Chapter 9
"I'm not discussing this with you. Add me quickly, I have something to do..."
"I have something urgent, hurry, hurry, hurry! Add..."
"I'm going to knock on the door? Hurry up and add me, or I'll knock! Add me, add me, add me, add me, add me..."
These already noisy sentences became even more irritating after being read aloud by Siri, drilling into his brain like an electric drill.
Chi Ran would listen to a couple of sentences through the earphones, then move them away and wait a while, then move them closer and further away again, waiting a full five minutes before all the announcements had finished playing.
He didn't know what she wanted to do, only that she needed to talk to him and seemed quite anxious, but he couldn't tell whether it was the matter that was urgent or she was in a hurry.
I don't understand, I really don't understand.
He felt that his decision not to add her on WeChat was extremely wise.
Thump thump thump!
Thump thump thump!!
Thump thump thump!!!
Qian Yu yelled from outside the door, "Coming, coming, coming!! Don't rush, don't rush, don't rush, don't rush..."
A grasshopper has become a spirit inside his house, a cricket has become a spirit outside the door, and there's even a bionic electronic cicada spirit in his headphones. His head is about to explode.
Chi Ran covered her ears and gritted her teeth, "Don't bother, walking over there is no match for her tearing down the door."
The grasshopper spirit opened the door for the cricket spirit, who then came in and banged on his bedroom door.
"Why didn't you add me! I need to talk to you urgently!" Xiaofen's high-pitched voice, combined with the knocking, was pure noise.
He took a deep breath, wanting to properly teach the person outside the door the meaning of the word "boundaries".
The door in front of her was suddenly pulled open, and Song Yihuan was met with Chi Ran's sour face.
She snapped, "Are you ever going to stop having all these fans who're opening boxes?!"
Chi Ran was taken aback and didn't say anything.
His vision was filled with pink, and he could feel the wind from her movements and the hair that occasionally tossed her against his skin.
He retreated, but she quickly caught up, showing no intention of keeping her distance, so he had no choice but to retreat again and again.
As Song Yihuan was talking, she realized she couldn't reach the person, so she chased after them a few more steps: "Does this person have any moral bottom line?"
The fan whose box was opened is called Little Bear. She just received a private message from Little Bear's mother, saying that she has been skipping school recently because of a small online dispute.
Song Yihuan added Xiaoxiong's mother on WeChat and learned from her inquiries that her photos had been posted on a pornographic website, and boys in her class had seen them and spread them around the school, making lewd jokes about her. Xiaoxiong didn't want to go to school and didn't dare tell her mother, so she had to hide.
With the college entrance exam just three months away, her mother was extremely anxious and had no choice but to log into her daughter's account to contact her.
"This one! This AAA Dragon, isn't he your fan?! You know he opened someone's box!" Song Yihuan pointed to the enlarged profile picture on her phone, cutting him off. "Don't give me that 'I can't see it' thing, you clearly replied to my Weibo post!"
She recounted the little girl's ordeal in rapid succession, and before she could react, Chi Ran had already been forced back to sit in the gaming chair.
She looked down at him, hands on her hips, and said, "Do you know that any profession that is closely related to the love and admiration of others should at least provide proper guidance?"
"Your fans are opening other people's boxes, are you just going to pretend you don't know?"
Chi Ran was cornered by her, his back pressed tightly against the gaming chair, the veins on his hands gripping the chair bulging, and he tilted his head back in silence.
"Speak!" Song Yihuan was extremely anxious.
Chi Ran lightly pushed off with his toes, and the gaming chair carried him backward.
"What are you doing? Answer me!" Song Yihuan noticed his deliberate distancing and said unhappily.
Chi Ran took a few deep breaths, braced himself on the chair, tilted his head and looked up, giving a cryptic laugh, "What do you mean?"
"Huh?" Song Yihuan didn't understand.
"Open the box," he said. "What does 'open the box' mean?"
Song Yihuan's eyes widened.
“If Baidu doesn’t recognize a word, then I don’t recognize it either.” His tone was cold and hard, revealing no emotion. “Explain what ‘opening the box’ means.”
These internet slang terms, which only emerged at the beginning of the year, were indeed... to him.
Song Yihuan opened her mouth, but after a long pause, she finally spoke: "It's just that... your fan AAA Long used some means to find my fan Xiao Xiong's personal information, and her photos were even posted on pornographic websites..."
Chi Ran's expression remained blank, but the atmosphere was tense. He listened quietly, then nodded and said, "I'll handle this."
Song Yihuan didn't know what to say, and stammered, "Thank you."
"No need." He remained expressionless. "Once this is resolved, don't come again."
"…OK."
Chi Ran called Qian Yu in, gave him a few names, and asked him to make a phone call.
Then, turning to her with a more friendly tone, he asked, "Do you have that...that little...something's contact information?"
Song Yihuan: "We have each other on WeChat. We added each other before when I sent them merchandise."
“You try to persuade her,” Chi Ran said. “Instead of skipping school, you should think about how to deal with that jerk of a classmate.”
Without saying a word, Song Yihuan sent many messages to Xiaoxiong and waited for her reply.
Qian Yu quickly finished the call and came back saying, "At the latest, it will take 72 hours to get that AAA Dragon's personal information."
Song Yihuan suddenly felt like she was watching the underworld do something, and blinked: "Is it legal?"
Chi Ran replied, "What do you think?"
"It's not appropriate..." she hesitated.
Qian Yu kindly explained, "What? It's legal. Just send a lawyer's letter to that Dragon registration platform, and they'll give us his identity information."
It is perfectly legal.
She exclaimed, "They have such a wide network of connections?"
“No, not really. A lawyer’s letter costs six hundred each, and they’re mass-produced.” Qian Yu quietly pointed at Chi Ran. “We’re a big client, so we’re very familiar with the process.”
Before 72 hours had passed, the next afternoon, they received AAA Dragon's contact information.
When she was called over, Song Yihuan was on the phone with Xiaoxiong. The little girl sounded much happier: "I did as you said and called the police to ask him to cooperate with the investigation. The police officer asked him in front of his parents which page he saw it on and how he ended up on this website."
"Hey, that's great," Song Yi said with a smile.
"I went back to my class and asked them to actively provide clues, but no one dared to mention it again." Little Bear's voice was filled with satisfaction. "The girls in my class all admire me!"
"What do you think of the person who leaked your information?" Song Yihuan asked her.
"Make him apologize!" Little Bear said confidently. "He should bow and apologize to me in person!"
Song Yihuan looked at Chi Ran.
He hadn't said anything until now, but he said "okay" at this moment.
The bear's mother has already reported the incident to the police, and Song Yihuan sent the information to her so that she could also give it to the police.
This was done very efficiently; it didn't take long before Little Bear's mother sent her a message:
The police just called him, and he apologized to us over the phone.
He's still just a kid, but we haven't forgiven him. He has to come and apologize to my daughter in person.
Thank you so much.
With the matter perfectly resolved, Song Yihuan sighed, unable to tell whether she was happy or something else.
"That's a good idea," Chi Ran said.
She said, "Thanks to...Teacher Chi for reminding me."
Chi Ran didn't say anything.
Song Yihuan pressed her advantage: "Did you used to argue with people online all the time?"
Chi Ran didn't speak, but Qian Yu explained for him: "Someone changed his chart before, and he got into a flame war online. Then someone... back then it wasn't called 'unboxing,' it was called 'doxxing,' they doxxed him. Someone found his medical insurance card..."
"Alright," Chi Ran said impatiently, "Get out."
Song Yihuan watched Qian Yu's retreating figure, racking her brains for the next sentence.
"You." Chi Ran turned to her, but instead of saying it aloud, he said, "It was a promise."
"I'm sorry," Song Yihuan said, not leaving, "I really can't..."
"Can't imagine?" he said, but before she could answer, "So that's why."
“You keep your word, Song Xiao… Song Yihuan,” he said.
/
Having finally acquired her real name, Song Xiaofen tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
It's hard to say whether she felt guilty or regretful; in any case, some sticky emotion clung to her, making the already damp spring night even more unbearable.
Recalling Chi Ran's previous actions, she could completely understand why he had suddenly become cold.
He tried his best to minimize his presence and blend into the crowd, but because of her recklessness, all his pretense and efforts were exposed.
If it were her, she would only be angrier.
Chi Ran tried hard to make herself look no different from her or ordinary people, but she really lacked the imagination to imagine the differences between them.
However, setting aside these differences, she still wanted to get to know Chi Ran.
I wanted to shamelessly audit his piano lessons, to see his fingers dance across the piano, to see that proud expression on his face, even though that expression was unpleasant to look at. I wanted to... to know him better.
What kind of person is Chi Ran?
I want to say goodbye, I don't want it to end like this.
Song Yihuan stayed awake until dawn, but the moment she climbed out of bed, she was caught off guard by a belated wave of sleepiness and let out a big yawn.
What a waste of time.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw Guoguo sitting in the living room, peeking out furtively.
Song Yihuan asked her, "What's wrong?"
"You two broke up, are you going to return that half-box of black tiger shrimp in the fridge to them?" Guoguo asked seriously.
"Oh... I'll go?" Song Yihuan thought for a moment, "I'll go."
Guoguo sighed, "I finally managed to buy some butter, I can make garlic butter shrimp."
"Would you choose the neighbor or the shrimp?" Song Yihuan teased her.
"Shrimp," Guoguo said confidently. "Besides, returning the shrimp might not necessarily mend the relationship between neighbors."
Song Yihuan sighed, "What if?"
Instead of knocking on the door, she contacted Qian Yu privately:
There's still more than half a box of black tiger prawns left from the ingredients I used earlier. Shall I bring them to you later?
Qian Yu quickly responded with "typing in progress," and after a long while, replied: "[You guys eat, it's fine!]"
Just as Song Yihuan was about to reply, another message appeared: "[What Ran-ge said.]"
There's not much room for maneuver.
She sighed and replied with a cute kitten nodding emoji.
She had argued with Chi Ran a few times before, and she always felt that he was about the same age as her, acting immaturely and impulsively. But how could Qian Yu be so emotionally intelligent as to add a line like "Brother Ran said it," subtly stopping her from saying anything more and also subtly preventing her from going to apologize?
It can only mean delayed combustion.
Only now did she truly realize that Chi Ran was probably older than her and knew how to be dignified. All that had happened before was probably just him choosing to be dignified and to be childish with her.
Thinking about it this way only makes me more annoyed.
At lunchtime, Guoguo happily swayed as she ate garlic butter shrimp.
"You're not eating again?" Guoguo said with exasperation. "We've both lost a lot of weight this week, and a typhoon might blow us away."
“He’s a stingy man.” Song Yihuan poked at the white shrimp meat. “Even though he helped Little Bear and was willing to teach me to play the piano, he’s still a stingy man, just a stingy man!”
“That’s right, the ones who upset us are all petty men!” Guoguo happily peeled shrimp for her, casually brushing it off.
Song Yihuan sighed deeply: "But I just can't get over it!"
“Last Monday, the auntie next door on the first floor threw her baby's diapers into the flower bed. You stood there with your hands on your hips, arguing with her across the street for half an hour. There were hundreds of messages about it in the group chat, and she still keeps yelling at you whenever you pass by. You keep passing by repeatedly. When you went yesterday, her voice was already hoarse.” Guoguo counted on her fingers. “The vegetable shop outside is shortchanging you, and you pointed it out in public. They said they'd come to your door and make your life miserable once the lockdown is lifted…”
"What are you doing?" Song Yihuan asked, puzzled.
"Let's recount the glorious history of our Song warriors," Guoguo said. "You're the person I've ever met who cares least about what others think. When have you ever felt bothered by someone being angry with you?"
Song Yihuan couldn't understand it and felt overwhelmed.
She chewed on a shrimp, casually opened the profile of the account "Ember," and stalked it while eating.
He deleted the post where he argued with her, and later posted several videos of himself practicing the piano.
She casually clicked on it, and it still had that style of showcasing both skill and talent.
The comments were mostly simple and blunt exclamations: "Holy crap!"
Suddenly, she caught some keywords from the scrolling comments, and she quickly paused the video and clicked into the comments section.
[Good afternoon, Jinzi! Today's check-in, score 2]
[Where did you guys find so many wins?]
Come and admire the god with a 5-point record!
[I'm in awe!]
What?!
…
By connecting the context, Song Yihuan roughly understood the cause and effect.
Although the fan who opened the box has apologized and disappeared, harmful information on the internet is never completely eradicated, and some websites still display information about the bear.
Chi Ran sent a voice message in the fan group, urging everyone to report such incidents.
Fans then spontaneously brought their reporting records to his videos to check in and share their achievements with each other.
Song Yihuan put down her chopsticks, feeling even worse.
After hesitating for a moment, she took a deep breath as if she had made up her mind, and spent a long time studying the WeChat application.
After completing the research, I clicked into the "Music Dining Table" group of three.
Click on Chiran's profile picture, then click Add to Contacts.
Who cares?
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