Seeing that it wasn't Uncle Zhang or Aunt Yun, Chen Ran was stunned for a moment. He took a step back and looked up at the door number, thinking he had gone to the wrong floor.
But the door number wasn't wrong!
The short-haired girl was taken aback for a second. Her lively eyes looked Chen Ran up and down, and she said in some surprise:
"Yaoyao's brother?"
Hearing her call out like this, Chen Ran finally knew where this familiar feeling came from.
Back when he went to Huahai to look for Chen Yao, the classmate who blurted out that Chen Yao was singing in a bar seemed to have had short hair.
At that time, Chen Ran was shocked by the news of his sister singing in a bar and didn't pay much attention to what Chen Yao's classmate looked like, so he hadn't recognized her right away just now.
Now that she called out like this, he remembered too.
"You're Yaoyao's classmate?" Chen Ran was also very surprised.
The short-haired girl laughed and nodded repeatedly, saying,
"Yes, yes, I'm Yaoyao's roommate. The last time you went to look for her, we met!"
Director Zhang, hearing the voices inside the house, walked over to take a look.
Seeing it was Chen Ran, he asked in surprise, "Didn't you kid go home? You're back so early?"
Chen Ran smiled and said, "There wouldn't be any transport later, so I hurried back in the afternoon. Thinking that today is New Year's Day, I came over to see you and Auntie."
The short-haired girl stood to the side, looking at Chen Ran and then at Director Zhang, feeling a bit confused.
"You came at just the right time. Your Auntie is cooking; we'll eat together later."
Director Zhang let Chen Ran in. Seeing the things Chen Ran was carrying in his hands, he said exasperatedly, "We're all family, why do you still bother with this."
Chen Ran just smiled and didn't say anything.
Sitting on the sofa, he looked at the short-haired girl and asked, "This is..."
Director Zhang finally remembered and introduced her:
"I almost forgot. This is Zhizhi's younger sister, Ruyi. She goes to college in Huahai and usually doesn't have holidays, so she came back to visit for two days for New Year's Day. Ruyi, this is your sister's boyfriend, Chen Ran. He works at the TV station just like me."
Even though Chen Ran already had a guess in his heart, he couldn't help but be somewhat surprised. This was a bit too much of a coincidence.
Chen Yao's roommate was Zhang Fanzhi's younger sister?
Looking closely, Zhang Ruyi and Zhang Fanzhi did bear some resemblance, but their temperaments were completely different.
Zhang Fanzhi looked a bit colder and more aloof, without much expression on her face, whereas Zhang Ruyi always had a smile hanging on her face, looking very cheerful.
If Chen Ran was merely surprised, then Zhang Ruyi was absolutely shocked. Her mind felt a bit muddled, thinking she had misheard. She turned her head and asked,
"Dad, who did you say he is?"
Director Zhang said, "He is Chen Ran, your sister's boyfriend."
Zhang Ruyi stared with wide eyes and said, "My... my sister has a boyfriend? How come I've never heard of this?!"
Director Zhang said, "It's just been a recent thing. Who told you not to call home?"
Zhang Ruyi was somewhat dazed and confused. "But... but isn't my sister a singer? Would she date?"
She still didn't quite believe it.
Zhang Ruyi considered herself to understand her older sister pretty well.
Although Chen Ran was good-looking and had a gentle temperament, Zhang Fanzhi had said she didn't want to date, and she would dodge the blind dates their family urged her to go on as much as possible.
How could she suddenly have a boyfriend?
Director Zhang said in displeasure, "What you're saying is unpleasant to hear. Singers are people too, why can't they date? Do you mean to say that becoming a singer means she has to grow old alone?"
Zhang Ruyi still wanted to retort, but seeing her father glaring, she didn't dare speak. She just still felt it was inconceivable in her heart.
"My sister has a boyfriend? And it's Chen Yao's brother?" Zhang Ruyi felt her brain wasn't enough to process this; it was a total mess.
When Aunt Yun came out and saw Chen Ran, she was also surprised for a moment. Then she greeted Chen Ran warmly and asked about the recent situation with Chen Ran's family.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Ruyi felt very strange. She had just gone to study for a few months, how come everything had completely changed?
Moreover, looking at this posture, Chen Ran clearly visited the house frequently; they were so familiar it was almost like they were one family.
She couldn't help but ask, "Dad, how did my sister and Chen Ran meet? How long have they been dating?"
If she didn't get to know a bit more, she felt like she wasn't even a member of this family anymore.
Director Zhang glanced at her and said, "You're still young, what are you asking these things for?"
Zhang Ruyi almost choked. I'm twenty-one, still young?
Back when my sister was studying, you guys also said she was still young and were constantly vigilant, forbidding her from dating.
But the moment she became a singer, you said she was getting older and urged her to go on blind dates. Who could stand that!
Zhang Ruyi didn't dare say these words out loud, otherwise, she would be scolded again.
She muttered, "Even if you don't say it, I know. It must be a blind date arranged by you guys."
Director Zhang and Chen Ran were colleagues, while Zhang Fanzhi was a singer; the two of them belonged to completely different worlds.
Apart from Director Zhang introducing them, there was no other possibility. This wasn't hard to guess.
Director Zhang didn't speak, which was a tacit admission.
While eating, Zhang Ruyi stared at Chen Ran for a while. She had to admit that her first impression of Chen Ran back then was not wrong.
Not only was he handsome, but his demeanor was also very gentle. He spoke modestly and politely, and both her father and mother appreciated him greatly.
Moreover, judging from their conversation, Chen Ran excelled at his work at the TV station, truly embodying the phrase "young and promising."
Such a guy was quite charming, but to say he was dating Zhang Fanzhi, Zhang Ruyi fundamentally didn't believe it from the bottom of her heart.
She understood her older sister too well. She belonged to the stubborn-as-an-ox type; if she said she'd do something, she'd do it.
Back then, when she said she wanted to sing, she started working hard on her own in junior high school. Through high school and college, she walked step by step to the present, becoming a singer with quite a bit of fame.
She had said she would focus on her career first before dating, and subsequently ignored all her suitors in school. Right up until the end of college, she was always by herself.
Now, when her career was just taking off, there was no way she would give up halfway. This was not Zhang Fanzhi's style!
Zhang Ruyi stared unblinkingly at Chen Ran, her mind occupied with her thoughts, completely unaware that the looks her parents were giving her were uncomfortable.
They had just noticed that their younger daughter was acting strangely, continuously staring at Chen Ran. This was far too impolite.
Chen Ran was quite handsome, but that was Zhang Fanzhi's boyfriend. What did it look like for Zhang Ruyi, the younger sister, to be staring at him like that?
Aunt Yun first put some food in Chen Ran's bowl, and then casually gave Zhang Ruyi's waist a pinch.
Zhang Ruyi cried out "
Wah
", half startled and half in pain. She asked, "Hiss, Mom, why did you pinch me?"
Aunt Yun said, "To tell you not to space out. Hurry up and eat, or all the food will get cold later."
Zhang Ruyi also realized what she was doing, feeling she had been a bit excessive just now. A slight blush rose on her fair face, and she hurriedly said,
"I was just thinking about something. If I tell you, you'll all think it's a huge coincidence."
Director Zhang asked, "What is it?"
"Chen Ran's sister, Chen Yao, and I both study in Huahai, and she and I are even roommates! Last time he went to see Chen Yao, I even met him!" Zhang Ruyi said, glancing at Chen Ran again.
At that time, she had a pretty good impression of Chen Ran. Recently, she had even been joking with Chen Yao from time to time about wanting to be her sister-in-law.
But who knew Chen Ran would conversely turn out to be her brother-in-law!
If they really got married in the future, wouldn't Chen Yao be her brother-in-law's sister, and her older sister's sister-in-law?
This world is truly amazing.
Hehe.