Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Jiang Mingsuo: "What time?"

Jin Ran: "Seven-thirty. Are you working overtime today? Remember to tell Xiao Sun to come."

There was a long silence, then a picture came through.

The background was an office desk, with a large, bright floor-to-ceiling window dominating most of the view. A stern, black leather sofa was paired with a lush money tree, creating a stark contrast.

Jin Ran realized this was probably Jiang Mingsuo’s office at Mingji. She couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking that even a novel’s domineering CEO would have a money tree in his office.

Well, judging by how lush Jiang Mingsuo’s money tree was, his career must be flourishing.

The whole photo was simply composed, so Jin Ran easily noticed the hand that had accidentally appeared in the bottom right corner.

She couldn’t stop stealing glances at it.

As everyone knows, hands are a person’s second face—otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many hand enthusiasts in the world. Jin Ran didn’t think of herself as one, but the appreciation of beautiful things is common to all humanity.

Jiang Mingsuo was tall, so his hands were broader than average. His skin had a sun-kissed, wheat tone, with lean palms and long, strong fingers—not slender like a model’s, but jointed like bamboo, knuckles pronounced.

His work and life experiences meant his hands were no strangers to hard work. Those hands had written, typed on keyboards, lifted heavy objects, wiped away dust, and performed countless daily tasks, resulting in a faint callus on the side of his index finger.

At that moment, it gripped a pen tightly, the veins bulging on the back of his hand. Bluish veins crisscrossed, extending along his arm beneath his shirt sleeve, like roots gnarling through aged pine, needing to be deeply rooted in the earth.

These were hands brimming with raw allure.

Jiang Mingsuo: "Wrapping up now. Most likely no overtime today."

The notification sound brought her back to her senses. Jin Ran finally looked away from the photo and saw the man’s reply.

She smirked: "So you’ll make it? There’s an awesome BBQ spot nearby—perfect for some late-night eats!"

Ever since the three of them had gone out for a meal together, Jin Ran had really enjoyed hanging out with Jiang Mingsuo.

Having someone to chat with, who provided emotional support and willingly footed the bill—could you ask for more?

Jiang Mingsuo: "Hmm, I’ll probably leave the company around 7:20. Might run a bit late."

Jin Ran immediately flattered him: "When the boss is late, it’s not late—it’s me waiting gladly!"

In reality, she grinned to herself—scored the perfect food buddy √

In her excitement, she couldn’t help but slip out of her "Teacher Jin" work mode and sent a meme that was pure "Jin Ran."

"Little Eight Happy.jpg"

There was an understood rule in online chats: emojis were not only used to express feelings but also to end a conversation.

After sending it, Jin Ran assumed the conversation was over. But to her surprise, Jiang Mingsuo followed up: "So happy?"

"Got it. I’ll finish up at the company and get there as soon as possible."

"?"

At first, Jin Ran didn’t understand what he meant. But after rereading the messages several times, her expression gradually turned strange.

Because she realized Jiang Mingsuo… seemed to have mistaken the emoji she sent for an actual representation of herself.

To test her theory, she sent another one: "Little Eight Hungry.jpg"

Sure enough.

Jiang Mingsuo: "If you’re hungry, you can go eat first."

Jiang Mingsuo: "I’ll pay when I get there."

Looking at the man’s totally straight-faced replies, Jin Ran couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

A man who replied to emojis—somehow, he struck her as kinda cute.

/

After sending the notifications to the parents, she couldn’t just bail.

Jin Ran said goodbye to her colleagues, begrudgingly gathered the things on her desk, and carried them in her arms as she headed toward the teaching building.

To avoid the after-school rush of students, she deliberately took a secluded path. The summer sunset stretched the shadows long and made time feel short. Amid the dappled sunlight, Jin Ran unexpectedly spotted a boy crouched under a tree.

He was wearing the blue-and-white uniform of a first-year high school student, with a buzz cut, scalp showing through. His back was to her as he crouched under the tree, shoulders shaking a little. His overly large frame made him curl up awkwardly, like a big dog forcibly stuffed into a cardboard box.

Jin Ran frowned almost imperceptibly.

This scene was way too familiar to her—the incident where Jiang Xuli had fought with a classmate was still fresh in her mind. Boys of fifteen or sixteen were at an age full of testosterone, their bodies growing into adulthood, but their emotional regulation far from mature. Of course, many adults couldn’t control their emotions either, easily exploding in anger and becoming slaves to their impulses.

In such situations, grade school scuffles might just involve a bit of shoving, but high schoolers often couldn’t restrain their emotions, sometimes leading to serious consequences. Jin Ran had heard colleagues gossip about how, last year, a student at the neighboring sports school had gotten into legal trouble over a moment of impulsiveness.

Thinking of this, Jin Ran sighed deeply.

If she hadn’t seen it, that would be one thing. But since she had, as a teacher, she couldn’t ignore it.

She moved closer: "Student, what’s wrong? You can tell your teacher if something’s bothering you."

The boy remained crouched, ignoring her question, mumbling a few incoherent sounds in his throat.

Was he too afraid to speak up after being bullied?

Jin Ran felt even more like sighing. She reached out and gently patted his shoulder, speaking softly to reassure him: "Don’t worry, no matter what happened, your teacher will stand up for you—"

Before she could finish, the boy crouching under the tree turned around.

The scene she had imagined didn’t materialize. The boy’s handsome face glowed pale in the sunset, his eyes clear and childlike, now filled with a hint of confusion.

Jin Ran noticed his dry eyes and paused.

Then, she understood why he had been crouching there.

Probably some student had been eating bread under the tree, leaving behind many crumbs. The scent had attracted ants, and these little black creatures had formed a long, thin "rope," working together to carry the bread crumbs back to their nest.

The boy had been watching the ants.

"…"

Jin Ran was momentarily speechless.

The two of them faced each other, a subtle awkwardness hanging in the air—or maybe it was just Jin Ran feeling awkward, while the boy still wore that innocent, clueless expression.

She felt she should say something, but in the end, she simply straightened up calmly and said in her usual teacherly tone, "Get home early after school. Don’t make your parents worry."

With that, she turned and walked away as if nothing had happened.

She had only taken a couple of steps when she felt a slight tug from behind.

Jin Ran turned around to find the boy had quietly grabbed hold of her sleeve. Seeing her turn, he slowly broke into a brilliant smile.

/

Jiang Xuli always kept his word.

After promising Jin Ran he would help supervise the evening study hall, he didn’t let it show outwardly, but he kept the matter firmly in mind.

Ten minutes into the study period, Jin Ran still hadn’t arrived. The students of Class Three were getting restless. Soon, they ditched their textbooks—some took out their phones to play games, while others chatted with the students around them. In no time, the classroom had turned into a noisy marketplace.

The class monitor and discipline committee member called for order a few times, but to little effect. A few usually mischievous boys even deliberately mocked the monitor—the more they were told to be quiet, the louder they became.

Just then, a figure appeared before their desks.

One of the boys arrogantly looked up, only to be startled: "B-Brother Li!"

Jiang Xuli glared at him darkly. "Got too much free time?"

The boy gulped, not daring to argue. "N-No, not really."

"Then sit down and stop disturbing the others," Jiang Xuli said, frowning.

The boy didn’t dare say another word and obediently returned to his seat, muttering to himself as he watched Jiang Xuli’s retreating figure—wasn’t he usually the one leading the charge in skipping class? Why the sudden change today?

Although Jiang Xuli rarely lost his temper and maintained a cool, aloof image in class, the students of Class Three were strangely intimidated by him. With Jiang Xuli stepping in, everyone quickly settled down. Relieved, the class monitor finally handed out the cards Jin Ran had prepared.

The new and engaging learning method quickly captured the attention of the Class Three students, replacing their phones.

Under the monitor’s somewhat stumbling explanation, each student first found their pre-assigned partner, and then each pair received a set of cards.

The cards represented levels in a challenge game. The two partners had to play to their strengths in different subjects, helping each other and collaborating to solve problems.

In essence, it was just one student explaining a topic to another.

But compared to knowledge being spoon-fed, the game format was far more engaging. There was a fundamental difference between passive acceptance and active exploration—the latter made students willing to go without food or sleep just to clear the game.

—The inspiration came from Jin Ran’s own experience of hand-copying two seven-inch notebooks back in the day just to play games.

The effect was obvious. By the time Jin Ran arrived, the students had already cleared three levels.

Leading the pack were the teams of Jiang Mingsuo and Chen Xunliang, as well as Wang Shuya and another girl named Wang Yu, whom Jin Ran remembered spoke fluent London-accented English.

She stood at the doorway, not wanting to disturb them.

But Jiang Xuli noticed her anyway.

He squeezed through the crowd, about to say something, when he suddenly caught sight of a boy following behind Jin Ran. The boy noticed him and instinctively shrank behind Jin Ran.

Jiang Xuli hadn’t paid much attention at first, but seeing the boy’s reaction, he grew displeased. "Why is he here?"

Jin Ran was taken aback. "You know him?"

"He’s Wei Ya’s younger brother, Wei Cen."

This reminder jogged Jin Ran’s memory. In the original novel, the female lead did indeed have an autistic younger brother, and her reason for entering the entertainment industry was to earn money for his treatment.

But the female lead never expected that in an environment like the entertainment industry, a small actor with no connections or influence would struggle. She often faced various forms of exploitation, had roles snatched away, was suppressed by seniors, and even cheated out of money by fellow extras.

Whenever this happened, there would always be exceptional men who stepped forward to help her overcome her hardships, captivated by her pure and resilient nature—falling for her at first sight.

Later in the novel, the male lead’s research team even developed a special drug that cured the symptoms of the female lead’s brother’s comorbid condition. Through scientific intervention, he eventually reached a standard where he could live independently as an adult.

It was hard to say whether the female lead’s ultimate choice of the male lead wasn’t influenced by her brother.

But from Jin Ran’s perspective, Wei Cen was simply her student, not the female lead’s brother.

Seeing Jiang Xuli glaring at him like a ferocious beast, Jin Ran pushed him away in exasperation. "Don’t scare him. I noticed no one came to pick him up, so I let him stay in the classroom for a while."

With that, she led Wei Cen to the back of the classroom. Worried he might be bored, she even gave him some extra cards. "This is a partner game I made. If you’re bored, you can play with it yourself."

Her tone was incredibly gentle.

Seeing this, Jiang Xuli grew even more irritated. He thought this woman was foolish, willing to take on any responsibility.

He forgot that he himself had once fought three people out of a sense of justice.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the aunt responsible for picking up Wei Cen hurried over.

It turned out the aunt had accidentally lost her house keys while grocery shopping and had gone back to look for them, which delayed her. Before leaving, Wei Cen seemed reluctant to go. Jiang Xuli felt inexplicably annoyed and warned in a low voice, "She still has work to do. Don’t get in the way here."

Wei Cen seemed to understand. He glanced up at him, then quickly lowered his head, this time obediently following the aunt away.

Jiang Xuli frowned. As he turned back, his eyes inadvertently fell on a few cards left on the table.

He picked them up, intending to throw them away, but the moment his fingers touched the words on the cards, he froze.

At 7:30, Jin Ran announced the end of the first "partner" learning activity. Boarding students returned to their dormitories to rest, while day students were escorted by her to the east gate to meet their parents.

Only when the last student’s figure disappeared into the night did the school gate stand empty, leaving just Jin Ran and Jiang Xuli facing each other.

The streets grew quiet at night, the wind rustling through the parasol tree leaves. Underfoot, the streetlights cast small circles of light.

Jin Ran suddenly turned to Jiang Xuli and said sincerely, "The monitor told me everything. Thanks to you stepping in, they stayed quiet. Thank you for helping me maintain discipline today."

Jiang Xuli was taken aback.

Aside from a few instances of standing up for others, he had always been seen as rebellious and disobedient.

This was the first time someone had thanked him.

Once it sank in, he felt somewhat uncomfortable and averted his gaze. "It’s nothing. We agreed on it."

She had given him lesson materials from various teachers, and he had helped supervise her evening study hall. A fair trade.

"Still, I want to thank you," Jin Ran said with a smile. "There’s a difference between agreeing and taking it seriously. You not only maintained order but also led them in spontaneous learning. You’re the undeniable hero of this activity—even I couldn’t have done better."

Her words were exaggerated, but her tone was full of sincerity. Jiang Xuli felt his ears grow hot, wishing he could turn and leave immediately. But in the end, he didn’t succeed because Jin Ran pulled him into the convenience store across from the school.

The 24-hour convenience store’s sign was made of LED beads, glowing red and green when lit, turning the darkness of night into a kaleidoscope of colors.

Once inside, Jin Ran waved her hand grandly. "To thank our hero, I’ve decided to treat you to a drink. Take whatever you want!"

Jiang Xuli glanced at her. "Anything?"

Jin Ran was about to agree when she noticed the boy eyeing the Moutai on the shelf nearby. She quickly added, "As long as it’s under twenty yuan!"

Jiang Xuli gave her a look of utter speechlessness. "..."

"Ahem, I’m just thinking of you. Your dad is taking us out for barbecue later," Jin Ran said, refusing to admit she was being stingy. She believed money should be spent wisely—buying too much would only lead to waste.

Hearing this, Jiang Xuli realized the two had likely made some arrangement he wasn’t aware of.

He didn’t mind, though. He nodded and, under the woman’s unblinking gaze, walked past the Moutai… to the shelf behind it, picking up a five-yuan apple-flavored sparkling water.

"Let’s go," he said, suppressing a laugh.