Chapter 12 Is dating at fifteen considered early...?
Chapter 12
Most students spend their weekends at home glued to their phones, so the message was seen by many people as soon as it was posted.
Chen Xunliang was one of them.
However, after seeing who sent the message, he didn't even bother to open the photo: [Oh, it's Wang Laba. Never mind then. Last time you said the owner of the jianbing stall was good-looking, but when I went there I found out he was the same age as my mom.]
[Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter]
[Hey, can you please stop polluting our eyes with your aesthetic sense?]
[Exactly! You should definitely get that beautiful woman sued for violating your portrait rights!]
Wang Laba panicked: "This time it's really good-looking! Better-looking than any celebrity! If I'm lying, may I eat instant noodles without the seasoning packet!"
Everyone: ...
What a vicious oath!
Wang Laba made a solemn vow, even going so far as to swear a poisonous oath, which certainly piqued everyone's curiosity.
Chen Xunliang snorted. Just then, his mother came over to deliver snacks. He took the drink and opened the picture, preparing to make a few sharp comments.
The next second—"Pfft!"
The drink she had just taken a sip of sprayed all over Chen's mother.
His mother was furious and swung her arm, slapping him twice: "You little brat, I think you're asking for a beating!"
Chen Xunliang nearly coughed up blood from his mother's Buddha's Palm strike and cried out, "I'm innocent!"
Who would have thought that the beautiful woman Wang Laba secretly photographed was Li Ge's stepmother?
Wait, what is Li Ge's stepmother doing at the school?!
Chen Xunliang belatedly realized something was wrong, and disregarding his "internal injuries," he quickly notified Jiang Xuli.
【Something terrible has happened, Brother Li!】
Your stepmother went to school again!
/
There are two people at the Jiang family's dining table today.
But the housekeeper felt it wasn't as lively as when his wife was alone.
The wife seemed to love life; she was very enthusiastic about cooking three meals a day, as if she were doing something extraordinary.
That is indeed the case.
Every time we eat, my wife savors the dishes on the table with great care, her eyes sparkling like stars, and she praises the wonderful taste of the food.
When she encounters unfamiliar dishes, she will discuss and learn with the chef, her clear voice echoing around, adding a lot of liveliness to the villa.
At this moment, the Jiang father and son sat at opposite ends of the dining table, the atmosphere so quiet it was almost frozen.
Even the servants serving the dishes sensed something was wrong and moved very carefully, afraid of displeasing their masters.
The two people at the center of the incident were completely unaffected, each continuing to eat their individual meals.
Suddenly, the cell phone on the table rang.
The two looked up at the same time. Jiang Xuli paused for a moment, then realized it was his phone and picked it up in front of his father.
【Oh no, Brother Li! Your stepmother has gone to school again!】
The word “again” is used very vividly.
Jiang Xuli, completely bewildered, sent a message: [?]
Chen Xunliang: [It's true! Your stepmother was photographed at school! The photo was posted in the freshman group, and now everyone's talking about her identity!]
[Uncle Jiang just returned from abroad, why is she here at school instead of spending time with him?]
[Oh no, oh no, it'll be terrible if people find out she's your stepmother!]
As Chen Xunliang continued his rambling, Jiang Xuli finally understood what had happened, and then became even more confused.
Did she get up so early today just to go to his school?
Jiang Xuli's features contorted in a grimace, his expression resembling that of someone who had just eaten a sour apricot. After a moment's thought, he exited the chat and opened his friend list.
Although he doesn't join group chats, he vaguely remembers being added to several groups by Chen Xunliang when school started.
Sure enough, Jiang Xuli quickly found a chat group called "Wencheng New Students 101" in her list. She clicked in and found that the group was having a lively chat.
Teenage students are full of energy, and it's rare to see such a beautiful girl. The girls are curious, and the boys can't contain themselves.
They've now moved from talking about the woman's appearance to her identity.
...[After all that talk, does anyone know her? I'm willing to pay a hefty sum for her contact information!]
[High reward offered for +1]
Um, have you ever considered that the person not wearing a school uniform might be a parent or a teacher? (sweat)
Judging from their attire, they should be a teacher, but I haven't seen them in the first year of high school, so they are most likely a teacher from the second or third year.
To everyone's surprise, they got even more excited: [Wow! This is so wonderful! If I had a beautiful teacher, I would definitely study hard and improve every day!]
[Well, actually, relationships between older women and younger men aren't necessarily a bad thing...]
As the conversation became increasingly absurd, Jiang Xuli's brows gradually furrowed from the sides towards the center.
How come he never noticed how boring these people were before?
No one knew Jin Ran's true identity better than him.
Moreover, he could probably guess why she went to school.
Two weeks ago, Jiang Mingxu went on a business trip. Jin Ran, taking advantage of her status as his stepmother, began to interfere in every aspect of his life under the guise of concern.
He must eat slowly and chew thoroughly, drink warm water at 40 degrees Celsius, and be asleep before 10 p.m. Even if he plays games to relax, she must stop him with a disapproving look.
"You are a student, and your current task is to study hard. You can't let playthings distract you from your studies."
After a few times, Jiang Xuli couldn't take it anymore and made an excuse to move to the school dormitory.
His thought was, since you don't want to see me, I'll just stay away from you.
Jin Ran indeed didn't contact him again after that.
Now, she's acting out of character, suddenly getting up early to go to school—it seems her dad probably doesn't know either. She's probably worried that her "caring stepmother" image will crumble since her dad's back, and wants him to move back in.
Jiang Xuli felt that she had figured out the truth.
He wasn't angry, perhaps because he had witnessed her "hardships" last night, which lessened his aversion to Jin Ran.
People only repel intruders with a strong aura; towards the weak, there is only pity and indifference.
Of course, there were no more superfluous emotions left, and Jiang Xuli was too lazy to have any extra emotions towards a stepmother.
The group chat was still in the middle of a discussion when a new message suddenly popped up.
Jiang Xuli: [Not a teacher.]
The page was cleared for a full three seconds.
Realizing what had happened, it gushed out again.
[Did I see that right? Jiang, the school heartthrob?! The school heartthrob actually spoke up!!]
[What school heartthrob? I don't believe it!]
【roll! 】
Does the school heartthrob know the beautiful older sister? Why did he say she wasn't a teacher?
Unfortunately, no matter how much they inquired, Jiang Xuli never replied again.
...
At the dinner table, Jiang Mingxu, being an extremely perceptive person, noticed that his son across from him was glancing at him repeatedly.
He noticed the boy's unusual behavior as early as when the boy was halfway through his meal and typing on his phone.
I didn't want to pay attention, but I put down my knife and fork and asked casually, "Is there something you need?"
Jiang Xuli paused for a moment: "I moved out of my family home a few days ago."
"Yes, I've heard Assistant Wang mention it." Jiang Mingxu's expression remained unchanged, as if nothing could affect his emotions. "I don't know the inside story. You should consider this matter yourself."
Jiang Xuli nodded.
Even without his father saying anything, he was planning to come back.
The pampered young master couldn't get used to school life, especially the smelly feet and snoring in the boys' dormitory, which often forced him to stay up all night.
And now that her dad is home, Jin Ran's attention should shift, right?
Jiang Mingxu noticed that Jiang Xuli's expression was becoming increasingly strange.
He guessed that he must have seen something on his phone to be acting so strangely.
What was unexpected was that even more unusual things happened next.
After a long pause, Jiang Xuli suddenly spoke again: "I saw her crying last night."
She? Who?
Jin Ran?
Jiang Mingxu frowned, the scene from last night involuntarily flashing through his mind.
After being exposed by herself, the woman pretended to be calm and retorted, and finally pretended to be stupid and walked away, unable to help but think about the meaning of her actions.
Jiang Xuli didn't notice his father's confusion, or rather, he didn't even look up, and just kept saying to himself, "They all say I look like you."
I've heard similar things countless times since I was a child.
As a son, he was no match for the man in front of him. No matter what he did, he was always scolded and ignored. But this time, he suddenly realized that he still had something that he could do better than his father.
Jiang Xuli inwardly scoffed, but her words were firm and resolute: "If I like someone, I won't make her sad!"
Jiang Mingxu, who had just come to his senses, was like: "?"
What's there to be sad about?
/
After having lunch outside, Jin Ran delayed for quite a while before finally taking a taxi back to the villa.
She returned home trembling with fear, only to find herself alone when she arrived at the villa.
"After lunch, the gentleman went to the company."
Jin Ran was stunned. His arm was still bandaged yesterday, and he had to go to work today. If she remembered correctly, he injured his right arm, right?
On second thought, Jiang Mingxu was already the president of the company. Once he sat in that position, there were plenty of people willing to work for him, so he didn't need to use his own arms at all.
What pleased her even more was that the other party seemed to have forgotten about yesterday's events and did not pursue the matter further.
As expected of a domineering CEO, he has such a broad mind!
Jin Ran wished she could praise Jiang Mingxu with a thousand beautiful words, but of course, it was best to praise him from afar. She didn't want to appear in front of him for the time being. With a smile on her lips, she casually asked, "Where's Jiang Xuli?"
Then we saw the butler looking troubled.
Jin Ran wondered if the father and son had argued again while she was away.
She regretted it somewhat; as a stepmother, it was really not appropriate for her to get too involved in this conflict between a biological father and son. She should have known better than to ask.
It turned out she was overthinking it, but the truth was even more surprising than the argument. The housekeeper, looking like an old man helpless in the face of a rebellious child, said with a worried expression, "It seems the young master is in love."
Jin Ran: "???"
Her eyes widened slightly, and her first thought was, "Is dating at fifteen considered puppy love?"
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