Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten-Chapter 249: Hot Springs

Lin Zhengran got up and left, while Han Wenwen sat back down on the toilet, drained and reluctant to see him go.

After sitting there in silence for a while,

she pulled out the unopened packet of tissues she’d brought from the hotel.

With delicate fingers, she gently peeled open the sealing strip on the packaging.

Biting her lip,

she carefully used the tissue to wipe the water spots off the floor.

After wiping once, she still felt it wasn’t clean enough, so she wiped again. Then she wrapped the used tissues with fresh ones—

and only then did she toss them into the trash bin.

Lifting the toilet lid, she let out a long breath.

Her eyes smoldered with charm as she gazed at the floor, her voice light and airy:

“Still not enough. I need to completely, entirely have Brother Zhengran. Brother Zhengran is mine—Wenwen’s.”

———

He Qing returned to the hotel room after leaving the restroom. She peeked her dazed little head through the half-open door and saw Jiang Xueli curled up on the bed playing with her phone.

“Lili, Lin Zhengran’s still not back?”

Jiang Xueli replied, “Nope. How’s Han Wenwen? Is her stomach hurting that badly?”

He Qing opened the door wider and answered, “She said it’s nothing serious. She’ll take some medicine first, and if it doesn’t work, then go to the hospital. I’m gonna head down to the first floor to find Lin Zhengran. He’s been gone a while now.”

Hearing that He Qing was going to find Lin Zhengran, Jiang Xueli instinctively got up too, curious about what that dummy was up to. “Wait for me, I’ll go too!”

But just as she stood up, her phone started ringing.

Seeing the call was from Wang Lan of Zhengshi Music, she answered with a puzzled look: “Hello, Sister Zhang?”

Wang Lan said on the phone, “Hey, Lili? Do you have a moment right now? There’s something I need you to fill out for the company. I’ve already sent it over to you.”

Jiang Xueli replied, “I’m not busy. What’s it about?”

“It’s about the Little Star Award you won earlier. That gave you a spot in the Music Candidate program in Magic City, remember? They just got back to us—if you fill out this form, you’ll officially be able to join the competition this year.”

Jiang Xueli’s face lit up with excitement: “Really?! I can compete in the Music Candidate program?!”

Music Candidate was the biggest national music competition platform. Many top singers got their big break from there and skyrocketed to fame.

Though Jiang Xueli was already somewhat known in the music world, she hadn’t reached household name status yet—

but this competition could be her ticket to real stardom.

“Awesome, I’ll fill it out right away!”

At the door, He Qing saw Jiang Xueli’s excited reaction and asked softly, “What’s going on?”

Jiang Xueli hung up the call and bounced off the bed with joy, her golden twin ponytails flying.

“He Qing! I can join Music Candidate! I need to fill out this form right away and then tell Zhengran the good news!” ƒreewebɳovel.com

He Qing had seen Music Candidate too and knew how wildly popular it was across the country.

She was happy for her: “Really? Then you’re definitely gonna blow up!”

Jiang Xueli scratched the back of her head sheepishly and chuckled: “I haven’t even competed yet. Who knows if I’ll get famous, hehe.”

He Qing cheered her on: “You totally will—especially if Lin Zhengran keeps coaching you. Congrats! So... are you still coming with me to find him?”

Looking at the form on her phone, Jiang Xueli said, “I better finish this form first. You go ahead, I’ll catch up after.”

Seeing her sitting cross-legged on the bed excitedly fiddling with her phone, He Qing was genuinely happy for her.

So she didn’t disturb her. Quietly closing the door, she headed downstairs to find Lin Zhengran.

Muttering to herself:

“Music Candidate, huh... that’s amazing. I should work hard to enter some competitions too and make money. I can’t just keep spending Lin Zhengran’s money—I need to let him spend mine too. Once I get into college, I’ll start practicing seriously.”

He Qing walked into the lobby and spotted Lin Zhengran sitting on the couch, flipping through what looked like a travel guide.

It looked like he’d been sitting there for a while, though in reality, he’d only just come over.

Seeing him, He Qing ran a few steps and smiled brightly: “Lin Zhengran!”

He looked up, “Why’d you come down here?”

He Qing walked over and stopped beside him. “You’ve been out for ages and never came back—what are you doing?”

“Looking at tourist spots.”

“There are that many attractions on this mountain? I thought Lin Mountain wasn’t really that famous.”

Lin Zhengran gestured for He Qing to sit. She glanced toward the front desk, then obediently sat down next to him.

He pointed to the first place in the book—he had just discovered it.

“Looks like we picked a great time to come. They say a few days from now, you can see a beautiful meteor shower from the top of the mountain. A lot of people came just for that.”

“Meteor shower?!”

He Qing grabbed the booklet and looked at the promotional photo full of shooting stars.

Totally surprised: “Whoa, you’re right! So pretty. And it’s in three days? That means we’ll be here just in time!”

Lin Zhengran nodded and continued,

“I also asked the front desk about good spots for a picnic. They gave me some suggestions. Once the rain stops in the next couple days, we can go have a barbecue or something.”

“Yay!”

She happily flipped through the guide, then spotted the indoor hot springs and asked softly,

“By the way, where are the hot springs in our hotel? When are we going?”

“I actually didn’t ask,” he replied, then turned and directly called out to the staff.

“Hey, Sis, where’s the hot spring at this hotel?”

The front desk replied,

“The hot springs are our specialty. They’re out back. We have two kinds—public ones divided by gender, which are cheaper but crowded, and private ones, which are quiet and undisturbed.”

The moment He Qing heard “private hot spring,” her cheeks turned pink.

Lin Zhengran didn’t hesitate,

“How many people can use the private one?”

The front desk said,

“Five or six people is no problem. You two are staying in a four-person room, right?”

Girls tend to remember handsome faces, and Lin Zhengran’s was definitely memorable—

not to mention he had three very pretty girls with him.

“I’d recommend the private one if you’re okay with the price. It’s a more relaxing experience.”

Lin Zhengran decided: “Private it is.”

Blushing, He Qing glanced at him but didn’t say a word.

The front desk checked the computer:

“Alright, we’re fully booked for today, but I can reserve one for tomorrow night. Please pay over here.”

Lin Zhengran got up to pay.

He Qing thought to herself—private hot spring...

That means boys and girls won’t be separated, right?

So embarrassing...

The mountain rain was already starting to lighten, now only a faint drizzle.

Instead of staying on the couch, Lin Zhengran and He Qing found a better spot to enjoy the rain.

It was by a tall window farther from the hotel entrance, with a few steps to sit on and a vending machine nearby.

The drinks were overpriced, and the front desk sold water too, so barely anyone came here.

He Qing had spotted the vending machine while Lin Zhengran was paying and wandered over out of curiosity—

only to accidentally discover that from here, you could see the undeveloped mountain forest soaked by rain in all its breathtaking beauty.

You could even see faraway peaks in the distance.

So she called Lin Zhengran over to admire it with her.

When he arrived, he was impressed too.

The two of them stood by the window, gazing off into the distance together.

He Qing leaned against the glass, speaking in her soft, sweet voice:

“It’s so pretty.”

Just then—

a small roll of white stockings suddenly fell out from her jacket pocket.