New Mission

Su Ran saw Ye Qiao off at the door. His friend was already waiting downstairs. “Have fun, and relax!” Su Ran said with a smile.

Ye Qiao stood at the door, looking like he wanted to say something but hesitated. Just as Su Ran was about to turn away, Ye Qiao suddenly spoke up, “Ran Ran, come with us.”

Su Ran was taken aback for a moment, not expecting Ye Qiao to invite him. His first instinct was that he wouldn’t fit in with Ye Qiao’s circle. Not only were they younger than him, but most of them came from wealthy families, with many having studied abroad. If he went, he’d just end up standing awkwardly in the corner.

Also, the system had warned him that a new task was coming up, and it advised him not to wander off.

“No, you guys go ahead,” Su Ran replied, quickly maintaining his persona. “I still have to cook for your brother.”

Upon hearing that, Ye Qiao’s cold, artistic face stiffened for a moment before he forced a smile. “Alright, who can blame you for being such a good cook, Ran Ran?”

Su Ran felt a twinge in his heart at the mention of his “good cook” persona. While it was a positive trait, it felt somewhat ironic when it was associated with him. If Ye Qiao’s expression hadn’t been normal, Su Ran might’ve suspected he was mocking him.

“Ran Ran, I wish I could have a wife like you,” Ye Qiao joked.

Su Ran couldn’t help but smile shyly. Ye Qiao had a way of making people feel good about themselves, but in his future, he wouldn’t have a wife like Ye Qiao. Instead, he’d have a husband like Jiang Yi.

“It’ll happen, it’ll happen,” Su Ran replied.

Ye Qiao turned to grab his luggage, his smile slowly fading as he walked away. Jiang Yi wasn’t good enough for him.

A wife like Su Ran? Ye Qiao had no interest in that. But when it came to Su Ran himself, well, he was starting to feel a bit intrigued.

He was always honest with himself, and just now, as he’d been in the room, the image of that scene had flashed in his mind.

Once the door closed behind Su Ran, he went into the kitchen to make himself some breakfast.

Su Ran didn’t take cooking lightly, even if he was alone. After thinking for a moment about what he wanted to eat, he started preparing. He had just taken out some small steamed buns from the fridge when he heard the sound of the password lock. Looking toward the door, Su Ran thought it was Jiang Yi coming back to grab the file, but to his surprise, it was Jiang Yi’s male secretary who came in first.

The secretary was exquisitely handsome, with delicate features and a slightly effeminate aura. As soon as he saw Su Ran, he broke into a smile and greeted him, “Hello, little housekeeper.”

Su Ran’s appetite instantly vanished upon hearing the familiar nickname. Though he had gotten used to Jiang Yi’s cold demeanor, hearing himself called “little housekeeper” still made him uncomfortable.

Jiang Yi had always maintained the persona of a single man at work, which Su Ran knew about. Jiang Yi had told him that it was to further his career, although Su Ran didn’t quite understand how that worked.

When Jiang Yi had asked him to marry him, it had been due to pressure from both their families. Jiang Yi’s parents were worried about him, seeing that he had no one to care for him as he approached thirty. Since they lived in a small town and couldn’t manage things in the city, they saw Su Ran—plain, honest, and a good fit as a wife—and pushed them together.

Jiang Yi had agreed reluctantly, but he made it clear to Su Ran that they wouldn’t have a wedding or a marriage certificate—it was just to appease their parents.

Su Ran had agreed without raising any objections, and Jiang Yi had been shocked by his response. Su Ran remembered that moment clearly.

Su Ran knew that Jiang Yi wasn’t truly happy about the arrangement. Though it saddened him, he could accept it. As he had said, it was just to please their parents, but after that, they still had to live their lives together. Su Ran wasn’t without his own desires. He wanted Jiang Yi to live a good life with him, and if they really couldn’t make it work, they could separate later—at least then, Su Ran would have no regrets.

He believed that if he kept being a good wife, Jiang Yi would eventually marry him properly. They’d have a wedding, and Jiang Yi would proudly announce that Su Ran was his wife to the world.

But before that day arrived, the “little housekeeper” nickname had already made its appearance. The reason for this had been when Jiang Yi came home drunk from a business event and his secretary brought him back. Upon seeing Su Ran, the secretary had asked Jiang Yi, “Who’s this?”

Jiang Yi had glanced at him coldly. “Our housekeeper.”

Then Jiang Yi had been led to the bedroom, and Su Ran had followed, standing by the door, struck by how distant he felt. It felt as if he was an outsider.

That night, it was already late, and Zhou Luo didn’t seem to want to leave. He kept whispering in Jiang Yi’s ear, and though Jiang Yi was drunk, his mind was still somewhat clear. Eventually, he allowed Zhou Luo to stay in one of the empty rooms.

The next morning, when Su Ran got up, he saw Zhou Luo coming out of Jiang Yi’s room.

Zhou Luo had been surprised to see him and then smiled, putting on an air of a “man of the house,” saying, “Little housekeeper, are you making breakfast?”

At that moment, Su Ran had felt a strange, uncomfortable feeling rise in him, and now, hearing Zhou Luo’s question again, it felt like a dark cloud hanging over his head.

“Little housekeeper, making breakfast?” Zhou Luo smiled, asking.

Su Ran responded coldly with a quiet “Mm.” Even though he wasn’t the sharpest, he could feel Zhou Luo’s hostility. There was always something off between him and Jiang Yi, but he didn’t dare ask Jiang Yi about it.

At that moment, Jiang Yi came in and stood next to Zhou Luo, bending down to change his shoes and then heading to the room to grab the file.

Su Ran didn’t feel like cooking anymore. He leaned against the counter, watching Zhou Luo stand by the entrance, clearly having no business being in his house but still trying to enter.

“555, when will my love life move forward? It seems like Jiang Yi and Zhou Luo have a pretty solid relationship,” Su Ran muttered.

Zhou Luo had blatantly brought his secretary-lover home—when would Jiang Yi turn his attention to Ye Qiao instead? Ye Qiao had left not long ago, but Jiang Yi was already back. It made Su Ran wonder if the two had run into each other.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, now that Ye Qiao’s staying here, the romance will start soon,” 555 replied.

Su Ran sighed, “I’m really struggling with this green-hat life.”

At that moment, Jiang Yi came out of the room, looking at Su Ran like he wanted to say something but couldn’t figure out how.

After a moment, he spoke, “I ran into Ye Qiao. He said he might be gone for a few days.”

“Oh…” Su Ran responded softly. He instinctively felt uneasy about Zhou Luo, and his mood had already sunk.

But now, Su Ran’s mind was racing, “What if Ye Qiao really saw them together? If he figures out what’s going on between them, won’t that make things even harder for their relationship to progress?”

555 responded, “Calm down. He probably doesn’t know. I mean, did they show affection outside? I doubt it… though, looking at Zhou Luo, it seems like he’s not the type to hide anything. He seems like he’s always trying to prove he’s the main partner.”

Su Ran was silent for a moment before finally coming up with a reasonable explanation, “Honestly, this type of situation in a yellow novel doesn’t have logic.”

After all, how could a young man like Ye Qiao fall for a flirt like Jiang Yi, especially since he was already married?

555 paused thoughtfully, “You’re right. In yellow novels, characters are driven by desire, with no moral boundaries. Love and desire themselves don’t follow logic, even though the big systems in our group say the same thing.”

Su Ran replied, “Alright.” It felt a bit philosophical, though he still didn’t quite get it.

Maybe it was just the stimulation that kept things going… but it was him who was stuck in the middle, feeling the effects.

Earlier, Zhou Luo had spent the night in Jiang Yi’s room, and now Ye Qiao would spend the night in his room. As for Su Ran, the unlucky wife, he was always a part of their little play.

Thinking about it like that, it seemed to make sense… Jiang Yi definitely enjoyed playing this game.

At that moment, Jiang Yi approached Su Ran. “I need you to help me with something.”

Su Ran looked at him, confused. Jiang Yi had never asked him for help so seriously before. So, this was what he was leading up to earlier.

“What do you need?” Su Ran asked.

“I need you to invite Lu Jin over to our house for dinner, using your new desserts as an excuse,” Jiang Yi said.

At this point, 555 quickly piped up, “Yes! This is the new mission—invite Lu Jin over for dinner.”

Su Ran immediately understood. The system updated missions based on the plot’s direction. Without realizing it, he had set up a nice little plot point with the desserts.

“Invite Lu Jin? How can I invite him? We’re not close…” Su Ran said, his head lowered in doubt.

Jiang Yi placed a hand on Su Ran’s shoulder. “Invite him to taste your new desserts. Didn’t both Lu Jin and Lu Wan praise your cakes? I think you can do it.”

Su Ran looked at Jiang Yi, seeing the firm trust and belief in his eyes. At that moment, Jiang Yi’s gaze softened and held a smile.

“Okay… so when should I invite him?” Su Ran nodded. He had never been able to refuse Jiang Yi’s requests, and Jiang Yi had never asked him for much. There was no reason to turn down this one.

Jiang Yi smiled wider and reached up to ruffle Su Ran’s soft hair. His gaze was full of satisfaction, like he controlled everything. “If possible, let’s do it today. Lu Jin is hard to schedule, and even if he agrees, we don’t know when we’ll get him.”

Su Ran nodded obediently. “Alright, I’ll try my best.”

Jiang Yi, despite his personality, was a very capable person. He had come from a small town, worked his way up on his own, and now had made a name for himself in the city. Everything he had was due to his hard work and ambition.

He could use anything around him to achieve his goals, and although it was ruthless, it was this kind of person who was more likely to succeed.

At that moment, Zhou Luo started pushing him, his voice rising. “Mr. Jiang, Mr. He is rushing us. Let’s head back quickly.”

But Jiang Yi didn’t seem to hear him. He was usually stingy with his smiles, but when he needed something from Su Ran, he could be gentle.

“You’ve been wanting to get a bigger oven, right? It should arrive tomorrow,” Jiang Yi said.

Hearing this, Su Ran felt a wave of excitement. He couldn’t hold back his smile. “Really!?”

“Really,” Jiang Yi replied.

Su Ran’s smile brightened, feeling completely content.

•

After Jiang Yi left, Su Ran was alone at home. He finished his breakfast and then lay down on the sofa to relax.

While he rested, he also thought about how to complete the task. He didn’t even have Lu Jin’s contact information yet, so he would have to reach out to Lu Wan first.

After some thought, he messaged Lu Wan: “Are you busy? We’ve just made some new desserts for our regular customers. I’d like to send some over to you.”

Meanwhile, at the Lu family villa, Lu Wan had just come out of her room and was leisurely heading to the third floor. Lu Jin was in his study, dealing with work.

She brought a cup of hot tea to him, knocked on the door, and when she heard him say to come in, she pushed the door open.

Lu Jin looked up from his computer. “What’s up?”

Lu Wan placed the tea on his right side and said, “Su Ran will be sending some desserts over later. I used to go to his shop often, and it was hard to see him. I didn’t expect him to come to us today.”

Though it was possible that Su Ran had heard of her family’s background and wanted to make connections, she didn’t think that was the case. She had met enough people not to misjudge someone.

Before she could finish, Lu Jin scoffed coldly. “A few days ago, Jiang Yi called me. He’s been trying to set up a meeting, but I’ve turned him down every time.”

Lu Wan immediately understood, her interest in Su Ran fading at the mention of Jiang Yi. She liked Su Ran and enjoyed his cakes, but when Jiang Yi was mentioned, she had no desire to continue the conversation.

“This Jiang Yi… really,” she muttered, fiddling with her nails.

Lu Jin smiled coldly. “He actually sent his wife out for this. He’s quite bold for a husband.”

Lu Wan glanced at him. “So, when Su Ran arrives, will you accept his invitation?”

Lu Jin sneered. “Of course not.”

At that moment, the sunlight outside the window was slowly being swallowed up, and the room darkened.

Lu Jin looked outside, frowning. “Looks like it’s going to rain.”

“It seems so, the sky’s turning gloomy,” Lu Wan replied.

Meanwhile, Su Ran was already in a taxi. He hadn’t expected the weather to change so quickly. It had been fine just a while ago, but now, halfway through the journey, rain started pouring down.

He was holding two bags of desserts, worried they might get soaked. Luckily, Lu Wan had informed the doorman, allowing the taxi to enter the villa. They drove into the courtyard, but there was still a distance to walk.

Su Ran tucked the pastries inside his coat, then quickly opened the car door and ran out.

“He didn’t bring an umbrella?” Lu Wan exclaimed, surprised. “With this kind of weather, I thought he wouldn’t show up.”

At that moment, on the third floor of the villa, the siblings were watching the scene below. The rain was heavy, and as soon as Su Ran got out of the car, he was drenched. His fine hair stuck to his face, and in the gloomy light, his face looked pale. He was still holding the pastries he was supposed to deliver to them, his clothes completely soaked.

“How foolish. He could have just waited in the car for a while. Now look at him, all wet and pitiful,” Lu Wan muttered, then suddenly seemed to have a thought. She turned to look at her brother, Lu Jin. “Hey, do you think he’s doing this on purpose? Trying to make himself look all helpless so you won’t turn him down?”

Lu Jin’s gaze was fixed on the scene below. His eyelashes fluttered for a moment before he spoke, “He probably thinks… no one is coming to get him.”

“Huh?” Lu Wan had never considered it from that angle. “Uncle Zhang is going to pick him up.”

Downstairs, Uncle Zhang, holding a large black umbrella, was slowly making his way toward Su Ran.

At that moment, Lu Jin’s tone suddenly darkened. “This weather, and you let Uncle Zhang go out?”

“Oh, right. Uncle Zhang has rheumatoid arthritis, and in this kind of weather, his hands and feet always hurt. Xiao Sun really has no awareness. At times like this, he should have let Uncle Zhang rest,” Lu Wan said. They were always considerate of the servants, and some of them had worked for the family so long that they had developed a genuine bond with them. “You’re really observant, I didn’t think of that. I’ll remind him tomorrow…”

Lu Wan didn’t continue because she noticed Lu Jin’s face had darkened. He looked genuinely upset.

Was he really angry because of Xiao Sun?