The military training uniforms were brought over by Huang Zhongfei and a few others.
Jiang Ning received his uniform, uttered a word of thanks, and Huang Zhongfei smiled, his expression as radiant as the sun:
"It's my duty to serve my classmates."
After Huang Zhongfei left, Ma Shicheng said, "That guy is pretty handsome, about to give me a run for my money."
The girl sitting at the front desk turned around and gave him a look that was outright offensive, making Ma Shicheng feel uncomfortable:
"What's the matter, you got a problem?"
The female classmate said, "One should know their own limits."
Ma Shicheng was anxious to retort; he truly thought he was very handsome. Every time he looked in the mirror, he felt that there couldn't possibly be such a handsome man in the world. Every time he visited relatives, they would compliment him on how he had grown even more handsome. During middle school, he boasted to his friends that he was the most handsome in the class, and his friends agreed.
But on the first day of school, his looks were challenged by a female classmate, and Ma Shicheng was thrown into disarray.
Shan Qingrong, from the podium, informed everyone:
"Textbooks will be distributed after military training ends. This morning, everyone self-studies at school, and in the afternoon, there will be a new student orientation. No one is allowed to be absent."
"After military training ends, we will choose a class monitor, and seating will be arranged after the first monthly exam is over."
After saying a few more words, Shan Qingrong left the classroom, and a minute later, the room once again erupted into noise.
Ma Shicheng wanted to argue with the female classmate but felt it was too effeminate, so he could only hold it in. After a while, he became bored and asked:
"Jiang Ning, which middle school did you attend?"
"A township school below, you probably haven't heard of it," Jiang Ning said.
"How many points did you score on the exam?"
"650." Jiang Ning responded to Ma Shicheng while contemplating the cultivation technique.
Ma Shicheng didn't notice Jiang Ning's indifference and continued enthusiastically. The two girls sitting in front started chatting with them too after hearing the middle school exam scores.
By the time self-study was over at noon, Jiang Ning didn't go home. He went to the cafeteria, got a high-quality meal for 10 yuan. These days, cafeteria meals are not cheap and only average in taste. Relying on this kind of nutrition for body refinement, certainly won't be sustainable.
After eating lunch, he bought a box of milk and then wandered around the campus. Under the scorching sun, Jiang Ning found a big tree to sit and rest under.
Compared to the noisy and stuffy classroom, he preferred the open school campus.
It wasn't just Jiang Ning under the big tree; there were also two cute girls who looked exactly alike and were dressed the same, whispering to each other. When they saw Jiang Ning coming, their voices became even quieter, almost like a mosquito's buzz.
One of the girls was named Chen Siyu, a classmate of Jiang Ning's, and as for the other girl, Jiang Ning didn't know her.
Jiang Ning closed his eyes to meditate, and the whispers of the two girls floated into his ears.
"Sister, there's a really handsome guy in our class."
"Really? How handsome?"
"More handsome than a Korean boy band star. His name is Huang Zhongfei. We'll switch classes this afternoon, and you can see for yourself."
"Okay, won't they notice?" Chen Siqing asked hesitantly.
"Don't worry, see that boy next to us? He's in my class, named Jiang something or other, I forget. Go, say hello to him. Practice a little in advance, and I guarantee he won't notice."
Chen Siqing agreed, finding the idea thrilling, and she loved thrilling things.
She walked up to Jiang Ning and called out gently:
"Classmate, classmate."
Jiang Ning opened his eyes, "What is it?"
"You're in class 8, right? I saw you this morning, my name is Chen Siyu." Chen Siqing was natural in her demeanor with no giveaways.
Chen Siyu, sitting aside, was secretly delighted. She and her sister often played tricks on others, taking advantage of their identical appearances. Whenever someone was confused, she would experience an unusual joy, as if she had won a victory.
Jiang Ning said, "You're not Chen Siyu."
He looked toward the real Chen Siyu and said, "She is Chen Siyu."
As he spoke, the twins' eyes widened.
"Did you eavesdrop on our conversation?" Chen Siyu countered.
"No, your voices were so quiet, who could hear you?" Jiang Ning didn't admit to it.
"Yes." Chen Siyu said, "Then how did you find out?"
"I spotted immediately she wasn't you. As for why, take a guess."
Chen Siyu, of course, couldn't guess.
Not getting an answer gnawed at her like a cat scratching. She and her sister were identical twins, nearly indistinguishable in appearance and even their voices were the same; their role-swapping had never been caught.
Yet today, she was tripped up by Jiang Ning, which was utterly bewildering.
She was burning with curiosity: how exactly had Jiang Ning noticed the difference?
She had to figure it out, or else they might get caught when she and her twin sister swapped roles in the future.
Jiang Ning didn't have the patience to entertain them, responding casually and closing his eyes to cultivate.
Seeing this, Chen Siyu seized the moment when Jiang Ning's eyes were closed to glare fiercely at him a few times to vent her frustration.
Jiang Ning released his Divine Sense, and such minor details could not escape his control. Now, with the sunlight being perfect, he leaned against the shade of the trees and began to operate the "Star Transformation Technique."
Within the reach of his Divine Sense, the surrounding Spiritual Energy flowed towards him like water, and a certain substance within the sunlight's radiance was also drawn to him.
Both forms of energy gathered around Jiang Ning.
Chen Siyu saw that Jiang Ning was ignoring her, which was both irritating and amusing. As one of the twins, they were both pure and cute, always drawing attention when they appeared in front of boys together. Who wouldn't like a pair of beautiful twin sisters?
When Chen Siyu browsed the internet, she read comments from netizens saying that twins were a man's dream.
Now a high schooler with a bit of knowledge in that area, she felt uncomfortable reading these comments, yet also carried an inexplicable sense of superiority.
Sometimes when she saw girls prettier than her, she wouldn't feel envious; after all, she was 'double the surprise' and no one could turn down a 1+1 offer.
Yet Jiang Ning had the gall to ignore them. It was infuriating, incredibly infuriating!
The summer heat was intense, and her rage only made her feel hotter.
Chen Siyu decided to take her sister to the classroom to cool off, and though the classrooms at Fourth Middle School didn't have air conditioning, they did have large ceiling fans.
At that moment, she suddenly felt a chill and was puzzled; then she realized it was coming from Jiang Ning's vicinity.
She tentatively moved closer, and it felt even cooler than before.
Chen Siyu thought she must be hallucinating, but the sensation of coolness was strangely real. Her home had air conditioning, but this chill was different, more natural, like a breeze passing through on a scorching summer day, a freshness stemming from deep within.
She stepped two paces away from Jiang Ning and the coolness vanished. A hint of skepticism flickered across Chen Siyu's face. She pulled her sister, Chen Siqing, aside and quietly shared her discovery with her.
Chen Siqing was shocked and couldn't comprehend; she touched her sister's forehead, suspecting her sister might have lost her mind.
Chen Siyu warned her sister in advance to pay attention and feel carefully, so they both moved closer to Jiang Ning. However, Chen Siyu found that the cool sensation had disappeared.
Her sister looked at her as if she were a fool.
Chen Siyu thought, 'I am truly foolish, truly.'
Although her sister Chen Siqing enjoyed excitement, she was actually more reserved and bashful than Siyu. Except in certain special circumstances, she wasn't accustomed to interacting with boys, so she kept her distance from Jiang Ning.
Just as Chen Siyu was contemplating this, a wave of coolness abruptly hit her, and her expression instantly became extremely lively, exclaiming excitedly:
"Sister, come quick, there it is, there it is!"
Chen Siqing was reluctant but moved closer. After three seconds of silence, she glanced at her sister, "There's nothing?"
Chen Siyu also realized it, and stated indubitably,
"Gone again?"
Chen Siqing thought her sister was just playing a joke on her and left in a huff, swinging her arms.
Chen Siyu felt wronged; she truly hadn't deceived her sister!
Her sister often acted timid outside but was quite assertive in front of her.
Before she left, Chen Siyu looked back at Jiang Ning, feeling today was a stroke of bad luck.
After the twins had left, Jiang Ning opened his eyes, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, content inside.
He had done it on purpose.
When he first began cultivating the "Star Transformation Technique," drawing upon the Star Power, an anomaly emerged in the surrounding area, making Chen Siyu experience a temperature difference.
But before long, Jiang Ning could control the temperature around him at will, becoming a portable air conditioner, effortlessly.
Teasing Chen Siyu was an impromptu idea; they had initially used him for experimentation, and now he was merely returning the favor, finding a bit of fun in the otherwise mundane cultivation.