Qi Jingchuan and Lu Zhizhou stood at the kitchen doorway, watching Li Ran stir-frying ingredients inside, both feeling a strange sense of harmony.
Li Ran, who should have been a wealthy young lady with hands unaccustomed to household chores, inexplicably loved cooking.
Indeed, they had known for a long time that Li Ran enjoyed cooking.
The three of them had grown up together since childhood. When Li Ran was seven or eight years old, she would stand in the kitchen on a small stool, frying egg fried rice for the other two.
Especially in recent years, Li Ran’s culinary skills had improved significantly. Every dish she made would be devoured by them, and she herself seemed deeply engrossed in the act of cooking.
Besides cooking, Li Ran also loved taking the two of them around to search for delicious food. The culinary delights in every corner of Jingcheng had almost been tasted by the trio.
After each meal, Li Ran would not only record the flavors of the food and her own tasting experiences but also ask Qi Jingchuan and Lu Zhizhou for their thoughts.
Over the years, Li Ran had filled seven or eight notebooks with such notes. Although she herself didn’t know why she kept them, it had become one of her peculiar little habits.
The rain continued to pour heavily. Even as the three prepared their midday hotpot, the rain showed no signs of stopping.
Lu Zhizhou suggested they have lunch in the sunroom in the garden, a proposal unanimously agreed upon by the other two.
Hotpot often symbolizes liveliness and warmth. Even with the taciturn Qi Jingchuan among them, the meal was filled with lively chatter.
“Wow! Jingchuan, you’ve really grown these flowers well!” Lu Zhizhou admired the vast array of blooms in the sunroom.
Qi Jingchuan loved flowers and plants. In his spare time, he would tend to these plants in the sunroom.
Although eating hotpot surrounded by flowers seemed incongruous, at their age, everything these young boys and girls did appeared pleasing to the eye.
The hotpot was paired with orange shaved ice prepared by Li Ran for everyone. The smooth shaved ice combined with chewy fruit flesh was especially effective in soothing the spiciness, the refreshing fragrance of oranges rushing straight to the mind.
“Xiao Ran, why don’t you open a restaurant in the future? We brothers promise to treat it as our canteen every day!” Lu Zhizhou exclaimed between bites.
“I don’t want that. Hobbies should remain hobbies. If it becomes a profession, I won’t like it anymore,” Li Ran shook her head firmly.
Qi Jingchuan faintly curved the corners of his lips. Li Ran’s cooking was indeed delicious, and only when eating her food would he eat until slightly full.
After finishing the hotpot, the three sat on the recliners in the sunroom.
Li Ran looked up at the raindrops falling on the glass, lost in thought.
Qi Jingchuan sat on Li Ran’s left side, Lu Zhizhou on her right.
Just as she was drifting into drowsiness, Qi Jingchuan’s deep and cool voice came from beside her ear.
“Xiao Ran, I’ve investigated. The appearance of that child in your family was very sudden. Some time ago, she directly ran to the Li Group building and coincidentally was seen by Uncle Li’s Secretary.
Her adoptive parents’ deaths were also very sudden. Do you think such coincidences really exist in the world?”
Li Ran’s voice was soft, as if she were about to fall asleep.
“Jingchuan Gege, what does it matter whether things are coincidental or not? Regardless, she is indeed the child who was switched with me at birth. She carries the Li family blood in her veins.”
No matter how she was recognized, the fact that she is our parents’ biological daughter is already set in stone, something none of us can change.
Even if Mom and Dad still love me, I have gone from being their daughter to being their adopted daughter.
She sat downstairs at the Li Group building—wasn’t it just to make sure everyone knew about this? Your family, Zhizhou Gege’s family, even all the major and minor families in Jingcheng—they must all know by now that I’m just a pheasant, right?
A pheasant can never become a phoenix.”
Qi Jingchuan lowered his gaze slightly. “Don’t talk nonsense. You don’t need to worry about these things. Just focus on being yourself. We’ll deal with the rest later.”
Li Ran gave a soft hum in response and closed her eyes.
She listened to the steady breathing of the two beside her, the sound of raindrops tapping against the glass, and the fragrance of flowers filling the room enveloped her senses.
At this moment, Li Ran felt completely relaxed—perhaps even the most relaxed she had been since her Rebirth.
In her previous life, she had lived willfully and unrestrainedly. Just before her Rebirth, she had overheard Father Li and Mother Li expressing their hopes for her to change her temperament.
That was why, in this life, she had been pretending to be this delicate, fragile little flower. After pretending for so long, she had even begun to grow accustomed to this persona.
And precisely because of this change, her life had taken a vastly different path compared to her previous life.
For instance, she had made many friends. For instance, she felt that many things had become simpler. For instance, these two childhood friends by her side.
Why hadn’t she noticed them in her previous life? What were they doing at this time back then? Li Ran wondered.
In a daze, she drifted off to sleep. When she woke again, the rain had stopped, the sun was setting, and the two beside her were gone.
“Hmm, did I sleep that long?” Li Ran rubbed her sleepy eyes, put on her shoes, and left the sunroom.
The two boys in the living room were sitting on the sofa playing video games. Qi Jingchuan, seeing the girl walking in unsteadily, set down his controller.
“Xiao Ran, you’re awake?” Qi Jingchuan asked.
“My dear girl, you really can sleep! You slept for a full five or six hours—will you even be able to sleep tonight?” Lu Zhizhou grinned, looking at the still-groggy Li Ran.
Qi Jingchuan stood up and walked over to Li Ran, ruffling her hair, which had become messy from sleep.
“Uncle Li has called several times, asking where I took you. If you don’t go home soon, Uncle Li will come looking for you.”
Li Ran yawned and looked up softly at the tall boy before her.
“Jingchuan Gege, the sun is already setting? I haven’t slept this well in so long. I really love your sunroom! I should head home now—Mom and Dad are probably getting worried.”
Li Ran smoothed out her long, dark, glossy hair, picked up her backpack, and headed toward the door.
Qi Jingchuan grabbed her backpack. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.”
“Hey, hey, wait for me! Don’t leave me behind!” Lu Zhizhou tried to follow, but Qi Jingchuan stopped him—he wanted to spend some time alone with Li Ran.
“Don’t bother. I’ll be right back after I take Xiao Ran home.”
The glow of the setting sun bathed the two of them. Qi Jingchuan stood twenty centimeters taller than Li Ran, and together they looked harmonious and beautiful.
Qi Jingchuan wasn’t much of a talker, and Li Ran, having just woken up, was still somewhat listless. The two walked back to the Li family villa in silence.
“Xiao Ran, focus on your studies and don’t overthink other things. Your happiness is what matters most. If anything comes up, just talk to me.”
Li Ran obediently nodded and waved goodbye to Qi Jingchuan.
Only after Li Ran had entered the gate did Qi Jingchuan turn and leave.