Chapter 67 It Hurts, It Hurts

Li Dingning opened his hand and let Chu Ran go. After letting Chu Ran go, Li Dingning realized belatedly that something was wrong. Why should he let go just because Li Fu told him to?

But by the time Li Dingning reacted, it was too late. Li Fu walked up to him and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I..." Li Dingning was in a trance for a while, then he came to his senses. He pointed at Chu Ran and said, "Of course I came to see him."

Li Fu said: "You have already seen the person, why don't you leave?"

Li Dingning was about to leave, but after a few steps, he suddenly thought of something and turned around and said to Chu Ran, "Xiao Linzi, give that to me."

He was referring to the picture drawn by Chu Ran, as well as the two agates and the dice.

Chu Ran quickly picked up the painting and was about to hand it to Li Dingning, but Li Fu stopped him with his hand.

"Why do you have to give it to him if he wants it?"

Chu Ran:?

Li Dingning:?

Li Dingning finally came to his senses. He asked in confusion and surprise, "If I want it, he should give it to me. Why wouldn't he give it to me?"

Chu Ran also nodded. Yes, yes, if Li Dingning wants it, he will definitely give it to him.

"Li Fu, what do you mean?"

Li Fu didn't look at Li Dingning. His eyes were always on Chu Ran. He slowly repeated what he had just said, "Why should you give it to him if he wants it?"

Chu Ran's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

At that moment, he seemed to understand the intention of Li Fuwen's words.

Why should he give it to Li Dingning just because he wants it?

Based on what?

Because Li Dingning is the master and Chu Ran is the servant, and because Chu Ran can live safely in the palace until now, it is all thanks to Li Dingning's protection. Because of this, Chu Ran can only nod or say "yes" in front of Li Dingning, and never has the right to refuse, because no one gives him the right to refuse.

"Forget it, forget it." Li Dingning frowned and waved his hand, saying, "If you like it, I'll leave it to you."

Li Dingning thought that Li Fu wanted it himself and was unwilling to let Chu Ran give it to him. Li Dingning would not conflict with Li Fu for such a small thing. After all, Xiao Linzi was his man. If he wanted it, he could just ask.

Because it is readily available, we take it for granted and do not cherish it at all.

Li Dingning left, and only Chu Ran and Li Fu were standing facing each other. Chu Ran had a dazed look on his face, and his lips opened slightly involuntarily.

Li Fu's question just now made Chu Ran suddenly realize something.

It seemed as if he had really become a slave since some point in time.

He had long been accustomed to ignoring his own thoughts and no longer considered whether he wanted it or not. As long as Li Dingning wanted it, that was what Chu Ran thought and what Chu Ran wanted.

So what is Chu Ran’s real thought?

He doesn't know because he has lost himself.

Suddenly, Chu Ran felt empty inside, as if his heart had been emptied out all of a sudden. He silently lowered his head, as if he was mourning, as if he was lost, and even more so as if he was helpless and powerless to fight back.

"Chu Ran." Li Fu called his name in a low voice.

Chu Ran suddenly reached out and pushed Li Fu.

Li Fu's body swayed when he was pushed.

Chu Ran lowered his head and pushed him hard again.

This time, Li Fu was pushed and staggered two steps back.

Chu Ran seemed to be in full force and pushed Li Fu several times until Li Fu had nowhere to retreat. Finally, Li Fu raised his hand and grabbed Chu Ran's wrist.

"Chu Ran." Li Fu called his name again.

“Why don’t you reply?”

Li Fu heard Chu Ran whispering to him, "I wrote you so many letters, why didn't you reply to any of them?"

"Have you found a better friend? Or do you think I talk too much and am too lazy to reply? Or maybe you think that I, a eunuch, am not worthy of being friends with you, the prince. It was you who said that you should write to me often. Wasn't it you who said that? Even if you think I am not worthy, you should at least tell me. Am I a stubborn person? To be honest, is it that difficult? After all, we have been together for more than a year. You should know me, right? I am not such an ignorant person, right?"

In fact, as long as Li Fu replied, even if he said that he didn't want to have anything to do with Chu Ran anymore, Chu Ran would give up completely.

But he said nothing. He just watched Chu Ran write him letter after letter, but never replied.

Chu Ran thought, even if he was just a little eunuch, he still had some dignity, right?

No, maybe in Li Fu's eyes, he really didn't have much shame. After all, Chu Ran could be servile to Li Dingning and anyone with a higher status than him. Wasn't he already very skilled at this?

Why can't the same be done to Li Fu?

He was just a little eunuch, and he wrote letters to the prince of Dingbei. Even if he wrote a hundred letters, let alone five, six, seven, or eight, and got no reply, what would it matter? He was the prince, so what right did he have to reply to his letter? Who was he?

If this person was not Li Fu, but someone else, Chu Ran would not have such a big reaction. Why is Li Fu different?

Isn't it because he really regarded Li Fu as a friend? But what did Li Fu regard him as?

In his heart, he and Li Fu were equal, but Li Fu and he were not from the same era. How could Li Fu possibly think that a slave was equal to himself?

This is not the world he grew up in. In this world, there is no such thing as equality.

He and Li Fu are inherently unequal.

"I'm sorry." Chu Ran's voice was hoarse, and his drooping eyelashes trembled uncontrollably. "I forgot my identity. If I have offended you, please..."

My throat felt so sour that the rest of the words seemed difficult to utter even with great effort.

"What can I do?"

“Can you…” Chu Ran’s throat choked, and he lowered his head even lower, “Can you please spare me for the sake of our past friendship…hiss…”

Chu Ran's eyes were red and tears accumulated in his eye sockets, boiling and hot. The next second, tears as big as beans rolled down his eye sockets. But he was not crying because of discomfort, but because of pain.

Li Fu pinched Chu Ran's wrist hard, his fingertips sunk into the flesh and pinched the bone just right. The pain made Chu Ran's forehead veins throb and he gasped repeatedly.

“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts—”

Chu Ran's mind seemed to be electrified, with one blank space after another flashing through his mind. Chu Ran felt that his mind was almost numb from the pain. The force with which Li Fu was pinching his wrist had just eased a little.

Damn, this Li Fu is too cruel. He almost broke his wrist.

Sure enough, my irrational behavior just now pissed off Li Fu, otherwise, he wouldn't have treated me like this.