Chapter 112: The Taste of a Kiss

Nighttime.

After washing up and lying in bed, Jiang Ning couldn’t help but replay what had happened that afternoon at Li Mingyu’s office in her mind.

The reconstruction plan for Xinglan Plaza hadn’t existed in her previous life. Back then, Xinglan Plaza had been shut down for years before finally being taken over by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which allowed the project to restart.

Once completed, it instantly became a major hub in Jiangzhou City—its foot traffic rivaling Times Square—basically turning into a second city center.

So…

Was this change also a result of the butterfly effect caused by her rebirth?

Jiang Ning couldn’t figure it out.

Just like what happened today—if she hadn’t reported Chen Tianhong back then, his company would still be handling Xinglan Plaza’s renovation. Even if the project was to be redesigned and rebuilt, it wouldn’t have landed in Li Mingyu’s hands.

But because she reported him, Chen Tianhong went in early. His company got investigated, shut down, frozen.

And so the project naturally went to the second-best bidder.

And of course, Li Mingyu had no reason to decline. It was a massive project, and the parent company’s finances were sound. There was no reason to leave that chunk of meat on the table.

In truth, whether or not they took the project didn’t matter much.

What Jiang Ning was worried about now was something else.

It had been over half a year since her rebirth.

She had done a lot of things already.

Maybe one of those things would have a major impact on her future.

If it was a positive effect, then fine.

But what if it was a negative one?

She had to think it all through…

And so, Jiang Ning started going back over everything she’d done since the very day she came back to life…

Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep thinking.

—

Early the next morning.

Still half-asleep, Jiang Ning was shaken awake by her mom.

Seeing her mom’s unusually cheerful face, Jiang Ning, still in a daze, casually asked:

“Why so happy? Did you win the lottery?”

“Nope. Guess again.”

Her mom was clearly bored.

Jiang Ning yawned.

“Found money on the street?”

Her mom kept shaking her head.

“Pregnant?”

Her mom’s expression shifted. She reached out and pinched Jiang Ning’s ear.

“You little brat, joking about your own mother?!”

“Ow! Ow! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“Mom, I was wrong!”

“Moooom!!”

Hearing her beg for mercy, Tian Cuilan gave a cold snort, let go of her ear, and revealed the hand she’d been hiding behind her back.

She was holding a piece of paper.

Rubbing her ear, Jiang Ning sat up in bed hugging her blanket, eyes fixed on the paper.

Then she looked surprised.

She took the paper and looked down.

It was a rental contract.

Address: 374 North National Day Road, Area: 8 square meters, Rent: 500 a month, 6000 a year.

The rent wasn’t bad, but the space…

“Mom, this…”

“This is the shop I rented. I’m opening a clothing store with your aunt.”

“I provide the labor, she provides the money!”

“Whoa, seriously?!” Jiang Ning’s face lit up.

“Mom, what kind of clothes are you going to sell?”

“Women’s clothes—plus size!”

That line left Jiang Ning truly stunned.

Actually, opening a shop with her aunt was Jiang Ning’s idea. Even selling women’s clothing had been her suggestion, delivered through her cousin.

But what she didn’t expect…

Was that her mom had her own vision on top of that.

A plus-size clothing store…

You know what? That might actually work.

“Mom, don’t you think the shop is a bit small?”

“I mean, other clothing shops are at least 10 to 20 square meters.”

“This is only 8…”

“What does a student like you know?” her mom snapped.

“As long as the stuff’s good, who cares how big the shop is!”

One sentence.

And Boss Jiang—who owned four fried chicken shops, one company, and dozens of employees—was left speechless.

All she could do was hug her blanket and quietly listen to her mom passionately plan out her glorious business future.

Half an hour later.

Jiang Ning, flustered, dashed out the door with a slice of bread in her mouth.

Downstairs.

She unlocked her bike.

Then took off full speed, instantly regretting bringing up business talk with her mom.

An 8-square-meter shop—what kind of “business wisdom” could you even discuss?

And now she was running late.

No choice.

She flew down the road like a gust of wind.

Didn’t even have time to tie her hair—her black hair flowed wildly behind her.

Like a swallow returning to the nest.

She managed to make it back to class just as the bell rang.

Seeing the biology teacher’s curious gaze…

Jiang Ning slipped back to her seat with an awkward expression.

No sooner had she sat down…

Than Luo Shanshan handed her a small mirror.

“What?”

“Wipe the crumbs off your lips.”

“Oh.”

Jiang Ning looked into the mirror—sure enough, there were a few bread crumbs clinging to her mouth.

Combined with her messy hair and sheepish expression, she really did look like a fairytale princess down on her luck.

“Thanks.”

After wiping the crumbs, Jiang Ning casually handed the mirror back.

Just then—

A hand gently gathered her hair.

Then came Zhu Hui’s gentle voice.

“Don’t move, I’ll brush your hair.”

“Oh… okay.”

Jiang Ning really stayed still, pulling out her biology book from the drawer while quietly enjoying the feeling on her head.

Honestly…

When Zhu Hui’s fingers touched her roots, there was a strangely pleasant sensation.

“Does it hurt?”

“Nope.”

“Your hair’s really nice.”

“Not bad, I guess. Probably just genetics.”

They chatted idly for a bit, and the biology teacher didn’t even notice what was going on over there.

Or rather, even if she had seen it, there was no need to point it out—girls doing each other’s hair wasn’t something that needed mentioning.

Before long, a neat and beautiful ponytail was tied up.

Jiang Ning touched the flawlessly braided hair and gave a small word of thanks to Zhu Hui behind her.

“Nice work! Thanks!”

Unexpectedly, Zhu Hui replied as well.

“Thank you too.”

Jiang Ning was briefly stunned, then quickly figured out what she meant.

She leaned her head back a little.

“Classes have started?”

“How’s it feel?”

“Not bad. Nothing too difficult so far.”

Hearing Zhu Hui’s reply, Jiang Ning understood. She didn’t say anything more—just clasped her hands behind her back and silently gave a thumbs-up.

Noon.

Lunchtime at the cafeteria.

Qi Wen still had the same plain and watery meal.

Jiang Ning had been tempted several times to give her some meat from her own bowl, but each time, she was fiercely refused.

Tsk tsk tsk.

Fine, don’t eat then.

Why get mad?

Such a temper bun.

Jiang Ning muttered softly to herself and then focused on her own food.

Just then—Luo Shanshan and Sun Qian came over with their trays, grinning mischievously.

As soon as they sat down, Luo Shanshan looked mysteriously at the group of girls and said:

“Hey, hey.”

“Guess what Qianqian and I saw just now in the little grove behind the cafeteria?”

Hearing this, Jiang Ning and Qi Wen both turned to look at her.

Luo Shanshan pointed toward the direction behind the cafeteria.

“Someone was there—”

As she spoke, she made two fists and twisted them together.

Jiang Ning and Qi Wen both looked completely confused.

Which made Luo Shanshan feel super disappointed.

Then Sun Qian added helpfully:

“A boy and a girl, sticking together!”

Oh~

“Kissing?”

Mmhmm mmhmm.

Luo Shanshan and Sun Qian nodded eagerly, like little beans.

“And then?”

That question stumped the two bean-girls.

“W-what do you mean ‘and then’?” Sun Qian stammered, her usual boldness gone.

“I mean, did their hands… do anything?”

As she spoke, Jiang Ning reached her hand out toward Qi Wen, gesturing suggestively.

Smack!

Qi Wen slapped her hand away.

But the meaning was clear to everyone.

In an instant, all three girls’ faces turned red.

“Jiang Jiang! Your mind is filthy!”

“So gross!”

“Totally!”

Three girls, three lines.

Jiang “Old Man” could only wave her hand helplessly.

So it was just a simple kiss between a young couple.

Jiang Ning immediately lost interest and lowered her head to continue eating.

While Jiang-girl wasn’t interested anymore, the other three were very much still intrigued.

They whispered for a long time.

Eventually, Luo Shanshan let out a long sigh.

“I really wanna know what it feels like~”

For a moment, the three girls all fell silent.

Just then—

Old Man Jiang’s voice cut in.

“Ever eaten jelly ice cream?”

“That’s kinda what it feels like.”

“Really?!”

In an instant—Three girls, six eyes, all turned to stare at Jiang-girl.

Half an hour later.

Bleachers by the field.

Jiang-girl watched as Qi Wen, Luo Shanshan, and Sun Qian each held a jelly ice cream, faces flushed red from eating—She nearly laughed herself breathless.
—

In the days that followed—Jiang Ning attended school from Monday to Friday. On weekends, she was constantly running back and forth between two shops.

Whenever she had time, she also checked in on the progress of the other two stores.

The renovations were going smoothly.

She’d worked with Li Mingyu’s Golden Twist Decorating Company many times before—there had basically never been any issues.

As for kitchen equipment and other hardware—no problems there either.

While she was at it, Jiang Ning even upgraded some of the kitchen gear at the station store and the university branch.

Though it did cost quite a bit more,

The safety and efficiency of the new equipment were on a whole other level compared to the old.

So—All things considered, the money was well spent.

Good news also came from her cousin’s side.

The poultry farm had not only tripled in size—The slaughter and processing equipment was fully installed as well.

Anytime Jiang Ning needed it, truckloads of chicken could be delivered on demand.

As for Top Entertainment—things were a bit more complicated.

There was just one song.

They’d been dragging it out for ages trying to find the right singer.

Originally, Jiang Ning thought Chen Yu would take on her new song.

But to her surprise—That woman jumped ship.

Got poached by some company called Tianyu Entertainment.

Even paid a two million yuan penalty for breaking contract.

Jiang Ning was shocked.

Two million.

That’s… a lot of money.

Fortunately—Top Entertainment quickly found a new candidate for Jiang Ning. Rumor was she was also a small-time singer-turned-celebrity.

Once everything was in place, the single could be released soon.

Just when Jiang Ning thought everything was finally on track—Trouble came knocking.

(End of chapter)