Who exactly this “someone” was left a lot to the imagination.
Le Ning listened, her lips curving in a tiny, sarcastic arc.
—Someone.
What a special honor.
Xie Wei, meanwhile, nearly choked on the answer.
But Le Luo, innocent and clueless, asked brightly: “Brother Zhou, you chose police academy just because of that one sentence? What were you originally planning to do?”
Xie Wei tried to stop him but was too late.
Zhou Ran’s gaze lingered on Le Ning for a moment. When she showed no reaction, he paused for a second before answering concisely: “Originally deciding between the military or police academy.”
Hearing that, everyone immediately understood.
This “someone” had simply sped up his decision.
Le Ning didn’t say a word the whole time—just quietly ate her pickled fish… and honestly, it really was pretty good.
Later, the conversation drifted to other topics.
After dinner, Le Ning rushed to pay the bill before the two men could.
Zhou Ran watched her quietly.
Xie Wei said helplessly: “Miss Le, you didn’t have to rush like that.”
Le Ning gave a light laugh and said softly, “You treated us to breakfast the other day. Fair’s fair.”
She added: “Thank you for giving my brother so much good advice.”
Her words completely ignored Zhou Ran.
Xie Wei felt awkward, caught in the middle.
He was about to speak when a low, deep male voice came from beside her ear: “You have the weekend off?”
Le Luo nodded eagerly, eyes shining as he looked at him.
Zhou Ran said calmly, “If you’re really interested, I can take you to experience it on the weekend. Neither police academy nor the military is as easy as you imagine.”
“I know.”
Le Luo agreed immediately. “Brother Zhou, where exactly would we go to experience it?”
Zhou Ran glanced at the person beside him who looked like she wanted to speak but didn’t, then calmly took out his phone. “I’ll check first. Once it’s confirmed, I’ll let you know.”
Le Luo stared at the phone excitedly. “Okay, okay! Thank you, Brother Zhou!”
After adding Zhou Ran on WeChat, Le Luo suddenly went “Ah!” and said, “Brother Zhou, when will you confirm it?”
Zhou Ran raised an eyebrow at him.
Le Luo scratched his head. “We’re seniors… phones get turned in tonight and only given back on Friday for the weekend. How about you add my sis on WeChat instead? Just tell her, and she’ll pass it on to me.”
Le Ning, suddenly dragged into it: “???”
She stared wide-eyed at the excited little fool beside her.
Le Luo, do you even realize what you’re doing?!!!
Le Ning was just about to speak when Zhou Ran gave her a meaningful look and said indifferently, “Whatever works.”
Le Ning: “…”
Heh, you’re really making it sound like such a hardship?
Le Luo looked at Le Ning with bright, shining eyes.
Le Ning had always been good to this little brother of hers. As long as it was something he wanted, she would basically always agree—let alone just adding someone on WeChat.
Even if she had a thousand reasons not to want to, she still pulled out her phone.
“Then sorry to trouble Officer Zhou.”
“It’s no trouble.”
Le Ning: “…”
After exchanging WeChat, Le Ning looked at them. “If you have things to do, feel free to go first.”
She turned to Le Luo. “I’m going to the restroom. I’ll take you back to school afterward.”
“…Okay.”
Le Ning went into the restroom.
When she came out and washed her hands, she glanced at herself in the mirror. After running around all afternoon and eating a hot, steaming dinner, her makeup hadn’t smudged much, but it had dulled quite a bit.
She always carried a compact in her bag. Today she had brought her Guerlain Gold Diamond compact—it had some skincare benefits, but most importantly, its touch-up effect and longevity were outstanding.
The case was beautiful too—one of Le Ning’s favorite compacts.
After touching up, her makeup instantly looked smooth and refined again.
Le Ning touched her face, extremely satisfied.
She glanced at the lipstick that had worn off during dinner and hesitated for a few seconds while reapplying.
She had two in her bag: one was Chanel 196—milky coffee bean shade with subtle gold shimmer. Very gentle on the lips, low-key, perfect for everyday wear.
The other was Armani 401 lip gloss—a stunning, vibrant orange-red that was eye-catching and full of energy.
She struggled for less than two seconds before decisively choosing the bold one.
When Le Ning came out, only Zhou Ran was left standing at the door.
She scanned around instinctively and pressed her lips together.
Zhou Ran glanced sideways. His gaze lingered on her now strikingly bright lips for a moment before he looked away.
As Le Ning pulled out her phone to call someone, he spoke.
“Xie Wei already took him back to school.”
Le Ning’s hand paused. She lifted her eyes to look at him.
“Then why didn’t you leave?”
Zhou Ran seemed completely unfamiliar with the concept of restraint. He said calmly, “Waiting for you.”
Their eyes met. Le Ning was silent for a moment. After seeing Le Luo’s reply, she put her phone away and said, “No need to wait.”
She continued, “Thank you for your help today, Officer Zhou. As for the place Le Luo wants to experience, just let me know once it’s confirmed. I’ll take him there myself.”
Zhou Ran: “Sure.”
Le Ning raised an eyebrow in surprise.
That easy?!
The next second, Zhou Ran put his hands in his pockets, took two steps forward, then turned back to look at her. “Let’s go.”
Le Ning froze. “Go where?”
Zhou Ran: “I’ll drive you home.”
“No need.”
Le Ning refused without thinking. “I drove myself. No need to trouble Officer Zhou.”
Zhou Ran didn’t get angry. Instead, he actually laughed lightly—a rare sound. “Le Luo asked me to. The area where you live… hasn’t been very safe lately.”
Right after he spoke, Le Ning’s phone buzzed again. It was a message from Le Luo: [Oh right, sis, I asked Brother Zhou to drive you home! It’s really not safe around your place lately—what if something happens? It’s already dark.]
Le Luo: [Brother Zhou said he’s off tonight and can drive you.]
Le Ning turned off her phone and let out two silent “hehe”s in her heart.
Silly kid.
She looked up. Zhou Ran met her gaze, expression calm.
Of course—if you ignored how obvious the smugness on his face was.
Le Ning actually wanted to struggle a little more. She really didn’t need anyone to drive her, especially not Zhou Ran.
But then her phone buzzed again—this time with a Tencent news push.
She glanced down and was startled.
It was a roundup of several murder cases. Opening it showed photos of women lying on riverbanks, bodies pale and lifeless.
She quickly closed the phone, her face paling.
She pressed her lips together and looked up at Zhou Ran.
The man was still standing in the same spot, quietly watching her.
Le Ning closed her eyes for a second, trying to erase the image from her mind. Gritting her teeth, she finally said, “…Then sorry to trouble you.”
Le Ning’s car had been with her for over a year, but this was the first time a man had driven it.
The car wasn’t big. When Zhou Ran sat in the driver’s seat, he actually looked a little cramped.
His long legs were forced into a tight space, making him appear uncomfortable.
Le Ning glanced over twice, then silently looked away and turned toward the window.
Zhou Ran didn’t speak, so naturally Le Ning wouldn’t take the initiative to talk to him.
After a moment of silence that felt too strange, Le Ning couldn’t stand the weird atmosphere anymore and started chatting with people on WeChat.
As soon as she opened it, besides the pinned group chats and Le Luo, the newest contact at the top was Zhou Ran, just added.
Le Ning lowered her eyes slightly, glanced at the man beside her, and tapped on his profile picture.
Just taking a casual look…
Zhou Ran’s WeChat avatar was… a badge.
His WeChat name was simple—just his name. She scrolled through his Moments.
After looking, she couldn’t help but sigh… this person’s daily life was really too boring. Every post was a repost.
All of them were case-related things.
Le Ning wasn’t very interested. After two glances, she exited.
Before she could close it completely, the man beside her suddenly spoke: “When did you come back to the country?”
Le Ning froze, her body stiffening slightly. She turned her head, looking at Zhou Ran in surprise. “…How did you know I went abroad?”
Zhou Ran didn’t answer.
Those words unlocked a memory for Le Ning.
She had gone abroad once—as an exchange student. It had been for quite a long time—two full years before she returned.
However… aside from her old high school classmates and a few close friends, basically no one knew about it.
It had already been two years since high school graduation. If Yang Qingqing hadn’t mentioned it in the group chat, even most classmates probably wouldn’t have known.
Zhou Ran bringing it up now actually surprised her.
“Zhou Ran.”
Le Ning couldn’t hold back her curiosity and called his full name.
At that, Zhou Ran suddenly smiled. His eyes stayed on the road ahead as he said calmly, “Do you only remember my name when you’re anxious or annoyed?”
Le Ning: “…”
She paused, then rolled her eyes. “What, Officer Zhou—your name sounds so good you want me to keep calling it all the time?”
Zhou Ran thought for a few seconds. “If you’re willing, I don’t mind.”
Le Ning choked, then gritted her teeth. “Well, I mind.”
Who wants to call your name anyway?
It’s not even that nice!
Even if it were, I still wouldn’t.
Zhou Ran gave a soft “Mm.” “Lu Jiaxiu told me.”
Le Ning was stunned for a second. “Really? Senior Lu’s information network is that good?”
She didn’t suspect anything. “I’ve been back for a while now.”
Zhou Ran nodded and didn’t say anything more.
Le Ning also fell silent.
They happened to reach the apartment complex. Following Le Ning’s directions, Zhou Ran pulled over to the side of the road.
She got out, pressed her lips together, and looked at Zhou Ran. “You can borrow the car tonight.”
Zhou Ran raised an eyebrow.
“Consider it thanks for tonight.”
With that, Le Ning didn’t wait for his response. She turned and walked straight into the neighborhood.
Zhou Ran watched her slender, graceful figure disappear, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
When Zhou Ran got home, his mother heard the sound and came to the door to wait.
Seeing the car her son drove back, she paused. “This car…”
Zhou Ran said slowly, “A friend’s.”
Zhou Ran’s mother’s eyes lit up. “A girl’s?”
The car was clearly one girls loved—a cute, eye-catching red BMW Mini.
Zhou Ran gave a soft acknowledgment. Seeing his mother’s delighted expression, he didn’t explain further.
Zhou Ran’s mother wanted to ask more, but he quickly changed the subject.
“Mom, can you take a look at this coat?”
Zhou Ran’s mother focused. “This is…?”
Zhou Ran explained, “It got bumped into during a checkpoint the other night. I had it cleaned and need to return it…” He paused halfway, then asked, “Where can I buy this brand?”
Zhou Ran’s mother: “???”
She looked at the label. “This coat probably costs tens of thousands. I’m not sure if it’s even in stock domestically. You want to buy one?”
“…”
Facing his mother’s confused and shocked gaze, Zhou Ran nodded.
Zhou Ran’s mother: “???”
“!!!”
She studied her son’s expression, hesitated, then asked carefully, “…The girl you bumped into… is she someone you like?”
Author’s Note:
Captain Zhou: My name sounds good. Call it more.
Ning Ning: In your dreams!
Much later—True Fragrance.jpg
Today!! Captain Zhou successfully got his wife’s WeChat!! His image just shot up, didn’t it!
Much later, Le Luo, realizing his big sister has been “kidnapped,” becomes very sad…