Han Shen was driving toward the entrance when, halfway there, his phone suddenly rang.
Han Shen glanced at the caller ID and pulled the car over to the side of the road.
“Grandpa.”
Outside the window, a fine drizzle drifted through the night, and Han Shen’s voice was deep and solemn.
“Why didn’t you go to the opera I arranged for you?” Han Zhenjie asked. “That young lady waited for you all night.”
Han Shen said, “I already told her I had something to do.”
“You didn’t like her?” Han Zhenjie asked again. “What kind of woman do you like? Tell Grandpa. Even if she’s a fairy from heaven, I’ll find a way to bring her back for you.”
Han Shen lifted his head and looked ahead. Ji Ran was no longer hiding beneath the shelter.
The boy was wearing a mask and carrying a backpack. He was holding his phone upside down as he squatted by the roadside, taking pictures of the reflection in a puddle.
He was taking the pictures with great seriousness. It was not until a drop of rainwater fell from the roof and landed on the back of Ji Ran’s neck, startling him with its chill, that he quickly shrank back. He lowered his head and checked the photographs he had just taken.
He seemed fairly satisfied with what he saw. Han Shen watched as Ji Ran’s eyes curved into a smile above the mask.
Han Shen remained silent for a while, thinking that he had never realized Ji Ran could have such an innocent, childlike moment in his everyday life.
A few more seconds passed before he finally withdrew his gaze and said to the person on the phone, “I don’t have any particular preference.”
“You’re still too picky,” Han Zhenjie said. “It’s time you started making plans for yourself. A family is an important part of a man’s life. You’re already in your thirties and still haven’t settled down. How am I supposed to feel comfortable handing such a huge family business over to you?”
Han Shen did not answer the latter question. He merely said, “There are women who don’t like me, too.”
Han Zhenjie raised his brows. “You’re my eldest grandson, Han Zhenjie’s eldest grandson. What family’s daughter would dare be picky about you?!”
Han Shen said, “But I come from a single-parent family, and I also have a younger brother who is receiving treatment overseas.”
“With a family like ours, who would care whether you come from a single-parent family or not?” Han Zhenjie shook his head in disapproval. “Besides, your younger brother doesn’t live with you. He won’t affect your marriage or your family.”
The rain outside grew heavier, beating against the car windows with a rapid patter.
Han Shen had not turned on the windshield wipers, and he could no longer see Ji Ran clearly through the glass.
He withdrew his gaze and looked instead at a small clay ornament sitting in front of him in the car. Then he said, “I want to bring Han Sui back and have him live with me.”
It had been a very long time since either of them had mentioned the name Han Sui.
Even though Han Sui was also Han Zhenjie’s biological grandson, bound to him by blood.
There was a moment of silence on the other end before Han Zhenjie said, “You know your brother’s condition yourself. If you live with him, those young ladies will be even less likely to like you.”
Han Shen said, “I don’t care.”
Han Zhenjie’s voice suddenly rose. “But I care!”
Han Shen said, “But we both know that it isn’t his fault.”
No one spoke again.
There was only the increasingly heavy sound of rain overhead.
Two red lights appeared in the distance, seemingly belonging to an approaching car. Han Shen could no longer see anything outside the window clearly.
He was just about to turn on the windshield wipers when Han Zhenjie’s voice sounded again.
“You are not allowed to mention him again. I already made my position clear. There is no room for reconsideration on this matter.”
Han Shen said, “Suisui is already doing much better, and he’s also willing to communicate with other people.”
Han Zhenjie countered, “But can he live like a normal person?”
Han Shen fell silent.
Han Zhenjie did not want this matter to drive a wedge between him and his eldest grandson, so after a moment, he slowly added, “I know you’re kind and responsible. Those are also the qualities I value most in you. If you really miss him that much, I’ll have him come back when you get married. That way, at least you two brothers can fulfill your fraternal bond.”
Han Shen said nothing. Once he had finished speaking, Han Zhenjie hung up the phone.
Han Shen turned on the windshield wipers, and the blurred scene before his eyes finally began to clear.
Only then did he realize that there was no one beneath the eaves anymore. Ji Ran had already left in his ride-hailing car.
Han Shen leaned back against the seat and listened to the rhythmic tap-tap of the windshield wipers. He closed his eyes, and the image of Ji Ran smiling beneath the eaves surfaced in his mind once again.
He thought that, in truth, he had no right to feel sorry for Ji Ran.
…….
Three days later, the collaborative video between Ji Ran and the Orca went online, and the response was explosive.
[Shocking!! The Little Madman actually collaborated with Big Orca??!!]
[I refreshed the page so many times, but it’s real. Mom, the CP I ship has actually become real!]
[Good, good, good. It’s only a three-minute video, yet you two managed to play blindfold play, wet-clothes play, and bondage play to the fullest.]
[Does anyone understand how satisfying it was to see the Orca get slapped? I’m seriously so damn satisfied.]
[I think you mean the Orca was the one who enjoyed it to death.]
[Ahhhhhhh!! I refuse!! How could anyone dare slap Big Orca across the face!!]
[Big Orca, if you’ve been kidnapped, blink twice! Why did you agree to shoot this advertisement?]
[Orca]: Owe someone a favor.
[Little Madman, you’ve really made it big. You’re literally the only person on the entire internet who has filmed this kind of video with the Orca.]
[Why don’t you just cling to the Orca’s thigh and kick that annoying boss of yours to the curb?]
[Exactly! Why not become a full-time content creator? With your current number of followers, you can definitely make money now, and you won’t have to put up with your boss’s attitude anymore!]
[There’s no way to work without going crazy]: Not considering it for now.
[Orca]: A very sensible decision.
[There’s no way to work without going crazy]:
Okay, okay, so you two are flirting right in front of us now, huh??
Turns out I’m actually just one part of your little play!
This video brought Ji Ran an enormous amount of traffic. In addition to the income from filming the advertisement itself, the increase in followers and the platform’s video incentive revenue were also quite substantial.
However, Ji Ran still had no intention of becoming a full-time content creator. The reason this particular video had exploded in popularity was mainly because of the Orca, while the photographer had also played a major role. Ji Ran himself could not have achieved this kind of effect on his own. He still wanted to pursue work related to his own professional field.
Moreover, Ji Ran discovered that on the second day after the video was released, he seemed to have been followed.
He assumed it was someone seeking revenge over the incident at the club, so he told Leng Lingci about it. The other man said he would investigate and told Ji Ran to pay attention to his safety and preserve any evidence.
When they met, Leng Lingci told Ji Ran that the investigation into the club incident had already come to an end. After saying that, he took out a certificate of commendation and an envelope containing a thousand yuan in prize money.
“These are awards recognizing your contribution,” he said. “Take the other set to Han Shen.”
Ji Ran nodded and said okay, but he could not help feeling somewhat uneasy.
He did not know whether it was merely his imagination, but lately, Ji Ran felt that Han Shen was deliberately avoiding him.
The clearest indication was that Han Shen almost never came looking for him in person anymore. Whenever he assigned work, his instructions were extremely concise, and he had even become noticeably less frequent in pointing out Ji Ran’s mistakes.
Although Ji Ran was somewhat puzzled by this change, he was more than happy to let things remain that way. If anything, he wished his boss would never come looking for him again.
…..
The next day, Ji Ran brought the certificate and prize money to the company. Right outside Han Shen’s office were Asher and Luke’s workstations. Normally, the two of them were like a pair of little bees, constantly buzzing around and rushing from one task to another according to Han Shen’s instructions.
But they were both absent today.
Since this was only a small matter and Ji Ran did not want to bother them, he simply decided to go inside and find Han Shen himself.
The office door had been left slightly ajar. Ji Ran knocked three times first, but no one answered. He then cautiously stuck half his head through the opening.
No one was inside.
He turned around and was about to leave when he suddenly walked straight into a warm, solid chest.
“Something you need me for?”
Han Shen had appeared at some point. He looked down at Ji Ran from his superior height, his tone devoid of warmth.
By now, Ji Ran was no longer as afraid of Han Shen as he had once been. He took out the certificate and envelope and said, “The investigation into the club incident is over. Officer Leng gave us these certificates and the prize money as recognition for our contribution. This is your share.”
Han Shen reached out and took them.
Ji Ran immediately turned around and left.
When he returned to his workstation, Ji Ran sent Leng Lingci a message telling him that he had given everything to Han Shen.
After a while, Leng Lingci informed him that the police had already used the surveillance-camera system to identify the person who had been following him.
Ji Ran took one look at the photograph and was stunned.
Wasn’t that his roommate?
Why was his roommate following him?
Had he really discovered Ji Ran’s online account after all?
Was he planning to threaten him? Blackmail him?
But his roommate had only followed him on the streets. Even if he had followed him into the residential compound, he could simply explain that he was returning home. He had not displayed any excessively aggressive behavior.
Under those circumstances, it would be difficult to legally define the behavior as stalking, and naturally, there was no basis for initiating legal proceedings.
Leng Lingci offered to accompany Ji Ran home. Even if he could not actually do anything, his identity as a criminal police officer alone would at least serve as a deterrent.
Ji Ran felt embarrassed about troubling him and politely declined Leng Lingci’s offer.
After all, he and Leng Lingci were merely strangers who had happened to cross paths. If Ji Ran had not met a police officer during the previous incident at the club, no one would probably have paid much attention even if someone like him had reported the situation to the police.
Besides, his roommate was the sort of gloomy, nocturnal man who stayed awake all night and slept during the day. He was physically weak from his irregular schedule, thin, and not particularly tall. He looked like someone who could hardly put up a fight.
If an actual confrontation occurred, Ji Ran did not think he would lose to him.
Ji Ran made up his mind to deal with his roommate himself. He finished work early and hurried home before his roommate was due to start his night shift.
However, he never expected that before he could even catch the man, he would discover a package waiting at the entrance of the building.
The recipient’s name was his online ID:
@Working_is_bound_to_drive_you_crazy
Ji Ran’s heart immediately sank.
He had never used this ID to purchase anything.
By now, Ji Ran had already guessed that whatever was inside was unlikely to be anything good. He prepared himself mentally before finally bringing the package inside.
After opening it, he found a blood letter inside.
But after taking a closer look, Ji Ran realized that it was not actually blood. It was probably some kind of red paint.
In an extremely exaggerated manner, two lines of large characters had been written across it:
“Yi Ran, you fucking slut, stay away from the Orca!
“I know everything you’ve done. If you dare get close to the Orca again, I’ll expose all your personal information!”
Ji Ran felt somewhat irritated.
Why did this have to involve the Orca again?
This was no longer something he could deal with on his own. Ji Ran took a photograph and sent it to Leng Lingci. His roommate was a coward, and the moment Leng Lingci grabbed him by the arm and pinned him against the wall, he confessed to everything.
He had indeed followed Ji Ran and had also sold Ji Ran’s personal information.
Leng Lingci asked, “What information did you sell?”
His roommate shuddered and confessed, “Just his name, mobile phone number, email address, home address…”
“Who did you sell it to?”
“I don’t know. I saw the request on a forum. The transaction was also handled through an online email.”
This kind of situation was difficult to trace. Leng Lingci got the website address from him and said he would send it to the technical team to see if they could investigate it.
Ji Ran already had someone in mind, but he was not completely certain yet. He asked his roommate, “Did you leave that package at the entrance?”
“No.” His roommate shook his head. “I only gave the information to someone online. I had nothing to do with anything else.”
As he said this, his expression turned dejected.
“I was just short of money. I let greed get the better of me for a moment. If I’d known you had a police officer friend, I definitely wouldn’t have done something like this.”
Ji Ran did not believe a word of that nonsense. He asked coldly, “Is there anything else?”
His roommate shook his head. “N-No, that’s everything!”
Ji Ran breathed a sigh of relief.
The extent of the information leak was slightly less serious than he had imagined.
Because he had previously gone to conventions with Jiang Ning and sometimes helped out as staff, he always used his pen name when he was outside. Even when communicating with his roommate, he used the name “Yi Ran.”
“Really?” Leng Lingci narrowed his eyes. “If we find something else when we investigate, the consequences won’t be the same.”
“There are some photos, too.” His roommate finally confessed again. “They’re on my computer.”
Ji Ran took a look.
The photos only showed his back. Perhaps because his roommate was afraid of being noticed, he had never dared to circle around to the front and take a picture of his face.
What puzzled Ji Ran, however, was why there were so many photographs of him getting into and out of cars.
Ji Ran went back to the police station with Leng Lingci to give his statement. An hour later, he finally got the answer to his question.
A throwaway account with no information or identity had posted an accusation claiming that Ji Ran was a sex worker—
“Don’t think filming a video with the Orca makes you noble. A duck is still a duck.
“He’s probably a paid companion. No wonder the blogger acts like such a slut.
“I heard he even has a paid group, and the content is extremely explicit.
“And he still wants to form a CP with the Orca? A toad trying to eat swan meat, huh?
“My friend hired him before. He’s really slutty. Give him some money and he’ll let you do whatever you want. He’ll even take the initiative to help **.
“My friend is his roommate. He says there are different men coming in and out of his bedroom every day, and sometimes people even drive over to pick him up to go out and have fun. He really knows how to play.”
The attached pictures showed Ji Ran ordering ride-hailing cars after working overtime, as well as the occasional time Han Shen had driven him home.
The license plates and the drivers had all been blurred, but instead of making the pictures look harmless, the censorship only created an ambiguous atmosphere, making it seem as though there was something murky and improper going on.
[Isn’t this near my neighborhood?! Someone call the police and have them crack down on prostitution!!!]
[I know this residential compound very well. Most of the people living there are migrant workers. It’s insanely chaotic!]
[Wasn’t the blogger looking for customers? Brothers, charge!!!]
No one knew how many paid trolls had been hired and sent into the comments. The entire comment section was filled with vile remarks.
Perhaps because he had already been mentally prepared for something like this, Ji Ran was not particularly angry. He was still able to calmly collect evidence.
He simply felt disgusted.
The video had not been posted by just one account. Ji Ran saved every copy he could find and sent all of them to Leng Lingci.
“Are you sure the link you gave me is correct?” Leng Lingci suddenly asked. “I can’t open it anymore.”
Can’t open it?
How could that be?
Ji Ran clicked on it again and discovered that all the previous videos had disappeared.
He searched online once more, only to find that all the earlier posts and messages were gone as well. Whenever a new one appeared, it was quickly removed.
Had the other party discovered that he had reported the matter to the police and decided to destroy the evidence themselves?
Ji Ran stood there in confusion.
Then he received a message from the Orca.
[Orca]: I’ve had the posts suppressed. I’ll sue the people spreading the rumors. As for your address being leaked, I have an empty apartment. You can move in there for now.
Ji Ran had already been in a bad mood, and hearing this only made him more irritated.
What kind of relationship did they have?
Why was the Orca asking him to move into his home?
If he really moved in without a second thought, wouldn’t that make the rumors that he was selling himself seem even more convincing?
[No Way to Work Without Going Crazy]: No. If you have this much free time, you should spend it properly dealing with your extreme fans.
[Orca]: Sorry. I’ll restrain their behavior. But the area around your home isn’t safe. You should move out of that residential compound.
[No Way to Work Without Going Crazy]: No need to trouble yourself.
Ji Ran rejected the Orca cleanly and decisively.
He did not want to have even the slightest connection with him anymore.
That evening, Leng Lingci drove Ji Ran home and also advised him to find an opportunity to move somewhere else.
Even without him saying it, Ji Ran had already planned to move.
However, he had been extremely busy with work lately and could not even manage to take a single day off.
Ji Ran looked at some properties online in advance. He planned to view the apartments over the weekend and then move out.
Unexpectedly, when he returned home the next day, he discovered that the partition enclosing the small room where he lived had been violently smashed apart.
Broken pieces of the structure and all of his personal belongings were scattered across the floor.
For a moment, Ji Ran’s mind went completely blank.
He could never have imagined that his room would simply be gone.
Had his roommate retaliated against him?
Or had those internet trolls come looking for him?
No.
It was not only his room.
The partition separating the living room next door was gone as well.
Ji Ran stood there in utter confusion.
Before long, the roommate who lived in the living room also returned. He looked just as shocked and unable to believe what he was seeing.
The roommate told Ji Ran that a few days earlier, he had found a notice on the main entrance warning that illegally constructed structures would be removed. The real-estate agent had told him there was no problem and assured him that he could continue living there without worry.
Neither of them had expected the place to actually be demolished.
Ji Ran and his roommate both contacted the real-estate agent.
Whether because the agent felt guilty or simply because it was already too late at night, no one could get through to him. His phone remained unreachable no matter how many times they called.
The roommate who had been living in the living room cursed under his breath and went off to stay with a friend.
Ji Ran, however, had no local friends he could stay with.
He had no choice but to check into a hotel for the night and look for a new place the next day.
Fortunately, he had earned quite a bit of money recently, so his financial situation had become somewhat more comfortable.
Ji Ran sat on the edge of the filthy bed and sent Han Shen a message asking for leave. His entire body trembled as he took the photograph, and while typing, tears repeatedly threatened to fall from his eyes. Each time, he raised a hand and wiped them away.
Looking at the room filled with broken walls and debris, Ji Ran felt that it was not merely the partition wall that had been smashed apart. Along with it, something else had shattered as well, his confidence, his dignity, and something more that he could not quite put into words.
Shelter was placed at the very bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Ji Ran had always prided himself on wanting to remain in a big city and realize his own worth, yet now, he could not even guarantee himself the most basic need of all: a safe place to sleep.
“Bzz—”
Han Shen’s call came through.
“Are you all right?” There was unmistakable anxiety in the man’s usually steady voice.
Ji Ran’s eyes immediately reddened.
“I-I’m fine,” he said, gripping his phone tightly. The tip of his nose was unbearably sore, but he forced himself to answer Han Shen’s question. “It’s just that I might not be able to go to work tomorrow. I need to find somewhere to stay…”
“Don’t worry. Take your time and pack your things first,” Han Shen said slowly, his voice impossibly gentle. “I’ll be there in half an hour. I’ll take you somewhere to stay first. We can talk about everything else afterward, all right?”
Ji Ran had originally wanted to say there was no need. He could deal with it himself.
He had already decided to stay in a hotel.
But he was simply too overwhelmed.
He could solve the practical problems in his life on his own, but the helplessness he felt inside was something he did not know how to erase.
Ji Ran became vulnerable. He longed for someone to lean on. He wanted to hand over a part of himself, his pride, his pain, or perhaps the pressure that had been weighing on him.
He wanted someone to support him.
Someone who would hold him tightly when he cried and tell him that everything would eventually pass.
“Mm. I’m sorry to trouble you.”
Ji Ran closed his eyes, and the tears finally slipped down his cheeks.
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
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← Previous
ChaptersChapter 1 · A cold-hearted bossChapter 2 · “Your skirt?”Chapter 3 · Ji Ran was caught off guardChapter 4 · Relax, you bit your lip until it bledChapter 5 · Don’t want toChapter 6 · Women’s clothing and DaddyChapter 7 · Ji Ran hunched over and began to sob softly.Chapter 8 · Rebellion, offense, and self-rewardChapter 9 · I hate it when people flaunt their wealth in front of meChapter 10 · CompensateChapter 11 · Why are you following me?Chapter 12 · Damn, he forgot to take off his leg chainChapter 13 · Ji Ran was indeed still afraid of him.Chapter 14 · A message came from OrcaChapter 15 · Self-blame, anger, and tears.Chapter 16 · You have to pay more!Chapter 17 · Did you come here just to yell at me?Chapter 18 · Just bear with it a little longerChapter 19 · Women’s clothing live streamChapter 20 · Could you come and pick me up?Chapter 21 Part 1 · It’s all an actChapter 21 Part 2 · It’s all an actChapter 22 · The actions could be even more brutalChapter 23 · A slapChapter 24 · He wanted to surrender a part of himself