Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten

Middle school life had begun.

But in the month before He Qing arrived, Lin Zhengran’s school life felt a bit… strange—because a certain fox had been observing him the whole time.

The first instance was on the very first day of school. After they were assigned as desk partners, Lin Zhengran was reading out of boredom when he noticed Han Wenwen resting her face on one hand, gazing at him with undisguised interest.

She stared at him like that for an entire morning.

Lin Zhengran finally asked, "Do you need something?"

Han Wenwen shook her head slightly, smiling. "Nope, nothing."

But the moment she spoke, she jotted something down in her little notebook:

【Although not very obvious, Lin Zhengran does care about how other girls perceive him.】

She made no attempt to hide what she was writing—it was right there for him to see.

—

Another time, about a week later, the class was selecting a class monitor. Because Lin Zhengran was a top student and good-looking, many girls blushed and whispered about him.

Han Wenwen took note of this as well:

【Lin Zhengran excels academically and is very popular with girls.】

The homeroom teacher looked at him. "Lin Zhengran, how about you take on the role of class monitor?"

Lin Zhengran declined without hesitation.

Han Wenwen immediately added another note:

【Does not like being in the spotlight. Good personality. If he were in a novel, he’d survive for a long time.】

Lin Zhengran: "…"

Situations like these happened repeatedly. Even during meals, while she never sat with him, she always chose a table just one or two spots away.

She would quietly eat while discreetly watching him. If she saw him eating with Jiang Xueli, she would pull out her notebook again:

【No signs of picky eating. Also, his taste in girls seems varied. Omnivorous. (This is debatable—might just have a thing for ponytails.)】

One time, Jiang Xueli, chewing her food, asked curiously, "Hey, idiot, what’s up? Your eating speed seems different lately."

Lin Zhengran let out a long sigh, visibly drained.

"Why are you suddenly sighing? Did I do something to annoy you?" she asked, confused.

But after nearly a month of being observed, this peculiar routine finally came to an end one day—when Lin Zhengran was staring absentmindedly out the window.

It was the last period on a Friday.

Han Wenwen had been writing as usual, but suddenly, she realized her little notebook was completely full.

She blinked in surprise. "Didn’t think I’d fill it up so quickly."

Lin Zhengran snapped out of his daze. "It’s finished? Does that mean you’ll stop staring at me every day now?"

Han Wenwen tilted her head, flashing a sweet smile. "Yep, I’m done. Thanks for letting me observe you all this time. If you had deliberately avoided me, it would’ve been much harder to take notes."

Letting her observe him? Lin Zhengran didn’t recall ever agreeing to that.

With a sigh, he said, "Even if I told you to stop, you wouldn’t listen, would you?"

Han Wenwen nodded without hesitation. "Nope. But if you had, I just wouldn’t have done it so openly." She rested a finger on her cheek, playfully tilting her head. "I’d have observed you in secret instead."

Lin Zhengran: "…."

Han Wenwen clasped her hands together, resting her upper body lazily on the desk like a lounging fox. "By the way, aren’t you even a little curious why I’ve been watching you every day? Don’t you wonder why I’ve been staring at you like some crazy fangirl?"

"Not curious at all. I just hope that now you’re done, we can go about our own business. Do you even realize how many guys have been glaring at me for the past twenty days because of you? It’s like they think I stole their goddess."

Han Wenwen glanced around the classroom and indeed noticed that Lin Zhengran had become the enemy of every boy in class because of her behavior.

She smiled apologetically. "Oops, my bad."

As the dismissal bell rang, she tucked her notebook into her pocket and stood up. "But after observing you, I’ve confirmed that you really are different from other guys. Mature, handsome… almost a perfect score in my book." With that, she strolled out of the classroom.

The students were in a rush to leave as well.

Lin Zhengran watched Han Wenwen’s retreating figure, then listened to the girls in class gossiping about her. He sighed—this fox was eccentric, but at least she treated He Qing well.

That silly girl really had found herself a good best friend.

—

That Friday night, the dormitory was almost empty, aside from a few out-of-town students who stayed over the weekend.

One of them was a certain fox.

After dinner, Han Wenwen filled a basin with hot water, pulled the curtains shut, and took a relaxing bath.

Drying her hair and body, she casually wrapped a towel around herself and sat on her bed, flipping through her notebook.

"Hmm… judging by his personality, it’s gonna be tough for Qingqing to get together with him in middle school. He seems easygoing, but he actually has strong principles."

She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. "Then again, if he didn’t have principles, when Qingqing spent the night with him last time, wouldn’t they have already…?"

Her mind wandered back to a month ago—the day He Qing and Lin Zhengran met after taking separate trains.

That night, after He Qing tearfully complained that Lin Zhengran might have another girl around him, the two best friends had a long discussion.

In the end, spurred by He Qing’s unwavering determination, they decided to strike first!

(Of course, this was entirely Han Wenwen’s idea. No matter how bold He Qing was, she would never have suggested such an approach.)

That night, Han Wenwen sat on the bed, looking at He Qing seriously.

"Qingqing, even if another girl is around him, you have the advantage of being his childhood friend. Plus, he came all this way just to see you! That means you’re still more important than that girl. We have to act first! We can’t just sit and do nothing."

He Qing’s eyes were red. "But… I won’t be in the North for another month. It’ll be a long time before I can see him again."

Han Wenwen hugged her pillow, a knowing look in her fox-like eyes.

"You won’t see him for a while… but don’t forget, I can start school as usual. Give me his name and a photo—I’ll watch him for you. I’ll take note of all his habits so that when you get there, you’ll know exactly how he’s changed over the years. It’ll make your strategy easier!"

He Qing, already determined, felt even more convinced. "But… how will you observe him? That sounds difficult."

Han Wenwen tapped her cheek, deep in thought. "Hmm… it’ll be a bit tricky. But as your best friend, this is nothing I can’t handle. Just give me his name and a picture, and I’ll take care of the rest."

The next day, He Qing found an old childhood photo of Lin Zhengran and handed it to Han Wenwen.

"Wenwen, this is the only photo I have of him when he was a kid. But after seeing him yesterday, I think he still looks pretty much the same. You should be able to recognize him."

Han Wenwen eagerly accepted the picture. Even as He Qing’s best friend, she had never known what her childhood sweetheart looked like or even his name. He Qing had always kept it a secret, and Han Wenwen had never pried. But in truth, she had always been curious.

As soon as she saw the photo, her fox-like eyes widened in shock.

He Qing said, "His name is Lin Zhengran."

The boy in the photo overlapped with the one she had seen at the bus stop that day.

Han Wenwen looked up, smiling slyly. "Got it. Leave it to me, Qingqing—I won’t let you down!"