Chapter 28:

Editor: SleepyMango123

Proofreader: meowmiao

Xu Lin was easier to get along with than he expected.
No matter what irrelevant questions Ji Ran asked, he would reply patiently.

One wouldn’t hit a smiling person, unless that person was called Qin Man.

So, even if he was really sent by Ji Wei to monitor him, Ji Ran couldn’t bring it up anymore.

“You became Ji Wei’s assistant once you joined?” Their topic circled around and finally came back to the start.
“Yong Shi is quite strict when it comes to selecting its staff, how did you do it?”

Ji Wei’s position wasn’t low when he entered Yong Shi.

Xu Lin smiled, “We were classmates, so he trusted me and allowed me to be his assistant.
It was like an internship.”

Ji Ran ‘oh’ed, “After so many years, you’re still his assistant? He’s really generous.”

“It’s alright, Mr Ji treats me quite well.” Xu Lin lowered his head to sip his tea.

Ji Ran wanted to say something else when his phone vibrated.
It was a text from Qin Man.

Q: Did you go out?

Daddy Ji: None of your business.

At this time, Xu Lin’s phone also rang.
When he saw the caller, his expression changed and he stood up.
“Mr Ji, please excuse me.”

“No need,” Ji Ran picked up the file on the table, “I’m not free today, so let’s end here.
I’ll be leaving.”

“Wait…” Xu Lin quickly stopped him, “I still have some matters to report.”

“Do it next time.
I just remembered I have something urgent to attend to.”

Xu Lin asked, “When is the next time?”

“… In a few days.”

“Is tomorrow okay?” Xu Lin pressed, “You’re starting work on Wednesday, there’s not a lot of time for us.
This is the first time you’re seeing these, there’ll be many things you’re unsure of.”

Ji Ran’s head hurt.
“We’ll see.”

“Mr Ji, I’m doing this in consideration of Yong Shi’s future development…”

“I got it.” Ji Ran interrupted him.
“Don’t book this tea house again tomorrow.
I don’t like tea.
And also, this call,” He pointed at Xu Lin’s phone, “either answer it or reject it.
It’s so annoying.”

After speaking, Ji Ran grabbed the files and held it like how he usually held his helmet, and left.
His presence was extremely attention-grabbing.
Just from covering a short distance, he had already successfully gotten the attention of nearly every person in the tea house.

After Xu Lin sent him off, he sat back down.

Ji Wei was right.
His brother was extremely arrogant, rude, and condescending.

It looks like his work in the future wouldn’t be as smooth…but it was better than in the past.

He stared at the incoming call for a moment, feeling the desire to answer it fade.
30 seconds later, the call disconnected after it failed to obtain an answer.

Ji Ran wasn’t lying when he said he had something urgent.
Right now, he urgently needed to drink milk tea to get rid of the tea’s bitter aftertaste.

He hated bitterness.

Ji Ran drove to his alma mater, also known as Man Cheng’s top school.
It was an elementary school, middle school, and high school all together.
Ji Ran spent six years of his middle school and high school years there.

The milk tea shop beside the school had been in business for more than a decade.
Reasonably priced and with a generous portion, coupled with the shop owner’s enthusiasm, led to a steady stream of customers for over a decade; Ji Ran was also one of their regulars.
Even after graduation, he would come over to drink milk tea with Yue Wen Wen every few days.

As it was school hours, there were no other customers in the store.
The lady boss was wiping the table with a rag when she saw him.
She smiled gently, “Xiao Ran, you’re back? What do you want to drink?”

“Yeah.” Ji Ran sat in his usual seat, “Same as always.”

The lady boss was taken aback, “What happened to your voice?”

Ji Ran said, “I just caught a cold.”

“Young people should be strong, how can you catch a cold? Pay attention to your health and wear more layers.
I’ll make hot milk tea for you,” The lady boss asked, “Why didn’t Wen Wen come with you today?”

“He’s too noisy, so I didn’t bring him along.”

After Ji Ran spoke, he rested his chin on his hand and glanced at the wall on the right.

The wall had plenty of post-it notes plastered on it, a casual pastime for students.
Because there were no signatures, it was full of complaints, truths, and confessions.

The store had been open for a decade, and the wall no longer had any space for more notes.
Once the wall was full, the lady boss would take these sticky notes and put them away.
She would then take them out and paste them back every three months.
The notes were selected randomly, which made it particularly interesting.
Therefore, during these particular months each year, there will be many more “tourists” coming to the store.
Once, there was even an interview conducted on this wall.

It was March now, and the shop would be bustling soon.

Ji Ran casually stared at the note in front of him.

“XX, under the winter moonlight, you are the third type of beauty.” The neat and elegant handwriting seemed to convey the girl’s shyness.

“We must win the basketball competition against the Third Class!”

There were replies in colourful handwriting under this note.

“Dream on!”

“Class Three will win!”

“Leave your name if you dare!”

……

…

It was a bunch of elementary school children.

Ji Ran actually felt like laughing after reading it.
Removing his mask, he took a deep breath of fresh air as his gaze fell onto a corner.

— “Ugly Qin Man.”

The scribbles on the note showed that the writer was not in a good mood when he wrote this sentence.

Ji Ran was shocked at first, then his pupils suddenly dilated.

There were many “replies” under this note, so even if the lady boss had put it in the corner, it was still conspicuous.

“Qin Man is the most handsome in our school! You’re the ugly one!”

“Which toad wrote this note? Are you jealous? I curse you to never be able to find a girlfriend!”

“I saw the person who wrote this note! It’s XXX from Class X!”

“I didn’t write it.
Whoever wrote it is a fool.”

You’re the fool.

Ji Ran cursed and angrily tore off the note.

The lady boss happened to see it when delivering the milk tea, and hurriedly said, “Xiao Ran, you can’t tear it off.”

Ji Ran didn’t attempt to return the note: “…Which year was this note from?”

“2009.” The lady boss finally reacted and smiled, “Is that your note? In 2009…you wrote it in your third year of junior high school?”

“It’s not mine.” Ji Ran denied, “It’s Yue Wen Wen’s, he wrote how he had a crush on his teacher.
I don’t think this is in line with our core socialist values.
I helped you to tear it off so that no reporters would come over and photograph it.”

The lady boss sighed, “…This actually happened?”

“It’s really shameful.” Ji Ran said calmly, “I’ll bring it back for him.”

The lady boss hesitated, “Well, you have to talk to him.
2009… How big was the age difference between him and his teacher? His teacher should have been married and already with children.”

“Alright.”

Ji Ran sat for a while with his hand in his pocket.
Holding the post-it note in his hand, he quietly drank the milk tea in front of him.

Twenty minutes later, he stood up and planned to leave the milk tea shop before more people arrived.

“Xiao Ran, you’re leaving?” The lady boss looked up, “Aren’t you going back to school to take a look? It’s almost the end of school.”

“There’s nothing to see.” Ji Ran put the money on the bar.

When he got home, Ji Ran drove the car into the garage when he received a call from Yue Wen Wen.

…… The lady boss already told him?

Because of his guilty conscience, Ji Ran’s tone was softer when he answered, “…What’s wrong?”

“Ran Ran!” Yue Wenwen lowered his voice, “Where are you?”

Ji Ran felt strange, “At home.”

“I saw Qin Man!”

Ji Ran paused.
“So what if you saw him? What did you call me for?”

“No… the point is that he’s with Ji Wei.”

“…”

“Really, they’re at this greek restaurant.
Come and see if you don’t believe me!” Yue Wen Wen exclaimed.

“What’s there to see?”

“Huh?”

“Can you please stop bothering me with these messy things?” Ji Ran sighed, “He can meet whoever he wants, why are you telling me about it? I’m not his father.”

Yue Wen Wen thought that it made sense.
“Right, I did it out of reflex… OK, then I’ll hang up.”

“Wait.” Ji Ran frowned and asked after a while, “What did they talk about?”

“How would I know?!”

Ji Ran suddenly felt his throat hurt more.
It was uncomfortable no matter how much he coughed.

“I’m hanging up.”

Stuffing the phone back into his pocket, Ji Ran took two steps, then suddenly remembered something.
He took out the post-it note from his pocket.

The lady boss kept the post-it notes very well.
Even after so many years, there was only one fold mark.

He stared at the note for a while, then clenched tightly, crushing the sticky note into a ball, and threw it in the trash can.

When Qin Man returned, Ji Ran was playing video games in front of the TV.
He had bought a few game discs, but hadn’t touched them yet.
Today, he finally remembered their existence.

Wearing a mask and a thick coat, he appeared rather careless.

Qin Man put down a plastic bag on the table but Ji Ran didn’t even turn to look.

Just when he was about to kill the boss, a big palm covered his forehead.

Qin Man murmured, “No fever.”

Ji Ran’s actions stagnated, and he turned abruptly to escape the other party’s palm, “Scram, don’t disturb me when I’m playing.”

Qin Man glanced at the screen and said, “I bought some medicine.
Eat a little after this stage.”

“You poisoned it.
I don’t want to eat it.”

Qin Man was amused, “Isn’t it uncomfortable to be sick?”

Ji Ran ignored him, skillfully killing the Boss in less than ten minutes.

When he turned around to have a drink, he saw Qin Man sitting on the sofa behind him, watching him with interest.

“…” He took out another disc and started a new game.

Qin Man saw the folder on the side of the sofa and raised his eyebrows.
He picked it up and flipped through a few pages.

After half a minute, he stared at the signature at the end of the file and asked, “Who did you meet today?”

“Don’t touch my things.”

Qin Man put down the documents.
“If I remember correctly, Isn’t Xu Lin Ji Wei’s assistant? He is Ji Wei’s right-hand man.
What did you see him for…did he bring you these documents?”

“He will be one of my people from now on.”

Qin Man thought he heard wrong.
“What?”

“He will be my assistant from now on.” Ji Ran dropped the controller and snatched the file away from him.

Qin Man frowned, “He has a close relationship with Ji Wei, I don’t recommend keeping him by your side…”

“What about you?” Ji Ran interrupted him suddenly.

“You’re also Ji Wei’s good friend and brother,” Ji Ran sneered, raising his brows provocatively, and continued in a derogatory tone, “But didn’t I still fuck you?”

T/n: Oh boy 

Chapter 28:

Editor: SleepyMango123

Proofreader: meowmiao

Xu Lin was easier to get along with than he expected.
No matter what irrelevant questions Ji Ran asked, he would reply patiently.

One wouldn’t hit a smiling person, unless that person was called Qin Man.

So, even if he was really sent by Ji Wei to monitor him, Ji Ran couldn’t bring it up anymore.

“You became Ji Wei’s assistant once you joined?” Their topic circled around and finally came back to the start.
“Yong Shi is quite strict when it comes to selecting its staff, how did you do it?”

Ji Wei’s position wasn’t low when he entered Yong Shi.

Xu Lin smiled, “We were classmates, so he trusted me and allowed me to be his assistant.
It was like an internship.”

Ji Ran ‘oh’ed, “After so many years, you’re still his assistant? He’s really generous.”

“It’s alright, Mr Ji treats me quite well.” Xu Lin lowered his head to sip his tea.

Ji Ran wanted to say something else when his phone vibrated.
It was a text from Qin Man.

Q: Did you go out?

Daddy Ji: None of your business.

At this time, Xu Lin’s phone also rang.
When he saw the caller, his expression changed and he stood up.
“Mr Ji, please excuse me.”

“No need,” Ji Ran picked up the file on the table, “I’m not free today, so let’s end here.
I’ll be leaving.”

“Wait…” Xu Lin quickly stopped him, “I still have some matters to report.”

“Do it next time.
I just remembered I have something urgent to attend to.”

Xu Lin asked, “When is the next time?”

“… In a few days.”

“Is tomorrow okay?” Xu Lin pressed, “You’re starting work on Wednesday, there’s not a lot of time for us.
This is the first time you’re seeing these, there’ll be many things you’re unsure of.”

Ji Ran’s head hurt.
“We’ll see.”

“Mr Ji, I’m doing this in consideration of Yong Shi’s future development…”

“I got it.” Ji Ran interrupted him.
“Don’t book this tea house again tomorrow.
I don’t like tea.
And also, this call,” He pointed at Xu Lin’s phone, “either answer it or reject it.
It’s so annoying.”

After speaking, Ji Ran grabbed the files and held it like how he usually held his helmet, and left.
His presence was extremely attention-grabbing.
Just from covering a short distance, he had already successfully gotten the attention of nearly every person in the tea house.

After Xu Lin sent him off, he sat back down.

Ji Wei was right.
His brother was extremely arrogant, rude, and condescending.

It looks like his work in the future wouldn’t be as smooth…but it was better than in the past.

He stared at the incoming call for a moment, feeling the desire to answer it fade.
30 seconds later, the call disconnected after it failed to obtain an answer.

Ji Ran wasn’t lying when he said he had something urgent.
Right now, he urgently needed to drink milk tea to get rid of the tea’s bitter aftertaste.

He hated bitterness.

Ji Ran drove to his alma mater, also known as Man Cheng’s top school.
It was an elementary school, middle school, and high school all together.
Ji Ran spent six years of his middle school and high school years there.

The milk tea shop beside the school had been in business for more than a decade.
Reasonably priced and with a generous portion, coupled with the shop owner’s enthusiasm, led to a steady stream of customers for over a decade; Ji Ran was also one of their regulars.
Even after graduation, he would come over to drink milk tea with Yue Wen Wen every few days.

As it was school hours, there were no other customers in the store.
The lady boss was wiping the table with a rag when she saw him.
She smiled gently, “Xiao Ran, you’re back? What do you want to drink?”

“Yeah.” Ji Ran sat in his usual seat, “Same as always.”

The lady boss was taken aback, “What happened to your voice?”

Ji Ran said, “I just caught a cold.”

“Young people should be strong, how can you catch a cold? Pay attention to your health and wear more layers.
I’ll make hot milk tea for you,” The lady boss asked, “Why didn’t Wen Wen come with you today?”

“He’s too noisy, so I didn’t bring him along.”

After Ji Ran spoke, he rested his chin on his hand and glanced at the wall on the right.

The wall had plenty of post-it notes plastered on it, a casual pastime for students.
Because there were no signatures, it was full of complaints, truths, and confessions.

The store had been open for a decade, and the wall no longer had any space for more notes.
Once the wall was full, the lady boss would take these sticky notes and put them away.
She would then take them out and paste them back every three months.
The notes were selected randomly, which made it particularly interesting.
Therefore, during these particular months each year, there will be many more “tourists” coming to the store.
Once, there was even an interview conducted on this wall.

It was March now, and the shop would be bustling soon.

Ji Ran casually stared at the note in front of him.

“XX, under the winter moonlight, you are the third type of beauty.” The neat and elegant handwriting seemed to convey the girl’s shyness.

“We must win the basketball competition against the Third Class!”

There were replies in colourful handwriting under this note.

“Dream on!”

“Class Three will win!”

“Leave your name if you dare!”

……

…

It was a bunch of elementary school children.

Ji Ran actually felt like laughing after reading it.
Removing his mask, he took a deep breath of fresh air as his gaze fell onto a corner.

— “Ugly Qin Man.”

The scribbles on the note showed that the writer was not in a good mood when he wrote this sentence.

Ji Ran was shocked at first, then his pupils suddenly dilated.

There were many “replies” under this note, so even if the lady boss had put it in the corner, it was still conspicuous.

“Qin Man is the most handsome in our school! You’re the ugly one!”

“Which toad wrote this note? Are you jealous? I curse you to never be able to find a girlfriend!”

“I saw the person who wrote this note! It’s XXX from Class X!”

“I didn’t write it.
Whoever wrote it is a fool.”

You’re the fool.

Ji Ran cursed and angrily tore off the note.

The lady boss happened to see it when delivering the milk tea, and hurriedly said, “Xiao Ran, you can’t tear it off.”

Ji Ran didn’t attempt to return the note: “…Which year was this note from?”

“2009.” The lady boss finally reacted and smiled, “Is that your note? In 2009…you wrote it in your third year of junior high school?”

“It’s not mine.” Ji Ran denied, “It’s Yue Wen Wen’s, he wrote how he had a crush on his teacher.
I don’t think this is in line with our core socialist values.
I helped you to tear it off so that no reporters would come over and photograph it.”

The lady boss sighed, “…This actually happened?”

“It’s really shameful.” Ji Ran said calmly, “I’ll bring it back for him.”

The lady boss hesitated, “Well, you have to talk to him.
2009… How big was the age difference between him and his teacher? His teacher should have been married and already with children.”

“Alright.”

Ji Ran sat for a while with his hand in his pocket.
Holding the post-it note in his hand, he quietly drank the milk tea in front of him.

Twenty minutes later, he stood up and planned to leave the milk tea shop before more people arrived.

“Xiao Ran, you’re leaving?” The lady boss looked up, “Aren’t you going back to school to take a look? It’s almost the end of school.”

“There’s nothing to see.” Ji Ran put the money on the bar.

When he got home, Ji Ran drove the car into the garage when he received a call from Yue Wen Wen.

…… The lady boss already told him?

Because of his guilty conscience, Ji Ran’s tone was softer when he answered, “…What’s wrong?”

“Ran Ran!” Yue Wenwen lowered his voice, “Where are you?”

Ji Ran felt strange, “At home.”

“I saw Qin Man!”

Ji Ran paused.
“So what if you saw him? What did you call me for?”

“No… the point is that he’s with Ji Wei.”

“…”

“Really, they’re at this greek restaurant.
Come and see if you don’t believe me!” Yue Wen Wen exclaimed.

“What’s there to see?”

“Huh?”

“Can you please stop bothering me with these messy things?” Ji Ran sighed, “He can meet whoever he wants, why are you telling me about it? I’m not his father.”

Yue Wen Wen thought that it made sense.
“Right, I did it out of reflex… OK, then I’ll hang up.”

“Wait.” Ji Ran frowned and asked after a while, “What did they talk about?”

“How would I know?!”

Ji Ran suddenly felt his throat hurt more.
It was uncomfortable no matter how much he coughed.

“I’m hanging up.”

Stuffing the phone back into his pocket, Ji Ran took two steps, then suddenly remembered something.
He took out the post-it note from his pocket.

The lady boss kept the post-it notes very well.
Even after so many years, there was only one fold mark.

He stared at the note for a while, then clenched tightly, crushing the sticky note into a ball, and threw it in the trash can.

When Qin Man returned, Ji Ran was playing video games in front of the TV.
He had bought a few game discs, but hadn’t touched them yet.
Today, he finally remembered their existence.

Wearing a mask and a thick coat, he appeared rather careless.

Qin Man put down a plastic bag on the table but Ji Ran didn’t even turn to look.

Just when he was about to kill the boss, a big palm covered his forehead.

Qin Man murmured, “No fever.”

Ji Ran’s actions stagnated, and he turned abruptly to escape the other party’s palm, “Scram, don’t disturb me when I’m playing.”

Qin Man glanced at the screen and said, “I bought some medicine.
Eat a little after this stage.”

“You poisoned it.
I don’t want to eat it.”

Qin Man was amused, “Isn’t it uncomfortable to be sick?”

Ji Ran ignored him, skillfully killing the Boss in less than ten minutes.

When he turned around to have a drink, he saw Qin Man sitting on the sofa behind him, watching him with interest.

“…” He took out another disc and started a new game.

Qin Man saw the folder on the side of the sofa and raised his eyebrows.
He picked it up and flipped through a few pages.

After half a minute, he stared at the signature at the end of the file and asked, “Who did you meet today?”

“Don’t touch my things.”

Qin Man put down the documents.
“If I remember correctly, Isn’t Xu Lin Ji Wei’s assistant? He is Ji Wei’s right-hand man.
What did you see him for…did he bring you these documents?”

“He will be one of my people from now on.”

Qin Man thought he heard wrong.
“What?”

“He will be my assistant from now on.” Ji Ran dropped the controller and snatched the file away from him.

Qin Man frowned, “He has a close relationship with Ji Wei, I don’t recommend keeping him by your side…”

“What about you?” Ji Ran interrupted him suddenly.

“You’re also Ji Wei’s good friend and brother,” Ji Ran sneered, raising his brows provocatively, and continued in a derogatory tone, “But didn’t I still fuck you?”

T/n: Oh boy 

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