Chapter 46 - 45: The Strange Girl

Chapter 46: Chapter 45: The Strange Girl

As Xiao Ran’s mind wandered, he idly swiped his finger across his phone screen.

After just a few swipes, he spotted a great one. It was a circular, pure white chair with a hollowed-out design and a thick, fluffy white cushion in the middle. It looked incredibly nice.

It looked so inviting you couldn’t help but want to curl up inside it for a nap.

The price was right, too—a little over 1,300.

Xiao Ran placed the order without a second thought.

After all, Liu Min was supposed to transfer 20,000 to him tomorrow morning, so the cost of a hanging chair was nothing.

Once the order was placed, he set his phone on the nightstand, plugged in the charger, and groggily closed his eyes.

They say drinking helps with sleep, but for Xiao Ran, it did anything but. His mind was wide awake.

Remembering the day’s events, he sighed internally.

As someone with past relationship experience, he understood all too well what was happening. He might be falling for the girl upstairs...

He’d noticed recently that he would smile whenever she was happy and feel anxious whenever she was upset.

He knew with absolute clarity that this was what it felt like to be falling for someone.

This wasn’t some platonic, brotherly affection. He was just a regular guy, and the thought was giving him a major headache.

After all, their relationship was far too complicated. He was her former brother-in-law.

He sighed in resignation. Fate really did have a twisted sense of humor.

They say everyone gets to read the script of their life before they’re born and then decides whether to live it. Xiao Ran was pretty sure some bastard had secretly swapped his out!

Otherwise, there was no way he would have chosen such a melodramatic script!

Honestly, love itself had a way of messing with your head. Xiao Ran’s head was throbbing right now, and the main source of his trouble was, of course, their complicated status.

And for the time being, he couldn’t think of any good way to solve it.

’His mind was a jumbled mess. His thoughts drifted to moving. Now that Yan Xici’s leg was better, he should get on with it. That way, he wouldn’t have to worry about Yan Li barging in unexpectedly anymore.’

After all, her last outburst had been a huge blow to Yan Xici, and Xiao Ran had seen it with his own eyes.

...

「Day turned to night, and a new day dawned.」

The girl in the bed heard her alarm and groggily opened her eyes.

But the moment she registered her surroundings, she shot upright. Staring at the little blanket covering her, she was lost in thought.

’She distinctly remembered being on the sofa.’

’How did I end up in my room?’

She gulped. Her first thought was that Brother Xiao Ran must have carried her here himself!

At the thought of him carrying her onto the electric scooter last time, her heart began to thump shamelessly.

’He must have held me the same way!’

The feeling of being in his arms... just the thought of it was both nerve-wracking and thrilling.

Even her cute toes curled up slightly!

She sighed.

’It’s all my fault!’

’Why did I have to drink?!’

’Great. Just great.’

’Instead of keeping my distance, we’ve only gotten closer. If this keeps up, I’m really going to fall for him!’

She reached out and lightly patted her own plump cheeks.

’Yan Xici, oh, Yan Xici,’ she told herself, ’starting today, you have to keep your distance from him. If you do, these feelings will fade away, and everything can go back to normal!’

’Yes, that’s the plan.’

She glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand.

It was 7:30. She had a full schedule of classes on Monday morning, meaning she’d be in class all morning.

Class started in just thirty minutes.

The girl had no more time for daydreaming. She had to get to class.

She scrambled out of bed, hurriedly changed her clothes, quickly washed up in the bathroom, and then bolted downstairs.

Hoping Xiao Ran wasn’t up yet, the girl planned to sneak out. That way, they wouldn’t have to run into each other!

’If we don’t meet, I won’t feel awkward!’

Just then, Xiao Ran was also waking up. It was Monday, after all, and he had to go to work.

He had just stepped into the bathroom and squeezed toothpaste onto his brush. Before he could even put it in his mouth, he heard a THUMP-THUMP-THUMP from upstairs as someone ran down.

That was followed by the RUSTLE of someone changing their shoes.

The more he listened, the more he felt that something was off.

’Hasn’t she been eating breakfast at home every morning for the past few days before leaving?’

’Why is she leaving today without even eating breakfast?’

With that thought, Xiao Ran opened the bathroom door and called out to the girl, "Leaving already?"

Yan Xici had planned on sneaking out before he woke up, but she hadn’t expected him to be awake already—or to have heard her.

As the saying goes, a guilty conscience makes one jumpy.

This was especially true for an innocent and kind-hearted girl who hadn’t seen much of the world.

Startled by Xiao Ran’s voice, her body tensed. "I have a full morning of classes," she explained guiltily, "I-I have to go!"

With that, she practically scrambled to open the door and flee.

"I’m heading to work today too. How about I go out of my way to give you a ride?" Xiao Ran asked.

He knew the girl enjoyed riding his electric scooter to school; she always seemed so happy whenever she sat behind him.

But to his surprise, the girl didn’t even turn around, just hurriedly tossed out a, "No, thanks."

And with that, she bolted out the door.

She moved like a thief caught in the act.

The sight left Xiao Ran completely baffled.

’What was that all about?’

It was no wonder Xiao Ran was curious.

The girl’s behavior today was just so out of character.

He had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

He didn’t dwell on it, though.

If she didn’t want a ride, she didn’t want a ride. He’d let her be. After all, a girl’s heart is an eternal mystery.

After washing up, Xiao Ran rode his electric scooter toward campus. The ride was only ten minutes long. He parked it in the non-motorized vehicle area beneath the library and headed upstairs.

Old Zhang always came to campus early. When he saw Xiao Ran arrive, he smiled. "Why didn’t you take a few more days off? It’s not like we have much to do around here, anyway."

Old Zhang was being sincere. Xiao Ran used to borrow books from him all the time back when he was a student, and now they were colleagues. In Old Zhang’s eyes, he was like a kid he’d watched grow up.

He felt a certain closeness to him, more so than with others. And he genuinely felt for the kid, especially since Xiao Ran had recently gotten divorced.

Xiao Ran grinned. "Uncle Zhang, could I ask you a favor? I’m planning on moving today, so maybe this afternoon..."

Xiao Ran had originally planned to move after work. The new place was fully furnished, so there wasn’t much to haul over anyway.

It was just some daily necessities and clothes.

As for things like bedsheets, he planned on buying all new ones.

Hearing Old Zhang’s offer, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but be tempted. After all, what employee could resist the allure of a day off?

"Alright, I get it. If you ask me, you shouldn’t have even come in this morning. Go on, take a few days to rest up."

The library was a cushy gig to begin with.

One person was really enough to handle it; three was just overkill.

"You’re the best, Uncle Zhang!" Xiao Ran said with a laugh.