Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten
Chapter 305: Experiences

All three sat on the sofa, though Lin Xiaoli's posture was a bit stiff—every time she looked at her son, she felt like his whole vibe had changed.

Even if she couldn’t say exactly how.

Jiang Jingshi personally poured her a cup of tea. “Auntie, have some tea.”

“Oh, okay, thank you. You’re… Xiao—Xiao Jingshi, right?”

Jiang Jingshi nodded gently. “Yes, that’s right. You can just call me that.”

Lin Xiaoli lifted the teacup and took a sip. She could tell right away this tea tasted different from what she had at home.

Probably expensive.

She set the cup down. “Even though I now know I’m not dreaming, I still don’t get it. How did Zhengran become the General Manager of Zhengshi Company? He’s still a student—just barely turned eighteen. He shouldn’t have had the money to start a company, right?”

Jiang Jingshi smiled. “Well, it’s a long story. If we’re going to talk about it, it really starts three years ago.”

“Mmhm. It began the first time I met Zhengzheng outside the high school gate—or no, I guess it really started with my younger sister.”

Lin Xiaoli immediately caught a detail—Zhengzheng? That affectionate nickname…

But she didn’t press it. She had too many questions right now and figured she should listen carefully to understand the full story.

“No rush, Xiao Jingshi. Take your time.”

Jiang Jingshi drifted into the memory, her gaze taking on a dreamy quality.

“Three years ago, my younger sister got into high school. About a month after the school year started, she came home acting oddly. After looking into it, I found out she had run into a rival at school. So I drove over myself to check it out…”

Over the next half hour, she explained how she met Lin Zhengran, how they crossed paths again in competitions, the arranged engagement, how they gradually got closer, and eventually, how they started a company together.

Halfway through, Lin Xiaoli interrupted in shock, “Wait a minute—an arranged engagement?! Jingshi, are you the one Zhengran’s grandpa mentioned back then?”

Jiang Jingshi explained, “Yes, but it wasn’t me at first. Initially, Grandpa was referring to my younger sister. But actually, the very first betrothal was to me.”

That completely short-circuited Lin Xiaoli’s brain.

So Lin Zhengran stepped in to clarify: “Basically, it was first me and Jingshi. But because I was born later, the engagement was switched to her younger sister. Then when we met again for the arranged date, it ended up being Jingshi.”

Lin Xiaoli took a deep breath—and picked up on another detail: her son called her Jingshi, too…

She sipped her tea again and looked at her son. “Okay, I think I’m starting to get it. But wow, you two really were destined. I always thought that whole arranged engagement thing was ancient history. Zhengran never brought it up again.”

Lin Zhengran shrugged. “I’ve just been really busy these past few years.”

Lin Xiaoli swallowed hard. “Alright, Mom believes you now. So what happened next?” She turned to Jiang Jingshi again.

Jiang Jingshi smiled and continued:

“After that, I saw huge potential in Zhengzheng. I put up the money, and he put in the work—we started Zhengshi Company together three years ago. He’s far exceeded my expectations. He’s just so capable. In only three years, he’s grown the company’s profits more than tenfold.

“And Auntie, I’m not sure if you saw the news, but after I got seriously ill and recovered, the company actually made even more money than before. That’s why we’ve been hiring a lot lately, and that brings us to today.”

Lin Xiaoli gasped. It really sounded like one of those startup founder biographies:

“You two could turn this into a whole book! This is just… too inspiring! And…”

She turned to look at her son, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes. Her lips trembled as she choked up with emotion.

“My Zhengran is amazing! You’ve worked so hard these past few years, sweetheart! I had no idea you were out there doing something this incredible. If I’d known, I would’ve made you more of your favorite dishes…”

She reached out—completely unable to hold back her emotions. After all, she’d lived through the real world, and she knew how tough it was out there. No matter how lightly the two of them described it, there had to have been plenty of struggles along the way.

“Zhengran, let Mommy give you a hug! You’re amazing, you’re Mommy’s pride!”

Lin Zhengran looked helpless. “Do we really have to, Mom? I’m not a kid anymore.”

“Come on! What’s there to be shy about? It’s just the three of us—only Xiao Jingshi is here. The mood’s already set!”

What a silly, soft-hearted mom… Lin Zhengran really didn’t know what to do with her.

“Alright, fine…”

“Waaah, my Zhengran’s really grown up!” Lin Xiaoli pulled her son into a hug and stroked his head.

Watching the scene, Jiang Jingshi couldn’t help but laugh—but then quickly covered her mouth with her hand, not wanting to embarrass Lin Zhengran.

Still, she’d never expected the usually composed Zhengzheng to act so much like a little boy in front of his mom.

After the hug, Lin Zhengran even pulled out a couple of tissues and handed them to Lin Xiaoli.

She took them, dabbing her eyes, lips quivering with emotion.

Her voice trembled from crying. “I understand now. But honestly, for Zhengran to achieve so much—it’s really thanks to you, Jingshi. Without your funding, we wouldn’t have had anything to start with. Even if Zhengran had all the talent in the world, it might’ve taken him forever to get this far. Thank you so much.”

Jiang Jingshi gently corrected her:

“It wasn’t really that much. I’ve seen Zhengzheng’s abilities with my own eyes over the years. Even without my help, it was only a matter of time before he succeeded. Honestly, I’m the one who should be thankful—to be able to start a company with him.” She looked at Zhengran with admiration.

“With him here, the company just keeps getting better and better. Compared to what it’s worth now, the money I invested back then was just a drop in the bucket. I’m truly grateful to him.”

Lin Xiaoli could tell the two had been through a lot together, so she didn’t press further.

But then she asked, “Jingshi, earlier you mentioned being sick. What was that about? That news article about a terminal illness healing itself…”

Jiang Jingshi paused and looked at Lin Zhengran, as if asking for permission.

He nodded, and she said, “It’s true, Auntie. And the one who saved my life… was Zhengzheng. But the journalists didn’t know that, so it never made it into the news.”

“What? Really?!”

She looked at her son. “How did you do that? You’re not even a doctor.”

Lin Zhengran reminded her, “Remember I spent a bunch of time at home reading medical books a while back? Did you forget? During those days, I accidentally stumbled upon a treatment—and that’s what cured Jingshi.”

Jiang Jingshi nodded, her face flushing as she added gratefully:

“So to me, Zhengzheng isn’t just my partner in business—he’s also my lifesaver. He’s done so much for me. I don’t even know how I’ll ever repay him.”

Lin Xiaoli felt like that statement carried a lot of weight.

She looked back and forth between their eyes and expressions.

“Jingshi… Zhengran… does this mean you two are already…”

Jiang Jingshi nodded. “Yes, Auntie. I’m already Zhengzheng’s girlfriend.”

Lin Xiaoli stared in awe, her mind suddenly flashing with random faces.

“You’re really together now…”

From everything she’d seen and heard, as an elder, she truly liked this girl—Jiang Jingshi. She was gentle, generous, thoughtful, and clearly admired Zhengran deeply. Not to mention they’d built a whole company together.

But…

What about Xiao Qingqing, Wenwen, Lili, and Xiao Meng…?

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