Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten-Chapter 228: Heartbeat

Lin Zhengran had been flipping through books from morning till night, and Fang Meng had stayed with him the whole time.

Around noon, worried that he might be hungry, she even drove to town to buy some food. But Lin Zhengran ended up reading while eating, never putting the book down even during the meal.

Back then, Fang Meng sat on a chair, watching him read while standing in front of the bookshelf, nibbling on his food.

She thought to herself, He’s even more serious than when Qianqian goes into closed-door cultivation.

By the time Lin Zhengran snapped out of it, it was already past six in the evening. He realized the lights in the room were already on — he didn’t even know when that happened. It was the sound of his phone ringing that snapped him back. It was a call from his mom, Lin Xiaoli.

He picked up, “Hello? Mom?”

On the other end, Lin Xiaoli sounded puzzled. “Zhengran, where did you run off to? Why aren’t you home yet?”

Lin Zhengran answered while glancing back at Fang Meng, who was still sitting against the wall flipping through some books.

Fang Meng looked up at him and silently mouthed, If you want, you don't have to go back tonight.

Lin Zhengran smiled and said to his mom, “Mom, I’m not going back tonight. I’m hanging out at a classmate’s place.”

Lin Xiaoli didn’t find it strange at all;her son often spent nights outside. “Alright, just be safe. Are you coming back tomorrow?”

Lin Zhengran replied, “I’ll see. Even if I don’t, I’ll call you and Dad.”

“Okay then. Just let us know if anything happens.”

“Mm, got it.”

After hanging up, Lin Zhengran checked the time again and asked Fang Meng, “Didn’t expect it to be this late already. Are you sure you don’t mind staying over tonight?”

Fang Meng smiled where she sat.

“No problem. I usually crash at Qianqian’s place anyway. My parents don’t even know, and since Qianqian knows I took a day off today, she won’t call unless it’s urgent.”

Lin Zhengran nodded and suggested, “Can I stay here tonight then? I want to read more. Don’t worry, I won’t mess with anything other than the books. You don’t have to stay with me the whole time. If you’re tired, just go rest.”

Fang Meng didn’t hesitate. “It’s fine, really. There’s nothing valuable here other than the books, so read whatever you like. Plus, I don’t mind keeping you company, so don’t worry about me.”

Lin Zhengran said no more and returned to reading.

Fang Meng quietly kept him company.

What’s interesting is that that very night, Lin Zhengran actually found a case similar to the one he was researching recorded in one of the medical books.

Recalling the modern medical books he’d read over the past two days and combining them with these ancient texts, Lin Zhengran came up with a promising solution.

He also marveled at how overpowered Level 2 Mastery was — equivalent to someone with forty years of professional experience. This kind of learning and research capability was simply unmatched by normal people.

The night passed.

By around nine the next morning, Lin Zhengran had returned all the books to their places and was standing in the courtyard making a call to Pan Lin.

She picked up quickly. “President Lin?”

Lin Zhengran asked, “Did you manage to find the books I asked for?”

“Well... I’m really sorry, President Lin. A few of those books are so old that no one knows where to find them. Some people have seen them before, but...”

Lin Zhengran smiled, “It’s fine. If you can’t find them, just forget it. No need to keep searching. I’ll send you a file in a bit — it lists some items and basic equipment I’ll need. They shouldn’t be hard to get.

Give this file to the private hospital that Jiang Jie invested in, and tell them to carefully prepare everything on the list today. Have them set up a lab just for me. I’ll be using it tomorrow. Remember, this is very important.”

Although Pan Lin had no idea what Lin Zhengran was working on, it sounded like... he was researching Jiang’s illness?

Unbelievable. Could President Lin also practice medicine? Though confused, she didn’t dare question it. “Alright, I’ll personally talk to the hospital director after you send it over.”

“Thanks. Once it’s ready, let me know right away.”

“No problem, President Lin!”

Call ended.

Lin Zhengran opened the analysis report on his phone, full of densely packed notes.

This was a combination of his recent summaries and the hypotheses he came up with after reading those ancient texts last night.

If nothing went wrong, this illness research would soon make a major breakthrough.

After all, there were already some early-stage treatments available in modern society. Combined with his modifications, creating a specific remedy should be very doable.

While waiting for Pan Lin to arrange the lab, Lin Zhengran decided to return to the library for another round.

He wanted to sweep through everything and memorize it — every book here was invaluable, passed down by predecessors, priceless beyond words.

Back inside the library, he noticed Fang Meng had already fallen asleep in the corner. Her face looked a little tired but strangely content.

He took off his coat and gently draped it over her.

Then, he went back to reading.

This time, his pace slowed down. He started skimming through various topics, not focusing solely on his initial research.

By around 11 AM.

Fang Meng groggily opened her eyes. Seeing Lin Zhengran still flipping through books in front of the bookshelf, she rubbed her eyes.

She wanted to check the time but suddenly noticed a white coat draped over her.

It was Lin Zhengran’s usual coat, and it carried his unique scent.

Fang Meng’s cheeks flushed as she clutched the coat, spacing out for a moment.

He... put this on me?

Hearing the rustling, Lin Zhengran asked from a distance, “You’re awake?”

Fang Meng glanced at her phone — it was already past eleven — and slowly stood up. “Mm. You’re still reading? You didn’t sleep all night?”

Lin Zhengran casually replied, “I rested a little.”

Fang Meng walked over. “Any leads from your research?”

Lin Zhengran smiled. “I’ve got one. Now I’m just browsing other topics. There are a lot of interesting books here, so I want to check them out.”

“Really? That’s great!” Fang Meng beamed, genuinely happy for him. “I was worried these books wouldn’t be helpful to you. By the way, how many have you read?”

The room had three large shelves of books.

Lin Zhengran pointed to the rightmost shelf. “Just this one left. I finished the rest last night. I should finish this one before the end of today.”

Fang Meng bent down, shocked. “So fast? Can you even understand all of it? Some of it isn’t even written in modern script — I got confused just looking at it.”

Lin Zhengran thought to himself, With my current stamina stat, I already have perfect memory. As long as it interests me, I can memorize it all in one go.

“Most of it makes sense. These are mainly old records of rare and complicated cases. They may seem useless, but they’re actually wisdom passed down from countless practitioners. Many people probably died to gather this knowledge. It’s pretty mind-blowing.” freewebnøvel.com

Fang Meng crouched beside him and gently put his coat back on him. “This field really is built on a pile of bodies.”

She paused. “Thanks for the coat.”

Lin Zhengran replied casually, “No problem. By the way, if I remember correctly, you started studying medicine because of Jiang Qian, right? She helped you with your low blood sugar when you were little, and that sparked your interest.”

Fang Meng nodded. “Yeah, I told you before. It was because of Qianqian that I started learning, and once I did, I just kept going.”

“Are you naturally gifted at it?” Lin Zhengran asked out of curiosity.

“Not really.”

Lin Zhengran casually threw out a few medical questions.

Fang Meng answered fluently.

Surprised, Lin Zhengran asked harder questions. Fang Meng still answered most of them, though there were a few she couldn’t quite grasp.

Then Lin Zhengran made them even harder, which left Fang Meng wide-eyed.

How does he know all this? He even understands these high-level medical theories?

They both blurted out at the same time, “You’re amazing.”

Fang Meng’s face flushed. She felt embarrassed and inadequate.

“What’s amazing about me? I couldn’t even answer your last few questions. You’re the amazing one — you’ve clearly dived deep into so many fields.”

Lin Zhengran thought to himself, I’m definitely different from ordinary people, but he also recognized that Fang Meng’s talent for medicine was far above average.

No wonder the old doctors in the village passed down these books to her.

“You’re already very skilled,” Lin Zhengran said. “Honestly, with your level, you could already be considered an expert in some hospitals. And you’re still so young — your future is limitless. Have you ever thought about becoming a doctor?”

Looking at the medical book in his hands, Fang Meng answered truthfully.

“I have. Actually, I used to think that if Qianqian never got married, I’d just stay by her side as her assistant forever. But now, things are so different from how I imagined... all sorts of messy thoughts have been popping into my head lately. Lin Zhengran...”

She stared at Lin Zhengran.

“There’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you. Every time you see me... are you really seeing me?”

Back then, she had approached Lin Zhengran purely for Qianqian’s sake. Investigating his life, getting close to him — it was all for Qianqian. She had never even had a reason to be alone with him. But...

Over time, she realized it wasn’t just for Qianqian anymore.

She had started going to his house because she wanted to see him.

Today was no exception.

So, she hoped that in his eyes... when he saw her, he wasn’t just thinking of Qianqian, but simply her.

Looking into Fang Meng’s eyes, which seemed to carry an indescribable glow, Lin Zhengran didn’t hesitate.

“Of course, when I see you, I’m seeing you. Who else would I be thinking of? Why are you suddenly asking me this?”

Fang Meng blushed and laughed. “Nothing, just asking randomly. You know how girls can be — sometimes even we don’t understand why we ask certain things.”

Lin Zhengran thought for a moment and said suddenly:

“Hmm... honestly, when I first met you, I did sometimes connect you to Jiang Qian, like, ‘What are you two up to this time?’ But later on, I stopped making that connection. You don’t usually come to me because of Jiang Qian, do you?”

Fang Meng’s pupils widened.

Her face reddened even more.

Does he know what I’m thinking...

If not, then... these words...

were just a little too heart-fluttering.