Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten-Chapter 136: Meeting

"Something happened at the studio?"

Jiang Jingshi guessed and replied, "I think it'll be after the New Star Ranking ends. This is a bit hard to explain over WeChat—we need to find a place to talk in person. Zhengran, let me know when you're free. Your sister is available anytime."

Lin Zhengran thought for a moment. "How about Wednesday afternoon? I have two PE classes then. I’ll figure out a way to take a break and meet up with you, Sister Jiang."

"Alright, then I'll be waiting for your call on Wednesday afternoon."

"Okay, Sister Jiang. If there's nothing else, I'll stop here. I just arrived at school."

"Mm."

After a brief conversation with Lin Zhengran, Jiang Jingshi smiled as she looked at the chat history on her phone. She then turned to ask the person outside the car, "What's my schedule like for Wednesday?"

"There's a meeting for a live-stream competition—it's about the big event in the second half of the year."

Jiang Jingshi didn't hesitate. "I remember that meeting isn’t urgent, right? If it's not pressing, push it back. I have something more important on Wednesday."

"Understood, President Jiang. I'll make the arrangements now and reschedule the meeting for next week."

Jiang Jingshi nodded.

The man hurried off to handle the changes while she stayed in the car, scrolling through the New Star Ranking on her tablet. Every time she refreshed the page, she saw Jiang Xueli's votes climbing higher.

"Impressive momentum," she remarked.

Over the next three days, Jiang Xueli's original song, You Are My Star, performed beyond everyone's expectations.

Rankings are usually time-sensitive. Songs don’t typically maintain the same growth rate from start to finish—they have peak and low periods. At least, that’s how it is for other songs. But Jiang Xueli’s track seemed to be playing by different rules.

It surged steadily, increasing at a breakneck pace 24/7.

In just two days, it reached second place. By Wednesday morning, it was aggressively closing in on first.

In the girls' dorm on Wednesday morning, Jiang Xueli went about her routine as usual—getting up, brushing her teeth, and freshening up. She slipped on her slippers and headed to the sink, squeezing toothpaste onto her toothbrush and wetting it before putting it into her mouth.

That’s when she overheard a group of girls chatting excitedly nearby.

"Have you guys heard that song lately? You Are My Star? It’s amazing!"

"I have, I have! I heard it's in some ranking competition and getting super popular!"

"But I’ve never heard of this singer before. Her stage name is ‘Xue’? Is she a new artist? Her voice is so cute!"

"I think she only has this one song. She must’ve just debuted. Her talent is insane!"

Jiang Xueli froze mid-brush, her expression shifting from disbelief to shock.

At first, she thought they might be talking about someone else’s song.

But the song title and the stage name were identical to hers.

And they even mentioned a ranking competition. That couldn't be a coincidence…

Could it be…

Jiang Xueli stared at her reflection in the mirror, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"I'm going viral?" she murmured to herself.

Sometimes, things go unnoticed until they start. But once they do, Jiang Xueli realized these whispers were popping up everywhere—like they’d been there all along, just waiting for her to hear them.

From washing up to having breakfast to heading to class, she kept catching snippets of conversations about her song.

She was stunned.

How did everyone suddenly know about it overnight?

After all, the competition she entered wasn’t even that big.

Finding a discreet spot, she quickly pulled out her phone and checked the rankings.

Her song was now ranked second.

You Are My Star had amassed 650,000 total plays and 230,000 votes, securing the No. 2 spot.

The gap in total plays between her and the first-place song was still huge—first place had 900,000 plays.

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But in terms of votes, she was catching up fast.

First place only had 270,000 votes.

And when she opened the comment section under the No.1 song, she was even more surprised.

There were people supporting You Are My Star.

"The lyrics are great, but it feels like it falls just short of You Are My Star. I think it'll get overtaken soon."

"If the first-place singer weren’t a veteran, they’d probably be losing already. This newcomer is crazy good."

"I keep seeing You Are My Star pop up in short videos. This song is about to blow up!"

"I'm betting in two days, You Are My Star will be No.1. If I'm wrong, I’ll chop off my hand during a live stream!"

"Damn, brutal. I'll join you—double chop!"

The more Jiang Xueli read, the more thrilled she became.

She could hardly believe it was real.

During the break, she rushed to tell Lin Zhengran the good news.

It turned out he was just as invested in the song’s ranking.

When she pulled him aside between classes to tell him, he simply grinned and said, "I saw it already. Your votes are skyrocketing. At this rate, first place is yours."

Of course, not everyone was happy about this.

While Lin Zhengran, Jiang Xueli, and their studio celebrated, someone else was definitely feeling the heat.

Meanwhile, the artists under Jiang Jingshi’s music team looked as deflated as wilted eggplants. Ever since the ranking competition began, these professionally trained singers had been living in fear. None of them expected to be completely crushed by a small independent studio’s contestant.

Every meeting became painfully silent as they gathered, too embarrassed to say a word.

As the leader of the team, Jiang Jingshi sat in her office, staring at the rankings. She let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

"Looks like I’m losing again... Even a veteran singer with multiple releases is being overtaken by Jiang Xueli, the talent cultivated by Zhengran? What am I supposed to do about the live-stream competition in the second half of the year?"

Leaning back in her executive chair, she sighed.

"For the first time, I feel like my investments in these teams have been a total waste..."

By Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 PM, the rankings updated.

Jiang Xueli’s song officially surpassed the previous No. 1 from Jiang Jingshi’s team, making her the new top-ranked artist!

And her votes were still rising rapidly.

With over a week left in the competition, she had more than enough time to completely dominate the other contestants.

The second class that afternoon was Chinese.

Lin Zhengran sat by the window, absentmindedly staring at the campus scenery outside.

The weather was nice today. The sunlight cast sharp contrasts on the leaves, making their veins distinct.

Although his song was soaring in the rankings, his mind wandered back to the message Jiang Jingshi had sent him on the first day of school.

If something really was wrong with the studio, then he might need to move his plans forward.

"Class monitor, answer this question," the homeroom teacher called out.

Lin Zhengran stood up effortlessly. Without even looking at the textbook, he answered smoothly.

The female teacher raised her eyebrows—half surprised, half unsurprised. "Correct. Sit down."

From the podium, she had seen him daydreaming earlier.

But with Lin Zhengran, it didn’t really matter. He always aced his exams, and no matter what she asked, he always had the right answer.

If he wanted to space out, well... she wasn’t going to stop him.

Sitting next to him, Jiang Qian, poised and elegant, watched as he resumed staring out the window. Her cold, sharp eyes flashed with surprise.

Was he really so skilled that he could listen to the lecture while daydreaming?

And this wasn’t even the first time she had seen him do it…

After class, Lin Zhengran left the classroom and went to find his teacher.

He told her he wasn’t feeling well and needed to skip the next two PE classes to rest in the dormitory.

The homeroom teacher had no doubts. He acted convincingly, and besides, good students had an easier time getting permission to leave.

With little hesitation, she approved his request.

After that, during the break, he went to Jiang Xueli, He Qing, and Han Wenwen’s classroom to greet them.

The moment he appeared at the door, all three girls came out at the same time.

"What’s up?" they asked.

Lin Zhengran explained, "You three don’t need to wait for me for dinner at the cafeteria tonight. I have something to do this afternoon."

Little He Qing asked, "Where are you going?"

"Meeting a friend, so just eat without me."

Before they could ask more, their teacher stepped out and called them back for class.

As they returned to their seats, Jiang Xueli and He Qing exchanged curious glances.

They were both a little puzzled, but since neither of them had snuck out, they figured it wasn’t anything suspicious.

After all, Lin Zhengran had plenty of girls around him, but he wasn’t the type to meet just anyone one-on-one.

Only Han Wenwen frowned slightly, her fox-like eyes narrowing as she watched Lin Zhengran walk away.

A friend?

She suddenly recalled the last time she had smelled another girl’s scent on him.

Back then, Zhengran had also said she was just a friend.

Could it be her again?

Something’s fishy…

Not long after, PE class started.

As the vice monitor and PE class representative, Jiang Qian arrived at the track to take attendance.

She quickly noticed Lin Zhengran was missing.

When she asked the teacher, she was told he had called in sick.

Jiang Qian’s expression shifted slightly. "Not feeling well? What’s wrong with him?"

The PE teacher shrugged. "No idea. His homeroom teacher just said he wasn’t feeling well."

Fang Meng, who was also curious about his absence, walked over. "Qianqian, Lin Zhengran isn’t here?"

Jiang Qian replied, "The teacher said he took a sick leave."

"Sick? That’s odd. He seemed fine last period."

"I didn’t notice anything wrong with him either…" Jiang Qian trailed off, glancing toward the boys’ dorms, looking slightly concerned.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhengran had already left the school.

The moment he stepped out, he received a message from Jiang Qian.

Jiang Qian: How are you feeling?

Lin Zhengran was confused. What does she mean by this?

Another message quickly followed.

Jiang Qian: I took attendance during PE and didn’t see you. The teacher said you were sick and resting in the dorms?

Realizing the situation, Lin Zhengran replied: It’s nothing serious. Just a stomachache. Took some medicine, and I’m feeling better now.

Jiang Qian: If you’re still feeling unwell, I can get a doctor to check on you. Xiao Meng knows some medical skills too.

Lin Zhengran: No need, no need. It’s just a small issue. Thanks for checking in.

Jiang Qian: Alright, just message me if you need anything. Consider it my thanks for teaching me piano last time.

Lin Zhengran: Got it. Thanks.

After replying, he looked up and spotted a Rolls-Royce parked by the curb in the distance.

Fang Meng knows medical skills? That assistant really is a jack-of-all-trades…

The luxury car’s driver stepped out and opened the door for him.

"Mr. Lin, please get in."

Lin Zhengran found the formality a bit excessive but stepped forward anyway. Inside, Jiang Jingshi was already waving at him from the backseat.

She was dressed neatly today, opting for a simple yet elegant outfit instead of something overly glamorous.

She smiled warmly, swinging her arm playfully. "Zhengran, little brother, long time no see."

Lin Zhengran smiled back. "Indeed, Sister Jiang, it’s been a while."

He got in, and as the door closed, the car smoothly drove off into the distance.