Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten-Chapter 171: The Battlefield That Shouldn’t Exist

The next morning, it wasn’t just Lin Zhengran who noticed—everyone in the class could tell that something was off between Fang Meng and Jiang Qian.

The two, who were usually inseparable, suddenly stopped talking to each other. Even when they met in the classroom, they would only exchange a glance before walking past each other in silence.

At lunchtime, they even deliberately sat apart instead of eating together.

In the afternoon, the study committee member approached Fang Meng. "Fang Meng, can you pass this to the vice monitor? It’s hers."

Fang Meng took it out of habit, but after a brief pause, she handed it back. "You should give it to her yourself."

"Huh? But Jiang Qian isn’t here right now. Didn’t you say before that if she wasn’t around, I could just leave things with you?"

Fang Meng sat at her desk, looking sulky. "That was before. From now on, just give her things to her directly."

The student stood there, dumbfounded. What’s going on?

The same thing happened on Jiang Qian’s side. In the past, if someone couldn’t find Fang Meng, they would often turn to Jiang Qian instead. But now, Jiang Qian would simply reply, "Go find her yourself. Talking to me won’t help."

Confused, the classmate asked, "Aren’t you two best friends? I figured telling you would be the same, and you could just pass the message along later."

Jiang Qian’s face remained expressionless. "She wouldn’t listen to me anyway."

Nearby, Fang Meng happened to overhear the conversation. She glanced at Jiang Qian, who was coldly speaking to their classmate, and her brows furrowed slightly.

Though Lin Zhengran hadn’t seen everything firsthand, he could still tell that these two had gotten into a serious fight—way beyond a simple argument.

Of course, on principle, a fight between two best friends had nothing to do with him.

But sometimes, it wasn’t that he went looking for trouble—trouble came looking for him.

During PE class on Thursday, Lin Zhengran sat on the edge of the track, resting.

Fang Meng, having just finished running, was still panting, clearly carrying some unresolved frustration. She spotted Lin Zhengran’s jacket casually tossed to the side, walked over, sat down beside him, and picked it up.

Then, with precise and deliberate movements, she began folding it neatly.

Lin Zhengran was stunned. "What are you doing? You’re so bored that you’re folding my stuff now?"

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Fang Meng responded matter-of-factly, "You’re right. I am bored. It’s been too long since I tidied up for someone, and my hands were itching. Besides, I am technically your childhood fiancée, so folding your things isn’t a big deal."

Lin Zhengran: "…?"

What was this person even talking about?

After finishing, Fang Meng placed the neatly folded jacket beside him and asked, "I’m going to buy a drink. Want me to grab one for you?"

"No need. I’m not thirsty."

"Alright, then I won’t get you one."

With that, Fang Meng stood up and left.

But after buying her drink at the school store, she realized she had ended up with two bottles.

It was just instinct—whenever she bought water, she always grabbed one for Jiang Qian, a habit so ingrained it was practically in her DNA.

With no way to finish both by herself, she had no choice but to give the extra bottle to Lin Zhengran.

However, just as she was walking back to the track with two bottles in hand—

She suddenly noticed Jiang Qian approaching from the opposite direction, also carrying two bottles of water.

Because, of course, it was the same for Jiang Qian.

Whenever she bought water, she had always bought one for Fang Meng too. A habit that was hard to break.

At this moment, both girls stood on opposite sides of the path, each holding two bottles of water.

After exchanging a glance, neither chose to give the water to their former best friend.

Instead, they both walked toward Lin Zhengran and handed him a bottle at the same time.

In perfect unison: “Here, this is for you.”

The students resting on the track were stunned.

They gawked at the scene, whispering among themselves, enjoying the unexpected drama.

“Look, look!”

“What’s going on? I heard they had a fight recently.”

“Oh, so it’s because of the class monitor?”

…

Sweat formed on Lin Zhengran’s forehead. “What are you two doing? People are going to misunderstand and think you’re fighting because of me, when I literally have nothing to do with this. I don’t even know why you’re mad at each other.”

Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly sensed an unpleasant gaze from afar.

Turning toward the distant school building, he spotted a familiar figure by the classroom window—

A certain fox-eyed girl holding a small pair of binoculars, watching the scene unfold.

The moment Han Wenwen realized Lin Zhengran had noticed her, she gave him a bright, friendly smile from inside the classroom.

Then, she was immediately caught by the teacher and ordered to stand up and recite the lesson as punishment.

Back on the track, Lin Zhengran felt even more exhausted.

On Friday, the homeroom teacher held a short meeting.

Afterward, she announced something that made the entire class cheer.

“If your scores on next week’s mock exams are satisfactory, I’ll let you watch a movie during Chinese class.”

A rare treat for high school seniors cramming for the college entrance exams.

One student eagerly raised a hand. “Teacher, if we’re watching a movie, can we switch seats with our friends?”

The homeroom teacher sighed, amused. “You guys are really pushing it, huh? You should be grateful that I’m even letting you watch a movie. And now you want to change seats, too? No way. The class monitor will be responsible for keeping order.”

Despite that, the students cheered, promising to behave and not make too much noise.

Friends immediately started planning—who would sit with whom, who would switch seats.

Everyone acted as if their victory in next week’s mock exams was already secured.

Meanwhile, Jiang Qian and Fang Meng remained in their seats, showing no intention of speaking to each other.

That Saturday, Lin Zhengran’s mother, Lin Xiaoli, came down with a cold.

Since she wasn’t feeling well, he decided to go home and check on her.

But when he stepped into the house with his backpack, he realized that there was someone else in his mother’s bedroom.

A soft voice drifted out.

“Auntie, drink it slowly.”

“Alright, but I can do it myself, no need to be so meticulous.”

“It’s fine, Auntie, I’m good at taking care of people.”

“You say that, but you’re even holding the cup for me, haha.”

At first, Lin Zhengran thought his father was home.

But something about the voice sounded familiar.

A moment later, he figured out exactly who it was.

When he pushed open the door, sure enough, he saw Fang Meng inside, carefully holding a cup of medicine for his mother.

“Fang Meng?”

Both Fang Meng and Lin Xiaoli turned to look at him.

Fang Meng greeted him casually. “Oh, you’re back?”

Lin Xiaoli, still holding the cup, smiled. “Ranran, you’re home? Xiaomeng found out I was sick this week and came to visit.”

Lin Zhengran gave a vague response, eyeing Fang Meng. What’s she up to now?

He walked over. “Mom, how are you feeling?”

Lin Xiaoli coughed lightly. “Nothing serious. Your dad and I went hiking last week, and I caught a cold afterward.”

“Hiking?”

Lin Xiaoli let out an awkward laugh. “We didn’t tell you because we were sneaking off to have fun. Guess we got caught now.”

Lin Zhengran was long used to his parents’ little "secret dates."

Honestly, he was more surprised that, after all these years, they still hadn’t given him a younger sibling.

They were way too clingy as a married couple.

Fang Meng said, “I checked Auntie’s pulse. It’s just a minor cold, nothing to worry about.”

Lin Xiaoli smiled. “I didn’t even know Xiaomeng could check pulses. That’s really impressive.”

Lin Zhengran gave a small nod, then glanced at Fang Meng.

Fang Meng stared back.

The two of them locked eyes for a long moment.

Lin Xiaoli lay back down to rest, and Fang Meng followed Lin Zhengran into his bedroom—

And immediately started taking off her clothes.

Inside his room, Fang Meng looked at him in surprise.

“You’re taking off your clothes? What are you doing?”

Lin Zhengran pulled off his jacket.

“Changing clothes. The real question is—why did you come into my bedroom?”