Chapter 38 might not be an act at all.

Chapter 38

After Jin Ran came out of the toilet, she found that her stomach didn't hurt as much.

If the previous pain was like a dull knife scraping back and forth across her abdomen, making her want to faint, the current pain is like soft feathers, occasionally scratching at the wound, reminding her of its existence with a faint sting, but it is basically negligible.

This puzzled Jin Ran. After thinking it over, she finally remembered the painkiller she had taken an hour earlier. Xu Zhen had told her to take it in advance, but because her stomach was already in a lot of pain, she hadn't been told to do so.

Looking back now, it was probably the painkillers that worked?

Regardless, she breathed a long sigh of relief; if the pain had continued any longer, she would have wanted to call an ambulance.

The next day, entertainment news featured footage of her being taken to the hospital, accompanied by the caption: "The world's first woman to call an ambulance for menstrual cramps—is this moral depravity or a distortion of humanity?" Let's focus on the current physiological challenges faced by women and care for women's health...

Great, then she'll either die from menstrual cramps or be declared socially dead.

After washing her hands, Jin Ran walked back outside while replying to Jiang Mingxu's message with her head down. Before she could finish typing, the other party called.

"Where are you? I don't see you anywhere."

Jin Ran stopped and looked around. The public restroom wasn't far away; she could see half a convenience store sign above. It was surrounded by trees, providing ample shade during the day, but at night they completely blocked out the streetlights. "You've arrived? I just went to the restroom and am walking back now. Xiao Li is probably at the convenience store right now..."

Suddenly, she stopped speaking, and her even breathing became slightly disordered. Jiang Mingxu keenly noticed the abnormality and asked, "What's wrong?"

Jin Ran's gaze swept over the figure hiding behind the tree, then she looked away as if nothing had happened.

Hearing Jiang Mingxu's words, she seemed very happy, and her voice rose a lot: "It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered something. Darling, do you remember the fishtail necklace you gave me last time? I'm planning to give it to Xiao Li. Kids this age love to look pretty. Do you think he'll be happy?"

Jiang Mingxu was silent for a moment, then quickly said in a deep voice, "Which side exactly? I'll come pick you up."

"Then you'd better hurry up, I don't want to wait too long. Just walk about two hundred meters to the right from the convenience store, and you'll see a crooked willow tree."

"Okay, keep the call going, don't hang up."

At the school gate, after Jiang Mingxu inquired about the location, he quickly scanned the surrounding environment and then determined the general direction based on Jin Ran's description.

His brows furrowed, and his expression gradually became serious. After all, Jin Ran had never used such a mushy term as "darling," and she had given Jiang Xuli a mermaid necklace? No wonder that kid was furious.

Just then, Jiang Xuli, who "loves beauty," ran out of the convenience store, panting. The plastic bag traced a straight arc in her hand, and her first words were: "Go find her quickly, there's a pervert around here!"

Jiang Mingxu looked over: "How did you know?"

Jiang Xuli became anxious: "I heard it from others, no, what are you asking so many questions at a time like this? Aren't you worried about her safety? You're not going, are you? Fine! I'll go myself!"

Before anyone else could speak, he launched into a long monologue, getting more and more agitated until he ended up red-faced and visibly angry.

Seeing that the person was about to leave, Jiang Mingxu called them back with a headache: "Get in the car first!"

On the other side, Jin Ran panicked for a moment when she realized she was being followed.

But she quickly calmed down.

Someone as intelligent as Jiang Mingxu would surely understand her hint. The two sides weren't far apart, so the other party would probably arrive soon.

All she needs to do now is to distance herself from the man following her, make sure he doesn't have any sharp weapons, and then do her best to protect herself.

Even now, Jin Ran has time to let her mind wander—shouldn't this kind of conflict be reserved for the male and female leads? Why is it that she, a mere passerby and abandoned woman, has to be involved?

It's not about exonerating the bad guys, but rather that everything in the novel's world revolves around the male and female protagonists. All the good guys like the female protagonist and selflessly help her, while all the bad guys relentlessly cause trouble, like cockroaches that can't be killed.

She angrily condemned the author, not knowing if she would ever have the chance to go back in this lifetime. Otherwise, she would definitely leave a message for the author, asking them to stop writing such clichéd plots!

Perhaps they were living too comfortably, and even God couldn't stand it anymore.

As Jin Ran was lost in her whimsical thoughts, the pervert who had been following her from a distance suddenly emerged from behind a tree and strode towards her.

Jin Ran: "???"

She was horrified!

/

A pervert is a pervert; there's no need to look for reasons in his childhood or past experiences as soon as he becomes abnormal.

Chen Wei is such a perverted person without any reason.

At first, he simply walked with a strange girl at night without her noticing. She suddenly looked terrified, and that trembling expression unexpectedly amused him.

Afterwards, in pursuit of this twisted pleasure, Chen Wei began to prey on sexual prey.

The primary requirement is beauty, and the second is a timid personality—such prey are often afraid to speak up when bullied. Under these criteria, Jin Ran, who frequently appeared in the vicinity, became Chen Wei's target.

Jin Ran is stunningly beautiful, but she has a well-behaved and cheerful personality. She is also a school teacher, which makes her even more "precious".

Chen Wei had been secretly observing for several days and finally found an opportunity today.

The closer he got, the more ecstatic his expression became, as he had already rehearsed this scene countless times in his mind—fear, terror, and endless malice.

The woman's panicked expression, her trembling pleas for mercy, and her breakdown after being rejected—just imagining it made his fingers tremble with excitement.

Finally, the distance between the two was only two meters. The light from the streetlights shone down from above, and Chen Wei saw Jin Ran.

Then, the smile on his face began to fade.

What happened to being scared?

The imagined scene did not appear. Jin Ran herself seemed quite calm, not just calm, but even rather amusing.

Amusing? She found it amusing?

Chen Wei felt that things were getting a bit absurd, but soon he discovered that the absurdity didn't stop there.

The beautiful woman in front of him suddenly split her lips into a wide grin, the split getting bigger and bigger, and her joints made strange cracking sounds. Her arms bent at impossible angles, her neck tilted to one side, and her whole body twitched like a marionette.

Late at night, in complete darkness and with no one around, seeing this scene was like witnessing the end of the world.

Chen Wei's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat, and he instinctively took a step back: "You, you're scaring me..."

Jin Ran remained silent, focusing solely on transforming into a zombie.

When she twisted and turned, taking steps that showed no regard for family, and reached out her "claws" towards Chen Wei, the latter could no longer suppress his fear and turned to flee for his life.

"Zombies—there are zombies!" Chen Wei shouted hysterically, nearly bumping into a father and son rushing towards him at the alley entrance. He didn't turn around, leaving only a series of messy footsteps echoing in the air.

The street suddenly fell silent. A few fallen leaves were swept away by the night wind, and the dim streetlights cast shadows on the stone pavement.

The "zombie" Chen Wei was talking about was standing still, with a pair of bright eyes peeking out from between his messy long hair.

Jiang Xuli stared in disbelief, while Jiang Mingxu, after his initial shock, quickly revealed an expression of "I knew it."

Jin Ran, who was on the other side, also saw the two of them. Her tense nerves completely relaxed. As she relaxed, her legs suddenly went weak, and she leaned forward uncontrollably.

At the critical moment, he supported her with both hands.

Feeling the warmth from her arm, Jin Ran's pounding heart finally calmed down. Heaven knows she was almost scared to death just now. If she hadn't remembered the zombie movies she had seen and had the sudden inspiration to pretend to be a zombie, who knows what would have happened.

She couldn't help but say, "Why did you take so long to get here?"

When people are vulnerable, their emotional needs increase proportionally, and Jin Ran felt very wronged at that moment.

She was just walking along when she was inexplicably struck by a terrible misfortune, and then the father and son saw her in such a disheveled state.

So when she opened her mouth, her voice unconsciously revealed a hint of coquettish complaint.

But soon, Jin Ran regained her senses.

I felt that I was being a bit unreasonable. Judging from the time, Jiang Mingxu arrived quickly enough, and such complaints were somewhat inappropriate.

Surprisingly, the man wasn't angry: "Sorry I'm late."

Jin Ran felt embarrassed and quickly waved her hand, "No, I definitely wouldn't have dared to do that if I hadn't known you were nearby."

Jiang Mingxu: "Yes, we were lucky this time, but this has nothing to do with you. The problem lies with the other party."

A hint of malice flashed in the man's eyes, and his tone turned cold: "We can't let people like this get away with it. I checked the area before I came, and there are several security cameras around here. They should have captured the footage. Let's call the police and let them handle it."

He hadn't forgotten that she wasn't feeling well that day.

Upon hearing this, Jin Ran nodded.

I was just lucky this time. If the other party hadn't fallen for it, or if other girls had encountered something like this, no one could guarantee what the consequences would have been.

In just a few words, the two had finalized a plan for handling the situation.

Jiang Xuli, who had never seen his father like this before, was stunned.

It turns out his dad also has a "gentle" side!

On second thought, it seemed perfectly reasonable.

If his father treats Jin Ran as coldly as he treats himself, he'll probably never find a wife in his life.

After the police arrived and took their statements, they told the three of them to go home first, and that they would be notified of any further developments.

On the way, Jiang Xuli belatedly remembered what had just happened. He first looked at Jin Ran's slender arms and legs, finding it unbelievable. Because he was really curious, he hesitated for a long time before awkwardly asking, "Um, how did you do that move just now?"

Its limbs were twisted and its neck drooped, just like a zombie in a TV series.

Jin Ran opened her mouth, just about to impart some acting skills to the teacher trainees, when Jiang Mingxu suddenly interrupted her: "It's getting late. When I came out, Butler Cheng said he would prepare a late-night snack. Let's go home first."

Jin Ran instantly forgot what she wanted to say and instead asked with delight what kind of late-night snack it was.

"I'm not sure, but there should be lamb and beef."

Both of these are warm-natured proteins, which are good for women's health.

Upon hearing this, Jin Ran's eyes sparkled.

Beef and mutton are the best for hot pot, as are tender and fragrant black pepper beef tenderloin and mutton and radish stew that removes the gamey smell and cuts through the greasiness. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!

Jiang Xuli, who had been forgotten, glanced at his father silently, not understanding why he had interrupted him, but not taking it to heart.

Because he was also curious about what kind of late-night snack it was.

The two, one big and one small, quickened their pace in rare unison, heading excitedly towards the parking lot, unaware of the complex gaze Jiang Mingxu was giving them behind them.

Watching the woman's cheerful figure recede into the distance, he wearily rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking to himself, perhaps it wasn't an act at all.