Chapter 34 Birthday It’s hard to say which side is more awkward. …

"This is probably similar to how everyone gets different grades after taking the same class." Jiang Ci raised an eyebrow. After answering Yu Xiang's question, he glanced at the wall clock. "There are still more than ten minutes before get out of class ends. Can you recite for a few more minutes so you can redeem yourself next time?"

"Of course, just wait for me." Yu Xiang, whose desire to win was successfully aroused, was in high spirits. He immediately picked up the outline and began to memorize it hard.

After being "retrained", he had obviously made great progress when facing Jiang Ci's questions for the second time - at least he did not falsify history.

Time flies, and soon another day is about to pass.

"Brother Yu, the senior year's coming-of-age ceremony is tomorrow morning." Having nothing better to do after a full meal, Zhang Miao wandered over to Yu Xiang. He approached and saw him cutting something with a pair of scissors. There was a blank notebook on the table. He couldn't help but wonder, "Brother Yu, what are you doing? Making a journal?"

Yu Xiang paused his work upon hearing this, raised his eyelids, and said speechlessly, "Are you blind? This is a notebook of wrong answers."

"Ahahaha, I didn't see it clearly." Zhang Miao smiled awkwardly.

"So what does tomorrow's senior high school coming-of-age ceremony have to do with us?" Yu Xiang was also tired of it, so he simply threw the scissors aside and continued to ask.

"Don't you know? The principal said we need to be more formal this year, so the freshmen and sophomores are going to be there to help with the atmosphere," Zhang Miao said excitedly. "And tomorrow at that time we have math class!"

"If nothing unexpected happens, he will come to make up for the missed lessons during evening study."

"That seems to be the case." Zhang Miao quickly lost interest, then turned his gaze to Jiang Ci, who had earphones in his ears. But fearing he might notice, he quickly averted his gaze and whispered in Yu Xiang's ear, "Your deskmate...what is Jiang doing?"

Yu Xiang blinked in confusion, glanced at Jiang Ci, and then turned back: "Are you blind? Isn't it obvious that he's listening to music?"

Actually, this wasn't the first time Zhang Miao had seen Jiang Ci wearing headphones, but for various reasons he hadn't been able to ask. Now, he couldn't help but ask, "Did he secretly bring his phone?"

"No, he's using a Walkman." Yu Xiang was still clear about this. It was amazing that Jiang Ci had been using that Walkman since junior high school, and the teacher had never discovered it once.

Zhang Miao continued cautiously, "Walkmans aren't allowed in school, right? Isn't he afraid of getting caught?"

"Of course not, but the rules are dead and the living are dead." Yu Xiang gave him a look that said "Are you stupid?" "Just don't get caught."

"That makes sense." Zhang Miao stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Then can I also secretly..."

"Stop it. You'd better give up. With your personality that shows everything on your face, a surprise inspection can wipe you out." Yu Xiang quickly saw through Zhang Miao's thoughts and began to pour cold water on him without mercy.

Zhang Miao wanted to struggle a little longer: "Am I really that bad at hiding things?"

Yu Xiang: "You can go and ask Lao Fang for confirmation—where is he?"

"He's setting a bomb in the bathroom," Zhang Miao replied immediately. "I strongly recommend you avoid going to the bathroom for the foreseeable future."

Yu Xiang: “?” What bomb?

Zhang Miao explained it more clearly: "It's diarrhea. It stinks."

Yu Xiang: “…Okay.” It turned out to be a biological bomb.

"But Brother Yu, do you think he's really listening to music? I've heard those top students are always studying. Is it possible that he's listening to English?"

"Hiss—now that you put it that way, it seems to make some sense." Yu Xiang became interested and turned around with ill intention, and happened to meet the eyes of Jiang Ci who had also turned around.

As soon as the latter saw Yu Xiang's expression, he knew that someone was probably up to something bad again, but he just didn't say anything and waited quietly for Yu Xiang's next move.

Zhang Miao thought Yu Xiang was going to ask directly—at least that’s what he thought now.

But the facts proved that he was wrong. Yu Xiang first stared at Jiang Ci silently for several seconds, and then stretched out his evil claws to Jiang Ci...'s headphones.

This action stunned Zhang Miao: "???"

Then he watched Yu Xiang naturally put the earphones into his ears. After listening for a few seconds, he turned to Zhang Miao and said seriously, "Do English songs count as English?"

Zhang Miao was so stiff that he couldn't even speak clearly: "It counts... doesn't it?"

"I don't think so. It's a Chinese song now, and it sounds pretty good." Yu Xiang said as he put the earphones back into Jiang Ci's ears. His movements were so natural that Zhang Miao had the illusion that he did this often.

Compared to Zhang Miao's pupils trembling again and again, Jiang Ci was more attuned to Yu Xiang's series of actions. "So, what were you guys secretly talking about just now?"

"Oh, he's curious—"

"Brother Yu!"

Yu Xiang immediately understood and pretended to be calm, changing the subject: "Oh, we were just saying that we were tired of the playlist recently and wanted to change it up, so we were curious about what you were listening to."

He was a little out of breath after saying this in one breath. After taking a deep breath, he noticed that Jiang Ci raised his eyebrows, as if he was skeptical about this statement.

"Happy birthday An Yan!!! This is a gift for you!"

"Thank you~"

Before Jiang Ci could respond, several enthusiastic female voices from next door successfully attracted the attention of the three people.

"So today is her birthday." Yu Xiang muttered, thinking that it was no wonder that so many people came in and out of the class today to give gifts to Ning Anyan.

"Brother Yu, do you think we should go and say happy birthday to her?" Zhang Miao asked hesitantly.

"But isn't it a bit awkward not to have a gift? Or maybe just pretend you don't know?"

As they were talking, Ning Anyan also noticed their gazes. Their eyes met, and for a moment it was hard to tell which one was more embarrassed.

The girls surrounding Ning Anyan were all from other classes, presumably her friends. When they realized where Ning Anyan was looking, they followed her gaze, and their expressions visibly brightened when they saw Jiang Ci and Yu Xiang's faces.

Although they didn't say anything, judging from their facial expressions and the ever-changing looks in their eyes, they probably said everything.

"Happy birthday." Jiang Ci was the one who reacted the fastest among them. He expressed birthday wishes to Ning Anyan without changing his expression.

"Oh, yes, happy birthday, happy birthday!" Yu Xiang and Zhang Miao, who reacted belatedly, also hurriedly followed suit.

"Thank you!" Ning Anyan also smiled sweetly at them.

"Brother Yu, do you think it's really okay for us not to give her a gift? I see a lot of people in the class have given gifts." Zhang Miao hooked his arm around Yu Xiang's neck and turned to the other side and whispered, "Will it make us look stingy? How about going to the canteen and buying her a bag of snacks?"

"If you want to buy it, buy it yourself. I'm broke anyway." Yu Xiang squeezed every word out between his teeth. "You know how much pocket money my mom gives me every week."

"That's true. Your pocket money is indeed pitifully small."

"What did Lao Fang say? Will he send it off?"

"When he heard you weren't going to give him any, he immediately started charging into the game."

Yu Xiang frowned, "...He was probably planning to just recharge the game anyway. Stop using me as an excuse."

"Then what about Brother Jiang? Will he send us off?"

"How should I know? But I mentioned it casually last time and he didn't seem to take it too seriously, so he probably doesn't..." Yu Xiang was halfway through his words when a hand was placed on his shoulder.

He turned around reflexively and met Jiang Ci's calm eyes.

But Jiang Ci's gaze seemed not to be directed at him, but at Zhang Miao's hand that was hooked around Yu Xiang's neck.

Because Yu Xiang suddenly turned around, Zhang Miao felt awkward hooking his hand, so he silently withdrew his claws and blinked blankly.

"How are you planning to celebrate your birthday?" Jiang Ci retracted his gaze and asked calmly.

This question was so sudden that Yu Xiang didn't understand the situation and pointed at himself uncertainly: "Are you asking me?"

Jiang Ci nodded gently: "Yeah."

"Why are you asking this out of the blue?" Yu Xiang was still completely confused. Although his birthday was indeed approaching, it felt indescribably strange to ask this at this time.

It's like I couldn't find a topic and forced myself to find one.

Although he didn't know the reason, Yu Xiang still gave him face: "Put it on hold or postpone it. We definitely have to go to class that day."

"You reminded me, it's time to prepare a gift for you." Zhang Miao slapped his forehead excitedly, "Brother Yu, is there anything you particularly want? I'll arrange it for you!"

Yu Xiang touched his chin and looked at him sincerely: "Really, Sanshui? I really want an e-donkey."

Zhang Miao, who had been boasting just now, immediately turned shy as soon as these words came out: "I can't arrange that, but I can arrange a very cool helmet."

Yu Xiang: "...Thank you. You can wear it yourself after it's arranged."

Zhang Miao chuckled: "I was just kidding, Brother Yu."

The topic finally ended with Fan Zhengqing, who came to the class early, announcing that he would memorize math formulas.

After that, they spent another ordinary week as if copy and paste, indicating that most of May had passed and the chirping of early summer cicadas began to appear outside the window.

As the temperature began to rise, their school uniforms were completely changed to summer short-sleeved shirts.

It was their turn to do morning exercises that day. A group of people, dragging their bodies that had just been exhausted by math class, hurried downstairs to gather in the playground amidst the life-threatening broadcast.

The whole process can be described as "listening to the mother's voice". After the meeting, Zhang Miao and Fang Chengyu supported Yu Xiang, who was about to collapse from exhaustion, on the left and right, and walked unsteadily towards the teaching building.

"Those bastards in Class 1, they're running so fast! They must have seen a ghost!" Zhang Miao was actually quite tired, but he couldn't help but curse. "They thought they were watching a TV show, but they were playing it at double speed!"

"How, how come you still have the energy to speak?" Fang Chengyu said breathlessly.

"Oh my god, Lao Fang, why are you stuttering?" Zhang Miao said, glancing at Yu Xiang again, his voice rising a few notches in fear. "Oh my god, Brother Yu, your face and lips are so pale. How about we rest here for a while?"

In fact, there was no need for him to say anything, Fang Chengyu had already sat down on the spot.

"Fuck, how come both of you are dead? I can't pull you out by myself." Zhang Miao helped Yu Xiang sit down on a step and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "If only Brother Jiang was here, he could help me pull one out..."

"You're calling me brother more and more fluently." Yu Xiang replied weakly.

"Hahaha, yes, yes, but don't worry, Brother Yu! You will always be my eldest brother! He can only be considered the second brother!" Zhang Miao said immediately.

"I seriously suspect that you missed a lap." Fang Chengyu calmed down a little and looked at Zhang Miao with a scrutinizing gaze.

Zhang Miao was immediately displeased when he heard this: "Old Fang, what are you talking about!"

"Why else would he be so lively?"

"That's of course because of you—" Xu.

The last word remained unspoken—Zhang Miao suddenly realized that saying so would implicate Yu Xiang, so he quickly stopped and admitted honestly, "I only tied half a shoelace."

Fang Chengyu raised his hand and gave him a middle finger: "I despise you."

"What can I do if my shoelaces come off?" Zhang Miao said without a trace of embarrassment. "I don't know if Brother Jiang's English competition will go well."

"I guarantee you the first place." Fang Chengyu answered without thinking.

"Yeah, by the way, when will he finish the competition?"

"Not now anyway." Yu Xiang struggled to stand up, but stumbled a bit due to weak legs. "Let's go back to class."

Seeing this, Zhang Miao and Fang Chengyu hurriedly tried to steady him, not noticing the footsteps coming from not far away.

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The author has something to say: My mind is full of ideas, but my full class schedule limits my keyboard hands [clown]