Chapter 45: To Make You Crave It
Ye Ran truly had a stress response to the sound of knocking.
Who was it that didn’t knock earlier or later, but chose this exact moment?
He locked eyes with Chi Yuheng. The man looked straight at him as if he wanted to see through his heart to find even a trace of a guilty conscience.
Ye Ran straightened his waist and went to open the door. He couldn’t let Chi Yuheng think he was afraid of him. He really hadn’t pursued An Yiyi, and no matter how crazy the plot was, he didn’t believe she would actually come knocking on his door.
Ye Ran took a deep breath and opened the door. Standing outside was a stranger’s face.
The man smiled and handed over the packed beer. “The alcohol you ordered…”
Ye Ran had almost forgotten that before Chi Yuheng arrived, he had ordered iced beer with Chi Youchu and the others.
It was fine, it was fine. No big deal. As long as it wasn’t An Yiyi.
Ye Ran took the beer, said “Thank you,” and knowing Xu Huiyang had already paid, took the beer into the room.
When he walked up to Chi Yuheng, his eyebrows were raised. “See? I told you it was true. The one knocking wasn’t An Yiyi.”
Chi Yuheng naturally knew Ye Ran hadn’t pursued that girl in school.
It wasn’t that he wanted to know everything about Ye Ranâs school life, but it was truly hard not to know.
Ever since Ye Ran moved into the Chi residence, it was as if he had no connection to the Ye family. Ye Hualin and Ming Qingyan almost completely ignored him.
During final exams, there were parent-teacher meetings. They didn’t have time to go, so the only one who could go was Chi Yuheng.
Ye Ran waited at the classroom door, his mind constantly guessing who would come. Would it be Mom and Dad, or Eldest Brother and Second Brother?
In the end, no one came except for Chi Yuheng, who was with him every day.
A childâs disappointment is mostly shown on their face. “They didn’t come again. I did okay this time; I made a lot of progress. Even so, they couldn’t come?”
Ye Ranâs low mood was seen by Chi Yuheng. His parents were also gone, so he understood the feeling of expecting to be loved; he felt it deeply.
Many times, when they were together, it seemed it was just to add a bit of lively human presence to that quiet house, but more often, it was like mutual companionship between two people lacking love.
“Not happy to see me come?”
It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy. Ye Ran bared his teeth and made a big smiling face.
He had lived in the Chi residence for so long. Although Chi Yuheng was only six years older than him, he was deadly mature, upright, and managed him in every wayâhe was practically a “live father.”
“Happy. Very happy.”
He likely wouldn’t be happy in a moment, though.
While he did okay on his exams this time, he was also “okay” at fighting.
He expected that during the parent-teacher meeting, he would hear the teacher praise-praise-praise at the start, followed by nag-nag-nag at the end.
Ye Ranâs homeroom teacher had just graduated from normal school, and this was the first batch of students she had led.
Ye Ran was the only student whose parent hadn’t entered the classroom yet. When the teacher came out to find him, she saw Chi Yuheng talking to Ye Ran.
Unsure of their relationship, she asked, “Ye Ran, has your guardian arrived?”
Ye Ran turned to introduce him to the teacher. Thinking of his “live father” in his mind, his tongue easily slipped. “This is my Dad.”
Chi Yuheng: “…”
Ye Ran truly treated him as “kin”!
“Your Dad?!” The teacherâs voice rose by half a pitch.
The guy looked only a few years older than Ye Ran, yet he was his father. This world was too crazy; it completely refreshed her understanding.
The teacherâs mouth twitched. “Ye Ranâs father is truly young. You must have chased the steps of time quite a bit…”
Seeing his slip of the tongue, Ye Ran quickly corrected himself. “I said it wrong. He’s not my Dad; he’s my brother.”
The teacherâs mouth followed Ye Ran like a roller coaster. “Ah, haha! Ye Ranâs brother is truly handsome. Please come in; the meeting is about to start.”
Ever since that parent-teacher meeting, Ye Ranâs homeroom teacher seemed to have been “bought over” and frequently communicated with Chi Yuheng.
None of Ye Ranâs movements at school were a secret to Chi Yuheng, mainly because he had an enthusiastic homeroom teacher.
Ye Ran waved the beer in front of Chi Yuheng. “What are you thinking about?”
Chi Yuhengâs gaze shifted downward, landing on the can of iced beer, and he raised an eyebrow.
Ye Ran quickly opened the can and took a large gulp, afraid Chi Yuheng wouldn’t let him drink it later.
The icy liquid flowed down his throat, carrying the slight bitterness of malt and the numbness of bubbles, instantly extinguishing the residual heat of the summer night.
Ye Ran let out a satisfied sigh. The curve of his Adamâs apple moving fell into Chi Yuhengâs eyes, making him look like a cat that had secretly drunk honey and was secretly proud of it.
“This is only for me. Your stomach isn’t great, so you should forget about it.”
Chi Yuhengâs voice carried a hint of a smile. “You know my stomach isn’t great, yet you’re drinking it in front of me?”
“To make you crave it.” After saying that, Ye Ran took another large gulp. In the heat of summer, this iced beer was practically a national treasure.
Chi Yuheng didn’t forbid Ye Ran from drinking; as long as he didn’t go to places like bars, it was fine. Additionally, he shouldn’t drink something this cold.
“You don’t remember a single thing I usually tell you, do you?” The smile remained in Chi Yuhengâs eyes, but his voice was deeper than before.
Ye Ran naturally sensed this and put the half-drunk beer on the table. “This alcohol tastes terrible…”
Chi Yuheng understood a certain someoneâs act of following his heart; he saw through it but didn’t expose it, only hooking the corners of his lips upward.
He looked at the beer Ye Ran placed on the table. “Is this alcohol from the convenience store on the island?”
Ye Ran nodded. “Xu Huiyang saw it, and he was the one who ordered and had it delivered.”
Before Chi Yuheng could say what he was going to do, Ye Ran sold out his good friend-dog.
After all, good brothers are meant to have knives stuck in their ribsâif one knife isn’t enough, you can add another.
Chi Yuhengâs fingertips unconsciously rubbed the wall of the can, the condensed water droplets sliding down between his fingers. “I remember a bar opened on the island too.”
Ye Ran was quite clear on whether that was true; he and Xu Huiyang had scoped it out yesterday.
Knowing Xu Zhaoli was here to inspect the island, his stay wouldn’t be very long. Once he left, the two of them would go to the bar to have a blast.
“There is a bar. It was originally a guesthouse, but after the resort hotel opened on the island, the guesthouse business wasn’t great. The owner converted it into a bar. With the rooms already there, once you’ve had your fill of fun, you can directly…”
Sleep.
Before he could finish, Ye Ran froze under Chi Yuhengâs direct gaze.
“Young Master Ye seems to know this bar very well.”
Ye Ran defended himself, “I only heard it from others. Why would I bother knowing about a bar for no reason? I’m not interested.”
Don’t think you can bait me.
Ye Ran knew the old fox Chi Yuheng all too well.
“You didn’t go?” Chi Yuhengâs inquisitive gaze landed on Ye Ran.
“I definitely didn’t go. Bars have nothing to do with me. Even if Xu Huiyang dragged me there, I wouldn’t go; itâs not interesting at all.”
Ye Ran distanced himself completely, giving Chi Yuheng no leverage over him regarding going to a bar.
“Alright then.” Chi Yuheng spoke with a hint of regret. “We are quite interested in that bar on the island and want to acquire it together. I originally wanted to take you guys there tonight to take a look and have a drink while we’re at it. Since you find it uninteresting, then…”
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