First Marriage Then Love

111 . Lin Li Returns

Su Yi Cheng opened the door and the scent of food waft into his  nostrils, his eyebrows went up slightly . He was just about to call An Ran,  when he saw a figure coming quickly from the kitchen, and smile faintly  when she saw him . "You"re back . "

Su Yi Cheng nodded, "En . "

An Ran took the briefcase in his hand and said, "Go wash your hands first,  then let us have our meal . "

Su Yi Cheng looked at her with a funny look . It seems that something is  wrong . Something feels weird .

An Ran was somewhat uncomfortable with his stare . She pulled him forward  and said, "Go, go wash your hands . " Pushing him into the bathroom, An Ran  took his briefcase into the study .

When Su Yi Cheng finish washing his hands and sat down at the bar counter top, he looked at the spread on the table, sweet and sour pork ribs,  egg tofu, boiled small yellow croaker, plus tomato egg soup . Every dish  look very good, even when you smell them you can detect a special  fragrance .

An Ran gave him the bowl filled with rice and she sat down opposite him .

Su Yi Cheng looked at the spread on the table and looked up at An Ran . He  couldn’t help but wonder, "Is this all done by you?"

An Ran’s eyes flashed, but she did not answer him . She handed the  chopsticks to him and said, “Try it first . ”

Su Yi Cheng looked at her with a funny smile, took the chopsticks, and  directly placed a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs in his mouth . The taste  was sweet and sour, and the meat was soft . It can be said that it was done  very well, just as it was done in a restaurant .

Looking up at An Ran again, he saw that she was staring at him and seemed  to be waiting for him to say something .

Resisting the urge to ask her if she is the one who cooked it . Su Yi Cheng nodded and said, "It"s delicious!"

An Ran chuckled at his serious expression and said: "This is the takeaway that I ordered at the restaurant around the corner, cooked by a master chef,  of course it"s delicious . "

Su Yi Cheng also laughed, put a piece of ribs in her bowl and said, "How come suddenly thought of getting a takeaway today?"

"I resigned today . " An Ran said frankly, there is no hint of concealment .

Su Yi Cheng was not surprised . Since she had asked last night that she may not be able to work, he had vaguely guessed that things was not working well there . It is a matter of time for her to resign, but it is a surprise that it happen so quickly . He gave a faint smile and said, "Then let me  support you in future . "

An Ran also smiled, although she knew that he would say this, but when she  heard it, she still felt sweet inside . With smiling eyebrows she gave him a  bowl of soup . Then said, "Since I will have to rely on you from now on, I decided to prepare a feast to get on your good side . "

Su Yi Cheng obligingly drank the soup . "If today"s meal is made by you, I  will also finish it all up . "

“Really?” asked An Ran with an eyebrow raised .

"Of course!" Su Yi Cheng answered the question with certainty .

An Ran’s mouth curl with a strange smile and said to him, “Wait a minute . ”  Then she rushed down the high chair and carried over something from below the counter . It was something that was not dumped yet, but it was charred till it couldn"t be identified . The plate was placed on the bar top and as  she watched Su Yi Cheng she smiled and said, "This is what I did . "

Su Yi Cheng looked at the dark piece of something, his face unchanged, then his chopsticks reached out toward the dark thing, then took a piece of it and was preparing to put it into his mouth when An Ran grabbed his hand and scolded while smiling, "Silly, you are really going to eat it . "

Su Yi Cheng smiled and said with a serious face, "If you want me to eat, I will eat . "

It’s not sweet talk, but it makes An Ran’s heart filled with sweetness .   Deliberately turning around and not looking at him, she got up and took the dark thing away, this time directly into the trash can placed on the side .

What An Ran didn"t notice was that at the moment she turned, behind her, Su Yi Cheng"s mouth curled in a devilish smirk .

After dinner, An Ran returned to the room to take a bath, and Su Yi Cheng returned to the study room and continued to work . Recently, because of the  project of Ke Ji City, as it is now in the initial stage there is a lot of work . When the bidding is over, there will be a lot of entertainment . He  knows that someone wants to pull him down from this position . There are too many people around him who wants to watch him fall from this position . He  can vaguely guess about An Ran’s resignation . In fact, he should thank An  Ran, The reason she quit can be said to have been because of him . Shaking  his head, he seems to be glad that An Ran will never ask him what he wants,  and he does not have to worry that she will betray him .

An Ran came in with the freshly brewed tea, put the tea on his desk, and  then turned and prepared to go out, Her hand was suddenly caught by Su Yi  Cheng, and with a pull, force her to sit into his lap . He buried his head in the nook of her neck and took a deep breath . She had the fragrance of the shower gel after bathing .

An Ran put her hand on the hand holding her waist and asked softly, "What"s wrong?"

Su Yi Cheng shook his head and buried it in the nook of her neck without looking up . He only said with a sullen tone "I"m just a little tired . "

An Ran turned, reached out and caressed his head, said with some distress,  "If you are tired, just rest early, look at it tomorrow . " It seems that  since he was promoted, and from the start of the Ke Ji City project, he  have been very busy and only come out of the study after 11 pm every night .   It is almost midnight when he go to bed after washing up .

Su Yi Cheng shook his head and held her tighter in his arms . He only said,  "Let me hold you for a while . "

An Ran let him do so and only reached out to brush his hair with her fingers .

Su Yi Cheng let her go only after hugging her for a while, then he kissed her lips . "I don"t know when I"ll be done tonight . You should go to sleep  first, don"t wait for me . "

An Ran looked at him for a while, then nodded . She can"t help but remind him again in front of the door . "If you are tired, rest early and look at  it tomorrow . "

Su Yi Cheng nodded and was warmed about her thoughtfulness .

After returning to the room, An Ran was not sleepy . She sat on the bed and  looked at the magazine for a while . She remembered she met Cheng Xiang in  the supermarket at noon . She suddenly remembered that she had not contacted  Lin Li for several days, even when she called her yesterday . She did not  pick up .

Thinking of this, she called Lin Li immediately, the call was connected,  but no one answered . An Ran sent a text message to Lin Li, so she can reply  after seeing the message . An Ran is worried that something happened to Lin  Li, but she can only worry about it . Nothing else can be done . After all,  the two are too far apart . It is not easy to do more given their distance .

It’s been two days since she made the phone call to Lin Li and send the  message . During that time, An Ran was still struggling with her cooking in the kitchen . After these days of intensive training, and although many times,  the dish was fried to charcoal black, but after that, An Ran finally grasped the trick to it, and the ingredients in the pot finally emerged with its natural color . Although the taste was somewhat unsatisfactory, at  least it was not as black as in the past .

When the call from Lin Li came, she was preparing onions in the kitchen,  her eyes were crying from the smell of onions, and she couldn’t help but tear . As An Ran was peeling and regretting her choice to try cooking the  onion fried beef dish, she should try a green pepper fried beef dish instead .   Just when she was regretting this, the mobile phone on the side of the desk rang . An Ran did not look at it and answered it immediately . The tone of her voice was crying . "h.e.l.lo?"

There was a pause over the line, and it remain silent for a while .

"h.e.l.lo, speak up . " An Ran said on the phone and pushed the onion on the  cutting board to a farther place . But her crying tone of voice was still very heavy . It sounded as if she was suffering under some great distress .   She sounded very pitiful .

"An Ran, are you crying?" Lin Li asked somehow on the phone .

Hearing the voice over the phone, An Ran took the phone and looked at the  number that appeared on the screen . It was indeed Lin Li . She was worried for a few days, and the anger just exploded, shouting at her on the phone:  "You ahh still know to call me!" It was just that the tone of voice was  clearly crying, so her position of being angry was weaker .

Hearing her yell like this, Lin Li was even more uncertain now . She was clearly crying when she answered, but what was been said was not like a  crying person . "An Ran, are you not crying?"

Hearing this, An Ran used her hands to fan her face and said with tears: "I  am being smoked by the smell of onions, you tell me if I am crying or not!"

When Lin Li heard this over the line, she took a while to react and chuckle . "I thought you were crying because you were bullied by your  family"s Su Big Cash . "

Really couldn"t stand the smell anymore, An Ran calmly rushed out of the  kitchen with the mobile phone . She said, "Don"t you dare change the subject now, speak up, where have you been the past few days? You don"t answer your  phone, you don"t reply your messages, Just what have you been up to?"

On the other side of the phone, Lin Li was silent for a while, and at last she said, "Anzi, come out and meet me, I am back at Jiang City . "

Hearing this An Ran had some trouble reacting, but after a while asked uncertainly: "What did you just say, you came back to Jiang City?"

"En . " Lin Li faintly responded, "Anzi, come out and let"s meet . "

An Ran didn"t say much, said directly: "Wait for me at the usual place . "  Then she hung up the phone, took off her ap.r.o.n, took the wallet and key then left directly out the door .

After marrying Su Yi Cheng, she really hadn"t driven for a long time . She was originally a mechanical idiot . Plus, after not driven for a long time,  her skills were a bit rusty . When she turned a corner, she almost hit someone, but thank goodness It was just a false alarm .

The so-called usual place is actually just the cafe near the school where  she and Mo Fei, Lin Li and Cheng Xiang used to go together . Although after  graduation, they had not gone there for almost a few years now .  

When An Ran parked the car in front of the cafe and directly went in, in  the original seat where the four of them used to sit, she saw Lin Li, and  Lin Li also saw her at the same time, and her mouth was faintly smiling .

Today is not a weekend, but the cafe is full nonetheless, the waiters are hurriedly walking about, everyone is very busy .

An Ran looked at her, and her eyes looked at her for a moment . The original  long hair was cut short and only went to the ear . She was never fat, but after just slightly more than a month of not seeing her, her entire person  was thinner than before . More so, she seems as thin as a piece of paper,  and it seems that the wind can blow her away with just a breeze .

Lin Li chuckled and looked at her and said, "Doesn"t my new hairstyle look  waaay better than in the photo?"

An Ran rolled her eyes at her, she threw her bag and car key on the table,  sat down in front of her, looked at her sternly, and said with anger and  distress: "Don"t you eat at all?! Making yourself to be like this, are you  saving food for the country or something?!"

Lin Li chuckled and said, "It"s not by much, you know how I am, I wasn"t fat  to begin with . "

When she said that An Ran got angrier and angrier, and she stared at her,  "You are also aware that you are not fat, then why do you do this to yourself making yourself look so ghastly!?" She is sooo angry, angry that  she doesn’t even know how to cherish herself!

"OK ok now, we haven"t met for so long . Are you sure you want to scold me silly?" Lin Li asked, looking at her .

An Ran angrily stared at her for a while, and then she recovered herself .   In fact, she is just worried about her, and she feels that she doesn"t care  for herself at all . Even in such a short time, she made herself look like  this, she really is so so worried about her!

That being the case, An Ran still whispered and asked: "How come you  returned so suddenly?"

Lin Li smiled and took the cup on the table for a sip . She said: "In fact,  I came back a few days ago . I have been looking for a house and a job these few days . "

Hearing this, An Ran stared at her with wild open eyes, her expression full of anger, "Lin Li!"

Lin Li stretched and held onto her hand and said placidly, "Don"t be  angry, anger will make you age faster . If you get old, be careful your family"s Su Big Cash will go to find someone young and beautiful . "

An Ran is still staring at her, she is angry, she has been back for a few days yet only now does she contacts her!

"Alright alright, I didn"t tell you because I don"t want to rely on you for  everything . It"s time I started growing up . I am looking for a house and  a  job . In fact, everything is not as difficult as I thought . It is just that  I used to rely too much on you and Cheng Xiang, you have protected me too  well . If I am protected by you all the time, I think I will lose my ability  to survive, so this time I want to arrange everything myself by my own  strength . " Lin Li said faintly, her face calm .

"What happened?" An Ran asked . She knew Lin Li too well . When she left the  last time, she would have never return to Jiang City unless something  happened that made her to have to come back .

Lin Li look at her, and after a long time only faintly answered, "It’s my father, he was diagnosed with 2nd stage stomach cancer, and is now in the  City hospital . "

An Ran didn’t expect it to be like this . She remembered seeing Lin Li"s  father before, his spirit was still very good and seem healthier than most  young people . When he climb the stairs he didn"t even become hard of  breathe . It had only been such a short time yet now he has stomach cancer!  "How, how can this be!"

Lin Li smiled bitterly, rubbing her hand on the cup, and said only gently,  "Who knows . "

An Ran looked at her, and her heart felt immense discomfort . She reached  out and held her hand . She whispers distressingly, "Lin Li . . . "

Lin Li looked up at her and shook her head faintly . "I"m fine, really . " She  knew that An Ran was worried about her . In fact, when she just find out  about her father"s condition, she almost broke down mentally, it was too  much, too quickly . And everything is beyond her tolerance level! However,  it turns out that the potential of the person is infinite . What she thought she can"t endured she did manage to persevere through it . Now slowly she is starting to accept things as they come, because there is no way to avoid  it, the fact is already the fact, to escape is useless, she can only face  up to it .

Afraid that she didn"t believe it, Lin Li grabbed her hand and tried to make herself look okay . She said with a chuckle, "In fact, just think about it, it doesn"t seem so bad . It"s better to find out earlier . It"s now stage  2, it can still be treated, if it was stage 3, then even if I cry it will  be useless . "

Afraid that she didn"t believe it, Lin Li grabbed her hand and tried to make herself look okay . She said with a chuckle, "In fact, just think about it, it doesn"t seem so bad . It"s better to find out earlier . It"s now stage  2, it can still be treated, if it was stage 3, then even if I cry it will  be useless . "

"Lin Li!" An Ran felt uncomfortable in her heart . She suddenly feel that  G.o.d was unfair to Lin Li . It was such a short time, but she had experienced so much, and every time she was testing the limits of her heart .

Lin Li look at her steadily, as if she was making a promise with her, said,  "Anzi, I am really fine . " Turned around and looked outside, at this moment  many students seems to have just left school, then turned to look at An Ran,  said, "I have been thinking about it lately . I used to be living too  smoothly . I have lived for 28 years . It have been smooth sailing all the  time . My parents loved me . Even when I first entered the school, I was with  Cheng Xiang, and Cheng Xiang was so indulgent of me, I can say that  everything in my life is too good, like a fairy tale, so beautiful that it  seems it is not true . I used to be very willful, like a child, unstable  because I know my parents will help me, Cheng Xiang will help me, and you  will help me, regardless of what happened, there are too many people  waiting to help me, I don"t have to worry or be afraid . " Suddenly she  laugh out loud, " Oh, I used to live like a child before, being protected  by everyone . "

"We want you to continue to be a child, to be so alive, to be with so much  laughter . " When you are happy, you will laugh out loud, have no care for  your image, when you are unhappy, you will frown, all the emotions are on  the face, so people can see it at a glance . She likes Lin Li like that,  everyone likes Lin Li like that .

Lin Li shook her head, her mouth was filled with bitter smiles, and her  reply was faint . "Who can be a child forever, the child will grow up one  day . I have been lucky enough to be a 28-year-old child . Now it is time to  learn to grow up . "

"Lin Li . . . " An Ran looked at her with some distress .

Lin Li shook her head and said: "Well, I am looking for you today to help  find a job for me . Because of my father"s condition, my mother and I intend  to settle down in Jiang City first, so I want to find a job first . Does your company still recruit people? If you can, make some connections and  get me in . "

An Ran, somewhat embarra.s.sed to look at her, said, "I, I actually just  resigned . "

"Ehhh, why?" Lin Li was taken aback . "You have been there for seven years!"  She knows that An Ran had a very difficult seven years . From sketching the  drawing to the current designer position, she has achieve them step by  step, just how much sweat and energy have been spent for her to reach to her present position . And she always knew that An Ran was actually very  sentimental . At the time, she was also suppressed by Huang Dexing . At that  time, he had let her go, but she did not leave, saying that even if there  was no reluctance to leave the people there, but she could not just leave  after expending such an amount of effort at the place .

An Ran told her about the recent events, about the sample room and design  drawings, about Huang Dexing"s demands .

Lin Li said with some resentment, "It’s really true that you can find all  sorts of birds as the forest gets bigger . It"s better to leave this kind of  company earlier . There really isn"t any good thing in it!"

An Ran looked at her, Lin Li has really changed, she was not as excited as she used to be and who would say that she would teach a lesson to those  scoundrels . If this is the price of growth, it is too painful!

Suddenly thought of something, Lin Li stared at her in embarra.s.sment, and  said after a while: "Anzi, it turned out that you are not the wife of some big money family, but directly the wife of the big official, you can sure  keep a secret!"

An Ran found it so funny that she gave a sigh of relief . She only said:  "Finding work is not critical . The most important thing is to look after father Lin"s illness first . Right, where do you live now and have you found  a house?”

Lin Li shook her head . "Now Dad is in the hospital . I live with my mother  in a hotel near the hospital . I have been looking for one these days . If we find the right one, we will move over . "

An Ran nodded, suddenly thought of the single apartment she lived with Su  Yi Cheng, said to Lin Li: "The apartment we lived in before is empty now, do you want to stay there with Mama Lin first?"

Lin Li shook her head . "No, I can handle the house matter . Now my father is old, I should grow up . Under his blessing, I have lived for so many years,  and now I should take care of them instead . There are so many things that I  have to learn on my own . "

An Ran looked at her, silently sighed, and said, "Don"t be polite with me,  even if you want to learn to grow up, let me help too . "

Lin Li looked at her, and for a moment she nodded lightly .

An Ran laughed and reached out and grabbed her hand . "Take me to see father  Lin . "