Chapter 11 Eleven Fires

At this moment, Yan Duo was wearing a white printed T-shirt with a dark blue A-line denim skirt. Her playful half-bun hairstyle paired with the simple outfit made her look even more like a child.

The 16-year-old Yan Duo probably looked just like this, Ji Ran thought.

“I’m thirsty.”

Seeing Yan Duo hesitating at the door, Ji Ran took the initiative to break the silence and spoke.

Yan Duo snapped out of her reverie, uttering a couple of “ohs” before walking over to Ji Ran with a cup in hand and handing him the water.

Ji Ran took the water and took a sip, then asked Yan Duo, “Have you ever thought about how people can change?”

“Huh?” Yan Duo looked up at Ji Ran in confusion, not understanding what he meant by saying that suddenly. kanshuchi.com

Ji Ran: “I think I prefer drinking cold water now, even iced water.”

After saying that, Ji Ran didn’t give Yan Duo a chance to ask any questions and turned to leave.

Yan Duo watched his figure walk out of the room, disappearing from sight, still not understanding what he meant.

From the moment she started paying attention to Ji Ran, Yan Duo had thoroughly familiarized herself with all his preferences.

For example, his preferred color palette for clothes is black, white, and gray, but occasionally he adds vibrant colors as accents. Another example is his favorite accessory—watches—which always perfectly complement his outfits during public appearances. Or take his preference for drinking warm water and avoiding carbonated drinks—not because of calories, but simply because he dislikes them. But judging by what he just said, when did his preferences change?

Ji Ran went downstairs, and Yan Duo didn’t stay upstairs for long either. When she went down, she found that her parents had already started setting the table.

Due to Ji Ran’s sudden arrival, the atmosphere at the dining table was far less lively than usual. Ji Ran was not much of a talker to begin with, and he spoke even less during meals. The others were also quite silent, except for Yan Duo, who kept the conversation going while constantly serving food to one person and then another, never really eating properly herself.

Xu Yarou couldn’t stand the silence any longer and took the initiative to break the ice with Ji Ran, “I heard from Duo’er that your parents attended your movie premiere a few days ago. How are they doing?”

Yan Duo had told her parents about An Yixin inviting her to the premiere, but she didn’t mention that Ji Ran’s parents didn’t show up after returning. As a result, Xu Yarou had always assumed both his parents attended.

Ji Ran swallowed the food in his mouth, glanced at Yan Duo, and replied, “They’re fine, but they got stuck in traffic that day, couldn’t make it, and turned back.”

Xu Yarou’s words had undoubtedly revealed Yan Duo’s whereabouts completely. Feeling somewhat awkward, Yan Duo casually changed the subject and made sure to involve the whole family: “Dad, the traffic jam is right where you picked me up last time near Linhai Tower. There was a car accident that day—it even made the news!”

Yan Xuenian, called out by his daughter, had no choice but to join the conversation. “Really? Maybe it’s because of the construction.”

Yan Xuenian has an excellent reputation in the industry. In recent years, most of the large-scale engineering designs in T City have come from his hand, and Linhai Tower is one of them.

Yan Duo quickly nodded. “Yeah, yeah, it’s the construction—so dangerous. Bro, don’t go that way anymore.”

Yan Yi, forcibly dragged into the conversation by his sister, paused his chopsticks and glanced at her. “I don’t pass by there on my way to school.”

Yan Duo glanced at him, “Then don’t take that road when you go out to have fun.”

Yan Yi sighed helplessly, “When did I go out to have fun? That was socializing!”

The Yan family is a lineage of educators. Starting from Yan Xuenian’s grandfather’s generation, the family has produced many renowned teachers. By the time it reached Yan Yi and Yan Duo, as their beloved daughter, Yan Duo pursued her passion for celebrities and enrolled in film school—a choice Yan Xuenian and Xu Yarou allowed. However, they hoped Yan Yi would carry on the family tradition. Yan Yi lived up to expectations, becoming a lecturer at the university after completing his postgraduate studies. Yet, just two months into teaching, he resigned to start his own training school. In his words, “I’d rather teach children eager to improve than students who sleep in class.” Faced with such stubborn reasoning, the Yan parents turned a blind eye, not insisting further—after all, running a training school still involved educating others. But managing a training school was far from simple, and Yan Yi frequently hosted banquets to build connections.

Yan Duo completely ignored Yan Yi’s explanation and complained to Xu Yarou, “Mom, I even saw my brother taking a girl out to play last time.”

Yan Yi was utterly speechless. His sister deliberately referred to a married woman in her thirties as a “girl” and even framed him. But what else could he do besides letting her run wild with her imagination?

The Yan family’s two parents had always taken a hands-off approach with Yan Yi. As long as she didn’t cause major trouble, they wouldn’t interfere. At this moment, however, Xu Yarou noticed Ji Ran placing a small rib on her daughter’s plate, which immediately brought a delighted smile to Yan Yi’s face. Feeling slightly comforted by this, Xu Yarou continued chatting with Ji Ran, and the atmosphere at the dining table finally began to thaw.

After dinner, the family moved to the sofa as usual to aid digestion.

Yan Yi, who had always played the role of “tea master,” became hesitant to take up the task with the arrival of new members.

“How about I make some tea?”

Seeing that no one refused, Ji Ran stood up and moved the tea tray in front of himself. Kneeling on the carpet, he began the first step—warming the teapot.

The two elders of the Yan family were somewhat surprised by Ji Ran’s initiative to brew tea, but they said nothing. However, his smooth and effortless movements startled Xu Yarou. Perhaps they had all underestimated this big celebrity whom their daughter had adored for years.

Yan Yi, sitting to the side, watched as his younger sister stared at Ji Ran’s face like a fool. Her silly expression was downright painful to look at. Overcome with jealousy—after all, he had been brewing tea for years without ever receiving such an admiring glance from her—he reached out and gently pushed the back of Yan Duo’s head. “Drool’s dripping out. Wipe it off quick.”

Yan Duo instinctively wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, only to realize she hadn’t drooled at all. She turned to glare at Yan Yi, then pouted pitifully at Yan Xuenian. “Dad, brother is bullying me.”

Yan Xuenian’s doting for Yan Duo had almost no limits. Hearing that, he didn’t ask questions and barked at Yan Yi, “If you bully my sister again, I’ll break your damn legs!”

Yan Yi didn’t argue; he’d lived this way his whole life and was used to it. He glanced at Ji Ran and said to Yan Duo, “Duo’er, are you out of money? How about I take you to buy bird’s nest tonight?”

Last time he promised to give Yan Duo 100,000 to buy bird’s nest to eat. The next day Yan Yi transferred the money and even reminded Yan Duo to be sure to buy good quality; and good bird’s nest isn’t cheap. Yan Yi reckoned the 100,000 had long been eaten up by his sister, so now that she had finished filming and returned home, he would just take her along to shop.

Of course, Yan Yi deliberately saying in front of Ji Ran that he’d buy bird’s nest for his sister carried its obvious implications.

The 100,000 yuan Yan Duo had tricked her brother out of wasn’t spent on bird’s nest at all but saved. Now that Yan Yi said he would take her to buy some again, Yan Duo, feeling guilty, wouldn’t agree and said, “No need, I haven’t finished what I have yet. You can buy it with Mom.”

Yan Yi thought his sister was deliberately saving him money and showed clear disapproval, “Of course Mom’s share is included, but that doesn’t mean yours can be left out.”

For someone so eager to throw money around like a “God of Wealth,” Yan Duo was speechless. She guessed her brother must have made money recently to be so generous. As she pondered how to decline again, Ji Ran finished brewing tea and poured a cup for everyone, then said, “If you don’t mind, I have some bird’s nest in my car. It’s not great, but it’s edible.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the doorbell rang. Ji Ran got up to answer it and brought in two boxes of bird’s nest from the driver.

Yan Yi often bought bird’s nest for his mother and was familiar with the brands and quality. He glanced at the packaging of the two gift boxes and snorted inwardly. If this counted as “edible,” then the ones he’d bought before for his mom and sister were probably only fit to feed to pigs—pah, who’s calling who a pig? No one is a pig!

Xu Yarou of course also noticed that bird’s nest was not cheap — the things Ji Ran had brought before were never inexpensive. She had intended to refuse, but Yan Yi spoke up first.

“Well that’s fine then, saves me some money. Mom, just share it with your daughter,” Yan Yi said.

Xu Yarou glared at Yan Yi. She didn’t comment aloud, but already decided she would ask Ji Ran to bring more things home next time to give to his parents.

After sitting for an hour, Ji Ran took the initiative to take his leave, and said to Yan Duo, “I have something to do tomorrow. I’ll have the driver pick you up in the afternoon.”

Yan Duo, who had been a bit down about not being taken away by Ji Ran, brightened up as soon as she heard that and immediately said, “Then I’ll wait for you to come back for dinner tomorrow.”

Ji Ran agreed and left right away.

Yan Xuenian and Xu Yarou went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Thinking of Ji Ran’s behavior today, Xu Yarou smiled and said, “That kid Ji Ran isn’t as bad as we thought.”

Although Ji Ran didn’t like to talk much, he wasn’t stupid either. For example, at the end, he could clearly have taken Duo, but he didn’t—likely because he considered their feelings.

Just a few months ago, Xu Yarou knew about Ji Ran only from fragments her daughter had mentioned: her daughter had liked him since high school, plastered the house with his posters, and even stayed up all night mastering Photoshop to create a fake photo with him. Although the Yan family didn’t approve of her staying up late, they didn’t forbid her obsession—after all, Ji Ran had always seemed far removed from their ordinary lives. That distance remained until one day the distant man became their son-in-law, leaving the whole family not only bewildered but almost completely unfamiliar with him.

Yan Xuennian remained silent; he wasn’t ready to draw conclusions as quickly as Xu Yarou. To his eyes, people were like buildings: a structure that looks beautiful at first glance isn’t necessarily sound. Beauty is only surface; only a building that stands firm after long exposure to sun, wind, and rain is truly reliable and safe.

Yan Duo went back to her room. Although Ji Ran had stayed there for only a little over ten minutes, she could still pick out his distinctive scent. She rolled around on the bed twice and gradually fell asleep.

In her dream, she was back in Ji Ran’s car, her arms around his neck, her mouth touching his lips as she tried a tentative lick before planning to pull away—but Ji Ran opened his mouth and took her tongue in, kissing her so fiercely she lost her bearings and couldn’t find north.

Author’s note: Ji Ran: People change.

Yan Duo: Speak like a human!

Ji Ran: You’ll find out later.

Author: Show off and you might get struck by lightning!

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