Lin Ran didn’t know about all the things that hadn’t happened yet. From his perspective, they were indeed strangers. She had intruded into his life without permission, and it had upset him.
Sheng Qingxi apologized quietly, “I’m sorry.”
All the harsh words Lin Ran wanted to say were caught in his throat. She didn’t understand anything. Even after he said something so hurtful, all she did was apologize. She didn’t even know how to get angry.
After closing his eyes briefly to calm his turbulent emotions, he tried to reason with her: “Sheng Qingxi. What I mean is that we don’t have a deep connection. No matter the situation, your priority should be to ensure your own safety.”
Lin Ran spoke each word clearly, “I’m not worth it.”
Sheng Qingxi’s personality wasn’t as soft as it appeared. She was stubborn and determined. Every decision she had made, from childhood to adulthood, had been difficult for others to change—whether it was applying to the police academy in her past life or transferring schools in this one.
And the beginning of it all was Lin Ran.
So, for her, loving someone was like that too.
If it had only just started, perhaps she could have fallen for someone else. But for the current Sheng Qingxi, loving Lin Ran had already become a habit. Through the endless days and years, it was Lin Ran who had kept her going.
Sheng Qingxi reached out with her left hand and gently caressed the side of Lin Ran’s face. Lin Ran didn’t flinch, allowing her to touch him.
There were still injuries on his face. He hadn’t tended to himself at all; even in the doctor’s office, he had only applied medicine to her wounds.
Sheng Qingxi carefully wiped the bloodstains off his face, studying the sharp lines of his eyebrows and eyes. Her fingers lightly brushed the corner of his eye. In a soft voice, she said, “Lin Ran, I’m sorry, but you’re very important to me. If you find me annoying, I’ll stay away from you. For the next year, I won’t bother you again.”
Now that the situation with Lin Yanyan had passed, she trusted Lin Youcheng would handle the remaining matters.
For Sheng Qingxi, the only task left upon her return was the fire next June. She knew that for the rest of the year, Lin Ran would live safely, until he reached adulthood.
When Lin Ran heard the words “you’re very important to me,” his heart suddenly tightened.
Lin Ran felt his throat dry, and after a moment, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice, “You’re not annoying at all, not one bit.”
He sighed softly.
Sheng Qingxi was different from everyone else. She was pure yet stubborn, and her stubbornness had reached a level that few could match.
It was already six in the evening. Lin Ran raised his hand to tousle her hair, then stood up, grabbing her wrist as he began to walk outside. As they walked, he asked, “I’ll take you to eat first. What do you want?”
Sheng Qingxi turned her head and asked, “What about your sister?”
Lin Ran replied calmly, “My father’s here. He’ll take care of Yanyan. He’ll handle those people too—they won’t cause trouble again for now. But you still need to stay safe.”
Lin Ran knew that after such a serious incident, Lin Youcheng would likely arrange someone to pick up and drop off Lin Yanyan in the future, or perhaps even have her stay at home for a while.
He let out a wry laugh. After all, this was trouble he had caused.
In truth, there wasn’t a huge conflict between him and Lin Youcheng; the conflict was with the family itself.
When Lin Ran and Lin Yanyan’s mother passed away from illness, they were both very young—Lin Ran was only seven, and Yanyan four—an age when they needed care. Lin Youcheng had taken years before deciding to remarry, but he hadn’t anticipated how strongly the children would resist.
They just couldn’t get along with the new family.
—
By now, the sky had darkened.
Since Lin Ran hadn’t brought his motorcycle, they ended up finding a nearby porridge shop close to the hospital.
As Sheng Qingxi awkwardly began eating with her left hand, Lin Ran noticed her difficulty. Her right hand was temporarily out of commission, and using her left hand made her slow. By the time she had eaten halfway through the bowl, the porridge had cooled.
Internally, Lin Ran wrestled with himself for a while, his stern expression betraying a hint of awkwardness.
He cleared his throat and, seeing Sheng Qingxi look up at him, asked, “Is it hard for you to eat like that?”
Sheng Qingxi glanced down at the fragrant fish porridge in front of her, then at her hand holding the spoon, and softly replied, “It’s not hard.”
Lin Ran: “…”
Watching her struggle through half a bowl of porridge, Lin Ran couldn’t help but notice that she had barely touched the fish in it.
When she finally put the spoon down, he frowned and asked, in a somewhat displeased tone, “Are you finished?”
Sheng Qingxi bit her lip. She wasn’t really hungry, and she didn’t particularly like the taste of the porridge. But wasting food didn’t seem right either, so she picked up the spoon again.
Seeing this, Lin Ran’s expression darkened further. He stood up, grabbed the hand that held the spoon, and gently pulled it from her grasp.
As Sheng Qingxi was being pulled outside, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had somehow made Lin Ran upset again.
In the dim light of the night, Lin Ran and Sheng Qingxi sat by the roadside.
Sheng Qingxi gazed at her injured hand and the tranquil night sky. Her expression was calm, and the events of the evening had relieved her in many ways. To her, it meant that the events of her previous life could be changed.
Lin Ran, meanwhile, was on the phone with Lin Yanyan. Judging by her cheerful voice, her mood had improved. She chattered excitedly, “Brother, I’m eating out with Dad. Just now, Dad said he would call you, but I told him you were with Sister. Brother, aren’t I smart?”
Lin Ran smiled silently. “Yes, Yanyan is very smart.”
Lowering her voice, Lin Yanyan whispered, “Brother, Dad wants me to go home. He said if I go home, you will too. But I didn’t agree—I want to stay with you.”
As Lin Yanyan continued, her tone became a little dejected, “Dad agreed for now, but he said he’ll send a driver and bodyguards to pick me up from school every day.”
This was something Lin Ran had expected. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to look after Lin Yanyan on his own, and Lin Youcheng’s arrangement gave him some peace of mind. He replied in a low voice, “That’s a good idea. Let Aunt Chen know, and she’ll adjust the schedule accordingly.”
Aunt Chen was the one responsible for cooking for Lin Ran and Lin Yanyan. She would also come by on weekends to clean. Ever since they had moved to South Garden, Aunt Chen had been the only person helping them out.
Sitting beside Lin Ran, Sheng Qingxi couldn’t help but clench her left hand into a fist upon hearing his words.
For now, Lin Ran was still here, and she couldn’t let her emotions show.
After Lin Ran hung up the phone, he turned to look at Sheng Qingxi, who had remained quiet the whole time. From his angle, her face appeared small, barely the size of half his palm.
Her long, slightly curled lashes cast shadows, her nose was high and delicate, and her lips were red and soft, tapering down to a sharp chin.
Lin Ran couldn’t deny it—Sheng Qingxi was truly beautiful.
His fingers twitched slightly as he asked in a deep voice, “Shall I take you home?”
But Sheng Qingxi shook her head and replied, “Take me back to school. Shiman is still waiting for me.”
Lin Ran didn’t respond right away. He frowned at her for a moment, thinking about how stubborn she was. Even in this situation, she was worried about someone as far removed as Song Shiman.
He pulled out his phone and sent a message to He Mo, his tone as blunt and domineering as always: “I’ve sent someone to tell Song Shiman you’re excused tonight. She won’t be waiting for you.”
After a brief pause, his dark eyes filled with a sense of finality. “So now, you’re going home.”
Sheng Qingxi kept her head down, her eyes unreadable to him. After hesitating for a moment, she softly said, “If I go home now, my mom will find out that I’m hurt. I don’t want to worry her.”
Usually, when Sheng Qingxi went home, all she needed to do was poke her head into the room and say hello to Sheng Lan, who would often be too busy tucking the younger kids into bed to notice anything. As long as she was careful, Sheng Lan wouldn’t find out.
Lin Ran clicked his tongue softly, frustrated by how difficult this girl could be.
Ten minutes later, the car Lin Ran had called arrived.
He walked over to the car, opened the door, and gestured for Sheng Qingxi to get in. Without asking where they were going, she bent down and climbed in first.
Lin Ran raised an eyebrow. She was always so obedient around him—it made him want to tease her.
Once inside the car, Sheng Qingxi relaxed as soon as she sank into the soft seat. Her nerves, which had been tightly wound for days, finally began to loosen. Only now, in the evening, could she breathe a little easier.
The car’s interior lights weren’t on, and the shifting shadows from outside flickered through the windows.
Lin Ran was right next to her.
Gradually, Sheng Qingxi closed her eyes.
Lin Ran was busy replying to messages from He Mo and Xie Zhen in the group chat and didn’t notice what was happening beside him. Suddenly, something soft leaned against his shoulder—light, like a small, fluffy animal.
Lin Ran’s body stiffened. He turned his head.
Sheng Qingxi had fallen asleep on his shoulder. In the dim light, her long lashes rested gently against her cheeks, and she looked even more serene and obedient as she slept.
For some reason, Lin Ran felt the car growing warmer. He opened the window a small crack but didn’t dare open it further. His hands, which had been tapping out messages, stilled, and finally, he turned off his phone altogether.
The shadows of the trees lining the road flickered across the car’s backseat, shrouding the two of them in the darkness.
Even the moon could not glimpse what was happening inside.
—
Lin Yanyan was brought home by Lin Youcheng. As soon as she stepped through the door, she was about to call out for her brother, but Lin Ran, sitting in the dimly lit living room, made a shushing gesture. Yanyan immediately tensed and closed her mouth tightly.
When Lin Yanyan walked into the living room, she finally noticed Sheng Qingxi sleeping on the sofa, curled up in a small ball in the corner.
Looking around, Lin Yanyan saw that only a few dim lights were on in the living room.
Since Lin Yanyan hadn’t closed the door when she came in, Lin Ran immediately knew that Lin Youcheng was still outside. He stood up and walked toward the door, whispering to Lin Yanyan as he passed her, “Yanyan, don’t wake up your sister.”
Lin Yanyan quickly nodded after changing her shoes, making sure to be quiet.
As Lin Ran stepped outside and closed the door behind him, Lin Yanyan quietly ran to the floor-to-ceiling window and peeked out. Seeing her father and brother standing together and not fighting, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In the yard.
The yard lights weren’t on, but the bright streetlights outside the villa provided enough light for Lin Youcheng to get a good look at Lin Ran. With a warm tone, he said, “Xiao Huo, you’ve grown taller again—taller than when I saw you during the New Year.”
Lin Ran lowered his voice and called him, “Dad.”
Lin Youcheng sighed softly, “Such a big thing happened, and you didn’t tell me. Yanyan told me that you’ve been keeping her with you all this time. You knew something might happen, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell me?”
There was a trace of sadness on Lin Youcheng’s face as he continued, “When you said you and Yanyan wanted to move out, I let you go because I was afraid you were unhappy at home.”
“I know things haven’t been smooth between you two and Aunt Xu, but I’m still your father. Can’t you forgive me for what happened two years ago? That was my fault.”
What had happened two years ago was actually something quite small, but it had hurt both Lin Ran and Lin Yanyan deeply. Ever since, Lin Youcheng had been carrying guilt, knowing he hadn’t given his children the trust they deserved.
Lin Ran didn’t answer his question directly. Instead, he said, “Yanyan mentioned that you’ll be arranging for her to be picked up and dropped off from school. I’m fine with that. But don’t bring up the idea of her moving back in, at least… at least not until after June next year.”