Chapter 59 Is Teacher Jin satisfied with this star...?

Chapter 59

The exams at Wencheng Middle School lasted for three days.

On the third day at noon, Jiang Xuli emerged from the examination hall after finishing all his exams. Aside from his right hand feeling weak, his head was buzzing and throbbing slightly from prolonged, excessive thinking. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, he felt a rare sense of relaxation.

In any case, he had done his best.

A moment later, Chen Xunliang came over with a bitter face: "Oh no, oh no, my mom is probably going to be really hard on me this holiday. I should have gone to tutoring classes with you."

Then he asked, "Brother Li, how did your exam go?"

Jiang Xuli shook her head: "I don't know."

He genuinely didn't know. Even with this period of intensive study, his foundation was too weak. For the subjects he was weak in, he focused more on test-taking skills: "Anyway, I didn't leave any blanks, so I made up answers for all the ones I didn't know."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xunliang was immediately filled with regret: "How could I have forgotten this method? Maybe the teacher has misread it!"

But clearly, it was too late.

After the exams, it was summer vacation, which the students looked forward to the most. Perhaps because the review was too intense, Jiang Xuli didn't eat dinner after returning to the villa and fell into a deep sleep.

He woke up at 10 a.m. the next day, his stomach growling with hunger. He shuffled downstairs in his slippers to find something to eat and bumped into Jin Ran, who was dressed in a suit and about to leave.

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Where are you going?"

Jin Ran looked helplessly at the boy's seemingly aloof attitude and said sourly, "Young Master, you've finished your test paper, but I still have to painstakingly grade yours."

Jiang Xuli almost forgot her identity and raised an eyebrow: "Teacher Jin is a gardener who cultivates flowers for the motherland. Grading papers will be a very meaningful thing for her."

Jin Ran: "..."

Who is this sarcastic and cunning guy in front of me? Can't he at least give me back the aloof school heartthrob I knew when we first met?!

Fortunately, there was another person at home who shared her hardships.

A few days ago, Jiang Mingxu called back to say that due to some unforeseen circumstances, his business trip, which was originally planned for a week, had to be postponed again.

Upon arriving at school, Jin Ran took out her phone from her bag. It showed her chat history with Jiang Mingxu before she left home. He had asked her what local specialties she wanted.

It was just a casual remark, and Jin Ran quickly forgot about it afterward, but the feeling of being remembered was quite nice.

Since the man was willing to take the initiative, Jin Ran certainly wouldn't refuse out of disappointment. Besides, she guessed that buying local specialties was mostly handled by Assistant Wang, so there was no need to worry about it affecting Jiang Mingxu's work.

Lesson Planner Ham (The Unrenamed Version for Those Who Fail the Teacher Recruitment Exam): 【Can I have anything I want?】

Jiang Mingxu: [Yes]

Jin Ran pursed her lips, thinking that men were truly the most stubborn creatures in the world. She deliberately asked, "Then can I have the stars in the sky? I heard the stars are especially bright in Z country at night."

Jiang Mingxu: [Are you sure?]

I can bring it if you want.

His certainty ignited Jin Ran's petulance. Having lived two lives, she knew no one had ever managed to pluck a star from the sky: "Fine, but not a photograph, it has to be a real star!"

Jiang Mingxu: [Hmm]

Lesson Planner Ham (The Unrenamed Version for Those Who Fail the Teacher Recruitment Exam): [...]

[(Zhao Benshan touching his head.jpg)]

Upon seeing the last meme, Jiang Mingxu, who was walking, paused in his steps.

His foreign business partner noticed his appearance and exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Oh, my dear Jiang, who are you chatting with? You're smiling so brightly!"

Jiang Mingxu put away his phone, his expression calm: "Did I laugh?"

"Of course, I've never seen you look so affectionate in your eyes before. As you Chinese say, your eyes have become stagnant. I bet it must be your girlfriend."

"Director Smith, your Chinese has improved very quickly, but if I may correct you, you meant to say 'gentle and tender'."

"And..." he paused, "not my girlfriend, but my wife."

Smith, who only had a rudimentary grasp of Chinese, was puzzled: "I know 'girlfriend' means 'girlfriend,' but what does 'wife' mean, sweetheart?"

Clearly, in foreign cultures, the reduplicated word "太太" (tàitai, meaning "wife") is more like a sweet reference.

Jiang Mingxu did not answer immediately, his slender fingers unconsciously stroking the curve of his knuckles.

After a moment, he smiled slightly: "Indeed... even sweeter than Sweetheart."

/

Jin Ran stayed at school for another three days before she and the other teachers finished grading all the first-year high school exam papers.

After that, grades need to be entered, electronic files uploaded, and a date set to notify students to pick up their report cards. However, these tasks are handled by regular teachers, while substitute teachers like her and Xu Zhen can leave the school earlier.

From this perspective, Wencheng Middle School is quite humane. Of course, it is also because of Teacher Wan's incident that the principal has become more cautious and pays more attention to contracts and rules in everything.

Even for Jin Ran, who had made great contributions, he did not give a clear promise, but only hinted that he would recommend her to the school and the Party organization after the holiday.

Jin Ran said she was already very satisfied with this.

This at least shows that she didn't do anything in vain.

On her way out of school, thinking about the nearly two-month vacation ahead, Xu Zhen suddenly felt that all the hardships she had endured were over, and all the bitterness she had experienced since starting her job suddenly seemed insignificant: "From today onwards, I finally understand the joy of being a teacher."

Jin Ran nodded in strong agreement.

Although her students are fairly well-behaved, who doesn't hate holidays?

"By the way, what are your plans for this summer vacation?" Xu Zhen asked curiously. "The teacher recruitment interview results will be announced together with the final scores, so there's a long wait. Staying at home all the time is too boring."

Jin Ran thought for a moment: "I might travel around a bit."

Xu Zhen had the same thought. She was socially awkward in public but outgoing in private, and subconsciously wanted to invite Jin Ran to join her. However, she quickly realized that the person in front of her was different from herself: "Never mind, you have a family. You will definitely go out with President Jiang during the summer vacation."

Jin Ran said helplessly, "I would like to, but his job doesn't allow him to go on trips so easily. He hasn't come back from his last business trip yet."

Xu Zhen asked in surprise, "So busy?"

"Yes, and every day when I get home I go to my study to continue working. Every time I see the light, I am glad that I am not one of his employees."

When asked about Jiang Xuli in her daily life, Jin Ran seemed reluctant to speak.

Seeing this, Xu Zhen chuckled. But this meant the two of them could go out and have fun together: "I'll make a travel guide when I get back and send it to you later."

“Okay, I’ll take care of booking the tickets and hotel.”

The two agreed on their tasks and parted ways at the school gate.

Jin Ran didn't call Xiao Sun today. Since she had nothing else to do, she strolled slowly towards the villa by herself.

She's still practicing for her driver's license and has been riding in Xiao Sun's car lately. She seems to have gotten used to commuting to and from get off work with Jiang Mingxu. But since he went on a business trip, she feels a bit out of sorts. Every time she sees a joke and wants to share it, she turns around and realizes she's all alone.

I don't know when Jiang Mingxu will be able to come back.

Jin Ran sighed. By the time she walked home, fine beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead, and her delicate nose was damp.

As she reached the door, she heard a deep voice coming from the living room.

With a sudden thought, Jin Ran realized a certain possibility and quickened her pace. Sure enough, she saw a familiar figure after entering the room.

Jiang Mingxu was listening to the housekeeper report on recent matters, his shoulder line silhouetted sharply in the sunlight as he turned sideways to the door.

He had probably just arrived home; he hadn't even changed out of his clothes yet. The long journey had left him looking a little tired, but his posture remained as upright as a pine tree. Seeing this, Jin Ran couldn't help but smile: "You're back?"

Jiang Mingxu turned around, his usually sharp eyebrows and eyes relaxing slightly: "Yes, I just landed half an hour ago."

"How sudden! Why didn't you tell me beforehand? I was planning to pick you up at the airport with Xiao Li." Jin Ran walked closer and joked, looking up at him.

Jiang Mingxu: "I guessed you were busy, so I didn't say anything."

After a brief chat, Jin Ran noticed the faint bluish shadows under Jiang Mingxu's eyes and urged, "Go and rest first. We can talk about it tonight."

Jiang Mingxu was indeed a little tired, so he nodded in agreement. However, as he turned to go upstairs, he suddenly remembered something and stopped: "By the way, I brought back the local specialties you asked for. Assistant Wang will bring the luggage over later."

Upon hearing his mention, Jin Ran realized her outrageous request about "stars." She was genuinely curious about what Jiang Mingxu had brought back, so she stopped in her tracks, intending to go back to her bedroom, and sat down in the living room to wait.

Half an hour later, Assistant Wang arrived with luggage.

As soon as he entered, he saw Jin Ran in the living room and greeted her with a smile, "Hello, Madam."

"Yes, Assistant Wang, you've worked hard. Ming Su is still resting. Shall I go and call him for you?"

"No need, no need," Assistant Wang quickly waved his hand, "Let President Jiang continue to sleep, I just came to deliver the luggage."

"Oh, then just leave it there."

Jin Ran pointed to a place. Jiang Mingxu wasn't a particularly particular person. He traveled light for business with only two suitcases. The two identical silver suitcases were placed side by side, and even the combination locks were exactly the same. It was impossible to guess which one contained the local specialties.

Without the owner's permission, Jin Ran felt too embarrassed to open it directly. She could only suppress her curiosity and, for some reason, asked Assistant Wang to put the suitcase in the most conspicuous place.

/

Jiang Mingxu had been traveling non-stop abroad for several days, and this time he slept exceptionally soundly. When his biological clock finally adjusted to the time difference, he woke up to find dusk already falling outside his window.

He could faintly hear voices coming from downstairs, rustling and indistinct. He rubbed his temples, pushed open the door and went downstairs, where he saw Jin Ran and Jiang Xuli sitting cross-legged on the sofa watching the news.

"I heard from your homeroom teacher that the results will be released the day after tomorrow, but in order to protect the students' mental health, only the top three scores will be announced."

Jiang Xuli frowned: "Then how do we interpret the rankings?"

"I don't know, I guess I'll have to ask the teacher privately."

Before they could finish speaking, regular footsteps came from the wooden staircase. The two turned their heads at the same time and saw Jiang Mingxu standing on the last step—or rather, blocked on the last step by two silver suitcases.

The man, dressed in loose loungewear, exuded a languid air as he stared thoughtfully at the box blocking his path.

The culprit, Jin Ran, remained calm and composed: "Assistant Wang brought the luggage this afternoon, but I didn't open it because I was afraid of messing up your things."

Jiang Mingxu hummed in agreement, thinking that Assistant Wang would only help move the boxes to the room and would never throw them down the stairs, so the current scene could only have been created by someone else.

Thinking of this, he slightly raised the corners of his mouth, but said nothing and simply opened the suitcase as the other party wished.

Jin Ran and Jiang Xuli exchanged a glance and ran over at the same time.

Whoever walks the fastest gets the stuff!

As expected of the president's assistant, Assistant Wang was meticulous even when it came to buying local specialties. He prepared multiple copies of everything, including not only for Jin Ran and Jiang Xuli, but also for the other people in the villa.

Unfortunately, Jin Ran searched through the pile of gift boxes but couldn't find what she wanted. She couldn't help but suspect that the other party was deliberately playing a trick on her. She narrowed her eyes, suddenly turned around and poked the waist of the person next to her: "Where are the stars you promised?"

She didn't pull back immediately, and felt as if she had poked something hard. The connection between her fingernail and fingertip hurt a little. Jiang Mingxu's muscles tensed up, and his Adam's apple bobbed heavily.

He relaxed when the person looked at him angrily, then sighed and took a dark blue velvet box out of his pocket.

Jin Ran: "???"

So he actually always carried it with him?!

Jin Ran, who had waited in vain all afternoon, looked even more resentful. She angrily scratched her hair, messing up half of it, like a puffed-up cat.

Seeing this, Jiang Mingxu's fingertips curled slightly. For a moment, he really wanted to pat her head, but he restrained himself and simply handed her the box: "Open it and take a look."

Jin Ran snorted softly, ignoring the man's advances, already calculating in her mind that if his answer didn't satisfy her, she wouldn't let him off easily.

But when she actually opened the box, Jin Ran couldn't help but be amazed.

It was a beautiful necklace made of eighteen plump pearls. At first glance, it had a delicate luster, but when exposed to light, the lustrous pearls emitted a colorful white, as if they were a treasure formed from crushed stars.

"These are Aurora Pearls, the aurora pearls among Tahitian black pearls. Under certain lighting conditions, their surface looks like the flow of the aurora. The pearls on this necklace all have swirling patterns, which locals believe to be images of the Milky Way."

The light softened his cold, hard features, and Jiang Mingxu's deep, cold voice somehow carried a hint of amusement: "Is Teacher Jin satisfied with this star?"