A Troublesome Problem

During the day, Su Ran was getting ready to make lunch. Today was the weekend, and Jiang Yi was bustling around helping him. Ever since Ye Qiao arrived, the kitchen was no longer his alone. Usually, at this time, Ye Qiao would be the one assisting, but today, it was Jiang Yi’s turn.

Su Ran kept his head down, busily working and not initiating conversation. He only gave brief, indifferent replies when Jiang Yi spoke to him.

“Do you want it a bit sweeter? If you’d like, I can add some more sugar,” Jiang Yi asked gently, looking over at Su Ran.

“It’s all good,” Su Ran responded. Their roles had completely reversed; it used to be Jiang Yi who was the aloof one. Now, it was his turn.

“Alright,” Jiang Yi said.

The kitchen was quiet, filled only with the sounds of cooking. Jiang Yi occasionally tried to make conversation to avoid an awkward silence.

Just then, Jiang Yi’s phone rang. It was placed next to the chopping board. Su Ran glanced over instinctively and saw a familiar name on the screen: Zhou Luo.

Su Ran looked at Jiang Yi just as he swiftly picked up the phone and hung up.

There was a moment of awkward eye contact. Su Ran was much calmer now, though he still felt uncomfortable. “Why didn’t you take the call?” he asked.

Jiang Yi put away his phone and looked earnestly at Su Ran. “Zhou Luo has been fired by me. There’s no point in taking his calls anymore.”

Su Ran was momentarily shocked. Fired? He thought it would take a while, especially since Zhou Luo had been brought home openly not too long ago, seemingly in favor. It was unexpected that he’d be dismissed just like that. The plot was certainly moving faster now.

As a devoted husband, Su Ran couldn’t help but wonder, did Jiang Yi fire Zhou Luo because of their previous disagreements and suspicions?

However, Su Ran didn’t show much reaction, just a faint “Oh…” Then he said, “You go ahead, I’ll go rest in the room for a bit.”

“Okay, go rest,” Jiang Yi replied.

As Su Ran turned to leave, Jiang Yi watched his retreating figure, taking a deep breath with a touch of melancholy. Su Ran had changed a lot recently, and it was taking him some time to adjust. But he felt that his own attitude had been softening lately, which meant his efforts were somewhat effective.

Jiang Yi couldn’t help but smile faintly; the person who loved him so much couldn’t just change that easily.

Once back in his room, Su Ran opened the drawer of his bedside table and switched his phone to silent mode.

Recently, Lu Jin had been sending him messages constantly, about mundane everyday things. For instance, this morning started with:

“Are you up? I just woke up.”

“【Picture】Today’s breakfast, what did you eat this morning?”

“I’m heading out, going to the office.”

“【Video】It’s snowing outside, it’s cold. Wear more if you’re going out.”

“This year’s first snow, I’d like to meet up.”

“Can we meet tonight? I miss you.”

“…”

Su Ran felt a headache coming on. If Jiang Yi saw these, misunderstandings would be inevitable. If not for System 555 assuring him everything was normal, he might think Lu Jin truly liked him.

Rich people really do think differently. Instead of directly confronting Jiang Yi, Lu Jin was making his moves on him, taking such a roundabout path.

Su Ran replied, “I’m not going out today, staying home tonight.”

Not replying wasn’t an option; if too much time passed without a response, Lu Jin might just call, making things even more complicated.

Lu Jin replied quickly, “Why do you always stay home? Isn’t it nice to go out with me? Don’t you want to see me?”

Su Ran thought to himself, isn’t it normal for a homebody not to want to go out, let alone meet you?

“It’s not that, I’m just not feeling well today,” Su Ran replied.

There was a pause before Lu Jin responded, “You always say you’re not feeling well and can’t meet me. Are you lying to me? Also, why don’t you message me? I never know what you’re doing.”

Seeing the message, Su Ran’s scalp tingled. Lu Jin was starting to sound like they were in a relationship. Did he really need to be so realistic in his acting?

Su Ran didn’t respond directly, instead saying, “Can’t talk now, I’ve been called to lunch.”

After that, Su Ran put his phone back in the drawer.

Meanwhile, Lu Jin in his office looked somber and terrible. The subordinates who came to report to him were terrified.

When the secretary came in, he was also very nervous, cautiously reminding, “President Lu, it’s time for the meeting.”

Lu Jin, holding his phone, seemed to be lost in thought, not really present in the room.

“The meeting is canceled, reschedule it,” Lu Jin said.

The secretary quickly agreed and left the office as fast as he could.

Lu Jin couldn’t understand why; was it that once you have something, you don’t cherish it? Why was Su Ran being so cold now? Did Su Ran think he was being clingy?

He wasn’t that kind of person, and he wasn’t satisfied with any of Su Ran’s responses. If he was in front of him, he wouldn’t let Su Ran off so easily.

Fine, if that’s how it is, he would just have to leave Su Ran hanging for a while.

After eating, Su Ran headed back to his room, planning to visit the shop since he usually did so on weekends to see if it was busy.

After changing, he took his phone out of the drawer and noticed a WeChat payment notification.

It was from Lu Jin, a transfer of 200,000 yuan! His WeChat had a limit of 50,000 yuan, how could he transfer 200,000?

Below the transfer was a message, “Can you do a video call tonight?”

Having been conditioned by numerous large transfers, Su Ran was somewhat used to seeing big numbers on his screen, but 200,000 yuan was still a lot!

His thumb hesitated over the screen, then uncontrollably accepted the transfer.

He wouldn’t accept money from just anyone, but Lu Jin was different. He frequently transferred money without reason, and the over forty million yuan in his account now was all from him. The money was too easy to come by, and now he felt like a fool for not taking it.

It’s like… even honest people are corrupted by money.

Su Ran replied, “Okay.”

Su Ran left his house wearing a light jacket and a scarf. It was indeed cold outside, the ground covered with a thin layer of snow, his hands tucked into his pockets to keep warm.

He arrived at the shop, surprised to find it quite busy. The pastry chefs were increasing production, and Su Ran joined in to help wherever it was needed.

When things finally slowed down, it was already five in the afternoon. He cleaned up and headed home.

Upon reaching his front door, he noticed something off—the shoe rack at the entrance had a couple of pairs of elderly-style shoes.

He peeked inside and saw Jiang Yi’s parents sitting on the couch, chatting and laughing with Ye Qiao.

Su Ran was startled and felt a reflexive tension.

“Uncle… Auntie…” His voice choked up, the titles felt scalding hot on his tongue.

The elderly couple’s smiles faded as Jiang’s mother scrutinized Su Ran with a dissatisfied gaze, then said, “Oh dear, it seems we’ll never hear you call us mom and dad in our lifetime. Thankfully, we’re no longer hoping for that.”

“It’s not that…” Su Ran said softly.

Initially, it was Jiang Yi who couldn’t accept him calling his parents mom and dad, which had been a source of significant pressure for Su Ran, possibly leading to his parents’ mistaken belief that he looked down on them.

“Let’s leave it at that,” said Jiang’s father. “Su Ran, see what you can do about dinner. Jiang Yi will be back soon, and it wouldn’t be good if there’s nothing ready to eat.”

Su Ran slowly made his way into the kitchen to start preparing dinner, asking System 555, “Why did Jiang Yi’s parents suddenly show up? Did they bring a big problem for Jiang Yi?”

“Right, that’s part of it. They’re here to help you escape from that scumbag,” System 555 replied.

“OK,” Su Ran felt uplifted, not keen on facing Jiang’s parents, but accepting their role in the storyline.

“Less salt, your uncle prefers mild flavors,” Jiang’s mother said.

When it came to addressing them, the elderly couple always had a sarcastic tone. Su Ran, taking it in stride, replied, “Okay.”

“Little Qiao, how are your parents doing? When are they coming back?” Jiang’s mother asked, always showing a friendly face to Ye Qiao.

At this moment, Ye Qiao’s expression lacked the warmth typically shown to elders, becoming cool and distant, “They might return soon.”

His gaze turned towards the kitchen, where a solitary figure stood. A bitter feeling surged in his heart. He was not someone who could easily empathize with others, but now he understood what it felt like to pity someone. The simple, lean figure in the kitchen didn’t belong here; he shouldn’t be treated this way.

He should be living in a large house, cherished by a loving partner, leading a happy life.

Just then, his phone buzzed with a series of notifications. He pulled it out—it was the real estate agent he’d been in touch with.

The agent had sent him numerous property listings, but none seemed worthy of Su Ran until now. As he flicked through the photos on his phone, a satisfied look spread across his face.

He got up and headed towards the kitchen, “Brother Ran Ran, let me help.”

With a smile playing on his lips, he pondered how to make Su Ran accept, to make this house truly his.

This was indeed a troublesome problem.