I'm Interested In Your Friend - Chapter 44
44
Jian Sijia craned her neck, her gaze following the two figures walking together toward the restroom.
“Lili, is that Jiang Ruofu?” Jian Sijia nudged her chin forward and asked.
“Yeah,” Yu Lili replied with a quiet hum.
Jian Sijia pointed with her finger and teased, “Ohhh, ohhh, I get it now…”
“What do you get?” Yu Lili turned her face away slightly, her heart tightening uncomfortably.
“You’re annoyed that… Tan Suran is getting too close to your white moonlight, aren’t you?”
Yu Lili’s tensed heart relaxed completely.
Jian Sijia was truly a genius.
Her guess was almost on point.
But it was completely the opposite.
Yu Lili lazily parted her lips and denied it flatly: “No, not at all… She’s not.”
“Alright, alright, if you say she’s not, then she’s not. But why is she back in the country? Is she single? Any room for development?”
Yu Lili rolled her eyes. “If you’re interested, go find out yourself…”
Why is taking a bathroom break taking so long?
“I’m going to the restroom.”
Unable to resist, Yu Lili followed after them.
Passing through the carved corridor, the surroundings grew quieter, no longer as noisy as the main hall.
A voice drifted into her ears.
“Tan Suran, Dad is looking for you.”
Yu Lili peeked around the corner. Not far away, Tan Minghao stood blocking Tan Suran’s path. Jiang Ruofu was nowhere to be seen.
Tan Suran: “Where?”
“Second-floor study.”
Without another word, Tan Suran strode up the stairs to the second floor.
Tan Minghao chased after her. “Wait for me. Tan Suran, why do you keep hanging up on me?”
“Do you know what the biggest waste of time in the world is?”
“Huh? What?”
Tan Suran raised an eyebrow. “Talking to someone with an abysmal IQ.”
Watching Tan Minghao’s dumbfounded expression, she tilted her chin slightly and graciously explained: “Like right now.”
Tan Minghao froze for a second before reacting, his face twisting in anger. “You really don’t hold back, do you?”
Tan Suran replied coldly, “Nope. So, can you shut up now?”
“…” Tan Minghao opened and closed his mouth several times before finally clamping it shut.
Yu Lili stood where she was, listening to the sound of their footsteps ascending the stairs.
Though she knew eavesdropping wasn’t proper, she was worried the Tan family might bully Tan Suran. After a moment’s hesitation, she quietly followed them upstairs.
Crouching low, Yu Lili tiptoed along the wall.
Voices drifted out from inside.
It sounded like Madam Tan.
“You’re a girl—what are you trying to achieve by running around outside like that?” What’s the point of working so hard? You’ll just end up returning to the family anyway. And with the family’s wealth and influence, wouldn’t it be better if you just came back?
Madam Tan looked at Tan Suran with a pleading expression.
Tan Suran frowned impatiently, completely ignoring Madam Tan and turning instead to Old Man Tan. “What did you call me back for?”
Old Man Tan sat in his dragon-head chair, coughing deliberately before speaking. “Your mother was thinking of you. She said you’re at the right age now and has picked out a few potential matches for you. Meet them, get to know them, and see how it goes.”
Tan Suran: “That’s it?”
Old Man Tan tapped his cane. “Mm.”
Tan Suran arched a brow, resting a hand on her hip. “I’m leaving.”
Madam Tan smiled warmly. “Ranran, let me know when you’re free, okay?”
Tan Suran paused mid-turn. “If you still don’t understand, let me make it clearer. You didn’t care for me when I was young, and now it’s useless because you can’t control me anymore.”
“And just so you know, my mother is lying underground. If she has anything to say to me, she doesn’t need you to relay it.”
Bang!
Old Man Tan slammed an inkstone onto the floor.
Shards of porcelain scattered everywhere.
“You—you ungrateful wretch!”
“I’m your father, and this is your mother!”
Madam Tan quickly tried to mediate. “Old Tan, don’t talk to Ranran like that. It’s fine, really. As long as you two father and daughter are happy, you can call me whatever you want.”
Old Man Tan pointed at Tan Suran and said to Madam Tan, “Don’t defend her. She doesn’t appreciate it at all.”
Tan Suran remained unfazed and chimed in, “Mm, correct.”
Two words.
That was all it took to send Old Man Tan into a rage.
Old Man Tan trembled with fury. “Your wings have hardened, haven’t they? You don’t even want this family anymore?”
Tan Suran smirked lightly. “You’re only realizing this now?”
Old Man Tan clutched his chest, shaking with anger.
Madam Tan patted his back soothingly. “Don’t be angry, Old Tan. Things were said in the heat of the moment. Ranran is your daughter—how could she not listen to you?”
Tan Minghao crossed his arms and snapped, “How dare you talk to Dad like that? What kind of daughter are you?”
Tan Suran glanced at him sideways and said flatly, “You should be grateful we’re in the Tan family home right now. Otherwise, someone like you wouldn’t even qualify to speak to my assistant.”
Tan Minghao was left speechless.
Old Man Tan, leaning on Madam Tan’s arm, slowly walked up to Tan Suran. “You came back today just to stir up trouble and make this family miserable, didn’t you?”
Tan Suran couldn’t be bothered to argue about who had called whom repeatedly to demand her return.
She was about to leave when—
Thud! Thud!
Old Man Tan’s cane struck the floor sharply. “Are you ignoring me?!”
Tan Suran turned back, her tone polite yet distant. “Are you done lecturing me? If you are, I’ll take my leave. If not—well, you’ve got your son right here. Feel free to lecture him instead.”
“You—!” Old Man Tan suddenly raised his arm, swinging his hand toward Tan Suran’s face—
But the expected smack never came.
Tan Suran was yanked back by a hand, dodging the blow.
Surprised, she turned to look behind her.
The other three members of the Tan family were equally stunned by the intruder.
Madam Tan was the first to recover, forcing a smile. “Miss Yu, what are you doing here?”
Yu Lili crossed her arms, her tone sharp. “Didn’t your family send my family the invitation? Why are you asking me that?”
Madam Tan shot Tan Minghao a look. “Miss Yu, you must have taken a wrong turn. Minghao, escort Miss Yu back to the main hall.”
Yu Lili refused to budge. “If I hadn’t taken a wrong turn, I wouldn’t have heard how you all gang up on her.”
Madam Tan’s smile stiffened. “Miss Yu, this is a private family matter.”
“Private? Do you not understand human language?”
“Have you ever been to school? Can you comprehend Mandarin?”
“Tan Suran just made herself perfectly clear.”
Yu Lili’s gaze swept across the room, her voice icy. “You… have no right to control her.”
Madam Tan opened her mouth to speak.
“Auntie, don’t bother. The moment you open your mouth, this whole room reeks of cheap tea.”
Tan Minghao scowled. “How can you speak so rudely? Were you raised without manners?”
“Oh really? I’ll be sure to relay your words to my parents. And next time you criticize someone, maybe pick something you actually possess. Manners? Do you have any?” Yu Lili’s scathing gaze swept over the three of them. “Even if you do, the quality is clearly lacking.”
With an outsider present, Old Man Tan restrained his temper slightly. “Miss Yu, you’re being extremely disrespectful. I am disciplining my own daughter. Please leave.”
“Your daughter? Did you give birth to Tan Suran? You contributed nothing but a sperm—I’ll pay you back for her. What kind do you want? I’ll buy you a hundred samples from a sperm bank tomorrow, how about that?”
“Tan Suran owes you nothing.”
Despite his efforts to maintain composure in front of a junior, Old Man Tan’s face flushed crimson with rage at Yu Lili’s relentless verbal assault.
Yu Lili eyed him disdainfully. “What, you want to hit me too? Go ahead. With the way you wheeze after three steps, let’s see who comes out on top. I won’t hold back.”
Madam Tan finally interjected, “Miss Yu, you’re a guest of the Tan family today.”
“Who cares? Don’t ever invite me again.”
With that, Yu Lili grabbed Tan Suran’s hand and stormed out of the suffocating room.
Tan Suran stayed silent.
So did Yu Lili.
Her chest heaved violently.
Arguing like this—especially so fiercely—was something Yu Lili had little experience with.
But the moment she saw Tan Suran being ganged up on by those people, that old man even trying to hit her—
Yu Lili couldn’t hold back.
She couldn’t catch her breath.
Gasping heavily, she glared at Tan Suran. “Are you stupid? Why didn’t you dodge? Just standing there letting him hit you?”
Tan Suran held Yu Lili’s hand, her gaze tender, her lips curling slightly.
“You’re smiling? Are you happy?”
Tan Suran: “I am.”
Yu Lili scoffed. “Are you a masochist?”
Tan Suran met her eyes steadily. “They stopped being able to hurt me a long time ago.”
Yu Lili fell silent, turning her face away.
She seemed genuinely upset.
Tan Suran didn’t take it seriously at first.
It wasn’t until a moment later that she noticed Yu Lili’s shoulders trembling.
Tears began to fall, one after another.
“Why are you crying?” She pulled out a handkerchief, gently dabbing at Yu Lili’s cheeks.
“I’m just—so angry,” Yu Lili choked out between sobs. “How dare they treat you like this?”
Tan Suran watched the sniffling girl in silent awe.
A place she thought could no longer feel pain, a barren wasteland, was suddenly bathed in warm sunlight.
Something tender and alive began to sprout.