Chapter 184: Schoolyard Bonds

Soon, Jiang Qian and Fang Meng stepped out of the warehouse, and the three little ones were facing them up close for the first time.

The five girls sized each other up.

Their feminine intuition clashed in the air.

From a distance, the Class Three monitor called out while tallying the group, “Hey, stop wandering off! Time for the mock physical tests. Everyone gather around!”

Lin Zheng Ran said, “Your class is starting the tests. I’ll walk you over.”

The three little ones nodded together.

Lin Zheng Ran turned back to Jiang Qian and asked, “Is there anything else for our class? I’m going with them.”

Jiang Qian shook her head slowly, “Nothing. The teacher said everyone can do as they please.”

Lin Zheng Ran smiled and went with the three to watch their mock physical test performance.

The three little ones turned with Lin Zheng Ran and left.

Unlike the piano room from their first year, this time Jiang Qian and Fang Meng watched Lin Zheng Ran and the three girls walk away.

Jiang Qian’s feelings grew even more complicated.

Even Fang Meng’s emotions started to stir.

Jiang Qian stared at the girl with the ponytail among the three and asked, “Is Lin Zheng Ran’s girlfriend that sweet-looking girl? I think her name is Heqing.”

Fang Meng shook her head, “I’m not sure now. It seems the girl with twin tails, Lily, has a special connection with Lin Zheng Ran. And then there’s Han Wenwen—she doesn’t seem like just a casual acquaintance with him.”

Jiang Qian’s hand clenched slightly, her eyes fixed on Lin Zheng Ran.

She said nothing more.

During Class Three’s physical tests, students from Class One gathered to watch the results.

Lin Zheng Ran sat on the lush green lawn with Han Wenwen and Heqing beside him, basking in the sun as they watched Lily’s standing long jump.

Heqing hugged her bent knees, a bit displeased, and said, “Lily and I had planned to talk to you alone during PE class, but now we’ve wasted one class and have to do these mock tests—no time left.”

Han Wenwen linked arms with Heqing, “And not only that, we’ve got Jiang Qian involved now, making things even more complicated.”

Both looked at Lin Zheng Ran.

Even Lily, preparing for her jump, shot a jealous glance at Lin Zheng Ran.

Lin Zheng Ran replied, “It’s not that complicated. It’s just this little thing. Since we can’t chat during PE, we’ll find another time. I’m with you all day anyway. Oh, and with the college entrance exams in two months, what do you three think about a trip after?”

Hearing this, Lily messed up her jump from afar.

Heqing and Han Wenwen lit up with excitement, their eyes wide.

They both exclaimed in surprise, “A trip?!”

Lily finished her jump, noted her score, and hurried over to Lin Zheng Ran, “Did I hear that right, Zheng Ran? A trip?! You mean a vacation?”

Lin Zheng Ran hummed in agreement and looked at everyone:

“Ever since sophomore year, you’ve all been busy with your own things and studying hard. Even with my help, it’s still tiring. Plus, I haven’t taken you out for fun. After high school, with the pressure off, I want us to go relax.”

The three were thrilled, “Great! We want to go! Where?”

Lin Zheng Ran pulled out his phone and showed them a few places, “Grasslands, deep mountains, or the seaside—pick one.”

Han Wenwen raised her hand, “Deep mountains!”

Lily sat next to Lin Zheng Ran, “I want the seaside!”

Heqing said softly, “I’d like to see the grasslands.”

Their opinions differed, so Han Wenwen suggested, “The mountains are so fun—with mushrooms, little animals, even foxes and hot springs!”

Heqing added, “The grasslands are nice too, with sheep, cows, and little rabbits.”

Lily said playfully, “At the seaside, we can catch turtles and jellyfish. The ocean has sea rabbits, sea sheep, sea cows, and seahorses!”

Han Wenwen frowned curiously, “Sea sheep? What’s that? Never heard of it—it sounds weird.”

Lily replied, “Sea sheep is just sea sheep! The big ocean sheep! Don’t you want to see the vast sea?”

Han Wenwen looked confused.

Heqing caught on and explained to Han Wenwen, “Wenwen, Lily’s playing with words. ‘Ocean’ sounds like ‘sea sheep’ in a pun—the character for ocean has water and sheep.”

Han Wenwen suddenly understood, “Oh, got it! I thought it was some creature.”

The three girls laughed together.

After a simple discussion, they turned back to Lin Zheng Ran for the final say.

Lin Zheng Ran asked, “Who’ll get me a piece of paper? We’ll draw lots—the one who gets it decides. If not, we’ll go to the other places in college anyway.”

The three were surprised, “All three places?”

Lin Zheng Ran said, “Yeah, since you all like them, we’ll hit them all, just in a certain order.”

Heqing said cutely, “I’ll get the paper! Just a second.”

Heqing asked the class rep for a sheet, tore it into three pieces, and Lin Zheng Ran drew a line on one.

He crumpled them and mixed them up.

Each girl grabbed one.

Han Wenwen opened hers, her eyes wide like a fox’s, “I got it! The mountains!”

Lin Zheng Ran said, “Since Han Wenwen drew it, we’ll go to the mountains after exams—for hot springs!”

——

That evening, in a certain villa in the city district, the lights blazed.

When Jiang Qian and Fang Meng got out of the car, they saw a Rolls Royce in the yard and knew who was back.

Fang Meng stood behind Jiang Qian, “Is the eldest miss home?”

The driver wiping the car greeted them politely, “Second miss is back, and Miss Fang Meng too? I heard you took leave.”

Fang Meng glanced at Jiang Qian, realizing she had said it was resignation, but Jiang Qian told everyone it was leave.

Fang Meng smiled, “I had some things, but I’m back now.”

The two entered the villa, where Jiang Jingshi sat on the living room sofa.

She wore pajamas and slippers, her long hair down, clearly fresh from a shower.

She ate instant noodles at a leisurely pace.

Seeing Fang Meng return, Jiang Jingshi smiled with red lips and asked gently, “Fang Meng’s back? Looks like you two made up? That was quick.”

Fang Meng nodded with a smile, “Good evening, eldest miss.”

Jiang Qian walked past Jiang Jingshi, “You seem less busy lately—coming home more often than before.”

Jiang Jingshi stirred her noodles with a fork, “Well, exams are coming up. I don’t have much to do alone. A lot of things will wait until after your exams.”

Jiang Qian headed upstairs, glancing at her sister sideways, “What do our exams have to do with you?”

Jiang Jingshi smiled and took another bite, muttering to herself, “Oh, it’s a big deal.”

You won’t have time for the company until after the exams.

As Jiang Qian neared her room, she remembered what her sister said during their last argument and asked, “By the way, who have you been with lately?”

No one answered. Looking downstairs, Jiang Jingshi had already taken her noodles to her bedroom.

It seemed she had come just to check on her sister and Fang Meng’s relationship—now that they were good, the big sister could relax.

Fang Meng said beside Jiang Qian, “The eldest miss just went to her room.”

Jiang Qian frowned, then asked, “Fang Meng, have you noticed sister seems a bit different lately?”

Fang Meng was puzzled, “Different?”

“Haven’t you seen? She eats instant noodles way more than before.”

Fang Meng hadn’t expected that and nodded, “True, it used to be once a month, now sometimes twice a week. But it’s nothing—it’s just her special hobby.”

Jiang Qian entered her room, “Yeah, it’s nothing. But seeing her eat it makes me crave some. Want any?”

“Then I’ll go make two bowls of instant noodles.”