Jin Ran couldn’t help but observe the two high school students skipping class.
And she was a bit stunned.
These boys of fourteen or fifteen were at their most vibrant age, with slender, tall figures like strong, budding green bamboo that seemed ready to shoot up after a spring rain. Biting her straw, Jin Ran secretly measured them with her eyes—well, they had to be at least six feet tall.
Among them, the boy in the baseball cap stood out as particularly tall and straight. He wore the most ordinary high school uniform, yet his unzipped jacket revealed a T-shirt underneath, giving the standard blue-and-white uniform a touch of rebelliousness. After landing, the boy casually brushed off the dust, then stuffed his hands into his pockets, striking a cool and aloof pose. As wisps of plane tree fluff drifted down, he tilted his head slightly, revealing a slender neck beneath his uniform.
Jin Ran paused, deep in thought.
She wondered which of the two was her stepson…
Meanwhile, Jiang Xuli and Chen Xunliang paid no attention to Jin Ran by the roadside.
Even though they were physically present, their minds were already elsewhere.
The story was relatively simple—it all started with a few stray cats.
Wencheng Middle School covered a vast area, and after constructing the teaching buildings, there was plenty of empty space left. The school’s teachers had turned it into vegetable plots, planting all kinds of fruits and vegetables, which inevitably attracted stray cats looking for a snack.
When Jiang Xuli and his friends went to the basketball court, they often saw these fearless cats. None of the boys were particularly fond of cats, but the persistent felines grew on them over time, and they developed a bit of affection for them.
Recently, however, five or six stray cats had disappeared all at once. The boys sensed something was wrong and checked the school’s surveillance footage, only to discover that the cats had been taken by someone!
This infuriated the hot-blooded teenagers, so they began investigating quietly. Today, they finally got a lead on the catnapper. Fearing they might miss the opportunity again, the two sneaked away from the sports field while the teacher wasn’t looking.
The location was a bit far, but Jiang Xuli had his motorcycle nearby, so they could get there quickly.
Seeing a girl blocking their way, Chen Xunliang was quite exasperated: “Wang Shuya, do you have a dog’s nose or something? Wherever we go, you follow!”
“Ugh! You’re the one with the dog’s nose!”
“I’m not wrong. If not, how did you find us?” He and Brother Li had circled the sports field several times just to avoid people.
Unless… she had been following them all along!
Chen Xunliang’s eyes darted around as he suddenly ran a hand through his bowl-cut hair, brazenly declaring, “Though I’m handsome, I won’t stop for you!”
Wang Shuya was furious. “Who wants you to stop for me?” she retorted swiftly, her eyes darting toward Jiang Xuli, afraid he might misunderstand. But the boy showed no reaction, still standing there coolly, his black baseball cap half-hiding his handsome features.
A pang of disappointment washed over Wang Shuya, and her expression toward Chen Xunliang turned even colder. “I’m the discipline committee member, responsible for the class. And right now, it’s class time—skipping is wrong!”
“Who said we’re skipping class? Climbing the wall? Oh, that was just testing our jumping ability. Unfortunately, we jumped too high and ended up at the top of the wall.”
Clearly, students who skipped class weren’t exactly model pupils. Chen Xunliang spoke with conviction, justifying himself with a righteous air.
Jin Ran, forced to listen in on the conversation: “…”
It seemed her stepson was quite the troublemaker.
But that had little to do with her.
The villa staff often gossiped about their employers in private, and Jin Ran had overheard them several times. Over time, she had pieced together some details.
For instance, before the marriage, no one had ever met the original owner of this body.
Also, the original owner had been deeply in love with her husband, Jiang Mingsuo, and after marrying him, she had actively tried to please him. When Jiang Mingsuo was away on business, she shifted her attention to caring for his child, hoping to win the man’s favor by playing the role of a good stepmother.
Unfortunately, Jiang Xuli, as the stepson, wasn’t having any of it.
Jin Ran found this odd, yet somewhat understandable.
Teenagers at this age were independent and rebellious, and they hated being controlled, especially when someone like the original owner used the “for your own good” excuse, which only added fuel to the fire.
The fact that Jiang Xuli didn’t argue but simply avoided his stepmother showed he had good manners.
Thinking about it this way, Jin Ran felt there wasn’t much of a problem.
What was certain was that she needed to focus on preparing for her civil service exam over the next six months and likely wouldn’t have the energy to deal with anything else. “Mutual non-interference” seemed like the ideal arrangement. Besides, she had no interest in forcing herself into a motherly role… Jin Ran quickly adjusted her mindset and calmly took a step aside, preparing to leave.
But just as she moved, Wang Shuya, losing the argument, suddenly turned around and asked, “Miss, do you think skipping class is wrong?”
In an instant, everyone’s gaze shifted toward her.
Jin Ran: “…”
Now she couldn’t leave even if she wanted to.
At the back of the group, Chen Xunliang’s eyes widened as he gasped in shock.
Oh no, oh no! Why is Brother Li’s stepmother here? Did she find out about us taking the motorcycle? Panicking, he tugged at the hem of the boy next to him and whispered, “Brother Li, your family’s here to catch you!”
Jiang Xuli’s expression turned slightly impatient.
His dad was on the other side of the planet right now—since when did he have time to come catch him?
But when he raised his head and saw the woman in front of him, his calm expression stiffened for a moment before a look of irritation crossed his face.
Wang Shuya remained oblivious to her classmate’s unusual reaction. Eager to win, she actively tried to rally the “bystander” to her side. “Miss, go ahead and speak your mind! They won’t dare do anything!”
Jin Ran… was genuinely a bit helpless.
She hadn’t even started work yet, so why was she already facing a simulated test?
Especially since one of them was the “stepson” who hated being interfered with by his stepmother. If she handled this poorly, he would likely become even more resistant and resentful.
Jin Ran had to choose her words carefully. “Ahem, skipping class is not good.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Shuya smiled triumphantly, while Chen Xunliang’s expression changed abruptly.
As Jiang Xuli’s close friend, he knew that Brother Li’s stepmother wasn’t as gentle and kind as she appeared on the surface. She often targeted him behind the scenes, but she always put on an act, making everyone think Brother Li was in the wrong.
Glancing at Jiang Xuli, who had remained silent since earlier, Chen Xunliang felt he understood his friend’s thoughts. In a surge of hot-blooded courage, he stepped forward. “W-we’re not skipping class! I’m injured and need to go to the hospital!”
Along with him, a “heroically severed” arm was presented, complete with a tiny, almost negligible scratch on the back of his hand.
Seeing this, Jin Ran twitched the corner of her mouth.
If they waited any longer, that wound would probably heal on its own.
But this overly familiar guy… could he be her “Step-son”?
A flash of deep thought crossed her eyes.
Adhering to the principle of not taking the initiative but also not making enemies, Jin Ran offered the boy in front of her an understanding smile. “So it’s for a hospital visit. Then that doesn’t count as skipping class.”
She opened her bag, took out a strawberry bear bandage, and handed it to him, putting on the demeanor of a considerate elder. “Wounds can be serious or minor, but if it gets infected, it’ll be troublesome. Here, take this first.”
Seeing Chen Xunliang frozen, she gently urged, “What are you standing there for? Take it.”
Chen Xunliang took it in a daze.
Jin Ran was about to say something more when the driver, Xiao Sun, found her. Witnessing the scene, he looked somewhat surprised. “Young Master,” he greeted, addressing the other boy.
Jin Ran, who was just about to offer some more words of concern: “?”
Her movement paused, and her raised hand naturally changed direction, landing on the tall, slender boy. She pretended not to notice his attempt to avoid her touch.
After a light, quick pat, she smiled and nodded. “If there are any misunderstandings in the future, just explain them properly to your classmates. Oh, I have something to attend to now, so you two should head back to class.”
Hearing this, Chen Xunliang immediately said, “Auntie, you go ahead with your business. Don’t worry about us.” He then grabbed Jiang Xuli and ran off.
Whether this kid was too nervous or just foolish, instead of using the main gate, he actually climbed back over the wall the same way they came.
Jin Ran withdrew her gaze. Even though she was embarrassed to the point of her scalp tingling, she remained outwardly calm and said to Xiao Sun, “Let’s go too.”
…
On the other side of the wall, Jiang Xuli looked at him as if he were an idiot. “If you’re having a breakdown, don’t drag me into it.”
Chen Xunliang, now the object of disdain, plopped down on the grass. Still panting slightly from the nervous tension, he said, “Ugh, you don’t appreciate a good deed. Who was I doing all that for, anyway?”
Jiang Xuli frowned and finally said, “I have my own thoughts on the matter. Just avoid her next time.”
Chen Xunliang snorted but didn’t say more.
After all, it was his friend’s family matter—it wasn’t right for him to interfere too much. But: “No wonder even someone as smart as Uncle Jiang was fooled. Your stepmom’s acting is really good. When she looked at me earlier, I thought she was my stepmom for a second.”
Jiang Xuli: “…”
Chen Xunliang lifted his right hand. A rose-red bandage—adorable enough to make one’s teeth ache—was stuck to his dark-skinned hand.
“That scratch was the size of a grain of rice, and she insisted on covering it, talking about how it could get infected. I was too embarrassed to say I didn’t even feel it.” Chen Xunliang looked smug as he shook his right hand, then suddenly asked curiously, “But, Brother Li, why didn’t she talk to you?”
Jiang Xuli: “…”
The young man’s face darkened a bit.
Jin Ran’s behavior this time was indeed somewhat unexpected. He had thought she would seize the opportunity to “lecture” him or tattle to his dad.
Who knew she barely even looked at him?
For some reason, Jiang Xuli felt a bit unsettled.
But he quickly regained his composure.
It was a good thing for him if Jin Ran focused her attention elsewhere and stopped targeting him.
He couldn’t be bothered with trivial matters like these. If the two of them could just keep to themselves and maintain their distance, that would be best.
Chen Xunliang, unaware of his friend’s thoughts, looked at the bandage on his hand and found it increasingly appealing. As expected of him—a versatile, handsome guy who could be sweet or cool. “Oh yeah, Brother Li, I remember you got scratched by a branch too earlier. Your stepmom actually didn’t give you a bandage?”
Jiang Xuli turned and walked away.
“Hey? Brother Li, wait for me! Aren’t we going out anymore?”
“We’re going to request leave!”
The drifting wind carried the young man’s gritted words.