Divorce Revenge System: Knowing the Future in Advance
Chapter 84: The skies are getting colder, and so is my heart

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: The skies are getting colder, and so is my heart

Sun Jianguo was clearly having fun and asked Jiang Nian if he posted on TikTok.

Jiang Nian shook his head, and then Sun Jianguo shyly made a request. Seeing Jiang Nian nod, Sun Jianguo chuckled, ran over to the fish guard, posed for a picture, and posted it on TikTok.

The caption read, "Look beyond all people and things, accept the arrangement of fate, as the days grow colder, so does my heart. The greatest kindness of middle-aged people is to stay silent."

Jiang Nian saw it and laughed, giving a big thumbs-up.

"Brother Sun, that’s deep."

Anyway, he didn’t post on his page, the fish and the money were his. Sun Jianguo spent a little money, not only putting on a big act but also getting three wild big fish for free.

A win-win.

As for whether Sun Zhicheng felt awkward in the class group, that had nothing to do with Jiang Nian.

Your dad is happy.

Yeah, both dads are happy.

In the afternoon, Sun Jianguo drove enthusiastically to deliver the fish to Xu Qianqian’s hometown. Jiang Nian rode his old motorcycle back home, puttering all the way.

When the black Mazda arrived at the entrance, Xu Qianqian was dumbfounded.

Her grandparents were also confused for quite some time, repeatedly telling Sun Jianguo,

"Sir, our family didn’t order fish, the banquet is at the house in front of the temple."

Sun Jianguo called for a large basin while dialing Jiang Nian on a WeChat video call. Jiang Nian, still on the road, seeing the two elderly people on the screen, immediately understood.

After a few words of explanation, the old couple put their minds at ease and happily went to get the basin.

Sun Jianguo was also a savvy person, roughly guessing that Jiang Nian had a close relationship with this family, though he wasn’t sure if they were relatives or future in-laws.

Fearing that the two elderly people wouldn’t understand, he turned to Xu Qianqian in the courtyard and said,

"If raised in a basin, they won’t survive long. They need to be raised in a pond."

Xu Qianqian was a bit confused, "Our family’s small pond in the vegetable garden hasn’t been used for ages, it’s completely overgrown."

Sun Jianguo thought for a moment and directly took out a spare oxygen pump he had bought for over one hundred from the car. He wasn’t short on money; building a good relationship with Jiang Nian was more worthwhile.

Many of his entrepreneur friends also loved fishing; having a good relationship with Jiang Nian meant seizing the future.

And he had already thought of his next TikTok caption.

"The wind is too strong, it blew away my fish, just like it blew away my life."

Xu Qianqian watched as Sun Jianguo personally oxygenated the fish in the basin and taught her how to use it. She was momentarily at a loss for words.

Fortunately, at this moment, Jiang Nian arrived on his rickety motorcycle. Sun Jianguo greeted him with a smile, chatted for a couple of sentences, and made a contact gesture before driving off.

"Did you catch all these?" Xu Qianqian was still a bit dazed, glancing at the fish and then at Jiang Nian, "Did you buy them from that guy?"

"Believe it or not," Jiang Nian said with a nonchalant look.

When a man shows this demeanor, what he says is usually true. If the genders were reversed, with a woman casually saying ’believe it or not,’ it would most likely be false.

Xu Qianqian believed him, "Hey, when did you meet... that person? You seem quite familiar."

"Not long ago, just happened to be fishing at Xiaolong Pond." Jiang Nian walked over to look at the oxygen pump, squatted down, and said, "Found out later he’s my classmate’s dad."

"Oh, how do we return this oxygen pump to him?" Xu Qianqian bent down, curiously watching the dozen or so fish swimming in the two basins, blinking her eyes.

"Let’s just buy it. I just earned a little from him, I’ll transfer the money via WeChat in a bit."

"Earned?"

"Yeah, sold him three fish."

Xu Qianqian was almost confused by the bizarre storyline.

"By the way, Xu Qianqian," Jiang Nian stood up, the ruse finally revealed, "with this oxygen pump, the fish might not all survive; you should kill a few."

"Why me? Why not you?"

Jiang Nian spread his hands, "I’m a guest."

"What kind of guest are you!" Xu Qianqian gritted her teeth, suddenly realizing his twisted sense of humor, "You have to help! Otherwise, you’ll have instant noodles for lunch!"

Jiang Nian remained calm, with a peaceful smile on his face.

Sure enough, grandma couldn’t help but come over to mediate.

"I’ll do it, I’ll do it."

In the courtyard, by the faucet, Xu Qianqian squatted alone, grumbling as she killed the fish.

The ground was covered with white fish scales, and beneath the faucet, in a red plastic basin, several fish were gutted, their blood flowing along the moss-covered ditch.

Jiang Nian sat on the wall, playing with his mobile phone, laughing loudly almost until he passed out.

"Are you crazy!" Xu Qianqian held a kitchen knife and chopped hard on the cutting board, with a thud, "Get lost, don’t let me see you!"

"No way, do you know how hard it was for me to catch these fish?"

"What does that have to do with me!" Xu Qianqian was almost fuming, having killed five fish, her hands were almost numb.

"Of course, it has to do with you, honey." Jiang Nian laughed heartily, almost falling off the wall, "You look so funny when you’re angry, your fish-killing skills have improved."

"You! I really want to chop off your damn head!"

"Woah, you’re so violent, even listening to you makes me want to yuyu."

In the afternoon, Old Xu came back driving.

He seemed in a good mood, walking in circles around the basin of fish with interest, then letting Xu Qianqian go inside to wake Jiang Nian, who had slept all afternoon.

The three of them took incense sticks and yellow paper, heading up the mountain, Jiang Nian carrying a chicken, Old Xu holding a red plastic bag containing incense and ingots.

Xu Qianqian held a bag full of paper money.

Because Old Xu had already cleaned the grave yesterday, the surrounding weeds had all been cleared. There were traces of burned paper on the ground, and the expressions on the father and daughter’s faces were peaceful, occasionally smiling on the way.

Time makes people accustomed.

Jiang Nian wasn’t very solemn either, speaking as if visiting elders, he bled the chicken. The bright red blood stained the yellow paper slightly before they burned it.

On a cloudy day, the temperature in the mountains was low.

When burning paper, as the ashes flew, he noticed goosebumps on Xu Qianqian’s arm next to him, and asked quietly if she was cold. She shook her head.

Too many yellow papers couldn’t be thrown into the fire at once; they wouldn’t burn through. Jiang Nian increased the frequency of throwing paper into the fire. The flames immediately rose and the temperature slowly climbed.

The mountain was rainy, the creeks blocked by fallen leaves, or hardened by long-accumulated dirt. Gradually, the once smooth, flat tomb would accumulate water.

After lighting the incense, Old Xu squatted by the ditch pulling weeds, patiently cleaning the uneven creek with a small block stone picked up from the roadside.

After a busy afternoon, the surroundings of the grave were finally cleaned up nicely.

After resting for a while, they prepared to leave.

Old Xu picked up the dead chicken, preparing to throw it into the river according to tradition. Older people said such a chicken lost its flavor after being stained with yellow paper, couldn’t be eaten, and had to be discarded after use.

They left the unused incense nearby, weighed down with small grey stones. They had carried plenty on their way in, and left with the dead chicken.

On the way back, Old Xu specifically reminded,

"Look forward, don’t look back."

Jiang Nian didn’t know what to say, so he simply remained silent. He restrained the urge to look back all the way, until fully out of the mountain valley before couldn’t help but glance back.

Old Xu and Xu Qianqian also stopped and turned to look back.

The mountain wasn’t particularly beautiful, even somewhat deformed. In many places bald spots revealed the yellow earth, appearing as dark, oppressive patches from a distance.

The gloomy curtain of the overcast sky was eerie, with the silent mountains giving no reply.

Jiang Nian looked for a while before turning away, thinking that Old Xu would probably return here one day too. Watching him clean so intently, it was as if he planned to lie down there himself the next day.

After descending the mountain, the atmosphere gradually returned to normal.

In the class group, someone suddenly added him, Jiang Nian thought it was his "good son" Sun Zhicheng at first. However, it turned out to be Lin Dong, reminding him of that line, "only fools would apply."

After approving the request.

(Lin Dong): "Jiang Nian, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

(Lin Dong): "Did you take any other photos of the fish you caught today? My cousin heard about it and really admires you, he wanted to see them."

"Cousin?"

(Lin Dong): "Yeah, why?"

Jiang Nian wasn’t too enthusiastic, "I only have the video from the group, didn’t take others."

(Lin Dong): "Oh, alright, thanks (big grin)."

"Weird, where did this cousin come from?"

Jiang Nian just found it strange but didn’t think too much into it. As the sky darkened, he put away his phone, ready to wash up and eat, needing to head back the next afternoon.

The sports meet ran from Thursday to Saturday afternoon, and evening classes continued. Starting this week, the school implemented a make-up class system, with classes on Sunday morning.

This meant, unless there were special circumstances, school breaks were only Sunday afternoons.

The sports meet was the last celebration.

After dinner, Xu Qianqian returned to her room to do homework.

Jiang Nian hadn’t brought any homework, nor did he feel like doing it. So he turned to find Old Xu for some tea, the two grown men setting tea and seeds on the balcony on the second floor.

Gazing out at the dark night, the distant mountains vanishing into the murky sky.

Old Xu suddenly sighed, "Xiao Nian, you’ve grown up, become more sensible."

"Haha, kinda, I’m in my senior year," Jiang Nian laughed it off, "Eighteen is an adult."

Though inwardly thinking, it’s not that I’ve become mature, I’m just eager for your daughter.

Someday I’ll buy a ghost-light motorbike, park downstairs, and test your heart rate.

Childhood sweethearts, this sort of buff doesn’t always work out. These days it’s so common, even kids from the same primary school qualify as childhood sweethearts.

From the same primary school, not the same village, that counts too?

Simps, they’ll never make it to her primary school.

So the broad sense of childhood sweethearts is more like a neighborly term; whether it’s romantic depends entirely on appearances and mutual attraction.

If you’re good-looking, childhood sweethearts.

If not, then it’s...

"My neighbor, who’s ugly as heck, frequently confesses in unintelligible local dialect."

Good looks, close proximity, naturally leads to thoughts. Whether there’s any foundation doesn’t matter; ambiguous feelings can arise without prerequisites.

"By the way, you’re eighteen this year, right? Should start considering a driving school or something," Old Xu casually reminded, picking up the teacup.

Jiang Nian paused for a moment, "Yeah, I should sign up for one, do you know any instructors, Uncle Xu?"