Having the driver, Xiao Sun, park the car about fifty meters from the school, Jin Ran got out, walked around the vehicle to the other side, bent down, and lightly knocked on the window.
A moment later, the window slowly lowered.
Jiang Mingzuo turned his head. The dappled morning light made his features somewhat indistinct, so Jin Ran didn’t see the coolness on the man’s face. Her tone was light and cheerful: “I’ll head in now then. Thank you for bringing me.”
“You’re welcome. It was on the way anyway.”
“Still, thank you.” Otherwise, even if it was on the way, it wouldn’t have mattered if he hadn’t been willing. Jin Ran accepted help from others and felt genuine gratitude.
Remembering something, she reached into her bag and pulled out a candy—a leftover mint from when she and Xu Zhen had Korean fried chicken. “Here, a thank-you gift.”
A bit shabby, perhaps, but it’s the thought that counts, right?~
The woman’s figure gradually receded and, within moments, blended into the bustling crowd.
Outside the window, cars came and went, countless footsteps trampled past, and the noise was incessant.
After a long pause, Jiang Mingzuo finally retracted his extended arm, opened his palm, and looked at the light green-wrapped candy sitting right in the center.
He stared at it unblinkingly, his expression becoming inscrutable.
In the front seat, Xiao Sun, not hearing any movement for a while, glanced curiously into the rearview mirror. He happened to meet Jiang Mingzuo’s deep, unfathomable gaze, which startled him into a shiver. He didn’t dare to look again.
Only after a while did an instruction come from behind: “Let’s go.”
Feeling pardoned, he released the brake and drove out of the small street near the school.
Not daring to linger a second longer.
Meanwhile, Jin Ran had already entered Wencheng Middle School.
Thanks to her previous campus tour, she easily found the faculty building this time.
However, she didn’t go straight up. Instead, she first called the teacher in charge to inform her of her arrival. Upon hearing, the other person promptly said, “I can’t get away right now. Come directly to the third floor, second room on the left.”
After hanging up, Jin Ran followed the instructions to the third floor. It was currently class time, so the faculty building was surprisingly quiet compared to the teaching buildings. She looked around and found this floor likely housed teachers’ offices. The plaque on the second door on the left read “Grade 10 Mathematics Group.”
She walked over and politely knocked. “Hello, I’m the new substitute teacher, here to report today.”
The teacher in charge, who was counting books, looked up at the sound. Seeing Jin Ran, her eyes lit up.
Wencheng Middle School had hired ten substitute teachers in total this time, with only one for the math group. She had previously only heard the new math teacher was a top graduate with a somewhat special background, but no one knew exactly how.
Seeing Jin Ran in person now, the teacher in charge began doubting her memory. Was it the background that was special, or the looks?
Exquisite features, a composed and elegant bearing—if she didn’t know better, she’d think she was a celebrity from the entertainment industry!
“Teacher Jin, right? We just received a batch of teaching materials. The students need them urgently, and I really couldn’t get away. Sorry for the wait.” She greeted with a smile.
“Not at all, I just arrived.”
Jin Ran curved her lips slightly, her attitude neither subservient nor arrogant. “What needs to be done? Let me help you.”
“No need, no need. It’s almost done.” The teacher in charge waved her hand. Despite that, Jin Ran observed her process: checking book quality, finding missing pages or misprints, then counting the number for each class and bundling them with packing string.
Once she understood, she joined in without another word, working quickly and efficiently, not at all appearing like someone with a special background. Seeing this, the teacher in charge was even more satisfied. Later, when assigning her seat, she directly gave her a good spot by the window.
“You came at the right time. This was originally the seat of a senior teacher in our math group. She resigned last month due to pregnancy. You can work here from now on.”
Jin Ran knew the other was doing her a favor and sincerely said thank you.
After settling Jin Ran, the teacher in charge went to attend to her own tasks. Jin Ran carried the textbooks she’d received to her workstation. It was clear the previous teacher was a neat person. Things were arranged simply and orderly, with almost no dust on the desk.
On the windowsill, a glass of water held a single broken sunflower stem. Sunlight filtered in through the glass at an angle, casting a soft, fuzzy golden edge on the petals.
Jin Ran found it beautiful, so she found a good angle and took a photo to post on her social media.
Then, she put away her phone and began preparing the lesson plan for her first class.
Her first day of work in this life—a mix of excitement and nervousness. She wondered if the students in the class she was assigned would be well-behaved.
…
Before class ended, the homeroom teacher announced: “The school has hired a new math teacher for you all. They will start teaching next Monday.”
Hearing this, the students instantly got excited, banging on their desks and howling. “Teacher! How old is the new math teacher?”
“Is the new teacher a man or a woman?”
“Hey! Regardless, please don’t let it be someone with a receding hairline!”
Someone shouted that last line, causing the whole class to erupt in laughter. On the podium, the homeroom teacher, over forty, touched his own thinning hair and was so angry he laughed.
“Why ask so many questions!”
He glared. Originally, he had wanted to introduce the new teacher a bit, but now he simply said nothing: “You’ll find out when the time comes!”
Nevertheless, the students’ interest didn’t diminish in the slightest.
Chen Xunliang excitedly turned around: “Brother Li, do you think the new math teacher is male or female?”
Jiang Xuli was playing a game on his phone and didn’t pay him any attention.
Chen Xunliang didn’t mind, continuing on his own: “I hope it’s a female teacher, but it’s probably going to be a man. Girls aren’t as good as boys at math.”
This angered Wang Shuya sitting to his left front. “Who says so!”
Chen Xunliang said as if it were obvious: “Does it even need saying? The top math score in our class is Brother Li’s. The top Chinese score is Chen Ya’s. Girls have an advantage in liberal arts over sciences.”
Wang Shuya retorted: “A single sample isn’t representative! Besides, the top math scorer in Class 5 is a girl!”
“The top scorer in Class 6 is a boy!”
…
The two argued back and forth, red-faced like primary school kids, and finally both turned to Jiang Xuli: “Brother Li / Jiang Xuli, what do you say!”
Jiang Xuli: “…”
For some reason, the young man thought of Jin Ran.
The woman’s ease while explaining concepts, the way her pen danced across the white paper, creating a complex problem in mere seconds with practiced familiarity—it was as if she had a whole universe in her mind.
Chen Xunliang also reacted. “Your stepmom is an exception.”
Wang Shuya didn’t understand what this had to do with Jiang Xuli’s stepmother, and it sounded like that stepmother was actually good at math.
Feeling somewhat unconvinced, she couldn’t help but say, “I scored 130 on the last math exam.”
“Pfft, Brother Li scored 150!”
He boasted as if he were the one who scored high.
Coming back to his senses, Jiang Xuli gave him a cool look. “You’re a boy too. I recall you ranked 10th from the bottom on the last math exam.”
Chen Xunliang: “…”
That hurts, bro.
This heart-piercing feeling lasted until the end of class, when Jiang Xuli was called to the office by the homeroom teacher because of the fight.
“Crap! It must have been those bastards from Class 7 who ratted him out!”
Chen Xunliang was furious.
Wang Shuya also forgot about their spat, worried now. She remembered Jiang Xuli’s stepmother. Even though Jiang Xuli said it had nothing to do with her, as a girl, she believed she understood other girls better. Just imagine if the person she liked had a child with someone else—she would absolutely despise that child. “What if they call his parents?”
Chen Xunliang also thought of that possibility. Gritting his teeth, he said, “No, I need to go see.”
Meanwhile, the two were deeply worried about their friend’s future, unaware that the person at the center of it all, Jiang Xuli, was completely at peace.
Or rather, he didn’t care at all.
Firstly, he didn’t think he had done anything wrong. Secondly, even if parents were called, his father wouldn’t show up. Most likely, he’d send his personal assistant, which, rounding up or down, meant no one was coming.
As for Jin Ran, she wasn’t even within the scope of Jiang Xuli’s consideration.
So, when he followed the homeroom teacher into the office with an indifferent attitude and saw the familiar woman sitting among the teachers, chatting and smiling, his sharp brain momentarily short-circuited.
But very quickly, he realized he had misunderstood. She wasn’t there as a parent.
Because he heard his homeroom teacher greeting her warmly: “Teacher Jin! Welcome, welcome! From now on, we’ll be colleagues!”