I'm Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten

Chapter 121: Chapter 119: Honest Lin Zhengran

The quiet atmosphere made the sound of cars passing below and the loudspeaker of the woman selling fried dough sticks at the community gate seem exceptionally loud.

In the bedroom, Jiang Xueli’s eyes slowly widened. She had imagined all sorts of things Lin Zhengran might say today.

But this particular sentence shattered the very limits of her imagination.

”What are you ’ah-ing’ about?” Lin Zhengran asked. ”Isn’t this perfectly normal?”

”N-n-n-normal?!” Jiang Xueli stammered. ”I didn’t mishear you, did I, you dummy?! What did you just say? You actually said we’re both yours!” Her eyes were still red, but she had already balled her little fists and squeezed her eyes shut, ready to argue.

”You heard me right. I said it.”

”No! Say it again if you dare! What did you just say?!”

”I said you’re both mine.”

”Say it again, I dare you!”

”I said, you’re both mine.”

Jiang Xueli stared at Lin Zhengran, her face flushed with astonishment. ’How can anyone in this world be so shameless?’

”You actually said it again! How is that okay?! Between me and He Qing, you can only pick one! How can anyone have two girlfriends? I’ve never even heard of such a thing!”

Lin Zhengran sat on the bed, looking dead serious. ”Really? Are you sure you’ve never heard of it? It’s on TV all the time.”

She recalled that it was, in fact, on TV shows, so she changed her tack. ”Well, I... I might have heard of it, but!” Jiang Xueli shyly hugged the blanket and curled up into a ball.

”No way. This is too ridiculous. Who even are you? And you claim you’re not a dummy? Isn’t this exactly the kind of thing a dummy would say? Dummy! Idiot!”

Her anger made her stomach cramp up again, and she clutched it in pain.

Lin Zhengran sighed and handed her the cup.

”What are you getting so worked up for? You’re just going to make your cramps worse. Here, take another sip.”

Jiang Xueli eyed him with confusion. ’How can he be like this?’ she wondered. ’So gentle, yet such a scoundrel.’ She was at a complete loss for words.

But seeing that it was the brown sugar water he had brewed for her with his own hands, she had no choice but to slowly press her lips to the cup and take another tiny sip.

It was a little too hot, though, so she didn’t get much down.

Lin Zhengran blew on it to cool it down. ”Try again.”

Jiang Xueli shyly watched the corners of his mouth, took another sip, and swallowed. It was still very sweet.

Her heart fluttered wildly.

But that racing heartbeat only made her feel that something was off. She closed her eyes again and buried her head in her knees.

”Even if you’re this nice to me, I’m not going to agree. This is unacceptable. I can agree to anything you ask, but not this. Zhengran, you dummy! How can you be such a player?!”

She secretly peeked at Lin Zhengran’s reaction, only to find him looking as casual as ever.

She didn’t get it. ”How can you be so nonchalant?! Say something!”

”Say what? Wasn’t I clear enough? I said you’re both mine,” Lin Zhengran replied, his tone full of self-righteousness.

”What’s with that holier-than-thou act?! What I mean is... it’s too simple! For something this outrageous, you should at least have some kind of excuse! An excuse that would leave me no choice but to agree.”

Lin Zhengran put down the cup and answered sincerely.

”No, I won’t do that. I don’t like forcing or deceiving people, especially not girls. A person’s true feelings can’t be forced. It’s just like when I was teaching you how to sing.

I told you back then that you would only improve if you were genuinely willing to follow my lead, didn’t I? It’s the same principle.”

”Yes...” Jiang Xueli recalled that day from their childhood. ”You did say that, and I did agree... but...” Her hand tightened around the cup as she savored the sweet taste of the brown sugar water.

”But a girlfriend is different, isn’t it? Although, I do really like that you won’t lie to me.”

She looked away, murmuring, ”Unless you’re really, really insistent about this, I won’t agree. But if you really are that insistent... well, then I guess there’s nothing I can do.”

”You gave in pretty fast.”

”Gave in? What are you talking about?” Jiang Xueli clutched her head, the realization dawning on her. ”Ah! Why did I agree?!”

As she spoke, the blanket slipped off again. Jiang Xueli quickly pulled it back up and said brazenly,

”Well, what choice do I have?! You know I like you! I’ve liked you for so many years! Even knowing you’re such a player, I still hang around you every day! But...”

She clenched her fist and demanded, ”Let me ask you this! Do you really have what it takes to take care of two girls?! Having two girlfriends is a huge hassle! The second one of us gets angry or jealous about something, you’ll have to be the one to coax us!”

Lin Zhengran said, ”I know. I’ve known that from the start.”

”You!” Jiang Xueli buried her head in her knees and let out a long, exasperated sigh. ”I’m speechless. Just do whatever you want, you dummy. I guess I’m the brainless one for being so crazy about you. There must be something wrong with me.”

Lin Zhengran handed her the cup again. ”Have a couple more sips, then lie down. Even if the cramps are gone, your period is still going to be rough for a day or two.”

Jiang Xueli looked at him again, her lips pressed together. She took the cup from his hand and gulped the rest of it down.

She shot him a contemptuous look. ”You didn’t plan this from the very beginning, did you? To have it all and not let either of us go.”

Lin Zhengran took the empty cup. ”Of course. My mind has never changed.”

”You really are something else!” Jiang Xueli’s little fists flew, pummelling Lin Zhengran’s arm. ”You’re the most shameless player in the world!” As she hit him, she suddenly lost her balance and ended up leaning against his arm.

But she didn’t pull away. Instead, she rested her forehead against him, her lips pressed together as she sniffled.

Lin Zhengran was surprised. ”What is it now?”

Jiang Xueli shook her head and answered softly, word by word.

”It’s nothing. Even though you’re such a player and you brought this up so openly, I’m actually a little happy. Maybe it’s because you’ve been a player for a while now, so I’m used to it. And besides... the most important thing to me is that you still care about me.”

Lin Zhengran said, ”It’s not a matter of ’still.’ Both you and He Qing have always been important to me. I’ve always cared about you both, and that will never, ever change. Even if you’re a pain to talk to sometimes because you never say what you really mean.”

Jiang Xueli let out a shy, tsundere ”Hmph,” his words making her heart tickle.

She lay back down and pulled the blanket over herself as if for protection, her face flushed as she asked, ”By the way... you saw everything you shouldn’t have today, right? I mean, how many times did the blanket fall off?”

Lin Zhengran thought about the times her blanket had slipped off. ”Honestly,” he said, ”no, I didn’t see anything. I saw your shoulder, at most.”

”Impossible!” Then she remembered that Lin Zhengran didn’t lie, and her curiosity took over. ”For real?!”

”For real. Because you’re so petite.”

”Petite?” It dawned on Jiang Xueli what he was implying, and she started hitting him again. ”You’re saying my ’you-know-whats’ are small, right?! That’s why you couldn’t see anything even when the blanket fell!”

”It’s fine. Small is cute too.”

”I seriously hate you!”

She huffed and turned her back to him. ”It’s not like I need you to stay... but since you’re my boyfriend now, it’s okay for you to keep me company, right? I want to get some sleep, and I want you to be here when I wake up.”

”Mm. I was going to stay and talk to you about the competition anyway, so I’m not going anywhere.”

A happy smile crept onto Jiang Xueli’s lips. ”Also, it’s so hot in here, why don’t you take off your jacket? You can just toss it on me. I can use it as an extra blanket.”

She closed her eyes, accidentally saying what she meant to only think: ”That way, I can fall asleep to your scent.”

’This girl has some strange little quirks,’ Lin Zhengran mused.