Chapter 12: Sugar Daddy

In the car.

Shi Ran’s face was flushed, and Lu Beiyuan sat beside her without saying a word. Just minutes ago, they had been sweetly kissing, but now the atmosphere in the car was awkwardly silent.

“Can you please stop picking me up? It’s too ostentatious.”

Lu Beiyuan’s gaze seemed to hold sharp blades. He clicked his teeth, not answering directly but sneering instead: “A boyfriend overseas, and a childhood sweetheart domestically, Shi Ran, you’re quite capable!”

“No, Lin Yue and I are just ordinary high school classmates.”

Lu Beiyuan was furious, each word gritted out between his teeth: “Ordinary? Ordinary enough to be a golden boy and girl? Ordinary enough that you bring him breakfast every day? Ordinary enough to stay out all night?”

Shi Ran was startled but couldn’t refute him. She did like Lin Yue; being with this man was out of necessity. If he wanted to be angry, let him be. What did it matter to her?

Thinking this, she ignored Lu Beiyuan.

However, this disregard completely enraged Lu Beiyuan. He grabbed her waist, pulling her onto his lap, and said through gritted teeth: “Good, you dare ignore me? Do you think I spoil you too much and can’t do anything to you?”

“Do you know how much you’ll depend on me in the future? Baby, you need to appease me, understand?”

Shi Ran still remained silent and unyielding. What dependence? Before him, I lived much better.

Seeing the girl’s lack of reaction, Lu Beiyuan sighed, concluding that Shi Yuan, that useless man, had protected her too well, making her oblivious to the ways of the world.

“Do you know that the woman your father is keeping outside has already reached out to your family’s company? Can you bear to watch your mother’s life’s work be taken by her rival?”

“Do you know how expensive your grandmother’s medicine is? If I’m in a bad mood one day and stop providing it, how long can you stay with her?”

“Ranran, let’s settle these accounts.”

After hearing these words, Shi Ran felt as if struck by lightning. She had been too willful, still acting like she could get away with her tantrums.

He was right; she would need to rely on him in the future, to reclaim her mother’s life’s work, to make the bad people pay, and for her grandmother – she wanted her grandmother to stay with her longer, much longer.

Shi Ran lightly kissed his cheek, softly coaxing him: “Okay, I’ve already said he’s just an ordinary friend. Even if there was something in the past, now that I’m with you, I’m your woman. Rest assured, I know what I should and shouldn’t do.”

Lu Beiyuan was pleased with Shi Ran’s initiative. He deepened the kiss, holding her wrist with one hand and reaching down with the other.

“Don’t…”

“Afei is in the front…”

Lu Beiyuan glanced at the driver’s seat; Afei indeed flinched in alarm.

He pressed a partition. “Now you can’t see.”

“You promised me!”

“Just a touch.”

•  

That day, Lin Yue messaged her, saying he had something to tell her the next day.

They met at the coffee shop by the west gate of the school.

The setting sun cast a honey-like glow through the coffee shop window, illuminating the face of the boy in a white shirt, creating the image of a sunny young man.

His expression was serious, as if he had spent a long time preparing himself for this decision.

Shi Ran felt nervous. This was the boy she had secretly admired in high school! Once, he had appeared so dazzlingly in her life, like a beam of light, illuminating her dark days and making them shine.

“Ranran, why are you dating Lu Beiyuan? Do you really like him?”

Shi Ran didn’t answer. How could she?

“Senior, did you call me because there’s something up with the club? Let’s get straight to the point; I’m a little busy later.”

Before, she could have spent any amount of time with the person she liked, but now, he remained a dazzling boy among the crowd, while she had fallen into the abyss, and there was no need to drag him down into this mire.

Lin Yue pursed his lips, still unable to speak. Originally, he had wanted to express his regrets from those three years and compete with Lu Beiyuan, but now, it seemed that speaking up might ruin even their friendship.

It was better to stay as they were now, able to chat, joke, and be in the same club.

Someone like Lu Beiyuan, so much older and more experienced, wouldn’t be a good match. Shi Ran and he would surely break up soon.

As long as he was willing to wait, Shi Ran would understand his true feelings.

“It’s about the club. The animation club is participating in an internet competition, with the theme of ‘Growing Up’. Other classmates are quite busy; they’re all in their third year, with important professional courses. So, Ranran, would you be willing to create a work with me?”

Shi Ran held up three fingers, smiling: “Of course! Senior, I’m also a member of the club, and I’ll definitely work hard. I promise not to hold you back!”

The girl’s smile revealed two shallow dimples, looking truly charming. Lin Yue naturally patted her head, saying indulgently: “You, just don’t cause trouble.”

They finalized the project timeline, setting it for Saturday afternoons.

Unbeknownst to them, someone stood outside the coffee shop, their face as dark as ink.

As Shi Ran and Lin Yue discussed the project’s direction, her phone rang. She looked at it; it was Lu Beiyuan.

She hesitated for two seconds, hung up, and then listened attentively to her senior’s suggestions.

Within two seconds, the phone rang persistently. Shi Ran had no choice but to answer.

“Where are you?”

“In class.”

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the man’s gritted voice: “Class? In a coffee shop? What kind of class is this?”

Shi Ran was completely dumbfounded. Looking outside, she saw the man in a black suit standing there, his posture straight, his entire being exuding a chilling aura.

“Get out!”

Shi Ran packed her things, said goodbye to Lin Yue, and hurried out. Judging by Lu Beiyuan’s voice and expression, he was truly angry this time.

And it didn’t feel like the kind that could be appeased with a little coaxing, like yesterday.

Once outside, she was pulled into the car.

He didn’t bring a driver; it seemed he had driven himself.

Shi Ran didn’t know that when he learned she was meeting Lin Yue, Lu Beiyuan had been so anxious that he had abruptly ended an important business meeting, rushed out of the conference room, and sped here at top speed.

As soon as they got in the car, it sped off, the surrounding scenery moving rapidly backward.

Shi Ran gripped the seatbelt tightly, feeling uneasy. She hadn’t spent much time with Lu Beiyuan and didn’t know how he would act when angry.

Her heart was in her throat; he was driving too fast! This wasn’t a racetrack! She was scared!

“Where are you taking me?”

“I’ll take you to see how other women serve their sugar daddies!”