Jiang Ran really hadn’t expected Bai Ranran to cry.
It was fine as long as she didn’t start, but once she did, she couldn’t stop at all.
“You… why are you crying?”
Bai Ranran wiped her tears and walked up to Jiang Ran.
She looked her up and down, then walked a full circle around her.
If Jiang Ran didn’t know better, she would have thought Bai Ranran was walking a dog.
“What’s wrong? I’m fine.”
“They didn’t do anything to you, did they?”
Bai Ranran sniffed again.
“No, I’m really okay. Your parents just asked me about your situation, but they didn’t say anything else. Don’t worry anymore.”
“My parents asked you about that? If they bring it up again next time, just say I’m fine. Otherwise, they’ll pester you with questions for ages.”
Bai Ranran seemed to have expected this.
She gazed at the fish swimming in the river.
“But I think they care about you quite a bit~”
“I don’t need their concern. If they really cared about me, they wouldn’t have forgotten how they locked me in the house when I was little…”
“That actually happened?”
Jiang Ran was shocked.
At first, she thought it was just some emotional distance, but being locked in the house was going too far.
“Yeah. My parents used to think raising me was such a hassle that they locked me in the house. Sometimes they didn’t come back until very late, and I didn’t even know how to turn on the lights yet.”
Bai Ranran gripped the railing.
Jiang Ran turned around to look at the water as well, imagining what it must have been like for her.
She never expected it would be something like that.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea you went through that. I won’t talk to them next time.”
Jiang Ran thought about it and felt it was completely ridiculous.
It seemed like every strange female protagonist was bound to have strange parents.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Ran asked, “Let me ask you something. If I could grant you one wish someday, what would you want most?”
“A wish?”
Bai Ranran pondered Jiang Ran’s question, her eyes blinking slightly.
She murmured, “I think things are great just the way they are. Jiang Ran, do you think I’m annoying?”
Bai Ranran turned her head.
Her cheeks flushed a rosy pink like a ripe apple, glowing faintly.
Jiang Ran bit her lip, her throat feeling dry.
She recalled how the information in the APP regarding Bai Ranran had many blank spaces.
“I did, but my opinion has changed now. You probably have your own difficulties. I might not be able to help you since I’m not that kind-hearted, but I hope for a story to have a happy ending. I just don’t want a tragedy to happen right in front of my eyes.”
Bai Ranran looked up, then quickly looked back down.
“Thank you. I really am quite a handful. I didn’t expect you to be willing to put up with my unreasonable behavior.”
“Why are you being so easy to talk to all of a sudden? That doesn’t sound like you.”
Jiang Ran looked up, remembering the Bai Ranran of not long ago.
Back then, the girl had been nothing but a burden.
“I don’t know. I just felt that, given your current situation, you definitely wouldn’t want me making more trouble.”
“Of course. If you stay quiet, I wouldn’t mind keeping you company.”
Jiang Ran murmured, her gaze falling on Bai Ranran’s crystalline lips.
The girl’s emerald eyes were like the reflection of the lake beneath them.
A breeze brushed past them, lightly lifting their bangs and surrounding them with a cool sensation.
As her gaze wandered, the expression on Bai Ranran’s face became quite interesting.
“What are you looking at me for?”
Bai Ranran stared at the lake’s surface, acting distracted.
“I’m looking at the freckles on your face.”
“I have freckles?”
Bai Ranran pulled out a mirror and checked, but she didn’t see any.
“I’m lying to you. You actually believed it? If I lie to you like this every day from now on, would you still be willing to be my friend?”
Jiang Ran maintained an indifferent expression.
She felt that Bai Ranran was becoming a bit too dependent on her.
Bai Ranran bit her lip, her expression shifting back and forth like a ripening bomb turning pinker by the second.
“Of course. I don’t have anyone else to talk to anyway.”
“Fine, then you’re pretty dumb. Go ahead, tell me your wish. I won’t do it if it’s too embarrassing.”
The cowlick on top of Bai Ranran’s head twitched, and the reflection of her golden hair swayed slightly in the water.
She opened her soft, pink lips.
“Um, you’re holding a bag of snacks, aren’t you? So, could you… feed me something? That’s my wish.”
“Huh? What kind of wish is that?”
Jiang Ran was stunned.
At first, she thought it would be a strange request, and it turned out she was right.
“I think you’re just hungry.”
“Hehe.”
Bai Ranran bit her lip.
Jiang Ran tore open the wrapper, took out a piece of chocolate, and popped it into Bai Ranran’s small mouth.
Her fingertips brushed against the girl’s soft lips; the sensation felt incredibly real, like bouncy jelly.
Even a slight touch felt like it would cause ripples for a long time.
Jiang Ran’s heart skipped a beat.
Bai Ranran fixed her hair, her nerves reaching a peak.
She was like a steamer, emitting clouds of white smoke that thickened as Jiang Ran drew closer.
“What is it? Are you sick?”
“N—no. Do it again. I didn’t feel it just now.”
“Feel what? Stop saying such weird things. It’s better to speak properly.”
Jiang Ran felt a bit of regret.
If she had known Bai Ranran would act like this, she wouldn’t have fed her.
But since she had already made the promise, she had no reason to back down.
“I’m fine. Jiang Ran, do you want some?”
Bai Ranran pulled out a Peiluezi.
She held a biscuit stick between her teeth and approached Jiang Ran, shoving another stick into Jiang Ran’s mouth.
Jiang Ran reflexively bit down on it.
Bai Ranran took half a step back, and as she put her hands behind her back, the biscuit stick snapped with a crisp sound.
“Hee-hee.”
Bai Ranran’s figure was bathed in a screen of light as shimmering spots of light gathered around her.
Jiang Ran unconsciously bit down harder on the biscuit, finally realizing what had just happened.
This Bai Ranran was too wicked.
How had she not seen this side of her?
But Jiang Ran was already trapped, and everything felt surreal.
How did she even dare?
Jiang Ran was both embarrassed and annoyed, but there was nothing she could do.
She could only watch as Bai Ranran triumphantly chewed on the remaining half.
“Hey, you’re really too much. I only agreed to one wish. What are you doing now?”
‘It’s nothing. Thank you, Jiang Ran. I’m very happy today. I never thought anyone would treat me this well.’
Bai Ranran tugged on the hem of Jiang Ran’s shirt.
“Weren’t you short on money before? How about I support you? What do you want?”
“I want you to stay away from me. I don’t want your money. Your money comes from your parents anyway.”
“No, it’s not. I earned my money by writing programs. It’s all mine.”
“Your own money?”
Jiang Ran was stunned.
She had assumed Bai Ranran was the type to spend her parents’ money, never imagining that the girl earned it herself.
“Yeah. Otherwise, how would I dare leave them and live on my own? I can do all this without relying on them and protect everything I hold dear.”