After entering high school, Li Ran developed a hobby she hadn’t had in her previous life.
That was writing novels. She particularly loved how characters came to life under her pen.
Last year, she secretly used Li Qing’s ID card to register on the nation’s largest online literature platform and started writing.
Previously, her stories didn’t attract many readers—not because her writing was poor, but because there were too many established authors on the site, making it difficult for newcomers to be noticed.
Somehow, her novel suddenly received an enormous tip, catapulting her to first place on the Newcomer Potential Ranking.
She remained on the ranking for a full month before dropping off. It was during this month that readers on the platform discovered her and her work.
Though she didn’t know who had tipped her so generously, Li Ran was still very grateful.
She privately contacted the platform administrators, hoping to return the money to the generous tipper, but never received their consent.
Li Ran wasn’t short on money. Whether it was the Li family’s wealth or her own savings, she had enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life.
However, one must always find some hobbies in life.
After finishing her daily word count, Li Ran rubbed her eyes and collapsed onto her soft bed.
Her phone on the nightstand had been blinking for a while, as if protesting its neglectful owner.
Li Ran picked up her phone and saw dozens of unread messages on WeChat. Curious, she opened them.
As expected, they were from Qi Jingchuan and Lu Zhizhou, though most were sent by the chatterbox Lu Zhizhou. Qi Jingchuan had only sent a few short voice messages.
Qi Jingchuan and Lu Zhizhou were Li Ran’s childhood friends. The three had grown up together, attending the same kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and now high school.
However, Qi Jingchuan was a year older than the other two, so he was always one grade ahead.
Li Ran tapped on Qi Jingchuan’s voice messages.
“Xiao Ran, how are you? Are you okay?”
“Don’t force yourself. If there’s anything, tell me.”
“Can we still go out tomorrow? If not, it’s okay.”
“Xiao Ran, don’t be afraid. I’ll always stand by your side.”
Qi Jingchuan had just passed his voice-changing period. His voice hovered between that of a boy and a young man, a low, captivating tone like fine red wine.
Li Ran swallowed hard. She was a complete sucker for nice voices. Every time she heard Qi Jingchuan’s voice, she felt her heart flutter.
In her previous life, she had also grown up with these two, but due to her spoiled and willful nature back then, her relationship with Qi Jingchuan had been merely superficial.
After some thought, she called Qi Jingchuan.
Qi Jingchuan seemed to have been waiting by his phone, as he answered almost immediately.
“Hello? Jingchuan Gege, do you know? Does everyone know?” Li Ran’s voice sounded somewhat downcast.
There was a sound of a chair moving on Qi Jingchuan’s end. “Yes, but it’s okay. Don’t worry about it, Xiao Ran.”
“Jingchuan Gege, how can I not worry? I’ve been pretending all day not to care. I never imagined I wasn’t my parents’ biological daughter.”
“I always feel like I’m living under someone else’s roof these days. Mom and Dad keep telling me not to think too much about it, that I’ll always be the little princess of the Li family. But can you understand how I feel? Can you really understand?”
Qi Jingchuan listened to the girl’s voice on the other end of the phone, soft and gentle, as if soothing his restless mood.
“Xiao Ran, don’t overthink it. What belongs to you, no one can ever take away.” The emotions swirling in Qi Jingchuan’s eyes seemed particularly intense.
Li Ran teased, “Jingchuan Gege! Have you forgotten something? It’s me who took someone else’s things, not the other way around, hahaha!”
She laughed so hard she fell back onto the bed. Qi Jingchuan’s serious tone when he said those words was really adorable.
On the other end of the phone, Qi Jingchuan paused for a moment, his cool voice sounding a bit gentler.
“Mhm, no matter what, you’ll always be Li Ran. Go to sleep now, be good. See you tomorrow.”
Qi Jingchuan left Li Ran with a sentence she didn’t quite understand before hanging up.
“I’ll always be Li Ran—isn’t that obvious? Who else could I be if not Li Ran?”
At this moment, Li Ran had no way of realizing just how much weight Qi Jingchuan’s words carried, but she would come to understand one day.
Early the next morning, while Li Ran was still asleep, her door was knocked on by Mother Li.
“Xiao Ran, time to get up. Jingchuan and Zhizhou are already waiting for you downstairs. Hurry up and come down.”
Li Ran opened her sleepy eyes and picked up her phone to check the time.
“Eight o’clock! It’s only eight! Why did those two come so early? Can’t they let a person sleep in?”
Grumbling, Li Ran got up, washed up, chose a soft pink dress to wear, and headed downstairs.
In the living room, Qi Jingchuan and Lu Zhizhou were sitting on the sofa.
On the adjacent sofa sat Li Xin, also wearing a pink dress, though it was unclear what she was saying to the other two.
Both Qi Jingchuan and Lu Zhizhou were intently focused on their phones.
“Ahem!” Li Ran cleared her throat softly, and the three in the living room looked up at her.
Li Xin glanced at Li Ran’s outfit, which was the same as hers, and couldn’t help but compare.
Li Ran had fair skin, and the soft pink made her look even more delicate and adorable, radiating energy. As for herself…
“Jingchuan Gege, Zhizhou Gege, have you had breakfast yet? Let’s eat before we head out, okay?”
Li Ran led the two toward the dining room. Li Xin bit her lip and decided to go upstairs to change her clothes.
By the time she changed and came back downstairs, she happened to run into Li Ran and the other two, who were about to leave.
Her eyes flickered, and she pinched her throat, calling out to Li Ran while glancing at the other two from the corner of her eye.
“Sister, where are you going? Can I come along? I’m not very familiar with this area, and I don’t have any friends…”
Lu Zhizhou shuddered as if shaking off imaginary goosebumps, turned back, and said to her,
“Little sister, we don’t really like hanging out with people we don’t know well. You should stay home and play by yourself! We’re heading out now.”
Unwilling to give up, Li Xin continued, “Brother, we’ll get to know each other better after spending some time together…”
Before Lu Zhizhou could figure out what else to say, Qi Jingchuan cut him off.
“Let’s go, we’re going to be late.”
Lu Zhizhou shrugged at Li Xin and followed Qi Jingchuan and Li Ran out the door.
“Hey, Xiao Ran, did you cry yesterday? Ahahaha, tell your brother, did that girl bully you? If she did, I’ll get revenge for you!”
Lu Zhizhou quickened his pace to catch up with the two, wrapping an arm around Li Ran’s shoulder.
“Your Jingchuan Gege and I were so worried about you yesterday. Why did you run off like that?”
Li Ran pouted, “What do you mean run off? I didn’t.”