I'm Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten

Chapter 129: Chapter 124: Blind Date with Jiang Jingshi

He watched as Jiang Qian went upstairs to change, closing her bedroom door behind her.

From the living room, Fang Meng watched her from afar, murmuring to herself, ’Stopping her from getting involved with a classmate? That’s a plausible excuse, but... it’s not very convincing. Qianqian’s just jealous, isn’t she?’

Suddenly, Jiang Qian opened her door on the second floor and declared, ”Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not jealous. I just don’t like her getting close to my friends, especially not in such a flippant way.”

With that, she closed the door again.

Sweat formed on Fang Meng’s forehead.

A moment later, Jiang Qian opened the door again to re-emphasize, ”Fine, I guess Lin Zhengran and I aren’t really friends. Let me rephrase. I just don’t like her getting close to my classmates and messing with my social life. That’s it.”

The door closed again.

Down in the living room, more sweat trickled down Fang Meng’s forehead.

She commented helplessly, ’I thought this wasn’t a big deal, but after all this fuss from her, Qianqian is even more fixated on Lin Zhengran now. Curiosity really does kill the cat.’

And so, Jiang Qian and Fang Meng spent the entire day trying to find out where the two were meeting for their date.

***

The night sky was full of stars. After getting changed, Lin Zhengran headed out and pulled up the address on his phone. He found that the meeting spot wasn’t far from his house—only about a fifteen-minute car ride away.

The only thing was, the location was a bit strange. ’A Lanzhou ramen shop?’

Although it seemed a bit absurd, Lin Zhengran was fine with it. It was just a meeting, after all; the location didn’t really matter.

He hailed a taxi on the side of the road and headed for the address sent by his mysterious blind date, curious to see who she really was.

When he arrived, Lin Zhengran found that the Lanzhou ramen shop was closed, and the street was nearly empty. He was just about to pull out his phone to message her...

...when the door of the cat cafe next door suddenly swung open. An unfamiliar young woman in a staff uniform ran over to greet him. She looked to be in her early twenties, with a sweet and gentle demeanor.

”Excuse me, are you Mr. Lin? Are you here to meet someone?”

’Who’s this?’ Lin Zhengran wondered.

”Ah, yes, that’s me. And you are?”

The young woman blushed and pointed to the cat cafe. ”The person you’re meeting is inside. I’ll take you.”

Lin Zhengran glanced at the cat cafe and said, ”Thank you.”

He followed the young woman into the cat cafe, passing through the main area where guests would normally play with the cats. The shop was empty, with a ”Closed for Business” sign on display.

After passing through two smaller doors, they reached the staff-only area in the back. Only then did Lin Zhengran realize there was more to this little cat cafe than met the eye.

Normally, the back rooms of a cat cafe were just cramped work areas for feeding cats, cleaning litter boxes, and the like. There was no way they should be more spacious than the main hall out front.

But this cat cafe’s staff area opened into a grand hall even more spacious than the guest area, and it was decorated in a fantastically luxurious style.

Pendants shaped like twinkling stars hung from the ceiling.

The walls were adorned with pink, artistic murals blending cats with various designs. Over twenty cats, each with a small collar, lounged about the room—lazily climbing, strolling, or yawning.

And in this fantastical room, squatting in a corner, was Jiang Jingshi. She wore a long, silver-white gown and high heels, her slightly curled hair draped over her shoulders.

She was personally feeding a few of the cats from a treat tube.

From his vantage point, Lin Zhengran could only see Jiang Jingshi’s profile, but even that was enough to take one’s breath away with its stunning beauty.

Beneath her long lashes, her eyes were as gentle as tranquil water. Her red lips were lightly pursed, and exquisite silver earrings dangled from her ears.

She herself looked like a work of art.

”Zhengran, you’re here?”

Hearing the sound from the doorway, Jiang Jingshi turned. Seeing Lin Zhengran standing there, she broke into a gentle smile.

Seeing it was Jiang Jingshi, Lin Zhengran let out a resigned smile. He’d suspected this might be the case.

’The tone in yesterday’s chat logs didn’t match how Jiang Qian talks at school at all. It was so obviously... so obviously Jiang Jingshi.’

The young woman in the uniform gave a slight bow. ”President Jiang, I’ll take my leave now. Just call if you need anything.”

Jiang Jingshi added, ”Close the main doors and turn off the lights on your way out. We’re closed for the day. Don’t let anyone in.”

It was obvious who she was trying to keep out.

The employee nodded. ”Yes, President Jiang.” With that, she closed the door and left, leaving only Lin Zhengran and Jiang Jingshi in the room.

Lin Zhengran wondered why the meeting had to be so secretive, but then again, ’who can understand the habits of the rich?’

He walked over.

”Jiang, you even opened a cat cafe here?”

Jiang Jingshi remained composed as she faced Lin Zhengran, though her expression was complex. She had expected him to be shocked that she was his blind date, but it seemed she hadn’t gotten the reaction she was hoping for.

”Did you know it was me all along, Zhengran?”

Lin Zhengran walked over to her side. ”I didn’t at first. But when you added me on WeChat, Jiang, your tone seemed familiar. I had my suspicions.”

Jiang Jingshi looked at him, a little disappointed. ”Well, that’s no fun. I thought your jaw would drop. I’ve never seen you look shocked, Zhengran.”

Lin Zhengran smiled and took the photo from his pocket. ”But... since it was you who added me, Jiang, and this meeting was arranged by my grandfather and yours, does that mean... you’re actually the one I was promised to? So the girl in this photo isn’t Jiang Qian?”

Jiang Jingshi smiled and answered playfully, ”Of course. I’m your fiancée, Zhengran. As for the girl in the photo... I was much thinner back then.”