The moment Sheng Ran stepped out of the school hospital doors, the afternoon sunlight poured down over him.
The young man instinctively narrowed his eyes, his blond hair sharpened into a fierce, pale gleam under the light.
A bright, conspicuous cat-patterned bandage—a childish style with a pink base and white paws—was plastered across his cheekbone, forming a stark contrast with his cold, fierce face.
The shadows of plane tree leaves fell upon his shoulders. As he walked, Sheng Ran swiped open his phone, and a forum notification immediately popped up—
《Live Broadcast! …》
The accompanying photo showed a girl’s profile pressed against a calculus textbook, her sleeping face looking sweet and innocent…
Tsk—
The young man tugged irritably at his tie, his Adam’s apple bobbing, his jawline taut.
The plane tree leaves beneath his feet crunched crisply as he crushed them, his clear voice thick with intense annoyance:
“Don’t these people have anything better to do?”
Chen Yang jogged up to catch up, just in time to catch the phone hurled toward him.
The screen displayed the details page of the sneak-shot post, filled entirely with a close-up of Jing Nian’an’s sleeping face, while comments continued to refresh frantically below.
“Keep deleting them.”
Sheng Ran yanked his tie off completely, holding it in his hand as he strode forward.
The silver tie clip flashed in the dappled light filtering through the gaps in the plane tree leaves.
Chen Yang stared at the screen, his lips twitching. “Ran-ge, so… what’s the reason this time?”
The figure ahead abruptly stopped.
The young man turned his head slightly. Sunlight streamed through his blond hair, casting distinct shadows across the bridge of his nose, his gaze dark and menacing:
“Do I need to teach you?”
“…Just say sleeping in uniform… is bad for school discipline.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, the words grinding out from between his teeth.
Chen Yang: “…”
That’s absurd enough.
~
Just next door, separated by a single wall in the adjacent classroom.
Lin Jinhuan scrolled through her phone with one hand, her knuckles whitening slightly when she saw the post by “Frontline War Reporter 2.0.”
She clicked into the previous sneak-shot post again, only to find it displayed: 【This post has been deleted by the administrator.】
…
Lin Jinhuan narrowed her phoenix eyes, her peripheral glance catching Xue Xiaomin secretly organizing her photo album beside her.
What flashed across the phone screen was unmistakably that familiar profile.
“Whose photo are you saving?” Lin Jinhuan’s voice turned icy.
Xue Xiaomin’s hand trembled, nearly dropping her phone. “B-boss…”
“Speak.”
“It’s… just a photo of the young lady studying earlier…”
Xue Xiaomin looked on the verge of tears. “I just thought it was unbelievable, so…”
Xue Xiaomin wanted to explain further, but the person beside her simply extended a slender, pale hand.
Xue Xiaomin could only obediently hand over her phone.
Five minutes later, Lin Jinhuan tossed the phone back, clearing her throat as if to hide something, and said:
“After class, deliver this.”
Xue Xiaomin stared dumbfounded at the strawberry cake box that had suddenly appeared on the desk.
The pale pink gift box was tied with a burgundy satin ribbon, and the lid was embossed with the French word “Patisserie” in gold foil.
—This was the logo of that notoriously hard-to-book French pastry shop.
“Boss, didn’t you say this morning… you wouldn’t be the young lady’s nanny anymore?”
Xue Xiaomin knew this shop required reservations two weeks in advance.
And Lin Jinhuan’s twenty-minute disappearance during the first break this morning was likely to pick this up.
A small ice pack sat beside the cake, ensuring the cream wouldn’t melt.
No matter how you looked at it, this was clearly a meticulously prepared gesture.
Xue Xiaomin looked at the person beside her, wanting to say more but hesitating.
She saw her propping her chin with one hand, the other idly twirling a pen.The morning light slanted through the window, falling upon her. Her crisp white shirt was unbuttoned, revealing delicate collarbones.
“I don’t like sweets.”
As if sensing her gaze, Lin Jinhuan crossed her arms and leaned back into the chair, her profile sharp and defined.
“I’m sending you to deliver it, not going myself. Is there a problem?”
Her short hair was tucked behind her ears, and the black ear stud on her cartilage gleamed coldly in the light.
Xue Xiaomin quickly shook her head. “No problem, no problem…”
This gave her a perfect excuse to get close to the young mistress.
But…
Was the boss’s hidden message perhaps: “If I didn’t send it = I’m not a nanny”?
…