Jing Li fell asleep on the chair. When she woke up, she saw Jing Ran busy in the kitchen.

“Hmm?” Jing Li stretched her arms and yawned.
Finding that Jing Ran was looking at her very unruly, she hurriedly lowered her hand to cover her mouth, pretending that the other party must have mistaken it.

Jing Ran seemed completely unconcerned and continued to work.

“What are you doing?” Jing Li stood up from the long chair, walked to the kitchen, and saw two large plates of pastries on the table, one with wife cakes and the other with almond cookies. Jing Ran was packing these pastries.

Jing Li approached, somewhat surprised, and asked, “So many?”

“Lili, have a piece while it’s hot!” Jing Ran said while packing.

“My hands are dirty.”

Jing Li showed Jing Ran her small hands. She had applied medicinal alcohol for a massage earlier and fell asleep without washing her hands.

Jing Ran picked up a wife cake and held it to her lips, feeding her.
Jing Li couldn’t help but take a bite. The wife cake was crispy on the outside and sweet and warm on the inside.

“It’s delicious!” Jing Li praised and then added, “It doesn’t seem as sweet as last week.”

The sweetness seemed to have been reduced by half this time.

Jing Ran explained, “Hmm, I’m taking some to the nursing home because some elderly people can’t eat overly sweet things.”

“Wow, you’re even going to the nursing home to deliver pastries.” Jing Li didn’t expect Jing Ran to be such a caring person, doing such good deeds.

Jing Ran scratched his mushroom head in embarrassment and explained, “They were all friends of my grandfather in the past. They now live in the nursing home, so I go to visit them.”

“Do you want to come too?” Jing Ran still held a wife cake near Jing Li’s mouth.

Jing Li took another bite of the cake and said, “Sure.”

After all, she had nothing else to do.

Jing Ran fed Jing Li a piece of the cake. When she took the last bite, Jing Li accidentally bit Jing Ran’s hand. With a mouthful of cake, she naturally said, “Sorry.”

“Why do you apologize?” Jing Ran could never understand why she would apologize. Last time, when she was watching TV at home and laughed so hard that she spit out the fruit she was eating, he caught her vomit with his hand, and she also said sorry.

“Isn’t it appropriate to say sorry?” Jing Li didn’t think there was anything wrong. She caused trouble for others, so of course, she should apologize. It’s normal, right?

Jing Ran licked his finger, removing the sweetness from holding the wife cake just now.

“You…” Jing Li didn’t know what to say.

He actually licked his finger. The point is, she accidentally touched his thumb with her teeth, causing a slight friction.

This…

…Is this considered an indirect kiss?

Jing Ran had a look as if he was about to give a big lecture: “Don’t TV dramas say that couples don’t need to say sorry to each other? Lili, you don’t have to say sorry to me at any time.”
“What kind of TV dramas are you watching?” Jing Li was a bit curious. The top student also watches TV dramas, learning such outdated plotlines?

“Lavender, Meteor Garden, Blue Love and Death…”

Jing Li’s mouth twitched slightly. It sounded like idol dramas from many years ago.

Jing Li asked again, “Are there others?”

“After I started elementary school, my grandma said I had grown up and shouldn’t watch TV anymore, so I stopped.”

No wonder Jing Li noticed that whenever she watched TV, Jing Ran would do something else and not watch TV.

Jing Ran has already packed the pastry from Xinrong Bakery into pastry boxes. One box contains a dozen, and there are a total of ten boxes. He put 5 boxes of pastry into each of the two sturdy plastic bags.

The nursing home was near the bakery. Jing Rang and Jing Li unlocked the shared bicycles with their phones and rode to the nursing home. It took about 10 minutes to arrive at the Lixi District nursing home.

The weather today was very good, clear and warm, with a refreshing spring breeze. Many elderly people moved their chairs to sit in the nursing home’s courtyard to bask in the sun, and a few caregivers were airing out blankets.

“Auntie Cui.”

Jing Ran brought Jing Li to the side of a middle-aged woman dressed more professionally.

Auntie Cui was chatting with a few elderly people. When she saw Jing Ran, she smiled and greeted him, “Ranran, you’re here?”

“Auntie Cui, these pastries are for the elderly and caregivers to enjoy.” Jing Ran took out a box from the plastic bag and handed the rest of the pastries to Auntie Cui.

“Ranran, you’re always so thoughtful, bringing so many things every time you come.”

Jing Ran felt a little embarrassed and said, “I’m just bored, so I made them.”

Auntie Cui noticed that there was a little and lovely girl standing next to Jing Ran and asked, “Who is this? Your sister?”

Jing Ran introduced, “She’s my girlfriend, her name is Lilli.”

Jing Li followed Jing Ran and said, “Hello Auntie Cui.”

“The little girl is really polite.” Auntie Cui asked Jing Ran, “Is she your classmate?”

“Yes.”

Auntie Cui smiled and said to Jing Li, “Lili, you have a good eye for choosing Ranran as your boyfriend. Ranran is a rare good man. The elderly people in the nursing home all like him and want to introduce their granddaughters to him. You’re really lucky.”

Jing Li didn’t know how to respond, so she just smiled faintly.

“Oh dear, Ranran has a girlfriend?” exclaimed the mother-in-law beside her, saying, “Didn’t we agree to wait for my granddaughter to grow up? My granddaughter still has two more years until she graduates from high school.”

“Grandma Ming, I never promised that,” Jing Ran quickly explained to Jing Li, “Lili, I never promised to wait for Grandma Ming’s granddaughter, you have to believe me!”

Jing Li laughed and cried at the same time: “…”

Aunt Cui is the director of the nursing home, holding the pastries Jing Ran brought and sharing them with the elderly in the facility.

Jing Ran chatted with a few mother-in-laws about daily life, and the elderly gossiped and asked, “Ranran, when will you treat us to wedding candies?”

Jing Ran blushed and looked down at Jing Li.

Jing Li didn’t know how to respond to this question, her face turning similar to Jing Ran’s, with rosy cheeks like ripe peaches that tempted teasing.

The mother-in-laws burst into laughter, and Grandma Ming said, “Oh my, it’s rare to see young people so shy these days.”

“Grandma Ming, Lili and I are going to visit Grandpa Guo, let’s talk next time.”

After saying that, Jing Ran held a box of pastries in one hand and pulled Jing Li to go inside the nursing home.

“Who else do we need to visit?” Jing Li asked.

“My grandfather’s good friend, called Grandpa Guo.”

Jing Li didn’t want to encounter any pressure for marriage later, so she didn’t really want to meet that Grandpa Guo: “Ranran, can you go by yourself? I’ll wait here.”

Jing Ran asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…” Jing Li felt that Jing Ran was being a bit dramatic. He introduced her to people he knew, but she didn’t expect to stay with him for long. What if they broke up? What would Jing Ran do?

Jing Ran could tell that she was feeling a bit down, thinking that maybe she didn’t like the nursing home. Well, it made sense. Jing Li, a girl who loved beauty so much, wouldn’t enjoy being in a nursing home like this. It was just an ordinary and somewhat outdated nursing home in the community. Due to insufficient funding, the facility looked a bit run-down and hadn’t been renovated in over ten or twenty years. The place had a strong smell of old people, and some rooms emitted an unpleasant odor that was hard to bear.

“Lili, why don’t you wait for me in the courtyard? I’ll go check on Grandpa Guo and be back soon.”

“Okay.” Jing Li breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that Jing Ran would go alone. She really couldn’t stand being pressured about marriage.

Jing Ran continued to go upstairs, while Jing Li walked out of the nursing home building and found a secluded spot in the courtyard. She sat by the flower bed, enjoying the sun and playing games on her phone.

Jing Li didn’t even know how many rounds of the matching game she had played until her phone’s battery level dropped below 20%. She exited the game, checked the time, and realized that another hour had passed. Jing Ran said he would go check on something, it had been an hour, but he hadn’t come down yet.

She had initially planned to use the remaining battery to call Jing Ran and urge him to come back quickly. After all, the sun was almost setting, and it was getting late.

“Lili, are you waiting for Ranran?”

Jing Li looked up, and Aunt Cui suddenly appeared in front of her. She nodded, “Yes.”

“He’s probably playing chess with Uncle Guo.”

Jing Li was a little angry when she heard Aunt Cui say that Jing Ran was playing chess with others. She had been waiting for him here for so long, but he actually played chess with others.

“Ranran is really a good child. There aren’t many children like him anymore.”

“Huh?”

Does a good child forget his girlfriend?

“Uncle Guo has been suffering from Alzheimer’s for several years. No matter how heavy his studies are, Ranran still insists on taking the time to visit Uncle Guo every month. This child is really filial.”

“Uncle Guo and Uncle Rong have been brothers since childhood. You should know that Uncle Rong is Ranran’s grandfather.”

Jing Li nodded.

“Uncle Guo is an old bachelor, and Uncle Rong is his only friend. Since Uncle Rong passed away, Uncle Guo has been so devastated that he soon developed Alzheimer’s and forgot many people. But he hasn’t forgotten Uncle Rong, he always mistakes Ranran for Uncle Rong, and whenever Ranran visits him, he asks Ranran to play chess.”

“Now Uncle Guo is also old, his health is very poor, and the doctor says he may not live past this year…”

Auntie Cui talked a lot about Uncle Guo and Jing Ran, and Jing Li felt a little uncomfortable listening to it.

She heard that Grandpa Guo used to dote on Jing Ran a lot, so now that Jing Ran has grown up, he has been taking care of Grandpa Guo. Jing Ran pays for Grandpa Guo’s stay at the nursing home, and he earns this money by working at his grandmother’s bakery on weekends.

She remembered the slight disappointment in Jing Ran when he went upstairs just now. He was probably thinking that Grandpa Guo didn’t have much time left, and he wanted to introduce his girlfriend to him, so that Grandpa Guo could leave peacefully.

However, he didn’t tell her, and she didn’t go with him.

*
Jing Ran and Grandpa Guo were playing chess in the room on the fourth floor. Jing Li walked to the door of the room and shouted, “Ranran.”

Grandpa Guo looked up at the door, and outside stood a charming young woman who smiled and he said to Jing Ran, “Ah Rong, your wife is calling you home for dinner.”

“Grandpa Guo, this is my girlfriend, her name is Lili.” Jing Li had already walked to Jing Ran’s side, and Jing Ran held her hand, introducing her.

Jing Li politely greeted, “Hello, Grandpa Guo.”

“Ah Rong, you’ve gone bad. You already have a wife and son, yet you still have a girlfriend.” Grandpa Guo leaned close to Jing Ran’s ear and smirked, saying, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Ah Xin. After all, we’re good brothers.”

Grandpa Guo suffered from Alzheimer’s, and even if you explained it to him, he wouldn’t understand. Jing Ran had no choice but to go along with him and said, “Thank you for not exposing me.”

Jing Ran stood up and said, “It’s getting late, I need to go back and cook for Lili.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

“Goodbye, Grandpa Guo.” Jing Li bid farewell to Grandpa Guo.

“You two better leave quickly, or Ah Xin will discover your affair, and I won’t be able to help you then.”

Jing Ran, Jing Li: “…”

When going downstairs, Jing Ran asked, “Why did you come up?”

“I waited for you for too long, so I came up to find you,” Jing Li replied.

Jing Ran responded casually, “Oh.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that you wanted to introduce me to Grandpa because he is about to leave?” Jing Li could tell that Jing Ran had this intention, but he didn’t insist on it.

Oh, no, he is actually very persistent about many things and ideas. However, as long as Jing Li says she doesn’t like or doesn’t want to, he compromises. He would make some requests to Jing Li, and if she disagrees, he would not force her to agree, completely respecting her thoughts.

Like when she just said she didn’t want to see Grandpa, he had to give up on the idea.

Jing Ran honestly replied, “I thought you didn’t like the old-fashioned smell of the ‘Respect for the Elderly’ building. There always seems to be a strange smell here, and it just won’t go away.”
Upon hearing his response, Jing Li felt somewhat angry, “So, you think I’m superficial?”

Jing Ran is not very eloquent and tends to be straightforward, easily offending people. Now he accidentally made Jing Li angry and didn’t know how to appease her.
Seeing Jing Ran’s troubled expression, Jing Li felt that she shouldn’t argue with him.

After all, she was not really a good person, she even deceived Jing Ran’s feelings.

She suddenly felt that she was despicable, to deceive someone as good as Jing Ran!

It was simply too wicked.

She shouldn’t have made a bet with Lin Suirong, let alone involve Jing Ran.

It was because of her twisted mind that she accepted this kind of bet with Lin Suirong. At that time, she found Lin Suirong very annoying, and by accepting his bet, she thought she could get rid of this annoying person.

Unconsciously, she has been dating Jing Ran for three weeks, delving into his living environment and gradually understanding his temperament.

Jing Ran can be silly, sensitive, and even stubborn at times, but he is more sincere, caring, and responsible than anyone else. Moreover, he knows a lot of things, can take care of things, can fix things, and has good academic performance… in short, he has many, many advantages.
He is such a wonderful guy, and Jing Li feels unworthy of him.

Because she is not sincere at all, she is deceiving Jing Ran’s feelings.

For the first time in three weeks, she feels so guilty. She feels that she is hurting Jing Ran, never considering a future with him, yet giving him illusions.

Her unease, she doesn’t want to deceive Jing Ran anymore.

The two of them leave the nursing home, preparing to ride bicycles back to Grandma’s house.

“Jing Ran.”

Jing Li suddenly calls out to him seriously.
Jing Ran glances at her.

“Let’s break up.”

At the end of March, there is a slight chill in the spring breeze, but it is not as cold and piercing as February.

Jing Ran suddenly feels that this chill is very thorough.

Why didn’t he wear an extra jacket today?