Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten

Jiang Qian spoke seriously:

"From now on, I’m your girlfriend. We can sleep together whenever you want, because I’m actually quite curious about what it’s like with a guy. Exploring human origins sounds fascinating, at least according to books. But there’s one condition—you have to marry me. I can only accept doing that with my husband. After we get married, I can support you, but you can't cheat on me."

"Stop!" Lin Zhengran raised his hand. "What nonsense are you talking about? When did I confess to you?"

Jiang Qian looked at him and helped him recall:

"Just now. I told you to make a request, and you said you wanted to sleep with me. Isn’t that a confession? I agreed, but only if you marry me first."

"Stop again!" He looked helpless. "That’s not what I said! I said everything except sleeping together was fine!"

Jiang Qian nodded. "Yes, but you asked it as a question. You asked if everything except sleeping together was okay, right? And my answer was that sleeping together is also fine—on the condition that you marry me first."

Lin Zhengran interrupted, "So the choice is mine, right? Right now, I have no interest in sleeping with you, and that’s not the kind of reward I want. I haven’t even told you what I want yet."

Jiang Qian hesitated, clearly confused.

Lin Zhengran’s male instincts made him instinctively glance at a certain area. He had never really paid attention to this kind of thing before, but he had to admit, Jiang Qian did have a great figure. He just didn’t expect her to be so blunt about it.

"What are we even talking about? Honestly, yeah, I do find you attractive. A lot of people like girls with long black hair. But just because you’re pretty doesn’t mean my request has to be sleeping with you. Besides, I have a girlfriend."

Jiang Qian’s expression was a bit strange at first, but when she heard the last part, she visibly lowered her head, looking a little hurt.

"I know. But before you get married, you still have the right to choose your partner, don’t you? A lover is a lover, a spouse is a spouse. You can change lovers, but a spouse is for life. And I already agreed… Out of the hundreds of guys who have confessed to me since I was a kid, you’re the only one I’ve said yes to."

Seeing her change in expression, Lin Zhengran asked curiously, "Jiang Qian, do you like me?"

Jiang Qian’s face turned slightly red. Her pupils shifted as she looked away.

"No," she corrected herself. "I mean, not to the extent of liking. I just think you’re a good person, and I care about you a little. So I think marrying you would be okay."

She was being honest. The truth was, she didn’t even know what liking someone really meant. She had never liked anyone before.

Lin Zhengran blinked.

"Is that so? Well, anyway, I’ll agree to your request, but my reward won’t be making you my girlfriend or sleeping with you. I have something else in mind—I just haven’t decided what yet."

Jiang Qian looked at him and accepted reality.

"Alright. Then I’ll owe you a huge favor today. I’ll definitely repay it in the future. And before you give yourself to someone else, if your request is to sleep with me and get married, I’ll agree to it anytime."

Lin Zhengran chuckled and dropped the subject.

"Got it. Now, let’s talk about you and Fang Meng. That’s the real reason you came to me today, isn’t it?"

Jiang Qian nodded.

"I met Fang Meng back in second grade…"

The general story was the same, but Lin Zhengran knew that when people recall memories, they always tell them from their own perspective. The same story could sound completely different depending on who was telling it.

So if he heard the key points from both sides, he could predict the outcome of their conflict in advance.

And sure enough, things were just as he expected.

Jiang Qian genuinely cared about Fang Meng and truly considered her a friend. But back then, she had asked Fang Meng a question:

"If I hadn’t lent you money first, and today my family was in trouble, would you have lent me money?"

That question had deeply hurt her. Even after all these years, she had never completely let it go.

Until… the real conflict exploded a year ago.

Jiang Qian explained, "A year ago, Fang Meng’s parents came over for a visit. My parents were there too. We were talking about university applications, and I said I wanted to go to Stanford. Fang Meng’s parents said that when she was younger, her dream was always Tsinghua."

"And then?"

Jiang Qian recalled,

"Fang Meng wasn’t in the living room when they asked. I don’t remember what she was doing at the time. I only remember that later, when I asked her privately about her university choice, she said, ‘Since you’re going to Stanford, I’ll try my best to go with you.’ That was when it hit me—I might have been holding her back all these years."

Lin Zhengran sighed. These two were so casual about it, as if Stanford and Tsinghua were just places you could pick and choose.

"So a year ago, you started giving her space? And then last time, when you two finally had a huge argument, that was the end of it?"

Jiang Qian looked regretful.

"Yeah… Actually, I made things very clear when we were in the car that day. I just didn’t want to influence her life. That’s all. But I don’t know why it turned out like this. I got over what happened years ago a long time ago…"

"Really?" Lin Zhengran pressed. "Are you sure you’re really over it? If you were, why do you keep bringing it up?"

Jiang Qian clenched her fists on her lap. "I…"

Lin Zhengran sighed.

"Weren’t you just being super direct earlier? But now, with this, you can’t be straightforward? If you still care about what happened back then, just say it. Tell her how much it hurt you at the time. Ask her why she didn’t answer you back then. Be honest with Fang Meng."

Jiang Qian hesitated. "But wouldn’t that just start another fight?"

"Aren’t you already fighting? Keeping things bottled up doesn’t help. Sooner or later, it’ll become a ticking time bomb. The only way to resolve things is to talk it out—even if it leads to an argument. Best friends fighting is totally normal.

"Besides, you misunderstood something. Fang Meng might feel guilty about the past, but I think she wants to go to Stanford with you simply because she wants to be with you. It has nothing to do with the past. People change. Maybe she just doesn’t want to go to Tsinghua anymore.

"But instead of believing that, you assumed you were holding her back. So you tried to push her away. But isn’t that also a way of influencing her? All she sees is that you don’t want her to go with you. To her, it just feels like you’re trying to break away from her."

Jiang Qian listened carefully, her expression showing a sense of realization.

Lin Zhengran asked,

"You get it now? It’s actually pretty simple."

"Yeah… The way you explained it, I finally understand what Fang Meng was thinking. Good thing I came to you. It’s like you can read everyone’s mind or something."

Lin Zhengran smirked.

Well, that’s only because you guys keep coming to me with your problems.

Jiang Qian was more decisive than Fang Meng.

"I’ll talk to her properly this afternoon."

"Good. That’s for the best." Lin Zhengran glanced at his phone—it was almost time for class. "Alright, let’s wrap this up. We’ve been talking long enough."

As he stood up, Jiang Qian spoke softly, her red lips parting slightly.

"Thank you. You really are different from the others. You’re a good guy."

Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and she smiled gently.