I Married My Love Rival (GL) - Chapter 16

In the evening, Luo Simo went out for a social engagement, leaving Ji Ran alone. After dinner, Ji Ran buried herself in her art studio.

First, she tidied up her portfolios, then opened a shopping app to buy some missing tools. They would be delivered in a day or two, and then she could start showing off her skills.

This way, Luo Simo wouldn’t think of her as just “another August” being kept at home.

After paying with the relative’s card Luo Simo had bound for her, the page immediately switched to “merchant preparing goods.” At that moment, a notification popped up on a certain green messaging app.

It was a message from Liang Yingzhi, a “come quickly for gossip” meme, who had likely discovered some news. Ji Ran quickly tapped it open.

【What’s the new scoop?】

【Super-duper explosive news!】

Seeing the string of “super”s, Ji Ran immediately sat up straight, waiting to see what could make Liang Yingzhi so excited.

【Luo Simo is! Married!】

【Shocked.jpg】

Ji Ran, who was prepared: That’s it?

That’s it?

As the person involved, she was not at all shocked.

However, the news was out. Didn’t this mean Luo Simo had completely declared war on her family?

【There’s absolutely no chance between her and Xu Zining now.】

【I’m asking my mom what the Xu family’s reaction is. They must be furious.】

【Especially that proud little princess, Xu Zining. She’s probably going to explode this time.】

Liang Yingzhi quickly recalled the last message she sent, replacing it with a “you didn’t see anything” blindfolded emoji.

Ji Ran knew Liang Yingzhi wasn’t particularly fond of Xu Zining. She had been classmates with Xu Zining and always felt that Xu Zining was too delicate, showy like a peacock, and excessively arrogant, which is why she gave her another nickname besides “White Moonlight”—”Little Princess.”

【Sigh, I wonder which celestial being managed to land Luo Simo and make her dare to go against her family like this.】

【To be honest, I really admire Luo Simo. She’s so brave, and her family doesn’t seem to have done anything drastic to her.】

Seeing this message, Ji Ran felt slightly relieved. It was good that Luo Simo was fine.

【I’m still so curious about who she married. She must be especially beautiful and outstanding, otherwise, how could she deserve Luo Simo?】

Ji Ran fell silent.

She was no celestial being, she wasn’t particularly beautiful, and she certainly wasn’t outstanding.

Ji Ran: “Perhaps the person she married is just an ordinary person?”

Liang Yingzhi: “I don’t believe it. To win over Luo Simo, there must be something special about her.”

【How about we make a bet? If you lose, you buy my bubble tea for a month. If I lose, I’ll treat you to a beach vacation.】

Ji Ran: “I’m not betting.”

She’d be an idiot to bet.

If she won the bet, she’d be admitting she was a nobody, just a “salted fish.”

If she lost the bet, she’d gain a reputation, but lose a month’s worth of bubble tea.

Either way, she lost.

【Just trust me. Luo Simo’s spouse must be a celestial being.】

Ji Ran secretly laughed behind her hand. Thank you very much.

【Mm-hm, I think so too.】

This is what you call, I praise myself.

After gossiping with Liang Yingzhi for a while, Ji Ran patted her portfolio, determined to work hard and live up to the repeated praise of being a “celestial being.”

Going against her usual “salted fish” nature, Ji Ran dedicated herself to painting “rehabilitation” in the studio and created a detailed study plan for herself.

On the first day, Luo Simo came home from work and didn’t see her. She was genuinely worried. No one answered the phone, and she was getting anxious until August jumped up and opened the studio door with a paw.

Amidst the soothing music, Ji Ran was concentrating on applying stroke after stroke to her paper.

Seeing this, Luo Simo put a finger to her lips, shushing August, then walked over and gently closed the door.

She then tied up her hair, washed her hands, and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

She was happy to see Ji Ran like this. People who earnestly pursue their dreams shine when they are focused.

Her original intention was also to bring back the Ji Ran who used to shine.

The two spent several consecutive days like this. Ji Ran, having rekindled her dream, also became more cheerful and talkative. Luo Simo vaguely recalled her high school days.

In high school, Ji Ran was an art student. In addition to regular academic classes, she had to take time to study in the school’s art room, usually during lunch and afternoon meal times, and occasionally skipping evening study sessions to go paint.

Luo Simo was a boarder back then. She always ate in the cafeteria, but because almost no one would join her, she would often pack her food and find a quiet place to eat alone while reading.

That quiet spot was the hallway outside the art room.

Ji Ran ate and painted inside; Luo Simo ate, read, and watched Ji Ran outside.

At that time, she hadn’t been acknowledged by the Luo family. After her mother died when she was five, she was adopted by her aunt’s family. “Adopted” was merely giving her a place to stay and eat. From the third grade of elementary school, she had always boarded at school, only being picked up when school was out, but even then, no one paid her much attention at home.

The lack of parental companionship and these experiences led her to develop a quiet and solitary personality. She couldn’t integrate into her classmates’ circles, and because of her small stature, she was often bullied. This continued largely unchanged until high school.

She had excellent academic scores but was taciturn and always alone, without friends. People often whispered behind her back that she was sick.

She didn’t care. Entering high school, she just wanted to quickly get through those three years and go somewhere else to start a new life.

But soon, some small-time bullies at school targeted her, demanding she pass answers during exams.

Her homework, submitted to the class monitor, was always “borrowed” by several people to copy before it reached the teacher. She had never said anything. As a result, those people naturally pushed their luck.

She always adhered to the passive “avoid trouble” mentality, never daring to escalate things. She always felt that she had no one to support her or back her up.

In elementary school, when she had conflicts with other children and it got to the teacher, the other children would cry, lie, or use charm, so all the blame fell on her, who couldn’t defend herself.

She understood nothing, only that the teacher would blame her, and her aunt’s family would blame her and tell her to apologize.

Over time, she developed a passive personality, always reflecting on her own mistakes. Entering high school, she realized this was wrong and that she should change this flaw. So, this time, she refused.

But what followed was slander, ostracization, pranks, and it escalated to the point where they cornered her when she was alone.

It was at this time that Ji Ran suddenly appeared and stopped an incident of bullying.

Ji Ran was fearless. She became famous on her first day of transfer for standing up for Luo Simo and kicking the female troublemaker in their class.

The next day, Ji Ran, who hadn’t had time to do her homework, borrowed a notebook from the class monitor like everyone else for an emergency, and coincidentally got Luo Simo’s. At that time, Luo Simo hadn’t changed her name yet. She took her mother’s surname and had an extremely common name: Cheng Anning.

Unlike others, Ji Ran found her after getting the notebook. Although she didn’t ask for permission, she still said “thank you” to her.

The girl was radiant and smiled brightly. She explained that she had been so preoccupied running to the art studio the day before that she forgot to bring her homework home, so she was “conscripting” Luo Simo’s homework, and was very grateful.

Before Luo Simo could even respond, Ji Ran quickly took the notebook back to her seat.

Then, on the third day, Ji Ran came to her again with Luo Simo’s homework. The reason today was that she had been painting too late and didn’t feel like doing homework.

By the fourth day, Luo Simo no longer submitted her homework early. Seeing Ji Ran frantically borrowing homework everywhere, she silently placed her notebook on Ji Ran’s desk.

While she didn’t advocate copying homework, she also didn’t want Ji Ran to be called to the office for punishment.

Nor did she want Ji Ran to have to ask others for homework.

Ji Ran was also confused by her action but attributed it to gratitude for the intervention the other day and smilingly made a request.

“I’m adopting you as my protégé! From now on, you can handle all my homework! If anyone bullies you, just drop my name!”

From then on, the homework with the highest accuracy in the class belonged to Ji Ran.

Luo Simo never submitted her homework early again. She simply placed it on Ji Ran’s desk, except for simple copying assignments and work that couldn’t be easily duplicated.

However, Ji Ran didn’t completely slack off her studies and rely entirely on Luo Simo. She occasionally did the problems seriously and would cram frantically before exams.

Although she had acquired a “protégé,” their communication and interaction were not frequent due to Luo Simo’s taciturn nature.

Furthermore, Ji Ran had other close friends. After all, she was outgoing and pretty, making friends was an easy task for her.

Many times, Luo Simo would quietly observe her from behind, not daring to get closer.

Her memories were suddenly interrupted by Ji Ran’s arrival. Luo Simo put down the vegetable leaves, turned off the tap, and turned around.

“What is it?”

Ji Ran, who was supposed to be in art rehabilitation until Luo Simo called her for dinner, had somehow proactively come out to find her, looking both excited and secretive.

“I have something good to show you!”

Naturally taking Luo Simo’s hand, Ji Ran pulled her toward the art studio.

Looking at their clasped hands, Luo Simo scattered the myriad of memories in her mind.

When they reached the art studio, Ji Ran finally let go of her hand. Luo Simo then noticed a smudge on her own hand. Her hand hadn’t been fully dried after washing, and Ji Ran’s hand had graphite on it.

Luo Simo took a few tissues to wipe her hand clean and was about to remind Ji Ran when Ji Ran reached up and rubbed her brow.

A black mark immediately appeared above her eyebrow.

Looking at the tissue Luo Simo offered, Ji Ran subconsciously looked at her own hands, then gasped. I was too excited. I forgot to wash my hands.

Taking the tissue, Ji Ran asked while wiping her hands, “Do I have some on my face too?”

“Yes.”

Ji Ran sighed, about to wipe it herself, but Luo Simo was quicker. She pulled out a fresh tissue and started wiping the corner of Ji Ran’s eyebrow.

Her movements were gentle, and her gaze was focused.

Ji Ran’s hand froze in mid-air. After looking up at Luo Simo for a moment, she squeezed the tissue in her hand, lowered her gaze, and waited quietly, while also inhaling Luo Simo’s familiar scent.

Luo Simo was very close, and they had been together for quite a while, yet she still couldn’t help but blush and feel nervous.

Every time Luo Simo gets close to her.

“Done.”

Luo Simo, the instigator, acted as if nothing had happened, her face composed and her heart rate steady. After wiping away the smudge, she took a step back, taking the used tissue from Ji Ran’s hand and tossing it into the trash can. She asked:

“What did you call me here for?”