CFRFGC Chapter 120

⌈”Why don’t you call me Uncle Ji anymore?”⌋

In the will, Ji Min’s tone was as calm as usual.

The beginning of the document dealt with his arrangements for his estate, shares, and some trivial matters.

It wasn’t too detailed; he merely mentioned that these would be handled by his lawyer.

It wasn’t until the end that there was a message specifically for Lu Ran.

Seeing the words “For Lu Ran, with love” written on the top, Lu Ran suddenly didn’t want to read it.

He folded the will neatly and placed it on the bedside table.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he stared blankly for quite a while.

It wasn’t until his phone vibrated and a message from the class group came through that he snapped out of his thoughts.

Lu Ran didn’t look at his phone, but instead, his gaze drifted back to the will on the bedside table.

He reached out and picked up the paper—now rendered void, but still unnervingly heavy.

He unfolded it and took another look.

When his eyes landed on the sharp yet steady handwriting, he quickly closed it again.

Lu Ran glanced at the bedroom door.

It hadn’t been shut when he entered in a hurry.

Outside, not far from the door, the person who had written this will was still working seriously.

Still breathing.

Still not far from him.

That made the paper in his hands feel less terrifying.

Lu Ran stood up, walked to the outer suite, closed the door, and locked it.

He then returned to the bedroom and closed that door as well.

The room instantly fell into complete silence.

Lu Ran took off his shoes, crossed his legs on the bed, and seriously opened the will.

The first line of the man’s words was an apology.

“I’m sorry that you had to go through such a horrible thing.

I once thought I could shield you from all the sadness in your life.

But I never expected that I would become one of the culprits.

Out of absolute rationality, I shouldn’t have accepted your confession before the surgery.

If we hadn’t gotten together, perhaps you wouldn’t be this heartbroken now.

But, I’m sorry.

I just couldn’t help myself…”

In the study, Ji Min finally finished his work.

He stretched lazily, glanced at the time, and realized it was almost time for lunch.

He was about to get up to find Lu Ran.

Ji Min turned around, only to notice the drawer next to him was open.

The memories, suppressed by the various matters discussed in the meeting, suddenly surged up.

Wait, which drawer did he ask Lu Ran to open earlier?

Ji Min quickly stood up from his office chair with a sharp “whoosh”.

He hurried over to the drawer to check.

The parent consent form was gone and so was the item that Butler Chen had given him last night.

The person who took it had done so quite boldly.

After taking it, they didn’t even bother to close the drawer, leaving it wide open without a hint of hiding anything.

Ji Min’s scalp tingled instantly.

He still held onto a bit of hope as he quickly rifled through the remaining contents in the drawer.

When he realized what had been taken, he immediately closed his eyes.

Ji Min slammed the drawer shut and walked out of the study in two steps.

He saw Butler Chen coming toward him and immediately asked, “Where’s Lu Ran?”

Butler Chen furrowed his brow. “I haven’t seen him come down. He’s probably still asleep.”

Ji Min frowned. “…”

“If I remember correctly, he should have woken up already,” he said.

Butler Chen was confused.

Ji Min stood before his own room door, his face pale with a troubled look all over his face.

Because his expression was so uneasy, Butler Chen couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? Did you two argue?”

Ji Min rubbed his face with his hand.

He sighed before replying, “We haven’t argued yet, but it might be more troublesome than an argument.”

“Hm?” Butler Chen was surprised.

Ji Min ran his hand through his hair and gestured to Butler Chen. “The things you gave me last night…”

“Did Lu Ran see them?” Butler Chen’s pupils dilated.

Ji Min reluctantly nodded.

Butler Chen gave him a look of “Good luck with that”.

Ji Min sighed again.

After mentally preparing himself, he weakly knocked on his door and softly called out, “Lu Ran?”

It was silent inside, no response.

He knocked again, but still no answer.

Looking at Butler Chen, Ji Min then reached for the doorknob.

But when he applied force, the knob didn’t turn.

The door was locked from the inside.

Ji Min furrowed his brows, a sense of worry creeping over him.

He quickly turned to Butler Chen and asked, “Where’s the key?”

Butler Chen quickly handed over the key.

Ji Min unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The small living room was quiet, without any sound. Even the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows were still drawn.

He walked further in, stopping in front of the closed bedroom door.

Ji Min didn’t knock but directly reached for the doorknob.

He thought the door would be locked too, but with just a slight push, the door opened.

The bedroom was very bright.

Blinding white sunlight streamed through the window, bathing the entire room in a dreamlike, faded white glow.

The boy sitting on the bed heard the sound and looked over toward the door.

He was still holding the paper. When he looked over, his eyes were red.

The paper in his hand was also crumpled tightly.

Ji Min softened his voice and gently called out, “Lu Ran?”

The boy seemed to just realize what was happening. He immediately raised his arm to wipe his eyes.

He realized the person who entered was the one who had written that paper.

Lu Ran waved the paper, pointing at Ji Min and saying, “You—you actually wrote this…”

His voice was hoarse, thick with nasal tones.

Ji Min walked in and closed the bedroom door behind him.

Seeing the tall figure of the man walking in, Lu Ran immediately stood up from the bed.

He was clearly still stunned from the impact of the will, standing there in confusion for a while before biting his lip and saying, “How could you write this?”

Ji Min let out a small laugh.

He walked to the side of the bed, helplessly saying, “But everything’s fine now, isn’t it?”

The man’s tone was so gentle, so indulgent.

All the panic, grievance, and anger that Lu Ran had suppressed surged up at once.

He stood on the bed, looking down at the man who was over twenty centimeters taller than him, and shouted, “You can’t write this! You’re not allowed!”

Lu Ran had never been reckless in his life.

Because he didn’t have the right to be reckless.

But now, he could say, without reason, to the man in front of him, “You can’t do this. I won’t allow it!”

He wouldn’t allow parting and he certainly wouldn’t allow death.

“Alright, alright, I won’t write it again.”

Ji Min stepped forward, worried Lu Ran might trip on the bed. He hurriedly reached out to hold Lu Ran’s waist.

Lu Ran looked at the man right in front of him.

Lu Ran tried to make himself even angrier. He reached out to tear the crumpled paper in his hand, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He just looked up with an expression on the verge of tears and shouted, “I’m going to get angry!”

But immediately, he couldn’t hold back and reached out to hug the man’s neck.

As if still not reassured, he jumped up, wrapping his legs around the man’s waist.

Like an octopus, he clung to Ji Min tightly.

He buried his head in the man’s neck, a trembling sound escaping his lips: “How could you do this…”

The man’s trivial mutterings from the will seemed to still linger in front of his eyes.

Lu Ran could only hold on tight, desperately trying to feel the presence of the person before him.

Ji Min lifted him up and helplessly smiled at him: “Look at you. I’m fine, aren’t I?”

Lu Ran held onto him without speaking.

“Alright…” Ji Min held him with one arm, lifting Lu Ran’s chin with the other hand.

The boy’s eyes were horribly red.

Ji Min sighed, leaning in to kiss his eyelid. “It’s all meaningless now, so why be sad?”

He then reached for the will that Lu Ran was clutching tightly: “I was afraid you’d be angry, so I wasn’t planning on showing you this.”

Lu Ran wouldn’t let him take it.

Though he was furious about the will, he still avoided Ji Min’s hand and tightly clutched the paper in his palm.

Ji Min held him, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Lu Ran carefully put the paper away.

Then, he tilted his head to look at Ji Min.

He said, “In your letter, you said you regretted being with me so early.”

Ji Min nodded and leaned in to kiss him.

He rarely regretted things.

The day before he left to go to the hospital, Ji Min truly regretted it.

He regretted kissing Lu Ran uncontrollably at the hospital.

He regretted that when the boy confessed to him so earnestly, he couldn’t bring himself to hesitate or reject.

Ji Min had originally wanted to arrange everything, wait until the surgery was over, wait until the risks were gone, and then walk in front of Lu Ran on his own two feet.

But unfortunately, Lu Ran was like the only surprise in his life.

No matter when, Ji Min couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

Ji Min even thought, if his life had ended on the day of the surgery, at least he would have had this, if only for a short while.

But in the blink of an eye, he would feel guilty for such a selfish thought.

Ji Min looked up.

But then, the boy in front of him stretched out his hand and fiercely pinched his face, ruthlessly tormenting it.

He said, glaring, “You’re wrong to think that way!”

Ji Min leaned his forehead against his.

Suddenly, he raised his gaze and met Lu Ran’s eyes.

And in that moment, Ji Min understood.

The person in front of him seemed angry, almost like a child throwing a tantrum, but he understood Ji Min’s struggle.

He also understood his uncontrollable “selfishness”.

Unable to hold back, Ji Min lowered his head and kissed him.

It was a soft kiss.

The gentle touch and breath seemed about to blend into the bright, white sunlight.

The bedroom door was closed.

It was already past lunchtime, but no one came to disturb them.

The sun was high and the daylight on the weekend was long.

There was a relaxation and laziness that made one’s bones feel soft.

It was as if all the tension and worries had quietly faded away.

Only the peaceful sunlight remained.

The room was bright.

Ji Min held him.

At this completely inappropriate moment, he suddenly leaned closer to Lu Ran’s ear and softly asked, “Is it okay?”

Lu Ran paused for a moment before crawling out of his embrace.

The boy was dressed lightly. After being held, his T-shirt was wrinkled and rolled up.

Ji Min thought he was rejecting him.

But then, Lu Ran seriously said, “Wait, I’m ready.”

Ji Min raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Lu Ran turned around, stretched his arm, and pulled a small box out of the drawer beneath the bedside table.

The boy didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed.

In fact, he had a look of self-satisfaction, as if to say, “See how impressive I am.”

With those eyes still a bit red, he appeared unexpectedly amusing.

Ji Min took the small box and looked at it. It was a bestseller from the supermarket counter.

He then looked at the bottom of the box, where there was a small letter: M.

“Size M,” Ji Min said.

Lu Ran’s face showed shock. Did this thing really come in different sizes?

Then he saw the man in front of him curl his lips into a smirk, teasing, “Did you buy it for yourself?”

From that one short sentence, Lu Ran could hear the heavy insinuation.

His ears turned red, and he got angry.

Lu Ran reached out and snatched the box away. “Then we won’t do it today!”

Ji Min hurriedly smiled and grabbed his hand.

Lu Ran glared at him and saw the man stretch his arm to grab a familiar black box from the bedside table on his side.

Lu Ran: “…”

The last time’s misunderstanding in the bathroom flashed in his mind.

But when it really came time to use it, Lu Ran still felt a bit uneasy.

He glanced at the brightly lit window and immediately tried to get out of bed.

Halfway through, he was stopped.

“Where are you going?” the man asked in a hoarse voice.

Lu Ran: “…”

“I’m going to pull the curtains,” he said.

Ji Min didn’t let him move. Instead, he grabbed the remote beside him and pulled the sheer curtain across the window to block the view.

The dim curtain fluttered by the window and the view outside became blurry.

However, the bright sunlight still shone through without any obstruction.

Lu Ran’s ears turned red inch by inch.

He held his arm in front of his face and tried to shield himself for a while, but still couldn’t help it. He tried to get up again.

“I’m going to pull another layer!” he said.

Ji Min stopped him and smiled at him. “Are you nervous?”

“I’m not!” Lu Ran immediately replied.

He lowered his arm, which had been covering his eyes, and said firmly, “I-I’ve seen it before.”

“Hm? Seen what?” Ji Min asked in surprise.

“I’ve seen… the rabbits in the lab!”

Lu Ran said seriously, “Once during an experiment, our group shared a test table with the group next door. Suddenly their rabbits ran over to our table to… ride our rabbit!”

Both rabbits were male.

Lu Ran and his classmates were all stunned at the time, watching these two rabbits do something indescribable on the test table.

At the time, Lu Ran thought the rabbits were fighting, so he tried to pull them apart to prevent them from getting hurt.

The boy spoke earnestly, not thinking at all that this story would seem awkward to tell now.

Ji Min lowered his gaze and stared at him, unable to hold back a chuckle. He leaned down to laugh softly against Lu Ran’s chest.

The vibrations of his chest reached Lu Ran’s body.

Lu Ran wanted to say something more but was silenced when the man lowered his voice and kissed him on the lips.

“Shh.” Ji Min whispered softly in his ear.

Until the sweat blurred their vision.

Lu Ran then realized that Ji Min could hold a grudge too.

He complained about the light being too bright, asking the man to close the curtains.

Ji Min leaned close to his ear and said, “Don’t you like when the lights suddenly turn on?”

And at a moment when Lu Ran could barely speak, the man stopped, leisurely smiled, and asked, “Why aren’t you calling me ‘Uncle Ji’ anymore?”

Lu Ran: “…”

He took a deep breath, bit his lip, and said gruffly, “Focus on what you’re doing. Don’t talk.”

Ji Min raised an eyebrow and deliberately leaned in again, whispering many more things in his ear.

The warm, brilliant sunlight outside the window finally took on an intense, passionate hue.

Layer upon layer, it grew thicker in color.

In the end, it blurred into a soft, dreamy shade of crimson.

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