Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Wencheng High School, the city’s top high school, used to pack its curriculum from dawn till dusk in pursuit of higher college admission rates. In recent years, however, things had improved, with a notable increase in music, physical education, and art classes.

For instance, during morning study hall, students were free to read or engage in other activities, provided they didn’t disturb their peers.

For Jiang Xuli and his friends, this freedom typically meant cutting class to catch up on sleep or heading to the sports field for a game of basketball.

But this morning, as Chen Xunliang shuffled into the classroom, yawning widely, his eyes immediately landed on Jiang Xuli, who was sitting properly in his seat.

“Holy cow, Brother Li, are you sleepwalking? You’re here so early!”

Baffled, Chen Xunliang plopped into his seat and turned to speak. The class monitor in the front row coughed a few times, but Chen Xunliang paid no mind: “Wang Wen from Class Four wants to play basketball on the west court. When are we heading over?”

Jiang Xuli replied expressionlessly, “Oh, not going.”

Not only that, he even shifted slightly to the right, a hint of annoyance in his voice: “Don’t block the light.”

Chen Xunliang was utterly bewildered, racking his brain. “Why not? Do we have something else today? I don’t remember anything.”

“Nothing else.”

“Huh? Then why aren’t we going?”

“I’m just not going. Why so many questions?”

Jiang Xuli frowned in irritation. How could he explain that he felt indebted, having accepted her food? He was in a foul mood—a very foul mood.

The cookies were indeed delicious, especially when he was hungry. Crunching down a few filled him up faster than bread.

But while eating them felt great in the moment, now, at school, a wave of regret washed over Jiang Xuli.

He had always done as he pleased—even teachers couldn’t control him, and his father simply didn’t bother. Yet now, he found himself coerced into sitting in class by Jin Ran, all for a few small cookies. Though he hadn't planned to skip class anyway, there was a distinct difference between choosing to stay and being compelled to.

His bad mood made everyone annoying: “Did you leave your brain at home? Finals are right around the corner. Do you want to keep ranking last and flunk out?”

Chen Xunliang, unjustly chastised, felt more wronged than Dou E herself. Being called brainless by his friend made his temper flare: “Seriously, I was just asking! Do you have to get so mad? Go or don’t go, I’ll go by myself!”

He had thought Brother Li was troubled by family matters and had kindly invited him to play basketball to relax. Now, it seemed unnecessary.

Nursing his wounded pride, Chen Xunliang went to the court and played until dusk. It wasn't until the first class bell had been ringing for a while that he leisurely made his way back.

Through the window, a clear, melodious voice flowed out like music.

“This problem utilizes spatial geometry and analytic geometry. We can approach it from these angles…”

Chen Xunliang pushed open the back door and stealthily slipped into the classroom, about to silently return to his seat, when he accidentally caught sight of the woman at the lectern.

He nearly blurted out, “Stepmom?!”

No, wait—Brother Li’s stepmom!

Hearing the commotion, Jin Ran looked over and saw her stepson’s friend standing dumbfounded in the aisle, with Jiang Xuli looking utterly mortified.

She raised an eyebrow: “Well, glad you remembered to come to class.”

Chen Xunliang’s face instantly flushed crimson.

Now he finally understood why Brother Li had been so agitated. No one would be happy if their stepmom suddenly became their teacher.

He was filled with regret but couldn’t utter a word. Seeing his predicament, Jin Ran didn’t press the issue and simply told him to take his seat.

She merely reiterated the key points from earlier and urged some students who “hadn’t understood” to jot them down.

*A bad memory is better than a good pen.* She couldn’t ensure everyone understood within the limited time, so she could only try to help them grasp it after class.

While the person on the podium wasn’t looking, Chen Xunliang quickly turned and shot Jiang Xuli a sympathetic glance.

Jiang Xuli: “…”

In reality, he wasn’t as “miserable” as Chen Xunliang imagined.

From the moment Jin Ran appeared in the Class Three classroom, she captivated and charmed almost all the students—everyone except Jiang Xuli.

The reason was simple: she was stunningly beautiful. So beautiful that wherever she appeared, all other eyes were drawn to her.

She was also cheerful and optimistic, with a confident and graceful demeanor. With a few well-placed internet memes, she effortlessly bridged the generation gap with her students.

Yet, Jin Ran wasn’t merely lenient. If she saw a student carelessly banging on their desk, she would immediately stop them sternly, explaining how such behavior affected others.

To be fair, even Jiang Xuli couldn’t find fault with her.

Her classroom was vibrant and energetic, with a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. He noticed that even those who usually ignored lessons were captivated, listening intently, only to suddenly snap back to reality at some point, a look of annoyance on their faces.

*Why couldn’t they help but listen?*

What’s more, Jin Ran even remembered his “stranger” rule.

To avoid suspicion, she never once glanced in his direction…

His emotions were a tangled mess.

His fingers accidentally brushed against the cool metal box in his backpack. Jiang Xuli quickly withdrew his hand, yet in his mind, he could still hear her smiling voice asking him questions.

The other students in the class were also listening attentively.

Those who gained admission to Wencheng, regardless of their current grades, were once top students in their respective schools. Jin Ran’s teaching was incisive, and she excelled at explaining problems from the perspective of struggling students, breaking down concepts with meticulous detail. These already intelligent students naturally grasped the material as soon as she explained it.

Wang Shuya felt that the knowledge that had once utterly baffled her suddenly became crystal clear.

Her math wasn’t bad, but as Chen Xunliang had said, it wasn’t her strongest subject. Compared to the boys in the class, her math ranking was only fifth.

Although Wang Shuya admired Jiang Xuli and acknowledged his excellence, that didn’t mean she agreed with the prejudice that “girls can’t do well in math.”

It was just that no matter how hard she tried before, her grades never improved. Coupled with people around her constantly reinforcing this idea, she had almost been convinced.

Until today, when she saw that the new math teacher was a beautiful woman!

She was young and cheerful, teaching with humor and wit. Even the most difficult math problems became as simple as braiding rope in her explanations—all you had to do was follow the steps and unravel them layer by layer. At that moment, Wang Shuya was too excited for words.

So girls could excel at math too!

So girls could also stand in front of everyone, confident and proud, expressing their ideas!

The long-standing gloom was suddenly pierced by sunlight. In just one class, Wang Shuya was completely won over by Jin Ran’s charisma and became her devoted fan.

She even harbored a dark thought: Jiang Xuli’s stepmother couldn’t possibly be this impressive.

With an unclear motive, after Jin Ran announced that she would select a math class representative based on the final exam results,

As soon as class ended, Wang Shuya swiftly approached the two boys huddled together, whispering: "The new math teacher is truly amazing, even better than Class Four’s math teacher! I heard Class Four’s math teacher is even the head of the math department!"

"I asked the Class Four teacher about that problem, and he just explained it by reading the answer. But I can read the answers myself. Teacher Jin is different—she just said a few things and I understood it immediately."

She was full of praise for Jin Ran, then subtly shifted the topic, feigning casualness: "Jiang Xuli, is your stepmother better at math than Teacher Jin?"

After she finished speaking, she saw Jiang Xuli and Chen Xunliang both wear an unreadable expression.

Not understanding why, she pressed on recklessly: "Maybe your stepmother can solve some math problems, but in my opinion, only someone at Teacher Jin’s level can truly be considered good at math. Teacher Jin is practically a role model for us girls. I’m definitely going to be her math class representative."

Even though Brother Li had warned him not to reveal Jin Ran’s identity, Chen Xunliang couldn’t help himself: "Even if Teacher Jin is good at math, it has nothing to do with you. Brother Li is the top math student in our class."

That hit Wang Shuya like a ton of bricks, bringing the excited girl back to reality.

She looked at Jiang Xuli warily, for once, with no ulterior motives: "You want to be the math class representative too?"

Jiang Xuli certainly didn’t want to.

He had been deliberately keeping his distance from Jin Ran—if he became the math class representative, wouldn’t they have to interact every day? After hesitating for a moment, he quietly said: "How about... on the next exam I intentionally score lower?"

Before he could finish, Wang Shuya bristled like a cat with its tail stepped on: "Who needs you to take it easy on me! I’ll compete with you fairly for math class representative. If I lose, it’s because my skills aren’t as good as yours. If I win, it’ll be by my own effort!"

With that, she turned and walked away. In that moment, she suddenly felt that even her beloved Jiang Xuli had an annoying side.

Indeed, no one is perfect.

The two boys were left in the cold. They glanced at each other and sighed in unison.

"Whatever, I’m hungry. Brother Li, got any snacks?"

As he spoke, Chen Xunliang had already reached into his backpack and soon pulled out a cookie tin as big as two palms: "Whoa, where’d you get these? Let me try one."

Jiang Xuli’s eye twitched, and he swiftly snatched it back: "I don’t have any snacks."

Chen Xunliang: "?" But he had clearly seen it.

Jiang Xuli refused to hand it over and instead transferred fifty yuan to Chen Xunliang: "Scram, go get your own at the supermarket."

"Fine."

They’re just cookies anyway, it’s not like he liked them that much.

Chen Xunliang took the money and left happily.

***

Jin Ran only had one class in the morning and spent the rest of her time in the office doing practice problems.

Around noon, a colleague returning from class asked if she wanted to order takeout together, but Jin Ran declined because she wanted to check out the cafeteria.

It had been ages since she’d eaten at the cafeteria. She had almost forgotten what it was like, only remembering that the student cafeteria offered good, affordable food that was healthier than takeout.

When Xu Zhen from the third-floor office heard about her plan, she rushed over excitedly: "I’ve been wanting to go to the cafeteria too! My cousin said the Northeastern rice wraps at Window 3 are especially delicious. Ran Ran, do you think we’ll get asked for our numbers since we look so young?" Even after being hired as a teacher, Xu Zhen still had a young-at-heart.

Jin Ran’s mouth twitched: "Do you think any high school student would wear makeup and get perms?"

"True." Xu Zhen nodded, but then she glanced at Jin Ran and chuckled, "Well, maybe not me, but you might! Look at that face—tsk tsk—smoother than a peeled egg. I wonder which guy will end up with you someday."

Jin Ran thought to herself that it probably wouldn’t happen—in this life, she was already married.

But then again, since a divorce was likely in the future, maybe it wasn’t entirely impossible.

Suddenly, her face was gently pinched. It turned out Xu Zhen, out of envy, had decided to get a feel before any guy could. Jin Ran was annoyed and quickly dodged the mischievous hand.

They joked and goofed around all the way to the cafeteria, where they coincidentally ran into Xu Zhen’s cousin who had also come to eat.

"Teacher Jin, Xu Zhen, you’re eating at the cafeteria too?" Wang Chen greeted them with a smile.

He was a teacher for the second year of high school and had been the one to recommend Jin Ran and Xu Zhen for their positions at the school.

Jin Ran and Xu Zhen walked over: "Teacher Wang, thanks to your referral, I haven’t had a chance to properly thank you yet."

Wang Chen joked: "Yeah, last time you said you’d treat me to a meal, and I’ve been remembering it!"

Hearing this, Jin Ran’s cheeks flushed. She had been busy with problems lately and had forgotten about treating him. She quickly said: "If it’s convenient, how about this afternoon?"

"Why wait until afternoon? I think now is fine. The cafeteria food here is pretty good—today I’ll mooch off your treat and eat more!"

Xu Zhen rolled her eyes.

Her brother’s showing off was really too much to watch.

But Jin Ran knew Wang Chen was trying to save her money and was touched. She said decisively: "Then today’s meal is on me! The three of us can eat whatever we want!"

Even so, she still planned to treat him again another time.

***

Jiang Xuli and Chen Xunliang almost never ate at the cafeteria.

But today, after wandering around outside without finding anything they wanted to eat—or facing long lines—they ended up returning to school.

The cafeteria was packed. Not knowing what was good, they randomly picked a few meat dishes and then had to wander around holding their trays looking for an empty seat.

Suddenly, Jiang Xuli spotted Jin Ran.

She was sitting among the students, wearing a simple white knit sweater. Her dark hair was lit with a soft golden glow from the sun, making her skin appear even fairer.

People came and went around her, and occasionally, glances would secretly fall on her, but she seemed completely unaware, focused only on talking to the person across from her.

Jiang Xuli then shifted his gaze to the other person.

A man, one who looked particularly young.

The two were eating and chatting. He didn’t know what the man said, but Jin Ran suddenly covered her mouth and laughed.