Chapter 32

◎ I will always treat you well. ◎

The moment Shen Suhui crashed into her; Yu Ran felt a momentary daze. It was as though she had collided with another world—beautiful, illusory, unreal.

The person in her arms felt soft and holding her was comfortable. Yu Ran closed her eyes, savoring the scent of Shen Suhui’s body. But Shen Suhui seemed to realize something and slowly pushed her away.

“Why are you so hot? Are you running a fever?”

Shen Suhui urgently reached out to touch Yu Ran’s forehead, repeating, “You’re really hot! What’s going on?”

Yu Ran didn’t respond. She simply looked at Shen Suhui, watching her anxious expression. Shen Suhui didn’t waste any more time and immediately pulled her out.

“We need to go to the hospital; you can’t keep burning like this!”

“Wait!” Yu Ran suddenly remembered something. “Wait here for me. I need to grab something.”

“Okay.”

Yu Ran turned back into the house, took the MP3 from the rice bag. It had been there for almost twenty-four hours, so it should be ready.

But when she pressed the power button, there was still no reaction. In that moment, Yu Ran felt like the sky was falling…

“What’s wrong?”

Shen Suhui noticed something was wrong immediately. Yu Ran smiled at her and weakly shook her head.

The two got into the car, and Shen Suhui didn’t ask any more questions, speeding toward the nearby clinic. Yu Ran remained silent the entire way, tightly clutching something in her hand.

“Your face looks really bad, Yu Ran. I’m really worried.”

At a red light, Shen Suhui stopped the car and looked at Yu Ran’s profile.

Yu Ran gently touched her hand and smiled at her.

“It’s nothing. I’ve just been sick all day, so I didn’t see your messages.”

“…”

Shen Suhui didn’t say anything, but there were many questions in her mind. Hadn’t anyone noticed Yu Ran had been running a fever all day?

Once they arrived at the clinic, Yu Ran needed an IV. Shen Suhui sat by her side, quietly keeping her company.

“I saw you holding something in your hand earlier. Can you tell me what it is?” Shen Suhui smiled and leaned in; her expression friendly.

Yu Ran had no intention of hiding it. She opened her hand and showed her the MP3.

“This.”

“Hmm.”

Yu Ran explained, “I didn’t take care of this MP3. Yesterday when I got home, I found that my parents had called Du Qiuyan. I swear I didn’t know. After I took a shower, I found that she had entered my room without permission and was playing with the MP3.”

“We argued, and she threw it into the swimming pool downstairs…” Yu Ran couldn’t help but look at Shen Suhui. Her expression was filled with guilt.

“After I retrieved it, I tried a series of methods to fix it, but it was broken. It just won’t turn on.”

“…”

After hearing this, Shen Suhui fell silent. Yu Ran wondered if she was angry. After all, this MP3 had been her whole youth, and it meant a lot to her. Shen Suhui’s expression seemed hurt, but Yu Ran couldn’t tell if it was regret or concern.

“I… I’m sorry…”

Seeing her silent, Yu Ran could only say these three words.

“Yu Ran,” Shen Suhui’s tone became serious. “So you jumped into the swimming pool to get this MP3, which led to you getting sick and feverish, is that right?”

“…”

Yu Ran met her gaze, and it seemed like Shen Suhui’s focus was different from hers.

“This MP3 has accompanied me throughout my youth, but… it’s nothing compared to you.”

Shen Suhui took the MP3 from her hand and inspected it. Her cheeks flushed, and her tone softened.

“Nothing is more important than you.”

As she said this, Shen Suhui was about to toss it in the trash. In truth, the MP3 wasn’t that important. Back in high school, she had no other choice; she liked listening to music but didn’t have the money or time for other entertainment options.

The MP3 contained a bunch of naive songs, and during breaks, Shen Suhui would sit at her desk or stand in the corridor, reading and listening to music. Occasionally, she would hear a song by Sun Yanzi and see Yu Ran walking by.

She would hide in a small corner, secretly admiring the one she had a crush on, cherishing her entire youth.

Yu Ran grabbed her wrist to prevent her from throwing it away.

“If you think it’s useless, you can give it to me. I want to preserve it well.”

Since she never went through Shen Suhui’s youth, Yu Ran certainly couldn’t miss out on these things that were so important to Shen Suhui. After all, it was one of the things that connected her to high school-era Shen Suhui.

“I’ll try my best to fix it. Even if I can’t, I’ll cherish it for a lifetime.”

“Yu Ran…”

Shen Suhui’s voice trembled. She had originally thought that now might be the perfect time to reunite with Yu Ran. She was grateful that they had found each other now, but at the same time, she felt a sense of regret. If she had gathered the courage to get to know Yu Ran in high school and become friends, maybe they wouldn’t have wasted so much time. Couldn’t they make up for the lost time?

“Shen Suhui, do you know?” At that moment, Yu Ran spoke up. “I really regret it. I regret it so, so much…”

“Regret what?”

“Regret the years with Du Qiuyan.”

Yu Ran looked at Shen Suhui sincerely. Her eyes never lied, not since she was a child.

“After the breakup, I originally thought that not denying the relationship meant not regretting it. At first, I really didn’t blame her. But now, I suddenly realize that I really hate her. I hate her so much that I keep asking myself, why did I ever like such a person…”

Yu Ran gripped the MP3 in her hand. “It all started from when she went crazy yesterday and casually threw my things away.”

“Let the past go.” Shen Suhui comforted her.

The two of them held hands. Yu Ran looked into Shen Suhui’s eyes, her eyes moist and shimmering under the warm yellow light.

Shen Suhui smiled. “Don’t think about it anymore, okay? We need to look forward!”

Yu Ran was moved by her strength and sincerity. She couldn’t help but lean in, wanting to kiss Shen Suhui’s face.

“No!”

Shen Suhui didn’t push her away but asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I have a cold. I can’t touch you.”

Shen Suhui smiled. “I’m very healthy!”

“Still not okay!”

“Alright!” Shen Suhui held Yu Ran’s arm that wasn’t on an IV drip and swayed her foot. “Then you’ll have to bear it~”

Yu Ran turned her head and couldn’t help but kiss her hair.

“Yu Ran.”

“Hmm?”

Shen Suhui suddenly asked, “If I hadn’t called you, what would have happened with your fever? Would you have just waited until tomorrow morning?”

“Maybe,” Yu Ran replied casually. “Because I work out, my body is in good shape. I didn’t take medicine when I had a fever before. I just drank hot water, slept it off, and the next day, I was fine. You don’t need to worry.”

“So, you’ve been this way since you were young?”

“…”

Yu Ran’s smile froze on her face, and then her expression turned cold.

“What’s wrong with that?”

No matter how long she stayed at home, if she had a fever, her parents wouldn’t notice. Today, after sleeping all day, Zhong Wanli only came upstairs to call her when Jiang Shiluo arrived but didn’t find anything unusual.

If Yu Ran had spoken up and said she was sick, Mrs. Zhong would definitely have shown concern, taken her to the doctor, acting like a good mother.

But unfortunately, Yu Ran wouldn’t speak up.

She didn’t proactively seek her parents’ love.

Shen Suhui felt deeply distressed. It turned out that her distant idol from her youth, who had seemed so untouchable, had moments when she wasn’t valued. She had always thought that someone as excellent, sunny, and free as Yu Ran would have been surrounded by people who loved her.

Shen Suhui, who had been caught in the rain herself, now wanted to shield Yu Ran for a lifetime.

Shen Suhui held Yu Ran’s hand tightly.

“Don’t worry, Yu Ran. I will treat you well for the rest of my life.”

“Only you, the best for you.”

Shen Suhui’s smile was beautiful and sweet. She was both comforting Yu Ran and speaking the truth.

In her heart, Yu Ran was more important than her own life.

Yu Ran stared at her face, suddenly pressed her hand to the back of Shen Suhui’s neck, leaned in, and pressed her forehead against Shen Suhui’s. Then, she kissed the tip of Shen Suhui’s nose.

“Thank you,” Yu Ran smiled. “I will repay you with my whole life.”

After the IV drip, Yu Ran felt much better. The doctor prescribed medicine, and Shen Suhui took her home.

As soon as the door opened, Lucky jumped down from the cat tree and ran to Yu Ran’s feet. Yu Ran bent down and picked her up.

Lucky meowed, rubbed her neck, and began licking her face.

“I told you Lucky missed you a lot,” Shen Suhui kissed Yu Ran on the cheek. “How about we make some porridge for dinner? Is that okay?”

Yu Ran smiled and said, “I love everything you make.”

Shen Suhui went to the kitchen. Yu Ran turned on the TV and began trimming Lucky’s nails. She randomly selected a movie channel, and by coincidence, Du Qiuyan’s famous movie was playing. Yu Ran turned it off coldly.

Shen Suhui heard the noise and poked her head out from the kitchen.

“You’re so fierce~”

Yu Ran hugged Lucky and waved her claws at Shen Suhui, making a fierce gesture.

–

Meanwhile, in the Du family villa, Du Qiuyan sat on the sofa, alone in the large house. The table was filled with wine bottles, and the floor was covered with broken pieces, all of which she had drunk through in one night.

She swirled her wine glass and tilted her head to take a drink.

A phone call came in, and Du Qiuyan pressed the answer button.

“Did you find anything?”

“Yes, I found it. The information has been sent to your email.”

Du Qiuyan hung up the phone, opened her laptop, and realized her wine bottle was empty. She stood up and opened another bottle.

The document detailed Shen Suhui’s life, her family relationships, academic records, entrepreneurial background, and some recent photos.

Including photos of Shen Suhui hugging and kissing Yu Ran.

“How ordinary a person,” Du Qiuyan muttered. “No capability, no background. Yu Ran’s taste really keeps getting worse…”

Du Qiuyan went mad, directly drinking half the bottle in one go.

She laughed, “Why should such an ordinary woman be my opponent?!”

“Dammit! Why does this bitch think she has a right?!”

“Yu Ran, Yu Ran…”

“I will make you come back to me!”

Du Qiuyan, barefoot, paced around the living room, her mind filled with Yu Ran’s image. Yu Ran’s smile was so close, so real.

She didn’t believe it. She didn’t believe that Yu Ran could be so heartless.

She absolutely wouldn’t believe it!!!

Du Qiuyan dialed that number again.

“Keep an eye on Shen Suhui for me, especially her mother.”