Setting aside the homeroom teacher’s shock at Jiang Xuli requesting leave for the first time, by the time the two obtained their permission slips and left the school openly, Jin Ran had already returned to the villa in the luxury car.
She had many things to occupy her mind—the teacher certification exam, applying for substitute teaching positions, even deciding whether to have steamed wild Dongxing grouper or black truffle stir-fried shrimp for lunch. All these matters took up a great deal of her thoughts.
As for the trivial incident of briefly encountering her stepson, she had long since put it out of her mind.
Of course, there was another important reason: today, Jin Ran had met Jiang Xuli. A teenager in his rebellious phase, full of wariness and resistance toward the stepmother who had suddenly entered his life. Yet, even so, he hadn’t resorted to extreme confrontations—quite different from the vicious stepmother-stepchild feuds she’d read about online.
So she could confidently focus on living her own life~
Thinking this, Jin Ran had just stepped onto the second-floor staircase when she was stopped by the ever-elusive butler.
“Madam, the clothes you ordered earlier will be delivered this afternoon.”
Jin Ran hadn’t bought anything, so she guessed it was probably something the original owner had purchased. “Just send them to the second-floor bedroom.”
“There’s one more thing. Half an hour ago, Sir called. He mentioned his business trip might need to be extended by a few days.”
As the Jiang family’s butler, Mr. Cheng was responsible not only for the daily operations of the villa but also for handling the employer’s personal affairs—everything from travel arrangements and packing luggage to planning events and receiving guests.
It was a busy job, but the salary was substantial. Recalling the call earlier, before hanging up, Sir had casually asked about Madam’s whereabouts. Upon learning that Madam had been staying home reading lately, he had fallen silent for quite a while.
Thinking about how the newlyweds had been separated since their marriage, the butler felt he understood the underlying meaning. Hence, he offered these few hints now.
Unfortunately, Jin Ran didn’t grasp the butler’s well-intentioned message.
As another minor character in the novel, Jiang Mingsuo had slightly more storyline than herself, the discarded wealthy wife.
Rumors said that in his youth, his family was poor—so poor he couldn’t even afford school. He worked odd jobs in arcades and once nearly got beaten to death after offending the arcade’s boss. Surviving by chance, he turned the tables on those who had wronged him and had them dealt with. Later, with some financial backing, he founded Mingji Technology during university and built it into Lingcheng’s largest tech company within a decade.
Now only thirty-five, he was already a figure feared in the elite circles of City A. Later in the novel, the male lead’s company cooperated with Mingji Technology, and even the male lead spoke of its founder with great respect.
Such a ruthless, enduring, morally ambiguous character whose daily life revolved entirely around work was clearly not someone she could handle. “Alright, I understand.”
She looked up, but the butler didn’t leave. Instead, he wore an expression of hesitation.
Jin Ran: “?”
She blinked in confusion, then blinked again. Under the butler’s complicated gaze, she suddenly smacked her forehead in realization!
How could she have forgotten such an important detail? According to the villa gossip, the original owner seemed deeply in love with her husband. Upon learning he wouldn’t return from his business trip, she would likely feel sad, angry, disappointed—anything but as indifferent as Jin Ran was.
Realizing this, she appropriately let a trace of sorrow appear on her face. “Ah, he… works so hard for this family. Though I miss him dearly, I mustn’t let personal feelings hold him back. By the way, please tell him to take good care of his health and not worry about home.”
The butler looked genuinely pleased and suggested, “Actually, Madam, you could convey your concern to Sir personally.”
Jin Ran: “Uh, that’s not necessary, right? What if it interrupts his work…”
“It won’t, it won’t,” the butler glanced at his watch and confirmed, “It’s early morning at the branch office. Sir will definitely have time.”
What could Jin Ran say? She could only smile and promise to contact him later.
Perhaps hearing the same name too many times in one day, that evening, after finishing her practice questions and lying in bed to rest, Jin Ran inexplicably remembered what the butler had said.
She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, curiosity got the better of her. Tentatively, she opened the original owner’s messaging app.
There weren’t many contacts in the original owner’s chat list; including family and classmates, there were only fifty-three. Pinned at the top was a contact with a blank note and a profile picture of a deep blue ocean.
Jin Ran’s heart skipped a beat. Clicking in, it was indeed Jiang Mingsuo.
Why was she so sure? Naturally, it was because after Jiang Mingsuo left on his business trip, the original owner had sent messages to this account almost every day—from inquiries about his daily life to playful, affectionate banter, the epitome of a devoted wife.
The other party was probably too busy, as replies were rare.
And this situation had abruptly stopped three days ago. The last message was the original owner saying she had a surprise for him when he returned home.
Thinking of this, Jin Ran felt a bit sheepish.
Three days ago, she had just transmigrated into this world, cautiously and tentatively trying to adapt. How could she have paid attention to who the original owner was chatting with?
“So how did it end up as ‘discarded wife’…” Jin Ran muttered under her breath, intending to sneak a peek at Jiang Mingsuo’s social media feed. But she accidentally tapped something, and the chat page suddenly displayed a line of text:
“You patted J.”
Jin Ran: “?”
She was so startled she nearly threw her phone. Flustered, she caught it mid-air and, with a panicked look, hurriedly withdrew the message within the final two minutes.
“You withdrew a message.”
Jin Ran: “…”
Later, when she found she couldn’t delete the “new notification” no matter what, she was nearing the edge of frustration. Just then, the volunteer teacher came to find her, so Jin Ran simply gave up and closed the app.
Forget it. A successful person like Jiang Mingsuo must be so busy he barely has time to touch the ground. He probably doesn’t even have time to check his messages.
…
Mingji Technology Overseas Branch.
The special assistant knocked on the office door, holding the investigation report.
“It’s clear now. This time, it’s some people from the Jin family who grew impatient and made a desperate move.”
The sky was greeting the rising sun. The tall man sat behind the desk, a gray suit draped loosely over his shoulders. His right arm was wrapped in bandages, blood faintly seeping through.
Jiang Mingsuo seemed unfazed. Click, he lit a cigarette.
“It seems what old man Jin offered this time is genuine.”
The special assistant nodded. If there weren’t substantial benefits involved, those people wouldn’t dare take such a big risk.
Unfortunately, they had provoked someone they shouldn’t have.
Jiang Mingsuo narrowed his eyes, the smoke he exhaled blurring his expression. After a while, he suddenly let out a cold laugh. “Arrange the negotiations as soon as possible. Since it’s in my hands, there’s no reason to give it back.”
“Understood, Mr. Jiang.”
With that, the special assistant prepared to leave with the documents.
But just as he reached the door, he was called back. “How are things at the villa?”
The assistant paused, uncertain which aspect Mr. Jiang wanted to know about. He could only pick a few things to report. “…For convenience with his studies, the young master moved out last week. Madam has been staying home recently, only going to the young master’s school this morning.”
“No contact with the Jin family?”
“Uh, no.”
Hearing this, Jiang Mingsuo frowned. Noticing his expression, the special assistant felt somewhat helpless.
In his opinion, Mr. Jiang was being overly cautious.
Others might not understand Madam’s feelings for Mr. Jiang, but he, the special assistant who had overseen the entire wedding, knew perfectly well. Originally, the Jin family intended to marry their eldest daughter to Mr. Jiang. Later, Madam, the second daughter, actively pursued him, and the two lovebirds finally got together.
In his view, Madam was Madam, and the Jin family was the Jin family. They shouldn’t be lumped together.
Sure enough, not long after the special assistant finished speaking, Jiang Mingsuo’s private phone lit up.
Standing close, the assistant accidentally caught a glimpse of the chat content: Madam had sent Mr. Jiang a “pat.”
Ah, young people indeed. Their ways of flirting are so novel~
Considerately leaving space for the couple, the assistant departed. Once the large office was quiet, Jiang Mingsuo looked at the resumed daily greetings, his deep-set eyes pensive. He picked up his phone.
[The other party withdrew a message.]
The next second, Jiang Mingsuo’s raised hand froze mid-air, his expression becoming inscrutable.
…
Jin Ran had grown accustomed to being alone in the villa, so when she was awakened by footsteps in the middle of the night, her first thought was that a thief had broken in.
The second-floor corridor connected to the balcony, and moonlight filled the entire area. Jin Ran’s room happened to be right next to the stairs. Her sleepiness vanished instantly, and within seconds, hundreds of terrifying scenarios flashed through her mind.
Until she stormed out, brandishing a vase, and collided head-on with Jiang Xuli, who was coming upstairs.
They stared at each other, wide-eyed, and gradually, awkwardness spread through the air.
Jin Ran was the first to react.
After all, she was an adult, having experienced more cringe-worthy moments than the boy had eaten grains of rice. She placed the vase aside with a backhanded motion. Even in her pajamas, with hair as messy as a bird’s nest, she couldn’t hide her righteous demeanor. “Ahem, you’re back.”
Jiang Xuli paused and nodded.
Clearly, he hadn’t expected to run into Jin Ran at this hour.
His gaze involuntarily drifted downward, finally settling on the woman’s feet. She was barefoot, her fair skin in direct contact with the floor. It was midsummer, sweltering outside, yet the marble floor emitted a faint chill. In just moments, her jade-like feet had taken on a faint reddish hue, looking somewhat pitiful.
Jiang Xuli wasn’t foolish; on the contrary, he was quite clever. Connecting Jin Ran’s attire and behavior before and after, he quickly figured out what had happened.
He couldn’t help but frown.
He was a person who distinguished right from wrong clearly. Jin Ran had done many annoying things, which was why he had moved to the school and adamantly refused to come home under normal circumstances. But to be fair, tonight’s incident was indeed his fault.
Jiang Xuli felt conflicted, but apologizing was something he couldn’t bring himself to do.
As for Jin Ran herself, she didn’t feel much about it.
Earlier, fearing a thief, her nerves had been on edge, so she hadn’t paid attention to anything else.
Now, looking at Jiang Xuli, she noticed he was still wearing the same school uniform as before, but it had become wrinkled, as if fished out of a pickle jar. Both sleeves were stained with dirt, the pants were frayed at the knees, and his hair was somewhat disheveled, with a few strands sticking up at the back, revealing a noticeable scratch on his forehead. Jin Ran guessed it was fresh, as it still showed faint red streaks.
Undoubtedly, her stepson wasn’t a model, well-behaved student—something she had already known from their encounter during the day. So discovering this now didn’t come as much of a surprise.
Hadn’t she herself, during her teenage years, been influenced by hormones and disliked certain people or things? But boys tended to be more impulsive than girls. Back then, she had only complained secretly, while Jiang Xuli had used his fists.
Jin Ran also guessed that he had probably won.
Even if he had lost, it didn’t matter. She didn’t think a rich second-generation like Jiang Xuli would be without bodyguards, especially considering Jiang Mingsuo’s success as a businessman who had climbed from the bottom. With countless enemies, he would only be more vigilant.
Now that she thought about it, she seemed to recall seeing a few suspicious people loitering across the street near the school earlier.
Realizing this, Jin Ran felt relieved.
Although their relationship was ordinary, she held the title of stepmother. With the biological father absent, she couldn’t avoid taking on some guardianship responsibilities.
Now that she knew there was a safety net in place, she felt much more at ease. Just as she was about to make a graceful exit, something moved.
Jiang Xuli noticed it too and quickly turned to block the movement, but it was too late. A soft “meow” quickly reached both their ears.
“Meow~”
“Meow~”
The sound wasn’t loud, but in the quiet night, it was particularly noticeable. Jiang Xuli froze on the spot, unsure how to react. Jin Ran, however, widened her eyes and suddenly understood—so Jiang Xuli had returned in the middle of the night because he was carrying a kitten with him!
No matter how good Wencheng Middle School was, it wouldn’t allow students to bring pets to school. Without help from others, he could only bring the cat home.
She even speculated further: Could skipping class this morning have been because of… cat cuddling?
Instantly, Jin Ran’s gaze turned meaningful.
A cold, aloof, affection-starved rich second-generation… who would have guessed he was a secret cat lover?
The stare from across the way was too intense for Jiang Xuli to ignore. He felt as if ants were crawling all over him. Without looking up, he turned and headed upstairs. Though he tried to appear calm, his increasingly hurried footsteps betrayed him.
Seeing this, Jin Ran smiled, yawned, and returned to her bedroom.
But before going to bed, she sent a message to the butler.
Hmm, it’s not that she was worried about her “cheap son.” At most, she was concerned that a teenager in his rebellious phase might not know how to take care of a kitten properly.