“Ah, Zhizhou Gege, you wouldn’t understand. This matter isn’t as simple as you think.” Li Ran didn’t expect her simple-minded good friend to think too deeply about it.
Lu Zhizhou was born into a family of calligraphers and painters. His grandfather and father were both world-renowned calligraphers and painters.
Yet Lu Zhizhou was born with a restless personality. Making him sit at a desk practicing calligraphy for over ten hours was practically no different from asking for his life.
Hearing Li Ran’s words, Lu Zhizhou retorted disdainfully, “What don’t I understand? Do you think your family, who dotes on you so much, could just abandon you like that?
Blood ties are important, sure, but are the sixteen years you’ve spent day and night together all fake?
Not to mention Uncle Li and the others would never treat you any differently than before. Even if they really didn’t want you, my dad would be more than happy to take you home and raise you as his own daughter.
Look, Qi Jingchuan’s family doesn’t have a single girl in his generation. Uncle Qi and Grandpa Qi both adore you so much. If you went to their house, I bet they’d kick Qi Jingchuan out!”
Li Ran couldn’t help but chuckle at Lu Zhizhou’s words. “Alright, alright, Zhizhou Gege, I get what you mean. It’s not about how my parents will treat me afterward.
I just can’t accept this suddenly. I always feel like I’m living under someone else’s roof. Every time I see Li Xin, I feel inferior.”
Before she could finish speaking, a slender, elegant hand gently rested on Li Ran’s head and softly ruffled her hair.
“Xiao Ran, why don’t you come stay at my house for a while?”
Lu Zhizhou chimed in, “You can come to my house too! My little sister misses you so much. You can help me teach that little brat a lesson—she’s always picking fights with me!”
Li Ran shook her head faintly. “No need. I have to face this myself. Running away isn’t the solution. Besides…”
Li Ran trailed off, as if lost in thought. Lu Zhizhou couldn’t help but ask, “Besides what? Why did you stop halfway? Spit it out!”
Li Ran’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “Besides! I’m still a high school student! Studying comes first!”
“Tsk—” Seeing that Li Ran didn’t want to elaborate, Lu Zhizhou didn’t press further. Neither of them noticed Qi Jingchuan, who had been quietly watching them nearby, looking somewhat off.
As they talked, the three arrived at their Secret Base—a small villa owned by Qi Jingchuan. Usually, aside from the three of them, hardly anyone else came here.
The weather in May was already starting to heat up. The first thing Li Ran did after entering was turn on the air conditioner.
Lu Zhizhou took three bottles of chilled cola from the fridge and placed them on the table. Qi Jingchuan gently opened one and set it in front of Li Ran.
“Jingchuan Gege, the college entrance exam is next month. Are you ready?” Li Ran asked while sipping her iced cola.
At this, Lu Zhizhou grew exasperated. “Tell me, why would you insist on taking the exam yourself when you could’ve gotten a guaranteed admission? If I had that opportunity, I’d be laughing in my dreams.”
Qi Jingchuan curled his lips into a faint smile. “Isn’t life about experiencing things like this? Xiao Ran will also have a guaranteed admission opportunity. Why don’t you ask her what she’d choose?”
Suddenly put on the spot, Li Ran thought very seriously for a moment. “I want to take the college entrance exam too. With my academic performance, not taking it would be such a waste.”
“How unfair! I don’t want to talk to you two academic geniuses anymore!!”
Li Ran and Qi Jingchuan exchanged a knowing smile as they looked at Lu Zhizhou’s reaction.
“Jingchuan Gege, will you leave Jingcheng?”
Qi Jingchuan shook his head. He didn’t want to be too far away from Li Ran.
“No, I’ll be at the Business School of Jingcheng University.”
“Jingcheng University’s Business School! Then Jingchuan Gege will become my brother’s junior! Haha!” Li Ran suddenly felt a bit happy.
Lu Zhizhou, who had been sulking while playing on his phone, suddenly asked, “Business School? Didn’t you work things out with your old man? Didn’t you want to study medicine? Why are you still going to business school?”
Qi Jingchuan seemed lost in thought, the aluminum can in his hand creaking under his tight grip.
Li Ran leaned over and took the can from Qi Jingchuan’s hand.
“Jingchuan Gege, what’s wrong?” She sensed something was off about his mood.
“Nothing, really. I just suddenly don’t want to study medicine anymore. Business school is fine too.” He didn’t want to show his unhappiness to his friends.
The Qi family’s wealth even surpassed that of the Li family. As the eldest grandson of his generation and the most outstanding child, how much freedom did he really have?
Seeing Qi Jingchuan’s expression, Lu Zhizhou understood and moved closer, putting an arm around his shoulder.
“Don’t be upset. Anyway, I don’t have any dreams. I’ll study medicine for you. Next year, I’ll apply to Jingcheng University’s Medical School. See how good a brother I am to you!”
Li Ran couldn’t help laughing at this. “Haha! Zhizhou Gege, can you even hold a scalpel steady? That’s harder to handle than a paintbrush!”
Qi Jingchuan also set down the can and patted his good friend’s shoulder.
“You don’t have any dreams? Take this year to think about it carefully. You’re both in your second year of high school now—your parents won’t stop you from making your own choices.”
Dreams? Li Ran hadn’t really given it much thought. In this life, aside from writing and eating, she seemed indifferent to everything else.
Besides, with Li Qing shouldering the future of the Li family, Father Li and Mother Li wouldn’t force her to do anything. Could she really pursue further studies in writing?
Li Ran briefly considered the idea but quickly pushed it aside. For now, the most important thing for her was to focus on her studies.
The weather in early summer was as unpredictable as a child’s mood—one moment the sun was shining brightly, and the next, a downpour poured from the sky.
“Ah! It’s raining!” Li Ran stood by the window, looking outside.
“How about we make hotpot for lunch!” she suggested.
“Great idea! I agree! Eating hotpot with the air conditioning on in this weather is just perfect!” Lu Zhizhou was the first to voice his approval.
Even Qi Jingchuan, who wasn’t usually one for indulging in food, secretly swallowed his saliva. After all, Li Ran’s hotpot was truly delicious.
Once decided, the three of them quickly divided the tasks for making hotpot for lunch.
Lu Zhizhou was in charge of washing the vegetables, Qi Jingchuan handled the chopping, and Li Ran, of course, took on the most crucial part—stir-frying the base and preparing the dipping sauce!
All three of them loved spicy food, so their hotpot base was always a rich, spicy beef tallow broth.
Li Ran was an expert at stir-frying the base. It was spicy enough to tingle the lips but gentle on the stomach, offering the thrill of spice without harming the digestive system.
While she was stir-frying the base, the other two prepared the ingredients for the day.
Tripe, duck intestines, fish balls, shrimp paste, fatty beef, and various vegetables covered the entire table, waiting for Li Ran to take charge.