Chapter 849 Ranbao Extra (22)

The two talked things out, the misunderstanding was cleared up, and the previous awkwardness and unease disappeared.

Kong Ran let out a long sigh of relief: "If I had known earlier that you didn't like that kind of girl, I wouldn't have forced it. You have no idea how anxious and uncomfortable I've been these past few days!"

Zhong Lin smiled, then his ears turned a little red.

Kong Ran's words actually had another layer of meaning—because you like it, that's why I pretended to be like that; the implication being that I like you.

Although Zhong Lin's reaction time is a bit long, he's not really slow-witted.

The implication was so clear that it would be difficult for him to pretend not to understand.

Kong Ran realized what he had said and felt a little embarrassed. He coughed lightly and asked, "Senior, where are my shoes?"

Zhong Lin quickly handed her the shoes he had been carrying all the way. Seeing that she was about to put them on, he stopped her, saying, "Don't put them on yet, wait for me here."

He then ran away without Kong Ran noticing.

A short while later, he returned, this time carrying a small box of iodine and a box of band-aids.

He sat down again and handed the iodine solution to Kong Ran: "Apply it before you go."

Kong Ran took it blankly, said "Oh," and lowered her head, a slight smile playing on her lips.

She opened the iodine solution, took a small clip, pinched a cotton ball, and rubbed it on her feet. The sudden cold sensation made her gasp.

Seeing this, Zhong Lin quickly stopped her and sighed, "Let me do it."

Before she could react, he took the iodine from her hand and gently wiped her wound bit by bit.

Whether it was her imagination or not, she didn't feel any pain this time; instead, she felt a dense, itchy sensation.

A moment later, her toes curled slightly, and she asked in a low voice, "Is it done?"

This time, Zhong Lin's ears turned red, not just at the base. She responded in a muffled voice, put the iodine aside, and then picked up a band-aid and applied it to her wound.

"Alright," he said.

Kong Ran withdrew his foot and whispered, "Thank you."

The air temperature between the two gradually rose. Finally, Zhong Lin stood up first. Seeing that Kong Ran had also put on her shoes, he coughed lightly and said, "If you're not used to wearing high heels, don't wear them anymore."

Kong Ran looked at him and smiled: "Yeah, I won't wear it anymore."

From now on, she can just be herself without any worries.

After what happened, Zhong Lin was worried about her leaving alone again, so he offered to take her home.

Kong Ran, of course, did not refuse and obediently got into his car.

However, the two remained unaware until they left that not far from the small garden, in a white Land Rover, Wen Sichen stubbed out his cigarette, staring silently in the direction the two had gone.

...

After Kong Ran returned, he chatted with Zhong Lin with great interest.

Unlike before, when she mostly gave one-sided feedback, Zhong Lin's attitude was noticeably gentler today, and the conversation went back and forth with her.

Kong Ran sat on the sofa, his lips never leaving his face.

The door clicked open, and she glanced at Wen Sichen as he walked in before turning her attention back to her phone screen: "Why are you so late? Were you busy with work?"

Wen Sichen hummed in agreement.

Kong Ran then turned around and said with great interest, "My school is having a graduate student sports meet in a few days, and Senior Zhong will be participating. I'll be a cheerleader. Do you want to join in the fun?"

Wen Sichen calmly uttered two words: "I'm not going."

Kong Ran: "..."

She put her phone aside and looked at him seriously: "Wen Sichen, what's wrong?"

Wen Sichen paused on the doorknob of his room, let out a long breath, and softened his tone slightly, saying, "Nothing much, just a little tired after a long day of work."

Kong Ran said "Oh," and then asked, "Have you finished eating?"

"I've eaten. I'm going back to rest now." With that, he pushed open the door and went inside.

The door closed, and Kong Ran frowned.

What's wrong with this guy? Did someone in the business world offend him?

He acted as if everyone owed him money.

Kong Ran shook his head, assuming it was just his period and didn't bother with him anymore. Instead, he picked up his phone again and chatted with Zhong Lin about the sports meet in a few days.

They chatted so late that Kong Ran unknowingly fell asleep on the sofa.

In the middle of the night, Wen Sichen went to the living room to get some water and saw Kong Ran sleeping soundly on the sofa, drooling.

He gazed at her in the moonlight for a while, then shook his head helplessly, bent down, and carried her back to the room.

Even when she was asleep, she was still holding her phone.

Wen Sichen tucked the blanket around her and took the phone from her hand. In the process, he accidentally turned on the screen and immediately saw the chat box between Kong Ran and Zhong Lin.

It's a long strip, almost with no end in sight.

Wen Sichen didn't have a penchant for prying into other people's privacy, but at this moment, he could hardly resist the urge to read through all of these conversations.

He let out a long breath, finally suppressing this almost absurd thought.

He placed her phone on the charging station next to him, took one last deep look at the girl on the bed, sighed, and then turned and left.

In the following days, Kong Ran went out whenever he had free time.

Because of Zhong Lin's birthday, the two of them completely broke the ice.

She invited Zhong Lin out, and he stopped making excuses and started inviting Kong Ran to the company to see his experiments whenever he had time.

Although Kong Ran knew nothing about the technical terms "materials, polymers, nanotechnology, etc.", she was willing to learn.

From childhood to adulthood, whenever she calmed down and made up her mind to learn something, there was nothing she couldn't master.

However, if you really want to put in the effort, it will definitely take time.

In order to quickly establish more common topics with Zhong Lin, she stayed up late for many nights in a row, basically not going to sleep until the early hours of the morning.

Wen Sichen noticed her condition and, after three consecutive days, finally lost his patience. On the morning after she had almost stayed up all night again, he stopped Kong Ran, who was wandering into the living room to get water, saying, "Wait a minute."

"Hmm?" Kong Ran had her bangs fastened to the back with Velcro, and was wearing short-sleeved pajamas. Her face was pale and dull, and her dark circles were no less than those of a panda.

Wen Sichen frowned at her: "You can't keep staying up so late. Go back to sleep."

Kong Ran shook his head: "I still have seven or eight pages left to read. I'll go to sleep after I finish them."

Wen Sichen said speechlessly, "Look at yourself in this state, what can you possibly focus on?"

"Sigh, it's all because this thing is too difficult. It involves chemistry, physics, mechanical manufacturing... You know I've never been good at science since I was little. I wish I could have started catching up in high school." Kong Ran sighed, feeling regretful at the moment—she hadn't cherished the time when she could have studied properly, and now she knew she had to pay the price!

Wen Sichen's expression darkened upon hearing her words: "Do you really have to learn these things?"

"If I want to have common topics with Zhong Lin, I definitely have to learn from him. I can't be completely clueless about what he's doing in the future, can I?"

Wen Sichen's tone was irritated: "If you need to use this method to find common ground with him, it means you two are simply not compatible."

Kong Ran: "??"