Chapter 6: Staying on a rainy night and surprising news of wedding
Su Ran returned to his residence and saw that Xu Tianna's bowl of porridge was almost empty, while his own bowl was still steaming. He took out two salted duck eggs from the bag left by his father, handed one to Xu Tianna and said, "Try it."
"I'm almost done." This was the first time Xu Tianna spoke to him in a normal tone in the two days since they met.
Su Ran smiled and said, "Eat another bowl, white rice porridge won't make you fat."
Xu Tianna ignored his suggestion and said, "Your father has left, you can move out too."
Su Ran looked at the wind and rain outside the window and discussed with her, "I won't move out today, I'll stay one more night, okay?"
"No." Xu Tianna was firm.
Su Ran slammed his chopsticks on the table and said angrily, "What's wrong with you, woman? Do you know how to be soft-hearted? Spit out the porridge you just ate, and I'll move out right away."
Xu Tianna looked at him with her beautiful eyes, and was speechless for a moment by his sudden change of face.
Su Ran slowed down her tone again: "Big sister, I've been tossing and turning all day today, and now I'm exhausted. Can you please spare me?"
"Scumbag, who is your big sister?"
"Miss, Miss, okay." Su Ran quickly changed her words and promised solemnly, "Tomorrow, I will definitely move after get off work tomorrow."
Xu Tianna took a long time to let go: "Remember what you said."
"Of course, I will move tomorrow."
Xu Tianna looked at him dissatisfied, got up and walked to the rice cooker, and served herself another small bowl.
"Aren't you not going to eat?"
Xu Tianna glared at him: "I've eaten it all anyway, so this bowl doesn't matter."
Su Ran shook his head and sighed: "Alas, people are so depraved."
Although it was a joke, he still handed the peeled salted duck egg to Xu Tianna, and she didn't refuse, and the two continued to eat in this strange atmosphere.
After dinner, Su Ran handed the three thousand yuan left by Ban Die to Xu Tianna: "I'll pay you back three thousand first, and the rest will be paid next week."
"You still have money to rent a house after giving it to me? Pay it back together later."
"You think about this for me, I'm not delaying it on purpose." Su Ran said as he stuffed the money back into his wallet.
"As long as you move out quickly, nothing else matters." Xu Tianna took another sip of porridge and seemed to like the taste of the porridge. Indeed, Ban Die's porridge cooking skills are quite good, and ordinary rice porridge can be cooked with a strong taste of home.
"I'm not the god of plague, you don't have to dislike me so much, right?" Su Ran sighed.
"With your character, you still expect me to like you?"
Su Ran smiled and didn't say anything else. Maybe he really has a bad character, or maybe she misunderstands him, but it doesn't matter. Anyway, he will draw a clear line with her after get off work tomorrow.
Su Ran finished the porridge in the bowl in one gulp and stared at Xu Tianna. She wore a white long-sleeved chiffon shirt, black and white checkered pencil pants, and a slightly curly medium-length hair, which made her look more elegant, but she looked a little thin.
Su Ran took out the knitted sweater left by his father and gestured in front of Xu Tianna. After a while, he sighed: "It's getting cold. Don't you think this sweater suits you very well?"
Xu Tianna frowned: "Why, do you want me to take advantage of you?"
"Really, it suits you very well. If you are willing to let me continue to rent this house, I don't mind giving it to you. My dad said that this sweater was knitted by my mom herself. It is thick and warm to wear in winter."
"I am not worthy of it."
Su Ran smiled and handed the sweater to her: "I am kidding you. Even if you don't rent it to me, I will give it to you. I don't plan to have a girlfriend for the time being, and it's a waste to keep it here. Just consider it as my apology for yesterday's rudeness."
Su Ran's expression was very sincere. Xu Tianna hesitated for a moment, and actually took the sweater and said: "Okay, I accept your apology. Also, be nice to your dad, don't lie to him and make him worry."
"What is the logical relationship between accepting an apology and being nice to my dad?" Su Ran asked in surprise.
Xu Tianna said angrily: "You are really a scumbag." After that, she stuffed the sweater into her handbag, opened the door and left.
Su Ran was the only one left in the room. He didn't understand why Xu Tianna suddenly got angry. After thinking for a long time, he realized that maybe she temporarily accepted the apology and made an exception to let him stay for another night just out of sympathy for Ban Die. In her eyes, he made the girl pregnant, deceived her father, treated her rudely and didn't keep his promise. What else could he be if not a scumbag?
Xu Tianna didn't stay in this house that night. Su Ran thought, she must have other places to live in this city, but why did she have to live here?
Su Ran thought hard but couldn't find the answer, so he simply stopped struggling. There are always weird people and weird things in this world. Compared with the weirdness of the world, this is not too strange. There is no need to dig into the root of the matter. Just treat it as a unique behavior of the rich.
In fact, Su Ran likes this muddled life a lot of the time, because the truth may bring pain, and there may be loss if you gain something. If you don't know the truth, you won't feel pain, and if you don't gain something, you won't care about losing anything.
The next day, Su Ran came to the company. After the weekly meeting of the planning department, he and Lu Chen walked out of the meeting room side by side, followed by his colleague Zhao Yu.
Su Ran lit a cigarette and waved to Zhao Yu: "Zhao Yu, come here."
Zhao Yu looked at him warily: "What?"
"I heard that you like outdoor sports?"
"Yes, I like it very much."
Su Ran smiled: "I have a set of professional outdoor sports equipment. I bought it but didn't use it much. I'll sell it to you at a low price."
"You don't like outdoor sports, why do you buy equipment?" Zhao Yu asked in confusion.
"That's why I haven't used it because I don't like it. It's like new, super good, Arc'teryx brand, and I'll sell it to you for 2,000 yuan." Su Ran said, putting his arm around Zhao Yu's shoulder.
"Really?" Zhao Yu asked in surprise.
Su Ran said impatiently: "Of course it's true. Hurry up and pay me. I'll ask Lu Chen to bring it to you tomorrow. The stuff has been at his house."
Zhao Yu counted out two thousand yuan from his wallet and handed it to Su Ran, and reminded him: "Remember to bring it to me tomorrow. It will be just right for rock climbing next weekend."
Su Ran stuffed the money into his pocket: "You tell Lu Chen yourself."
Zhao Yu said to Lu Chen who was absent-minded not far away: "Lu Chen, remember to bring me the outdoor equipment that Su Ran left at your house tomorrow."
Lu Chen came back to his senses and asked in confusion: "What outdoor equipment?"
"It's Su Ran's Arc'teryx set. He sold it to me." Zhao Yu explained patiently.
Su Ran took a deep puff of cigarette, turned around and walked towards the bathroom. Behind him, Lu Chen cursed: "Damn, what are you selling? That's mine!"
Then he heard Lu Chen helplessly say to Zhao Yu: "Okay, don't be depressed, I'll bring it to you tomorrow."
After smoking in the bathroom, Su Ran returned to the office. Lu Chen had a cup of coffee on his desk. He was wearing radiation-proof glasses and his fingers were typing away on the keyboard.
Su Ran turned on his computer and played with his lighter while he was turning it on. He chatted with Lu Chen, "Are you still busy with the plan for GI to set up a counter in our mall?"
Lu Chen didn't bother with what happened just now and sighed, "Yes, I've been busy for almost a week. The investment department is still waiting for our plan and the negotiation with the representative of GI."
Su Ran responded and didn't ask any more questions. He and Lu Chen are completely different. Lu Chen is a workaholic, while he is just getting by. After two years of work, Lu Chen is already the leader of the copywriting planning group of the planning department, while he is still working at the bottom.
Lu Chen suddenly stopped typing and stared at Su Ran for a long time with a worried look in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Su Ran was a little confused by his strange behavior.
Lu Chen finally spoke: "I saw you were in a bad mood the other day, so I didn't tell you something. Yan Yue and I are getting married next week."
"Finally getting married." Su Ran sighed subconsciously, and then her heart ached.
At the beginning, Lu Chen was able to meet Yan Yue thanks to Su Ran and Jian Xuan. Yan Yue was Jian Xuan's best friend, and Su Ran and Lu Chen were close friends. After Su Ran and Jian Xuan fell in love, they created an opportunity for Lu Chen and Yan Yue to meet, and later they also fell in love.
In those years in college, the four of them often went out together, and their friendship was deep. They even joked about getting married after graduation.
Lu Chen and Yan Yue's marriage was certainly a happy event, but it also exposed Su Ran's pain and loneliness. After all, he couldn't be with Jian Xuan until the end.
Sometimes, people's pain comes from comparison. At this moment, Su Ran can only envy and bless them in pain and loneliness. What else can he do?
The past is like dust, but it can't be blown away by the wind. It falls on his heart, making his world dark.
Su Ran smiled at Lu Chen and said, "Brother, where is the wedding invitation? Hurry up and bring it here."
Lu Chen nodded, took out the wedding invitation from the drawer and handed it to Su Ran. Su Ran opened it, and on the wedding invitation, Lu Chen and Yan Yue were smiling and full of happiness.
After a long silence, Su Ran asked Lu Chen, "Will Jian Xuan return to China after you get married?"
"You know, she has been out of contact since she moved from Los Angeles to New York. But Yan Yue sent her an email a few days ago, and she hasn't replied yet. No one can say whether she will reply or not."
"Oh, really?" Su Ran responded calmly, and stopped talking to Lu Chen. His fingers were randomly pressing on the keyboard, and his eyes were staring at the screen but absent-minded.