I'm Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: An Unexpected Confession and Agreement

Jiang Xueli’s arrival once again caught the attention of the boys from Class One.

She saw Lin Zhengran sitting among the crowd and shyly hid the lemonade behind her back.

Jiang Xueli might not have been tall or had a particularly remarkable figure, but her petite, lively, and mischievous face was devastatingly charming to many boys.

After all, who wouldn’t want a lively, cheerful, and pretty girlfriend?

Averting her gaze, Jiang Xueli slowly walked into the Class One area.

This time, the students of Class One really didn’t think she was there for Lin Zhengran at first. After all, He Qing had just brought him a drink. No matter how wild their imaginations were, they figured Jiang Xueli must be there to give something to someone else.

The boy with the surname Pan, who had just been asking about her, sat up straight when he saw Jiang Xueli actually approach. ”Jiang Xueli?! Why is she coming over to our class? Don’t tell me she really has a boyfriend here too?”

But then everyone watched as Jiang Xueli walked step by step until she was standing right in front of Lin Zhengran. She locked eyes with him stubbornly, and for half a minute, the air fell silent.

The boys in the class stared wide-eyed, their mouths agape, as a question echoed in their souls.

”No way...”

The truth was right in front of them, yet they still couldn’t believe it. Not until Jiang Xueli opened her mouth. ”You id—” In front of so many people, she blushed and corrected herself. ”Lin Zhengran, come out for a second. I need to talk to you.”

With that, she walked a short distance away and stood there, still hiding the drink.

The Pan-surnamed boy’s crush came crashing down. He and the other boys said in unison, ”Dude’s a legend.”

Lin Zhengran let out a long breath and slowly got up, walking over to Jiang Xueli. Seeing her shy expression, he asked, ”Here to give me a drink?”

Jiang Xueli froze. ”How did you know? No, who said I was here to give you a drink!”

Lin Zhengran glanced at the hand she was hiding behind her back and asked helplessly, ”If you’re not here to give me a drink, then what are you here for?”

”I...” Jiang Xueli turned and saw many of the Class One students’ eyes focused on them. Although she wasn’t afraid of being watched when she was singing, this situation was completely different.

She looked back at Lin Zhengran and said fiercely, ”I am here to give you a drink, so what about it!”

With a ferocious air, she whipped out the cup of lemonade with one hand, turned her head aside with a shy, cold huff, and said,

”It’s so hot today, I was worried you’d be thirsty, so I went and bought you a drink. Whether you drink it or not is none of my business. Anyway, I brought it.”

Lin Zhengran took the cup and asked the same question, ”Did you get one for yourself?”

”I already drank,” she mumbled, pouting. ”You think I’d wait in such a long line just to buy one for you?” After saying that, Jiang Xueli suddenly clenched her fists and shut her eyes in frustration.

”Fine, I didn’t drink! I was in such a hurry to bring this to you, I didn’t have time to get one for myself! And He Qing still beat me to it!”

Then, it all came tumbling out. ”I can let He Qing slide, but why are you still so popular with girls?! So many have been talking to you these past few days. Don’t you know how jealous I’ve been?! You’re so annoying!”

Jiang Xueli’s face was beet red after her outburst. She retreated a few steps and sat on the curb, hugging her legs as she said with feigned arrogance,

”Don’t ask me why I’m jealous, because I won’t tell you even if you do. But everyone’s gotten so bold in high school. Some guys even came up to talk to me, telling me I’m cute and stuff. They’re crazy. If I was really cute, how come I’ve never heard you say it? What good is it for them to say it...?”

Lin Zhengran sat down next to her. ”Sounds like you’ve been through a lot these past few days. I thought you hadn’t changed at all since middle school, but now I see you have changed a little.”

Jiang Xueli hugged her knees and refused to look at him.

Until she heard him add, ”You’re cuter than you were in middle school.”

Blushing furiously, with steam practically coming out of her ears, Jiang Xueli stuttered as she whipped her head around to look at him. ”Wh-what are you saying?! Me, cute? Have you lost your mind? Say that again if you dare!”

”You’re much cuter now than you were before. You still don’t say what you mean, but it’s much better than it used to be.”

Jiang Xueli’s red lips parted slightly. Her eyes shimmered, and it felt like rainbow-colored bubbles were popping up all around her.

Too shy to look at him, she quickly curled up, staring at her knees. ”Y-you must be crazy, saying something like that to me. Has hell frozen over?”

She heard the sound of Lin Zhengran poking a straw into the cup and suddenly turned to look at him.

Lin Zhengran was also looking at her, amused by her shy reaction.

Jiang Xueli shot him a look of disdain. ”But I guess you got a little smarter after starting high school, you big dummy. You’ve even gotten a sweet tongue.” She suddenly grinned. ”How about I call you ’little dummy’ from now on?”

Her grin sent a shiver down Lin Zhengran’s spine.

”What’s with that look?!” Jiang Xueli argued her case. ”Don’t you think it’s an affectionate nickname? Dummy, dummy... It’s the kind of thing only people who are really close call each other!”

Lin Zhengran sighed and took a sip of the drink. ”So that’s what you think? No wonder you’re so obsessed with that nickname.”

”W-well, what else? You don’t like it?”

Seeing Lin Zhengran actually nod, she thought for a moment. ”Then how about this... From now on, I’ll call you...” She pursed her lips for a long moment before gently letting out the name, ”Zhengran?”

The moment she said it, she broke out in goosebumps herself.

Lin Zhengran looked exasperated. ”Can’t you just call me by my name normally?”

Jiang Xueli pouted and hugged her knees again. ”No way. He Qing already calls you that. If I do everything the same way she does, wouldn’t that mean I’m losing? From now on, I’ll just call you Zhen... Zhengran. Yeah... it sounds pretty good.”

Lin Zhengran handed the drink back to her. ”I’m done.”

Jiang Xueli took it back and saw that he had only had one sip. ”Just one sip? I waited in line for so long.”

”I just had a drink a minute ago. Besides, you haven’t had anything, right? You can have the rest.”

Lin Zhengran stood up. ”If there’s nothing else, I’m going to head back.”

Suddenly, Jiang Xueli grabbed his arm. ”Wait... Zhen... Zhengran, I want to ask you something...” she asked in a small voice. ”Do you really think I don’t need to lose weight?”

Lin Zhengran had been expecting a different question. He glanced at her figure and told her the honest truth. ”You really don’t. You’re not that different from before... but I like you the way you are now. Being petite is cute.”

With that, Lin Zhengran left. It took a moment for his words to sink in for Jiang Xueli. ’Like? He said he likes me?’

Her brain suddenly short-circuited. She stammered, ”’Li-li... li... likes me! He said he likes me!’”

Jiang Xueli shot to her feet and, with her eyes closed, shouted, ”I do!”

Then, she covered her blushing face and ran away.

’I really can’t handle this guy now that we’re in high school. Confessing to me at a time like this... There’s no way I can refuse.’

Lin Zhengran turned back and heard her words, speechless. ’This silly girl is being weird again.’

He turned his head forward again, only to see the Pan-surnamed classmate run off in tears, sobbing. And in the spot where Lin Zhengran had been sitting...

...Han Wenwen was squatting there, holding a drink and looking at him.

The rest of the class was already stunned, looking in astonishment at Han Wenwen, and even more so at Lin Zhengran.

Han Wenwen smiled, her voice tinged with jealousy. ”Classmate Lin Zhengran? Are you still thirsty?”

Lin Zhengran: ”...”

On the other side of the class area, Jiang Qian and Fang Meng, who had just returned from the restroom, also saw everyone staring at Lin Zhengran.

Fang Meng said, ”This guy is really popular. I can’t even count how many girls from other classes have come looking for him these past few days.”

Jiang Qian stared at Lin Zhengran talking with Han Wenwen, her eyes cold, her thoughts unreadable.

「A few days later」

The military training was about to end, and the newcomer’s welcome party was scheduled for the final day.

As the student representatives, Lin Zhengran and Jiang Qian were naturally summoned to the teacher’s office together before the party preparations began.