Chapter 24: A Blindingly Obvious Secret Crush

After arriving at the hospital, Lin Yuran helped her grandmother complete the discharge paperwork. They packed up briefly and headed straight to the convalescent home owned by Chi Ye’s family.

Grandma was unusually lucid today and had been cheerful the whole ride until they reached the gates of the facility. That’s when she flatly refused to get out of the car.

“Little Nuotao, this place looks way too expensive. I’m not staying here. How much can you possibly earn? You still have school. I’m just an old useless woman. I don’t need to live somewhere this nice. No, no, take me back right now.”

Lin Yuran coaxed her gently. “Grandma, this nursing home belongs to Chi Ye’s family. He’s giving me a discount, it’s not expensive.”

But the moment Grandma heard that, she got angry. She raised her hand and gave Lin Yuran a swat on the back. “Little Nuotao, what have I always told you? Don’t take advantage of others! Have you forgotten everything I taught you? If Chi Ye wants to date you, that’s one thing. Go ahead and date him properly. But you can’t trouble him like this! Did you forget all my lessons?”

“!” Lin Yuran snuck a glance at Chi Ye.

“You’re going to be the death of me!” Grandma raised her hand again, about to smack her.

Chi Ye quickly grabbed her hand mid-air. “Grandma, didn’t you say yesterday that I should take good care of Little Nuotao? If I take care of you, she won’t have to worry and can focus on her studies. Isn’t that exactly what you wanted?”

Grandma huffed, still fuming. “Even so, she shouldn’t be learning to freeload off people!”

Chi Ye chuckled, playing along. “But Grandma, I’m her boyfriend. How could I be considered ‘people’? You’re making me sound like a stranger. That really hurts, you know.”

“…” Lin Yuran covered her face with her hand.

Forget it. Let those two keep talking. As long as they could convince Grandma, it was fine. When Grandma got stubborn, no one could move her.

Grandma seemed to cool down a bit. “Boyfriend or not, there’s still a difference. It’s not like you two are married. If you were, I’d gladly accept your kindness.”

Chi Ye’s lips curled with mischief. He leaned closer and murmured to Lin Yuran, “Why don’t we just go register our marriage first?”

Lin Yuran blinked, then mouthed back: Get lost.

Chi Ye stifled his grin and turned back to persuade Grandma. “You’re absolutely right, Grandma. But since I am Little Nuotao’s boyfriend, it would be wrong for me to take money from her, right? So I gave her a discount. I’m not losing money on this.”

Grandma went quiet, thinking it over. “That… does sound reasonable. So how much is it after the discount?”

Chi Ye pretended to calculate. “Five hundred.”

Lin Yuran’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth, but Chi Ye subtly gestured for her to stay quiet.

Grandma started counting on her fingers but got confused halfway through. Her concept of money was a bit hazy and she often mixed up past and present prices. Eventually, she gave up. “Fine. If you say you’re not losing money, I’ll believe you.”

Finally, they’d convinced her.

After settling Grandma in, Lin Yuran went to the front desk to handle the check-in. She’d assumed that the ‘five hundred’ Chi Ye mentioned was just a random number to appease Grandma, but when she looked at the invoice, it really said five hundred per month.

Chi Ye stood nearby, all nonchalant. “That’s the price I agreed on with Grandma. If I charge more and she finds out one day, she’ll think I have no integrity.”

“This won’t do,” Lin Yuran frowned. “Didn’t you see how she scolded me just now?”

Chi Ye didn’t argue further. He pointed at the detailed billing sheet. “The full cost is listed here, take a look.”

She picked up the sheet. It listed everything from daily meals to supplies, line by line. When she added it all up… it really did total five hundred.

“As for labor and room fees, if you’re seriously making me charge you for that, then what are we even?” Chi Ye’s tone darkened.

“…”

She had no retort and reluctantly signed the paperwork.

After the check-in was done, Lin Yuran stayed a while longer to help Grandma settle in, worried she might struggle to adjust. By the time she left, dusk had fallen.

Chi Ye had stayed the entire afternoon, taking care of everything for Grandma with the meticulousness of a future grandson-in-law. Since Lin Yuran’s stuff was still in his car, he naturally drove her home again.

When they pulled up outside her building, she spotted a familiar figure and rolled down the window. “Lin Yiqun!”

He turned around, holding a plush bouquet of stuffed animals.

Chi Ye parked the car.

Lin Yuran stepped out and greeted him with a smile. “How long have you been here?”

“Not long. I rushed over after work.” Lin Yiqun smiled warmly and handed her the plush bouquet. “Happy first day of school. Sorry I couldn’t make it to your opening ceremony.”

“You don’t have to say that.” She accepted the bouquet, running her fingers over the Kuromi plush inside. “It’s adorable. I love it, thank you.”

“I knew you’d like it.”

Then he glanced at the car. “Chi Ye brought you home?”

“Yeah.” She turned and looked at Chi Ye in the driver’s seat, then handed the bouquet back to Lin Yiqun. “Hold this for me. There’s still a bunch of stuff in the car.”

She moved toward the passenger door, took her backpack, slung it over her shoulder, and said to Chi Ye, “Thanks for today. I’ll head in now.”

Chi Ye turned off the engine. “There’s a lot of stuff. I’ll help carry it up.”

Without thinking, she replied, “No need, Lin Yiqun’s here.”

Chi Ye glanced toward Lin Yiqun, his voice tight: “Lin Yuran, do you think that’s appropriate?”

“?” Lin Yuran blinked at him.

Chi Ye’s lips pressed into a thin line. He didn’t say another word, but his expression had clearly turned cold.

He’d seemed perfectly cheerful during the drive. What happened? Why was he suddenly sulking again? She hadn’t even said anything wrong. He was seriously hard to deal with.

She thought over his words. Come to think of it, he’d driven her home countless times, but she’d never once invited him in. Today, when he offered to carry her things up, she turned him down, yet let Lin Yiqun come up. It was a bit rude.

Lin Yuran smiled. “Alright then. Thank you. And you’re welcome to come in for a bit.”

Chi Ye’s brow lifted slightly, but he said nothing. He closed the driver’s door and went to the back seat.

She followed, took out the bouquet from Xu Jianwei, and handed it to Lin Yiqun. Then she picked up a bouquet of roses, but before she could reach for the shopping bags, Chi Ye had already carried them off.  He closed the door, then popped the trunk and pulled out two boxes of fruit.

Lin Yuran gave him a questioning look.

He said calmly, “You invited me in, didn’t you? I can’t show up empty-handed.”

“No need.” She shook the bouquet in her arms. “I already have flowers.”

“Those are for your first day of school. The fruit’s for visiting your home. Different things.”

“…”

His hands were full. Lin Yuran tried to take one of the fruit boxes.

“Move.” He sidestepped her. “With arms that skinny, what could you carry?”

“…”

Lin Yiqun adjusted the bouquet in his arms and stepped forward to help. “Chi Ye, long time no see.”

Chi Ye gave him a glance and replied flatly, “Yeah, long time.”

“Little Nuotao,” Chi Ye turned to Lin Yuran, “get the car keys from my pocket and lock the car.”

She let out an “Oh,” and asked, “Left or right?”

“Right.”

She went around, fished out the keys, and locked the car.

The three of them went upstairs. While waiting for the elevator, Lin Yiqun made conversation. “Chi Ye, how do you know Ranran’s nickname is Little Nuotao?”

Chi Ye’s brows tensed. He replied coldly, “I just do.”

Boom. Conversation dead.

Lin Yuran thought back. In school, she and Chi Ye barely spoke. If there was any tension, it was probably from Lin Yiqun’s side. He used to come to their class asking to switch seats with Chi Ye, and Chi Ye always refused.

The elevator arrived. They stepped in. Chi Ye, standing by the buttons, asked, “Which floor?”

Seeing his hands were full, Lin Yuran was about to press the button when Lin Yiqun beat her to it and hit [8]. Chi Ye glanced at the glowing number, then at Lin Yiqun.

At the eighth floor, Lin Yuran got out first, quickly unlocking the door and opening it for them.

Lin Yiqun entered, set the bouquet on the entryway cabinet, placed the fruit boxes on the floor, opened the shoe cabinet like he was at home, swapped into men’s slippers he’d left there, and fetched Lin Yuran’s slippers too. Then he carried the fruit box into the kitchen and began unpacking.

Chi Ye stood in the entryway, watching all of this, his face growing darker.

Lin Yuran put down her bouquet and backpack, switched shoes, and took the bags from Chi Ye. “Sorry, no spare slippers. You can keep your shoes on.”

Lin Yiqun returned and took the remaining fruit box from Chi Ye, heading back to the kitchen. Chi Ye clenched his fists and glanced at the pale gray rug in the living room. He quietly removed his shoes.

“No need,” Lin Yuran said quickly. “I don’t mop often. You’ll get your socks dirty.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Then just stay on the carpet. The marble floor’s cold.”

“Mm.” Chi Ye sat down on the sofa.

She fetched a new cup, washed it twice, and poured him some warm water.

Chi Ye looked around. It was a cozy one-bedroom apartment, decorated in modern luxury. Feminine but tasteful.

“Nice place you’ve got here.”

Lin Yuran smiled. “Xu Jianwei’s apartment. Thanks to my bestie, I’ve lived decently these past few years.”

Chi Ye pressed his lips into a line and said nothing. Lin Yiqun returned with a fruit platter, set it before Chi Ye, then resumed putting fruit away in the kitchen.

Chi Ye glanced at the plate, then at Lin Yiqun busying himself. “So I’m the only guest here, huh?”

“!” Lin Yuran blinked. “Uh… Lin Yiqun and I are pretty close. When something breaks, like a light or pipe, he helps fix it. Sometimes when I’m drawing and can’t entertain, he just does things himself. He’s gotten used to it.”

Chi Ye gave a soft ‘heh’. “Frequent flyer, huh?”

“…”

She didn’t know how to respond. Childhood friends visiting, what was wrong with that?

Lin Yiqun finished up, washed his hands, and sat down.

Chi Ye glanced at the untouched cup of water on the table. “Little Nuotao, pour Lin Yiqun a glass of water.”

Lin Yiqun paused, clearly surprised. He waved it off. “No need. I’ll get it myself if I’m thirsty.”

Chi Ye glanced at him, saying no more.

“Ranran, did you guys take pictures today? Show me!” Lin Yiqun said. “I heard Qingbei’s opening ceremony is huge.”

“We did! I recorded some videos too.” She picked up her phone and unlocked it.

Chi Ye took out his phone too. “Zhang Qin sent me a copy of our group photo. Want me to forward it?”

“Sure.” She opened WeChat.

Chi Ye sent the photo. Lin Yuran saved it and handed her phone to Lin Yiqun. He flipped through the pictures, voice tinged with envy. “Looks amazing.”

No one understood that feeling better than Lin Yuran. She sat quietly beside him, not boasting, not comforting, just keeping him company.

Chi Ye leaned back on the sofa, saying nothing, his eyes fixed on the harmonious scene of them huddled over the phone.

Lin Yiqun came across the photo of her and Chi Ye standing side by side in their Qingbei uniforms in front of the school sign. Even he felt a sense of unreality.

If time could turn back… 

Would regrets cease to exist?

Lost in thought, he flipped to the next photo.

A group of five: three men in the back, Lin Yuran and Xu Jianwei in front. A casual group pose, but visually stunning. He swiped again. Another group shot. He paused, then flipped back.

He noticed something.

In every shot, Chi Ye wasn’t looking at the camera. His gaze was fixed solely on Lin Yuran. The affection in his eyes was practically tangible.

Lin Yiqun looked up at Chi Ye only to meet a pair of sharp, dangerous black eyes.

“…”

He quickly looked down, sped through the rest of the pictures, and handed the phone back to Lin Yuran.

They chatted a bit more. The fruit plate was soon empty.

Chi Ye checked his watch, then turned a steely gaze toward Lin Yiqun. He stared for a long time.

Lin Yiqun, feeling the pressure, finally asked, “What?”

Chi Ye crossed his arms. “You’re not leaving?”

……

T/N: Chi Ye, be good, don’t show jealousy too easily hahahaha