Chapter 20

Before the morning self-study session ended, the class teacher,Mr. Qiao, finally entered the classroom. The entire class quickly fell into silence within a few seconds, and a few seconds later, the sound of reading suddenly erupted.

It was obvious that everyone had been chatting and not studying at all.

Fortunately,Mr.Qiao smiled and lightly tapped his hands on the podium, saying, “Students, I have some good news for you. This week, the school has decided to hold monthly exams, which is the first monthly exam of this semester.”

The class fell into a deathly silence. Who would consider an exam good news?

So, no one said a word.

Mr.Qiao didn’t seem to be angry and said with a smile, “The school is finishing the exams early so that everyone can have a more relaxed time during the National Day holiday. You’ll have enough time to rest.”

That was a bit of good news, at least. After all, there’s a saying that goes, “The earlier you die, the sooner you reincarnate.” Finishing the exam early means at least seven days to prepare for the dreaded exam results.

After a while, the bell for the end of the morning self-study rang, and Mr.Qiao announced the end of the session. However, as he was leaving, he called the class monitor over, as if he had something to tell her.

As soon as the class ended, Wen Qianxia immediately turned and whispered, “Ranran, your relationship with Jiang Yi isn’t what I said, is it?”

These days, Wen Qianxia was practically immersed in online forums, and she couldn’t resist sending a text message to ask about the relationship between Ji Ran and Jiang Yi.

Ji Ran didn’t hide anything from her and told her the truth.

But then, someone on the forum leaked the information that Ji Ran and Jiang Yi were a reconstituted family.

Wen Qianxia was afraid that she would misunderstand, so she quickly explained it to her.

Ji Ran softly said, “It’s okay; I know it wasn’t you.”

This kind of thing could be predicted with a little speculation. Even if Wen Qianxia hadn’t mentioned it, others would have guessed. After all, with her publicly exposing Jiang Yi, their relationship couldn’t be concealed.

“Did Jiang Yi get scolded when she went home?” Wen Qianxia asked in a hushed tone.

She had asked in a text message, but Ji Ran didn’t tell her. Wen Qianxia was really curious about the follow-up results. Seeing the excitement in her eyes, Ji Ran couldn’t help but smile softly. “Qianxia, the monthly exams are coming up soon.”

Wen Qianxia blinked.

Ji Ran felt it was her duty to remind her. “Didn’t you say that your mom told you that if you scored the same as last semester’s final scores, she would cut your allowance in half?”

Wen Qianxia opened her mouth, recalling that her mom had asked her this morning when the monthly exams were.

So she quickly turned to her books; even if last-minute cramming might not be very effective, it was at least a source of psychological comfort.

Just before the first class was about to start,Mr. Qiao and the school director suddenly arrived at the door of Class 8, and they called Ji Ran out. Everyone was looking at her with curiosity; after all, quite a few things had happened to Ji Ran in the past few days.

And everything is so interesting.

If it weren’t for Ji Ran being usually quiet and having a good relationship only with Wen Qianxia in the class, while others were just ordinary classmates, and she was also sitting next to Shen Zhi, a famous student in their grade, which allowed her to have a peaceful time without being disturbed.At this moment, when they saw the teacher looking for Ji Ran, everyone couldn’t help but wonder if it was related to what happened over the weekend.

However, the school bell for the start of the class had already rung.

No one dared to cause court trouble.

The school director, seeing that it was already time for class, didn’t take Ji Ran to the office. Instead, he stood by the back door of the classroom, near the staircase, and spoke in a particularly affable tone, “Ji Ran, you’ve been at the school for almost a month now, right?”

Ji Ran didn’t know why the director suddenly called her out. Faced with his somewhat formal greeting, she nodded.

Director Meng smiled even more happily. “That’s right. Today, your father, through the school leadership, has decided to donate a batch of teaching equipment and scholarships worth up to a million to our 4th Middle School. To express our gratitude to Mr. Ji for supporting our school, we would like to arrange for you to give a speech under the national flag during the upcoming break.”

Mr.Qiao beside him looked helpless.

Many high schools have this tradition. They do not do morning exercises during recess on Mondays. Instead, they mainly conduct national flag speeches and announce the violations of students in each class in the previous week.

Originally, a student from Class 1 was scheduled to give the flag speech this time.

But this morning, the principal called Director Meng over and specifically inquired about Ji Ran’s situation. It was then that Director Meng learned that Ji Ran’s father was donating to the school and establishing a scholarship to reward outstanding students from poor backgrounds. So, Director Meng immediately thought that today was Monday, a perfect opportunity for a flag speech.

In the eyes of teachers, having a student give a speech under the national flag is an honor not everyone can obtain. Most schools select students who are at the top of their grade or have received awards for the role.

Ji Ran had been listening attentively to Director Meng’s words, but she couldn’t take it anymore when he got to this point.

She said, “Teacher, I don’t think this is quite appropriate. Giving a flag speech requires preparing a speech in advance, and I haven’t prepared one.”

Ji Ran wanted to use a tactful tone to dissuade director Meng from this utterly boring idea.

However, Director Meng chuckled and said, “No worries; I’ll provide you with the speech later during the break. The theme for this speech will be about the influence your father has had on your life, especially considering how much a socially responsible businessman like your father has helped our school.”

Ji Ran almost burst out laughing.

If the biggest influence on Ji Ran’s life was her father, then it was probably that he made her completely understand just how unreliable men can be.

In her previous life, Ji Ran lived with Pei Yuan, and Ji Qingli’s greatest concern for her was the annual child support he sent. Of course, he would also send a birthday gift on Ji Ran’s birthday.

But they were all selected by his secretary.

Even the greeting cards were ghostwritten by the secretary.

This time, Ji Qingli didn’t do it out of any sense of social responsibility, nor was it because he was particularly charitable. He simply couldn’t stand being gossiped about by the students at 4th Middle School as a chauffeur.

Ji Ran thought being a chauffeur was quite a respectable job. At least the drivers at her home seemed more reliable than Ji Qingli.

She hadn’t expected Ji Qingli to act so quickly. He heard about this matter and promptly made a donation to the school.

He seemed to be afraid that others might think he was a pauper. Ji Ran believed that the one thing Ji Qingli should do most in his life was to thank his grandparents for being born into the Ji family.

Ji Ran said very seriously, “Teacher, I really don’t feel capable of giving this speech. Because I don’t think my father has had such a positive impact on my life.”

Director Meng was stunned. Obviously, he hadn’t expected this seemingly well-behaved and pretty girl to be so audacious.

At this moment, standing in the middle of the staircase platform, leaning against the wall, Shen Zhi had been listening quietly. But when he heard her say this, he suddenly lowered his head and smiled. Then the corner of his mouth lifted, and it never dropped again.

In the end, he clenched his hand into a fist and pressed it against his lips, ensuring that his light laughter didn’t reach anyone’s ears above.

As a public teacher, director Meng’s biggest habit was lecturing, so he immediately said, “Ji Ran, I know that at your age, you’re going through adolescence, feeling rebellious, and thinking that teachers and parents can’t understand you. But you must adjust your attitude and understand the importance of being grateful to your parents, because without parents, there wouldn’t be you in this world.”

Ji Ran didn’t say anything further because she knew that to someone as rigid and stubborn as Director Meng, even the worst parents should be worthy of gratitude.

At this moment, Shen Zhi’s face also showed a hint of coldness.

He leaned against the wall, tilting his head to gaze at the snow-white ceiling, but he seemed to hear another voice.

“If it weren’t for me, you would be nothing.”

“Don’t talk to me about this. Your last name is Shen now, and you should remember who gave you everything you have today.”

It’s utterly ridiculous.

Perhaps the scariest thing in this world is that no one can choose their parents.

As Shen Zhi snapped back to reality, the people in the hallway had already left.

He slowly straightened his back, hands in his pockets, taking one step at a time up the stairs and finally entering the classroom. This class was taught by the Chinese teacher, who had a mild temperament. Even though Shen Zhi was over ten minutes late, the teacher acted as if he hadn’t noticed.

After Ji Ran made way for him to enter, they both sat down in silence.

Normally, Ji Ran would pretend to pay attention during class, but in this class, she remained with a somber expression and lost in thought.

Just now, without giving her a choice, Director Meng had assigned the national flag speech to Ji Ran, as if she had to cooperate with the school and sing praises to Ji Qingli.

In her previous life, Ji Ran was the pride of all the teachers in the school, and no teacher would force her to do anything. Of course, Pei Yuan had never donated to the school and then asked her to praise her in public.

Ji Ran had a reason to believe that there might be some demands from Ji Qingli behind this donation, given Director Meng’s insistence.

It wasn’t until the end-of-class bell rang that Ji Ran decided to hide in the girls’ restroom for a while. She couldn’t believe that Director Meng, a male teacher, would follow her into the girls’ restroom to catch her.

If Director Meng really did that, Ji Ran wouldn’t mind confronting the teacher at school.

She glanced at the young man beside her, who had a reputation as the school bully that everyone knew, but she noticed that all the teachers treated him with politeness.

Just as Ji Ran resolved to take a stand in her heart, she suddenly felt a hand gently ruffle her hair.

As she looked in that direction, Shen Zhi ruffled her hair a couple of times. When he stood up, he leaned in closer, bending down to her, and whispered, “Don’t be unhappy. I’m here.”

Ji Ran had just walked out of the classroom door, intending to go to the girls’ restroom, when she hadn’t even taken a step, and a voice from a distance called out, “Ji Ran, please wait.”

Ji Ran took a deep breath, trying not to let her expression show too much frustration. When she turned around to see Director Meng hurrying towards her, he had an enthusiastic and radiant look on his face as he said, “I’ve already written the speech for you. All you need to do is read it well. Giving a speech under the national flag is a rare opportunity, so please cherish it.”

Passing students around them all turned to look at them.

Ji Ran spoke again: “Teacher, I’ve already said I’m not up for this, because…”

Before she could finish, the national anthem, which had been playing throughout the school, suddenly stopped. The hallways, which had been particularly noisy with the music, now fell silent, with only the voices of the students remaining.

People looked around, clearly uncomfortable with this unexpected silence.

Normally, the national anthem would keep playing until all the students in the school gathered on the field, so it shouldn’t have stopped at this moment.

One student muttered, “Did the power go out?”

Soon, a particularly cheerful voice shouted, “The power’s out! We don’t have to go to the field!”

The echoing cheers in the hallway showed that the students were excited about not having to stand on the field for half an hour. This happiness quickly spread from the first floor all the way to the fourth floor.

Ji Ran could even hear the cheers from the seniors across from her.

Director Meng, standing in front of her, still held a printed A4 paper. At this moment, he looked around in bewilderment at the cheering students and quickly scolded, “What’s going on? Who said not to go to the field?”

But when Director Meng tried calling the broadcasting room on his phone, there was no answer.

So Director Meng had to go over there personally to investigate.

Since they didn’t have to go to the field, the students quickly dispersed to the minimarket and the restroom, and some even used this rare half-hour opportunity to play basketball on the field.

It wasn’t until the end of the break that the classrooms slowly filled up with students again.

A male student rushed in from the front door and shouted, “Do you know why the power went out today?”

“What happened?”

This student, named Zhu Xiaodong, was known in the class as the “little communicator.” In Class Eight, there was a saying that “With a Xiaodong and a Qianxia, there is nothing they don’t know,” implying that there was no gossip these two didn’t know about in the school.

Zhu Xiaodong, with a mysterious look, said, “Why don’t you all guess? There’s a prize for the right answer.”

“Boring.”

“Come on, spill the beans,” a student in the back row said angrily.

Zhu Xiaodong didn’t get angry when scolded. Instead, he smiled mischievously and said, “It’s because our class’s big shot, Shen, paralyzed the broadcasting room.”

Ji Ran, who had been quietly sitting in her seat and not paying much attention to gossip, suddenly looked up.

She remembered the last thing Shen Zhi had said with a light laugh.

“Don’t be unhappy; I’m here.”

“Why would the big shot do something like this?”

“He must’ve done it because he didn’t want to stand around on the field for a boring meeting.”

“Amazing, the big shot really lives up to his reputation. I’d just hide in the restroom if I didn’t want to do the exercises. The big shot went ahead and disabled the broadcasting station.”

Everyone assumed that Shen Zhi did it because he didn’t want to go to the field for the meeting, and they discussed it while admiring his audacity. Even Wen Qianxia turned to Ji Ran and said, “Ji Ran, I’m really starting to admire your deskmate now.”

“No wonder he’s the boss of our school. Look at his courage.”

Ji Ran listened to the discussions around her, unable to find words to say for a moment.

Shen Zhi didn’t return until it was time for the morning dismissal. Some students in the class went to inquire about his whereabouts and were told that he had left after being scolded by Director Meng.

However, Xia Jiangming and others had stayed in the classroom all this time. Ji Ran didn’t have Shen Zhi’s phone number.

She had been hesitating, but thinking that he might have taken this action because of her disabling the broadcasting station, Ji Ran stopped Xia Jiangming after school.

“Ji Ran, what’s up?” Xia Jiangming saw her blocking his way without saying anything.

It was Xu Yihang who asked, “Are you trying to ask about Zhi-ge?”

Ji Ran hesitated, her small face showing some concern, and when she raised her eyes, her big, watery eyes had a hint of mist. For a moment, even Xu Yihang was somewhat stunned.

When he regained his composure, he cleared his throat and said, “I’ll ask Zhi-ge to call you later, okay?”

Ji Ran nodded.

When Ji Ran and Wen Qianxia finished eating at the hot pot restaurant and left, they saw a young man standing outside the shop, holding a cigarette in his hand. He had a relaxed posture, emitting a particularly appealing scent.

Many people passing by were female students wearing the school uniform of 4th middle school, and as they walked by him, they couldn’t help but turn to look at him.

This handsome and tall young man was almost universally recognized.

Wen Qianxia was already intimidated when she saw Shen Zhi, and now, after a full meal, she saw this Yan Wangye (King of Hell) character, almost losing her breath from fear.

Ji Ran patted her shoulder and said, “Qianxia, you go back to the classroom first. I’ll be back later.”

Wen Qianxia nodded and hesitated before whispering, “Ji Ran, hurry up, okay?”

She really thought Shen Zhi might bully Ji Ran.

When Shen Zhi saw her come out, he walked to a nearby trash can, extinguished the cigarette in his hand, and then threw it away. Afterward, he slowly walked up to Ji Ran.

He asked, “Had your meal?”

Ji Ran nodded and, after thinking for a moment, politely asked, “And you, what did you have for lunch?”

Shen Zhi smirked. “I haven’t eaten yet.”

Shen Zhi glanced at a row of small shops nearby. The shops near 4th Middle School were mainly targeted at high school students, offering things like ramen and spicy hot pot, which were quite popular among young girls.

But he didn’t like them.

Seeing him remain silent, Ji Ran whispered, “Don’t you like these? You can go eat something you like.”

After a pause, she added, “I’ll treat you.”

Shen Zhi stayed silent.

Ji Ran thought he might not be satisfied with the choices, so she continued, “You can have whatever you want.”

“Thank you,” he finally said.

Even though she didn’t ask, she understood why Shen Zhi had suddenly disrupted the broadcasting station today. He was helping her, not wanting her to give that annoying flag speech.

Shen Zhi finally smiled and said, “Are you planning to treat me to a meal to thank me?”

Ji Ran raised her head to look at him, half fearing he might make an unreasonable request but also feeling indebted to him. In her hesitation, she asked, “What do you want?”

But Shen Zhi didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned and started walking ahead. Ji Ran had no choice but to follow him. The young man was wearing a simple T-shirt, but as he walked, a gentle breeze caused his shirt to billow and then cling tightly to his body, revealing a beautiful and well-defined muscular physique.

When they reached a quiet alley, Shen Zhi finally stopped. He turned to look at Ji Ran and softly said, “Ji Ran, can you grant me a request?”

Seeing his tone, Ji Ran was somewhat worried, but she couldn’t flatly refuse. Just as she hesitated, Shen Zhi moved closer to her, and there was just one more step between them before his lips might brush past her nose.

Unable to bear it any longer, she scolded in a low voice, “Shen Zhi, don’t go too far; you’re not allowed to do that.”

He curled his lips slightly but didn’t step back. Instead, he took a step forward.

Just as it seemed his lips were about to kiss her, she raised her palm, intending to push him away. However, Shen Zhi grabbed her fingertips and chuckled, “Director Meng asked me to write a thousand-word self-reflection, and I don’t want to write it. So, can you help me write it?”

Ji Ran, with her big, round eyes, stared at him in astonishment.

She hesitated and asked, “Is that your request?”

Hearing her tone, Shen Zhi couldn’t help but laugh. “What, is this request disappointing to you?”

Ji Ran, upon hearing such shameless words from him, glared at him in annoyance. However, for this request, Ji Ran would naturally agree, even though she had never written a self-reflection before. After all, Shen Zhi was doing this for her.

As Ji Ran nodded, Shen Zhi gazed into her eyes. Suddenly, he pulled her hand, which he was holding, closer to himself until her fingertips lightly brushed against his lips.

Her fingertips were slightly cold, but his lips were very warm.

Ji Ran withdrew her hand abruptly, as if she had been shocked. When she looked at Shen Zhi, the young man’s dark eyes were locked onto hers. His long, thick eyelashes quivered gently, as if revealing his most genuine feelings hidden deep within.

His eyes were so earnest and sincere.

In that moment, when he kissed her fingertips, it was his deepest desire.

He whispered softly, “Ji Ran, I’m serious.”