Chapter 184 First Meeting

Chapter 184: Chapter 154: First Meeting

She pushed open the stall door, only to suddenly hear someone shouting outside.

"Hey, come look! Come look! This girl peed on her own arm! She’s trying to wash it off!"

It was a boy’s voice, gloating.

A commotion immediately erupted outside, and a curious Jiang Jingshi walked out to see.

She saw a little girl standing there, trembling, her eyes red and her arm soaking wet. A crowd was gathering around, eager to watch the spectacle.

Jiang Jingshi stared blankly at the scene. She felt sorry for the little girl and, after a moment’s hesitation, wanted to go over and comfort her.

But just as she took a step, she saw a boy storming over from a distance.

He pushed straight through the crowded circle of onlookers and went to the little girl’s side.

He asked her what happened. The little girl mumbled a reply, and the boy ended up scolding her.

"You don’t even know who bullied you?"

The boy then turned to face the crowd. "Who was it that just yelled? What’s wrong with you? Show yourself!"

His shout startled even Jiang Jingshi, who was an older kid herself, because the boy looked to be no more than five years old.

But his expression and his eyes were so intimidating.

The boy asked the crying little girl again who had shouted, and when he finally identified the culprit, he strode over to him.

"So you’re the one who bullied He Qing?! I told you to show yourself, so why didn’t you?! Come on, I’m dragging you to the teacher right now. And if the teacher won’t do anything, then you and I can go settle this with a fight!"

Terrified, the other boy started rubbing his eyes and bawling.

He kept repeating apologies, making the onlookers uneasy. Jiang Jingshi stared at the indignant boy.

She was struck by what a terrifying temper this boy had.

However, once the troublemaker apologized, the boy didn’t say anything more. He just gave a few warnings and led the girl who had been the center of attention away.

Many of the girls nearby started whispering among themselves. "That boy is so fierce."

"I think he’s really cool, though."

"If I ever get bullied, I want someone to protect me just like that."

"Yeah, me too."

Jiang Jingshi listened to their chatter and looked toward the boy in the distance, just in time to see the little girl he was with looking back at them.

When school let out in the afternoon, Jiang Jingshi’s mother came to pick her up.

Jiang Jingshi left with her mom.

At the time, however, Jiang Jingshi never imagined she would meet that boy again.

And that it would be just one month later.

「One day a month later」

It was a Saturday, she believed, though she’d long forgotten the exact date.

Little Jiang Jingshi was going with her mom to her grandmother’s house.

But on the way, Jiang Jingshi’s mother received an urgent work call.

After talking for a bit, she said to Jiang Jingshi, "Jingshi, Mom has to take care of something. I need to meet a client to discuss business. Just wait in the car for a little while, okay? I’ll lock the doors. Don’t you dare run off."

Jiang Jingshi hummed in acknowledgment. This wasn’t the first time her parents had been busy with work.

Seemingly aware of how well-behaved her daughter was, Jiang Jingshi’s mother drove to the entrance of a residential complex, locked the car while still on the phone, and went off to her business meeting.

Jiang Jingshi waited obediently in the car.

Usually, her mom would be back in an hour at most from these business meetings, but today she was gone for an exceptionally long time, from morning all the way until afternoon.

Jiang Jingshi’s calm heart began to grow anxious. She started to panic, periodically pressing her face against the window to look into the residential complex.

’Why isn’t Mom back yet?’

After a very long time, she got really worried. She was also starving. So, after some hesitation, the clever Jiang Jingshi opened the car door from the inside.

She started walking in the direction her mother had gone, but halfway there, she had second thoughts. ’I should probably just stay in the car.’

’It would be bad if I got lost. Mom might have even come back to the car already.’

She started walking back, but after making a few turns, she realized that all the intersections in the complex looked the same.

She was lost. Frightened, tears immediately welled up in little Jiang Jingshi’s eyes. In her panic, she ran around like a headless chicken, unable to find the way back.

At some point in her frantic search, she spotted a main road. Thinking it was the exit, she hurried toward it.

But the scene before her was still not the one she remembered from when she arrived.

"Mom..."

The tears finally couldn’t be held back and streamed down her face. Her quiet nature made her cry softly.

A boy walked over from the intersection.

At first, the boy walked right past the sniffling Jiang Jingshi without a second glance.

But after a few steps, he turned back, a bit exasperated. ’Why are all the little girls in this world the same?’

’It wouldn’t be a problem if I ignored her; it’s not like it has anything to do with me. But having been reborn, my adult conscience won’t let me ignore these annoying little girls.’

So he turned around and walked back to Jiang Jingshi. "Can’t find your mom?"

Hearing his voice, Jiang Jingshi opened her eyes and saw a boy standing very close to her. Startled, she took two steps back.

’Isn’t this the boy from kindergarten the other day?’

"You..." For some reason, she felt like crying again.

Lin Zhengran said, "Stop crying."

His sharp command terrified Jiang Jingshi. Remembering how fierce he had been at kindergarten, she was afraid he was going to hit her.

She didn’t dare cry anymore, merely sniffling.

Lin Zhengran asked again, "You can’t find your mom, right?"

Sniffling, Jiang Jingshi nodded. "Mhm." Since she was a bit older, she was able to accurately explain how she had gotten lost and what her mother was doing.

Lin Zhengran breathed a sigh of relief. ’At least this girl’s got some sense of logic,’ he thought. ’She can actually explain what happened.’

’She’s not like He Qing, who can’t squeeze out a single word.’

Lin Zhengran pointed into the distance. "If what you just said is correct, you’re at a different entrance to the complex. The place you came from should be over there."

Jiang Jingshi looked in the direction he was pointing but didn’t dare to go. She had already gotten lost once.

Lin Zhengran seemed to understand how troublesome little girls this age could be. He decided to see it through to the end.

"I’ll take you over there."

"Okay..." She sniffled again.

Lin Zhengran: "What are you still crying for?"

Frightened, Jiang Jingshi wiped her eyes. "I’m just wiping my tears... I’m not crying."

With a sigh, Lin Zhengran led her to the other entrance of the complex.

Jiang Jingshi’s face lit up with joy when she saw her mother’s car. She quickly ran over to it, even though her mom wasn’t there yet.

But now that she had found the car, she wasn’t so scared anymore.

She looked back at Lin Zhengran. "Thank you... My name is..."

Lin Zhengran waved his hand dismissively. "No need to tell me your name, I’m not interested. It’s good enough that you found the car. Next time, just stay in the car and don’t get out. Your mom was probably busy with something, and you could get lost if you get out by yourself."

Little Jiang Jingshi nodded.

"I’m going now, or my mom won’t be able to find me either," he said.

Just as Lin Zhengran was about to leave, he heard a loud RUMBLE from Jiang Jingshi’s stomach. Embarrassed, Jiang Jingshi clutched her tummy.

He looked back at her, and she grew even more embarrassed.

Lin Zhengran spotted a small supermarket nearby.

"Is there any money in your mom’s car?"

Jiang Jingshi shook her head. "I don’t know..."

Lin Zhengran helped her open the car door and searched in the places where money might be kept. Thankfully, paper money was still in wide use.

He was in luck, finding a few coins in the glove compartment on the passenger side.

Lin Zhengran went to the supermarket, bought a cup of braised beef instant noodles, and asked the clerk for some hot water. He handed it to Jiang Jingshi. "Here, eat. When your mom gets back, just tell her you bought it yourself. It’ll be ready in a few minutes."

"Mhm..."

"I’m leaving." This time, Lin Zhengran really left, not lingering any longer.

In this life, Lin Zhengran had experienced countless small incidents like this, so it didn’t leave much of an impression on him.

But for little Jiang Jingshi, holding the cup of instant noodles and watching Lin Zhengran’s retreating figure, the scene was unconsciously seared into her memory.

The heat from the hot water in the noodle cup transferred through the container and scalded Jiang Jingshi’s hand.

Startled by the heat, she quickly set the noodles aside. When she looked up again, Lin Zhengran was already far away.

Little Jiang Jingshi blinked.

She whispered another "thank you" to herself. Then, after waiting a few minutes, she began to eat the instant noodles. They tasted exceptionally good.