Chapter 13 Thirteen Fires

The two by the table, one looking at Ji Ran’s back in puzzlement, the other staring blankly, were both very quiet. Just then Qi Sixian returned from outside, saw the strange expressions on their faces, and asked, “What’s wrong with you two?”

Fan Xian glanced at Yan Duo. “Some little girl had her heart broken because her idol got a girlfriend.”

Qi Sixian saw Yan Duo pout and fall silent, amusedly tapped her and said, “You’re getting jealous way too early. I just ran into Director Jiang outside. He came with Ji Ran and Xiao Yao, so there’s no chance Ji Ran and Xiao Yao were having a private dinner.”

Director Jiang is the director of the film starring Ji Ran and Xiao Yao. The three of them went to the restaurant together, apparently to discuss the film’s publicity, and the movie has been in theaters for half a month now with box office nearing one billion—a very good performance.

As soon as Yan Duo heard this, she immediately brightened. “Really?”

Qi Sixian gestured for Yan Duo to look at the seats not far across from them. “See for yourself.”

They had just assumed that only Ji Ran and Xiao Yao were dining because that table had been decorated with so many flowers. The blooms not only hid half of Ji Ran’s body but also completely obscured the seat beside him. Qi Sixian suspected Director Jiang had been sitting next to Ji Ran earlier; they just hadn’t seen him.

Yan Duo rose and walked quickly toward the table where Ji Ran had been sitting. The staff were clearing the table, but that didn’t stop her from seeing the three steak plates clearly. She felt a little thrill, then a flush of embarrassment—she’d been petty just now, almost letting her wild imagination make her misjudge Ji Ran.

Qi Sixian was dumbfounded by Yan Duo’s insistence on verifying things in person—she told her to look, and Yan Duo actually walked over to look. Was there really a child that earnest?

When Yan Duo came back fully recovered and sat down again, Qi Sixian couldn’t help teasing her: “You’re so obsessed with Ji Ran, it’s like you’re his wife-fan. Aren’t you worried your future boyfriend will get jealous?”

When he said this, Qi Sixian deliberately glanced at Fan Xian.

At this moment Yan Duo was secretly amused in her heart, and without denying that she wasn’t Ji Ran’s wife-fangirl but his actual wife, she smiled and replied, “Then I don’t want a boyfriend.”

Because I have a husband, I don’t need a boyfriend—yeah, no problem.

Qi Sixian didn’t know whether Yan Duo had deliberately said that in front of Fan Xian or if it was her true thought, but with Fan Xian present, the topic couldn’t be pursued further, so they moved on and talked about something else.

After dinner, Yan Duo ignored Fan Xian’s hint that he wanted to give her a ride home and still got into Qi Sixian’s car, hitching a ride back home.

Qi Sixian drove while curiously asking Yan Duo, “Do you really have no feelings for Boss Fan at all?”

From Qi Sixian’s point of view, putting aside the fact that the Fan family was powerful and wealthy and that Fan Xian was Yan Duo’s boss—winning over her boss would be hugely beneficial for her future development—just consider Fan Xian himself: tall and handsome, with a good character, and most importantly, deeply devoted to Yan Duo. Being with him would not be a loss for her.

Yan Duo found it strange that Qi Sixian would ask that and replied with a question, “Didn’t Senior Brother Fan already go on a blind date?”

Earlier at the company, Zhu Xue said he had a crush on a girl a hundred times better than her, and Senior Brother Fan didn’t deny it.

Qi Sixian choked out, “Don’t you know Boss Fan turned them down?”

The reason almost everyone in the company knew about it was that the girl from the blind date caused a scene at the office that afternoon, insisting that Fan Xian give her a proper reason for rejecting her. Fan Xian ignored her; the girl, clearly a pampered young lady who’d never been wronged, shamelessly threw a tantrum at the main entrance. It wasn’t until Boss Fan personally had her brought inside that the matter calmed down.

Yan Duo said casually, “It’s fine. If it doesn’t work this time, then try a few more times — it’ll succeed eventually.”

Qi Sixian: “……”

Alright, you can never wake someone who’s pure or someone pretending to be asleep.

The two didn’t discuss Fan Xian anymore, and Yan Duo was considering the possibility of telling Qi Sixian about her true relationship with Ji Ran. She tentatively asked Qi Sixian, “Sister Qi, what do you think are the chances of an ordinary fan and an idol getting married?”

Upon hearing this, Qi Sixian understood that Yan Duo was dreaming of marrying Ji Ran. She snorted and directly stated, “You and Ji Ran?”

Even ordinary families value “matching social status,” and this is even more true in the highly realistic entertainment industry. Nowadays, not only do most actresses aim to marry into wealthy families, but even actors generally seek partners of similar standing, and it’s not uncommon for them to marry daughters of wealthy families. So, for a new face like Yan Duo to want to be with Ji Ran, who is incredibly popular, not only would Ji Ran’s fans tear Yan Duo apart in an instant, but Ji Ran and the Ji family themselves wouldn’t agree!

Yan Duo: “Why can’t we?”

Qi Sixian glanced at her and said, “It’s not that I’m looking down on you. In all my years in this industry, I’ve seen plenty of idols who sleep with their fans, but not many who are willing to marry them.”

“So, what usually leads to marriage then?”

“One is when the fan comes from a very powerful family background, another is when the fan is personally very wealthy, and there’s another kind…” Qi Sixian paused here.

Yan Duo mentally checked off the options and realized that neither of the first two applied to her situation, so she pressed, “What’s the other kind?”

Qi Sixian joked, “Fans are masters in bed, making idols dizzy and disoriented.”

Yan Duo: ……

The third type was even more unrelated to her; as a rookie, her so-called skills were nowhere near “masterful.”

Yan Duo, unwilling to give up, simply stated, “But we really are married.” Although she didn’t understand why Ji Ran would agree to marry her.

Qi Sixian: “Hehe.”

Yan Duo: “I’m telling the truth.”

Qi Sixian: “Are you dreaming before you even go to sleep? Do you want me to beat you awake?”

Yan Duo: ……

In this day and age, why is it so hard to tell the truth?

Qi Sixian didn’t mind Yan Duo indulging in her fantasy of marrying her idol, but as they were about to get out of the car, he kindly reminded her, “Even if Ji Ran and Xiao Yao don’t have anything going on this time, it doesn’t mean there won’t be anything next time. As a single man, it’s perfectly normal for Ji Ran to get married and start a family. As a fan, you should just appreciate his work; don’t invest too much personal emotion in him.”

Qi Sixian had been in the industry for nearly a decade and had seen countless fans like Yan Duo who were too deeply invested in their idols, treating them as husbands or boyfriends. Qi Sixian was afraid she might not be able to handle it and would do something foolish if Ji Ran were to get married in the future.

While feeling both amused and a little touched, Yan Duo comforted Qi Sixian, saying, “I understand, Sister Qi, don’t worry.”

She had always only seen Ji Ran as an idol, someone she respected, and had never thought of being his girlfriend or even wife. It could only be said that their eventual relationship was completely beyond her expectations.

Lying in bed after washing up that night, Yan Duo picked up her phone, intending to call Ji Ran. On second thought, there wasn’t much to say. She couldn’t exactly tell him she saw him with Xiao Yao today and misunderstood their relationship as inappropriate. Ultimately, she gave up on calling and decided to send him a message instead.

-Are you there?

So silly, delete!

-What are you doing?

Is this a check-up? No, no, delete!

-I saw you today.

Isn’t this nonsense! Delete it!

Finally, Yan Duo, who had been struggling for a long time, deleted all the words in the dialog box as usual, and then exited the WeChat interface.

Yan Duo, who could strike up a conversation with anyone and had a thick skin like a city wall, was only hesitant and overly cautious when facing Ji Ran, fearing that she would leave a terrible impression on him.

Comforting herself that they would meet tomorrow, and whether they contacted each other today didn’t matter much, Yan Duo decided to look up some recipes online to learn how to cook, planning to make them for Ji Ran tomorrow. 502txt.com

The next day was a weekend, and Yan Duo deliberately woke up early, accompanying Xu Yarou to the market. Following the recipes she found yesterday, she bought all the ingredients and asked Xu Yarou to teach her how to cook. Yan Duo showed great talent in cooking, quickly grasping the basics, and under her mother’s guidance, she prepared all the dishes she intended to make.

“These dishes are all excellent, perfect in color, aroma, and taste. Pack them in an insulated container to take home; you won’t need to cook again tonight.”

After all, she was her biological daughter, and Xu Yarou couldn’t bear for Yan Duo to cook so many dishes alone, so she tried to persuade her.

Yan Duo looked at the five or six dishes on the table, and finally chose two simple ones to keep, putting the rest into insulated containers.

During lunch, Yan Xuenian and Yan Yi learned that two of the dishes were handmade by Yan Duo. They were very supportive and ate them all, praising the taste. This not only made Yan Duo more confident in her other dishes but also made her feel that she hadn’t been good enough to her family, resolving to cook more often at home in the future.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, when Ji Ran’s driver arrived at the Yan family home at the agreed time, Yan Duo realized that Ji Ran, who had claimed to be busy, had come along with the car.

“Why are you here?” Yan Duo asked him curiously.

After Ji Ran greeted Yan Duo’s parents, he took the insulated container from Yan Duo’s hand and put it in the trunk, answering, “I finished my business, so I came over since it was on the way.”

A smile couldn’t help but creep onto Yan Duo’s face. Whether Ji Ran came specifically or just happened to be passing by, as long as he could come, she was very happy.

Waving goodbye to her family, Yan Duo got into the car with Ji Ran.

After the car started, Yan Duo kept trying to find a topic to chat about with Ji Ran. Just as she finally found a safe topic and was about to speak, she turned her head and saw that Ji Ran was leaning back in his seat, resting with his eyes closed. His usually radiant face looked a bit tired, as if he hadn’t slept well last night.

Yan Duo didn’t disturb him. She took out her earphones, plugged them into her phone, put one earbud in his ear and the other in her own, then played some light music on her phone. Ji Ran didn’t object.

After performing this series of actions, Yan Duo leaned back in her seat like Ji Ran and listened to the music. As she listened, her eyes involuntarily closed. She was too tired today, and it was also time for an afternoon nap, so Yan Duo accidentally fell asleep.

Ji Ran had his eyes closed and was vaguely about to drift off to sleep when his left shoulder suddenly felt heavy, as if something weighty had fallen onto it. He opened his eyes and saw a fluffy head resting on his shoulder.

Turning off the air conditioning in the car, Ji Ran leaned his head slightly to the left. After his cheek touched the long-lost soft hair, it wasn’t long before Ji Ran, as if finding support, also fell asleep.

Author’s note: Author: Student Ji, didn’t sleep well last night? What were you up to?

Ji Ran: What’s it to you!

Yan Duo: What does that have to do with me?

Ji Ran: ……

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