Chapter 39 Chapter 39 Wei Ran, I know everything now. ...
At noon, Cao Hui picked up his brother Cao She from the airport.
Cao She is two years older than Wei Ran. As the eldest son of the Cao family who has been excellent in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labor aspects since childhood, Cao She looks much more respectable. He wears a long cashmere coat and gold-rimmed glasses, giving off the air of a backbone elite.
Even though he flew for more than ten hours to get here, he still looked clean and energetic, and his temperament was nothing like that of a brother to Cao Hui.
As soon as he entered the ward, Cao She took the initiative to look around. His gaze stayed on Wei Ran for a few seconds. After greeting her, he saw Lin Luochen standing beside him.
This time he was stunned for a little longer, his eyes darting back and forth between Wei Ran and Lin Luochen, until Lin Luochen felt something was wrong and offered his hand, "Hello, Mr. Cao."
"I guess this is A Ran's friend Mr. Lin. Hello." Cao She shook hands with Lin Luochen.
On the way here, he had heard from Cao Hui that Wei Ran brought a friend with her yesterday, and their mother's surgery and the ward she was currently staying in were all arranged by that friend.
He knew about this. He knew that Wei Ran had brought a powerful friend with him.
I just didn't expect that the other party would be here today.
"...Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Lin, about my mother's matter." Cao She said politely.
"polite."
Lin Luochen looked at the other person and didn't see anything unusual. He said as a matter of course: "Wei Ran's business is my business."
"Since big brother is here, auntie, if there is nothing else, we will go back first." At this time, Wei Ran suddenly suggested leaving.
Ms. Bai was stunned, and even Lin Luochen was slightly surprised - they were chatting about all sorts of things in the ward just now, Wei Ran had not made any arrangements to leave, and Wei Ran had no plans for today.
However, Ms. Bai was just reluctant to leave Wei Ran and Du Du. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded and did not try to persuade them to stay. Instead, she said, "Okay, then it's just right for you to take Du Du back and have a good rest."
"I understand, Auntie." Wei Ran smiled.
The eldest brother of the Cao family had just hung up his coat and windbreaker. When he heard that Wei Ran was leaving, he turned around hesitantly and said to Wei Ran, "A Ran, don't stay any longer."
Wei Ran also smiled at him: "Well, Dudu is tired, and I have something to do in the afternoon... Oh, brother, Auntie's lunch..."
"My brother and I are here, how can my mother starve?" Cao Hui interrupted Wei Ran in a harsh tone.
"Ah Hui!" Cao She stopped his brother from being rude. Lady Bai was also very dissatisfied with Cao Hui's attitude and immediately scolded her second son, while Wei Ran just ignored him.
Cao Hui faced the combined scolding from his mother and elder brother, and muttered unconvincedly: "That's right, if he wants to leave, then let him leave. There's plenty of food to buy here..."
"Cao Hui, shut up." Cao She also joined in scolding his younger brother.
Cao Hui refused to obey anyone, but he listened to his brother. Cao She told him to shut up, and he did. The ward became quiet. Cao She looked at Wei Ran again: "A Ran, you..."
Wei Ran smiled at Cao She again and said, "Then I'll leave first."
Afterwards, he said hello to Ms. Bai and asked Dudu to say goodbye to his grandmother.
"Grandma, bye." Dudu listened to Wei Ran very much. When his father said he was leaving, he stretched out his lotus root-like little arms and hugged his father obediently, sticking to Wei Ran like a small power bank.
With a little effort, Wei Ran picked up Dudu and walked out.
Lin Luochen helped Wei Ran open the door of the ward.
Wei Ran left straight away, and Lin Luochen followed behind.
After spending the morning with the Cao family, Lin Luochen felt something was wrong.
Wei Ran's adoptive parents are very good to him and always treat him as their own son. They give him 100% support in terms of material foundation and educational resources.
But these are the versions that Wei Ran told him.
There are some things that Lin Luochen felt were not right five years ago -
According to Wei Ran's story, Wei Ran was sent to a famous American music conservatory by the Cao family to study musical instruments and vocal music before she was 18 years old and graduated from high school. But Lin Luochen knew that Wei Ran loved acting.
So when he was young, he asked Wei Ran, since he liked acting so much, why didn’t he go directly to an acting school, but had to take a detour to study music first.
"You're busy graduating from the music school, and after class you have to go to acting classes. After graduation, you'll debut as a musician first, and then switch to acting... Aren't you tired?"
He asked Wei Ran this question at that time.
Wei Ran's answer was: "Because music is a talent, and acting is my passion. I can do both. I'm such an all-rounder."
At that time, Wei Ran loved to laugh and was very confident.
When Lin Luochen asked questions, he answered them so brightly that Lin Luochen didn't think much about it and just believed what he said.
But now I've seen how Wei Ran gets along with his adoptive parents... I feel that except for being quite natural and casual in front of Ms. Bai, Wei Ran's relationships with other people are quite weird.
In the ward, after Wei Ran left, Cao She criticized and educated his brother again.
"You're already an adult, yet you're still so rude. Did Wei Ran provoke you?"
No matter how close Cao Hui was to his eldest brother, he still talked back. Furthermore, he'd been holding something in all day, so he couldn't help but say, "Brother, you're still protecting him. Didn't you see the man next to him? They're clearly having an affair!"
"That's enough! How can you talk like that?" Cao She was a cultured man. He probably couldn't stand his brother's vulgar remarks, so he quickly stopped him.
Cao Hui said with disdain: "What's the big deal? Wei Ran can do such a thing, so why is he afraid of what others say?"
"Ahui, shut up! Aran is your brother!" Ms. Bai couldn't stand it anymore and quickly scolded her younger son to shut up.
But Cao Hui's temper was easily ignited. When Ms. Bai lived in his house to help him look after the children, the mother and son had often quarreled. Now that his mother scolded him, he became even more excited and said immediately: "Am I wrong? All he does is seduce people all his life. He is so handsome, but he didn't waste it at all. He seduced my eldest brother back then, and we don't know who he had the child with..."
"Cao Hui!"
"Bang!"
Cao She and Ms. Bai shouted Cao Hui's name at the same time. At the same time, there was a deafening sound of kicking the door, and someone strode in from outside.
The sound of the door being violently kicked open was so loud that everyone in the room was startled. Then, "bang", Cao Hui was hit hard on the cheek by a fist, and no one in the room could react yet.
Cao Hui was also stunned and forgot to even cry out in pain. In the severe pain, he subconsciously touched his nose and felt blood on his hand.
The person who rushed into the house and beat people up still walked steadily.
Lin Luochen looked down at Cao She who was standing on the other side, and looked at him condescendingly for half a minute.
Cao She glanced away with a bad look on his face, and Ms. Bai on the bed showed a painful and embarrassed expression.
But the entire ward fell into an extremely eerie silence.
Half a minute later, Cao Hui reacted and wanted to fight with Lin Luochen.
Lin Luochen said in a bad mood: "Think it over before you come up. If you don't want to die, don't mention Wei Ran anymore."
Cao Hui: “…”
Lin Luochen simply ignored him again, turned around, and said to Ms. Bai on the hospital bed: "Wei Ran's phone fell down, I'll help him get it."
As he spoke, he walked to the side of the sofa, bent down, reached out, and took out a white mobile phone from the gap.
After straightening up again, Lin Luochen left without saying anything, as aggressive as when he came.
Outside the ward, Wei Ran, with a pale face, held Dudu in one hand, and pressed Dudu's ear with the other hand. She also pressed the baby's head and gently pressed the other ear of Dudu against herself.
Dudu didn't understand what he meant. He didn't know how to eavesdrop yet and had no idea what was going on, but he could feel that his father was suddenly a little unhappy.
So, as his father's little warm baby, Dudu leaned in his father's arms and hugged his father's neck, not making a fuss or moving, and looked at Lin Luochen who had just come out with his big eyes blinking, as obedient as a kitten.
Lin Luochen looked at the father and his son, took another big step forward, and reached out to hug Dudu.
He said he wanted to take Dudu from Wei Ran, but maybe he took too big a step and walked too fast, and as soon as he opened his arms, he embraced Wei Ran in his arms.
"go home."
Lin Luochen lowered his head slightly, his lips brushing against Wei Ran's ear. He said firmly, "Wei Ran, let's go home."
Before Wei Ran could answer, Lin Luochen took the baby Dudu in his arms.
Lin Luochen held Dudu in one hand and slid down with the other hand to hold his hand. Before Wei Ran could react, he had already pulled him towards the elevator at the end of the corridor.
"Aran..."
Cao She followed in the direction of the ward worriedly, and saw the backs of two people walking away hand in hand.
After entering the elevator, Wei Ran reacted and pulled her hand out of Lin Luochen's palm.
When we got downstairs, Wei Ran looked normal again.
"Are you hungry, Dubao? What do you want to eat?"
He tried to take Dudu back from Lin Luochen as if nothing had happened, but Lin Luochen skillfully avoided him.
Wei Ran had no choice but to continue letting the other person hold Dudu.
The two people opposite, one big and one small, looked at Wei Ran together.
After making sure that there was nothing wrong with his father, Dudu was quickly distracted by Wei Ran's questions and began to think seriously about what to eat for lunch.
But Dudu is still too young and has no idea about food, and he likes to eat everything, so after thinking about it, he could only think of the black pepper beef tenderloin that he had in the hotel last night.
"Then let's go eat Cantonese food and drink some soup. It's cold today." Lin Luochen simply suggested.
"Okay." Dudu clapped his hands happily in Father Lin's arms.
Wei Ran naturally had no objection.
The little incident in the ward just now seemed to have passed.
Wei Ran acted so nonchalantly, so nonchalantly that Lin Luochen felt that he had been making a fuss too much. So after lunch and coaxing Dudu to take a nap, he naturally brought up the topic.
At that time, Wei Ran was sitting cross-legged on the sofa reading a script.
Originally, Wei Ran should have taken a nap, but Lin Luochen was coaxing Dudu in the room, so he didn't want to lie down and just stayed on the sofa.
Lin Luochen asked a straightforward question: "What they're talking about...is the reason why you went to music school instead of studying acting."
Wei Ran's action of flipping through the script suddenly paused.
Lin Luochen walked over and sat on the armrest of the sofa, supporting himself with his long legs.
He looked straight ahead and said, "But what Cao Hui said must be false. You are not that kind of person."
Wei Ran: “…”
The weather is a bit cloudy today.
It seems that most cities are like this in autumn and winter. After finally seeing some sunshine at noon, the sky has turned lead gray again.
Everything was white, with no visible end and no hope, except for the occasional birds flying by.
Lin Luochen continued, "And if you really did something wrong, your adoptive mother wouldn't have this attitude."
Wei Ran's hand holding the script shook violently.
"That was when I was a kid," Wei Ran said indifferently, not wanting to talk about it. After all, at least ten years had passed.
"But you never told me that." Lin Luochen leaned forward slightly, his hands resting on his legs. Suddenly, he asked with a hint of jealousy, "Have you told anyone else? We used to have the best relationship."
“…”
Wei Ran was silent again, and Lin Luochen smiled gently. He took it as Wei Ran's consent - five years ago, regardless of whether there was love or not, at least he and Wei Ran had the best relationship at that time.
Wei Ran: “…It’s really nothing.”
Five years ago, Wei Ran didn't tell Lin Luochen about this matter, and it seemed that this matter still weighed on his mind.
But now thinking back, that was no big deal.
"That year, Cao She graduated from high school and was accepted into a top 10 university in the United States, but he didn't go. ... He said it was because of me."
“…”
Wei Ran has had a good personality since childhood and has an extremely delicate appearance. After being taken to the Cao family, his adoptive parents and Cao She treated him very well, except for Cao Hui.
But Wei Ran didn't know when the kindness of the eldest brother of the Cao family changed for the worse - he was really young and not very smart at that time.
He thought that his elder brother's care and protection for him were all out of brotherly love, and the occasional physical contact was also like that, just like when he played basketball with his classmates at school, some unintentional touching would occur.
But suddenly one day, the situation at home changed.
Wei Ran first heard that the things related to him that his elder brother had hidden were discovered by his adoptive parents. At that time, he had just returned home from school and was very surprised. How could his things be with his elder brother? He didn't say anything, but the problem was so serious.
Later he realized that those "private collections" were somewhat perverted...
Of course, the more serious problem is that Cao She, who has always been excellent in everything, changed his major without even asking his parents' opinion and chose to stay in Toronto to attend university.
The reason he revealed when he was forced to confess was that he was worried about Wei Ran being left here alone. He was worried that Wei Ran would be bullied.
Now Wei Ran was also confused.
Wei Ran's skeleton is smaller than that of men of the same height. He even joked to himself that it was a miracle that he could grow so tall.
In addition, he has fair skin and a delicate face, which seems to make people want to protect him easily.
When he was in junior high school, his classmates would fight for him. Fellow overseas Chinese immigrants even jokingly called him Su Daji.
However, Wei Ran never felt that she needed anyone to protect her.
Cao Hui, who always comes to cause trouble for him, has never suffered any good results. It’s not that Wei Ran will not suffer losses, but his indomitable, optimistic, confident and fearless spirit allows him to always get back at the end.
But even so, there are always classmates who inexplicably jump out to protect him and be nice to him.
For this reason, the young Wei Ran was not moved nor grateful for the other party's kindness. In his opinion, this was a symbol that the other party felt he was weak.
Wei Ran's dream of becoming a martial arts star also has this factor in mind: he wants to show others that he is strong and that he doesn't need protection.
But he didn't expect that even Cao She would be like this.
And he is more cruel than anyone else - Cao She said himself that he couldn't bear the thought of Wei Ran leaving his sight.
Lin Luochen: “…”
But Cao She had always been so outstanding that no one thought he was mentally ill. So from the perspective of parents, elders, or outsiders, they inferred that either Cao She was crazy or Wei Ran and his brother really had something going on.
"They don't believe you?" Lin Luochen's face fell.
"No, that's not it." Wei Ran smiled lightly, his face pale again.
Seeing Wei Ran like this, it really makes people want to rush up and hug him.
Wei Ran said: "They didn't disbelieve me, and Cao She didn't say anything about us. But..."
But his adoptive parents were still terrified.
Or maybe they really didn't trust him enough.
In short, the situation at that time was that the adoptive parents were greatly shocked, and their first reaction was to separate Cao She and Wei Ran, and it would be best if they never met again.
Considering the extent of Cao She's paranoia, they could no longer allow Wei Ran and Cao She to continue living under the same roof, or even in the same city or country.
So Wei Ran went to the music conservatory early.
"The top music school in North America is recruiting students with special talents. Mom sent them your video and certificate. They are happy to make an exception and admit you early."
That day, Ms. Bai said with red eyes while sitting in front of the piano.
Wei Ran was not as calm and accustomed to silence as he is now.
He understood what Ms. Bai meant, but this arrangement ran counter to his dream, so he still spoke up to fight for himself: "But Auntie, I want to study acting. You've already helped me sign up for courses. In a year, after I graduate from high school, I can..."
"A Ran, please forgive your mother. Just think of it as your mother begging you." Ms. Bai burst into tears, but was unwilling to look at Wei Ran again.
Then Wei Ran understood everything.
Cao She's paranoia and sexual orientation made the Cao family panic.
Especially before the problem broke out, he was so outstanding and perfect that no one expected this to happen. So the Cao couple placed their hopes on separating the two of them for a long time, so that Cao She could return to normal.
They wanted a normal and outstanding eldest son more than anything else and were willing to give everything.
That day, Wei Ran seemed to have grown up all of a sudden...at least half grown up.
He didn't ask why he was the one leaving.
When it comes to choosing between the adopted son who came halfway through his life and the outstanding eldest son, this question seems to be unnecessary to ask.
…
The adoptive mother, who was usually dignified and well-behaved, looked extremely haggard and her hair was messy after just two days.
Wei Ran looked at Ms. Bai like this, then looked at the piano that his adoptive mother gave him when he was ten years old, and compromised.
He took the empty suitcase from his adoptive mother, dragged it back to his room and began to pack his things.
He promised her. And he has since fulfilled his promise.
He would never be alone with Cao She, and unless necessary, he would not appear in the same region or country with Cao She.
Until this moment.
Wei Ran is just so stubborn.
"...But they all regret it. Judging from Ms. Bai's expression, she must feel very sorry for you." Lin Luochen said after a long silence.
Of course they regretted it.
Parents of teenagers can easily overemphasize their children's problems, especially those related to premature love. When a teenager develops a relationship, parents can feel devastated. However, when the child reaches their twenties and looks back on the issue, it often seems like a minor issue.
The same is true for the Cao couple.
Although Cao She's behavior was indeed terrifying at the time, he was already thirty years old this year. After Wei Ran left home, he seemed to have figured things out. He went to university, studied for a master's degree, and found a good job...
Apart from the fact that he had never been in a relationship at the age of 30, everything was normal, as if that little episode was just adolescent rebellion.
Under such circumstances, Ms. Bai and her husband certainly felt more and more sorry for Wei Ran.
If they had taken a closer look then... If they hadn't been so nervous then... Even if they hadn't sent Wei Ran away, or forcibly separated them, but had tacitly accepted their relationship and allowed it to develop freely...
At least Wei Ran doesn't need to go to music school at all.
If it wasn't for the purpose of reassuring his adoptive parents.
Lin Luochen looked at Wei Ran. Unconsciously, he had moved from the armrest of the sofa to Wei Ran's side. He naturally held Wei Ran's hand and said, "Don't be sad. Even if you took some detours... you are now a successful actor."
"...Thank you." Wei Ran said, "I'm not sad."
Lin Luochen didn't know how to comfort her, so he could only say, "Yeah."
Wei Ran smiled gently again. It was not the bright smile he had before, nor was it the smile he used when acting. He just smiled weakly.
The weather was gloomy and depressing, just like the day he left Cao's house with his suitcase.
Wei Ran always remembered the sky that day, which was also a lifeless lead-gray color.
He remembered it so clearly.
Because he was homeless again that day.
Or perhaps it seemed that it had never been his home - if it was his home, why would his eldest brother have such feelings for him, but ultimately not stand up and take on the responsibilities he should have.
But it seemed like it had once been his home—
Wei Ran always remembered the moment when she learned that Cao She changed his major because of her, and the look in Ms. Bai's eyes when she looked at her, her first reaction was not disgust or avoidance, but disappointment.
That was truly the disappointment a mother looks at her child, exactly the same look she gave Cao She.
Although it was later proven that Wei Ran had done nothing, and Ms. Bai believed him, if one peeled back the layers of what happened back then like peeling an onion, what hurt Wei Ran the most was that look of disappointment.
Even though he didn't do anything wrong, Wei Ran was still deeply hurt when he received that look from his "mother".
Even though her mind convinces her every day that she is not wrong, if she is really wrong, how could Ms. Bai and others be willing to believe her in the end?
But for a while, deep down, Wei Ran didn't know if he was really innocent.
Perhaps, as Cao Hui said, the eldest brother suddenly "went crazy" because there was something wrong with him or some of his own inappropriate behavior caused it.
——The hurt he felt from being sent away and not being chosen was certainly deep.
But apart from Cao She, he is also a child she is proud of.
...Wei Ran always remembered that day when he witnessed the burial of his biological parents and stayed in the orphanage for twenty-eight days. On that day, his adoptive father completed all the adoption procedures and took him home. Ms. Bai, dressed in a respectable business suit, squatted down and hugged him affectionately.
So let's just take it as a way to repay that warm hug with a little scent of gardenia.
Wei Ran left the home where he had lived for several years without saying a word.
He never mentioned or complained about this incident to anyone afterwards.
Wei Ran digested all of this quietly by herself, and in the lonely nights, she doubted whether she was guilty.
The day after arriving at the Conservatory of Music in New York was Wei Ran’s seventeenth birthday.
He was only seventeen years old at that time.
"Wei Ran, you're not guilty." Lin Luochen held Wei Ran's hand distressedly. "How could it be your fault that you ran into a psychopath?"
"...Really?" Wei Ran came back to his senses slightly, and first looked at Lin Luochen confusedly, then seemed to remember something, and slowly pulled his hand out of the other's palm.
When her fingertips were about to completely leave the other person's palm, someone suddenly grabbed her hand more quickly and wrapped it more tightly.
Lin Luochen said: "You were absolutely right when you agreed to be with me back then."
“…” Wei Ran’s eyelashes trembled violently, and she looked at Lin Luochen suddenly.
Lin Luochen also took a deep breath and said, "You broke up with me because you didn't want my mother to be disappointed, right? ...Wei Ran, I know everything now."
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