Chapter 122 - 120: A Paper Marriage Contract

Chapter 122: Chapter 120: A Paper Marriage Contract

After waking up, Jiang Xueli turned her hazy eyes toward Lin Zhengran, who was leaning against the bed reading a book, and blinked clumsily.

Her stomachache had subsided, and her mind was clear.

But this time, an unprecedented wave of shame washed over her, even faster than full consciousness returned.

Between the stomachache this morning, Lin Zhengran’s gentle care, and the silence of her heartbreak, she had babbled on and on without really thinking clearly.

Only now did it suddenly hit her—just what had she said?

She’d said she liked him, that her previous claim of wanting to marry him only because no one else would was just an excuse. And... that even if he dumped her, she would still love him without a second thought? That he was the only one for her.

Even though it was all true, she’d never imagined she would one day say it all right to his face!

Jiang Xueli’s face flushed red at a visible rate, looking as if it were about to explode.

Fortunately, Lin Zhengran noticed the girl’s odd state and gave her a timely flick on the forehead, letting the air out of her big balloon.

Otherwise, she would have undoubtedly resorted to pummelling him with her little fists. Jiang Xueli was perfectly normal at school, even rather mature, but whenever she was alone with him, it was as if she instantly reverted to her childhood self.

He Qing was the same way, and Little Fox was even more so. When they were alone, she always loved to drape herself over him. Never mind acting like an adult; she barely acted human. She was a complete fox.

At the moment, Jiang Xueli was clutching her forehead where the flick had stung.

Lin Zhengran asked, "Awake?"

Jiang Xueli’s face was still flushed as she looked at him and whined, "Jerk Zhengran, why’d you hit me for no reason?"

"Does your stomach still hurt?"

Jiang Xueli took a moment to assess. "It... it doesn’t hurt anymore, but it’s still a little uncomfortable. I think I should be able to practice singing this afternoon."

Lin Zhengran reached out, and Jiang Xueli thought he was about to flick her again. Instead, he simply brushed a stray strand of hair from the corner of her mouth. "If you’re going to practice this afternoon, don’t get out of bed. You can do it here. I’ll bring you the guitar."

Jiang Xueli watched his delicate gesture, her eyes filled with a maiden’s bashfulness.

The tips of her ears were bright red.

’Maybe... maybe it wasn’t so bad, saying all that this morning,’ she thought. ’It’s embarrassing, sure, but it’s normal to say things like that to your boyfriend, right? There’s nothing to be ashamed of.’

As Lin Zhengran got up to get the guitar, he turned back and asked curiously, "By the way, do you need some clothes? I didn’t realize you were such a restless sleeper. Your legs, especially, like to stick out of the covers as soon as you fall asleep. I’ve covered you up two or three times already."

"Huh?" Jiang Xueli glanced down at her own long, smooth leg, which was currently sticking out of the blankets. Since she wasn’t wearing any leggings, you could even glimpse something more through the gap.

Mortified, she stammered, quickly yanking her leg back under the covers and pulling the blanket over her head. "Pervert!"

Lin Zhengran sounded helpless. "So I shouldn’t get you any clothes?"

"Of course you should!" She poked her clever little head out from under the blanket. "You big lecher~"

He sighed. "You girls have been too sheltered by me. Do you even know what a real lecher is like? Here, let me give you a demonstration."

With that, Lin Zhengran made a move to take off his shirt.

This terrified Jiang Xueli, who quickly hid her head again. "Don’t! I was wrong! What are you doing?! Don’t do anything rash!"

Lin Zhengran found it rather amusing to tease these girls from time to time; it was one of life’s little pleasures. "I’m just messing with you. I’ll go get your clothes."

With that, he left the bedroom.

Jiang Xueli only poked her head out again after she heard him leave the bedroom. She gave a soft huff, then giggled. ’Zhengran can be pretty cute sometimes. He’s just a bit of a flirt.’

A short while later, Jiang Xueli had changed into her pajamas in bed.

She sat there with the guitar, having even tied her long hair into two pigtails with a hairband.

Lin Zhengran asked curiously, "You’re not going out, so why bother tying up your hair?"

Jiang Xueli answered as if it were a matter of course:

"I feel like I get more into it when I sing with my hair tied up. And speaking of pigtails, I saw something on an online forum recently, though I forget where..."

"The post said this hairstyle lets a boyfriend... hold on with both hands? What does that mean? Hold on to what? I read through the comments but I still don’t get it. All they said was, ’If you know, you know.’"

Lin Zhengran smiled, instantly understanding what the netizens were talking about. "You really want to know?"

Jiang Xueli nodded. "So what does it mean? Zhengran, do you get it?"

"I get it. I’ll tell you. Anyway, you’re grown up now, and even if I don’t tell you, you’ll find out sooner or later from being online. Come closer and I’ll whisper it in your ear."

Jiang Xueli was curious. "Why so mysterious?"

She straightened up on her knees and leaned her ear closer.

Lin Zhengran softly explained the meaning of the phrase.

At first, Jiang Xueli just froze. Then, her face flushed beet red and she quickly grabbed her pigtails, hugging them to her chest as she yelled in mortification, "Zhengran, you’re a pervert! A total pervert! What are you even saying?!"

Lin Zhengran looked innocent. "You’re the one who asked, okay? It’s not like I brought it up."

"W-w-well... it’s still perverted!" She clutched her head and squeezed her eyes shut in regret. "I shouldn’t have asked! Now I’m picturing it!"

Lin Zhengran rapped her on the head. "Calm down! It’s time to practice!"

The tap was enough to make her behave.

Of course, she would never be able to forget it. She just had a feeling that Zhengran would definitely do that to her someday...

Holding on to her pigtails with both of his hands.

That afternoon, Jiang Xueli strummed her guitar in bed. It was the first time she’d been this happy since military training had ended. Her joyful mood meant her performance was naturally top-notch.

Lin Zhengran brought something up. "By the way, Lili, I used to think you were too young for this, but you’re basically an adult now. Have you ever thought about making videos of your original songs to post online? You could earn some extra cash and build up your reputation at the same time."

The sound of her playing stopped. "Li... Lili..." Jiang Xueli’s entire focus was on that name. Lin Zhengran had never called her that before.

She sat dazed for a long moment. Seeing Lin Zhengran’s brow furrow, she quickly scratched her cheek, looked up at the ceiling, and answered, her face flushing.

"That... let me think... Oh right, I did think about it before, but back then I didn’t think my singing was good enough, so I didn’t do it. After all, once you post something online, a lot of people will comment, right? Later, a bunch of school stuff came up, and I forgot about it."

Lin Zhengran said, "You wouldn’t necessarily get a lot of comments. In fact, most creators who post videos online don’t even get comments from bots. The ones you see with tons of comments are all viral hits."

Jiang Xueli blinked. "Is that right? I don’t really know much about it, but it does seem hard for people to get popular."

"Speaking of which, your studio should be okay with this, right? It’s pretty much a given for musicians to have their own video accounts these days."

Jiang Xueli replied, "It should be fine. I’ve seen other people make videos and post them online before, but it doesn’t seem like anyone has made any money from it."

Lin Zhengran thought for a moment:

"Just ask them before the competition. If it’s allowed, we can start with this week’s town competition. When you compete, I’ll record you myself and post it to your personal account. Doing it this way has a good chance of making you famous twice as fast."

Even in videography, with his Master of All Things, the videos Lin Zhengran shot were on a level ordinary people couldn’t hope to match.

Jiang Xueli nodded. "Okay, I’ll do whatever you say."

"Mm."

But then Jiang Xueli thought of something. "Oh, right, there’s something else, Zhengran. You haven’t forgotten, have you? You promised that if I won the championship, you’d go to the zoo and a movie with me."

"Of course, I definitely haven’t forgotten."

Jiang Xueli grinned happily. "Good, as long as you haven’t forgotten."

’The zoo...’ she thought. ’Since Zhengran and I are a couple now, then... when we’re out together, we should be able to do some more daring things, right?’

’After all, it’ll be a real date between a couple. Holding hands... hugging... maybe even...’ Jiang Xueli lost herself in a pleasant daydream.

Night falls quickly in autumn and winter. Lin Zhengran said goodbye to Jiang Xueli and headed home that afternoon.

When it was time for him to leave, she even got out of bed and stood at the door, smiling and waving at Lin Zhengran. "Bye, Zhengran! Come again tomorrow!"

"Mm."

After crossing the wide intersection downstairs, Lin Zhengran returned home. To his surprise, his grandfather was there again, sitting on the sofa and sipping tea.

Lin Zhengran: "Grandpa? What are you doing here?"

Seeing Lin Zhengran, his grandfather exclaimed, "My boy! Haven’t seen you in a month, and you’ve gotten taller again!"

Lin Xiaoli and Lin Yingjun were cleaning up in the kitchen.

Lin Xiaoli spoke up: "Ranran’s back? Ranran, Dad, you two go wash your hands. Dinner will be ready soon."

Grandpa and Lin Zhengran both responded in agreement.

The latter replied, "Come on, Grandpa, it’s only been a month. I couldn’t have grown that much. By the way, is there a reason you came?"

Grandpa stood up. "I just brought some things from home for your parents. But I also came this time to talk to you about your arranged marriage. Have you met that girl since you started high school?"

Lin Zhengran thought of Jiang Qian. "Not really ’met’, but I have seen what she looks like." He figured Jiang Qian probably didn’t know he was her betrothed, since neither of them had ever mentioned it.

"Oh, is that so? I don’t understand what you’re saying, my boy." Grandpa continued, "Anyway, I’ve already made an arrangement with my old comrade-in-arms. The original plan was for you two to meet on the second, but then I thought you young people are busy, so you two should just set a time yourselves."

"She said she’ll add you as a friend tonight. You should arrange a time to meet her in the next couple of days, pick a date yourselves. According to my old comrade, she’s really looking forward to meeting you."

[Serendipity: A Paper Engagement]

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「In the office of a music group in Lv Teng City.」

Singers, staff, and management were all seated primly in a large office for a meeting.

The woman sitting at the very front was naturally the boss of this team, Jiang Jingshi.

Elegant and mature, she flipped through the materials on the other studios in this competition:

"I’ve said my piece. Do your best in this competition. A big prize awaits the champion. On another note, are there any formidable contestants from the other studios this time?"

A manager spoke up, "President Jiang, I’ve heard of one. There’s a singer from the studio next door named Jiang Xueli. Her talent is exceptional. I heard her sing once before, and she’s really amazing."

"Jiang Xueli? What’s this girl’s background? How old is she?"

"No particular background, she’s about sixteen or seventeen. She’s just purely talented. And I heard she didn’t learn from the studio, but has a private teacher, and that teacher is a boy about the same age as her."

Jiang Jingshi stopped flipping through the documents. She felt that this description sounded somewhat familiar. She looked up. "What?"