Chapter 342 - 164: Two Fellow Sufferers

Chapter 342: Chapter 164: Two Fellow Sufferers

Ah Wei smiled and nodded. "Okay." He’d heard Reba go on and on the other day about how wonderful Su Ran was. She said he was sensible, polite, and very approachable—not at all arrogant like other rich people. Seeing him today, it was clearly true. Ah Wei worked for Aunt Luo, so naturally, he would report what he saw back to her. She could sit at home and have the world in the palm of her hand.

「A courtyard house next to the Forbidden City.」

"Hehehe..." In the courtyard, Aunt Luo sat on a lounge chair, basking in the warm sun and cracking sunflower seeds as she looked at her phone. Her eyes crinkled with amusement watching the video Ah Wei had sent. It showed Su Ran at a high-end fruit shop, and his very first words were, "Boss, you guarantee this watermelon is ripe, right?"

It wasn’t that his words were funny, but the act of bringing fruit for a visit. It had been decades since Aunt Luo had someone show up at her door carrying fruit. For the past few decades, the dignitaries and nobles had brought either antique calligraphy and paintings or priceless treasures. This kid, showing up with fruit... ’Hehe, how interesting,’ she thought. It reminded her of what it was like to visit relatives back in the old days.

For a powerful figure of Aunt Luo’s stature, expensive gifts were meaningless trifles. She lacked for nothing. What she truly craved was a bit of human warmth. And this Su Ran was so genuine. There were no ulterior motives, just a pure friendship that transcended age.

’Besides, other people always try to curry favor with me, but not Su Ran. He won’t even add me on WeChat. It’s as if he’s thinking, ’You, old lady, have to be the one to ask. Otherwise, I’m definitely not going to.’ Aunt Luo loved this kind of equal footing. It was the only way to have a relationship where ’you treat me like a normal person, and I don’t treat you like some big shot.’

However, she wasn’t as happy when she saw the next video, in which Su Ran bought a carton of "High-Calcium Milk for the Middle-Aged and Elderly." Although she was old, she didn’t feel old at heart. Aunt Luo didn’t like that stuff. Drinking it would be admitting she was truly old.

Aunt Luo: [Ah Wei, tell Su Ran not to buy that stuff. I don’t like it. If he’s going to buy milk, have him get Telunsu.]

Ah Wei: [Roger that.]

Ah Wei put his phone away and walked over to Su Ran. "Mr. Su, Aunt Luo rarely drinks this brand of milk. She might not drink it if you buy it. How about switching to Telunsu instead?"

Su Ran said, "But this is high-calcium milk for the elderly. Older people lose a lot of calcium. Why would she drink Telunsu? If she’s going to drink milk, it should be this high-calcium kind. Don’t worry, this is what’s best for someone of her advanced age."

Ah Wei: "..."

Fruit in one hand, milk in the other. Okay, all set. They got in the car and left.

As the Alpha entered the city center and drove past Tian’an Gate, Su Ran gazed out the window at the surroundings. He didn’t care if he looked like a country bumpkin. He wasn’t going to pretend he’d seen it all before. The truth was, he’d never been and he loved the Capital. Besides, when you’re truly wealthy and confident, no one thinks you’re unsophisticated.

"Where does Aunt Luo live?"

"In a courtyard house by the moat, right next to the western wall of the Forbidden City."

"Wha—"

Su Ran was stunned. A courtyard house in the Imperial Capital could be worth hundreds of millions. So a courtyard house next to the Forbidden City... ’That must be over a billion, right?’

A courtyard house worth over a billion. How could he not be surprised?

’This old lady is seriously rich,’ he thought. ’No wonder Reba said on the phone that people were lining up, hoping to become Aunt Luo’s grandson or granddaughter.’

The reason was simple: she was rich.

If you became her grandson, wouldn’t you get a little thrill every time you heard her cough?

It was just a pity she had no heirs.

The Alpha parked at the entrance to the courtyard house. Ah Wei led the way up the steps and pushed open the gate. As he entered, Su Ran saw Aunt Luo walking toward him with a beaming smile.

"Mr. Su, you’ve arrived."

"Hello, Aunt Luo. We meet again."

"Hehe... I’m so glad you could come to the Imperial Capital. Come, come, please step inside."

This was their second time meeting, but it was their first formal one.

They had both heard stories about each other and held a mutual admiration.

They had met through photography and had since become pen pals via email. Their real-life dynamic was the same as it had been online.

Su Ran looked around the courtyard. "Aunt Luo, this courtyard is huge! I never imagined you lived right next to the Forbidden City. That’s incredible. Oh, right, I brought you a small gift. I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I just picked up a few things. I hope you like them."

"I don’t."

Aunt Luo was very direct. If she liked something, she said so; if she didn’t, she also said so. No pretense, just straightforwardness.

"..." Su Ran was speechless. "It’s the high-calcium milk. It helps with calcium intake and is mainly for preventing osteoporosis in the elderly. It’s good for you."

"So what? I never drink it," she said, being deliberately difficult.

Su Ran said earnestly, "You have to accept your age. This is good for you, it’ll help with your calcium. Just try it if you don’t believe me."

"I won’t."

"..." Su Ran opened one of the cartons, stuck a straw in it, and handed it to her. "Just take one sip. Come on, drink up. It really is good for calcium. I bet you’ll like it."

Aunt Luo chuckled. She had to hand it to him; he was dead set on making her admit her age.

"Fine, I’ll take one sip." She took a small sip. "It’s not good at all."

Stubborn.

"Fine, if you don’t like it, forget it. I’ll just ship it back to Jiangning for my Uncle Qin to drink later."

Aunt Luo smiled. "Alright, fine, I’ll accept it. Just to save you the shipping fee. Give the milk to Ah Wei. Come on, let’s go have some tea. The meal will be ready soon."