Chapter 236 - 134: Platonic, Part 2

Chapter 236: Chapter 134: Platonic, Part 2

They talked a bit more about the surveying and mapping of Xie Yiren’s hometown. This sort of thing couldn’t be done overnight; it would take a while to produce the blueprints. Qi Shan had said all he needed to.

"...Alright, I’ll leave it to you. Just speed things up."

’Every day of delay means another day Xie Yiren is stuck with her Saintess title, and I have to keep my hands to myself.’

"Alright, you should head back. Miss Xiao is waiting for you."

"Oh, alright. I’m off."

Su Ran smiled happily and waved goodbye. Carrying the sweet-skinned duck, he crossed the central courtyard, walked over the stone bridge, and arrived at Chuyuan. As he pushed open the gate, he saw a crumpled-up painting in the trash can. Su Ran put down the duck, walked over, picked it up, and unfolded it.

"Xiao Wanqing, what is this?"

"Huh?"

Hearing Su Ran’s demanding tone, Xiao Wanqing ran out of the house. When she saw him holding the Beauty Painting, she rushed over to snatch it.

"Give it to me."

"Don’t grab it. I’m asking you, why did you throw it away?"

"You’re a pervert."

"How am I a pervert?"

"You..." Xiao Wanqing blushed and pointed at the smear of cinnabar red in the painting. "You’re disgusting."

Su Ran laughed, covering his face. "What’s the big deal? I think it’s pretty creative."

"Unbelievable..."

Xiao Wanqing bit her lip, utterly mortified. ’He used my... *ahem*... as the cinnabar red for the painting.’ The very sight of it grossed her out. She forcefully snatched it back and tore it to shreds, then dragged Su Ran to his private collection room and pointed at Liu Jinyu’s Beauty Painting.

"Tell me, was the lipstick on Jinyu’s painting done with *that* too?"

"No, hers was done with real cinnabar red."

"Hers was cinnabar red, so why did you have to use my... *you know*... when you painted mine? So, in the future, when you paint for Aina and Xie Yiren, those two little bitches, are you going to do the same thing?"

"Hmm?"

"Oh, for god’s sake, did I just give you the idea? You pervert! So that’s your plan, isn’t it? You’re going to paint all of us like this, hang them in your private collection room, make a cup of tea, and sit there admiring all your ’cinnabar reds,’ feeling so damn proud of yourself. Is that it?"

Last night, Xiao Wanqing had just been shy. Now that she was thinking clearly, her tune had changed completely, and she was denying everything.

"I’m not as perverted as you think. I really ran out of cinnabar red last night. How about I paint a proper one for you?"

"No, thanks. You can paint it some other time."

"Alright, then. Come on, let’s see what delicious food you’ve made."

Su Ran pulled Xiao Wanqing into the dining room. Xiao Wanqing had stir-fried a few home-style dishes, and with the addition of Su Ran’s sweet-skinned duck, it was a plentiful lunch.

During the meal, Xiao Wanqing kept putting food on Su Ran’s plate, asking him if it was good.

Su Ran said everything tasted sweet, which made Xiao Wanqing beam.

"Su Ran, I’ve noticed you’re getting better and better at sweet-talking girls. You weren’t like this before."

"Well, you four tortured it out of me. Did I have a choice but to learn?"

"That’s true, heh heh..."

Xiao Wanqing smiled. When Su Ran was with the four of them, one would ask if she looked fat, another would ask if her legs were long, and the others would ask all sorts of similar questions. Over time, Su Ran had learned the sweet words to make them happy, and now it was second nature to him.

「After the meal.」

Xiao Wanqing was washing the dishes while Su Ran watched the news on TV in the living room.

[We interrupt this broadcast with good news. This morning, Japan...]

After washing the dishes, she returned to the living room. Su Ran got up from the sofa and stretched. "I’m getting a little sleepy. I’m going to take a nap, then head back to my hometown later." He walked a few steps, then stopped and looked back. "Aren’t you sleepy?"

"I’m not..." Xiao Wanqing started to shake her head, but then nodded and yawned. "I am a little sleepy."

"Then let’s go together."

"Mhm. Su Ran... we’ll just sleep, okay?"

"Of course."

...

「The airport.」

They embraced.

Su Ran gave her a pat on the butt, watching as Xiao Wanqing swayed her slender hips and walked through the boarding gate.

The parting was quick and simple, with no tearful goodbyes. After all, Shanghai was only a two-hour flight away, and Su Ran could go whenever he wanted.

「In the Aston Martin.」

BING.

Su Ran received one last message from Xiao Wanqing: [Su Ran, I’ll always be your woman. Even in death.]

Su Ran: ???

...

「Two days later.」

Ning University had officially started its winter break, and all the students had returned to their hometowns to wait for the New Year.

Of course, while the university was on break, junior and senior high schools were not. Ning Wenwen was still tearing her hair out over her final exams.

Su Ran had promised her he would come back to help her cram for the final push, which was why he had returned early.

「Anyang, Linxi Village. The small courtyard by the lotus pond.」

He hadn’t been back in a while, and the fish in the lotus pond had grown fat. Su Ran was fishing contentedly. He could have just used his Finger Technique Fragrance to lure the female fish over, but there was no fun in that. Life needed a bit of process and enjoyment. After fishing for half the day, he finally got a bite: a grass carp of about three pounds. Most importantly, it was a wild-caught fish that hadn’t been raised on feed.

He cheerfully carried the fish back to the courtyard and started preparing dinner.

Su Ran planned to grill the fish. Conditions in the countryside were basic, so it didn’t matter that he had no charcoal briquettes. He took some glowing embers of fruitwood from the wood-fired stove and placed them under a grill rack. Then he cut some fruit tree leaves and spread them over the embers to slowly smoke and grill the fish.

"Ah Ran, that looks quite professional," a passing Aunt Liu called out from outside the fenced yard.

"Hey, once it’s ready, Aunt Liu, come have a taste of my handiwork," Su Ran said as he brushed the fish with oil.

"No, thank you. Grilled food makes me cough terribly."

"If grilled fish makes you cough, I’ll go catch another one and make you some fish with pickled greens."

"No, no, don’t go to all that trouble, you sweet child." Aunt Liu’s face bloomed into a smile. She knew Su Ran was a good kid. "I still have leftovers from lunch. Don’t you worry about me. You just enjoy your meal."