Chapter 32 I asked her about my homework!
Chapter 32
After Jin Ran finished handing in her exam paper and came out of the exam room, she saw a message from Jiang Mingxu on her phone.
[Want to go out for dinner together after the exam?]
The message was sent half an hour ago. She felt that they were on the same page. The "perfect score" meal in the morning was of high quality but small in quantity, so much so that her stomach was growling with hunger during the exam.
Her fingers danced across the screen as she typed a reply: "Just finished my exam. You're back from your business trip?"
Then she asked: "Where should we eat? Is the boss treating?" (starry-eyed)
There was no reply from the other end, so Jin Ran guessed that they were probably busy and put away her phone and walked out of the school.
After two consecutive exams, even someone as energetic as her was starting to feel a slight ache in her temples.
Along the way, students who had just finished their exams could be seen everywhere, chatting loudly in twos and threes about the test papers, complaining about how difficult the questions were, or simply gathering together to compare answers. Jin Ran silently walked through these lively circles without choosing to join them.
However, she felt that she performed quite well.
She had seen most of the question types on the test paper before. The questions were varied, but the knowledge points were ultimately just a few.
Besides, the exam is over, so there's no point in thinking about it anymore. She might as well relax and do something else.
The further we went, the more people gathered, and by the time we reached the school gate, there was already some traffic congestion on the road.
Every now and then, I could hear the girls exclaiming, "So handsome!"
"My God, such handsome men are a once-in-a-century sight, and I've actually seen two today!"
"Are they here to pick someone up? Waaah, the person being picked up is so lucky."
Jin Ran was jostled by the crowd and had to slow down. Just as she was wondering why so many people had suddenly appeared, she saw a car parked on the side of the road with its window open, and Jiang Xuli leaned out and waved to her.
In fact, Jiang Xuli regretted it as soon as the car drove out.
Why couldn't he resist and followed them out?
He had never eaten with his father in the past fifteen years, and he didn't feel that his father had specially invited him this time.
Sure enough, the car drove out of the villa and headed towards the suburbs, eventually stopping in front of a primary school.
A short while later, Jiang Xuli saw Jin Ran come out from inside.
The woman was wearing a simple white t-shirt and jeans, her ponytail tied behind her head, swaying slightly as she walked, exuding youthful energy like a college student.
However, Jin Ran did not see them.
Because parking is not allowed on the roadside, his father was busy looking for a parking space. Seeing that Jin Ran was about to leave, Jiang Xuli had no choice but to open the window and call for help.
The words were on the tip of my tongue when I suddenly found myself struggling with the choice of address.
What should he call her?
The other person was his stepmother, but he would never say those two words out loud, because "hey" seemed a bit disrespectful.
In the end, I could only choose another way of addressing her: "Teacher Jin! — Over here!"
Jin Ran: "?"
After finally getting into the car, it was already half an hour later when we finally got out of the congested streets.
All three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Mingxu took the two to a private Cantonese restaurant. The restaurant was exquisitely decorated and had a quiet environment, but there were not many customers.
Jin Ran was worried that she might have stepped on a landmine, but Jiang Mingxu explained, "They operate on a membership system."
No matter what it is, as long as it involves members, it is always unclear. When Jiang Mingxu asked her to order, Jin Ran ordered a whole table of food without any hesitation.
Of course, she didn't just think of herself; she also asked the other two people in a friendly manner and received answers such as "whatever," "anything is fine," and "you can order whatever you want."
Jin Ran: "..."
Then she wouldn't stand on ceremony.
Considering there were only three of them, she ended up ordering nine dishes. In such a high-end restaurant, drinks were essential, but after looking at them for a while, Jin Ran didn't really like any of them.
She added a glass of water as a gesture of goodwill, and after the waiter left, she discussed with the two men, "Does anyone have a food delivery app? I'm craving milk tea, how about we order some?"
As a domineering CEO, Jiang Mingxu naturally doesn't eat takeout. Jin Ran, on the other hand, often does, but that was in her past life. In this life, she hasn't even downloaded Xiaohuang on her phone.
Finally, Jiang Xuli had no choice but to take out her phone: "I'll make the selection."
He quickly opened the app, selected the nearest store, paused, and asked, "What would you like to drink?"
Jin Ran became interested and got up to move closer to Jiang Xuli: "Let me see what's there!"
Her movements were natural, her heart and eyes filled with longing for milk tea. Jiang Xuli, perhaps because she was often spied on by her through the back door at school, had actually gotten used to it.
He only turned his body slightly to the side so that the woman could see the phone screen clearly.
Jiang Mingxu was not surprised to witness this scene.
She is different from the previous Jin Ran.
Jin Ran ordered milk tea on a delivery app for the first time and was surprised to find that the variety was much richer than when she last went to the store. She felt like she had just made a fortune. She ordered a milk tea and a new matcha milk drink that she had never seen before. Suddenly remembering something, she looked up and asked the other person in the private room, "What would you like to drink?"
After asking, she realized he might have never tried these drinks before, so she offered to introduce them: "We have milk tea, fresh juice, coffee..." She swiped her finger across the screen, "I recommend you try the fresh cherry juice, room temperature with 30% sugar. It's cherry season now, so it's sure to be especially fresh."
Milk tea is too sweet, and coffee is a staple drink at the company, so there's no need to drink it when we go out for meals. Therefore, freshly squeezed juice is the best choice.
“Okay, I’ll listen to you.” Jiang Mingxu readily accepted her recommendation.
Jiang Xuli waited until the other two had chosen before making his own. He ended up ordering a family bucket of milk tea, which cost a total of 96 yuan. He didn't think about paying back when he paid, but Jin Ran said, "It's different. Your dad is paying for the food, but I'm paying for the milk tea."
No matter how shameless she was, there was no reason for a minor to treat her to a meal. Seeing that her father had no objections, Jiang Xuli simply and decisively handed over her phone.
Although he has a monthly allowance of 50,000 yuan, no one would complain about having too much money.
Jin Ran was unaware that any minor present was richer than her, otherwise the money transfer would not have been so swift.
Even when she saw that the bill was ninety-six yuan, she generously rounded it up to one hundred yuan.
Jiang Xuli's phone beeped, and he clicked to receive payment, glancing at her ID in the process.
—Preparation Ham (The version that won't change its name even if you fail the teacher recruitment exam)
His lips twitched.
The milk tea arrived quickly. It was probably the first time the delivery guy had received an order from only 100 meters away, and he smiled so hard that his eye wrinkles bulged out when he delivered it to Jiang Xuli.
Jiang Xuli felt a chill and quickly carried the milk tea back to the private room to distribute it to everyone. Jin Ran drank two cups by herself, enjoying the cool air conditioning and the sweet iced milk tea, and all the fatigue after the exam disappeared.
However, the private room fell silent once again.
Jin Ran looked at this and then at that, wondering what was going on. How could the harmony of their blended family depend on an outsider like herself?
Then, thinking of the tempting "reward," he regained his motivation.
She chose a safer topic and asked Jiang Mingxu, "Why did you suddenly decide to go out for dinner?"
Jiang Mingxu rolled up his sleeves, a simple gesture that was pleasing to the eye even when he did it: "I've been quite busy lately, so I gave everyone at the villa a break."
Jin Ran laughed: "Okay, I thought it was a celebration just for me."
"That's not entirely wrong."
"You're celebrating a bit too early. The exam results won't be out for another ten days."
Jiang Mingxu remained calm and composed: "We're celebrating the exam now, but we'll be celebrating passing the written test later."
To be honest, he was more confident than I was, but who doesn't like to hear nice things: "After the written exam, there's an interview and a background check. It will take at least a month to officially get the position, which will coincide with the end of the semester. I'll also need to figure out how to improve students' grades, invigilate during the exams, and grade the papers afterward..."
Jin Ran was somewhat helpless.
Before finding a job, she was full of energy every day, and she remained enthusiastic after starting work. However, what she looked forward to most became taking a vacation: "Although I have figured out how to improve students' grades, looking ahead to the next month, my life can be summed up in three words: busy, busy, busy!"
As she said this, every strand of her hair radiated despair, making one want to stroke her and soothe her.
Jiang Xuli, who was drinking her milk tea with her head down, had never kept track of time. When she heard that there was only one month left until the end of the semester, she was so shocked that she almost flipped the table.
He wants to go back to W City. His father's requirement is that he be in the top ten, while his current ranking is probably in the lower middle, around twenty-five or twenty-six.
To reach the goal, you need to move up at least ten places!
Jiang Xuli seemed a little anxious, and she ate her food absentmindedly when it was served.
During this time, he couldn't help but look at Jin Ran several times, wanting to ask her about her so-called method for improving grades, but in the end he was too embarrassed to ask.
Unexpectedly, instead of him taking the initiative, Jin Ran, who had returned home, sent him a message.
Lesson Planner Ham (The Unnamed Version for Those Who Failed the Teacher Recruitment Exam): [While cleaning, I found some things. Do you need them?]
Jiang Xuli clicked on the image, which contained some handwritten materials: "These are other teachers' lesson preparation documents. I don't need them. You can have them if you need them."
Just as things took a turn for the better, Jiang Xuli, who was struggling with his studies, decisively ran from the third floor to the second floor. When he passed the door of the study, he unconsciously slowed his pace. When he arrived at the bedroom next to the stairs, Jin Ran was already there waiting for him with her things.
She had just finished showering; her hair was still slightly damp, with trembling water droplets clinging to it, and she was surrounded by the sweet scent of pomegranate. Jiang Xuli stared at the notebook, her heart filled with inner turmoil.
He really needed this information urgently.
But I felt uneasy accepting her things for no reason.
Ultimately, the urgency of the exam prevailed, and he asked, pursing his lips, "What do you need me to do?"
Jin Ran thought for a moment and said, "Next week I will officially implement the partner learning method. I can't stay in Class 3 all the time during evening self-study. When I'm not there, could you please keep an eye on things for me?"
Jiang Xuli breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and nodded in agreement.
It's just helping to maintain discipline; it's not a difficult task.
He left with the documents, perhaps because he had succeeded, he forgot to tiptoe this time and bumped into Jiang Mingxu, who had just come out of the study, in the corridor.
Jiang Mingxu looked in the direction he came from, his face showing confusion. Jiang Xuli, on a whim, blurted out, "I'm asking her about homework!"
He didn't know why he was nervous. He was just picking something up, but he felt ashamed and embarrassed, like a cat caught doing something wrong, its tail stepped on, its fur standing on end.
Jiang Mingxu was startled by his loud voice, then frowned and said, "I know, you don't need to be so loud next time."
Jiang Xuli: "..."
He left feeling frustrated.
Although she felt frustrated, when Jiang Xuli returned to her room and opened the lesson preparation documents, she immediately began to study them eagerly.
Those who can become teachers may not be the world's top experts, but most of them have one thing in common—they know how to impart knowledge to others.
As he gradually sorted out his lesson preparation ideas, many of the problems that had been troubling Jiang Xuli were solved. For the first time, he did not hate these subjects, but felt as refreshed as if a long-awaited rain had fallen on a drought, like a traveler in the desert who had found an oasis after a long journey.
Halfway through reading, Jiang Xuli suddenly had a question: Do teachers prepare lessons in such detail?
The thought flashed through his mind for a moment, but Jiang Xuli quickly put it aside. He buried himself in his studies until late at night and found the answers to most of the questions.
Of course, there are exceptions—some places involve too many broad topics, and his usual reading volume is insufficient, so he either skims through them or simply can't understand them because his notes are too messy.
When I wanted to ask someone for advice, I was embarrassed to find that I hadn't saved any of the teachers' contact information.
Except for one.
So the next day, when Jiang Xuli saw the woman playing with the calico cat in the yard, she hesitated for a moment before walking over.
"I have some questions I don't quite understand. Can I ask you for help?" He kept his eyes on the little calf rolling around on the lawn, trying to make his tone sound natural.
Anyway, she's the teacher and he's the student, so it's perfectly normal for him to answer her questions. Besides, he's not asking for nothing; he can just keep an eye on class discipline for a few more days.
Jiang Xuli convinced herself in this way.
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