Chapter 35 : Why did he show up… with company?

Ling Xi was never quite sure whether the decision to transfer Jiang Jingxun to an elite private school was good or bad.

After getting married, Ling Xi and her husband had been running this café together.

Thanks to their excellent skills and friendly personalities,

Business had always been good, and they had kept the shop running for many years.

Over time, they had managed to save up a decent amount,

Though not rich, they were able to maintain a good quality of life.

The family had bought a home in a good neighborhood,

owned a car worth hundreds of thousands, and could easily afford annual vacations and some modest luxury items.

Among ordinary families, they could be considered well-off and free from financial worries.

What was even more gratifying was that Jiang Jingxun had always been intelligent,

top of her class, mature and considerate, never giving her parents any reason to worry.

Their family had always been very close, and they were often the envy of others.

They had lived peacefully and without worries for over a decade,

until that life was suddenly disrupted.

Last year, her husband suddenly fell seriously ill.

During the time he was hospitalized,

they had to spend nearly all the savings they had accumulated over the years.

She had to stay in the hospital to care for him,

and Jiang Jingxun still had to attend school, so the café could no longer generate enough income to cover their expenses.

And that wasn’t the end of it,

though her husband was out of immediate danger,

the follow-up treatment and nursing costs remained very high.

Life suddenly became much harder,

and even day-to-day expenses were a struggle to maintain.

Jiang Jingxun was still just a teenager,

in the most crucial stage of her education,

yet she had to help her mother from time to time and couldn’t fully focus on her studies.

Until a few months ago, a recruitment officer from Yuli Private School reached out to them,

asking whether Jiang Jingxun would be willing to enroll there.

They even offered very attractive conditions that could immediately relieve their current financial stress.

Originally, Jiang Jingxun had been studying at Beicheng Public High School,

one of the top public high schools in the area.

With her grades, even top universities across the country would be competing to admit her,

And her life trajectory had seemed smooth and promising.

The offer in front of them was highly tempting;

This elite private school charged tens of thousands in tuition annually, yet it was offering full exemption.

On top of that, there would be generous scholarships and prize money from competitions.

After the recruiter left, Jiang Jingxun didn’t take long to think,

she told her mother the very next day that she wanted to transfer.

Rationally and objectively speaking, transferring was a very wise decision.

Studying at the new school wouldn’t just ease the family’s financial burden,

it would also open the door to a completely different world.

To put it a bit bluntly, this kind of school didn’t just have top-notch educational resources.

The teachers and student networks were also far beyond what public schools could offer.

Their curriculum was also very comprehensive, covering foreign languages,

political and business studies, a variety of sports and arts programs, outdoor activities, and practical training.

It aimed to nurture well-rounded individuals,

not just prepare students for the college entrance exam.

In such an educational environment,

most parents and students would be thrilled.

Jiang Jingxun was already an outstanding student.

If she had the opportunity to receive a better education and explore a wider world,

she could become an even better version of herself.

As a mother, Ling Xi was happy to see that happen.

But the problem lay exactly there.

The students at Yuli Private School generally came from extraordinary backgrounds,

completely different from families like theirs.

This wasn’t just the usual wealth gap you’d find between students at a public school.

Such a stark class difference could lead to many issues; could it hurt or affect her daughter?

Once that thought occurred to her, Ling Xi couldn’t stop worrying.

However, Jiang Jingxun had always had her own opinions,

and the family had long been used to respecting her wishes.

Even if Ling Xi objected,

Jiang Jingxun would come up with all sorts of reasons to persuade her and make her agree.

What’s more, once her daughter made up her mind,

Ling Xi didn’t want to interfere lightly.

So she handled the transfer procedures,

feeling both anxious and hopeful.

At the time of enrollment,

Ling Xi tried to think optimistically.

Maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

Maybe her daughter would have an even more exciting high school experience at Yuli.

And with a generous scholarship,

she wouldn’t need to worry about the family anymore and could focus entirely on her studies.

Jiang Jingxun had a personality much like her father’s, quiet and reserved, with not many words at home.

But before the transfer, she still had a few close friends and would occasionally joke and chat.

She would talk about school life, still looking and sounding like a regular teenager.

After going to the new school, Ling Xi would occasionally ask out of concern how things were going, whether there was anything she wasn’t used to.

Jiang Jingxun always replied that things were fine,

And Ling Xi couldn’t see anything unusual.

Ling Xi didn’t want to pressure her too much and could never get a concrete answer from those conversations.

If before, she had still held onto some lucky optimism,

then at the last parent-teacher meeting, Ling Xi truly felt the weight of that class divide.

Just catching a glimpse of it,

it was already a world completely different from that of ordinary people.

No matter what the environment, Ling Xi believed she could remain calm.

She believed that, with her daughter’s personality,

she too could remain composed in the face of social differences.

But in that environment, could she still make real, heartfelt friendships?

Would she be too lonely?

What Ling Xi really wanted was for her daughter to live happily.

Not to push herself too hard.

…

At the café, when Jiang Jingxun heard her mother calling, she looked up.

In that moment, she also saw Meng Xici and Ji Zhuoran standing in front of the bar counter.

She paused in surprise.

Was it just a coincidence?

They had seen each other before at the parent-teacher meeting.

Meng Xici and the woman with him were Jiang Jingxun’s mother.

The two politely greeted one another.

Then Ji Zhuoran turned to Jiang Jingxun with a bright smile, waved, and said, “Hello~”

Jiang Jingxun walked over calmly and nodded at them.

“Hello.”

She acted just like classmates who weren’t very familiar—almost excessively polite.

She didn’t ask them why they were there.

She simply turned to Ling Xi and asked, “Mom, where’s the delivery going?”

“Oh, it’s your Aunt Sang Miao who ordered it.

You’ll deliver it to this address later.”

Ling Xi passed her the address Sang Miao had provided.

Sang Miao had only placed the order a short while ago, and now this boy from her family had shown up.

Ling Xi wasn’t sure if Sang Miao had changed her mind and sent him to pick it up.

But then again, if that were the case, Sang Miao would’ve sent her a message about it.

And the boy standing in front of her didn’t seem to know anything about Sang Miao’s order.

Off to the side, Ji Zhuoran, hearing Sang Miao’s name, opened his mouth slightly in surprise…

Seeing that Meng Xici also looked a little confused, Ling Xi smiled gently and said, “What a coincidence.

Sang Miao is nearby

she just ordered delivery.

Are you two here to grab a drink?”

She knew that Sang Miao was technically the boy’s stepmother,

But she didn’t know what Meng Xici usually called her.

That whole stepmom-stepson relationship was a little awkward, so she just used her name.

Meng Xici paused, glanced at the menu, and ordered an Americano.

Then he asked, “Auntie, can I ask what she ordered for delivery?”

“She ordered… a red tea latte, a mocha, and two slices of cheesecake, one blueberry, one Earl Grey.”

Ling Xi glanced at the order list and replied with a smile.

Hearing that she had already ordered cake and enough for two,

Meng Xici didn’t order anything else.

After hesitating for two seconds, he said to Ling Xi, “Auntie, how about I deliver it instead?

It’s on my way.”

Ji Zhuoran, sitting beside him, blinked a few times and held back a comment.

This was the first time he had ever heard Meng Xici talk nonsense…

On his way? They didn’t even know where the delivery address was!

Ling Xi smiled warmly and kindly at him.

“How could I let you do that?

Why don’t you just go together with Jingxun?”

Meng Xici was about to say it was fine, but then remembered that he didn’t even know the address.

He paused in silence for two seconds and didn’t insist.

“What are you drinking?” Meng Xici suddenly asked Ji Zhuoran.

“Oh…” Ji Zhuoran came back to himself and glanced at the menu again.

After hesitating for quite a while, he finally settled on a matcha latte.

At that moment, no new customers had arrived.

Behind the counter, Jiang Jingxun was making coffee,

and Ling Xi was packing the items Sang Miao had ordered.

The café had a vintage, soothing atmosphere that brought a sense of relaxation and joy.

Ji Zhuoran sat on a barstool, naturally friendly without being overbearing, and chatted with Ling Xi.

“Auntie, I heard the coffee here is really good.

Meng Xici and I came over from school just to try it.”

He had a bright and handsome face, spoke sincerely and without any pretense,

and was well-spoken, the kind of boy who made you want to keep listening.

Meng Xici, on the other hand, looked away without drawing attention to it,

unable to keep up with the act.

…He didn’t know how Ji Zhuoran could make things up so smoothly.

Meng Xici’s gaze wandered,

but lingered briefly as it passed over Jiang Jingxun working at the coffee machine.

The soft sound of grinding echoed as the beans were crushed,

followed by a steady stream of espresso dripping into the cup.

In the blink of an eye, Ji Zhuoran had shifted the conversation from coffee beans to school.

Then, changing the topic again, he said,

“Auntie, I also heard that Jiang Jingxun is great at the piano.

Is that true?”

Ling Xi smiled.

“Oh, not great.

She just learned when she was younger.”

Ji Zhuoran let out a small “oh” and said with a bit of regret,

“We were actually hoping to invite her to sign up for the performance with us.”

Jiang Jingxun’s hands paused in their movements.

Ling Xi glanced sideways at her, realizing she’d clearly been paying attention to the conversation.

Ling Xi smiled at Ji Zhuoran and asked, “What program are you joining?”

She became even more interested upon hearing it was about the school.

“It’s the school’s sports festival in July.

There’ll be a big opening ceremony.

We’re planning to form a band and sign up for a performance.”

Ling Xi thought they were quite creative.

“That’s great.”

In an ordinary high school, it might actually be hard to organize something like that.

Ji Zhuoran sighed lightly and said, “But Jiang Jingxun said she doesn’t want to join.

What a shame.

If she did, our performance would definitely attract way more attention!”

Meng Xici, standing nearby, coughed lightly when he heard Ji Zhuoran suddenly taking the parent-approval route.

The way he twisted the conversation until it landed on the performance was something else.

Ling Xi turned her head and looked curiously at her handsome kid.

“Jingxun, you don’t want to join?”

Jiang Jingxun didn’t turn around.

“…It’s been a long time since I played.

I’m a bit rusty.”

It was rare for classmates to invite her to join something fun.

Though Ling Xi hoped she’d say yes, she didn’t want to push her into anything.

So she said to Ji Zhuoran, “Jingxun only learned casually in the past; she’s not that good.

It might affect the quality of your show.”

But Ji Zhuoran didn’t bring it up to push the issue, it was more of a passing topic.

“That wouldn’t happen.

Actually, he’s also a beginner,” he said, pointing at Meng Xici.

Meng Xici: “…”

He nodded in reluctant cooperation.

After that, Ji Zhuoran dropped the topic.

“Auntie, are you going to come see the opening ceremony?

There’ll be a guest singer performing too…”

Since the event was still a while away, Jiang Jingxun hadn’t mentioned it to her mom.

“Can parents come watch too?”

“Yeah, once they register, the school will save them a seat.”

…

While Ji Zhuoran chatted away with Ling Xi, time passed quickly.

Soon, the coffee was done, and the food was packed up.

Jiang Jingxun picked up the delivery order and walked out with the two of them.

Her face was calm, unreadable.

Honestly, she still didn’t quite understand why these two decided to show up here.

But from the looks of it, they really were just here to buy coffee…

If it were her old school, classmates hanging out near the campus and stopping by a café would be normal.

But in her current class, she didn’t know that many people.

Most of them had no idea about this place.

The three stood at the entrance.

Meng Xici asked casually, “Where’s the delivery going?”

Jiang Jingxun gave the address.

Her face remained calm,

but even she couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious…

So, just now he didn’t even know the address,

and still offered to deliver it like it was on his way?

Ji Zhuoran immediately asked, “Jiang Jingxun, how were you planning to deliver it originally?”

After all, at their age, they couldn’t drive or ride motorcycles, or even electric scooters.

It’s not that far.”

“Oh, then why don’t we just drive over together?

Our car’s parked right there,” Ji Zhuoran suggested.

Since it looked like Meng Xici was planning to go along anyway,

there was no need for her to ride over alone.

Jiang Jingxun considered it for a couple of seconds, then accepted their offer.

Usually, Meng Xici was driven around in a Bentley.

Ji Zhuoran sipped his coffee and naturally opened the passenger door.

The other two got into the backseat.

The car ride was fairly quiet.

Ji Zhuoran wasn’t nearly as chatty as he’d been earlier.

When Meng Xici had casually said he wanted to come along earlier,

he hadn’t even thought about why.

Now that it was quiet, he started to question if that move had been a bit… impulsive.

He didn’t actually know what Sang Miao was doing in the area right now.

He only knew, from the few times she’d brought back cake,

that she seemed to come around here often lately…

Was it showing up like this too suddenly?

…

At the office building, Sang Miao had just finished ordering takeout and was unpacking a pile of delivery boxes.

The floor was covered with them several boxes were filled with books.

Even though she mainly worked in the art team,

understanding what kind of art matched the character design, scene settings, and modeling was crucial.

She had no prior experience in game development,

so there was a lot she needed to learn fast.

Shen Xingxia glanced at the boxes and was a bit surprised.

“You bought this much?”

“Some of it was what you recommended,”

Sang Miao replied, quickly skimming through the opened boxes.

There were probably dozens of books.

She had no clue when she’d finish reading them all.

“But I figured I’d just buy them first anyway.”

Though not bulky, books were heavy.

Shen Xingxia helped her carry one box upstairs first.

The rest included some indoor decorations and office supplies that had been delivered days ago.

She hadn’t had time to unpack them until now.

And on top of that, there were a few large indoor plants and a bunch of different-sized potted ones that had arrived just that afternoon.

All in all, there was quite a bit of stuff.

After finishing with the boxes,

she was just about to carry another stack of books upstairs when the doorbell rang a few times.

She glanced at the time.

Probably the takeout.

She set the box down and went to open the door.

The door was only halfway open when Sang Miao saw Jiang Jingxun and smiled.

“You’re delivering it yourself, wait…”

…?

Why are there two more people behind you?