NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17 - [Entangled lives]
After leaving Xu YanRan’s villa, Ling Fan stumbled and ran towards Su MoRan’s home.
Once he exited the LinJian Garden, Ling Fan slowed his pace, breathing heavily and subconsciously trying to regulate his breathing.
Physical endurance was not Ling Fan’s strong suit; just running from Xu’s family villa to the entrance of the Garden had already exhausted most of his energy.
Huff, huff…
Ling Fan, hunched over and panting, took a while to regulate his breathing to an average rate.
Then Ling Fan, still shaken, glanced behind him.
“Am I just being overly sensitive? But my stamina is really a little weak…” Ling Fan shook his head with a hint of helplessness and decided not to dwell on it.
Su MoRan was still waiting for him at home. After sorting out dinner with her, the day would be considered a success.
Thinking so, Ling Fan felt a little excited and began to daydream about what the reward item might be like.
After a while, Ling Fan arrived at Su MoRan’s house. Su MoRan, having already seen Ling Fan from the window, opened the door just as Ling Fan reached the entrance.
“MoRan, did you see me coming from somewhere?” Ling Fan asked, puzzled, looking at Su MoRan in front of him.
“Huh? No, Ling Fan. I just noticed that it was almost time, so I went downstairs to wait and then heard your footsteps,” Su MoRan replied with an honest expression.
“Really?” Ling Fan felt even more confused. Were his footsteps that loud…
“Really, Ling Fan, don’t you believe me?” Su MoRan’s expression began to show a hint of hurt.
“I believe you, I definitely believe you.” It was as if a small mountain of tissues from before appeared in front of his eyes. Ling Fan quickly corrected his way of speaking.
Besides, Su MoRan wouldn’t gain anything by lying to him, the simple-minded Ling Fan thought.
“Then let’s go. I’ll take you out to eat.” Ling Fan didn’t bother changing shoes, knowing they’d be leaving soon. He waited outside for Su MoRan.
“Okay, I’ll be right out.” Su MoRan slipped her cute little feet into her shoes and walked over to Ling Fan, closing the door behind her.
Walking side by side, the two engaged in a casual conversation. Su MoRan appeared to be deliberately slowing down her pace, and Ling Fan, wanting to accommodate the shorter Su MoRan, also had to slow down.
What’s this? At the entrance of the Xu family villa, Xu YanRan, with a vacant expression, accidentally kicked a notebook. Initially, she wanted to ignore it, but after a glance at it, she realised it was Ling Fan’s.
Since it was Ling Fan’s belonging, Xu YanRan naturally had to keep it safe and then catch Ling Fan over later.
With this in mind, Xu YanRan picked up the notebook and casually flipped to the first page.
The words “Xu YanRan’s Lesson Plan” came into view.
“My lesson plan?” The broken doll tilted her head slightly, and the knife in its hand unintentionally dropped to the ground.
Xu YanRan began to flip through the notebook.
Ling Fan and Su Moran had unknowingly arrived at the same place they went for lunch.
“You must really like this place. The food here must suit your taste,” Ling Fan remarked as he realised they had ended up at the same place again.
“It’s okay. It may be because I’m used to the food here.
The two then followed the waiter to find a seat. As for ordering, Ling Fan naturally left it to Su MoRan to handle it.
Since he wasn’t familiar with this place, it was better to leave such matters to someone with experience.
“Su MoRan, you’re eating here too? What a coincidence.” After Su MoRan finished ordering, a male voice was heard.
Ling Fan followed the voice and saw a boy wearing a basketball jersey appear in his line of sight. He looked like a sporty middle school student, the kind who was very popular with girls in school.
“Oh, it’s you, Zhang Sheng. I only come here occasionally. You seem to come here often.”
“To think that we would run into each other, why don’t we sit together? There’s one more person with me. You know him, Liu Kun.” Another boy appeared next to Zhang Sheng.
Saying so, Zhang Sheng and Liu Kun walked over toward Su MoRan.
So he’s Liu Kun, also wearing basketball-jersey, they must be teammates.
Ling Fan took a moment to size up Liu Kun.
“No, it’s a bit squeezy here. It’s enough for me and Ling Fan to sit, so we won’t join your table.” Su MoRan frowned and declined Zhang Sheng’s offer.
“Ling Fan? Him?” Zhang Sheng pointed at Ling Fan, who was sitting next to Su MoRan.
“That’s right, he’s Ling Fan. I’m eating with him today. If you want to eat together, we can arrange it for another time,” Su MoRan spoke before Ling Fan had a chance to respond.
Ling Fan, hearing this, chose not to interject.
Zhang Sheng took a closer look at Ling Fan and noticed that he was dressed plainly and did not stand out in any particular way. The phone on the table was also an ordinary, run-of-the-mill model.
However, Zhang Sheng detected a certain air of maturity in Ling Fan that made him stand out from his peers, which made him cautious.
Anyone who can dine alone with the Su family’s young lady is certainly not an ordinary person. Despite Ling Fan’s occasional distractions, Su MoRan’s gaze remained fixated on him. Zhang Sheng was not the type to overlook such details.
“Well, sorry to interrupt. Liu Kun, let’s sit over there,” Zhang Sheng said, pointing to another table. Liu Kun immediately walked over in that direction.
Zhang Sheng initially intended to follow but then seemed to remember something. He turned to Ling Fan and said,
“Nice to meet you, Brother Ling Fan. You seem older, so I hope calling you ‘brother’ isn’t out of place.”
After speaking, Zhang Sheng glanced at Su MoRan out of the corner of his eye and noticed that her expression had improved significantly.
“Nice to meet you, too. Please, enjoy your meal,” Ling Fan responded politely. Following this, Zhang Sheng headed towards Liu Kun.
“MoRan, are they your classmates?” Ling Fan asked Su MoRan.
“They were, but not anymore. They’re now at ChangLi,” Su MoRan replied with a smile, her tone gentle as she answered Ling Fan’s question.
ChangLi? Isn’t that the same school as Xu YanRan?
After dinner, Ling Fan took Su MoRan back home and then left JunHao Garden, planning to take a taxi back.
“I’m still a bit worried about Xu Yanran. I should go check on her,” Ling Fan thought, recalling the fear he felt earlier in the evening, and shivered a bit.
Ling Fan patted his cheeks, determined to go see her, no matter how dangerous it might be.
Suddenly, he remembered something and opened his backpack to check.
“Oh no, I dropped Xu YanRan’s lesson plan at her house. Shit, shit! If someone finds it, they’ll think I’m a pervert!” Ling Fan panicked and hurriedly ran towards Xu YanRan’s house.
Xu YanRan’s lesson plan was different from Su MoRan’s. Ling Fan would have preferred to have left Su MoRan’s lesson plan at Xu YanRan’s house. Ling Fan meticulously recorded each student’s changing situation in his lesson plans. Each time he taught, he would review the previous records and continually revise his teaching methods.
This was his standard for his work ethic: once he took the money, he had to do the job well.
Su MoRan had always been a model student, so her lesson plan was quite normal. Xu YanRan’s, on the other hand, was different. It even included notes on the changes in Xu YanRan’s personality and learning style that Ling Fan had observed, as well as his speculations.
If someone were to mistake it for some kind of “beautiful girl observation diary” or something perverted, it would be a disaster.
Damn it! I should have gone back and grabbed it, even if it meant dying!
Ling Fan ran frantically, his mind in turmoil.
The broken doll was now in the study, flipping through the lesson plan Ling Fan had written for her.
I met Xu YanRan for the first time today. This girl was a bit odd, and her grades were pretty poor. Teaching her will probably be challenging. The preliminary lesson plan should be…
Xu YanRan wasn’t interested in the lesson plan itself; she only wanted to see the introductory notes. She quickly flipped through a few more pages.
Week 4: Xu YanRan still feels quite strange. Her grades have improved, but not as quickly as expected. There may still be some issues with my methods.
Week 8: Xu YanRan’s gaze carries an indescribable quality. It seems she must have some sort of psychological shadow. I need to revise my teaching methods…
Week 10: She is a very strong girl with a lot hidden inside her heart. My guesses are likely correct. Begin adjusting the lesson plan…
Xu YanRan continued flipping through the pages, and gradually, her expression brightened.
Unknowingly, she reached the final pages.
Week 40: Xu YanRan’s situation has noticeably improved. Her grades have also progressed as expected. Lesson plan adjustments…
Week 43: Based on weekly observations, the teaching results are significant. Xu Yanran has reached an ideal state. Her smile is beautiful, and she is a very pretty girl. This should be the smile she deserves. Although she can be a bit clingy, it’s not a big deal. I’ll just think of her as a younger sister. Lesson plan adjustments are now in the final stage.
So, it turns out I misunderstood Ling Fan.
So Ling Fan has been paying so much attention to me.
So Ling Fan knew my thoughts all along.
So Ling Fan has been helping me in his way all this time.
I’m so stupid. How did I not notice?
At this point, Xu YanRan didn’t even notice that her face was already streaked with tears, and the page she was holding was completely soaked.
Her head hung low, tears glistening in her eyes, as an overwhelming emotion surged within her, only to crumble and scatter like precious pearls on the floor.
She tried to speak, but no sound escaped her lips. Instead, her teeth instinctively bit down on her lip, and the room was filled with the sound of her sobbing.
Ling Fan finally arrived at Xu YanRan’s doorstep and plopped down on the ground.
“Damn, I think I almost see heaven.” Ignoring his image, Ling Fan squinted up at the starry sky, breathing heavily.
He then looked at the Xu family home and noticed that all the lights on the front of the house were off. He glanced over to Xu YanRan’s room and saw that the lights weren’t on either.
“Xu ZhongHao must be really busy to not even have time to spend the weekend with his daughter” Ling Fan grumbled. No lights were on, which meant that no one was home.
The study was at the back of the villa, so Ling Fan naturally couldn’t see it.
However, Ling Fan was not easily discouraged and got up to knock on the door.
“Is anyone there? I’m Ling Fan, and I’ve left something very important here. Please open the door!”
Xu YanRan was aware of the commotion at the door from the start. She hurried to her room and glanced outside, only to find Ling Fan standing downstairs, knocking on the door.
“Something very important…” Xu YanRan hugged the lesson plan Ling Fan had written for her.
Crying and with her makeup smeared, Xu Yanran sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. Her eyes were filled with tears cascading down her face like precious gems slipping from a shattered necklace. She concealed her mouth, afraid that Ling Fan would discover she was home.
She didn’t want Ling Fan to witness her in such a condition.
“Damn it, it looks like I’m too late. I’ll have to come back another day. I hope no one opens it and sees it, especially Xu YanRan—she’d definitely think I’m a pervert…” Ling Fan left the Xu family home, dejected and with his head hanging low, like a defeated rooster.
Ling Fan had no idea that Xu YanRan had thoroughly read his lesson plan, and he was even more unaware that he had narrowly avoided a disaster.
Xu YanRan slowly lifted herself up and secretly watched Ling Fan leave.
After a long day, Ling Fan finally returned to his own home.
“Alright, if I get through tomorrow smoothly, I’ll be able to claim my reward. I’m so looking forward to it.” Ling Fan, having survived the day successfully, was in high spirits. He then took a shower and collapsed onto his bed.
Xu YanRan gently placed the photo frame with Ling Fan’s picture on the nightstand as she lay on her bed. Even though the house was empty, Xu YanRan did not feel scared or lonely.
In the photo, Ling Fan was bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun, a gentle smile gracing his lips.
After a long bout of tears, Xu YanRan, with her puffy eyes and streaked cheeks, finally succumbed to a peaceful slumber.
In her dreams, she relived the moment when Ling Fan first laid eyes on her, his gaze filled with innocence and purity.
It felt like a gentle soul was extending an opportunity for redemption.