Chapter 74:
The next day, Ji Ran opened his eyes to find the curtains tightly closed, allowing only a faint glimmer of daylight into the dimly lit room, tempting him to sleep a little longer.
There was no one beside him now, but he could hear some faint sounds from outside.
After lying with his eyes closed for a while, unable to fall back asleep, he reluctantly got up, put on his pajama pants, and headed out. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Qin Man busy in the kitchen.
“Can you stop messing up my kitchen?” Ji Ran leaned against the wall at the kitchen entrance lazily, saying, “When you’re sick, just lie down properly. Did this spot on the floor offend you? You just had to mess with it.”
Qin Man chuckled lightly, “I’m just frying an egg, no big deal. Go wash up, it’ll be ready when you come out.”
Because he had done everything with just one hand, his omelette turned out to be of all shapes and sizes, rather unappealing.
Ji Ran ate it with a look of disdain.
Just as he finished eating, the doorbell rang. It was the delivery person.
Ji Ran signed for the package, tossed it onto the table, and opened it while drinking milk.
Inside were two tickets to a racing event.
Qin Man raised an eyebrow, “Did you book these tickets yourself?”
“Of course,” Ji Ran paused, then realized, “You thought they were sent by He Suiran?”
Without waiting for Qin Man’s response, he continued, “I can afford my own tickets. Why would I need his?”
Qin Man said, “I thought you might want to check out the VIP lounge.”
Ji Ran scoffed, “What’s so interesting about the VIP lounge? I’m not interested in other people’s cars. I wouldn’t even bother looking if they drove up in front of me.”
Qin Man chuckled, “Then what about this extra ticket…”
“If you’re not going, I’ll ask Yue Wenwen…” Ji Ran pretended to take out his phone.
“Don’t,” Qin Man smiled, “I’ll go.”
Ji Ran put away the tickets, feeling bored, he turned on the TV and decided to play some games.
While the game was loading, he glanced over and saw Qin Man playing on his phone, suddenly remembering something. “What do you plan to do later?”
Qin Man looked up, “Hmm?”
“…Work,” Ji Ran paused for a moment, “Anyway, you’re not allowed to work for a lifetime. If you really want to work, I can have Cheng Peng find you a position. The benefits will definitely be better than a lifetime. Or if you want to do something else… that’s also fine.”
Qin Man put down his phone, “I haven’t thought about a lifetime. We’ll talk about it later. After all, the plaster needs more than a week to be removed. I’ll rest for a while first.”
Ji Ran nodded, “It’s up to you. I was just asking. Whether you want to rest for a week, a month… or a year.”
Actually, Ji Ran’s feelings were quite conflicted.
In the past, he hadn’t really understood his own thoughts, so he didn’t realize.
In reality, every time he saw Qin Man sitting in the corner of the office, in that conspicuous assistant seat, he felt uneasy.
He felt that Qin Man shouldn’t be like this. He should be standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor of a high-rise, reviewing documents, instead of forever huddled in the corner of this small, rundown office, tying up loose ends for others.
Seeing him silent, Qin Man asked, “And you?”
Ji Ran snapped out of his thoughts, “What?”
“What do you want to do in the future?”
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that this was the first time Ji Ran had heard this question.
The members of the Ji family never asked him what he wanted to do; they only ordered him what to do. Yue Wenwen and Cheng Peng both had family businesses, and they never discussed this topic either.
The person beside him had been silent all this time, so just when Qin Man thought he wouldn’t get an answer, a response came.
“Open a racing club.”
Qin Man raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Nowadays, the stronger clubs are all overseas. Although I’ve never joined any of their teams, I’ve heard that many foreign racing teams discriminate against our country’s drivers. Our drivers always seem to be at a disadvantage when negotiating contracts with others,” Ji Ran chuckled sarcastically. “When that club approached me for a contract, they claimed to offer me the best conditions domestically, but in reality, the treatment was several times lower than that of ordinary foreign players. It’s ridiculous. Whoever wants to go can go, I’m not interested.”
As he spoke, he paused, “Why have you been staring at me…”
Qin Man laughed, “You’re my boyfriend, who else would I look at?”
“…..” Ji Ran’s ears turned red, momentarily unable to find a retort.
Qin Man asked, “So, when do you plan to start recruiting?”
When it came to opening a racing club, money, venue, and even cars were secondary. The most important factor was the drivers.
In reality, motorsport isn’t very popular in China. While there are many enthusiasts, few have the opportunity to participate, and even fewer excel. Training, tracks, and many other aspects are not as well developed as they are overseas.
Ji Ran said, “I’ve been scouting for people.”
But finding the right people wasn’t easy. Racing drivers were already scarce, and those with some skill would have likely received invitations from other clubs early on. Those even better would have probably already set their sights on their preferred clubs abroad—who would choose to join a newly established club and be a guinea pig instead?
Ji Ran wasn’t in a rush either. The club’s plans were still in the early stages, and there were plenty of procedures to go through. At the earliest, it would be next year.
Qin Man leaned in with a smirk, “My boyfriend is really something.”
Ji Ran still had the game controller in his hand. With quick reflexes, he raised his elbow and rested it against Qin Man’s chin. “Don’t you want your right hand anymore? The doctor said not to move around… Before you get your cast off, don’t you dare take off my underwear again, or I’ll render your left hand useless too.”
Initially, Qin Man just wanted to get closer to him, but hearing this, he couldn’t help but feel a bit mischievous.
However… he glanced down at his suspended right hand.
It was indeed inconvenient to do things and not as enjoyable.
It’s better to wait until everything’s fully healed before doing anything.
He sat on the sofa, watching Ji Ran play games all morning. Ji Ran was very serious when playing games, rarely speaking. The two hardly exchanged any words, yet Qin Man felt especially comfortable.
He even felt that if he really rested for the rest of his life… it wouldn’t be so bad.
Just as he was thinking this, his phone rang in his pocket. Qin Man glanced at the caller ID, then got up and went to the balcony before answering.
“Mom, what’s up?”
“Nothing, I just miss you. It’s been a few days since you last called Mom, hasn’t it?”
“I ran into a little situation here,” Qin Man chuckled, “I was planning to call you later tonight.”
“A situation? What happened? Are you okay?” Mother Qin asked anxiously.
“It’s nothing,” Qin Man reassured her, “How are you and Dad doing lately?”
“Don’t worry about us.” Mother Qin felt relieved hearing his relaxed tone, “By the way, your dad and I might need to go back to China for a while.”
Qin Man raised an eyebrow, “What’s going on?”
“Your dad’s old friend’s son is getting married, and they’ve invited us to attend the wedding,” Mother Qin paused, “Xiao Man, you…”
“That’s great,” Qin Man quickly interrupted her, knowing what she was going to say, “Let me know in advance before you go back to China. I’ll come pick you up.”
But Mother Qin wasn’t pleased, “Let me finish.”
“You know what I’m going to say. Xiao Man, Mom isn’t forcing you… It’s just that you’re about the right age, and it’s time for you to find a companion to accompany you. Before, when we asked you to come abroad with us, you refused and insisted on staying in China by yourself. Without anyone by your side, Mom just worries that you’ll feel lonely.”
Qin Man chuckled, “Mom, I’m not lonely.”
Once she started, Mother Qin couldn’t stop, “With your personality, you were always buried in books when you were young, and now you’re always immersed in work. How can this be okay? The world is so big, there are so many nice girls out there. If you go around and take a look, you’ll definitely find one you like. By then, you won’t even think about those things.”
Qin Man paused, smiling, “You’re right.”
“You’re just humoring me,” Mother Qin sighed, “If you really care, Mom can introduce you to a few. Of course, I’m just setting you up, whether it works out or not is up to you. I won’t force you…”
“No need,” Qin Man interjected.
“You see, just now you said I was right.”
“Mom, really, there’s no need,” Qin Man chuckled, glancing inside.
Ji Ran had shifted positions because he got too excited during the game. Now he was leaning against the coffee table, sitting cross-legged on the carpet, fully focused on pressing the buttons.
But then, he made a positioning mistake, and the boss knocked him down with a punch.
Qin Man could feel Ji Ran’s frustration even through the glass. He watched as Ji Ran threw the controller to the ground, then rummaged around on the coffee table for a while before suddenly stopping, as if remembering something, and subconsciously turned to look at him.
After a few seconds, Ji Ran blushed and turned back to continue playing the game.
It seemed like he wanted to smoke.
Qin Man suppressed a laugh and interrupted the person who had been chattering on the phone, “No… Actually, being alone is fine too. It’s a personal choice… No, I’m just expressing my opinion. I didn’t say I want to be single forever, so don’t worry… Really… Why would I lie to you? I already have someone I like.”
The person on the other end of the line suddenly stopped talking.
Then came a long string of questions about the person’s name, age, family background, and whether there were any photos.
Qin Man laughed helplessly, “Are you trying to do a background check?”
“It’s not easy to meet someone you like, so you need to seize the opportunity, son!” Mother Qin sounded very anxious.
“I am, Mom,” Qin Man reassured her.
Mother Qin had confidence in her son’s charm. She said, “Try to win them over before your dad and I return to China. Bring them to show us when we’re back.”
“I think that’s not necessary,” Qin Man hesitated, then refused, “He’s shy. It’ll take some more time.”
Mother Qin calculated the time and realized she was indeed being too impatient. She nodded, “You’re right, take it slow, no need to rush…”
“But Mom, there’s something I need to tell you upfront,” Qin Man interjected.
“What is it?” Qin Man’s mother asked.
Qin Man lowered his eyes and smiled, “In the future, if I do bring someone in front of you, whether you and Dad like that person or not, it’s a done deal between me and them. What others say won’t matter… including you and Dad.”
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
