Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten-Chapter 262: Three Women Make a Drama

Lin Zhengran turned around and busied himself with the barbecue skewers, pulling out all the ingredients.

As he worked, he explained, “How did I bully you? You looked like you were sleeping so soundly last night—how could I wake you up? Otherwise I would’ve held you too. You think I didn’t want to?”

Jiang Xueli was at a loss for words and didn’t know how to respond.

She turned away and gave a little huffy grunt.

“What kind of explanation is that?”

While pulling out the marinade, Lin Zhengran reached over and patted her head.

“There, there. If you’re not mad anymore, help me grab two bottles of water.”

Then he retracted his hand and went back to prepping lunch.

Jiang Xueli’s face flushed briefly, but the blush faded quickly.

She pouted, unhappy: “You think patting my head twice makes up for it? What am I, a kid?”

But even as she grumbled, she still obediently went and got him two bottles of water.

“Here.”

Then she looked back at Han Wenwen, only to see the little fox smiling sweetly and waving her hand.

The Three Little Ones sat back down together.

Han Wenwen kept it short and direct: “The reason I was in bed last night too… is because I like Brother Zhengran.”

There wasn’t even a beat of silence before Jiang Xueli pointed at her, already smug, like she’d known it all along:

“Ha! I knew it! I knew this little fox definitely liked Zhengran! I told you I wasn’t wrong!”

He Qing was surprised. Han Wenwen was even more surprised. Her eyes blinked rapidly as her cheeks turned pink.

“You knew?”

He Qing asked softly, “Lili, when did you figure it out?”

“Last night, duh. Didn’t Han Wenwen keep calling him Brother Zhengran? That kind of nickname is way too intimate!”

He Qing and Han Wenwen: “…”

Jiang Xueli quickly added, a little flustered:

“Well, actually I’d suspected it for a while! He Qing, remember I once told you I thought Han Wenwen might like Lin Zhengran?! I never changed my mind on that! I always felt like this fox definitely had feelings for Zhengran.”

He Qing blinked in confusion. “You did bring it up a while ago, but back then you said you were just suspicious. We never talked about it after that, so I thought you’d forgotten.”

Jiang Xueli let out a long sigh and didn’t speak right away:

“He Qing, you’re a girl too. Do you really think someone would just forget something like another girl liking their boyfriend?

I just didn’t bring it up again.

Lately, there’s been so much going on—I didn’t have time to dig deeper. But in my heart, I’d already assumed Han Wenwen liked Zhengran.”

After all, the main focus recently had been who would be Zhengran’s first, and that was way more important.

Because girls who liked Zhengran?

From childhood till now, there were at least a thousand—even if not ten thousand.

But his first time?

There was only one of those.

He Qing didn’t deny it. “That’s true. No one would forget something like that.”

Han Wenwen smiled helplessly and tilted her head.

“Didn’t expect Lili to figure it out so early.”

Jiang Xueli folded her arms, feeling like her smart brain was finally paying off—even if it was a little late.

She glanced over at her, “Well, it’s because you’re always jealous of Zhengran being with anyone else, right?

The three of us are always together, and that’s not something you can hide forever.

Even though you always had excuses, over time it all started to show.

And I remember very clearly—there was once when I was with Zhengran alone, and he accidentally called me ‘Wenwen.’ That’s when I really started paying attention to you.”

He Qing asked, “So you figured it out because of her jealousy and because Zhengran said the wrong name?”

Jiang Xueli shook her head. “Not just that. Those are small things. The biggest giveaway was…”

She looked toward Lin Zhengran, who was busy grilling, with jealousy in her eyes:

“Zhengran treats Han Wenwen way too well. Like, not just normal ‘friend’ well—he treats her like an actual girlfriend. That’s the real red flag.”

He Qing looked confused. “He does?”

Jiang Xueli stared at her. “Of course! Haven’t you noticed Zhengran treats the three of us exactly the same?

Food, outings, even tutoring—it’s all split equally! And this trip? He brought Han Wenwen with us!”

Little He Qing blinked in her usual dazed way, her voice getting smaller:

“But… isn’t that fair? I mean, letting Wenwen come along too isn’t weird, right?”

Jiang Xueli gaped: “He Qing, you’re way too easygoing.”

“Am not! I pay super close attention to Zhengran, okay?”

“Then how can you say fairness is normal? Zhengran treats us that way because we’re his girlfriends!

Han Wenwen, in theory, is just your best friend! She shouldn’t be getting the same treatment.

Zhengran’s met plenty of my other good friends too, and you’ve got other female friends besides Han Wenwen.

Does he treat them this well? No—only Han Wenwen gets special treatment!”

Little He Qing suddenly realized something, straightening up. “Wait, you’re right! That is weird!”

Han Wenwen said nothing, just smiled to herself.

It’s true—Brother Zhengran was always careful to keep things split in thirds to avoid making her jealous.

Jiang Xueli closed her eyes like a seasoned detective.

“So, summing all that up, I really started feeling like the three of us were all Zhengran’s girlfriends. novelbuddy.cσ๓

He Qing, I think the reason you didn’t notice Wenwen liked Zhengran… is because deep down, you already accepted that she was part of the ‘family.’

Otherwise, let me ask you something—”

She turned serious, asking He Qing directly:

“Have you ever seriously imagined a future where you and I marry Zhengran, but Han Wenwen doesn’t live with us? Have you ever pictured leaving her out?”

He Qing covered her mouth, eyes wide.

“…I don’t think I have. In all my imagined futures, it’s always us together—just like now. Wenwen’s always there.”

Jiang Xueli exhaled, reluctant to admit it:

“Yeah, same. I realized it too—whenever I imagined the future, that little fox was always part of it. We’ve known each other too long.”

Han Wenwen put her hands together in front of her chest and smiled sweetly:

“Thank you, Xiao Qingqing and Lili, for thinking of me!”

“So now Han Wenwen’s officially Zhengran’s girlfriend too, huh? Otherwise you wouldn’t have been in his arms last night, right?”

Han Wenwen nodded, “Yep.”

Jiang Xueli squinted with jealous eyes. Another one, huh…

Then she narrowed her eyes like a detective grilling a suspect:

“Han Wenwen, don’t tell me you’ve secretly made a lot of progress behind our backs?”

Han Wenwen gave a sheepish smile and waved her hand playfully.

“No way, it’s not like that. We’re all… about the same.”

The three girls suddenly fell silent for a moment.

Little He Qing blushed, remembering her intimate moment yesterday afternoon.

Jiang Xueli got shy recalling last night.

Han Wenwen thought back to her own “sneaky taste.”

Yep—about the same.

Each girl had their own secrets.

So they decided not to keep discussing that topic.

Little He Qing raised a finger, “Right—something serious. Last night Wenwen told me something really important. We’re planning to talk to you about it today! Super important!”

“What’s so important?” Jiang Xueli looked puzzled.

He Qing looked toward Lin Zhengran nearby, then covered her mouth, “Let’s go somewhere else. We can’t let him hear.”

“Huh? Even he can’t know?” Lili was even more confused.

“That’s not what I mean. You’ll understand in a minute.”

The Three Little Ones huddled together, whispering about who-knows-what.

Off to the side, Lin Zhengran glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, thinking,

What the hell are they sneaking around about?

It’s not like I can’t hear them.

The saying really was true: Three women make a drama.

This whole trip, they hadn’t played much at all.

It was mostly just “sisterly discussions.”

A few minutes later, all three turned to look at Lin Zhengran.

Han Wenwen smiled and said, “Brother Zhengran, Xiao Qingqing, Lili and I are going to the car to grab a few more snacks. I think what we have won’t be enough.”

Lin Zhengran didn’t try to stop their little maneuver.

“Go ahead.”

He Qing: “We’ll be right back.”

Jiang Xueli: “Two minutes tops.”

The three girls exchanged one last glance—then ran off together toward the parking area.