A Moment of Clarity in the Mist

“No.”

Chen Ran murmured, thinking that he couldn’t possibly be injured from beating someone up like that.

“No! Let sister take a look!”

Jiang Zilin’s voice suddenly became resolute.

However,

Jiang Zilin didn’t dare to immediately pull back the curtain. Instead, she seemed to think for a moment, and then Chen Ran noticed that Jiang Zilin had passed a small plastic stool from the outside.

“You…you sit down.”

“Okay.”

Chen Ran had no choice but to obey Jiang Zilin and sit down; otherwise, she would keep nagging.

“Face away from sister!”

“Okay, okay.”

Jiang Zilin, seemingly from the outside, saw that Chen Ran had turned away and was sitting down.

Jiang Zilin then carefully pulled back the curtain a little, catching a glimpse of Chen Ran’s back before sighing in relief and tossing over a towel.

“Cover…your…legs!”

The girl instructed, her voice hinting at a playful tone.

Chen Ran understood what she meant and spread the towel over his thighs, covering himself.

Only then did Jiang Zilin confidently step inside.

The bathroom shower was still spraying hot water, hitting Chen Ran’s chest at just the right angle, allowing him to continue his bath.

At the same time,

Chen Ran noticed Jiang Zilin hugging him from behind, her hands reaching around to check for any injuries, her small head resting on his shoulder.

“Really, no injuries?”

“None at all.”

Chen Ran knew that Jiang Zilin genuinely cared, even if she could be a bit foolish—she was simply an honest, straightforward girl.

“Zilin, did Lengleng go back to her room to do homework?”

“Yes, she did.”

“…”

Chen Ran knew that Jiang Lengleng was probably studying in her room, and Jiang Ruohua had turned off the video call and gone to sleep.

With nothing else to do, Jiang Zilin decided to come and ‘bother’ Chen Ran.

This girl…

Jiang Zilin quickly began to hum, trying to disguise her own nervousness.

“Chen Ran, you’re so brave today. Sister loves it when you protect her like this.”

“Oh.”

“As a reward, sister will help you shower!”

“…”

Chen Ran just wanted Jiang Zilin to leave, but she was persistent, picking up the nearby shower gel and squeezing it onto her hands.

She began to rub, creating a frothy lather.

Once her hands were covered in fragrant bubbles, she started to spread the lather all over Chen Ran’s back, arms, chest, and stomach.

Chen Ran was speechless, finally teasing her, “What about the rest, Zilin?”

“T-the rest?!”

The girl, caught off guard, was trying to keep up appearances.

“The rest, Chen Ran can handle it himself!”

“…”

Then Chen Ran felt Jiang Zilin stand up, pick up the showerhead, and start spraying water all over him, so much so that he could hardly open his eyes.

The scalding hot water streamed down, filling the small bathroom with mist and Jiang Zilin’s silly shrieks.

“You’re so naughty, Chen Ran! You made sister all wet!”

“You did that to yourself.”

“It’s all your fault, your fault, your fault…”

Jiang Zilin began to pout, then noticing Chen Ran’s exhausted and half-blinded expression, she reluctantly said,

“Chen Ran, do you want me to leave?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Are you mad at me?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Don’t be mad. Sister…how about a new reward?”

Jiang Zilin, realizing she had messed things up, nervously whispered,

“Sister…will give Chen Ran a bear to cuddle…”

Even with his eyes closed, Chen Ran could feel Jiang Zilin’s soft, round bear press against his shoulder—it was surprisingly heavy.

What is this girl doing?!

Knowing how to handle this overly assertive and defensive girl, Chen Ran simply said,

“Okay.”

Then he reached out and grabbed at Jiang Zilin’s soft spot.

From past experience, Jiang Zilin would usually be startled, cry out “Chen Ran is a pervert!” or “Don’t bully sister!” with a mix of real and fake tears, and run to tattle to her sister Lengleng.

Of course, Jiang Lengleng wouldn’t bother with it.

But this would at least give Chen Ran some peace and let him finish his shower.

However,

Chen Ran never expected that this time, Jiang Zilin wouldn’t follow the usual script and instead, didn’t run away.

So, Chen Ran’s hand, which had reached out without thinking, quickly sank into something soft and fluffy…

Um.

Chen Ran couldn’t describe the feeling. In an instant, he was completely stunned, never suspecting that Jiang Zilin was serious this time?

“Okay, that’s enough!”

She quickly slapped Chen Ran’s hand away, letting out a huff of exasperation before running off.

Chen Ran was speechless. He picked up the showerhead and continued washing in silence…

****

Meanwhile,

In Jiang Lengleng’s room on the second floor, the girl sat at her desk, her homework spread out before her, but her thoughts drifted to the quiet, starry night outside the window.

The gentle breeze blew, and the small moon, accompanied by the twinkling stars, shone brightly against the dark sky.

The city lights stretched towards the horizon, and faintly, one could see the distant high-rises and their neon lights—those were the newly developed areas near West Beijing.

Jiang Lengleng was visibly troubled, her thoughts consumed by Chen Ran.

“Is Chen Ran really doing mom’s job? Is sister an idiot for not noticing the girl’s perfume on Chen Ran?”

“Well…it’s possible.”

Jiang Lengleng pondered, assuming her sister’s dense nature, even if she had detected the scent, she would probably think it was from brushing past a girl on the street.

Jiang Lengleng kept her suspicions to herself, feeling that she needed more evidence before accusing Chen Ran.

“I’ll observe more closely in the future…”

The girl decided she needed to gather more proof before making any conclusions!

“Okay, first I’ll focus on studying, finish my homework by ten, then have an hour of break to read a novel, and go to bed by eleven!”

She planned her time carefully. Today was Saturday, no need for evening classes, and Sunday would be a rest day.

But Jiang Lengleng insisted on dedicating only half an hour to an hour of leisure each day, with the rest devoted to studying!

Because,

she knew that studying hard, getting into a good university, and finding a good job would help ease the burden on her sister and mother in providing for the family.”