“I’m not okay with this! When did you get involved with those two gorgeous girls? Don’t tell me you don’t know—I won’t believe you.” Su Shijie howled as he sprang up from the sofa, rushed over to Lin Ran, grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him.
Lin Ran was at a loss for words. He knocked Su Shijie’s hands away and took another bite of his apple. “You know me. I never interact with girls.”
“I don’t believe you!”
“Want an apple?”
“You’d better watch yourself. Shen Qingyuan’s my girl. You don’t mess with your buddy’s girl, or we’re gonna have a problem!”
“I just bought it yesterday at the fruit shop outside the complex. Four-fifty a pound. Good apples.”
“……”
Su Shijie’s eyebrow twitched. Lin Ran’s habit of answering the wrong question and retreating into his own little world really left him helpless. But he knew Lin Ran truly never interacted with girls. Lin Ran spent most of his time with him, after all—wouldn’t he know if Lin Ran had been flirting with girls? Knowing Lin Ran, even if an absolutely stunning beauty stripped naked and rubbed herself all over him, Lin Ran would only do one thing: kick her away, then walk off munching on an apple.
He knew that, sure. But seeing Ye Qingqian and Shen Qingyuan give Lin Ran a couple of extra looks had really annoyed him. When it came to looks, he didn’t think he was any worse than Lin Ran. And when it came to family background, he was miles ahead. So how was it that these two gorgeous girls had both taken such a special interest in Lin Ran? Was it because he liked apples so much?
After that, Lin Ran flipped through his textbook while Su Shijie pulled out his phone and chatted with his little sisters.
When noon came, Lin Ran closed his book and went into the kitchen to cook. He even politely asked Su Shijie, “What do you want to eat?”
Su Shijie didn’t answer for a long while, and Lin Ran didn’t ask again.
“Don’t you think that’s a pointless question? I’ve been to your place six times. Every time you ask what I want to eat, I tell you—and what do you make? Steamed sea bass or rice topped with boiled eggs. I swear, I wanna smack you. Did you lose your brain along with all that weight? I still can’t figure out how you came up with something as bizarre as rice topped with boiled eggs.” Su Shijie howled from the living-room sofa.
“Got it. Rice topped with boiled eggs,” Lin Ran said.
“……” Su Shijie felt like dying. “Bro, can we eat something else? Steamed sea bass is fine, too. Let’s save the boiled-egg rice for next time. Please, bro—my dear Brother Ran!”
The next moment, Lin Ran came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands. He glanced at Su Shijie. “Come on. Let’s go downstairs and buy some fish.”
“You’re something else,” Su Shijie said through gritted teeth.
Su Shijie really wanted to throw his head back and scream. Lin Ran, is this how you treat your buddy? Aren’t you afraid five bolts of lightning will strike you dead?
The first time Su Shijie visited Lin Ran’s place, he’d complained about practically everything. In the end, though, Lin Ran’s cooking won him over. That’s right—Lin Ran was an excellent cook. He couldn’t quite claim to be on the level of a hotel chef, but his food was definitely better than what you’d get at plenty of restaurants. The catch was, it only happened that one time.
Su Shijie regretted it. He regretted it so much. He never should’ve made fun of Lin Ran for being fat back then and dragged him to the gym to work out. Now Lin Ran had slimmed down, and his cooking had vanished, too. Ever since, whenever Su Shijie came over, it was either rice topped with boiled eggs or steamed sea bass, with a few extra greens if he was lucky. Brother Ran, truly a man who takes life as it comes. Amazing!
But while they were out buying groceries, they ran into Shen Qingyuan again. She was at Fatty Wu’s Poultry and Fish Shop, holding a little white cat, with another mottled cat perched on her neck. The two little furballs gazed longingly at the fish in the tank. Just as Lin Ran and Su Shijie walked in, they heard Shen Qingyuan talking to the cats.
“Do you want some?” Shen Qingyuan asked.
“Meow!” the cat replied.
“If you want some, should I cook it for you at lunch?” Shen Qingyuan asked.
“Meow!” the cat replied.
“Qingyuan, you can cook?” Su Shijie asked with a grin as he sidled over.
“Boss, could you clean one big fish and four small ones for me?” Shen Qingyuan said as she walked up to Fatty Wu with the cats.
“Sure thing, miss. Just a moment.” Fatty Wu answered, then smiled at Lin Ran. “Hey, Xiao Ran, Uncle Wu got more than a dozen sea bass in this morning. Fresh as can be. Want one?”
“Thanks, Uncle!” Lin Ran said with a smile.
Shen Qingyuan looked at Lin Ran again. Beside him, Su Shijie was fuming. He lifted one foot, but Lin Ran took two small steps back, and Su Shijie’s foot went straight into the fish tank.
“Hey, kid, what do you think you’re doing?” Fatty Wu glared at Su Shijie, holding the board he used to scrape scales.
Su Shijie gave an awkward laugh and pointed at his right foot, sunk into the fish tank. “Uncle, if I say it was feeling hot and wanted to cool off, would you believe me?”
In the end, Su Shijie had to pay for every fish in the tank.
Back at Lin Ran’s place, Su Shijie dropped the fish in his hand on the floor, then took off his shoes, socks, and pants and sprawled on the sofa, glaring resentfully at Lin Ran.
“Rice topped with boiled eggs?” Lin Ran asked.
Su Shijie’s face instantly lit up with a smile. “Okay, okay, I’m scared!”
After lunch, Su Shijie lounged on the sofa like a big shot, sighing about life.
“Why? I’m such an amazing guy, and she didn’t even look at me! Why?”
“Why is this vacation so boring? Why?”
“Aaaah, I wish school would start tomorrow! I miss the girls in our class! I miss all those hormones flying around when the girls run in PE! Aaaah!”
Lin Ran shook his head, cleared the things off the dining table, and carried the dishes into the kitchen to wash them.
But just as Lin Ran put the dishes in the sink, his phone rang. It was an unfamiliar local number from Ark City. He didn’t think much of it. He wiped his hands and answered.
The moment he put the phone to his ear, a pleasant female voice came through. It was sweet with a hint of seduction, soft with a hint of allure—both familiar and unfamiliar.
“Lin Ran from Class B, Grade One. Is that you?” the caller asked with a light laugh.
“……” Lin Ran fell silent for a moment, then hung up……
At the same time, in an especially luxurious villa in Ark City’s villa district, a girl in simple loungewear stared at her phone in utter bewilderment.
Ye Qingqian could hardly believe it. She’d said just one sentence, and Lin Ran had hung up on her. Hung up…… This was the first time since she started school that anyone had ever hung up on her like that……
Ye Qingqian called again, but this time no one answered. After the third call, she realized Lin Ran had actually blocked her. Blocked her. Her……
Ye Qingqian touched her face. Had she not woken up yet? Her gaze shifted to the “No. 5 High Student Directory” on the tea table in front of her. The page was open to Lin Ran’s personal information, with a headshot beside it: a chubby face and a bright smile. It all seemed so unreal.
Ye Qingqian vaguely remembered a chubby figure among the new Grade One students when that year’s class started at No. 5 High. Everyone else had come with their parents, but he was alone. There was no disappointment on his face, only excitement about starting high school and anticipation for what lay ahead. During the school year, she’d occasionally seen the chubby boy around. But she’d never imagined he could change so much in just one month.
“He’s pretty good-looking now that he’s slimmed down,” Ye Qingqian said with a light laugh. She tore Lin Ran’s photo from his page in the directory, then picked up another phone and sent him a text.
Ye Qingqian closed the student directory and slowly stretched. Her clothes clung to her figure, showing off her perfect curves.
Ye Qingqian smiled, her red lips curving. “Well, the school’s planning to clear out the abandoned Building Three. I’ll see whether you’re pretending to be uninterested just to get my attention, or whether you’ve really changed over the past month.”
It wasn’t that Ye Qingqian was overly full of herself. She’d encountered too many weirdos during her two years at No. 5 High. More than ten people had tried the same trick of pretending they weren’t interested in her. So, to her, Lin Ran’s attitude just meant he was another guy trying to get her attention.
