Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten

Chapter 48: Wenwen, He Spent the Night at Someone’s House

Lin Zhengran was jolted awake by the movement beside him. He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head—

Only to see a completely frozen Han the Fox, huddled in the corner of the bed, her brain seemingly crashed.

Lin Zhengran carefully observed her expression and movements, wary that she might still be acting like she did yesterday.

Fortunately, his worst fears didn’t come true.

Han Wenwen’s fox-like eyes fluttered. Her memories were fragmented but still relatively clear—she had totally been acting spoiled with him last night…

"L-Lin Zhengran, good morning!" Han Wenwen awkwardly waved, pressing her lips together in a nervous smile.

Her expression was a complicated mix of emotions, hard to put into words.

Lin Zhengran, however, let out a small sigh of relief and sat up.

Last night, she had been so unbearable that he ended up letting her hold his hand until the latter half of the night, when he finally managed to slip away. His palm had even gotten sweaty from it.

Han Wenwen did a quick self-check. "Much better than yesterday. I actually feel pretty refreshed after sleeping. Just a little sweaty."

Lin Zhengran glanced at the air conditioner, which was set to a comfortable temperature. "Sweating a bit is good. But don’t take a shower yet—wait until you’re fully recovered."

"Mm."

Almost instinctively, Lin Zhengran reached out and touched her forehead.

Han Wenwen’s cheeks immediately flushed, but now that she was fully conscious, she quickly forced herself to suppress the reaction. She simply stared at him blankly.

He gave a small nod. "Still a little warm. Summer fevers don’t go away so easily. Let’s check your temperature again."

He got out of bed, grabbed a thermometer, and tossed it to her before heading to the bathroom to run the tap.

Han Wenwen watched him move around naturally, completely unfazed.

The moment he disappeared into the bathroom, she could no longer hold back her embarrassment.

Covering her face with one hand, she inwardly cringed at herself.

"What the hell did I do yesterday?! I really hope Lin Zhengran doesn’t remember a single thing!"

She placed the thermometer under her arm. Just as she was waiting for the reading, Lin Zhengran returned from the bathroom.

He mentioned he was heading out to buy breakfast.

Just as he was about to leave, Han Wenwen called out, "Yesterday… Thanks for staying with me, Lin Zhengran, and for buying me medicine and food. If you hadn’t, I might’ve actually ended up in the hospital today."

Lin Zhengran turned back to look at her. She gave him a bright, cheerful smile.

"I really want to say ‘don’t mention it,’ but after everything you did yesterday…."

Han Wenwen knew he hadn’t forgotten.

Her face burned with embarrassment. She quickly held up a finger, putting on an innocent, playful look.

"That was because I had a fever! People do weird things when they’re sick. Just think of it as me owing you a favor. I’ll make it up to you somehow!"

"That’s more like it. Just treat me to a few meals once you have money." Lin Zhengran glanced at her. "What do you want for breakfast? I’ll go grab it downstairs."

Han Wenwen thought for a moment and answered at the same time as him:

"Baozi?"

The two of them froze for a moment, stunned by their unintentional synchronization.

It wasn’t the first time they’d been this in sync.

Lin Zhengran simply nodded. "Got it."

Just as he turned the doorknob, Han Wenwen asked the question that had been eating away at her.

"Lin Zhengran, besides me clinging to you yesterday, did I… say anything else? You know, something that might’ve really surprised you…?"

She stared at him intently, afraid she might have let something slip that she absolutely shouldn’t have.

The problem was, her mind had been caught somewhere between reality and dreams last night. She had no idea what parts were real and what were just her fevered imagination.

Lin Zhengran thought back to what she had said yesterday afternoon—

Confessing that she liked him.

Talking about the Lianxin Festival.

"You said a lot. But nothing particularly shocking."

Han Wenwen let out a small sigh of relief.

But oddly enough, she also felt a tinge of disappointment.

She never wanted to interfere with Lin Zhengran and Qingqing, but…

If she had confessed in that feverish state, what would his answer have been?

"Oh, by the way, Lin Zhengran, even though I was a little out of control yesterday, I’ve never acted spoiled toward any other boy before. You’re the first one."

Lin Zhengran responded with a simple "Oh," before heading downstairs.

Han Wenwen sat there in silence, listening to the sound of the door closing.

Then, she muttered to herself, "No matter what I say, he never gets embarrassed. He really has zero interest in me, huh?"

Her mind short-circuited for a while.

Then, she quickly grabbed a mirror from the table and checked her reflection.

An oval face, fox-like eyes, delicate lips—her features were flawless.

She knew she was exceptionally good-looking.

Otherwise, so many guys wouldn’t have liked her.

Yet, she couldn’t understand it.

Pressing her hands against her cheeks, she frowned at the mirror.

"Am I not pretty enough? No way. Then why do all the other guys blush when they talk to me, but Lin Zhengran doesn’t?"

She pouted. "So this is what it feels like when someone you like doesn’t like you back… Ugh, I hate it. What does he like, anyway?"

A while later, Lin Zhengran returned with the baozi, only to see Han Wenwen on a phone call with Little He Qing.

Through the receiver, He Qing’s voice was sweet and soft. "Wenwen, when are you coming back? It’s been over a week already."

Han Wenwen waved a hand at Lin Zhengran as he entered the room, trying to keep her tone casual with her best friend.

"I don’t know. My uncle is still busy here. It might take a while longer. I’ll let you know when I’m heading back."

He Qing sighed. "Alright… Oh, right!" Her voice suddenly turned urgent.

"Wenwen, I talked to Lin Zhengran’s mom yesterday! She said he wasn’t home last night—he spent the night at a classmate’s house!"

Han Wenwen nearly choked.

Her gaze flickered to Lin Zhengran, who was casually unpacking their breakfast. She leaned back against the bed awkwardly.

"Really? Where could he have gone?"

Lin Zhengran, of course, could hear the phone conversation perfectly well.

But he simply acted like he hadn’t.

He Qing sounded nervous. "I have no idea! Aunt Lin said he stayed over at a male classmate’s house… because of some injured animal?"

Han Wenwen broke into a cold sweat.

He Qing was suspicious. "Wenwen, you’re in the same class as him. Does he even have any close guy friends? I’ve never heard of any. This is so weird. I’m just worried that—"

She hesitated, then suddenly blurted out in a panicked voice:

"—Wenwen! What if he actually spent the night at a girl’s house?! No way, right?! What if he was at Jiang Xueli’s place?!"

Her voice grew hoarse, as if she were on the verge of tears.

Han Wenwen rushed to comfort her.

"What are you even thinking, Qingqing? No way, absolutely not! You know Lin Zhengran. He would never do something like that!"

Her fox-like brain went into overdrive.

"As for close guy friends? He doesn’t really have any. Maybe that’s just an excuse? Who knows what he was actually doing.

"Remember when he took the train to see you? He must’ve made up an excuse to tell his parents then too, right?"

He Qing sounded even more upset. "Wenwen, are you saying he did go to another girl’s house?! Otherwise, why would he lie?!"

Han Wenwen turned her head to look at Lin Zhengran, who was calmly eating his breakfast.

Slowly, she bit her lip.