Chapter 41 - 40: A Secret Crush’s Little Thoughts

Chapter 41: Chapter 40: A Secret Crush’s Little Thoughts

Seeing this, Xiao Ran frowned slightly.

It wouldn’t do for her not to eat, especially after the scare she had this morning.

’She needs to eat well to feel better.’

He looked at her with a tempting expression. "Oh, is that so? Then I guess no one will be eating my chicken feet and wings~"

The girl replied listlessly, "I don’t want to eat."

Xiao Ran was taken aback by her words.

After all, chicken feet and wings were usually her favorite foods. Now, she didn’t even want those.

’It seems Yan Li’s words really hit her hard this time.’

He tested the waters. "You’re really not eating?"

The girl shook her head. She looked a little wilted, as if she weren’t in a good state of mind.

"No."

Seeing that she had lost interest in even her favorite food, Xiao Ran grew a little worried.

"How about you just eat a little? Don’t take what happened today to heart. In a couple of days, after she’s cooled down, you two can have a proper talk. You’re family. Everything will surely be fine in a day or two."

He hadn’t expected Yan Li to show up so suddenly.

But to be honest, her reaction today had been a bit extreme.

So he could understand why Yan Xici was so dejected.

Seeing the worried look on Xiao Ran’s face, the girl, who had genuinely not planned on eating, inexplicably began to hesitate.

’Maybe... I should eat a little after all.’

At this thought, the girl pursed her lips, a well-behaved look in her eyes.

"Okay, I’ll have a little then."

"Good."

Hearing that she was going to eat, Xiao Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief. He walked over to the sofa, sat down, and started ordering takeout.

After all, not everyone knew how to make something like chicken feet. Even if they did, just braising them would take several hours. It was simply too time-consuming.

That was why the chicken feet Yan Xici loved to eat were almost always bought by Xiao Ran.

After ordering, there was nothing else to do. He checked the time; it was only 3:20.

He still had another forty minutes before he had to leave, so Xiao Ran settled onto the sofa, casually picked up the TV remote, and instinctively asked the girl, "Is there anything you want to watch?"

Xiao Ran didn’t actually like watching TV, but today was an exception.

The girl was in a bad mood, after all. Watching something cheerful might help lift her spirits.

’I can only leave without worry after I get her settled.’

The girl blinked and walked over to the sofa.

"Oh... how about we watch *Great Escape*?"

She actually quite liked watching TV, especially variety shows. She found them hilarious, and they always put her in a great mood.

’There’s nothing else to do right now, anyway. Might as well watch something.’

The girl walked over cautiously and sat down next to him. The sofa cushion sank noticeably where she sat.

Her legs were primly placed, and she supported herself with her hands on the sofa.

After a moment’s thought, she perhaps felt they were too close.

The girl shifted over, putting a little more distance between them.

What could she do? A girl with a secret crush was just that sensitive and conflicted.

Their relationship was especially delicate, which made the girl even more cautious.

She was terrified he would see that she had designs on him.

Xiao Ran did actually notice her small movement. He was, after all, a detail-oriented person himself.

But he didn’t think much of it. ’After all, on a hot day like this, a little distance makes things cooler.’

After finding the show, Xiao Ran leaned back casually on the sofa, scrolling through the comment section on his work to see his readers’ recent reactions while watching TV.

The girl, in contrast, was watching quite intently. The first person to appear on the show was Yang Mi, who had her hair in two pigtails and was sporting the "no-pants" look. She asked the other people on her team in a syrupy sweet voice, "What’s our mission right now?"

Upon seeing Yang Mi, the girl instinctively leaned forward, and even the light in her eyes grew more focused.

This was one of her favorite celebrities.

The first time she watched *Eternal Love*, the girl had been completely captivated by Yang Mi’s eyes.

’They seem to sparkle with an ethereal energy.’

Later, while scrolling through Douyin, she had seen clips of Yang Mi’s math skills and learned about her academic background, which made her think she was amazing.

’She’s beautiful and so academically brilliant, too.’ It just made her like her even more.

In short, the more she learned about her, the more amazing she seemed.

And the more she liked her!

Noticing her focused expression, Xiao Ran commented casually, "You really like Yang Mi, huh."

"Mhm."

...

Meanwhile, Yan Li was sitting in her own spacious villa, growing angrier the more she thought about it. She couldn’t help but pick up her phone and call her mom.

Mrs. Yan was on the balcony airing out a quilt when she heard her phone ring. She hastily draped the duvet cover over the new electric drying rack that Xiao Ran had just installed for them last month.

Then, she wiped the water from her hands and walked over to the coffee table.

Seeing that it was a call from her older daughter, she answered with a smile. "Hello, Lili."

Speaking of her, her older daughter was truly a sensible child. Ever since she went to college, she hadn’t caused the family a single worry. Not only that, but she also sent money home every month, saying it was for her younger sister.

Her only flaw was probably that she was rather domineering. Once she made up her mind about something, she couldn’t stand anyone disagreeing with her.

"Mom, there’s something I need to tell you," Yan Li said in a serious tone.

"Go on, go on."

"Xiao Ran and I are divorced."

Hearing her daughter was divorced, Mrs. Yan’s face filled with confusion. She exclaimed, "What? Why?!"

After speaking, she shifted uneasily on the sofa.

’What a wonderful son-in-law Xiao Ran is.’

’He’s young and handsome, not to mention he’s an administrator at the university library.’

’Even though he doesn’t earn as much as Yan Li, he has taken care of us these past few years as if we were his own parents.’

’Young people these days are under so much pressure.’

’How many of them can take care of their elders, let alone a son-in-law!’

’For him to do all this is truly remarkable.’

Furthermore, his family were rare, good people—all of them were so well-mannered. They always came to visit her and her husband during the holidays. The old couple had always been exceptionally pleased with Yan Li’s marriage.

She really couldn’t understand why on earth Yan Li would want a divorce.

Yan Li knew her mom would react this way. She said helplessly, "There’s no reason. I just don’t love him anymore. Mom, I didn’t call to talk about this. I called about Xici."

Mrs. Yan was absolutely stunned. It felt like she was in a dream.

’What in the world is going on? My older daughter gets divorced, and now there’s a problem with my younger daughter?’

She swallowed nervously. "What’s wrong with Xici? Hasn’t she always been a good girl?"

Yan Li sighed. "I’ve already divorced Xiao Ran, but she’s still living at his place and refuses to leave. Do you think that’s appropriate? She’s a girl, isn’t she afraid of people gossiping?"

"This morning, she even got into a huge fight with me over Xiao Ran. She’s completely bewitched!"

It was better not to talk about it; the more she spoke, the angrier she got.

’Now that her wings have hardened, she actually dares to defy me!’

What was even more infuriating was that Xiao Ran had actually jumped in front of her sister to protect her, as if I were the outsider.

Even thinking about it now made her chest feel tight with anger.

On the other end of the line, Mrs. Yan was in no mood to worry about whether her younger daughter was moving out or not. After all, compared to the two issues, her older daughter’s divorce was clearly more important.

Her voice was tense. "You must have been the one who pushed Xiao Ran for the divorce, weren’t you? How could you two just divorce when everything was fine?"

To be honest, because Yan Li had been sensible from a young age, and because Mr. and Mrs. Yan were both the gentle, good-natured type, their older daughter had basically been the one making all the family decisions for years. They just never imagined that she wouldn’t even discuss something as major as a divorce with her family.

Mrs. Yan felt nothing but shock and frustration.

"We’re already divorced, Mom, so don’t say any more about it. Besides, I’m a grown woman. I know what I’m doing. You should just worry about your younger daughter. Her behavior is really breaking my heart. I’m not getting involved in her affairs anymore!"

After saying her piece, Yan Li decisively hung up the phone.

’No mother in the world would want her daughter to get divorced.’ She knew her daughter’s personality too well. ’She must have been the one who forced Xiao Ran to divorce her!’

She sighed, her brows tightly furrowed.

’What a mess.’ Mrs. Yan hesitated for a long time before deciding to call Xiao Ran first to ask what was going on. After all, Xiao Ran was a sensible young man.

Xiao Ran was in the bathroom washing his hands when he heard his phone ringing outside.

He assumed it was Liu Min calling for him and instinctively called out, "Xici, can you check who’s calling for me?"