Chapter 57 A Pure-Hearted Young Boy
Chapter 57
The two hit it off immediately.
Unexpectedly, the plan was disrupted as soon as they arrived home.
"You said Jin Dezhu is sick and you want me to go and take care of him?"
Jin Ran was somewhat incredulous, so much so that her voice rose several decibels.
Jiang Xuli looked at her with admiration. He thought he was already quite bold, but he didn't expect her to be even bolder, daring to call her own father by his name.
Jin Ran had no idea of the "admiration" Jiang Xuli felt in his heart.
Because she never considered the original owner's troublesome relatives as family, it's normal that she couldn't change her way of addressing them. Fortunately, Jiang Mingxu understood her and nodded: "I heard he's not doing well."
Jin Ran: "..."
Observing the man's leisurely manner of brewing tea, she found the "almost there" explanation rather unconvincing. Curious, she asked, "What do you think he wants to do?"
The last time we met, they were like fighting cocks. There's no reason for them to suddenly fall seriously ill. And why didn't they say anything earlier or later, but only when they were "terminally ill" did they ask me to go back and take care of them? It all seems suspicious.
Jiang Mingxu handed her the first cup of tea he had brewed: "I guess I want you to go back."
Since Grandpa Jin's birthday banquet, the Jin family has not dared to contact Jin Ran again. Who knew that Jin Ran had never thought of going back? Naturally, Mr. and Mrs. Jin were anxious.
When her father fell ill, and his daughter went back to take care of him, even Grandpa Jin couldn't find fault with it.
The aroma of tea filled the air. Jin Ran took a sip and had to admit that Jiang Mingxu was right.
But what did the original owner's parents want with her?
She didn't meet them often, but the few times she spoke on the phone, it was clear that their relationship wasn't good.
"Do you want to go back? If not, I'll help you refuse," Jiang Mingxu asked for her opinion.
"Never mind, let's go back and take a look."
Jin Ran shook her head and said.
The problem wasn't that she had been hiding all along; she had transmigrated into the book unconsciously. But she was still taking over the original owner's identity. And the longer she lived here, the less she could see this world simply as a book. Everyone here was flesh and blood.
Jiang Mingxu paused for a moment: "I'll go with you."
Jin Ran laughed: "No, I was quite startled when I saw you at school today. If I hadn't memorized my lines so well, I might have embarrassed myself."
"The lines?" Jiang Mingxu asked, his eyes filled with inquiry.
“It’s just ‘Hello, President Jiang’ and ‘Goodbye, President Jiang’.” Jin Ran blinked.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Mingxu's lips curled up: "Then I can prove that you remember your lines very well."
Although I was surprised for a moment when I saw him, I did not forget my mission and stayed at my post from beginning to end.
Jiang Mingxu had helped revise the presentation plan before, so he knew that behind Jin Ran's fluent explanation was that she had actually memorized all the content of more than a dozen pages. Her speech was calm and her manners were proper. Even putting aside their current relationship, her serious attitude alone was enough to earn his admiration.
"So just go to work at the company and relax. I'm hoping to use that black card for as long as possible."
Jin Ran acted as if she was afraid he would go bankrupt from spending money, but in reality, she hadn't used the black card even once since she got it. The real reason was simply that she was afraid her parents would make some excessive demands on Jiang Mingxu, which she wouldn't be able to refuse.
Jiang Mingxu respected her opinion.
"Then let Xiao Sun take you there."
"All right."
Xiao Sun drives very steadily.
Jiang Xuli, who had been listening intently for a while, suddenly spoke up: "Actually, I'm free tomorrow."
Both pairs of eyes looked over at the same time.
Jiang Xuli suddenly felt a lot of pressure, but she still had to pretend to be calm: "Teacher Xu said that my Chinese tutoring is almost done, but my composition is still a little lacking. Moreover, I can't write compositions in isolation; I need to go out and experience life more."
This wasn't a lie; Xu Zhen really did say that. However, his original words were, "Your old-fashioned writing is no better than scattering some rice on the ground and letting the chickens make their way up a winding mountain road."
Jiang Xuli felt there was no difference between taking the chicken for a walk on the mountain road and going for a walk with him.
He hadn't forgotten Jin Jing, who had tried to marry his father, and Uncle Jin, who was full of scheming.
In Jiang Xuli's eyes, none of the Jin family members were easy to deal with. Jin Ran might have been annoying because of the Jin family's instigation, but after the contact was lost, she became a normal person.
So he has to keep an eye on things.
At the very least, we can't let Jin Ran be brainwashed by those people again.
Jin Ran asked, somewhat puzzled, "What kind of life can I experience at the Jin family's place? Isn't our family better?"
Jiang Xuli said in a serious tone: "Life after bankruptcy."
Jin Ran: "..."
Jiang Mingxu: "..."
This doesn't seem to be working.
Jin Ran didn't hesitate much before choosing to bankrupt Jiang Mingxu rather than the Jin family. It was just that her child wanted to experience a different kind of life; how could a parent refuse? Besides, Jiang Xuli's mouth was like two Italian cannons; it might even protect her personal safety.
The next morning at 8:30, the two met unexpectedly in the living room.
Jin Ran paused for a moment, then smiled gently.
The agreed meeting time last night was nine o'clock. She thought that Jiang Xuli was always rushing to school, so he might be a little late. She was prepared to wait for him for another half hour. She didn't expect that he would be earlier than her.
At the dinner table, Jiang Xuli devoured seven fried dough sticks, a bowl of congee with preserved egg and lean pork, and two tea eggs. Jin Ran had little appetite and only drank half a bowl of congee.
This time, they didn't go to the Jin family's old house, but to a property belonging to the second branch of the family.
Old Master Jin has two sons. The original owner's father was the second son. He was not very capable when he was young. Now that the Jin family is bankrupt, he can only rely on the old master and Uncle Jin to make a living.
Jin Ran is not some kind of benevolent saint who readily bestows kindness.
Relationships between people are always reciprocal. If the other party treats her badly from the beginning, she naturally won't rush to establish a kinship. So she decided that this was just a formality, and she would also take the opportunity to see what the other party was really up to.
Sure enough, when they arrived at the destination, Jin Dezhu was not "terminally ill" as the rumors had said. He just had a slight cold, and because he had been eating too much meat and fish, he was diagnosed with fatty liver.
Upon seeing Jin Ran, Jin Dezhu instinctively wanted to scold her, but was stopped by his mother tugging at his clothes.
After a long pause, he forced a distorted smile: "Now that you're back, stay home for a few more days this time."
"No need, I just came to see you all, I'll leave this afternoon."
Jin Dezhu finally couldn't hold back and angrily said, "You've already married Jiang Mingxu, what else is there to be busy with!"
This girl is such an ingrate. She promised to support her family after she married into the family and have her son-in-law arrange for him to become the vice president of Mingji. But more than half a year has passed, and she hasn't received a single penny of benefits, let alone the vice president position.
Seeing that his savings were almost gone, he hurriedly called the person back to settle the accounts.
To his surprise, Jin Ran was even more agitated than him, smashing her teacup on the ground with a clatter, looking utterly heartbroken: "Do you think being a rich man's wife is so easy! I get up earlier than the chickens and go to bed later than the dogs every day, not only preparing three meals a day, but also waiting for my husband who is out socializing in the middle of the night. As my parents, they don't care about me, and all they do is criticize me!"
"Why do you think I brought my child here today? It's because if I don't cook, he'll starve to death at home!"
Jiang Xuli, who almost starved to death: "..."
How could he not know that he had enjoyed such a good life?
But seeing the suspicious looks in Jin Dezhu and his wife's eyes, he thought for a moment and then imitated the petty thugs he had seen before: "What are you looking at? I'm starving!"
Jin Ran immediately comforted him gently, "Xiao Li, just bear with it a little longer." She then turned to Jin De and said, "Dad, could you lend me five thousand yuan? This child is picky, I'll take him out to eat at noon."
The two worked together, and even if Jin's parents still had doubts, they had to believe that Jin Ran was not doing well in the Jiang family. Seeing that their plan had failed, Jin's father's face fell: "Where is there any money left in the house? If you can't stand the food, then leave now."
After much pleading and cajoling, and confirming that she couldn't get any more benefit out of him, Jin Ran was "reluctantly" sent back to her room to rest by her mother.
Jiang Xuli was unfamiliar with the place and people, so she subconsciously followed Jin Ran, the only person she knew.
When he reached the door, the boy suddenly froze, his feet rooted to the spot.
Jin Ran didn't hear anything. When she turned around and saw his awkward expression, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "What's wrong?"
She guessed, "Haven't you ever been inside a girl's room?"
Jiang Xuli's ears instantly burned when she heard the words.
Jin Ran found it amusing; he was still such an innocent young man: "This room was cleaned up when I left, so don't be shy."
"Who's shy?" Jiang Xuli muttered, and to deny having that kind of emotion, she strode in.
Upon entering, one is almost blinded by the dazzling light. Unlike Jin Ran's bedroom in Shuoguo Bay, the original owner's room is dominated by an exaggerated rose pink, with French-style hard furnishings. Even the curtains are adorned with exaggerated lace trim, and several large oil paintings hang on the walls, with a bright and magnificent style.
Jiang Xuli felt her eyes were being bullied and wished she could leave immediately, saying with disdain, "Your aesthetic sense used to be a bit strange."
Jin Ran squinted and looked over: "Hmm?"
"...quite unique."
The chair leg that had been pressing against his neck was removed.
Transmigrating into a book is something that can't be explained to others, so Jin Ran didn't say much and simply accepted her "Japanese" aesthetic.
She told Jiang Xuli to sit wherever she liked, and then walked to the bedside table, where there was a photo framed with small diamonds, and the photo inside was of the original body.
It's strange. Jin Ran looked at it a few times and felt that her current appearance was somewhat different from the photo.
Jiang Xuli also came over, stared at it for a while, and suddenly frowned: "You used to be a little ugly."
"Heh, you want a beating, don't you?"
Jiang Xuli glanced at her, carefully moving away slightly, but still insisted, "I'm not lying. Didn't your nose look a bit flat before? Your eyes weren't as big as they are now, and your face used to be as white as a ghost. Was your foundation shade wrong?"
The more he talked, the stranger it seemed to Jin Ran became, but when she looked at the photo again, she suddenly realized that it really did seem to be true!
In a split second, Jin Ran got goosebumps all over her body.
She tried to recall what she looked like when she first traveled through time—was it exactly the same as it is now, or did it resemble the person in the photo? But she couldn't remember anything.
But her sixth sense told her that there must be something wrong here, and it was a very important problem.
Jin Ran put down the photo frame, her gaze casually sweeping over other places, before calmly turning on the only computer in the room.
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