Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Do you prefer blueberry, strawberry, or chocolate?"

Jin Ran gazed at the small cakes in the dining area, caught in a dilemma of choice. "Actually, matcha is quite good too. Last time, Chef Wang baked matcha cookies that even had the calico cat meowing eagerly."

Hearing this, Jiang Xuli's ears perked up.

He had never tried matcha before, likely because he wasn't home at the time. He hadn't felt hungry initially, but Jin Ran's mention suddenly made his stomach rumble. After a moment's hesitation, he picked up a matcha cake. The moment it touched his tongue, a rich tea aroma filled his senses, and the cream was refreshingly light with a subtle sweetness, not cloying at all.

"How is it?"

"It's good." Jiang Xuli nodded, and his eating pace not only didn't slow down but actually quickened.

Unsurprisingly, Jin Ran heard gasps behind her.

She casually curved her lips, pretending not to notice anything, and reached for a blueberry-flavored cake. She deliberately walked over to where other guests were gathered and began taking small bites.

Seeing this, those waiting for drama grew restless.

Had they guessed wrong?

The imagined tense standoff between stepmother and stepson never materialized. Their interaction wasn't exactly intimate, but it was peaceful. Jin Ran patiently selected a cake for her stepson, and he accepted it without hesitation—this unexpectedly harmonious scene left everyone exchanging bewildered glances. A few quick-witted ones were the first to react, stepping forward with wine glasses in hand to make small talk.

After all, not everyone held prejudices against Jin Ran.

For instance, the noble ladies who were around Jiang Mingsuo's age, though a good decade or so older than Jin Ran, had only heard rumors about her and never actually interacted with her. Seeing Jin Ran's poised and graceful demeanor now, and considering the current prominence of Mingji Technology, they exchanged meaningful glances and offered friendly smiles.

"You must be Mrs. Jiang, right?"

"My goodness, you're so beautiful I thought you were a fairy! How come we haven't seen you out and about lately? If it weren't for your grandfather Mr. Jin's birthday celebration, we might never have had the chance to meet you."

Jin Ran turned around.

She was genuinely hungry, and despite trying to control her pace, she had already eaten half the cake. As a result, she had a ring of white cream around her mouth, making her look like a kitten that had been sneaking treats. Her clear, almond-shaped eyes widened innocently as she looked up, appearing both pure and sincere, making it impossible not to smile back.

The noble ladies thought to themselves, she doesn't seem anything like the rumors.

It seemed either someone had deliberately tarnished her reputation, or this second Miss Jin, now Mrs. Jiang, was exceptionally shrewd and deliberately putting on this act.

But after observing her for a while, they concluded it didn’t seem like an act. When she noticed them approaching, Mrs. Jiang’s surprise was evident. After collecting herself, her expression shifted from confusion to delight, tinged with a hint of shy awkwardness: "Hello, everyone! I’ve been quite busy lately and haven’t had time to go out."

Just listen—the youngest among them was at least thirty, a good five years older than Mrs. Jiang, who had just graduated from university not long ago. Yet when they mentioned their ages, she expressed shock, saying they looked as young as her classmates. Whether it was genuine or polite flattery, the noble ladies were thoroughly charmed and amused.

Their attitudes softened a bit, and they teased her lightheartedly: "So you’ve been busy with matters? We thought maybe President Jiang couldn’t bear to let his beauty be seen after marriage, keeping you hidden away in a golden house!"

Everyone covered their mouths and laughed. Jin Ran secretly pinched herself, making her face flush red, and put on a shy expression: "No, no, he didn’t hide me away. It’s just that I have to go to school every day, so I haven’t had any free time."

"Go to school?"

At first, the noble ladies assumed she meant she went to school to handle matters. After all, who among them hadn’t made a few trips to school for their children? Since Jin Ran married into the family, she had a fifteen-year-old stepson, and there were certain things she couldn’t avoid.

But then they heard Jin Ran say: "Yes, I’m currently a middle school math teacher and need to go to class every day."

The ladies: ???

A… math teacher?

For a moment, they doubted their ears.

When Jin Ran confidently confirmed it and even pulled out her teacher’s ID from her bag to show them, everyone fell into an awkward silence.

None of the guests attending Grandpa Jin’s birthday banquet were poor. Some had married well, some had their own businesses, invested in projects, or bought shares, earning dividends every year without lifting a finger. Their daily lives consisted of attending fashion shows, drinking tea, and maintaining their looks—they certainly didn’t need to work exhausting shifts.

No one had expected Jiang Mingsuo’s wife to become a teacher.

In fact, most assumed she had done it for her stepson—to project the image of a virtuous stepmother by becoming a teacher so she could better take care of him.

Honestly, even they, as biological mothers, wouldn’t go that far.

Taking care of children at home was already exhausting enough. To follow them to school? Didn’t they have their own lives to live?

Thinking of this, the noble ladies were utterly impressed by Jin Ran’s determination. No wonder the stepson didn’t reject her—after all, she wasn’t just his stepmother but also his teacher…

Jin Ran could guess their thoughts just from their expressions and couldn’t help but say: "Actually, being a teacher is really great."

She spoke with genuine sincerity: "The benefits are good—six insurances and two funds, job stability as a national public servant, ample vacation time with summer and winter breaks every year, and the sense of fulfillment is unparalleled. Nurturing the flowers of our nation into pillars of society… someday, walking down the street, maybe one out of a hundred people you meet will be your student. Isn’t that wonderful?"

"Uh, it does sound pretty good when you put it that way."

"Besides, as parents, we can only learn about our children’s situation at school from their teachers. If we become teachers ourselves, we can keep tabs on our kids’ performance firsthand!"

The ladies laughed: "Mrs. Jiang makes a good point, but my little rascal is already annoying enough. If I had to manage dozens of similarly mischievous monkeys, I’d go crazy!"

"Exactly! You need a young person's energy for that!"

"The key is having family support. When I was younger, I loved designing clothes and always wanted to start my own fashion brand, but my husband insisted our family didn’t need the money and wouldn’t let me venture out."

Hearing this, Jin Ran’s expression turned disapproving: "That’s your husband’s fault then. He only thinks about letting you enjoy a life of luxury and wants to see his beautiful wife at home, but he doesn’t understand that we women get bored staying home every day. We need our own careers too."

The lady nodded fervently: "That’s exactly it! It’s so boring being at home all day."

Actually, her desire to open a shop had been long-standing, but everyone around her thought she was just restless despite having everything. Yet giving up felt unwilling. Now, with Jin Ran’s agreement, it felt like a push from behind, finally solidifying her resolution. She decided to start preparations as soon as she returned home.

Touched, this lady was also willing to return the favor: "Which school do you teach at, Mrs. Jiang? My nephew is just entering high school this year and hasn’t decided where to go yet."

Jin Ran was secretly delighted. Here it comes, finally getting to the main topic!

She hadn’t come to the birthday banquet just for cake or to make friends; she was on a mission from the school principal: "I teach at Wencheng High School. Wencheng is one of the top secondary schools in City A, with the largest campus area in the city. Last year’s university acceptance rate reached sixty percent. Moreover, the principal values the students and is willing to build an indoor gymnasium and laboratories for them…"

The fact that they were *planning* to build them—even if they weren't built yet—still showed willing, Jin reasoned, employing a bit of selective phrasing. She elaborated on the school’s advantages and its plans to collaborate with businesses, among other things.

Worried these ladies might not understand, she even brought out the proposal she had prepared.

"I majored in math; I don’t understand business much. But my husband said talent cultivation and naming rights seem quite promising. He mentioned that if things look suitable later, Mingji Technology might get involved."

This, too, was a spin on the truth—she'd had no time to discuss it with Jiang Mingsuo. She had just finished discussing with the principal before coming to the banquet. But now, to test the waters, she had to leverage Jiang Mingsuo’s reputation to release a half-truth.

Sure enough, the noble ladies present seemed somewhat interested, but they weren’t familiar with investments in education and all said they needed to discuss it with their families first.

Simultaneously, they couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: the rumors outside were wrong; the couple’s relationship seemed perfectly fine.

Jin Ran had long anticipated that she wouldn’t succeed immediately and didn’t feel disappointed. Similarly, she hadn’t planned to directly approach those CEOs to discuss cooperation either.

Firstly, her current identity was merely Jiang Mingsuo’s wife. Rashly discussing business in a personal capacity would only invite disdain.

Secondly, those shrewd old foxes in the business world were experts at calculation, prioritizing profit above all. She was afraid that as a negotiation novice, she might fall into their traps.

On the contrary, diplomacy through one's spouse was more suitable for her current situation.

Just as she was speaking, a burst of chatter suddenly arose not far away.

Jin Ran slightly turned her head, her gaze cutting through layers of obstacles and zeroing in on the spot where the incident occurred.

In truth, she didn’t need to search deliberately to know which direction it was in.

Amid the clinking glasses and mingling crowd, Jiang Mingsuo stood tall and straight. His exquisitely tailored dark blue suit accentuated his extraordinary presence, drawing everyone’s attention the moment he appeared.

Unfortunately, that suit was now blotchy and soaked with fruit juice, which was now dripping onto the floor.

In front of him stood a slender young woman, holding an empty wine glass. Her face was flustered as she frantically pulled a handkerchief from her bag, wanting to help clean him up but not daring to actually touch Jiang Mingsuo.

Seeing this, the society matrons exchanged knowing looks. Most of their husbands were wealthy and influential, and they'd often seen this kind of play before. Unable to hold back, some immediately sniped: "Oh my, the tricks these young women come up with these days are endless."

"Exactly! Deliberately spilling juice on Mr. Jiang—next, she’ll probably ask for his contact information to 'compensate' him, right?"

"Heh, I know her. She came with the young master of Changpei Entertainment. Her name is Wei Ya, a B-list actress in the entertainment industry."

"These women in the entertainment industry don’t focus on acting properly—why are they always trying to cheat their way to the top!"

Someone tried to reassure her: "Mrs. Jiang, don’t worry. Mr. Jiang is famously principled. Once, an A-lister deliberately threw herself at him, and he didn’t even give her the time of day."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Jiang Mingsuo over there frowned and, in front of everyone, accepted the handkerchief.

The noble ladies were speechless.

For a moment, no one dared to look at Jin Ran’s expression!

Having just praised the couple’s good relationship, they were immediately slapped in the face with the evidence—nothing could be more awkward than this. Especially witnessing her husband accepting something from another woman—anyone in her position would be furious!

But the "supposedly angry" Jin Ran was instead staring blankly at the girl in the crowd.

Wasn’t that the beauty in traditional dress she had met in the supermarket?

Wei Ya, classical style, classical style, Wei Ya...

So, she was actually the female lead from the original novel?!