Chapter 56

Chapter 56

To avoid dirtying the bench, Jin Ran plucked a leaf from the flowerbed to use as a pad. When Jiang Mingsuo stepped onto it, his towering frame nearly touched the top of the trellis, allowing him to effortlessly pick the highest grapes without even needing to reach up.

Not many were needed, so only two clusters were picked. Jin Ran carefully rinsed them with mineral water, then broke them into smaller bunches to hand out to everyone. "There's not much to go around, so consider this just a sample."

Seeing this, Special Assistant Wang, who was accompanying them, broke out in a cold sweat.

Who was he to be "served" by the lady?

He hurriedly accepted them with both hands, looking so terrified he might as well have dropped to his knees in deference. Of course, he didn’t suspect Jin Ran and popped the grapes into his mouth without a second thought.

But who could have guessed that these small, perfectly ripe, deep purple grapes would be even sourer than aged vinegar? Special Assistant Wang retched and spat them out. Finally, he understood why only freshmen picked the grapes—students from other grades already knew how they tasted!

Jin Ran: "…"

If she said she hadn’t done it on purpose and it was just because Special Assistant Wang had been too quick, would anyone believe her?

She looked down at the small branch of grapes still in her hand and couldn’t help glancing at Jiang Mingsuo beside her. She teased, "Would Mr. Jiang like to try one too?"

Jiang Mingsuo glanced at her and actually took it.

Jin Ran had only been joking and hadn’t expected him to actually eat it. She was about to stop him when the man’s Adam’s apple bobbed—the grape had already been swallowed.

"Not bad," he commented, his expression unreadable.

Jin Ran looked skeptical, trying to find any hint of deception in his calm eyes, but all she saw was utter composure. She began to doubt herself—could it be that among this entire trellis of sour grapes, there was actually a sweet one? Unable to resist, she plucked one herself and was immediately met with such sourness that it made her teeth ache.

When she looked up, she saw the man covering his mouth with a fist, struggling to contain his laughter.

"It seems Teacher Jin has bad luck—the one you got was sour."

Jin Ran: "?"

He definitely did it on purpose!

…

After experiencing the grapes that were better admired than eaten, the group continued toward the sports field.

The scorching summer sun beat down on the cement ground, its blazing white heat accompanied by the racket of cicadas breaking the afternoon tranquility.

It was break time, and the sports field was filled with students running and playing. The lively scene was a delightful sight for the executives who usually spent their days sitting in offices—after all, who hadn’t spent their youth fooling around on a field back in their school days?

By the time Jin Ran realized it, she, the "youngest" among them, had already been left far behind by the other executives.

"…"

On the shaded path, a gentle breeze blew, cooling the sweat on her forehead. She had been too busy talking earlier to let her mind wander, but now that she had a moment of quiet, her gaze uncontrollably drifted toward Jiang Mingsuo, who was conversing with others. Her mind drifted.

Jiang Mingsuo seemed colder around outsiders.

It wasn’t that he was unfriendly—on the contrary, he always wore a faint smile. But the smile never reached his eyes. It appeared polite on the surface, yet it kept everyone at a distance.

In fact, he had been like that with her at the beginning too.

Later, as they grew familiar, he discovered her secret and chose to keep it for her. The two of them had gradually grown closer.

"What are you thinking about?"

A voice asked in her ear. Jin Ran snapped out of her daze and realized that, at some point, Jiang Mingsuo had come to stand next to her.

She opened her mouth to answer, but he suddenly raised his hand, his long fingers gently brushing through her hair.

"Don’t move."

A faint, cool scent drifted from his sleeve, enveloping her as he drew near. The distance between them was so close that she could see Jiang Mingsuo’s eyelashes—thick, long, and delicate.

Not far away, the others from the tour were chatting softly, their murmurs only making this moment feel even more intimate. Realizing this, Jin Ran’s ears grew warm, and she inexplicably felt as though she were back in school, secretly dating—even though they hadn’t done anything, she felt strangely guilty.

She quickly shook her head, trying to dispel the wild thoughts. She was twenty-five—what "early romance" was she even thinking about?

Little did she know, these subtle movements she thought were hidden were all clearly visible to Jiang Mingsuo, who, from his taller vantage point, saw it all clearly.

A smile tugged at his lips, but he quickly regained his composure and casually continued smoothing her hair. Just then, a young teacher walking ahead suddenly turned around.

"Mr. Jiang, Teacher Jin… Huh?"

The person’s words cut off abruptly, their puzzled gaze shifting between the two of them. "What are you two…?"

Jin Ran clearly felt the man beside her freeze. Though nervous, she nearly laughed out loud at that moment—serves him right for deliberately getting so close. Now he’s been caught!

She was secretly looking forward to some drama, but Jiang Mingsuo only paused for a moment before calmly withdrawing his hand, a leaf pinched between his fingers. "There was something on you."

Seeing this, the other person suddenly understood. "Oh, so you were helping. Mr. Jiang is so thoughtful."

Once the person turned back around, Jin Ran's heart was in her throat. She glared at him angrily.

This is a work setting—don’t mess around!

Jiang Mingsuo smiled and cooperatively took half a step back, lowering his voice to apologize. "My apologies, I forgot myself for a moment."

Forgot myself doing what?

Jin Ran’s face burned like a sunset.

But she didn’t believe him—men's words deceive like ghosts. Ever since he tricked her into eating that sour grape, this man’s credibility had taken a nosedive.

After apologizing, Jiang Mingsuo straightened up and increased his pace, intending to create some distance between them. But Jin Ran grabbed his sleeve. "Wait, Mr. Jiang."

He turned around unsuspectingly, and Jin Ran, seizing the moment while no one was watching, stood on her tiptoes and blew a soft breath against his Adam’s apple.

In an instant, Jiang Mingsuo froze as if someone had pressed pause, his entire body tensing up. Jin Ran, having gotten her "payback," giggled and stepped back, placing a leaf in Jiang Mingsuo’s palm.

"Mr. Jiang, you walked too fast—you dropped something."

Her eyes curved into smiles, shimmering with a mix of feigned annoyance and playful charm.

/

The itinerary for the tour had been finalized days earlier.

By now, the "guests" attending the event had taken their seats in the stands overlooking the sports field. These impromptu performances, unscripted and unrehearsed, better captured the genuine spirit of Wencheng’s students.

For instance, the spontaneous basketball team that had volunteered to help Jin Ran played with relaxed ease since it wasn’t an official game. The entrepreneurs and noble ladies watching from the sidelines were thoroughly entertained.

Fifteen- and sixteen-year-old high schoolers, bold and unrestrained, sprinted across the rubberized track. Sweat gathered into tiny streams, sneakers squeaked against the ground, and their leaping figures were frozen in time by the sunlight.

Beside them, there were also female classmates kicking shuttlecocks, their ponytails bouncing in rhythm to the youthful energy.

After helping out, Jiang Xuli brought his classmates to the basketball court to "play ball."

He knew Jin Ran's purpose, so compared to his usual basketball games, this time he added a lot more fancy moves, which indeed drew continuous admiration from the visiting crowd.

When the warning bell for class rang, the basketball team finally stopped, headed back to class in small groups, carrying their basketballs.

No time wasted from studying~

As he passed the bleachers, Jiang Xuli looked up and wiped the sweat from his forehead, inadvertently catching sight of the man standing opposite Jin Ran.

His footsteps suddenly halted.

Wait, why was his dad here?

Jiang Xuli was stunned, his mind filled with only one thought—had his dad seen everything from his basketball performance just now?

Instantly, Jiang Xuli felt a bit uneasy.

He quickly replayed his performance in his mind—did I mess up anywhere? Did he showboat too much?

It seemed there weren’t, so… his performance should have been acceptable, right?

Compared to Jiang Xuli’s concern over his image, aside from being a bit surprised when they met, Jin Ran remained calm throughout.

On one hand, she was more mature; on the other, her mind was entirely focused on making this event a success. To her, Jiang Mingsuo was no different from any other parent.

She fulfilled her role as the accompanying teacher diligently. After the school tour, she handed out registration forms to every "parent" and collected their feedback.

Whether it was Mrs. Lin and her group or the businesspeople invited by Teacher Wan, everyone praised her professionalism. Several even exchanged contacts with her.

Jin Ran gladly accepted.

Having experienced more, she now understood the importance of connections. So, while she could still ride on others' coattails, she didn’t hesitate to actively develop her own network.

As the event drew to a close, the principal reappeared.

He first took the stage to deliver a speech, expressing gratitude to the "parents" who had come to Wencheng, then personally escorted them out of the school gate, presenting them with souvenirs.

Despite a few minor incidents along the way, the parents' visitation day ultimately concluded successfully.

This event further raised Jin Ran’s standing among the teaching staff.

Especially in contrast to Teacher Wan’s mishandling things, Jin Ran’s composure under pressure really stood out.

At the faculty meeting, the principal praised Jin Ran’s contributions. Although some were initially unconvinced, after learning that three parties, including Mingji Technology, had made donations to the school, they had nothing left to say.

Not long after, Teacher Wan, deeply embarrassed, turned in his resignation to the school.

When Jin Ran heard about it, she wasn’t surprised at all.

However, whether it was truly a "voluntary resignation" was debatable—she figured the principal probably had a hand in it.

Whatever the case, these matters were no longer Jin Ran’s concern.

Back to the present.

On the evening after the visitation event, Jin Ran deliberately hung back, waiting for Jiang Xuli to come out of the teaching building.

Usually, the young man was only with Chen Xunliang, but today he was surrounded by quite a few people. Sports can strengthen bonds among boys, and a basketball "performance" had changed the other boys' opinion of the "intimidating" rich kid.

They proactively threw arms over his shoulders and even made plans to meet up over the weekend.

When they saw Jin Ran, several high school students immediately called out loudly, "Hello, Teacher Jin!"

"Teacher Jin, how was our performance today? Were you satisfied?"

Jin Ran gave a thumbs-up: "Not only was I satisfied, but the parents were glued to you."

High school students are earnest; a little praise made their faces turn red. Seeing that Jin Ran clearly had something to discuss with Jiang Xuli, everyone tactfully took the hint and said goodbye.

Jiang Xuli looked at her with a cool look.

"What do you want with me?"

Jin Ran didn’t hide her intention: "I think we need to form a united front."

"The same front?" Jiang Xuli looked skeptical.

"Yes, the united front against tyranny."

Jin Ran said angrily, "Your dad showed up without warning, caught us totally off guard. Shouldn’t we join forces to make him realize what he did wrong?"

Jiang Xuli gave her a surprised look. This woman was really bold, daring to tweak his dad's tail. But… "I think you’re right."

Whatever—he’d been scared by his dad too. It seemed only normal to ask why.