Chapter 199 - 167: Maid Fang Meng

Chapter 199: Chapter 167: Maid Fang Meng

The new year was filled with the vibrant signs of spring.

All of nature was awakening. It was a season for... studying.

Although most third-year high school students were under immense pressure, Lin Zhengran was different.

While others spent the year studying diligently, Lin Zhengran remained as relaxed as ever.

It was Sunday. Sometime after eight in the morning, Lin Zhengran was woken up by his ringing phone. He picked it up and saw it was a call from Pan Lin, Jiang Jingshi’s secretary.

Han Wenwen was currently under a lot of pressure from the upcoming college entrance exams, so Lin Zhengran planned to wait until she was in college before letting her take on secretarial duties.

Therefore, Pan Lin was currently serving as the secretary for both presidents of Zhengshi Company.

"President Lin, are you awake? My apologies for bothering you."

Lin Zhengran stared at the ceiling, his eyes open. "It’s fine. What’s up?"

"Regarding the livestreaming competition President Lin asked about last night, it’s tentatively scheduled for the period before the New Year in the second half of the year. However, President Jiang said that if you’d like to hold it earlier, we can."

Lin Zhengran recalled how the livestreaming competition had been postponed during his first and second years of high school due to all the work involved in establishing Zhengshi Company. He had originally planned to hold it during the first semester of his third year, but as for Han Wenwen’s academic performance...

All he could say was that even with his triple-strength tutoring, that little fox still wasn’t very bright. She just wasn’t cut out for studying.

Just yesterday, Saturday, Lin Zhengran had specifically tutored her for the whole afternoon. But in his memory, he couldn’t recall her studying at all. He only remembered her draped over him, finding all sorts of ways to act cute and calling him "Zhengran" over and over.

So, for the livestreaming competition, Lin Zhengran was also scheduling it around Han Wenwen’s availability.

’Let’s wait until after the college entrance exams,’ he thought. ’That way, the little fox will have plenty of time and Energy to participate in the competition.’

"No need to change it. Let’s stick to the time before the New Year. The exams will be over by then, so I’ll be free too."

Pan Lin paused for a moment on the other end of the line. ’President Lin could probably skip school now and it wouldn’t matter at all,’ she thought.

"Understood. The livestreaming competition will be scheduled before the New Year as you wish. I won’t disturb you any longer. Please feel free to call me anytime if you need anything."

"Thank you for your hard work."

After the call ended, Lin Zhengran lay in bed and thought about the college entrance exams.

’From a money-making perspective, it really doesn’t matter whether I take them or not.’

’It doesn’t even matter if I go to college. But those three little rascals definitely have to go. It’s a very important life experience.’

Besides, having been reborn, Lin Zhengran wanted to experience college life all over again himself.

He turned his head to look at the glass of water on the nightstand. His arm couldn’t quite reach it.

So, with a flick of his finger, the glass flew smoothly into his palm. Spiritual Energy Manipulation was the most useful ability Lin Zhengran had acquired in the past two years, saving him a lot of movement and time.

He took a sip of water and got dressed.

But when he walked out of his bedroom and called out for his parents,

Lin Xiaoli and Lin Yingjun didn’t answer. Instead, Lin Zhengran was answered by a truly baffling person...

Fang Meng, dressed in a maid outfit, emerged from the kitchen carrying a breakfast tray.

Her voice was flat as she placed the tray on the dining table:

"Uncle and Auntie have both gone out. I’m the only one home. I followed what Auntie told me and made the breakfast you usually like. You can eat after you wash up."

Lin Zhengran stared blankly at the deadpan Fang Meng, who wore a maid outfit and showed no extra expression.

A maid’s headdress, an apron, and even black stockings...

"Fang Meng? What are you doing here? In my house?"

Fang Meng looked at Lin Zhengran, scrutinizing his just-woken-up appearance. The muscles on his upper body were clearly visible, and he was wearing pants on his lower half.

His hair was messy, but he still looked handsome.

She pulled a small notebook from her pocket and started writing in it, remarking as she wrote, "It seems student Lin Zhengran works out regularly at home. Otherwise, his muscle definition wouldn’t be this distinct."

Lin Zhengran ignored her note-taking. Han Wenwen had done this, Jiang Qian had done this, and now it was Fang Meng’s turn...

He had seen enough of it. "You still haven’t answered my question."

Fang Meng continued writing in her notebook as she spoke:

"Ever since we also ended up in an arranged marriage, I’ve been visiting your house quite often over the past year. Uncle and Auntie both know me, so isn’t it perfectly normal for me to come over?

Besides, our homes aren’t far apart. It’s only a thirty-odd-minute drive. I also just got my driver’s license recently, right after my eighteenth birthday."

She even pulled her driver’s license out of her pocket to show Lin Zhengran.

"So I can come over whenever I want. It’s very convenient."

She wasn’t wrong. Ever since that arranged marriage incident over a year ago,

Fang Meng had started showing up to see Lin Zhengran from time to time over the past year or so. And she would brazenly record every detail of his life right in front of the adults.

If you asked her why, she would sometimes joke, "I’m just observing my betrothed. After all, there’s a good chance student Lin Zhengran will be my future husband."

Other times, she would tell the truth: "I’m observing him for Qianqian."

She did indeed come over to help Jiang Qian investigate Lin Zhengran from an observer’s perspective. After all, Qianqian was no longer recording Lin Zhengran’s every move. Miss Jiang was now in a state of hyper-competition.

In her quest to surpass Lin Zhengran, she had pushed herself to the point of madness. Just from what Fang Meng knew, Jiang Qian had recently joined over thirty cram schools for all-around self-improvement.

Lin Zhengran ignored the maid-outfitted Fang Meng and headed for the bathroom.

"I’ve got to say, you’re pretty bored, aren’t you? Jiang Qian only recorded me for one semester. You’ve been at this for over a year."

Fang Meng looked at the densely filled pages of her notebook:

"I’m surprised myself. I originally wanted to help Qianqian find your flaws, but after more than a year and hundreds of thousands of written words, I still haven’t found any. I seriously suspect that you, student Lin Zhengran, are not from Earth. I suspect you have a Superpower."

Lin Zhengran froze for a second and looked back at Fang Meng. He snorted. "I wish I did."

With that said, he stood in the bathroom and used his ability to shut the door.

Fang Meng let out a long breath by the dining table. "That’s true. Although he’s excellent in every aspect, he’s far from being an alien. And besides, things like Superpowers don’t exist in this world."

After washing up, Lin Zhengran went back to his bedroom, put on a shirt, and sat down at the dining table.

He looked at Fang Meng, who stood properly to the side, her hair tied in a side ponytail.

Fang Meng was actually very pretty, with a high-bridged nose and small lips. Her style was that of a genius, straight-A student type.

It’s just that she looked a little odd in the maid outfit. "This outfit of yours..."

"Does it not look good?" she asked in return.

"No... I was just curious if you were dressed like this when you came to my house this morning. You even have stockings on... Wouldn’t my parents have been scared to death?"

Fang Meng took out her notebook again and made a note that Lin Zhengran disliked maid outfits and stockings.

She replied, "Of course not. I changed into this after Uncle and Auntie left. It was a sudden whim I had last night—I wanted to see your opinion on maid outfits. Apparently, you don’t appreciate this style very much. I’ll change out of it later."

"It’s not that I don’t appreciate it. If it were a girl I liked wearing it, I might like it. But for someone I have a normal relationship with, I’m not that interested."

Fang Meng looked at Lin Zhengran with an expression that was both surprised and not surprised:

"Does that mean my looks don’t fall within student Lin Zhengran’s preferences? You clearly have three childhood friends at the same time, the young mistress is with you every day, and Qianqian cares about you a lot. I always thought student Lin Zhengran wasn’t picky about girls."

Lin Zhengran ate his breakfast.

He answered with a non-sequitur, "Speaking of which, you’re coming to see me so often now. What about Jiang Qian? Aren’t you her personal assistant?"

Fang Meng’s hand, which had been writing, stopped. Her voice grew softer, and a different emotion seemed to flicker in her eyes:

"Ever since she met you, Qianqian has been incredibly busy. Even I, her assistant, have been getting more and more free time. So I have plenty of time to come see you now."

Lin Zhengran grunted in acknowledgment. "She does seem to be busy all the time. By the way, why don’t you sit down and eat with me?"

"No need, I already ate before I came."

With that, she went back to the kitchen and brought over a glass of milk. "Remember to drink your milk. A healthy diet is important."

"Thanks..." He took the milk and remarked with a sigh, "Fang Meng, you’re so meticulous. The milk isn’t hot, but it isn’t cold either. It’s just right." He took a sip. The temperature was perfect.

"Consider it payment for letting me observe you. It’s only right that I do a few things to take care of you. Besides, this is what I do for a living. It’s right up my alley."

"Yeah, that’s true."

Lin Zhengran took another sip of milk.

Fang Meng suddenly asked, "Student Lin Zhengran, there’s a question I’m not sure about, so I wanted to ask you to your face. Are you two-timing right now?"

Lin Zhengran turned his head to look at Fang Meng. The two of them stared at each other.

He told her the truth. "No, I’m really not."

"Alright. That was rude of me. I’m sorry."

’I’m three-timing.’