Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten-Chapter 172: Peculiar Habits

Fang Meng walked out of the bedroom after a moment.

"Go ahead and change. Call me when you're done." She closed the door behind her.

Lin Zhengran glanced at her before taking off his jacket and changing.

Fang Meng’s usual outfits were quite stylish. Today, she wore a light yellow jacket, a pleated skirt, and a snug-fitting white long-sleeve top. The side ponytail completed her look, giving off the vibe of a "school sweetheart."

At least, that was the impression Lin Xiaoli, his mother, had the first time she saw this girl.

After changing, Lin Zhengran called out, "Fang Meng, I'm done."

Standing properly in the living room, Fang Meng re-entered his bedroom and sat on his bed.

Lin Zhengran turned to look at her.

She also turned to look at him.

Silent eye contact.

No one blushed.

Lin Zhengran broke the silence, "So? Why are you here again?"

"I'm here to take care of your mom."

"Emmm… I appreciate that, but coming all the way just to take care of her? Do you even believe that reason yourself? Because I sure don’t."

Fang Meng stared at him and blinked.

"You're right. Actually, I came to see you. I've been feeling down lately and wanted someone to talk to, but I don’t really have friends, so you’re my only option."

Lin Zhengran: "..."

Fang Meng pulled a few hundred-yuan bills from her pocket. "Take this as payment for chatting with me. I hope you’ll spare me some time."

A drop of sweat formed on Lin Zhengran’s forehead. "That’s not necessary. You’ve already helped take care of my mom—if I take your money on top of that, I’d feel like a real scumbag. Besides, I’m not short on cash."

Fang Meng blinked again, as if she caught onto something important. Then, out of nowhere, she started singing:

"Di-di-di-di… di-di-da-da… di ba di li dao~"

Lin Zhengran was stunned into awkward silence. After a moment, he finally asked, "What the hell are you singing…?"

Even Fang Meng thought she was being ridiculous. She snapped out of it and looked ahead. "Nothing, just being weird. But I think I just discovered your weakness, Lin Zhengran. Not that it matters anymore."

"My weakness?"

"Yeah. If someone treats you or the people around you sincerely, you’ll return the kindness. Like how I took care of your mom just now, and you immediately softened toward me."

"That’s a weakness? That’s just normal behavior. Any decent person would do the same. As long as the other party is genuine and doesn’t have any malicious intent."

"True sincerity is hard to measure. Most of the time, people don’t even know what others are really thinking. But a weakness is a weakness—after all, not everyone would act the way you do."

Lin Zhengran hummed in response, then sighed. "You really are acting weird today. Normally, you’d be jotting all this down in your notebook, but now you’re just rambling about life instead."

He imagined Fang Meng glowing like a holy figure.

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

Out of nowhere, she pulled out a book titled How to Live a Worry-Free Life.

Holding it up like scripture, she declared, "There’s no need to keep doing things just because. Like this book says—if people could ignore all societal norms, they’d be truly free. For example, eating with chopsticks instead of a spoon, drinking soup with a straw, pulling up your pants without wiping after using the toilet—freeing yourself from the eyes of the world."

"Wait… people actually do those things? Don’t tell me you’ve tried them all?"

Fang Meng hesitated. "I did try the first two… but I couldn’t bring myself to do the third one. I’m not that enlightened yet."

Lin Zhengran knocked her lightly on the head with his knuckle.

The imaginary holy glow around her shattered.

"Sorry," he said, "force of habit. You were acting so insane just now that it felt oddly familiar, so my hand moved on its own."

Fang Meng rubbed her forehead, though it didn’t hurt. "It’s fine. Getting smacked actually felt kinda nice. I like pain."

Lin Zhengran frowned. "Why does that sound so wrong? That’s a really misleading thing to say."

"It’s not misleading. It’s exactly what you think it is. If I had a boyfriend, I’d want him to be a little rough with me. I wouldn’t even mind getting spanked once in a while—assuming he could beat me, that is. Otherwise, I’d hit back without hesitation."

Lin Zhengran lifted his hand, exasperated.

"Enough! Why am I even talking about this with you? My free time is precious. Just get to the point—you came all this way to talk, right? Out of gratitude for taking care of my mom, I’ll listen."

He lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and said, "Go ahead. I’ll rest while you talk."

Fang Meng looked at him lying there. Her expression darkened, and her voice dropped.

"Honestly, I don’t even know where to start… and it’s a long story."

"Then just say the important parts!" Lin Zhengran interrupted.

Fang Meng flinched.

"You’re really aggressive sometimes… weirdly enough, you actually fit my ideal boyfriend standards. Not that I think I’ll ever fall in love. Especially considering how complicated Qianqian’s feelings for you are."

Lin Zhengran found this oddly familiar… Who else had told him something like this before? Oh—Fox Spirit?

Fang Meng adjusted her posture and started talking non-stop, recounting her past like she was telling a story.

Lin Zhengran listened with his eyes closed, not interrupting once.

By the end, Fang Meng lowered her gaze to the floor. "And that’s how it all happened. That night in the car, after our argument, it was over between us."

Still no response from Lin Zhengran.

Fang Meng turned her head and saw that he seemed asleep. Annoyed, she reached out and pushed him.

"Hey! Did you actually fall asleep? I was pouring my heart out! You said you’d listen! This is so rude!"

But Lin Zhengran opened his eyes. He had actually fallen asleep—but not in the normal way. His stamina was so high that his "sleep" was closer to meditation. His brain could keep functioning even while resting.

A portion of it remained active.

He stretched lazily, letting out a satisfied sigh.

Fang Meng frowned. "You really were asleep?"

Ignoring her, he yawned. "I heard every word. So… you regret it, don’t you? You want to make up with her, but you’re scared she never actually saw you as a friend?"

Fang Meng’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"No wonder you’re so far ahead of Qianqian. Wait—can you seriously process information while sleeping? I read about geniuses who could do that… some could even solve math problems in their dreams. I thought it was nonsense, but I guess it’s real."

Lin Zhengran didn’t bother discussing himself. He stared at the ceiling and said, "Whether Jiang Qian saw you as a friend isn’t something anyone else can answer. You know her best—you should know if she ever treated you sincerely. But that incident from back then? That’s a thorn in her heart. You two need to talk about it. I’m honestly shocked you’ve both held back for this long. Something this important should’ve been settled years ago."

Fang Meng pursed her lips, hesitating. "I just… don’t know where I stand with her anymore."

Suddenly, she lay down beside him, sharing his pillow.

Lin Zhengran frowned. "What are you doing? This is my bed."

Fang Meng turned her back to him, looking defeated. "I’m exhausted. Come drink and sing karaoke with me. My treat."

"You seriously think I have time for that?" He scoffed, unimpressed. "And I hate dragging out emotions like this. Just talk it out. Drinking won’t solve anything."

She fell silent.

Then, without warning, Lin Zhengran flipped her onto her back and pinned her down.

Her cheeks flushed as she stared up at him, her hair fanned across the pillow.

His grip was strong—so strong that her wrists ached under his hold.

He said firmly, "If you want to make up with her, then do it properly. Don’t run away halfway. Say everything you need to say. Whether it works out or falls apart, at least get closure. And don’t tell me you didn’t notice that she bought you a bottle of water last week during PE, just like you did for me."

Fang Meng’s expression flickered.

She remembered.

Lin Zhengran let go and got up. "I’m going to the bathroom. That’s all I have to say. Stop making things so complicated."

He left.

Fang Meng remained on the bed, arms sprawled out, staring at the ceiling.

She muttered to herself, "My wrists really hurt… If he spanked me, it’d probably hurt like hell."