Chapter 73:
The difference between a teahouse and a bar was that it wasn’t noisy, peaceful, suitable for conversation.
To fit this atmosphere, the boss put a lot of effort into the decoration, even the design of the toilet was quite artistic, and the environment was much better than a bar.
Ji Ran came out of the toilet, washed his hands, and didn’t rush out.
He hesitated in front of the mirror for a while, and finally dug out a long-unused phone number from the address book.
After making the call, he turned around, intending to leave, but he unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance.
The person smiled at him, their voice gentle, “It’s really you.”
Wen Xiao had obviously dressed up meticulously today, their lips shining with color, the powder on his face so thick it seemed it could peel off in layers, and the sides of his nose were still dark, making Ji Ran feel uncomfortable.
Ji Ran stood there, silent.
Seeing him not speaking, Wen Xiao continued with feigned concern, “By the way, I saw the stuff online, are you okay?”
“I heard you got kicked out by the Ji family? Sigh, I mentioned it to Wenwen before, if you keep indulging yourself like this, you’ll get into trouble sooner or later,” he said with a tone of schadenfreude, “Your relationship is so good, didn’t he advise you?”
Ji Ran suddenly laughed and said, “Don’t worry, my dad is definitely living a better life than you.”
A stiffness crept onto Wen Xiao face, “Can’t you refrain from insulting people right off the bat? Have you no manners?”
“What’s wrong with insulting you? Aren’t you here to provoke me?” Ji Ran said coldly. “I don’t have much manners, so don’t bring your sarcastic attitude in front of me. When pushed, I’ll even hit a woman.”
Wen Xiao retorted, “Who are you calling a woman!”
Ji Ran couldn’t be bothered with his nonsense. “If you have business, speak up. If not, get lost. Ever heard of a good dog not blocking the way?”
Even though Wen Xiao often mingled with men, they were mostly from wealthy families. While their behavior might sometimes be unreasonable, Wenwen had never encountered anyone who spoke as rudely as Ji Ran.
“Your mouth is really filthy,” Wen Xiao remembered the humiliation he faced in the parking lot and said, “With all the trouble you’ve caused, is Qin Man still willing to follow you?”
“It’s none of your damn business.”
“Even if he follows you, it’s only because of the deal.”
Ji Ran said: “Yeah, he’s willing to follow me for money. And even if you gave him money, he wouldn’t want to follow you. Because he’s not interested in your green tea nonsense.”
Before, in the parking lot, the two assistants Wen Xiao brought along were skinny, afraid of losing in a fight against Ji Ran, so Wen Xiao had to endure.
But now, his ex-boyfriend was sitting in the teahouse, along with several of his friends, all of them fitness trainers. If it came down to a fight, he wouldn’t lose.
Wen Xiao chuckled and lit a cigarette skillfully, taking a drag. “If I’m a green tea, then what are you? You’re so rotten that even your dad doesn’t want you anymore.”
Ji Ran was immune to such remarks. He found this person incredibly boring, and arguing with them was even more pointless.
Rolling his eyes, he was about to leave when unexpectedly, Wen Xiao sidestepped and blocked his path again.
“Those were just sweet nothings lovers say to their sugar daddies in the parking lot, you didn’t actually take them seriously, did you?” Wen Xiao’s smile was particularly mocking. “You and Qin Man have only half a year left on your contract. I hope you don’t get too deeply involved, lest you can’t extricate yourself later and end up embarrassed for nothing.”
Ji Ran found it amusing. “That’s between him and me. What does it have to do with you, you idiot? Move aside.”
“It’s not unrelated at all,” Wen Xiao’s vanity and excitement were uncontrollable now. Leaning against the door, his lips involuntarily curled upward. “In half a year, Qin Man will be mine. Oh, Ji Ran, you must be strapped for cash now that you’ve been kicked out of the house, right? Otherwise, why not end things with Qin Man early? I can give you some money. How about it?”
If Wen Xiao looked closely, he would notice the calm on Ji Ran’s face had vanished, replaced by a gaze as cold as ice.
But he didn’t. He was completely immersed in fantasies about the future. “I know what you’re going to say… You think Qin Man really cares about you? The way he acted towards me back then was just to show off to you. In reality, we had such great conversations on WeChat…”
Wen Xiao didn’t get to finish his sentence.
Because Ji Ran had already stepped forward, grabbing his collar.
In fact, Ji Ran and Wen Xiao had similar builds, but Ji Ran effortlessly lifted Wen Xiao up, his feet barely touching the ground.
“You sick pervert, stop fucking fantasizing about him,” Ji Ran’s voice was icy, his eyes filled with hostility.
“Let me go!” Though he was prepared, Wen Xiao was still startled. His cigarette dropped to the ground, and he unconsciously raised his voice, “Ji Ran! You’re just a mad dog! Always thinking about using violence to suppress others!!”
“Speak any louder,” Ji Ran not only didn’t release him, but tightened his grip even more, “Call everyone in, let them all see what the consequences of a foul mouth are.”
Wen Xiao sneered mockingly, “Are you getting angry because I hit the nail on the head?”
Ji Ran turned around, gripping Wen Xiao’s collar and slammed him against the wall, emitting a dull thud.
Wen Xiao felt a sharp pain in his back, almost letting out a cry.
“Wen Xiao, I’m warning you,” Ji Ran looked at him coldly, “Qin Man is mine, even if the contract expires, he’s still mine. He has nothing to do with you, you idiot, for the rest of his life.”
“You’re mistaken, Qin Man and you are just…” Wen Xiao started to say with a smile, but suddenly felt something was wrong.
Earlier in the parking lot, despite Ji Ran’s attitude towards him not being good, he could clearly hear from his words that his relationship with Qin Man was purely monetary.
But now, Ji Ran was so angry, and he even uttered such sovereignty-declaring words…
“It’s impossible.” Wen Xiao was extremely sensitive to these matters, and the curve of his lips stiffened. “Are you two together?”
Ji Ran smirked mockingly, not answering, but it was Wen Xiao who muttered to himself incredulously, his face full of disbelief, “No, how could he possibly be interested in you…”
“Whether he’s interested in me or not is between him and me.”
Ji Ran exerted a slight pressure with his hand, his fist pressing against Wen Xiao’s chest. “Have some dignity. If someone hasn’t been responding to your messages, be smart enough to stay away. Wen Xiao, you should be grateful I’m in a good mood lately and don’t feel like throwing punches. Otherwise, forget about your friends outside, even your ex-boyfriend from that football team won’t be able to save you. I could still smash your fake nose in.”
“But if you ever dare to pester Qin Man again, or utter any more nonsensical words in front of me.”
Ji Ran suddenly smiled, his smile unusually gentle. He slowly released Wen Xiao and smoothed out his clothes with his palm.
“I’ll pluck out every single feather of yours.”
His tone was calm as he said, “I’m a man of my word. Think carefully about whether you want to keep this pathetic life of yours. Let’s put an end to this nonsense between us sooner rather than later. Okay?”
After Ji Ran left, Wen Xiao remained leaning against the wall, holding his breath tightly.
As Ji Ran’s figure disappeared, Wen Xiao began to breathe heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He turned around, intending to go wash his face to calm down, but as he took a step, his legs felt weak, nearly causing him to stumble.
Seeing Ji Ran return from the restroom, Cheng Peng raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why did it take so long? I thought someone had cornered you.”
“Who would dare to corner me?” Ji Ran scoffed. “But I did run into an idiot.”
“Who?”
Ji Ran didn’t respond. He took out his phone, called Yue Wenwen, and obtained the contact information of Wen Xiao’s ex-boyfriends.
Though he hadn’t laid a hand on Wen Xiao, this matter couldn’t be let go so easily.
Someone like Wen Xiao needed to be taught a lesson; otherwise, he wouldn’t learn to fear.
After bidding farewell to Cheng Peng, Ji Ran made a trip to the mall before heading home.
By the time he arrived home, it was already 11 p.m. Opening the door, he saw someone sitting on the bed and froze for a moment. “…Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
Qin Man set aside the documents in his hand. “Waiting for you.”
“No one asked you to wait.” Ji Ran said, but he quickly changed into his pajamas.
He lay shirtless in bed and said, “Get up, let me change your medicine before you sleep.”
Qin Man put down the documents and replied, “Okay.”
“You’re not working anymore, why do you still have so many documents to look at?” Ji Ran fetched the medicine box from the bedside table, sat cross-legged, and said, “Give me your hand.”
Qin Man obeyed and extended his hand.
Ji Ran noticed a box in Qin Man’s hand that wasn’t there before.
The box was delicately small, its design familiar.
Ji Ran said, “…”
Qin Man opened the box, revealing the silver ring inside. “I couldn’t sleep without wearing it, so I waited for you to come back.”
“Being sentimental,” Ji Ran muttered quietly after a long silence.
Qin Man smiled and didn’t argue.
Once, when Ji Ran was asleep in the hospital, Qin Man had held his hand and touched it several times.
The skin was delicate, and even the lines were beautiful.
It just lacked a ring.
Despite Ji Ran’s harsh words, his hand had already reached into the ring box and taken out the ring, as if he were about to put it on.
But Qin Man grabbed his hand first, smiling helplessly. “Can’t you have a little romance? Let me help you put it on.”
Ji Ran’s ears turned red, and he extended his hand. “It’s really bothersome… Hurry up then.”
Qin Man pinched Ji Ran’s left finger, securing it, then slid the ring onto his middle finger.
Ji Ran chuckled. “Having the ring on that finger isn’t very convenient for my martial arts.”
Qin Man smiled but didn’t say anything. He held Ji Ran’s hand lightly and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently.
Ji Ran’s smile froze instantly when Qin Man finished kissing his hand. After a moment, he abruptly pulled his hand back. “You- you’re too cheesy.”
Qin Man said, “It suits you.”
“That’s because my hand looks good.”
Ji Ran hesitated for a moment, then suddenly rolled off the bed and rummaged through his pants pocket… until he also pulled out a box.
Qin Man’s smile faltered.
“I never accept gifts for nothing,” Ji Ran said as he sat back on the bed, fidgeting with the box. “…I bought this on the fly. It was too rushed to have it custom-made, so this was the best one available in stock. You… reluctantly wear it for now.”
After Ji Ran finished speaking, he immediately reached for Qin Man’s left hand without hesitation and put the ring on him.
Qin Man took a deep breath, looked at the ring, and chuckled, “Thank you, I really like it.”
“Just liking it is enough.” Ji Ran dared not look into his eyes again, quickly turned around, and casually tossed the ring box onto the bedside table.
His reddened earlobes had already given him away. Ji Ran returned to his original position and noticed that Qin Man was still looking at him. He paused, attempting to change the subject, “Oh, by the way, I ran into Wen Xiao at Qing Bar just now.”
Qin Man raised an eyebrow, “And then?”
“We had a quarrel,” Ji Ran replied concisely, “If he bothers you again in the future, just let me know.”
“Alright,” Qin Man smirked, “But he probably won’t have the chance anymore. I’ll delete his WeChat in a while. Work’s done, keeping it is useless.”
Ji Ran was satisfied and leisurely lay down in bed, “Considered you’re tactful.”
Qin Man tidied up the documents, turned off the lights, and lay down beside him.
Ji Ran closed his eyes, finding it hard to fall asleep.
For the past few days, they had been confined to that narrow hospital bed, their legs and arms almost tightly pressed together. Today, they slept more freely, but he found himself… not used to it.
Not hearing any movement beside him, Ji Ran hesitated for a moment, about to shift a bit.
To his surprise, the person next to him beat him to it, snuggling up closely.
Their breaths intertwined, Ji Ran tightly closed his eyes, his throat involuntarily rolling.
“Darling, are you asleep?” Qin Man asked in the darkness.
Ji Ran moved his mouth slightly, “…Stop calling me darling.”
“Did you smoke today?”
“No.”
“Did you use an e-cigarette?”
“I said no.”
Qin Man lowered his voice, teasingly asking, “Not craving for it?”
Ji Ran abruptly opened his eyes, meeting Qin Man’s gaze.
Qin Man’s eyes were filled with tenderness.
Accustomed to the other’s aloofness, just one glance made him a bit overwhelmed.
After a while, Ji Ran softly replied, “Crave.”
It was unclear who leaned in first.
Perhaps it was Qin Man, or maybe it was himself, but by the time Ji Ran snapped out of it, they were already nestled in the middle of the big bed, lying on their sides, passionately kissing.
When it came to kissing, he wasn’t as skilled as Qin Man. Before long, he was kissed until his face turned red, only able to breathe heavily.
It wasn’t until the man’s warm palm touched his skin that Ji Ran came to his senses, anxiously wanting to pull away.
“Don’t rush,” Qin Man grabbed his clothes, soothing him, “I’ll just touch, nothing more.”
Ji Ran: “You… really are persistent, the word ‘pervert’ suits you well.”
“Don’t move,” Qin Man frowned, suddenly taking a breath of cool air.
Ji Ran froze, quickly halting his movements, afraid to do anything, “I… I touched your right hand?”
Qin Man succeeded, smiling as he nibbled on Ji Ran’s chin, answering him with the warmth of his fingertips.
Ji Ran was like a thoroughly cooked shrimp, lying there with a flushed face, wanting to push away but not daring to. He could only curse while letting Qin Man have his way.
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
