Chapter 87 - 75: I Also Want a Younger Sister
Su Ran patted Wenwen’s head and asked, "Which one do you want? I’ll cook it for you."
She would only let Su Ran do that. If anyone else touched her head, she would definitely have a fit.
"This one..." Wenwen said, sucking on a thick straw as she pointed to the plate of whiteleg shrimp.
Su Ran poured the shrimp into the hot pot to cook. Then, he found Wenwen’s dad in his contacts and gave him a call, telling him that Wenwen had run into them having dinner downstairs and that he’d bring her home after they ate.
Hmm, if it were any other boy, Wenwen’s dad might be worried. But with Su Ran, he was 120 percent at ease.
"Wenwen, your Brother Su Ran is so good to you," Yang Linlin said with envy.
Wenwen hummed in agreement, nibbling on the shrimp tails Su Ran had peeled for her, acting just like a docile little bunny.
In fact, after spending so much time together, it was natural for an older brother figure to take care of a younger sister figure, and Wenwen had grown used to it.
Yang Linlin and the other girls envied Wenwen for having an older brother figure to dote on her, while Guo Xiaofu and the boys envied their class president for having such a cute younger sister figure to dote on.
Su Ran peeled another shrimp tail for her and asked, "You said you were in the hospital for a week. What were you sick with?"
Wenwen swallowed and replied, "My stomach started hurting really bad in the middle of the night. It hurt so much I cried, so my dad took me to the hospital. They said it was food poisoning, so I stayed for a week."
"How did you get food poisoning? What did you eat?" Yang Linlin asked, surprised.
"I..." Wenwen hesitated, too embarrassed to speak. "I was experimenting with new recipes at home and ate some foods that shouldn’t be mixed. I basically poisoned myself."
Hearing this, everyone burst out laughing unsympathetically.
"So Wenwen is a little chef, huh?"
Su Ran shook his head and chuckled. "A little chef who specializes in disaster cooking."
"I don’t make disaster food! You’re so mean~" Wenwen said shyly, lightly hitting Su Ran.
Everyone: ...
That "You’re so mean~" completely flustered all the boys present. What tough guy’s heart could withstand a cute, whimpering little loli saying, "You’re so mean~"?
’Damn it,’ they thought. ’Were we just fooling ourselves when we asked the class president to share a regret?’
The guy had a little fangirl following him home from school every day. What regrets could he possibly have? Even years from now, looking back, Ning Wenwen would surely be an unforgettable, fleeting beauty from his high school days.
Guo Xiaofu raised his glass and said, "Class President, not only did you have good grades in high school and a ’sister’ like Wenwen, but you also had a bunch of girls chasing you. I have to toast to you for that."
"Wh-who were the girls chasing him?" Wenwen asked in a small voice.
"No one. I was just making it up." Guo Xiaofu got a kick from Yang Linlin under the table. She thought to herself that this kind of clueless straight-laced guy deserved to be single.
Su Ran said, "Kids should focus on their studies. Stop worrying about these things all day and put more effort into your schoolwork, understand?"
Ning Wenwen just said, "Oh," used to how Su Ran could turn any conversation into a lecture about ’focusing on her studies.’
The conversation shifted from Wenwen to the upcoming start of college. Almost everyone at the table was leaving in the next day or two for their respective universities, some in-province and some out-of-province. Their words were all filled with anticipation.
Su Ran was going to the in-province Ning University.
Anyang was a district-level city of the provincial capital, Jiangning, so it wasn’t far. With the new expressway, the trip was only 30 minutes.
The dinner was coming to an end.
Su Ran asked, "Are you full?"
Ning Wenwen hummed and patted her tummy. "I’m stuffed."
Su Ran chuckled. "Didn’t you say you had no appetite these last couple of days? Look at you, you went through a whole stack of plates."
"I..." The young girl’s face turned red. "Are you saying I eat too much?"
Yang Linlin teased, "It depends on the person. When Wenwen sees you, Class President, her appetite comes back, right Wenwen?"
"Of course not."
Su Ran smiled and got up to pay the bill. His classmates suggested splitting it, but Su Ran said he’d get it and they could pay next time.
Before he became a Divine Rich, Su Ran had been poor, but also rich.
He’d always had more money than his classmates.
He had earned quite a bit of money back when he was working at the bar—of course, it was "quite a bit of money" for a High School Student.
After paying, they left. Su Ran told his classmates they should all hang out again when they were back in Jiangning for the holidays.
The bond between old classmates from the same town didn’t need constant meetings to be maintained. Even if they didn’t see each other for a year or two, the old familiarity would return instantly the moment they met again.
Su Ran walked Ning Wenwen to the gate of her residential complex and reminded her, "I’m leaving for Jiangning tomorrow. If you need anything, just give me a call, okay?"
"Okay."
"Also, high school isn’t like middle school. This affects your future, so you have to work harder, you know?"
"Mhm."
"Also, your English is pretty terrible. Now that you’re in high school, you need to memorize more vocabulary and do more exercises. Otherwise, that class will drag you down, and it’ll be miserable."
"But my English is just so bad. I can’t learn it."
Ning Wenwen’s English was truly awful. Su Ran had even tutored her for free before, and it had nearly made him snap his pencil in frustration.
She couldn’t even get the verb "to be" right.
’It’s a verb. A VERB!~’
Su Ran propped his chin on his hand, looking at the dejected Wenwen.
Hmm... After thinking for a moment, he said, "As for English... you work hard, and if there’s anything you don’t understand, just video call me after school. I’ll teach you."
’Sigh... Looks like for the sake of this little sister’s future, I’ll have to go find an American girl to kiss, right?’
’First, I’ll perfect my American English, and then I can teach Wenwen properly.’
’Big brother is even willing to give up his chastity for your future.’
"Go on home now. Jiangning isn’t far from Anyang. I heard a teacher say, ’College is easy, you have free time every day.’ I’ll come back to visit you often."
"Okay. You go first. I’ll go home after I watch you leave."
"Alright. Taxi! I’m leaving. Bye."
"You—"
Ning Wenwen watched as Su Ran, with absolutely no pleasantries, ruthlessly hailed a taxi, which sped off with a roar of the engine, not even glancing back.
Ning Wenwen stomped her foot in frustration, wondering why he always seemed to be avoiding her at night.
「Linxi Village.」
「Mushroom House.」
[Spring has arrived, and all living things are reawakening. On the great grasslands, it is once again the mating season for the animals... The lioness in heat leaves her scent as a mark, and when the male lion smells this attractive signal, he knows which lioness it is... It is the law of nature: only the strong have the right to mate!]
It was the familiar voice of Zhao Zhongxiang. On the TV, a male lion was forcefully mounting a lioness. AWOO~ It was all over in a flash.
Su Ran was lounging on the sofa with his laptop, searching a real estate website with the keywords: [Jiangning, luxury residence, villa or multi-story house, with garden...]
Although Jiangning was a second-tier city with third-tier wages, its cost of living and housing prices were on par with a first-tier city.
Su Ran was someone who liked to enjoy life. He didn’t have money before, but he had still managed to turn the Mushroom House into his own version of an idyllic life.
Now that he was rich, he should enjoy the best material comforts life had to offer. Who wouldn’t want that?
Su Ran called Lin Che again to ask about his training camp, which was going well. He then asked him to send over the number of a real estate agent in Jiangning. Soon after, Lin Che sent a number with the note: [Miss Li].
Su Ran added the contact on Xunxin. The person accepted. Su Ran: [Hello, Lin Che recommended you to me (smile)]
The other person replied with a voice message: [Sorry, handsome. I’m married, I’m not in the business anymore. You should find one of the other girls.]
PFFT—
’The hell.’
Su Ran immediately called Lin Che. "My dear Brother Che, what the hell are you playing at? I asked you for an agent’s number, why did you send me the number for an escort?"
"Wrong number, wrong number! I’ll send you a new one."
"Forget it. You’re completely unreliable."
"By the way, if I make it to the next round here, our SJ Band is going to reunite for the public performance competition. You have to be there, you hear me?"
"Ugh... fine."
"That’s all. Hanging up."
After hanging up, Su Ran saw another message from Miss Li on Xunxin: [How much can you offer? If the price is right, I can come out. If there’s more than one person, that’s a different price. You should know how it works.]
’What the hell would I know?’ Su Ran thought. ’I’m still just a kid!’
Without another word, he just deleted the contact.
He continued browsing and jotted down a few promising residential complexes to go check out in person when he got to Jiangning tomorrow.
He closed his laptop, turned off the TV, and got into his big bed for his nightly send-off.
@Liu Jinyu, @Xiao Wanqing, @Xie Yiren, @Aina, @Ning Wenwen, @Young Master Shi Wushuang.
[Goodnight]