Chapter 74 Jiang Mingxu, how can you be so kind...

Chapter 74

The experience of sleeping in the same bed in the afternoon dispelled most of the awkwardness between the two.

When night fell, Jin Ran and Jiang Mingxu lay down in their respective places very naturally. The room lights were off, and a few slivers of hazy moonlight shone through the half-drawn curtains, falling on the snow-white bed like a clear river.

Jin Ran closed her eyes and then opened them again. Perhaps because she had slept too much in the afternoon, she was no longer sleepy.

She listened intently, and when she heard the person next to her breathing steadily, she dared not move again, for fear of waking them up.

Maintaining one position was too tiring, and after a while, she finally couldn't take it anymore and carefully turned over.

I flipped it over again.

On the other side of the double bed, Jiang Mingxu silently opened his eyes. Noticing the rustling noise beside him, he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

The sudden sound startled Jin Ran, but her eyes lit up when she realized what was happening: "You're not asleep!"

Jiang Mingxu thought to himself, with her tossing and turning, there's no way he could possibly be asleep.

He simply gave a faint "hmm" on the surface.

So Jin Ran turned over and faced Jiang Mingxu sideways: "Since you can't sleep, let's chat."

Jiang Mingxu didn't reveal who was having trouble sleeping. In the darkness, the man's figure resembled a majestic, undulating mountain range.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Jin Ran thought about it and realized that they didn't actually have many common topics, but they could talk about anything.

In a sense, it is inseparable from Jiang Mingxu's compatibility.

Do you still remember my good friend Xu Zhen?

"The one who often leaves work with you?"

“Yes, it’s her.” Jin Ran told him about Wang Pingping and complained, “Is there really a difference between boys and girls? Although parents have the grace of giving birth to children, it’s so unfair to children to have children just to squeeze out their value!”

Her cheeks were puffed up, she was clearly very angry.

Or perhaps girls can better understand the plight of girls. Even Xu Zhen, who loves to slack off, actually gave up her trip and rushed back for Wang Pingping.

Thinking of this, Jin Ran couldn't help but ask Jiang Mingxu, "What about you, do you prefer boys or girls?"

Values ​​are also an important criterion for assessing compatibility between couples. If their values ​​are too different, she will worry about their future relationship.

Jiang Mingxu replied, "I don't know."

"???"

Jin Ran was completely puzzled.

The answer could be a boy, a girl, or both, but it's not that I don't know. She gave me a look that said, "Who are you kidding?" Jiang Mingxu explained helplessly, "To be precise, I haven't thought about it."

In that marriage, which was full of scheming and deception from beginning to end, there was no affection between the two, and naturally they had little expectation for their child.

Later, Lin He ran away. Upon receiving the news, Jiang Mingxu rushed back from school and saw the baby lying in the cradle crying. The baby was thin and small, but stopped crying and smiled when he approached.

At that moment, he finally realized—this was his child.

"...Because I hadn't thought about it, boys and girls are the same."

Jin Ran recalled the initial tension between the father and son, snorted, and spoke very fairly: "Xiao Li is a very kind child. You are not a good parent."

Jiang Mingxu humbly asked, "What makes a good parent?"

Well, we should at least respect and care for students like she does, and actively contribute to their homework assignments.

Jin Ran suddenly coughed twice in a very affected manner: "Of course, I know that perfect people like me who are well-rounded in morality, intelligence, physical fitness and aesthetics are in the minority, but that is not a reason for you to give up. Getting a passing grade is not bad either.

Those who simply give up and take the duck eggs should all be kicked out!

The room was dimly lit, and Jiang Mingxu couldn't see the woman's expression, but he could almost picture her proud, peacock-like figure before his eyes, which made him chuckle: "You did a great job. Xiao Li likes you very much."

"As long as you communicate well with your child in the future, he will like you too."

The teacher spoke earnestly and sincerely.

Jiang Mingxu nodded in understanding: "Teacher Jin is right, I will correct my mistakes."

Then he changed the subject: "However, my parents passed away when I was five years old, so I have no role models and don't know how to be a good father."

Upon hearing this, Jin Ran's smug expression instantly froze.

Oh no!

How could she forget that Jiang Mingxu lost both his parents when he was young?

For a moment, guilt and self-blame overwhelmed Jin Ran. Almost subconsciously, she reached out and touched Jiang Mingxu's hand. She hesitated for a moment when she touched it, and then slowly covered it.

"It's okay, you're so smart, I believe you can do it."

She was so kind that she felt sorry for someone just because of a single sentence and devoted herself to comforting them.

Jiang Mingxu's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. Without hesitation, he flipped the hand over and took it into his own.

It was warm and cool, soft and boneless, and he could grasp it with ease.

At that moment, for some unknown reason, he suddenly didn't want to continue and instead brought up the previous topic: "I've heard it said that from a social deconstruction and historical perspective, the preference for sons over daughters is a profit-driven culture. It's not about valuing boys, but about one's own utilitarian desires. Driven by utilitarianism, these people believe that having a son can acquire more resources."

As expected, Jin Ran's attention was diverted.

This was the first time she had heard such an explanation, but upon reflection, it made a lot of sense. For example, she was an only child, and when she was young, she often encountered other people advising her parents to have another child, otherwise there would be no one to inherit the family property.

Or perhaps the reason young people are now urging each other to get married is that "they can't support their parents in old age if they don't have children." This shows that Chinese parents have a utilitarian purpose in having children.

If that's the case, Wang Pingping's parents probably won't listen to reason, and they won't know what Xu Zhen should do...

Jin Ran was worried about Xu Zhen when she suddenly heard Jiang Mingxu say, "Mingji Technology is cooperating with Wencheng Middle School to establish a foundation next semester. If Wang Pingping's academic performance meets the requirements, she can apply for a scholarship."

Jin Ran was slightly surprised. She knew about the cooperation between the two parties, but she didn't expect it to happen so quickly: "I heard from Xu Zhen that the child's grades are consistently in the top ten of the class."

"Yes, you can apply."

With this solution found, Jin Ran felt much more relaxed: "If we can arrange a good place for the school's holiday activities, parents won't be able to send their children away even if they want to."

"Go back and ask Assistant Wang if there are any related events; perhaps we can connect them."

Despite this, given Jiang Mingxu's style of doing things, it's basically a done deal. No matter how big the problem is, it seems that a conversation with the other party can provide a solution.

Jin Ran couldn't help but exclaim, "Jiang Mingxu, how can you be so kind!"

"Then how are you going to repay me?" At this moment, he was in the mood to joke with her.

In the hazy moonlight, Jin Ran was quiet for a while, then suddenly sat up and quickly kissed Jiang Mingxu on the cheek.

"Pop!"

The crisp sound was particularly clear in the quiet night. Before Jiang Mingxu could react, Jin Ran had already quickly retreated into the quilt, burying half her face in it: "Ah, so sleepy, time to sleep!"

In the darkness, Jiang Mingxu's body visibly stiffened for a moment.

He slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on the woman whose eyes were tightly closed, but whose eyelashes were trembling uneasily.

He had the desire to steal, but not the courage.

His eyes darkened, and he reached out to tuck the blanket around her. As he did so, his fingertips seemingly brushed against her burning earlobe, and he noticed a slight tremor without any surprise.

Seeing this, Jiang Mingxu silently curled the corners of his mouth.

"Go to sleep."

A moment later, he withdrew his hand and lay back down, ultimately unable to bear exposing her little trick.

A beautiful dream.

The next day, when Jin Ran woke up, Jiang Mingxu had already gotten up and brought back breakfast from outside.

"I'm going to visit an elder in a while. Do you want to come with me or stay at the hotel?"

Jin Ran was taken aback. She thought what he said was just an excuse, but she didn't expect there to be something really wrong. "What elder?"

“An uncle who used to sponsor me is getting old and has some problems with his legs. I’m going to visit him on my way back this time.”

Jin Ran pondered for a moment: "I think I'd better not go."

The elderly woman was not feeling well and was not in the mood to receive so many people; her first visit actually distracted her.

She also had other things she wanted to confirm.

Jiang Mingxu didn't say anything more. He put down the breakfast, asked the front desk to bring hot water, and only left after arranging everything.

After he left, Jin Ran wasted some time in bed before getting up to wash and put on makeup.

She glanced at the time; it was nine o'clock. After leisurely enjoying her breakfast, she casually knocked on the door next door.

This time, it took quite a while for the door to be opened.

Jiang Xuli appeared with heavy dark circles under her eyes, dressed neatly, and had changed her shoes.

Jin Ran raised an eyebrow: "What are you going to do?"

To everyone's surprise, Jiang Xuli turned around and went back to her room, picked up the game she was playing halfway through, and said lazily, "I'm not going anywhere."

"That's perfect, come with me somewhere."

Jiang Xuli didn't want to move. Coincidentally, compared to Jiang Mingxu, a workaholic, the two of them, as stepmother and son without blood ties, were the most alike.

—Same laziness.

The boy muttered, "Why didn't you let my dad come with you?"

Jin Ran suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Has this kid been away from school for too long? He's become immune to his teacher's authority? This isn't a good sign!

She decided to give him homework as soon as she got home, to let him know the wickedness of people. Right now, she could only smile wryly and say, "Because I trust you more than your father."

In short, he made Jiang Xuli's mouth droop.

Forget it, being a son means owing your father something. To prevent his father from being lonely and miserable for the rest of his life, he'll have to endure even more hardship.

/

At first, Jiang Xuli thought that Jin Ran really had something going on.

It wasn't until I heard her ask the tricycle driver at the door how to get to Dongping Town that I heard her ask him.

He suddenly looked up, his gaze wary and incredulous, as if trying to see through her true thoughts.

Jin Ran remained calm and composed: "If you don't want to go, I'll find someone else."

Jiang Xuli remained silent.

Over there, the three-wheeled vehicle driver recognized the two as out-of-towners. After a quick glance, he quoted a price: "That side is far away, the road is difficult, so it'll cost an extra fifty yuan."

The original price was forty-five, and adding fifty would make it ninety-five. Jin Ran took out her phone to pay, but Jiang Xuli suddenly grabbed her and turned to leave.

"Hey! Don't go!"

"This is the price, but we can discuss it if you're really not satisfied!"

Behind him came the loud pleading of the three-wheeled vehicle driver to stop him, but Jiang Xuli kept walking with a tense face until they reached another street before letting go of his hand. His gaze towards Jin Ran was somewhat complicated: "It's less than ten kilometers from Dongping Town. He deliberately tricked you."

Jin Ran knew that the cars parked on the roadside would charge extra, but she didn't expect them to be so unscrupulous: "What should I do? I checked, there's no direct bus from here."

Jiang Xuli glanced at her again, and after a moment said, "Come with me."

After saying that, he took the lead and walked forward. Jin Ran followed, though she was puzzled.

The two wandered through a maze of residential areas, eventually entering a crowded alley, and finally arrived at a car repair shop under Jin Ran's curious gaze.

"Rent a motorcycle."

The owner, who was repairing a car, didn't even look up when he heard this: "Deposit of one hundred, rent of thirty, half a day."

Jiang Xuli transferred the money and used the car key the boss gave her to start a motorcycle.

Compared to Jiang Xuli's beloved car, this motorcycle can be considered dilapidated.

Before riding, Jiang Xuli carefully inspected the vehicle, and the more he inspected it, the more he frowned.

After reinforcing several places, it was barely acceptable. He straddled the car with his long legs and shook his head at Jin Ran, indicating, "Get in the car."

Jin Ran was still a little dazed when she sat on the back of the motorcycle, feeling the wind rushing towards her, and she clung tightly to Jiang Xuli's clothes.

His keen knowledge of the distance and his familiarity with renting a car suggest that the boy had secretly researched the route from Xihai Town to Dongping Town on more than one occasion.

So, he actually still wanted to take a look, right?