CFRFGC Chapter 127

⌈”It was two people who did it together, why do you want me to handle it alone?”⌋

Ji Min was taken aback.

The two of them exchanged a glance and couldn’t help but laugh.

Da Huang, not understanding what they were laughing about, yawned and lay down to sleep.

“Do you have time tomorrow?” Ji Min asked.

“No,” Lu Ran ruthlessly rejected.

“No?”

The man raised his brows high, “You were too busy with the lab work before to have time, but now you still don’t?”

Lu Ran mocked him, “You asked me if I had time and I answered honestly. Why are you upset?”

Ji Min, frustrated, knocked him on the forehead.

Later that night, in the bedroom, the lights were off.

Lu Ran was curled up in the air-conditioned blanket, sleeping soundly without a care in the world, his soft snores almost starting to sound.

The air conditioning in the room was set high, but since he felt hot, his legs kicked the thin blanket into a mess.

After kicking it off, he still felt too warm, so he pressed his body against the man beside him, whose temperature was slightly cooler.

His sleeping posture wasn’t very good, his legs draped across the man’s body.

Ji Min reached out and pulled him into his arms, but his dark eyes showed no sign of sleep.

Recently, he kept thinking about the psychological self-portrait the therapist had shown him.

Of course, he was also thinking about things related to the Shen family.

The Ji family’s background was different from the Shen family’s.

But Ji Min was also a businessman and his family had its own share of troubles.

Sometimes, he could easily guess what Shen Hongyuan or Shen Xingyu might be thinking.

Shen Hongyuan had altered the will and seized the inheritance that originally belonged to Lu Ran.

Then, after many years, Lu Ran was brought back.

To the Shen family, he was like a ticking time bomb.

If he were to be used by an opposing force or if Lu Ran discovered something and chose to expose it to the media, it would cause major turmoil within Shen Corporation.

So, even though Shen Hongyuan didn’t like Lu Ran as his son, he had to keep him in the Shen family.

Or more accurately, he had to keep him within the Shen family’s control.

By the time Shen Xingyu took over Shen Corporation, things were already set in stone. He was more inclined to protect the interests of the company itself.

But, even without considering family ties, Shen Xingyu wouldn’t take any extreme actions.

Because the aftermath of extreme actions could be disastrous, potentially leading to a huge scandal if things went wrong.

Shen Xingyu would likely prefer to have Lu Ran join Shen Corporation, increasing the ties between him and the Shen family, and ideally turning them into a mutually beneficial entity.

This was the thinking of a normal family.

Unfortunately, when Shen Xingyu returned, the situation had already been turned into a complete mess by the Shen family.

If it was said that Ji Min could somewhat understand Shen Xingyu’s actions…

What about Shen Hongyuan?

Ji Min always felt that Shen Hongyuan had a deep fear of Lu Ran as his son.

He would rather see his younger son disappear.

Ji Min couldn’t help but think of Lu Ran’s car accident again.

He lowered his head to look at the person sleeping peacefully in his arms and tightened his embrace.

However, the person clearly wasn’t appreciative, feeling hot, and immediately pushed him away.

Lu Ran turned his body to one side and sprawled out, creating quite a distance.

Ji Min chuckled softly before continuing his thoughts.

Inevitably, he couldn’t stop wondering.

What if Lu Ran hadn’t met him…?

What if Shen Hongyuan had truly orchestrated that car accident and Lu Ran had completely fallen into the Shen family’s hands?

Who would be there to help him?

Madam Shen only had eyes for Shen Xingran.

Shen Xingzhuo had no sense of responsibility.

Even though Shen Xingyu might feel pain, the situation had already been set. He would still choose to protect the interests of Shen Corporation.

Ji Min’s mind again wandered back to that self-portrait.

The figure is trapped in a square bed, covered with dense black lines representing pain.

“A person who’s been trapped in the hospital for ten years would never want to return to such a hellish place…”

The blurry words of the boy echoed in Ji Min’s mind.

They made his heart skip a beat.

Now, Lu Ran could obviously never be locked in a hospital for ten years.

Nor would he be pushed into an icy cold pool.

But… what if…?

An absurd speculation flashed through Ji Min’s mind.

It was so far-fetched that he immediately dismissed it, almost laughing at himself.

But this nearly ridiculous guess lingered in his thoughts, refusing to fade.

Suddenly, Ji Min remembered something else — after the accident, when Lu Ran woke up in the hospital.

The boy had lifted his head from the bed, looking at him with those almost lifeless black eyes.

He asked, “Ji Min, do you really exist?”

“But how do I know you’re not something I imagined?”

Ji Min abruptly sat up from the bed.

He reached out and touched the boy’s wrist.

The warmth of Lu Ran’s body, accompanied by the pulsing of veins in his wrist, was transferred to Ji Min’s palm.

Yet, it didn’t fully dispel the panic in his heart.

Ji Min reached out and pulled Lu Ran into his arms.

The person, deep in sleep, seemed somewhat annoyed and reached up to push him away.

But Ji Min couldn’t afford to care about that.

His lips trembled as he kissed the pulse on the side of the boy’s neck, feeling the vibrant heartbeat beneath the skin.

He then reached out to hold the boy’s fingers.

But Lu Ran’s entire arm was limp from sleep, without any strength at all.

Ji Min struggled to press the boy’s fingers into his palm and leaned down to kiss his lips.

Lu Ran was getting annoyed.

“I don’t want to, I just want to sleep,” he mumbled sleepily.

Normally, at times like this, the man would show mercy and let him rest.

But this time, Ji Min firmly gripped his chin, calling his name: “Lu Ran, no sleeping!”

It wasn’t long before Lu Ran was lifted off the bed.

The feeling of weightlessness jolted him awake.

“What’s going on? Is there an earthquake?” Lu Ran rubbed his eyes and asked.

He looked up, only to meet the man’s bloodshot eyes.

Lu Ran froze for a moment.

“Does it hurt?” The man lowered his head and kissed the knuckles of his hand.

Lu Ran was still somewhat confused.

The man lowered his head and gently bit his wrist, asking again: “…Do you feel anything?”

The bedroom was dim and quiet.

Lu Ran was leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window, the light from the street lamps outside casting enough to let him clearly see the expression in the man’s eyes.

“I…”

Suddenly, Lu Ran understood something.

He blinked and wanted to ask: “Did you go see my psychologist?”

But before his lips could fully move, Ji Min kissed him.

He kissed him fiercely.

His heart was pounding wildly.

Although life had been peaceful lately, it felt ferocious, like something had been lost and then regained.

Lu Ran knew.

There was no need for him to say anything.

The next day.

The weather was clear and the birds in the garden were chirping noisily.

Lu Ran turned over on the bed, covering his ears with a pillow.

After a while, he sat up with a “scratching” sound and tried to get out of bed.

Unfortunately, as soon as his feet hit the floor, Lu Ran “plopped” down onto his knees.

Ji Min, carrying a tray of food, walked in just in time to see this scene.

Ji Min: “…”

He paused, set the tray down, and walked over.

“That’s not necessary.” Ji Min couldn’t help but say, “You ate last night, didn’t you?”

Lu Ran supported his arm as he stood up.

Through gritted teeth, he said, “It’s not because I’m hungry. This time, it’s your fault. Are you satisfied now?”

Ji Min: “…”

He scratched his nose, realizing he was at fault. He helped Lu Ran up and gently said, “Well, if you’re hungry, let’s get you something to eat first.”

To his surprise, Lu Ran, with a twisted expression on his face, pushed the tray aside and broke down, “I don’t want food! My bladder is about to explode! Don’t block my way to the bathroom!”

Ji Min: “…”

He hurriedly set the tray down, holding back his laughter as he picked Lu Ran up and carried him to the bathroom.

After Lu Ran was done, he finally emerged, feeling incredibly hungry. He leaned against the doorframe and crawled out.

The man who had just been kicked out of the bathroom had already placed the tray on the small table on the balcony.

Hearing the movement, he looked over and asked with a smile, “You’re out. Do you want me to help you?”

“You go to hell!” Lu Ran shouted angrily.

He forced himself to walk over to the small sofa and sit down, ready to eat.

But when he looked up, he saw the dried water stains on the window glass. His ears immediately turned bright red.

“Change places. I’m not eating here,” Lu Ran said.

Ji Min also noticed the marks and coughed lightly.

Lu Ran endured for a moment and then said, “You’re not allowed to hire cleaning staff, clean it yourself.”

Ji Min raised an eyebrow and teased him, “It was the two of us who got it all over the place, why do I have to clean it alone?”

Lu Ran: “…” Have some shame.

Last night had been quite a mess, leaving traces all over the room.

Ji Min wasn’t planning to call anyone to clean up, so he went downstairs and grabbed a cloth.

He returned and squatted in front of the window, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. He started wiping with a look of misery on his face.

Meanwhile, Lu Ran sat nearby like a supervisor, directing him, “You need to wipe it with a dry cloth too, or there will be water marks. Anyone can tell it wasn’t done properly.”

Lu Ran had been really exhausted last night.

Ji Min had been relentless, practically torturing him.

From his fingertips to his shoulders, almost every joint in his body had been touched or even nibbled on.

Ji Min had kept asking, “Does it hurt? Can you feel this?”

And then, he’d held him while running wild around the entire room.

They’d practically messed around in every corner of the bedroom, except on the bed.

When Lu Ran woke up this morning, every joint in his body ached.

It wasn’t phantom pain—it was real soreness.

It seemed that even youth couldn’t prevent a tiring posture.

Seeing that Lu Ran was truly exhausted, Ji Min persuaded him, “Nothing is going on, you can just sleep for a bit more.”

Lu Ran pulled a long face. “You don’t have anything to do, I have something.”

“Hmm?” Ji Min was a bit surprised. “What is it?”

“I need to see someone.”

Lu Ran yawned. As he said this, he frowned a little, feeling frustrated. “I was supposed to go out to meet them, but now I can only have them come here.”

Ji Min chuckled at him. “Why can’t you go out now?”

Lu Ran gave him a silent glance. “You still haven’t thrown away the wheelchair, right? How about I sit in the wheelchair and you push me over?”

Ji Min was momentarily stunned, then dropped the cloth and reached out to pinch Lu Ran’s face.

“Don’t say nonsense like that. You’re not allowed to say that.”

Ji Min didn’t ask who Lu Ran was inviting.

He thought it would be something like a classmate or someone similar.

When the person arrived, he realized Lu Ran had actually invited Shen Cheng.

Ji Min’s brows twitched.

He had been investigating Shen Cheng recently.

This man was a heavy gambler with quite a bit of gambling debt.

Most of the assets embezzled by Shen Hongyuan had ended up in this man’s pockets.

Shen Cheng’s father had made significant contributions to the Shen family. Now, Shen Cheng had taken his father’s position, still holding a seat on the Shen family’s board of directors.

But Shen Cheng was very slick, completely avoiding involvement with the company’s finances.

He also had a serious problem with womanizing, with many illegitimate children scattered around.

His legally married wife had already divorced him long ago.

Seeing Shen Cheng, Ji Min understood why Lu Ran didn’t want to meet him at home.

It was probably because he thought it was too dirty.

Lu Ran sat down in the yard.

“Wow, this yard is nicely decorated. Hey… this pine tree is pruned beautifully!”

After complimenting for a while, Shen Cheng finally sat down in front of Lu Ran.

He looked at Lu Ran with a sigh, “Ah, nephew, I haven’t seen you in so long. I used to carry you when you were a child.”

As he said this, he stood up to shake Ji Min’s hand. “Mr. Ji! I’ve heard so much about you…”

Lu Ran yawned.

He said indifferently, “Let’s get to the point. You said you had news about my grandfather, right?”

“Yes, yes.”

Shen Cheng exaggerated, “You don’t know how much your grandfather loves you. He treats you like a treasure, afraid of dropping you, cherishing you like you’re made of gold!”

“He knew how your dad was, so he specially brought you close to him. I think in the whole family, he was probably the one who loved you the most. Otherwise, why would he leave the inheritance to you, right?”

Shen Cheng went on and on, chattering endlessly.

Lu Ran leaned back in his chair, listening to Shen Cheng’s words.

Ji Min sat next to him, ignoring Shen Cheng. He gently massaged Lu Ran’s joints, holding his arm.

This posture made Shen Cheng’s eyes gleam.

Lu Ran glanced at Shen Cheng and, in a tone filled with hope, asked: “Is that true? Can you tell me more about my grandfather?”

His voice sounded like a child desperately yearning for family affection.

Hearing this, Ji Min couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow and look at him.

Lu Ran squeezed the man’s fingertips, signaling him not to interrupt.

He then continued to ask Shen Cheng, “But I don’t remember what my grandfather looked like. What you’re saying doesn’t really mean anything to me.”

“How could it not mean anything!”

Shen Cheng said excitedly, “You can ask your uncle, me!”

After speaking, he seemed to realize he had been too forward.

He chuckled awkwardly, stood up from the table, and wandered around the yard for a bit.

Lu Ran remained seated, unmoving.

“You’re quite good at pretending,” Ji Min laughed.

Lu Ran shot him a sideways glance.

He had a photo of Old Master Shen. Compared to Shen Cheng’s words, Lu Ran trusted Old Master Gu’s descriptions more.

The longing for family affection was instinctual.

If Lu Ran were an orphan abandoned by both parents, hearing Shen Cheng’s words might have been very moving.

But Lu Ran wasn’t interested at all.

Shen Cheng had approached him a few days ago, pretending to be ambiguous, and said a lot of things.

Lu Ran suspected that after Shen Hongyuan’s downfall, Shen Cheng, owing gambling debts with nowhere to borrow money, had targeted him.

Lu Ran had no interest in the shady dealings between Shen Cheng and Shen Hongyuan.

But thinking about the inheritance from Old Master Shen, Lu Ran decided to engage with Shen Cheng.

This inheritance, although he wasn’t sure what the true intention behind it was, was still the only gift from an elder Lu Ran had ever received.

For this “only” gift, he decided to look into it.

As he watched Shen Cheng’s back, Lu Ran suddenly glanced at Ji Min, and a wicked thought bubbled up in his eyes.

Noticing his gaze, Ji Min asked, “What’s wrong?”

Lu Ran leaned toward him.

Ji Min laughed again, “In your own house and you’re still whispering?”

Lu Ran glanced at him before saying, “I really hate this person.”

Shen Cheng wasn’t serious at all and had even been lewd toward Shen Xingran.

Even though Shen Xingran was adopted, he had lived in the Shen family for so long.

It was truly disgusting for someone to harm an adopted nephew.

“Hmm?” Ji Min leaned in as well.

“But I still want to get something out of him,” Lu Ran said.

“Then you go back. I’ll deal with him,” Ji Min said.

“No,” Lu Ran insisted with a bit of stubbornness, “I want to ask him myself.”

“Then…”

Ji Min pondered carefully, trying to grasp the intention, “Once you get the information, should I create some trouble for him?”

“No, that’s too slow. I want to mess with him right now.”

Lu Ran said.

Ji Min fell silent for a moment.

Thinking about Lu Ran’s methods, he cautiously asked, “What exactly do you want to do?”

Lu Ran raised a hand and pointed to the empty cup on the table, saying, “You bring him some toilet water.”

Ji Min: “…”

The chairman of Ji Corporation, hearing such an outrageous and brazen command for the first time, was momentarily caught off guard. He pointed at himself in confusion, “Huh? Me?”

“Yes,” Lu Ran replied with a playful smile, “After all you’ve put me through, do you still expect me to do it myself?”

Ji Min: “…”

Who exactly are you trying to mess with here?

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