Chapter 496: But I No Longer Have a Home
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Yes, envy!
In the past, this was a word that Lin Ran would rather die than to say to Lin Nuan!
After Lin Ran did an honest a.s.sessment of her own feelings, she clearly realized that all the hatred she felt towards Lin Nuan stemmed from envy.
Lin Nuan listened to Lin Ran’s peaceful speech, her gaze lowered, looking at the tips of her toes. When she spoke, her voice was clear and clean, relieved and gentle…
“Actually, I’ve always been envious of you. Even before the truth of our ident.i.ties was revealed, although you lived in poor living conditions, the Lus truly adored and doted on you! After the truth came to light, the Lins tried their best to make it up to you with all that you asked for. But I never had the chance to enter my birth mother’s heart. My biological father committed suicide out of guilt, not even leaving a message for me. Lin Ran, at least your parents are still around, but I no longer have a home…”
Lin Nuan’s tone was peaceful, but Lin Ran’s eyes had turned red on the other end of the line.
Lin Ran furrowed her brows as she recalled all that had happened when she was living at the Lus’ house…
She recalled that in the heavy rain, that tall and well-built man had ridden on his bicycle to pick her up from school. The school didn’t allow bicycles or cars to enter, and there was muddy water all around the unpaved road on the way to school; it was her Lu father who had carried her on his back all the way from the gate to the entrance of the school!
On the way back, the bicycle had broken down mid-journey, so he gave his raincoat to her and was drenched in the rain from pus.h.i.+ng his faulty bicycle the remaining several kilometers back home!
She was only mildly drenched by the time they got home, but that tall and well-built man’s clothes were dripping wet without him wringing them. The man caught her worried expression and simply smiled as he picked up a towel to wipe his hair dry, then took off his s.h.i.+rt to wring it, saying with a smile on his face, “So long as our Ran Ran isn’t drenched, all is good!”
Lin Ran recalled that, in order to be able to afford a pair of running shoes that she fancied, her Lu father had borrowed a sewing machine from the neighbor and started making those air-conditioning covers that he could sell for next to nothing…
At 3 in the morning, when she groggily opened her eyes, her father was still sitting by the sewing machine with his forehead full of sweat. Her mentally-ill mother was squatting by the side and neatly stacking those air-conditioning covers, mumbling to herself, “Buy Ran Ran running shoes… Buy Ran Ran running shoes…”
She also recalled that mentally-ill mother had, for a White Rabbit Toffee, played a game of Justice Bao holding court just like on TV with a bunch of kids. She was pressed onto the ground and allowed those kids to whack her bottom with a rod. Lin Ran ran over to chase those kids like a maniac, questioning her mother about why she played with those kids and allowed herself to be humiliated like that! She just opened her palms and said to Lin Ran, “Ran Ran likes this, Ran Ran eat… Mama doesn’t feel pain!”
Lin Ran covered both eyes with one hand, but tears kept slipping down; there was an indescribable feeling in her heart…
“Lin Ran, if you return to the country, go take a look at Mom. I don’t know what Mom’s world is like right now, but what I do know is… in that world, you’re her everything!” Lin Nuan’s voice sounded raspy.
On the other end of the line, Lin Ran didn’t say anything and just hung up quietly.
Hearing the sound of the ended call, Lin Nuan’s eyes turned slightly watery. She lightly smiled…
Ever since Lin Ran and Lin Nuan had swapped their ident.i.ties back, Lin Ran was eager to shake off the past and had never been to visit Ji Yun.
Lin Nuan had been thinking… if Lin Ran had gone, would Ji Yun’s condition be slightly better?
Lin Nuan s.h.i.+fted the phone away from her ears, quietly sitting by the side of the bed. She raised a hand to wipe away the moisture at the corners of her eyes, laughing lightly. She was, in fact, very fortunate, because she had Fu Huai’an, and also Tuan Tuan!
Lin Nuan let out a long exhale and got her spirits up. She still had to go to the AG company today, so she had to get her spirits up.
Regarding the AG Company, although Lin Nuan had only committed to filming one ad with them, she still looked through the company’s information over breakfast, in order to feel more prepared.
Lin Nuan was just eating breakfast when she saw a yawning Fu Tianci enter the dining room…
Last night, all Fu Tianci could think of was the affair between Lin Nuan and that short man, so he didn’t sleep well at all, worried that Lin Nuan might not have heeded his advice.
Seeing Fu Tianci enter, Lin Nuan set down the tablet computer and the chopsticks in her hands, grabbing a napkin to wipe her mouth. “There’s porridge and Xiaolongbao. Or do you want bacon and fried eggs to go with bread?”
Fu Tianci rubbed his eyes. Noticing that Lin Nuan had yet to finish eating, he replied, “Auntie Li told me before she left that there was porridge in the pot, and the buns are still hot too. I’ll just help myself to it!”
Recalling how Fu Tianci scalded his hand last time, Lin Nuan reminded him, “Be careful!”
Fu Tianci learned his lesson this time around. He put on gloves before bringing the steaming hot Xiaolongbao and two eggs to the dining table, then scooped himself a bowl of porridge and seated himself opposite of Lin Nuan.
Seeing Lin Nuan staring at her tablet computer and looking up information on the AG company, his mouth twitched… Why were girls so fond of AG phones? The exterior wasn’t all that good-looking! Was it just because the Auto-Beautification effects were spectacular?
Fu Tianci shoveled a mouthful of porridge into his mouth, frowning and covering his mouth with his hand as his wound acted up.
Lin Nuan looked up and saw a frowning Fu Tianci, then her vision swept to the Xiaolongbao in front of him, thinking to herself that the kid wouldn’t be able to eat the Xiaolongbao with that wound on his mouth!
Lin Nuan pulled open the door of the fridge and retrieved cheesecake from within. After heating it up a little in the microwave, she set it in front of Fu Tianci. “Eat this cake instead. It’ll be hard to chew on the Xiaolongbao…”
Fu Tianci glanced at Lin Nuan, then lowered his head and picked up a small bite with his fork, putting it into his mouth. It melted in his mouth instantly… it was delicious.
Before he could say thank you, Lin Nuan had poured Fu Tianci a gla.s.s of hot milk, even inserting a straw into it attentively.
Fu Tianci didn’t say anything, merely taking a sip of the milk with the straw. He watched as Lin Nuan cleared away the cutlery before her and moved it to the sink. He turned around…
Ever since Lu Tianyu had become Fu Tianci, Fu Tianci had gotten into fights almost every other day. Sometimes he would get a wound on his lips that hurt so bad he wouldn’t be able to eat, but there had never been anyone so attentive as to prepare a straw for him!
Every time Fu Tianci went home with a wound, his mother would keep him away from the dining table the following morning, afraid that Fu Qingquan would come to know Fu Tianci had gotten into fights and develop a bad impression of him.
Hence, after he got injured, the servants would bring his breakfast into his room. Although it was sumptuous… no one had ever considered if it was easy for him to chew!
Fu Tianci’s mother used to dote on him too, but ever since they started living with Fu Qingquan, his mother had changed. It wasn’t that she no longer loved him; his mother still did, but he knew… it was Fu Qingquan who now took up more of her attention, so she could no longer show her affections and pay attention to every little detail of his life like before!
Fu Tianci swallowed a bite of the cake, feeling awful, as if something was stuck in his chest.
Fu Tianci very quickly finished the slice of cake and gla.s.s of milk, but he still didn’t feel full yet. A subtle aroma floated out from within the kitchen. Fu Tianci got up and took the initiative to bring the gla.s.s and plate to the sink, not waiting around to have people clean up after him like a young master, as he did at the Fus’ house.