Sitting on the hospital bed, Jiang Mingzuo scrolled across Jin Ran’s WeChat Moments.
[Feeling the emptiness of the wallet is a bit wonderful] — accompanied by a selfie of a wry, forced smile.
The woman in the photo wore no makeup, her jet-black long hair casually draped and smoothly cascading over her shoulders. Compared to her usual fiery red lipstick, she looked much more innocent.
Jiang Mingzuo instinctively rubbed his thumb and forefinger, a contemplative expression on his face.
He thought about the timing of her change, which coincided precisely with when the Jin family was causing him trouble abroad. She couldn’t possibly think that by changing her approach, he would forgive the Jin family? If so, she was probably in for disappointment.
As early as the day he returned to the country, he had instructed his assistant to hand over the evidence to the domestic authorities. Presumably, very soon, those people would be ‘invited for tea.’
When Wei Mo arrived with a nurse, Jiang Mingzuo had just sneezed, his nose a bit red.
Wei Mo immediately walked over and closed the window, saying exasperatedly, “You got injured and you’re still blowing wind? Don’t you value your life?”
Jiang Mingzuo glanced at him and turned off his phone: “Not that delicate. I’ve had worse injuries than this.”
In fact, this attack could be considered the most ordinary one he’d encountered since achieving success.
The Jin family members still lacked a bit of nerve. Wanting to snatch what was in his hands, they didn’t go all-in but first tested the waters like children. Little did they know, being soft on the enemy was being cruel to themselves.
Of course, if the enemy were himself, Jiang Mingzuo would be quite pleased to see it.
He even had the mood to smile slightly, giving Wei Mo, who existed within the range of normal human empathy, goosebumps.
But his friend’s temperament had always been like this—decisive and resolute in actions, ruthless towards others, and even more ruthless towards himself.
Speaking of which, the two had graduated from the same university, one in finance and the other in medicine. They had never met during their university years but became acquainted after graduation due to matters of entrepreneurship. Back and forth, they ended up becoming rather good friends.
So every time Jiang Mingzuo got injured, he came to find Wei Mo.
Suddenly, Wei Mo couldn’t tell who was more unfortunate. Waving his hand, he had the nurse check Jiang Mingzuo’s wound.
Although stubborn, this man had excellent physical fitness. The wound on his arm had already healed; presumably, it would scab over in a few days.
He breathed a sigh of relief. After the nurse left with the tray, he even had the leisure to joke around: “East or west, home is best. You’ve been here two days, really not planning to go home? If you stay any longer, the nurses in our department will start treating this ward as a check-in landmark.”
Jiang Mingzuo had just changed his medication; his face was somewhat pale. At the moment, his upper body leaned against the headboard, his shirt casually open, revealing most of his robust chest.
Hearing this, he replied, “Which nurse? Leaving their post without authorization can lead to termination.”
“Oh, I forgot. You’re not only heartless, you’re also a capitalist exploitist like Zhou Bapi,” Wei Mo remarked with a straight face.
After a moment, he asked again, “Really not going back? Xiao Li’s final exams are coming up. With his father not around, the kid’s bound to feel down.”
Jiang Mingzuo remained unmoved: “He’s not a child.”
Even during his childhood, he hadn’t raised him; a nanny took care of him most of the time.
Wei Mo didn’t know much about Jiang Mingzuo’s past. Hearing his words, he shook his head helplessly: “Even if Xiao Li’s studies don’t need your concern, didn’t you just get married? Feelings have to be maintained through interaction, right? “How about asking your wife to come take care of you? That way you won’t be so lonely and desolate here.”
Alright, he was actually curious about the wife Jiang Mingzuo had married. Apart from Jiang Mingzuo and the Jin family, very few knew about the arranged marriage agreement. Wei Mo was one of them and had naturally heard about Second Miss Jin’s bold act of snatching the marriage from her sister. But observing these past few days, it seemed different from what he imagined.
Thinking of that woman, Jiang Mingzuo’s expression turned indifferent: “No need.”
But he didn’t explain why not.
After Wei Mo left, Jiang Mingzuo called his special assistant: “Transfer some money to Jin Ran.”
Putting other matters aside, no matter what, in the eyes of outsiders, she was currently his wife. He couldn’t let people think he, Jiang Mingzuo, couldn’t even afford to support a woman.
…
At the mall, Jin Ran gritted her teeth and ultimately splurged to buy the clothes.
People rely on clothes; horses rely on saddles. The original host’s clothes were nice-looking, yes, but overly “fashionable,” not suitable for a teacher’s dress code.
A suit and shirt, plus matching shoes and accessories—this extravagant spending left the card balance at a mere one thousand three hundred and eighty-five yuan.
Jin Ran could only console herself that the school interview was the day after tomorrow. Originally, she hadn’t been overly ambitious, thinking if it didn’t work out, she could try another school. But now, no matter what, she had to secure this job.
Returning to the villa, the servants were cleaning the dining table. Seeing this, Jin Ran casually asked: “Was there a meal?”
The servant smiled and replied: “The young master and his classmate wanted to eat braised shrimp. Coincidentally, the kitchen received several crates of French blue lobsters today, so the kitchen prepared them all.”
Jin Ran was taken aback. Since transmigrating, she had been living alone in the villa and had almost forgotten that her nominal stepson was also the master here. His absence the past few days, it seemed, was to participate in some competition.
Now the competition was probably over, so he had returned. But—
What about the agreed-upon ‘eating out’?
Jin Ran’s expression turned odd. After all, as an adult well-versed in social niceties, she quickly figured out the reason and couldn’t help but shake her head with amusement.
To keep his distance from his stepmother, he had deliberately lied about eating out, actually eating food prepared by the kitchen, and then hurriedly left before she returned.
Just imagining that scene, she suddenly felt the young man’s tsundere attitude was somewhat adorable. What was going on?
The next day, Jin Ran didn’t sleep in. She got up early before the sun rose. Under the faint glow of dawn, she sat cross-legged on the lawn in the garden and started her exercise.
In her previous life, to maintain her figure, she had specifically signed up for a yoga class during her free time. Although she only attended three sessions, relying on vague memories, she could still clumsily assume a few basic poses.
It’s just that her body wasn’t stretched out enough, too stiff. Many movements made her grimace in pain.
So much so that Jiang Xuli, who woke up hungry in the early morning and sneaked downstairs to find something to eat, thought he had accidentally stumbled upon a murder scene and nearly called an ambulance.
Fortunately, he managed to keep his cool.
He hid by the window and observed for a while, eventually confirming that someone was alive and kicking.
Jiang Xuli: “…”
The corner of the young man’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. He really couldn’t figure out what Jin Ran was up to. After hesitating for 0.01 seconds, he decisively turned and headed for the kitchen.
Forget it, it had nothing to do with him.
As it was still early, the villa’s chefs hadn’t arrived yet. Jiang Xuli couldn’t be bothered to make a big deal out of it. After searching for a long time, he finally found half a pack of buckwheat bread in the refrigerator and took it back to his room.
6:30 AM, the servants began to appear one after another.
Jin Ran also called it quits.
After exercising for half an hour, she was now covered in a thin layer of sweat.
She took a hot shower on the second floor. By the time she came out, the chef had already brought breakfast to the table.
Besides the usual breakfast items, soy milk, and rice porridge, there were also the braised large shrimp she hadn’t gotten to eat yesterday.
Seeing Jin Ran’s surprised look, the chef smiled and explained: “Blue lobster meat is sweet and firm, with rich and creamy tomalley. It’s usually braised with Burgundy red wine, enhanced with black truffle paste for aroma, making the flavor most delicious. This was delivered fresh this morning. Madam can give it a try.”
Just listening to the description made Jin Ran’s mouth water. She eagerly took her usual seat. But just as she picked up her chopsticks to eat, she suddenly remembered there was another person in the house now.
So she hesitated again.
Everyone said being a stepmother was difficult, especially with the original host’s long record of past offenses. If she didn’t know Jiang Xuli was home, she could pretend nothing was wrong and continue eating her braised shrimp. But now that she knew, if she ignored him completely, wouldn’t she be seen as a wicked stepmother?
Jin Ran thought for a moment and decided she still had to put on a bit of an act. She asked the butler: “Am I the only one?”
The butler immediately understood: “Today is Saturday. The young master probably hasn’t woken up yet. Perhaps you’d like to start first?”
Though he said this, the butler thought Mrs. Jiang wouldn’t agree. After all, Mrs. Jiang usually showed meticulous care for the young master, even personally checking the temperature of his morning milk. This time, she would likely insist on waiting for the young master to eat together.
The butler was already mentally rehearsing how to mediate if a mother-son argument broke out later. But the next second, Jin Ran nodded and actually started eating by herself.
Now it was the butler’s turn to hesitate.
“… Or, I could go and ask?”
“Oh, go ahead then.”
Jin Ran didn’t even look up.
A plump sea prawn, its shell gently peeled off to reveal the tender, springy white meat inside. The taste upon entering her mouth made her eyes light up even more.
With such delicious food replenishing her energy, other matters were hardly worth mentioning. She felt she could do two extra sets of practice papers later!
Jin Ran had planned beautifully, but man proposes, God disposes.
Just after she finished her meal, an unexpected person arrived at the villa.
“Ranran, are you alright?”
The visitor had an oval face with a pointed chin. She walked as if out of breath after three steps, trembling slightly after five. Entering, she immediately took Jin Ran’s hand. Though her tone was critical, her expression was full of concern. “You haven’t replied to messages these past few days. My family and I have been very worried about you.”
But Jin Ran was a bit confused.
Who was this?
Only after the servants addressed her as “Miss Jin” did she realize the identity of this sickly-looking woman before her—the original host’s cousin from her paternal uncle’s family, her elder cousin sister.
Actually, looking carefully, their eyes and brows did bear some resemblance. However, Cousin Jin Jing had a frail, delicate air, while the original host—or rather, Jin Ran now—gave off a brighter, sunnier vibe, like the sun at eight in the morning, radiant and shining.
Jin Ran couldn’t figure out the specifics, especially since she hadn’t received a single phone call these past few days.
Moreover, she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she kept feeling there was something off about this Jin Jing. She could only vaguely reply: “My phone broke.”
Jin Jing was surprised: “Broke? Why not buy a new one?”
“Been a bit busy.”
Hearing this, Jin Jing seemed to relax: “That’s good then. I thought it was because of your stepson…”
Halfway through, she suddenly realized she had spoken out of turn and quickly stopped. But that hesitant, suggestive expression was even more thought-provoking than if she had finished her sentence.
By now, Jin Ran was finally certain it wasn’t her imagination. This “cousin sister” really had a problem.
She raised an eyebrow. Seeing the servants’ glances drifting over surreptitiously, far from being afraid, she directly asked: “What about my stepson?”