Chapter 51: Tian Cuilan’s Worries

“The delivery team is now at the stage where we can expand.”

“What do you think, Cousin?”

Hearing Jiang Ning’s proposal, Tian Wenhao nodded.

“Indeed, under the current system, the operation of the delivery team is quite stable.”

“But I’m worried that as the number of people increases, management might become an issue.”

“No need to worry. As long as we follow my plan, there won’t be any major problems.” Jiang Ning was confident, after all, she was applying a classic management system from the future.

Moreover, she had faith in her cousin’s management skills.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to accumulate tens of millions in assets.

“What about the next step? When should we start accepting delivery orders from various restaurants?”

Tian Wenhao wasn’t sure about the timeline, so he could only ask.

In response, Jiang Ning pointed at the map of Jiangzhou City on the wall.

“When our ‘Shi Ning Ji’ brand has spread throughout every street and alley in Jiangzhou, that’s when we launch our next strategy!”

After discussing some details with Tian Wenhao, Jiang Ning packed up, grabbed two burgers, and headed home while eating.

Even so, by the time she arrived home, it was already close to 10 PM.

Looking through the window, she saw that the living room lights were still on.

Jiang Ning suddenly had a bad feeling.

Sure enough.

As she carefully pushed open the door—

Her mother sat on the sofa with a cold expression, watching some unknown TV drama.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning moved even more cautiously.

She tiptoed to close the door and quietly made her way to her room.

Just as she was about to reach safety—

A voice suddenly sounded beside her.

“Speak. Where did you go?”

Those five words nearly scared Jiang Ning’s soul back into her past life.

“Wait, Mom, how do you walk without making a sound?”

After a long moment of recovery—

She turned her gaze to her mother’s icy face and forced a smile.

“Mom, smile for me.”

“You look so fierce when you don’t smile.”

“Look, you even have wrinkles now.”

As she spoke, Jiang Ning reached out to touch the corner of her mother’s eye—

Only to have her hand slapped away.

“Answer me. Where did you go so late?”

Her mother’s tone was stern.

Since her rebirth, this was the first time Jiang Ning had seen her mother so strict.

For a moment, she felt like she had returned to her past life.

Back then, every time she went out to play and lost track of time, she would come home to find her mother sitting in front of the TV, waiting for her.

Questioning her. Scolding her.

At first, it was annoying. But later, she realized just how much care was hidden behind that serious face.

However—

Right now, Jiang Ning had no way of explaining that she was running a business.

So she had to use the safest excuse.

“Mom, I was doing my homework at school.”

As she spoke, she pulled out a few worksheets from her bag.

Tian Cuilan took them, saw the dates, and felt slightly less worried, though her expression remained stern.

“Why couldn’t you bring your homework home to do?”

“There’s no one to discuss with at home. If I finish it at school, I can compare answers with others.”

Others?

Tian Cuilan immediately caught the key detail in that sentence, and her tone grew even sharper.

“Who else?”

“Were there boys?”

“Do I know them?”

Three consecutive questions.

Jiang Ning instantly understood the core of her mother’s concern.

She chuckled and said, “Mom, are you worried that I’m dating?”

“Don’t worry, it was just Luo Shanshan and the others. All girls.”

“Really?”

Tian Cuilan knew very well how much her daughter’s pretty face attracted the boys at school.

She even regretted letting her daughter straighten her hair.

Still, since Jiang Ning seemed so honest, she chose to believe her—for now.

But she also decided that it was necessary to establish regular communication with Jiang Ning’s teachers.

Jiang Ning had no idea what her mother was thinking.

After repeatedly assuring her that she would come home earlier in the future, she managed to get through tonight’s crisis.

However, if she came home late again, simply saying she was doing homework at school wouldn’t be enough.

She needed to find a way to balance home and the business.

As for how to do that—

Jiang Ning thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with a perfect solution.

For now, she had to put the idea on hold until she figured something out.

After a while, Jiang Ning finished washing up and returned to her room.

She reached into her backpack’s hidden compartment and pulled out a phone.

Turning it on, she burrowed under the blanket.

Soon, a flood of messages popped up.

Ding ding ding.

“Jiang Ning, it rained earlier, and the roads are slippery. Ride your bike carefully on the way home.” —Message from Li Mingwei, sent an hour ago.

“Hero Jiang, I heard you’re good at Starcraft? Want to have a match sometime?” —Message from Hu Gugu, sent forty minutes ago.

“Jiang Ning, are you free this Sunday? The seasons are changing, and I want to go shopping. Can you come with me?” —Message from Senior Yao Yao, sent thirty minutes ago.

Honestly, Jiang Ning didn’t quite understand why Yao Yao liked inviting her to go shopping lately.

And it wasn’t the first time.

To be honest, Jiang Ning didn’t want to get too close to Li Mingwei’s group right now.

First, to avoid misunderstandings.

She had just rejected Li Mingwei’s confession not long ago, so she needed to maintain some boundaries.

Otherwise, what if he got the wrong idea?

Besides, when Li Mingyu walked her home that day, she also mentioned something about the Li family.

Apparently, after Li Mingwei confessed and got rejected, his mother found out.

The Li family matriarch was furious.

She was angry that her son wasn’t focusing on his studies and even more furious that he got rejected.

If not for Li Mingwei stopping her, Li Mingyu said their mother might have confronted Jiang Ning directly.

That revelation had initially scared Jiang Ning.

But after thinking it through, she realized—

Damn it, this was all one-sided from the very beginning! Why should she be blamed?

Once she figured that out, she stopped worrying about it.

As for the frequent messages from Li Mingwei afterward—

If she saw them, she’d reply. If she didn’t, then she just ignored them.

She had already rejected him. Hopefully, he would wake up soon.

After playing some mobile games under the covers for a while, Jiang Ning slowly drifted off to sleep.

That night, she had a bizarre dream.

She dreamt that she was wearing a snow-white wedding dress, holding a basketball, and playing a game in a thunderstorm with nine other faceless people.

That’s right.

A basketball game.

And she even dreamt that she dunked the ball by stepping on a teammate’s shoulders.

It felt like she was really flying.

However—

The final reward for winning the match was a pair of red crystal shoes.

That sight shocked “Jiang the Old Man” so much that she woke up crying.