At ten in the morning, the temperature gradually rose, and honey-colored sunlight filtered through the Monstera plant, scattering specks of shattered gold across the wooden floor.
Jin Ran sat cross-legged on a rattan chair on the balcony, several thick textbooks spread open before her. Her gaze was focused, sometimes furrowing her brows in deep thought, other times lighting up with sudden understanding. The tip of the pen in her hand never stopped, swiftly working through calculations on scratch paper. As she wrote, a few strands of dark hair behind her ears swayed gently against her temples, their ends gleaming with a faint golden hue in the sunlight.
Whether it was due to her new body or not, Jin Ran often felt her memory had improved significantly compared to before. Many problems she could memorize after just one glance. At this rate, within half a month, she could take the teacher’s qualification exam she’d failed in her past life!
Thinking of this, Jin Ran couldn’t help but laugh out loud—three days had passed, and every time she recalled her experience, it still felt like a dream.
As an unlucky soul who had collected all the “Factors of Youth Anxiety,” Jin Ran had gone through the “winter” of the education and training industry after graduating from teachers’ college, faced a teacher recruitment exam with a staggering 678:1 application-to-admission ratio, and survived a large-scale layoff during a financial crisis. In the end, unable to find a job, she decided to take a long break, only to be hit by a car while out for a stroll and sent flying onto the curb.
She had thought it was the end, but when she opened her eyes again, she found herself transmigrated into a book, becoming a wealthy lady with the same name as hers. Coincidentally, Jin Ran had flipped through this book out of boredom during her university days. The female lead was an ordinary girl from a poor family, pure and kind-hearted, standing out like a pristine lotus in the complex world of the wealthy elite, attracting the affection and rivalry of many outstanding men.
The character Jin Ran had transmigrated into was neither the pitiable female lead nor a scheming supporting character. Instead, she was merely a discarded wife of a wealthy family, mentioned only once or twice in passing by the female lead during casual conversations. “Her? She used to be a young lady from a wealthy family, but she’s long past her prime. Who knows what tricks she used to marry Mr. Jiang? After the wedding, the couple slept in separate rooms year-round, and there’s a fifteen-year-old stepson at home who completely ignores her. She probably lives a repressed life and has a rather odd personality.”
At that time, the female lead and male lead were having a conflict over some matter. After hearing the story of the discarded wife, they immediately reconciled, pouring their hearts out to each other and sharing a passionate moonlit kiss that had readers swooning. To this, Jin Ran thought—That’s absolutely fantastic!
A graduate of a prestigious university, married into a wealthy family, with a child already grown, no plans for a second child—what could be a better resume than that? Especially when she learned that the most popular career path in this world was entering the entertainment industry to film variety shows, while civil service and state-approved jobs were considered niche professions… Discarded wife? Stepmother? She wanted to say that civil service and state-approved jobs were the true gods!
Thus, in the three days since transmigrating, apart from half a day spent gathering information on the first day, Jin Ran had spent the remaining two and a half days in the villa, nourishing her brain with bird’s nest soup while frantically practicing for the state-approved job exams.
Today was no different.
However, not long after Jin Ran sat down, noises began to echo from the first-floor hall—thuds and clangs, and upon closer listen, voices could be heard too. Soon after, the butler hurried upstairs, his usually calm face etched with anxiety.
Jin Ran didn’t pay it much mind at first. When she transmigrated, the original host had already been married for two weeks, so she was living in the husband’s family home. The Jiang family was wealthy and influential, with a staff of fifteen servants alone. Butler Cheng was the head among them. As for the other two occupants of the villa, one was reportedly away on a business trip, and the other was participating in some competition at school. Jin Ran hadn’t met either of them yet.
To be honest, this came as a relief to Jin Ran. After all, she wasn’t the original host and had no memories of her past. Spending too much time together would inevitably raise suspicions. While the life of a wealthy lady was alluring, Jin Ran saw things clearly: relying on others was not a long-term solution. Only resources firmly in one’s own hands constituted real wealth. After much thought, Jin Ran decided to seize the opportunity to obtain a teacher’s qualification. This way, even if she still ended up as a “discarded wife of a wealthy family” in the future, she would have a job to support herself. Once she gained a solid foothold in this world, she might even take the initiative to file for divorce.
As for the present moment… well, she still had to rely on her status as a wealthy lady to add some luster to her “resume.”
“Madam.”
At the staircase, the butler hadn’t expected to run into Jin Ran. After a moment’s hesitation, he stopped and greeted her. He gave a slight bow, a formulaic smile on his face, though his eyes couldn’t help but briefly assess the new mistress.
His first impression was that she was young and beautiful. This was understandable, as he’d heard the mistress was only twenty-five, freshly out into the world. Her eyes were large and round, shining brighter than stars. Her under-eye areas were full, the tip of her nose slightly upturned, and her lips naturally rosy, with a plump and glossy cupid’s bow.
The weather was a bit warm. Today, Jin Ran wore a black cotton-linen tea dress that elegantly outlined her well-proportioned figure. Her raven-black hair was casually tied into a bun at the back of her head, with a few unruly strands of bangs escaping to cast shadows beneath her brows. Even after half a month had passed, the butler still felt somewhat disoriented by the presence of a new mistress in the villa.
It wasn’t that he had any objections; it was just that in his many years working at the villa, he had never seen the master get close to any woman. The sudden marriage to a wife ten years his junior was inevitably puzzling.
The thought flickered through his mind, but thinking of what he needed to do next, the butler began to worry again.
Jin Ran pretended not to notice. “What’s wrong?”
The butler’s lips quivered, but in the end, he didn’t voice it. Instead, he somewhat guiltily averted his gaze. “Nothing, nothing. I’m just here to get something.”
Jin Ran blinked and said straightforwardly, “Oh, actually, I have something to ask you.” Under the butler’s surprised gaze, she politely inquired, “Could you arrange a car for me? I need to go out later.”
After successfully registering online for the teacher’s qualification exam, she needed to go in person for confirmation. She had just checked the map—the location was two kilometers from the villa, not far, but a thirty-minute walk.
The butler thought for a moment. “There’s still a Porsche in the garage. How about having Xiao Sun drive that one?”
Hearing this, Jin Ran felt a surge of joy. So, the “chauffeur service” of wealthy families was real! She could save some money this way. “That would be great!” she agreed without hesitation.
The butler paused, hurriedly saying it was part of his duties. Seeing that Jin Ran had nothing else, he excused himself and left.
By the time Jin Ran happily finished tidying up the test papers on the balcony and looked up again, she noticed the butler had gone to the third floor.
The third floor… She thought about it. Apart from the entertainment room and home theater, wasn’t her stepson’s bedroom also up there?
….
“Why isn’t he here yet? Could he have been stopped?”
Outside the villa district, on Changying Road, several boys stood under a tree, sneakily peering into the courtyard.
“Last time Brother Li rode his motorcycle, that stepmother of his pretended to be concerned to stop him, but she was actually full of sarcasm. How could Uncle Jiang not even say anything about it?” A boy with a bowl-cut hairstyle said indignantly.
“Alright, that’s enough,” the others nudged Bowl-Cut. Realizing he had spoken carelessly, Bowl-Cut’s heart skipped a beat, and he cautiously glanced at the boy beside him. “Um, Brother Li, don’t be upset. Uncle Jiang definitely values you as his son.”
The boy called “Brother Li” gave a light sneer. “Once we get the motorcycle, you all go to school first.”
“Got it.”
Even so, because of the slip-up, the others fell silent, quietly keeping to themselves like quails.
Jiang Xuli noticed this, the mockery in his eyes deepening.
He actually didn’t care about that woman. After all, his father wasn’t a great person either. He felt that if the law allowed it, his father would have dumped him in the trash long ago—though it wasn’t much different now.
So, upon sensing the hidden “hostility” beneath the enthusiasm of his father’s new wife, Jiang Xuli had directly used a competition as an excuse to temporarily move into the student dormitory.
This time, he was back to get his motorcycle keys.
Originally, he wouldn’t have cared if he ran into that woman. Even if she said something, he could just ignore her. But he was afraid she’d look down on his friends with that condescending gaze of hers.
Fortunately, the thing he worried about didn’t happen. The butler hurriedly brought the keys over. Jiang Xuli took them, ignoring the butler’s hesitant look, and went to the garage to get his beloved motorcycle.
Meanwhile, Jin Ran had no idea she had almost met her stepson. Carrying her Hermès bag, she settled into the spacious back seat of the million-dollar luxury car. Truly worthy of its price, the ride was almost entirely smooth. The interior was roomy, the seats comfortable. In the sweltering summer heat, a gentle cool breeze swept through, instantly dispelling the stifling warmth.
As they drove out of the underground garage, a purple Icon Sheene motorcycle emerged from the garage at the same time. The two vehicles “brushed past” each other. The helmeted young man leaned low over the bike, twisting the throttle as he sped off, kicking up dust and wind behind him-carefree and unrestrained.
Jin Ran withdrew her gaze.
Half an hour later, with Xiao Sun’s “as smooth as walking on flat ground” driving skills, the car arrived steadily at Wencheng Middle School. City A had a well-developed education system, with 280 middle schools alone. Among them, Wencheng Middle School was the best in quality and had the largest campus, divided into north, south, and west zones.
Since it was the last day for confirmation, there weren’t many people on site. Jin Ran quickly submitted her materials. However, she didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she chatted cheerfully with a now-idle volunteer. Coincidentally, that person also taught math. Upon learning that Jin Ran was a graduate of a prestigious university and had passed the teacher qualification exam, the volunteer became very enthusiastic: “From the written exam to the official hiring, it takes at least half a year. If you want to gain experience early, you could apply to be a substitute teacher first.”
Jin Ran thought for a moment and found this suggestion excellent. Her theoretical knowledge was already solid, and she didn’t plan to spend all her subsequent time just drilling practice problems-being a teacher isn’t just about book knowledge; it requires hands-on experience.
“To be honest, our school is recently hiring a batch of substitute teachers,” the volunteer glanced around and lowered her voice. “The pay isn’t as good as for a regular teacher, but it’s not bad either. Plus, our students all got in with high scores-they’re smart and obedient, very easy to teach.”
Jin Ran had already set her sights on Wencheng Middle School. Hearing this olive branch, she immediately went along with it and offered a compliment: “I’ve long heard that your school is a place of outstanding people and favorable conditions, with an excellent academic atmosphere.”
The two exchanged a knowing smile; everything was understood without words.
After swapping contact information, Jin Ran left the school with light steps.
She bought herself a cup of milk tea by the roadside. The sweet taste made her cheerful mood soar even higher, as if bubbles were being blown—light and floating, drifting up into the sky.
She felt that her new life was just like those bubbles, blossoming in every way, rising steadily, with nothing but bright prospects ahead and not a single flaw in sight.
Thinking this, Jin Ran took another sip of her milk tea and walked toward the place where Xiao Sun had parked.
Then her path was blocked by a tree branch that came flying across.
In this day and age, encountering falling objects on the road, though unethical, was not exactly rare. But immediately after that, two students furtively climbed out from behind a high wall.
They were wearing school uniforms, yet their movements were as clean and nimble as high jump athletes. With a light push of one hand, they leapt effortlessly to the ground, one of them even shouting “Easy!” out loud.
Jin Ran: “……”
Weren’t they supposed to be smart, well-behaved, and easy to teach?
For some reason, a bad feeling rose in her heart.
And that feeling finally reached its peak when another female student chased after them: “Jiang Xuli, if you dare skip class, I’ll go tell the teacher!”
The smile at the corner of Jin Ran’s mouth froze.
Jiang… Jiang what?
The unfamiliar yet strangely familiar name began spinning in her mind. She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling an urge to turn around and leave.
So, after all her careful selection, she had somehow ended up at her own stepson’s school?!