to think about it. Her main task now was to accumulate enough points to return to the real world.
Fighting was too tiring and not a preferred option unless absolutely necessary.
As for dating, kissing, or even doing “exercise”… she rejected those out of hand.
The only option left was skipping class.
She stared into the void, lost in thought. After a while, her mind cleared, and she slowly formed a plan.
When the assembly ended, Xu Yuan wanted to walk back to the classroom with her. Seeing this NPC who was no different from a real person, Jiang Siyi casually made an excuse to send her away,
“I’m going to the vending machine to buy a bottle of water. You go ahead.”
Xu Yuan had no choice but to leave first.
Watching her back disappear into the crowd, Jiang Siyi walked in the opposite direction in the cold wind. She tightened her school uniform jacket, planning to hide near the back gate.
The students had already rushed back to the teaching building, and the entire field was empty except for a few administrators and teachers who were still discussing something behind the stage.
They were talking about important matters and didn’t notice the figure sneaking around behind them.
Just as she was about to change locations, someone tapped her on the shoulder.
The shock was no less than encountering a ghost late at night. Jiang Siyi took a few steps back before turning around. After seeing who it was, she calmed down, “Bao-jie, you scared me.”
Fu Jing coughed, her voice hoarse from a cold, “It’s the middle of winter, why aren’t you in the classroom?”
Jiang Siyi pretended to be profound, “Just came out for some air.”
“……”
She was silent for a moment, “Alright, hurry back to class.”
Then, as if remembering something, she suddenly said, “Happy birthday.”
Fu Jing, outside of class, was a caring parent figure. She remembered every student’s birthday and sometimes even gave blessings.
As the homeroom teacher for the senior class, she had been extremely busy lately. After saying that, she didn’t linger and turned back to the teaching building, busy with lesson preparation.
Jiang Siyi, who didn’t have a phone during her school days, estimated the timeline based on the other person’s words and continued with her plan to skip class.
Skipping one class could earn her twenty points, so skipping five classes in a row would easily get her through. As she walked, Jiang Siyi muttered to herself, “This is really low-effort…”
The back gate area was overgrown with weeds, and withered branches hung down, swaying in the cold wind. Jiang Siyi hid behind a tree, squatted for a while, got bored, and started to examine the familiar wall.
After a moment, she landed steadily on her feet. Dusting off her hands, Jiang Siyi leisurely walked towards the back street.
In the early morning, the air was filled with the smell of life. The warm sun shone down, and the chatter of vendors could be heard, making one feel relaxed.
Jiang Siyi, looking like a student, clearly didn’t fit in here. But having scaled the wall many times in the past, she had become familiar with everyone. An auntie selling baked cold noodles called out to her, “Xiao Jiang, skipping class to go to the internet cafe again?”
The smell made Jiang Siyi’s stomach growl. But she couldn’t find a single coin on her, so she kept her distance and replied, “Auntie Chen, I’m not going to the internet cafe today, just out for a stroll.”
“I see,” the auntie nodded and then asked, “Did you eat breakfast? I’ll give you a small portion of baked cold noodles.”
Faced with this situation, Jiang Siyi always felt awkward. She waved her hands, declining, “No, no, it’s fine.”
The auntie exclaimed, “It’s no big deal, just a small portion, it won’t cost me anything.”
She was already preparing the sauce as she spoke, “It’s my secret recipe, you can’t get it anywhere else. Here, have a smell, it’s delicious.”
A dozen minutes later, Jiang Siyi was sitting on the roadside, holding the baked cold noodles. She wasn’t cold anymore, feeling warm all over. There were no customers at the moment, so the auntie sat beside her, asking how it tasted.
It was a pleasant and harmonious scene until a scream suddenly pierced the sky. Auntie Chen, hearing the shrill cry, immediately stood up and ran towards a small alley nearby.
Jiang Siyi frowned, sensing that something was wrong, and followed closely behind.
The entrance to the alley was piled with garbage, and the walls were dirty and mottled. Auntie Chen rushed in, grabbed a worn-out broom, and quickly stood in front of a girl, “If you want protection money, go ask someone else. Don’t bother my daughter!”
The leader of the group was a thin man, like a stalk of sugarcane, with a cigarette he had probably stolen from a shop in his mouth. He was blowing smoke, “You set up your stall there every day, and you can’t even give me fifty yuan?”
“I don’t have a single yuan!”
“Bullshit,” the man spat on the ground, “I saw you selling quite a few portions of baked cold noodles this morning. Don’t try to fool me.”
Behind the sugarcane man were two younger lackeys, seemingly not very old. They cowered behind him, looking timid.
Jiang Siyi finished the last bite of her breakfast. She took out a tissue from her pocket to wipe her hands, her movements unhurried.
When the sugarcane man’s gaze turned to her, she looked back at him with undisguised disdain.
“Who are you?” After seeing Jiang Siyi’s face, his tone softened for a moment, but he quickly regained his fierceness, “Since you’re here, don’t be in a hurry to leave. You know the rules, fifty a month, and you won’t be bullied.”
Jiang Siyi laughed.
The sugarcane man, seeing the curve of her lips, felt his confidence was being undermined and insulted. He held the cigarette, about to speak, when Jiang Siyi slapped him across the face with the empty container.
It made quite a noise.
The three punks were instantly stunned.
The sugarcane man cursed under his breath and was about to kick the empty container away. But his first kick missed completely, and only on the second kick did he succeed, almost causing him to fall.
Not wanting to dirty her hands, Jiang Siyi looked around and reached out to Auntie Chen. The latter immediately understood and handed her the broom.
But she was worried, whispering, “Xiao Jiang, you should go. I can handle this myself.”
The small portion of baked cold noodles from earlier had been made bigger by the auntie, who had secretly added more ingredients. Jiang Siyi was full and energized, so dealing with these three was a piece of cake.
She stood in front of Auntie Chen and her daughter, instead telling them to leave. But they argued back and forth, neither willing to go first.
The sugarcane man, seeing that no one was paying attention to him, and recalling what had just happened, became even more enraged. He lunged at Jiang Siyi, holding the cigarette as if to burn her.
“Aow—” A scream, even more piercing than before.
The sugarcane man’s stomach was hit hard by the broom, causing him to stumble backward and fall against the wall. Jiang Siyi seized the opportunity to kick him in the back, raising a cloud of dust. Seeing him fall face-first to the ground, she pressed her advantage, stepping on his head.
The two lackeys were just there for show. They looked tough with their full-face tattoos, but they were even more useless than that Tie Niu guy from back then. Seeing their leader fall, they immediately fled, not daring to say a word.
The old-fashioned broom was made of bamboo, and Jiang Siyi accidentally got a splinter in her finger. Seeing a small amount of blood, she just rubbed it a few times, not thinking much of it, and then looked down and asked, “Had enough?”
The sugarcane man had a mouthful of dust, his limbs were pinned down, and he was in pain all over. He hesitated for a moment but still answered honestly, “Y-yes.”
Jiang Siyi sensed his reluctance and scoffed, “Seems like you’re still lying.”
“No, I’m not!” The man blurted out this time, without any hesitation, “I really mean it.”
Afraid that Jiang Siyi wouldn’t believe him, he started to beg for mercy.
During this time, Auntie Chen was dumbfounded. The scene was a bit bloody, so she covered her young daughter’s eyes, “Jiejie is driving away the bad guys for you.”
“I want to see!” The girl struggled.
Seeing Auntie Chen hesitate and then move her hand away, Jiang Siyi finally took her foot off him. The man scrambled up from the ground with all his might, bowed a few times to her, and then limped away.
The girl, who hadn’t seen the action, was slightly disappointed.
Jiang Siyi saw this, bent down to her eye level, and said, “Jiejie will show you next time.”
The sugarcane man, who hadn’t run far, “……”
The girl immediately beamed and nodded several times, unable to resist the urge to hug Jiang Siyi. But she felt that she was a bit dirty and stopped abruptly, her hands awkwardly hanging in the air.
She wrung her fingers, “Thank you, Jiejie.”
Noticing that her voice was getting softer, Jiang Siyi took the initiative to hug her. She patted her back comfortingly and then said, “You’re welcome.”
“Next time something like this happens, be sure to ask an adult for help, okay?”
“And stay close to your mom, don’t wander off.”
Seeing the girl nod obediently, Jiang Siyi slowly stood up and said to Auntie Chen, “The police station isn’t far from here. If those punks come back to cause trouble, you can report them.”
Although it was a game, even the code had a warmth to it. Like the baked cold noodles the other person had given her.
Auntie Chen repeatedly agreed, “Okay, thank you, Xiao Jiang.”
After the commotion, they went back to selling breakfast. Jiang Siyi was about to follow them out of the alley when she suddenly heard Fu Jing’s voice.
“Skipping class by climbing over the wall during the long break, this kid is really getting out of hand.”
Jiang Siyi, who had just taken a step out, quickly retreated. She swiftly moved back into the alley, acting like a scared turtle—
She had to skip five classes in a row, she couldn’t get caught.
The sound of footsteps on gravel was heavy and fragmented. Jiang Siyi heard the noise and continued to retreat further into the alley. But when she turned around, she saw that it was a dead end.
Jiang Siyi: “……”
Damn it, plan failed.
Giving up, she started to organize her words, trying to make her excuses sound more convincing.
The footsteps got closer, and in the dust, Jiang Siyi could sense that the person behind her had stopped. She forced a smile, turned around politely, “Teacher…”
But she found herself face to face with Shen Shiwu.
Seeing who it was, Jiang Siyi wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not. Because when she looked into the woman’s dark eyes, she felt a chill run down her spine.
It’s fine, this isn’t the real world.
Shen Shiwu has no memories, she’s no different from an NPC…
“You just turned eighteen and you’re already getting into fights?” The woman pulled her closer, greatly reducing the distance between them, and whispered, grinding her teeth slightly, “You’re naughty everywhere.”
When her gaze swept over the wound on Jiang Siyi’s hand, Shen Shiwu finally dropped all pretense. She stared at the other’s lips for a moment, then leaned down and bit them.
At the same time, two more sets of footsteps approached. The voices of Fu Jing and the dean of students reached her ears, and Jiang Siyi suddenly came to her senses, struggling even harder.
But all she got in return was a deeper, more painful bite on her lips.
“Don’t you want to go back?” Shen Shiwu’s fingertips circled her cheek, making her itch, “I’ll teach you the fastest way.”
She blew on the girl’s earlobe, then mischievously nibbled on it, her words muffled but each one striking deep, “Tonight, let’s play a school uniform game with Jiejie.”
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