I Married My Love Rival (GL) - Chapter 21

“What’s wrong?”

Luo Simo was completely bewildered.

“Nothing.”

Ji Ran’s tone was very clipped.

“I’m very tired today. I want to take a shower and rest.”

Without giving Luo Simo a chance to say anything more, Ji Ran unilaterally ended the conversation.

“Okay.”

Luo Simo mumbled the two words in reply, then heard the call disconnect.

She’s in a bad mood?

Is it that time of the month?

After hearing Ji Ran’s voice, the stone hanging in Luo Simo’s heart finally dropped.

However, the content of the conversation and Ji Ran’s tone made her start worrying about something else.

Why is Ji Ran unhappy?

After much deliberation, Luo Simo sent a message to Assistant Li, asking her to check for tickets back to Jiang City.

Assistant Li quickly replied, and Luo Simo told her to book the high-speed rail for 2:00 AM.

She only booked one ticket. She would return alone, and the others could follow up tomorrow.

After all, given the situation, she needed to go back earlier.

Ji Ran didn’t know about Luo Simo’s situation. In fact, she wasn’t quite sure what she was doing herself right now.

First, she used the original moving boxes to pack all her belongings, in case she was kicked out after falling out with Luo Simo.

Then, she found a template for a divorce agreement online, went back to Luo Simo’s study, printed the agreement, and placed it on the living room table.

She was originally going to sign her name on it, but holding the pen, Ji Ran didn’t sign for some reason. However, she wrote a few words on a blank sheet of paper next to it.

They were all formal words, essentially saying thank you for the care, but after a few days of getting along, she decided not to continue, and wished her better in the future.

Although they were formal pleasantries, Ji Ran couldn’t help but put a bit of genuine emotion into them as she recalled their time together.

But when writing the final wishes, Ji Ran tightened her grip on the pen.

She felt a little sour inside.

The thought of Luo Simo and the unknown Miss Lin couldn’t stop her from imagining scenarios.

Finally finishing the last sentence, Ji Ran capped the pen.

Luo Simo was only treating her as a companion to manage the relationship.

The two were fundamentally still treating each other with polite reserve.

But true affection should be uncontrollable, yet Luo Simo, apart from that one time she was drunk, always sought her permission even for a kiss.

Ji Ran, being a perennial loner who had never been in a relationship, didn’t know if this was normal. But if she liked someone and was married to them, she would definitely kiss them whenever she wanted.

Kiss them all the time, in every way.

Thinking this only confirmed a fact she already knew: Luo Simo didn’t like her at all, and her kindness was only because Ji Ran was her wife now.

Also, she remembered something else, she didn’t know if it was her imagination, but sometimes when Luo Simo looked at her, her eyes would drift, as if thinking of something far away, as if looking through her at someone else.

Could it be Miss Lin, the one who also likes jewelry design?

Ji Ran’s overthinking grew more severe.

Am I a substitute?

At the thought of this, that slight sadness completely transformed into anger.

The last thing she ever wanted in her life was to be a substitute.

She used to be a substitute in the Gu family, and now she’s a substitute for Luo Simo?

Ji Ran couldn’t sleep when it was time for bed, tossing and turning, thinking about the Gu family one moment, and Luo Simo the next. She only managed to fall asleep well past midnight.

However, once asleep, she dreamt of that heavy rain again. She was kneeling at the Gu family entrance, being thoroughly ridiculed by Gu Qingzhi, who even called her an idiot.

Then, the scene shifted. Her parents appeared, causing a scene at her workplace, demanding money from her. Her parents’ contorted faces were magnified. Gu Qingzhi stood by, laughing at her, and others, led by Gu Qingzhi, also mocked her.

The Gu family parents walked past, glanced at her, but quickly turned their faces away, as if ashamed of her and unwilling to look.

Then Luo Simo also walked by, gave a cold, dismissive smirk, looked down at her, and looked like she was about to laugh but didn’t. She then snatched the book from Ji Ran’s hand and said:

“This doesn’t belong to you.”

Ji Ran wanted to defend herself, to say that she hadn’t taken anything of hers and didn’t care for her possessions, but the words wouldn’t come out. She was frantic.

The urgency in the dream instantly translated to reality. Ji Ran suddenly opened her eyes, unconsciously clutching her chest.

It had been pouring rain, but the room was still stuffy. Ji Ran turned on the air conditioning but hadn’t considered that the temperature would drop later in the night. She shivered, got up, found the remote control, and turned off the air conditioning.

Pulling the covers up, seeing the room empty except for herself, and remembering the dream, Ji Ran sighed.

How did things suddenly become like this?

Meanwhile, Luo Simo, who was waiting at the high-speed rail station, finally boarded the train. People around her were yawning. Luo Simo also rubbed her forehead wearily. Lying back in her seat, the headphones she wore blocked out the outside noise. Soon, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Perhaps because she was worrying so much about Ji Ran, Luo Simo dreamt about her childhood.

That day was her first encounter with Ji Ran and the first time her aunt took her to the Luo family to acknowledge her relatives.

The Luo matriarch didn’t come out to meet her, essentially conveying her rejection.

And her biological father flatly stated that she wasn’t his biological daughter, and even if she was, he would pretend he didn’t have this daughter.

Then, Jiang Li appeared, mocking her for being a pheasant trying to become a phoenix. She gave her aunt a few tens of thousands of Yuan and was ready to send them away.

Her aunt refused to leave and argued with them. She wanted Luo Simo to be recognized by the family so she wouldn’t have to raise the child herself, could make some money on the side, and then Luo Simo could continue to support her when she grew up.

As soon as they arrived at the Luo family, she had been pushing Luo Simo to be sweet and greet everyone.

Later, when she realized the Luo family didn’t want to recognize her, she settled for just taking some money, after all, she couldn’t have raised the child for free. Although her sister had given her a substantial amount of child support before she died.

But money is money; no one minds having more.

Her aunt and uncle were focused on getting as much as possible. In the living room, Luo Simo stood alone by the sofa, head down, feeling helpless, sad, and ashamed.

The young Luo Simo didn’t understand why her father hated her so much.

Why didn’t either of her bl00d-related families want her?

It wasn’t until she slowly grew up that she understood that God severing her familial ties was a kindness.

After all, a father who bullied the weak and was irresponsible, and an aunt who was greedy for profit, were not what she wanted either.

Mutual abandonment was fine.

Her adult self could understand, accept, and not care too much about these things, but her childhood self was genuinely hurting.

Being abandoned and bullied was more than a child could bear.

While the adults were arguing, a rubber ball suddenly hit her calf as she stood by the sofa. Then, a smaller solid ball followed, but she dodged that one.

Looking up, it was Jiang Li’s son and daughter. At the time, this boy and girl were the matriarch’s favorites.

Jiang Li saw it but didn’t stop them; she even suggested that the children go outside to play while the adults discussed business.

So, Luo Simo was taken outside.

Outside, the two children were even more egregious, calling her a “little bastard” and pushing her to the ground, then saying many vulgar things.

It was hard to imagine that children in the fourth grade of elementary school, under the Luo family’s upbringing, could say so many awful things. Luo Simo, who was gently taught by her mother since childhood, didn’t even know how to talk back.

Then, they called over their other playmates and even brought a large dog to scare her.

Little Luo Simo was frail, just over a meter tall, and the dog’s height reached her shoulder. It bared its teeth and barked at her.

She hadn’t cried when she was humiliated, cursed at, or pushed. In that moment, little Luo Simo felt she was about to be bitten to death by the dog and finally burst into tears out of fear.

Seeing her cry, the group of children laughed even harder, repeatedly shouting for the dog to bite her to death!

Just then, a sharp, childish shout rang out.

“What are you doing?!”

Then came the thump-thump-thump sound of small leather shoe heels hitting the ground, the sound was loud. It was loud because its owner was anxiously running towards them.

Ji Ran’s appearance at that time was something Luo Simo would find hard to forget for the rest of her life.

She was rescued by what looked like a delicate little princess.

The princess drove away the bad kids and subdued the big dog.

And it was then that Luo Simo noticed that beneath the princess’s dress and leather shoes was actually an uninhibited soul.

She would casually take off the pearl-studded crown decoration on her head, she would run in her small leather shoes, she would laugh heartily, and she wouldn’t care if her white dress got dirty…

They spent a fun afternoon together, which prevented Luo Simo’s day from being too awful and dark.

And she would always remember that Ji Ran kept calling her cute that day, kissed her cheek, and said she would marry her one day and design a unique wedding ring for her.

Everything was beautiful in the dream. When Luo Simo woke up, she was still unconsciously smiling because of little Ji Ran’s face in the dream.

But thinking of the present, and Ji Ran’s cold tone last night, Luo Simo couldn’t help but sigh softly.

What surprised Luo Simo even more was what she saw on the living room table after traveling thousands of miles to return home.

At this point, a mere sigh couldn’t solve the problem.

Picking up the divorce agreement, Luo Simo instinctively wanted to crumple it up in a fit of rage, but she managed to restrain her anger. However, the result was a knot in her chest, leaving her so furious that even taking several deep breaths did not help.

Turning the bound agreement over so she couldn’t see the four big words on it helped her calm down slightly.

Luo Simo then looked at the adjacent handwritten note, scanning it quickly. She scoffed angrily.

Wish her happiness?

Doing such an infuriating thing and still wishing her happiness?

With immense disdain, Luo Simo picked up the two infuriating items and headed upstairs, ready to confront the person.

She noticed Ji Ran’s indoor slippers were missing from the shoe rack when she passed by, and it was only a little past seven, so the person should still be sleeping in.

As Luo Simo expected, Ji Ran was occupying the entire bed, sleeping very soundly in the center.

Luo Simo didn’t wake her up immediately.

The first order of business: lock the door.

Holding the single key, Luo Simo glanced around and tucked the key into her close-fitting shirt.

The second order of business: lock all the windows.

Ji Ran had already done a good job of this due to yesterday’s heavy rain.

The third order of business: take Ji Ran’s phone.

Luo Simo found a good spot for it, tucking it deep under the bed where the gap was tiny.

After that, it was just a matter of waiting for Ji Ran to wake up on her own.

Luo Simo had all day to wait for her. For now, let her sleep a bit longer.

While waiting for Ji Ran to wake up, Luo Simo also checked the room.

Very good. Ji Ran had already packed most of her things, contained in two cardboard boxes.

Luo Simo sneered, patiently taking them out one by one. Everything she remembered where it belonged was put back in its original place.

Want to run away?

Impossible…

While hanging up clothes, Luo Simo heard Ji Ran’s surprised voice behind her.

“Why are you back?!”

Didn’t she say the flight was canceled due to the weather?

Ji Ran instinctively looked out the window. The dimly lit blue curtains only told her that it was daylight. She reached for her phone, but couldn’t find it in the usual spot.

I swore I just left it by the pillow yesterday.

At the same time, hearing Ji Ran’s question, Luo Simo didn’t turn around immediately, still unhurriedly hanging up Ji Ran’s clothes on the hanger in the crook of her arm.

Only two pieces were left to hang.

Luo Simo was wearing a little black dress with a collared shirt design, and her lightly curled long hair was tied into a high ponytail. The fitted waist and short hem were very sexy. From the back, she was quite alluring.

But at this moment, Ji Ran couldn’t spare a thought for that.

Because, for some unknown reason, she sensed a chilling anger emanating from the back of Luo Simo, who usually ignored her, an anger that was restrained but still palpable…