I'm Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Twin-Tails’ Wild Imagination

While reading, Lin Zhengran got out of bed to find the household ointment for bruises. Xiao Heqing still didn’t know what he was doing. It was only when he returned that she heard him ask, ”By the way, does your foot not hurt anymore?”

Lying on the bed, Xiao Heqing finally reacted in her adorably silly way. ”Yeah, it seems it doesn’t hurt anymore? When did it stop hurting again?”

She looked at Lin Zhengran as he walked over. Suddenly thinking of something, she waved her hands in defense. ”Don’t think I’m lying! I didn’t trick you just so you would carry me. It really did hurt just now, but... it seems like it stopped hurting after we arrived at your place... I completely forgot about it. You have to believe me! I promised before that I wouldn’t lie to you ever again.”

Lin Zhengran glanced at her and pulled back the blanket to check her ankle. ”Why explain? I never said I didn’t believe you. Give me your foot; let me take a look.” He crouched down by her ankle to examine it. Earlier, there had been no external injury, but it had been slightly red. Now, however, the redness was basically gone.

”If it stopped hurting this quickly, I’m guessing the area of your old foot injury started stinging because it was exposed to the cold air. After you took a hot shower, the ankle warmed up, so the pain eased,” he said.

Xiao Heqing only absorbed half of his words. Her remaining attention was entirely focused on how he was staring at her foot. She felt so shy. Because Wenwen had told her before that among the parts of a girl’s body that boys liked, feet were a very important area. Some boys even felt that a pair of beautiful feet was more important than anything else. They would love to play with them.

Lin Zhengran earnestly squeezed out a bit of ointment. ”Since it doesn’t hurt anymore, I’ll just apply a little bit. The main thing is that you need to be careful yourself. If you run into a rainy day or something similar again, don’t run around outside.”

Xiao Heqing spaced out.

Lin Zhengran repeated, ”Did you hear me?”

Snapping back to reality, Xiao Heqing gave a slight start. ”I heard you! I’ve kept it all in mind.” She pursed her lips, watching him apply the ointment to her foot with his fingers. She wondered what part of a girl he liked the most. Was it the hands? Feet? Eyes? Nose? Mouth? Or some other place...

Once her clothes were dry, Xiao Heqing locked the bedroom door and changed into them, looking neat and as good as new. Lin Zhengran then accompanied her downstairs.

Upon arriving at the residential area’s entrance, Lin Zhengran asked, ”Do you still have money to take a taxi back?”

Xiao Heqing replied, ”I can just walk back. It’s not too far.”

Lin Zhengran took a large bill out of his pocket. During this period, while Han Wenwen was making money, Lin Zhengran naturally also earned quite a bit. ”Take this to catch a cab back, so your foot doesn’t start hurting again.”

Xiao Heqing stared at it eagerly. ”That’s a lot of money...”

Lin Zhengran added, ”Just pay me back later.”

Only then did she reach out and accept it, speaking timidly, ”Mhm. Then I’ll pay you back after I win a prize and earn money at next year’s Taekwondo competition.”

While the two were talking, neither noticed a girl with twin tails and a small padded jacket, her hands clasped behind her back, slowly walking toward them from the intersection.

The newcomer was naturally Jiang Xueli. The young girl kept her head down, recalling what had happened yesterday afternoon. The scene of bumping into He Qing on the bridge at the exact same time had been incredibly awkward; even now, she felt immensely embarrassed just thinking about it.

However, when she took the car home with that big idiot and He Qing at the time, she faintly heard the big idiot say in the car that he would come look for her in the afternoon. But Jiang Xueli had waited at home for half the day without him showing up, so she decided to take the initiative to come over and see if he was home.

As a result, just as Jiang Xueli reached the entrance of the residential area, she spotted the silhouettes of a boy and a girl in the distance. She could possibly mistake anyone else’s figure, but she would never mistake Lin Zhengran’s. But was that petite girl with a single ponytail standing in front of the big idiot He Qing?

Frightened, Jiang Xueli quickly hid behind a nearby corner, clinging to the wall as she secretly peeked to see what the two were doing. She wondered why the big idiot would be together with He Qing. Could it be to talk to her about what happened yesterday afternoon? And from the looks of it, the two had just come out of his house...

”I’ll observe first and then...” She didn’t even get to finish her sentence before she suddenly noticed the exquisite scarf around Lin Zhengran’s neck.

In the distance, Xiao Heqing exchanged a few brief words of farewell with Lin Zhengran. Looking at him with deep reluctance, she said, ”I’ll get going, then. See you next week.”

”Mhm, head back. Send me a message when you get to your dorm.”

Xiao Heqing looked at the scarf around his neck and carefully reached out to adjust it for him once more.

This scene was naturally witnessed by Jiang Xueli in the distance, her eyes trembling. Staring at the two, she muttered, ”That scarf... Could it be a gift from He Qing?” Yesterday afternoon, the box He Qing was holding obviously contained some kind of gift, and that box looked large but very light. If one assumed it contained a scarf, everything made sense. In other words, He Qing... She had already given her gift? And the big idiot even accepted it!

Suddenly, in the distance, Xiao Heqing looked down and saw her shoelace was untied, so she bent down to tie it.

Jiang Xueli’s eyes slowly widened at this moment. Because in her eyes, what she saw wasn’t someone tying a shoelace, but... a marriage proposal!

”She... She... Is He Qing proposing to the big idiot on one knee?! Confessing her love?!”

It was exactly the same as her dream from that day! She saw Xiao Heqing look up and say something to Lin Zhengran. Jiang Xueli couldn’t hear their conversation because it was too quiet, but her imagination ran wild.

In her mind, He Qing spoke with deep affection: ”Lin Zhengran, let me marry you! That’s why I’m proposing to you on one knee. Will you be my husband?”

Xiao Heqing paused. ”If you’re willing, please take my hand, okay?”

Jiang Xueli nervously gripped the edge of the wall, biting her lip. Then, she watched with her own eyes as Lin Zhengran reached out and pulled He Qing up.

And a blushing Xiao Heqing said, ”I’m so happy right now. I have to go back to the dorm to calm down. In a few days, we’ll go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get our marriage certificate.” She waved her hand.

Lin Zhengran also nodded. ”Okay, I’ll go with you in a few days. Be careful on the road, my dear~”

Of course, imagination was ultimately just imagination. In reality, the actual situation unfolding in the distance was definitely not like that.

After crouching down to tie her shoelaces, Xiao Heqing had taken the opportunity to check the ankle that was stinging earlier. Pressing it with her hand, she looked up at Lin Zhengran and said, ”It seems my foot really doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Lin Zhengran reached out and pulled her up. ”Even if it doesn’t hurt, you should still be careful. If it hurts again, you’ll have to go to the hospital to get it checked out. Pay extra attention these next few days.”

Xiao Heqing nodded. ”I’ll get going then?” She waved to Lin Zhengran.

Lin Zhengran also nodded in response. ”Mhm, take it slow on your way.”

Xiao Heqing then slowly made her way to the intersection, looking back at him every few steps, before hailing a taxi and leaving. Naturally, even after getting into the taxi, she rolled down the window to continue waving at him.

After watching Xiao Heqing leave, Lin Zhengran turned around, planning to head to Jiang Xueli’s house. Not only did Jiang Xueli’s studio have a small rehearsal this afternoon, but there was also the matter of what happened yesterday.

But as soon as he turned his head, he saw half of a pink, tender face and gravity-drooping twin tails peeking out from the corner of a wall in the distance.

Lin Zhengran immediately knew who it was. ”Jiang... Xueli? Why are you hiding over there?”

Seeing that the big idiot had spotted her, Jiang Xueli initially wanted to hide, but her emotions suddenly overwhelmed her. She didn’t want to pretend anymore. Teary-eyed, she stepped out, squeezed her eyes shut, clenched her tiny fists, and yelled, ”Pighead! Idiot! Big idiot! You don’t keep your word! How could you accept someone else’s marriage proposal?!”

Biting her lip, she felt incredibly wronged and betrayed, her voice choking with sobs. ”Didn’t you say you’d marry me in the future?! If you don’t marry me, who am I supposed to marry?! Whose bride will I be?!”

She turned to run away, throwing her arm over her eyes as her tears flowed like a fierce flood. ”WAAAH~ I hate people who break their promises~”

However, as she tried to run past Lin Zhengran, he grabbed her by the arm. Extremely speechless, he said, ”What kind of fit are you throwing now? What marriage proposal? Who proposed to whom? And how did I break my promise? Explain yourself clearly before you run.”