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Chapter 18: Ordinary Shen Suhui
ᰔ “Did you… know about me since high school?” ᰔ
The room temperature continued to rise, nearly reaching its maximum.
Shen Suhui sat frozen on Yu Ran’s lap, increasingly uncomfortable.
Yu Ran’s hair and head rested on her shoulder, causing an uncomfortable itch that made her heart race.
“I… I’ll go take a shower first.”
“Mm?”
“I’ll go take a shower.”
Shen Suhui awkwardly got up from Yu Ran’s lap, grabbed some clothes, and hurried into the bathroom.
Yu Ran sat on the bed for a few seconds, then smiled.
Shen Suhui was just too cute!
When she came out, she found Yu Ran lying on the bed, flipping through her high school English notes. Shen Suhui felt a little embarrassed; English had always been her weakest subject.
“Go take a shower, I’ve already adjusted the water temperature for you…”
“Okay.” Yu Ran put the notebook down and asked, “But what should I wear tonight?”
“I have a set of thermal underwear, it’s pretty loose, you can wear it.”
Yu Ran worked out and was taller than her, so the clothes were a bit bigger.
“Okay.”
“I also have new underwear…”
“What size do you wear?” Yu Ran suddenly asked.
Shen Suhui’s face immediately turned red. “What?” but she knew exactly what Yu Ran meant.
Yu Ran grinned mischievously, glancing at Shen Suhui’s chest.
“Is it a D?”
Shen Suhui pouted and snorted. This was the first time she’d seen Yu Ran act so cheeky.
“…Mm.”
“Ah, how shameful,” Yu Ran clicked her tongue, grabbed some clothes to change into, and finally went into the bathroom.
While Yu Ran was showering, Shen Suhui felt too embarrassed to order takeout, so she rummaged through the vanity. Eventually, she found a bottle of Vaseline.
Normally, if an ambiguous person suddenly came over to stay the night, it would be partly for that reason.
If Yu Ran wanted that, Shen Suhui certainly wouldn’t refuse. Whatever Yu Ran wanted; she would give.
The sound of water from the bathroom was heard, and Yu Ran came out while drying her hair. She was very proper, wearing the pajamas and sleep pants that Shen Suhui had given her. The water dripping from her hair had dampened the collar of her clothes.
“What is this?”
She quickly noticed the newly placed Vaseline on the table.
Shen Suhui hastily explained, “It’s… it’s lip balm I got for you.”
“Really?”
Yu Ran was a bit suspicious, but she opened it and applied some to her lips.
“Peach flavor, hmm, I like it.”
“…I’m glad you like it.”
Yu Ran set the Vaseline down and walked over to Shen Suhui. Suddenly, she hooked her waist and leaned in close.
Shen Suhui tensed up and leaned back.
Yu Ran looked down, her gaze lingering on her lips, and Shen Suhui slowly closed her eyes.
For a moment, it felt as though the sound of her heartbeat filled the entire bedroom.
Yu Ran smiled at her expression, and just when Shen Suhui thought she was about to kiss her, Yu Ran shifted away, walking behind her.
“Where’s the hairdryer?”
“…” Shen Suhui awkwardly opened her eyes.
“It’s… I’ll get it for you!” She quickly left, almost as if escaping.
Yu Ran smiled, wiped her hair off casually, and stared at the medicine bottle and wind chimes on the windowsill in a daze.
Shen Suhui… she’s such a strange and interesting person.
That night, Yu Ran stayed in the guest room. In the hotel, she realized that her abrupt behavior had made Shen Suhui uncomfortable.
Even if Shen Suhui could accept it, Yu Ran felt she shouldn’t take advantage of the situation.
—-
The New Year arrived quickly.
Yu Ran and Jiang Shiluo were as busy as ever. Jiang Shiluo didn’t have time to pursue anyone, so she sent a bouquet of flowers every day.
Red roses, lilies, sunflowers…
They took turns.
Yu Ran had a headache, but finally, it was New Year’s Eve, and Jiang Shiluo’s gestures stopped.
On New Year’s Eve, Yu Ran rested. In the morning, she helped with the decorations and preparing the New Year’s goods at home when she received a message from Shen Suhui.
—-
Yu Ran was confused. Her brother was already in university, how could he be so ill that he needed his sister to take care of him for the entire winter break?
Yu Ran understood the sibling bond and didn’t say much more. She was truly grateful for Shen Suhui’s brother, even though they had never met.
During the New Year, the hospital was very busy, and whenever Yu Ran had time off, she used it to visit relatives and attend banquets.
The only thing that disturbed the peace was Shen Suhui.
Shen Suhui sent messages rarely, and after the first day of the new year, she stopped messaging altogether.
Moreover, Shen Suhui didn’t respond to any of Yu Ran’s messages, as if she had temporarily disappeared from the world.
Yu Ran started to get anxious and began calling. On the third day of the new year, just as she was preparing to go find Shen Suhui after work, she finally received a message from her.
Yu Ran was so angry she almost laughed.
She was very angry, very angry.
Should she give up?
Of course not. She only felt that Shen Suhui was insecure, timid, and inexplicable.
Inexplicably disappearing, inexplicably replying.
Yu Ran stared at these words in a daze.
She suddenly didn’t know how to reply.
She felt that Shen Suhui was pushing her away while also yearning for her to come closer.
Yu Ran moved her fingers and finally typed a message.
—-
The reply was silence.
Of course, there was no reply. Yu Ran thought Shen Suhui was quite composed.
She was extremely frustrated and wanted to drink herself into a stupor, just as she received a call from Lu Youshan. Coincidentally, Lu Youshan invited her to meet at a bar.
“I called most of my friends, and no one was willing to come out. I didn’t expect you to come and keep me company.”
“Did you break up?” Yu Ran asked casually as she sat down.
“Yo, look at your face. You don’t look any better than me. I think you’re the one who’s heartbroken,” Lu Yushan replied.
“Why did you decide to come out for a drink today?” Yu Ran asked.
“New Zealand is in the middle of summer…” Lu Yushan suddenly mentioned.
“What’s wrong?” Yu Ran smiled. “I didn’t expect the fearless Lu Yushan to get so pessimistic.”
Lu Yushan scratched her head. “Yu Ran, do you know what it’s like to have a crush on someone? It’s like two ants crawling and living in your heart, reproducing. At first, you don’t feel much, just occasionally a tingling sensation. But as time goes on, more and more ants come, until they bite little holes in your heart. Eventually, those tiny holes become one big hole. By the time you realize it, it’s too late, and the pain is unbearable…”
“I also think I’m strong enough. I can go after her, even if she rejects me or if it’s not meant to be, it’s fine, but…”
“But what?”
“But yesterday I saw her on WeChat Moments, and I found a photo of her with another foreign woman! I’d rather she wasn’t like that; I can’t accept her being affectionate with someone else…”
“What photo?” Yu Ran narrowed her eyes. “I’ve been scrolling through Moments a lot these past couple of days, and I didn’t see Zhang Enlan post any photos like that…”
“What…”
Lu Yushan was dumbfounded, with tears still clinging to her eyelashes.
“President Lu, you’re falling apart over a photo? How did you even manage to get this far with the company…”
“I don’t believe it!” Lu Yushan quickly moved her chair next to Yu Ran. “Open your Moments, let me see!”
Yu Ran sighed helplessly and threw her phone to Lu Youshan.
“The password is 001231, look for yourself.”
Lu Yushan didn’t hesitate and went straight to her Moments, scrolling for a full half hour. In the end, even after going through the New Year’s posts, she still couldn’t find the one from Zhang Enlan.
“So…”
“So that post from Zhang Enlan is set to ‘Only Me,’ if you don’t believe it, you can have Jiang Shiluo check for you.”
“Damn!!!”
Lu Yushan slammed the table, and half the people in the bar looked over. Yu Ran lowered her head and took a sip of her drink, pretending to be a stranger.
“Zhang Enlan is trying to bait me!”
“…” I don’t know, I don’t know you.
“Do you think she’s secretly in love with me and is trying to test my feelings?”
“…”
Her voice grew louder as she got more excited, and Yu Ran started to understand her better.
“Think it over yourself,” Yu Ran said “Sometimes, you can tell when someone carefully keeps you in their heart…”
At this point, Yu Ran paused.
She thought of Shen Suhui.
An idea suddenly formed in her mind, and she couldn’t help but ask Lu Youshan.
“How much do you know about Shen Suhui?”
“Aren’t you supposed to ask Jiang Shiluo about that?”
“This round of drinks is on me.”
Lu Youshan rolled her eyes. “I’m not short of a few drinks.”
“If I hadn’t mentioned the WeChat Moments, you two would have missed each other by a long shot…”
Lu Yushan finally softened. “Why are you asking about her? But there’s one thing I’ve been curious about since high school. Now that you two are acquainted, I’ll tell you.”
“What?”
“Every time we go to find Jiang Shiluo, I always pay attention to the girls around her. She’s very plain, so plain that one glance and you wouldn’t remember her. Her clothes are old and ordinary, nothing that would make someone want to look twice…”
“Get to the point.”
“Why are you in such a rush?” Lu Yushan scolded before continuing, “But every time you’re there, she’ll secretly glance at you, very carefully, like she’s trying not to be noticed.”
“…”
“And whenever you talk to Jiang Shiluo, she’ll quickly look down. But at that time, you were so proud and didn’t bother to pay attention to someone so ordinary.”