The long morning break lasted for twenty-five minutes.
Guo Kunnan was engrossed in his cellphone ga, having charged his phone at the Yucai Supermarket for two periods after early self-study—it was now fully charged.
Ma Shicheng stood up from his seat, looking confident; his Tiantian Kupao score was proudly the second highest in the class, unbeatable by anyone except Geng Lu, who was suspected of cheating.
In his eyes, everyone else was a newbie, including Dan Kaiquan, who had tried competing with him but was effortlessly surpassed.
With a mindset desiring unmatched victory, Ma Shicheng approached Guo Kunnan, only to find him playing a side-scrolling combat ga instead of Kupao.
It was actually Guo Kunnan who had gotten him into Kupao in the first place. Since his score had reached the top, Guo Kunnan seed to have lost interest in Kupao. Could he have been driven out of the ga by his own prowess?
Curiously, Ma Shicheng asked, "Brother Nan, why aren't you playing Kupao? I haven't seen you send any hearts these past few days, and it's making feel empty inside."
"Nowadays, a lot of the boys in our class are playing; you should co back."
That's how high school students were—playing a ga together made even a diocre ga feel incredibly thrilling as they shared experiences and compared scores.
Buried deep in his ga, without looking up, Guo Kunnan replied,
"Kupao's style feels like child's play, you see. This 'Ti Space Hunter' is a lot more engaging—you can team up to fight monsters and even enter the arena. Why don't you join in Ti Space Hunter? I'll guide you through it."
Not only did he decline Ma Shicheng's attempt to draw him back, but he also tried to get him hooked on Ti Space Hunter.
After watching for a while, Ma Shicheng remarked, "This ga looks a lot like Dungeon and Fighter."
"Yes, it's that type of ga; it's really fun, and it's a mobile version, so you can play anyti."
"Think of playing this ga for now. Later on, when Dungeon cos out, we can switch to that; I heard it's coming soon," Guo Kunnan said.
"This ga looks pretty good," comnted Ma Shicheng, a seasoned gar with an eye for quality.
Seeing Ma Shicheng's budding interest, Guo Kunnan was thrilled. After quickly clearing so monsters, he said,
"Let show you an arena fight to demonstrate how strong I am now. I'm not bragging, but I am going to annihilate the opposition."
Guo Kunnan began matching with an opponent and, once it finished, two characters appeared in the arena simultaneously.
Ma Shicheng noticed that compared to Guo Kunnan's simple gear, the opponent's character looked absolutely splendid.
Seeing the opposing ga character, Guo Kunnan's face shifted slightly, sensing trouble internally—he had unluckily run into soone who had paid for upgrades.
"Can you beat him?" Ma Shicheng asked.
Hesitating briefly, Guo Kunnan said, "It's fifty-fifty between him and ."
Hearing this, Ma Shicheng felt a surge of admiration.
"Watch hit him with a combo right at the start, catching him totally off guard."
Guo Kunnan maneuvered his character and smashed buttons—a dazzling set of skills was executed flawlessly, hitting the opponent squarely.
"Hahaha, that guy didn't see my fast hands coming!"
Guo Kunnan laughed with pride, the timing of his skills and their execution had been perfect.
Ma Shicheng glanced at the opponent's health bar, which had barely decreased, and asked puzzledly,
"Brother Nan, is the health bar supposed to be that thick in this ga?"
Guo Kunnan also realized sothing was off—his damage was far too low—but he kept his confidence:
"No worries. Watch thrash him."
Guo Kunnan executed another set of skills, skillfully mixing in basic attacks.
anwhile, the character opposite didn't move at all.
"He must be scared stiff by now! Haha, just wait, I'm about to finish you off!"
Then Ma Shicheng saw Guo Kunnan frantically pressing the skills buttons, attacking the static ga character on the opposite side relentlessly.
Finally, when Guo Kunnan's mana was depleted, the opponent still had half of their health left.
All he could do was attack one basic hit at a ti.
"Brother Nan, hang in there, you'll beat him soon," Ma Shicheng cheered him on.
Guo Kunnan kept pressing the attack button, but just then, the character on the opposing side suddenly moved—just a slight motion, delivering a very ordinary punch.
That punch landed on Guo Kunnan's ga character.
Guo Kunnan's character let out a cry of agony as the health bar emptied instantly.
The expression on Ma Shicheng's face froze, and so did Guo Kunnan's.
The two remained silent for three seconds, the atmosphere turning awkward.
Then, Guo Kunnan's face turned green.
He said nothing, pressed the ho button, returned to the phone's ho screen, then located the icon for Ti Space Hunter, held it down, dragged it to the status bar, and selected to uninstall the ga.
He said, "Ma Shicheng, I've decided to go back to Tiantian Kupao."
...
In the afternoon, during the break of the first class.
Dan Xiao, holding a pale yellow cup he had stolen—stolen from a girl he had a crush on in middle school—went to get so purified water to drink.
Dan Xiao was a hopeless romantic, having had a crush on a girl for two years but never daring to confess his feelings.
It was not until close to the middle school exam that Dan Xiao had a realization. Since he couldn't have her, he might as well have her cup; in a way, it felt like having her for a lifeti.
Dan Xiao treasured the cup and only dared to start using it in high school.
Dan Xiao intended to drink water, but the water dispenser was empty, so he shouted at his class,
"Which group is supposed to carry water today? Hurry up, be responsible."
Geng Lu suddenly rembered hearing this, it was her group's turn to carry water.
"Jiang Ning, let's go get so water."
Jiang Ning went to the front of the classroom, picked up two water buckets at once, drawing so attention from fellow students.
A standard purified water bucket weighs nearly 38 kilograms, which may not sound heavy, but only those who have actually carried it know it's not easy.
Moreover, the classroom was three to four hundred ters away from the campus supermarket; most students would carry water by balancing it on their shoulders as they walked back.
One bucket was manageable, but two were truly challenging, sothing not many adults could handle.
Most who went to get water carried one bucket at a ti and only fetched another after the first was finished.
Each group was tasked to fetch two buckets at a ti, and Jiang Ning thought it simpler to just carry both at once.
Geng Lu followed him, not stopping Jiang Ning, thinking that she would help carry one for him later.
After Jiang Ning had left, Yu Wen beside Shen Qing'e sneered,
"Last ti soone in our group tried carrying two buckets at once, he couldn't make it past a few steps and had to ask to carry one."
Her implication was clear. Ever since she was trounced in table tennis by Xue Yuantong, she harbored a dislike for Jiang Ning too.
Nearby, Yang Sheng heard this and sarcastically said,
"Do you dare say that in front of Jiang Ning?"
Yu Wen fell silent; she didn't dare.
Shen Qing'e frowned, "Yu Wen didn't say anything wrong."
Yang Sheng glanced at her and ignored her further.
For so reason, she always felt Shen Qing'e was a bit pretentious, trying too hard to maintain an image, and it felt quite fake.
Jiang Ning, carrying the buckets, walked into the supermarket, which had a water purification device specifically for Fourth Middle School.
In the spacious storage room, several freshly purified water bottles lay, with a few students lining up to get water.
Geng Lu, holding a water ticket, handed it to the owner and got two buckets of water.
Jiang Ning grabbed a bucket by the neck in each hand and lifted them effortlessly.
Seeing how easy it was for him, Geng Lu swallowed the thought of offering help.
For three to four hundred ters, Jiang Ning didn't stop once. He even chatted with Geng Lu along the way to the classroom.
"Jiang Ning, damn, you've already carried it back!" Ma Shicheng exclaid as he stood up; he was in the sa group as Jiang Ning, and had he been in the classroom earlier, he surely would have helped.
Jiang Ning set the buckets on the water dispenser and turned back to his seat.
Not a hint of fatigue was visible.
Geng Lu felt like she was just a cheerleader, having done nothing.
'Jiang Ning doesn't look strong, but he must be incredibly so. He could probably lift up,' Geng Lu suddenly thought.
She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she felt that Jiang Ning had gotten more handso lately. She didn't know his exact height, but he was only slightly shorter than Huang Zhongfei, who was 182 cm.
'He's bound to get even better, isn't he?'
That's what Geng Lu thought. She wasn't one to sit by idly; her principle was to go after what she liked.
She wasn't in a rush though. Geng Lu often made thorough preparations, ensuring everything was absolutely secure, akin to ranking in gas—careful, then even more careful.
'When I'm 100% sure, I'll make my move, and it will be a sure hit,' Geng Lu thought to herself.
'Set a small goal: next ti we arrange seating, I'll sit next to Jiang Ning.'
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