Chapter 29: Why is everyone surrounding Jiang Ran and investigating him?

Jiang Ran hugged the documents, turned sideways to push the door open, and walked into the office.

The room was very clean.

A wooden desk stood in the center with a globe on it, and a few scattered bookshelves nearby.

Behind the desk sat a girl with pink hair.

Jiang Ran walked over and placed the printed documents on the table.

“Senior Tao, President Su asked me to bring these files to you. I’ve put them here.”

Tao Xixue looked up, her purple eyes sizing Jiang Ran up from top to bottom.

She then picked up the documents on the desk and skimmed through them briefly.

“Alright. Are you busy? Wait here for a bit. After the materials are fully submitted, you can go back.”

“Stay here?”

Jiang Ran hadn’t expected Tao Xixue to ask her to remain.

She thought she could leave after delivering the file, but now she had to stay.

“Mm. There are still some procedures that need time. Are you thirsty? I have some tea here. Green tea or black tea?”

“Water… plain water is fine.”

“I don’t have that. I still have plenty of black tea. Want some?”

Tao Xixue picked up a glass health kettle from the desk.

A reddish-brown liquid swayed inside the glass container.

She grabbed a disposable paper cup, poured half a cup, and placed it on the armrest beside the sofa.

“Sit. No need to stand.”

“Oh…”

Jiang Ran took off her shoulder bag and sat down on the sofa.

She tugged at her collar and adjusted her bag, shifting into a comfortable position.

She looked toward Tao Xixue, who had returned to her office chair and buried herself in work.

Her cool face showed little warmth as she focused on the documents in her hands.

Her pale fingers kept flipping through reference books beside her, completely ignoring the fact that someone else was in the office.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran finally let out a long breath.

Since coming to this game world, it had been rare to meet someone normal.

She opened the app and browsed information about Tao Xixue.

She discovered that Tao was a highly popular female lead in the school.

In the story, she would gradually reconcile with Su Wanqing through work.

From initially disliking each other to eventually working together and building a dazzling business empire in the future.

Looking at it this way, as long as Jiang Ran did nothing, Tao Xixue would never have anything to do with her.

How wonderful.

Jiang Ran happily swung her legs on the sofa, completely forgetting that at some unknown moment, Tao Xixue had lifted a camera and secretly taken a photo of her while she was drinking tea.

A clear instant photo slid out of the camera.

Tao Xixue held the photograph and studied it carefully.

Then she flicked her fingers, and the photo slowly ignited.

Jiang Ran, who was still drinking tea, suddenly straightened up.

She tasted the tea and realized it had completely lost its flavor.

It had been rich and fragrant just moments ago, but now it tasted like plain dishwater.

Tao Xixue’s writing hand never stopped.

With her other hand lightly touching her lips, she murmured softly,

“So this is how she experiences drinking tea… Her mouth is really sweet.”

Jiang Ran held the cup, completely confused about how the good tea had suddenly become tasteless.

Had she lost her sense of taste?

Or was she catching a cold?

When you have a cold, you really can’t taste food.

Still puzzled, Jiang Ran tore open a snack Bai Ranran had given her and stuffed it into her mouth.

As she chewed, her sense of taste suddenly returned.

She scratched her head.

At that moment, Tao Xixue stood up and gently interrupted,

“It’s done. I’ve submitted the documents for you. Is there enough black tea?”

The coldness on Tao Xixue’s face softened slightly.

Compared to when Jiang Ran first arrived, she looked much more approachable.

But compared to Su Wanqing and the others, she was still quite stern.

Standing beside her felt like standing in front of a large refrigerator—when you opened it, cold air rushed out, making it hard to stay steady.

Tao Xixue was tall and slender, with an impressive bust and a very slim waist.

Even in casual clothes, she didn’t look fat at all.

“There’s enough. Since the documents are submitted, I won’t take up any more of your time, Senior.”

Jiang Ran waved and picked up her bag.

Just as she was about to leave, Tao Xixue spoke again.

“I wonder if you’re interested in photography. I practice it in my spare time. Unfortunately, I’m still a beginner and don’t have good models. I think you resemble the style I’ve been trying to learn lately. Would you be my model for a while?”

“As compensation, I can pay you 1,000 per hour. And I can also help with some small matters. I see from your profile that you’re a freshman. There are probably some courses you don’t want to fail and retake, right? I might be able to persuade the instructors not to fail you.”

Her purple eyes, still lacking much warmth, looked at Jiang Ran.

In her hands was a brand-new DSLR camera, and a film camera hung around her neck.

Both looked expensive.

Tao Xixue lifted her chin slightly, confidence evident on her face.

She had seen too many juniors trying to curry favor with her, hoping she would plead with teachers on their behalf.

Even her own club members had repeatedly asked her to speak to the counselors.

Now she was offering this “reward” herself to a freshman.

Surely she wouldn’t refuse.

“Thank you for your kindness, Senior, but I already have plans.”

Jiang Ran held her bag and apologized sincerely.

She remained just as composed as when she entered.

Though inwardly hesitant, her perfect muscle control allowed her face to display only a shy apology, like an innocent girl politely declining unexpected goodwill.

Tao Xixue’s beautiful eyes widened slightly.

For a fleeting moment, a trace of playful amusement appeared on her calm face before returning to its original serenity.

She nodded.

“Alright. But if you change your mind, message me on WeChat. I won’t be at school on Sundays, so don’t message me that day.”

“Understood. Goodbye, Senior.”

Jiang Ran grabbed her bag and left without daring to look back.

She felt Tao Xixue was a little strange.

Why would someone like her invite someone like Jiang Ran?

On the other side, watching Jiang Ran leave, Tao Xixue felt slightly annoyed.

She hadn’t expected anyone to reject her invitation.

The girl was quite pretty too.

More importantly…

She looked very innocent… even the way she ate seemed sweet…

Tao Xixue edited a message and sent it to the principal:

“Help me check how many female students in our school are named Jiang Ran.”

Principal Xu Huan of Rongnan was surprised when she saw the message—especially because, in another window on her computer, Su Wanqing had asked the exact same question.

She couldn’t recover for a long time.

Not to mention, earlier that morning she had already received a similar inquiry from Bai Ranran.

That was strange enough.

Bai Ranran usually just drifted through school casually, yet she had actively asked about someone’s whereabouts.

When she won the national academic award, she hadn’t even messaged her aunt—the principal.

Yet now she was contacting her for someone else.

And it was about a Jiang Ran she had never even heard of before.

Before she could even deal with her niece’s request, now the even more troublesome Tao Xixue had joined in.

And before them, there had also been President Gu…

What were they all doing?

Why was everyone investigating Jiang Ran!?