They all want to control me!

Chapter 77 We only realize the value of something when we lose it

After Tao Zhiyao finished her business, Lin Ran took her to find her roommates. Who knew that the group of girls would treat Lin Ran like a clothes hanger, carrying clothes, trying them on, and acting as a commentator, evaluating the clothes they bought.

If they said anything negative about the appearance, they would stare at Lin Ran, forcing him to change his mind.

The pepper spray girl was alright, but the machete girl's gaze sent chills down your spine.

Wang Hui followed behind, carrying a bag of spring rolls. She gave one to each of the girls, but when she got to Lin Ran, she just snorted and skipped over her.

Family members, does anyone understand? This is male discrimination! Quickly, start cyberbullying her!

Lin Ran thought to himself, "This is what I'm thinking."

He noticed that Wang Hui's eyes were not quite right. Although she usually stood up for Tao Zhiyao, she seemed unusually resentful today, and she found fault with Lin Ran in everything she did.

The girls ate spring rolls with bamboo skewers, and even huddled together to taste each other's flavors.

Tao Zhiyao ate happily, glanced at Lin Ran, quietly withdrew from the group of girls, broke off half a spring roll, stood on tiptoe, and smilingly offered it to Lin Ran's mouth:

"Ah~"

"You're still the best to me. Those other people are so ungrateful." Lin Ran ate, sighing as she ate.

That's why Tao Zhiyao is like a warm, comforting jacket; when your heart is cold and dejected, she will carefully share her meager warmth with you.

"Who are you calling ungrateful?"

"Right, right, where did my knife go?"

"Come on, eat up, eat up!"

The three women pushed Tao Zhiyao aside and surrounded Lin Ran, each stuffing spring rolls into his mouth, the scents of various shampoos mingling with the softness of his skin.

Tao Zhiyao paused for a few seconds, then covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

Lin Ran is an important person to her, and her roommates are also good friends. She wants to see them all doing well.

It's 9:30 p.m.

Watching the girls walk into the school, Lin Ran waved to the guy next to her who had been staring at her, then turned and left.

The boy looked away from his retreating figure and towards the girls on the playground who hadn't yet gone into their dormitories. A question couldn't help but arise in his mind: Could it really be that some are dying of thirst while others are drowning in water? Why am I the only single dog here?

When Lin Ran got home, she called out "Su Lingle" but there was no response. Could she have gone out? What were she doing so late?

He lent his old phone to Su Lingle yesterday, so he was able to contact her.

Lin Ran made the call.

The next second, the doorbell rang in my bedroom.

?

Lin Ran looked puzzled. He pushed open the door and saw a large bulge in the blanket on the bed, with a few strands of caramel-colored hair sticking out.

Without even thinking, I knew who was inside.

She threw off the covers and found Su Lingle, dressed in a tank top and hot pants, curled up on the bed like a cat, fast asleep with her eyes closed.

Is this the god of sleep? He slept for an hour at the library at noon, and then fell asleep as soon as he got back in the evening.

Lin Ran sighed and raised his hand to wake her up. Just as the slap was about to fall, Su Lingle happened to turn over, so Lin Ran's slap landed on her upturned buttocks.

pia!

The sound was still very loud.

Su Lingle's eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly opened her eyes. Her bewildered gaze met Lin Ran's. She subconsciously raised her hand to touch her buttocks, only to bump into another large hand.

In an instant, the world seemed to fall silent.

A subtle atmosphere filled the air.

A thought suddenly popped into Su Lingle's head: If I bend over now and let Lin Ran hit me, will he still hit me?

No, no, it should be that I was molested?

This is what makes her different from Jiang Qiaoqiao—she's shameless to some extent and has a wildly imaginative mind.

Sizzle—!

The incandescent light in the bedroom flickered and then suddenly went out.

The surroundings were pitch black, which lessened the subtle atmosphere.

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, but the sound of their relief was also heard by the other.

This is very embarrassing.

Lin Ran had already withdrawn his hand, coughed twice, and said:

"The community has been renovated recently. When I went upstairs, I saw several electricians in front of the power switch. They must have turned off the power."

"Um……"

Su Lingle responded softly, crawled forward on the bed, grabbed the curtains, and pulled them open.

The city skyline came into view, and a sliver of light appeared in the bedroom; it wasn't pitch black, and the furniture was vaguely visible.

Su Lingle leaned against the headboard cushion, covered herself with a thin blanket, and waved to Lin Ran:

"It's so dark, you can't do anything. Come and chat with me."

"...Can't you tell what's important, huh? Whose bed is this?"

"Hey, why take it so seriously? We've slept in the same bed before when we were kids."

"To be clear, when I went to visit you in the second year of junior high, I just took a nap in bed. I didn't take off my clothes to play match-3 games." Lin Ran proved his innocence.

Su Lingle said, "I thought I was the only one who remembered things from so long ago. I didn't expect you to remember them too. It's no wonder we grew up together."

Lin Ran didn't want to remember so clearly, but ever since he obtained Jiang Qiaoqiao's [Photographic Memory] talent, all his previous vague memories came back to him, and he couldn't forget them even if he wanted to.

He got into bed and sat next to Su Lingle, asking:

"What are you going to talk about?"

"Rather than talking about what to talk about, I'd like to tell you something." Su Lingle paused for a few seconds, "I didn't go back to my rented apartment just now."

"Where did you go?"

"I'm still hungry, so I'm going to the night market to buy some food."

"???"

Lin Ran sensed something was wrong and turned to look at Su Lingle's face. Her relaxed expression gradually disappeared, revealing a hint of bitterness.

"Yes, I saw Wang Hui, and I also saw you and Tao Zhiyao sitting on the chairs chatting and feeding each other osmanthus cakes. Tao Zhiyao is a good girl; you're so lucky to have met her."

Su Lingle doesn't usually praise people, but when she does, it's her true feeling.

She has praised Tao Zhiyao as a good girl several times, and seems to be deeply moved by it.

Lin Ran recalled her conversation with Tao Zhiyao, wondering if there were any spoilers... and it seemed there really were.

Su Lingle had been secretly observing his expression. Noticing the change in his eyes, she turned to look at the night view outside the window and said softly:

"It's okay, I don't mind. You're right, I'm a bad girl, and it's normal that I'm not as important as Tao Zhiyao in your heart..."

"stop!"

"?"

"Don't say 'I don't mind,' it gives me PTSD."

Lin Ran suddenly realized that when Tao Zhiyao said "I don't mind," she actually meant "I do mind." Now, whenever she hears anyone say "I don't mind," she feels a bit skeptical.

Su Lingle said resentfully, "...The atmosphere I worked so hard to create was ruined by your one sentence."

"...Sigh." Su Lingle hugged her legs tightly, staring at the moonlight spilling onto the bed, and murmured, "Sometimes I wonder, if we hadn't moved, but instead finished high school together and went to the same university, would our futures have been different?"

"If that were the case," Lin Ran said, "we would probably make a lifelong commitment to each other. I really would have done that during my adolescence."

"Yes... the cruelest thing in life is to regret it after you've experienced it. If... there had been even the slightest deviation, the future would have been completely different..."

Su Lingle's voice grew softer and softer, as if she were speaking to herself, not to Lin Ran.

Gradually, the bedroom returned to silence.

Much later.

"You cried."

"Um."