Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten

Chapter 97: The Empress of the Imperial City

For a moment, both of them were frozen in tacit understanding.

Jiang Jingshi picked up the cup of instant noodles and placed it into Lin Zhengran’s arms before taking another one for herself. “Problem solved.”

With that, she turned and left. Lin Zhengran didn’t think much of it and continued selecting a few more ready-to-eat foods before heading to the checkout counter.

After exiting the supermarket and crossing a street, he suddenly noticed a little girl crying on the sidewalk. The same woman from earlier was crouching in front of the child, gently comforting her.

“What’s wrong, little one? Why are you crying?”

The little girl pointed at a large tree nearby, where a pink balloon was stuck between the branches.

“My balloon~ It accidentally flew up there.”

It was a massive plane tree, its branches still thick with leaves since autumn had yet to fully set in. The balloon was caught quite high up, far beyond the reach of an average person.

“Where is it? Let me see.” Jiang Jingshi stood up and scanned the tree. Spotting the pink balloon, she bent down again and asked, “Where did you buy this balloon? How about I get you a new one?”

The little girl wiped her eyes and shook her head slowly. “No, I want one… It has little star stickers inside that I can’t find anywhere else.”

Jiang Jingshi stared at the plane tree in contemplation.

“That’s really high… Let’s see if we can find something long enough to reach it.” She started looking around for a long stick or branch—just then, she spotted Lin Zhengran walking out of the supermarket.

Their eyes briefly met in recognition from their earlier encounter. Jiang Jingshi gave him a polite smile before continuing her

Lin Zhengran nodded. “Thanks.”

She handed him the hot water, and he poured it into his noodles.

【You have consumed the premium nectar from a high-grade spiritual flask. Strength +3.】

Soon, the instant noodles were ready, along with some side dishes.

Jiang Jingshi casually asked, “You must be pretty popular at school, huh? You’re good-looking athletic.”

Lin Zhengran responded with a smile. “You’re very beautiful too, Jie.”

Jiang Jingshi studied him for a moment before breaking into a soft laugh. “Smooth talker. But I bet you know my sister, right? My name is Jiang Jingshi, and my younger sister is Jiang Qian. If I’m not mistaken, you two have been spending a lot of time together lately?”

Lin Zhengran met her gaze and chuckled. “Yeah, we’re deskmates.”

He introduced himself as well.

“Oh? You’re not even a little surprised. Looks like you figured out who I was already.” Jiang Jingshi adjusted her posture with a composed elegance. “Well, I suppose that makes sense. We look alike—it’s pretty easy to tell.”

Jiang Jingshi had a keen business sense, and the moment she saw Lin Zhengran, she knew he was different.

Even though this was her first time meeting him, his looks, presence, and athletic ability were enough for her to confirm—this was the boy Qianqian had been struggling to surpass.

A young man with this many exceptional qualities was rare, almost rare.

“My sister can be a handful. Thanks for looking after her. If you ever have time, come visit our home—Jie would love to have you over.”