Chapter 84: The Original Partner of the Childhood Betrothal

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: The Original Partner of the Childhood Betrothal

Amidst the gasps and exclamations of shock from the class, Xiao Heqing, Jiang Xueli, and Han Wenwen from Class Three also looked over.

Xiao Heqing had actually been secretly keeping an eye on Lin Zhengran’s movements all along. The moment she saw he got first place, she cheered, "Lin Zhengran got first!"

Jiang Xueli blinked, shyly admitting to herself how formidable that idiot truly was. "This guy managed to steal the spotlight again, but with his skills, ordinary people definitely can’t beat him," she thought.

Han Wenwen didn’t offer any praise. Instead, she observed the cheers and infatuations of the surrounding girls—especially the gaze of that wealthy girl. The Little Fox looked like she was playing Sherlock Holmes. Biting her thumb with her red lips, she thought, "I have a feeling something bad is going to happen. I need to find a way to nip this in the bud."

The athletic competition lasted for a whole day, with several events held back-to-back. At first, Jiang Qian felt that even though she lost in the sprint, she could still surpass this boy in areas like sit-ups and the long jump. To her surprise, she didn’t win a single event. Furthermore, Lin Zhengran wasn’t even breathing heavily after each match, whereas Jiang Qian had already exerted every ounce of her strength.

After the competition, Jiang Qian sat on the steps in her military training uniform, staring blankly into space. Her cold eyes had lost their light, entirely stripped of her will to fight by the harsh blow of reality.

Her assistant, Fang Meng, squatted in front of her, looking at the data she had compiled with a drop of sweat on her brow. "Qianqian, based on my observations, this boy named Lin Zhengran is an absolute genius. Whether it’s physical stamina or coordination, he is top-tier. Coupled with his academic grades..."

Jiang Qian’s face was full of despair. "You don’t need to tell me. I don’t care about these things..."

Fang Meng remained silent. She then explained, "Actually, Qianqian, you haven’t completely lost to him. Doesn’t our school have a freshman gala after military training ends? Aren’t you planning to perform a piano piece then and show the recording to your father?"

Jiang Qian’s eyes suddenly regained some light as she looked at Fang Meng.

Fang Meng smiled. "Qianqian, you’ve been practicing the piano since elementary school, and you’ve even won first place in several competitions back in middle school. You could say that academics and sports aren’t your strongest suits; the piano is the one area where absolutely no one can crush you. When the time comes, you definitely won’t lose."

Jiang Qian looked into the distance at Lin Zhengran, who was standing there watching the matches. After the athletic competition, quite a few girls had already started to strike up conversations with him.

The young man’s face was handsome, and his physique was robust. His aura completely outshone his peers. Over the course of this competition, he had genuinely gained a lot of fangirls, including some upperclassmen.

However, Jiang Qian simply said, "No. I’ve briefly checked this person’s background. He comes from an ordinary family. If I beat him using the piano, it would be an unfair victory. After all, he probably hasn’t even practiced that kind of thing. Besides, so what if I lose? At worst, I’ll just secure first place in the next mock exam."

With that, she stood up and headed to the restroom, seemingly genuinely indifferent to the matter. Fang Meng blinked and muttered to herself, "Still so dishonest. But Qianqian’s merits are very obvious. She would never use her strengths to bully someone else’s weaknesses. That point about her is still quite likable."

Fang Meng stood up and followed her. Of course, she had also anticipated a certain situation. And that was, after Jiang Qian returned home that night, she would hide in her room alone and stay up late studying. She was clearly in disbelief over her double failure in academics and sports, and was now preparing for the next battle. Her attitude made it clear that she absolutely had to beat that guy next time.

Even Jiang Qian’s older sister was shocked when she returned home. "Oh? Has Qianqian been studying this hard the past few days?"

Fang Meng gave a half-bow to Jiang Qian’s older sister, Jiang Jingshi. "Welcome back, Miss Jingshi. Miss Qianqian has indeed been exceptionally diligent lately. She barely sleeps at night."

The so-called eldest miss smiled gently. "It seems she’s encountered a formidable opponent again. Qianqian’s competitive spirit is truly as strong as ever. Meng, you don’t need to worry about her. Just let her study on her own, and make sure you get some early rest."

"Understood."

"Also, I heard from Grandpa that Qianqian has an arranged childhood betrothal? Has she met with the other party yet? How is his character and temperament?"

Fang Meng explained, "Miss Qianqian has no interest in this matter, so she hasn’t met him yet."

"Hmm," Jiang Jingshi pondered for a moment. "If worse comes to worst, I can go meet him when the time comes. After all, it’s Grandpa’s old friend. We can’t just drag this out and ignore them; it would be bad manners. Besides, I was originally supposed to be his fiancée. It’s only because that boy was born late and is the same age as Qianqian that Grandpa arranged the engagement for her instead."

She gave one last reminder. "Remind her again about the meeting these next few days. If Qianqian really doesn’t want to see him, forget it. I’ll go instead."

Fang Meng nodded.

Having said her piece, Jiang Jingshi turned and walked away in her high heels, her slightly curly waist-length hair swaying gently along with her slender figure and footsteps.

Bright morning sunlight shone down from the horizon. Before anyone knew it, about half a month had passed since the start of school.

High school was different from middle school. Although the concept of romance had already begun to bud in the hearts of boys and girls back then, a portion of the boys still didn’t have too many thoughts about it; at most, they were just experiencing their first crushes. But high school was completely different. The mindsets of both boys and girls were gradually maturing, and the boys could quickly spot who was prettier in a crowd. They could remember a girl with just a single glance, knowing that the moment she smiled, she would become the center of attention.

And this half a month was more than enough time for everyone to exchange notes on which class had the most pretty girls.

In Class One of the first grade, after the morning training ended, the instructor told everyone to rest on the spot for twenty minutes.

Even though it was autumn, standing outside for a whole morning was still swelteringly hot. The students were all parched. Lin Zhengran sat in his spot to rest.

A boy sat down beside him and said, "Lin Zhengran! Are you seriously not tired after training all morning? I don’t see you sweating much at all."

Lin Zhengran satisfied the boy’s curiosity. "I’m doing alright. It’s mostly because we’ve been training for a week now, so I’m starting to get used to it."

The boy rested his elbow on Lin Zhengran’s shoulder. "Getting used to it is one thing, but tired is still tired. Then again, with such a good physique, you’re probably just built differently from the rest of us. By the way, do you have a girlfriend? I notice that whenever the girls in our class talk to you, you just give them half-hearted responses and basically brush them off."

Lin Zhengran chuckled. "I’m just not interested."

At this time, a boy surnamed Pan came over and sat down. "It’s mainly because with Jiang Qian and Fang Meng setting the bar in our class, the other girls pale in comparison. Since Lin Zhengran is so handsome, he probably doesn’t think much of them. But did you guys know? Rumor has it that the class with the most pretty girls in our grade is Class Three."

The first boy nodded furiously. "Yes, yes, I know about this! There’s a girl in Class Three named He... He Qing, right?! She’s exceptionally gorgeous! She looks so sweet! I’ve seen her once before, and wow, she is absolutely stunning!"

The boy surnamed Pan replied, "I know He Qing is beautiful, but there’s a girl named Jiang Xueli who wears twintails and is even cuter! Cuter than He Qing! Plus, she has a lively personality. I bet she’s already become the goddess of a whole bunch of guys."

Hearing the topic of girls, yet another boy came over to join the fun. "The prettiest one has to be a girl named Han Wenwen. Haven’t you guys heard how many boys have sent love letters to her over the past two days? There are even upperclassmen confessing to her. But how could a pretty girl be so easy to woo? Apparently, she ignored every single one of them and even claimed she already has a boyfriend!"

In Lin Zhengran’s current life, there had actually been countless times when the boys in his class came to chat with him. Several times, they had almost become good friends. But... in the end, Lin Zhengran was always left completely alone. The reason was actually quite simple...

Take this moment, for example. While the boys were chatting about girls, Xiao Heqing suddenly walked over from a distance. She was shyly holding an unopened cup of lemonade, intending to deliver it to a certain someone.