Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten

Chapter 73: Shopping for New Year Goods with Han Wenwen

While Han Wenwen was playing on her phone, a group of young girls in new clothes walked past them on the street. After passing Lin Zhengran, they turned back, whispering to each other.

"That guy is so handsome!"

"Yeah, I rarely see someone this good-looking just walking around in public."

Han Wenwen half-turned and noticed their excited chatter and sneaky glances. Even though she couldn’t hear what they were saying, she could easily guess.

Feeling a little annoyed, she instinctively linked her arm around Lin Zhengran’s and shot the girls a slightly fierce glare with her enchanting fox-like eyes—almost as if she was declaring ownership.

The girls, seeing her expression, laughed awkwardly and quickly hurried away.

Once they were gone, Han Wenwen pouted and complained, “Zhengran-gege, even outside of school, you’re still super popular with girls. Maybe you should wear a mask next time we go out?”

Lin Zhengran looked down at her sulking face, puffed up with jealousy.

“What’s with that look? I don’t like wearing masks, and whatever they say has nothing to do with me. Also…” Lin Zhengran pried her hand off his arm. “Can you not cling to me? Haven’t you heard of ‘men and women should keep their distance’?”

Seeing him push her away, Han Wenwen turned her head with a little "hmph" of jealousy. But the moment she saw another girl walking their way, her instincts kicked in, and she quickly clung to his arm again.

This tactic worked perfectly—once she "marked her territory," other girls wouldn’t bother.

Lin Zhengran sighed and pried her off again. But as soon as another girl appeared, she latched on once more.

Back and forth they went. The street was bustling with people, especially kids, and their little game of tug-of-war didn’t go unnoticed. A mischievous child suddenly pointed at them and yelled:

"That big brother and big sister are showing off their love in public! So cheesy~"

For once, Han Wenwen blushed. She shyly waved at the child with a sweet smile.

Lin Zhengran, on the other hand, was completely speechless.

The more they kept this up, the worse the misunderstandings got.

He finally gave up and sighed. “Just buy what you need, and let’s go back quickly.”

Han Wenwen, seeing that he had stopped resisting, happily kept her hold on his arm and walked forward with a faint blush. “We have a lot to buy today. It’s still early.”

The two of them arrived at a stall selling Spring Festival couplets and carefully picked out a set. In the end, they chose one with the year’s zodiac animal on it, and it wasn’t too expensive—just three banners in total.

After packing up the couplets, Han Wenwen’s eyes wandered to another stall selling red lanterns in the distance.

She pointed eagerly. “Zhengran-gege, let’s buy two lanterns! In our southern town, every household hangs them for the New Year.”

Lin Zhengran raised an eyebrow. “But you live in a rental apartment. Where are you gonna hang them? On the air conditioning unit outside?”

Han Wenwen tilted her head and pouted cutely. “Just buy them~ Even if I can’t hang them, I can still hold onto them for fun. Besides, I’m paying, so it’s not like Zhengran-gege has to spend money.”

Lin Zhengran smirked. “You make a fair point… But since you’re still clinging to my arm, how about this—I’ll wait here, and you can go buy them yourself? That way, it has nothing to do with me.”

Han Wenwen wasn’t willing to let go. She probably knew that if she did, Lin Zhengran wouldn’t let her hold onto him again.

She stared longingly at the red lanterns, clinging even closer to him. It was an expression she had probably learned from He Qing.

Lin Zhengran sighed in defeat and walked toward the stall. Han Wenwen quickly followed, clinging to him with a satisfied smile.

They picked out a handheld lantern and also bought some small fireworks.

Han Wenwen beamed at him. “Thanks, Zhengran-gege~ You’re so good to me.”

“Annoying fox, stop talking.”

On their way back, they grabbed a few more snacks and, unsurprisingly, went over budget.

However, back at the apartment, Han Wenwen—who had nearly emptied her savings—didn’t seem the least bit distressed.

Instead, she crouched on the floor, happily counting her fireworks and gently swaying her little red lantern.

Her invisible fox ears seemed to twitch in excitement.

Lin Zhengran sat on the bed, pouring himself a cup of water. “You really don’t plan on saving at all, huh? You’re stingy with food but generous when buying useless stuff?”

Han Wenwen playfully twirled the lantern in her fingers and grinned.

“It’s about happiness~ Money can always be earned again. But if I didn’t buy a few extra things, how else could I make Zhengran-gege accompany me for so long? Besides, if I can use money to buy time with Zhengran-gege, I’d say that’s a bargain.”

Lin Zhengran watched her smiling face, unsure how to respond.

For lunch, Han Wenwen attempted to cook in her small frying pan.

Unfortunately, her cooking skills were a disaster. Compared to Little He Qing, the difference was night and day.

Her tomato scrambled eggs turned out splotchy with weird shades of green and purple. Lin Zhengran could barely describe it—it didn’t even look like food made by a human.

He stared at the dish and asked, “You’ve been eating this every day?”

“It’s super nutritious! It just doesn’t look good, but it actually tastes great. Try it, Zhengran-gege~”

Seeing her pick up a piece of the dish—one that was faintly emitting smoke—and try to feed him, Lin Zhengran immediately stopped her. “Nope. I’ll order takeout. You enjoy your own food.”

In the end, Lin Zhengran ordered braised chicken, while Han Wenwen sat across from him with her questionable tomato eggs and half a fried pancake.

The two meals looked like they came from completely different worlds.

Han Wenwen took a bite of her egg and watched Lin Zhengran eat his chicken leg. “Is that braised chicken good?”

Lin Zhengran tasted it and replied, “Not particularly.”

“What does it taste like?”

Lin Zhengran said flatly, “Like braised chicken.”

Han Wenwen bit her chopsticks and stared at the chicken longingly. “I see… Can I try a piece?”

“Nope. You could have had some, but you wasted all your money instead.”

Han Wenwen pouted and reluctantly continued eating her scrambled eggs.

“…Fine.”

Lin Zhengran felt a little bad seeing her like that. With a sigh, he quickly picked up a few pieces of chicken and tossed them into her bowl. “Here. Just eat. Stop staring at my food.”

Though Lin Zhengran always seemed resistant, Han Wenwen had long figured out that he was actually warm-hearted underneath it all.

He really did feel like a big brother—someone who gave her a strong sense of security.

Smiling mischievously, she imitated his actions and used his chopsticks to place two pieces of her eggs into his bowl. “Zhengran-gege should try mine too! It’s actually really good!”

Lin Zhengran highly doubted that but gave it a taste anyway.

Han Wenwen leaned in expectantly. “Well? My cooking isn’t bad, right?”

Lin Zhengran chewed thoughtfully, then deadpanned, “You know what? I have to give you credit. It’s impressive that you can eat something this bad with a straight face.”

Han Wenwen burst into laughter, then playfully rolled her eyes. “How could Zhengran-gege say that about my cooking? Other people would love to eat my food, but only Zhengran-gege is this picky.”

After lunch, Lin Zhengran took a short nap, lying on Han Wenwen’s bed.

This girl—who could barely afford meals—had somehow bought another pillow, claiming it was a "backup." But it was pretty obvious who it was meant for.

As he rested, he got a call from He Qing.

Her soft voice came through the phone.

“Lin Zhengran? Where are you? What are you doing?”

“Sleeping. What’s up?”

“Oh… then I guess I’m disturbing you.” She whispered, “I don’t really have anything important. I just wanted to ask what your New Year plans are… It’s kind of lonely here without Wenwen.”

Lin Zhengran hummed in response and turned his head—only to find Han Wenwen glaring at him.

She muttered under her breath, “Ugh. So flirty.”

Then, with a huff, she turned away, clutching her blanket, ignoring him completely.