It was a bright summer day outside the window, but Shi Ran felt her fingers were instantly cold, and the words displayed on the phone screen made her body feel colder than the icy wind in the three-nine days of winter.
Although the text message did not name her lover, the first lover Shi Ran thought of was Chen Ruoyu.
For a second, Shi Ranâs world was filled with candy-colored happiness because she finally had someone to accompany her on her birthday today. This second was when the candy world collapsed into a mess. The chaotic heartbeat was like an irregular drum beat. It hit her heart hard.
Shi Ran had never been so restless as she was today. She looked at Chen Ruoyuâs office blankly and expectantly.
Itâs just that the frosted glass canât see through a figure inside, and just now she asked herself how the person who was on the road could appear in the office building in such a second.
Shi Ranâs hands were shaking when she dialed the number for Chen Ruoyu.
The busy tone of beeping came from her ears, and the original painting team sounded the voice of the big bear and the others discussing.
The noisy people were annoying, but Shi Ran only hoped to hear Chen Ruoyuâs crisp voice in the next second.
âSorry, the user you called is busyâ¦â
A mechanical female voice came from the other end of the phone, and Shi Ranâs whole heart seemed to be thrown from the sky.
She looked at the entire original painting group, and for a moment she didnât even know who to turn to contact Chen Ruoyu. A feeling of helplessness was swallowing her up in a panic.
âAh Ran, crispy peach, delicious.â
Shi Ran looked at Xiao Ba, who came back from the tearoom, broke open a peach with her bare hands and handed it to Shi Ran, but Shi Ran looked at her but suddenly thought of something, and suddenly stood up from her position.
âWhatâs wrong?â
âHey, you donât eat peaches anymore? Where are you going?â
Before Xiao Ba could finish her sentence, she looked at Shi Ran with a confused look and walked out.
What concerns me is chaos, Shi Ran understands.
She forgot that there was a Sister Zhou Yuan in the original painting group.
Here, Shi Ran hurriedly walked toward Zhou Yuanâs office and bumped into a person.
She walked so fast that her shoulder hurt so badly, and a familiar voice came from her ear: âWhatâs wrong? Why are you so panicked, Shi Ran? â
It was Zhou Yuan.
Shi Ran was a little anxious, worried that Chen Ruoyu would be swallowed whole by the fear that something would happen to her, and she didnât care about the pain, so she hurriedly asked, âSister Zhou Yuan, can you contact Chen Ruoyu now?â
Shi Ranâs state, Zhou Yuanâs expression sank slightly, and she asked in a low voice, âDo you know anything?â
Shi Ranâs heart sank suddenly when she heard Zhou Yuan ask her this.
She quickly called up the text message she had just received on her phone and hurriedly asked, âSister Zhou Yuan, someone sent me a text message a few minutes ago. Could you tell me something happened to Chen Ruoyu? â
Shi Ranâs voice was as calm as possible, but Zhou Yuan could still hear the suppressed panic under her voice.
This was the first time she saw Shi Ran with such an expression. She hurriedly held Shi Ranâs hand to help her stabilize her mood: âDonât panic, listen to me first.â
âAh Yu had a car accident.â Shi Ran admitted, but she didnât finish the sentence. Shi Ran didnât even have time to feel the pain in her heart, and she added: âBut itâs nothing. There were a few cars on that road. Ah Yu turned the steering wheel in time, and the airbag protected her very well, but there were some abrasions on her forehead and a bit of a fracture in her left wrist, but everything else was fine. â
Shi Ran couldnât believe her ears, and the feeling of panic still hovered over her head. âReally?â
âReally?â Zhou Yuan nodded, âand why did I lie to you? If something happened to Ah Yu, I would tell you.â
âI came here to pack Ah Yuâs things and send her to the hospital.â Although it was a minor injury, Uncle Chen wanted her to stay in the hospital for observation for a while. She couldnât be free, and she was thinking about working. âYou said that if she was unconscious and went to the ICU for rescue, would I come to help her clean up these things?â
Everything Zhou Yuan said was justified, and everything else was just a false alarm.
Shi Ranâs taut strings finally loosened, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes were filled with the joy of escaping death: âIs that so?â
Zhou Yuan watched the entire process of Shi Ranâs expression changing, and couldnât help but say with a smile, âIâve never seen Ah Ran lose your temper like you are today. Are you so worried about our Ah Yu? â
Shi Ran was exposed to the secret in her heart like this. Shi Ran hurriedly denied it: âNo, no.â
âIâm just⦠just worried that something happened to her, and no one cares about her.â
When Zhou Yuan heard the words, she followed Shi Ranâs expression and said, with some regret, âSo it is. I wanted to take you to see Ah Yu. You know that her family is in the ward now. Going to see her alone is difficult to explain.
Shi Ran scratched her face lightly and said, a little embarrassed: âThat sister Zhou Yuan⦠I think my boss had a car accident. As an insider, I should visit her. â
Zhou Yuan looked at this arrogant and duplicitous person just now. The smile on her face did not dissipate, and she said with a smirk, âLittle fox.â
âThen clean up the things in Ah Yuâs office for me; the tablet on her desk, and the red-shell folder.â Shi Ran and Zhou Yuan ordered what Chen Ruoyu wanted, and in the end, they did not forget to deliberately âand the cactus on Ah Yuâs desk. Sheâs not been in the office for the past two days in the hospital. She canât worry about this little thing, and they left the task to you. You remember to water it regularly and then give it to you. Ah Yu sent a message to report. â
Shi Ran listened and responded one by one, and then went to Chen Ruoyu in two separate ways with Zhou Yuanâs soldiers.
The round cactus was bathed in sunlight, like the only color in the black and white desert of Chen Ruoyu.
Shi Ran was satisfied with the state of the cactus she gave to Chen Ruoyu. The soft finger pads pressed against it like a naughty cat, tickling the sharp thorns on it.
Feed the cactus once, find the red folder⦠The last one was to bring Chen Ruoyuâs tablet to the desk with her.
Although Shi Ran was just an ordinary original painter, the secretaryâs work was also exceptionally neat.
She arranged everything she had packed and put it on the table, but when she put it into her handbag, she accidentally touched and opened the screensaver of Chen Ruoyuâs tablet.
Shi Ran was not interested in Chen Ruoyuâs tablet cover, but when she saw the cover on the tablet, she paused.
It was a picture of a young girl sitting on the city of steel, overlooking the entire city, and it was a private draft that she had just given to Icarus two days ago.
The so-called private manuscript was a manuscript that existed only between the painter and his employer and was not widely distributed.
But it was such a thing, how did it quickly flow into Chen Ruoyuâs hands, and she even set it up as a tablet screen saver?
A big question mark appeared in Shi Ranâs heart, but suddenly flashed in her mind the question she asked Chen Ruoyu on the bridge when she was drunk that day, and the answer Chen Ruoyu gave her.
âThen why didnât you come to me?â
âI always.â
The sun shone straight on the tablet in Shi Ranâs hand, and the cover of the lock screen gradually dimmed and was touched again by someone.
Shi Ran remembers that Holmes once said to Watson in the four signatures: âWhen you eliminate all the impossible situations, the rest, no matter how unbelievable, is the truth.â
Looking at her painting, she had an incredible and reasonable guess.
Is Icarus Chen Ruoyu?
Zhou Yuanâs car drove quickly, and the scorching summer sun mixed with the whistling cicadas became the background music of the journey. In less than 15 minutes, she took Shi Ran to the hospital where Chen Ruoyu was.
Even though she had received the news that Chen Ruoyu was all right, Shi Ran did not wait for the next elevator that was still descending, and without hesitation, the crowd in the elevator room walked into the elevator that had just reached the first floor.
Zhou Yuan watched calmly from behind and walked in with an unnoticed gratified smile on her face.
There are many people in the elevator, and everyone has different expressions on their faces, but they also have almost the same tension.
The silver-white door vaguely reflected everyoneâs expressions on it, and Shi Ran didnât notice it. The tension on her face was more obvious than anyone in the elevator.
The elevator soon came to the floor where the senior nursing ward was located, and the familiar feeling made Shi Ran think again of the day she was with Chen Ruoyu and the faint frown she had when she talked with the nurse.
Was she more nervous that day than she was now?
Shi Ran was thinking about this, raised her head and looked away, but met Shen Yan, who was also walking towards them.
The expression on Shen Yanâs face looked more serious than usual, so she stopped in front of Shi Ran under the gaze of the two, and said, âShi Ran, can you come over?â
Zhou Yuan pulled Shi Ran slightly, stood in front of Shi Ran a little, and shouted as a reminder, âAh Yan.â
Shen Yan was a little helpless: âSister Zhou Yuan, you donât have to be so nervous. I donât know how to eat people.â
Zhou Yuan was still a little worried when she saw it, and only said: âAh Yu is still waiting for us to enter. Donât let her wait.â
However, Shen Yan rarely got caught because of the word âAh Yuâ and insisted on saying to Zhou Yuan: âSister Zhou Yuan, you go first, and I will explain it to A Yu myself later.â
Shi Ran was also a little curious about what Shen Yan wanted to say to herself, so she shook Zhou Yuanâs arm and said, âSister Zhou Yuan, Iâll go over with President Xiao Shen and come back soon.â
Shi Ran smiled at Zhou Yuan, then walked over to Shen Yan generously and said, âLetâs go.â
Shen Yan admired Shi Ranâs attitude a little and smiled back at her.
The corridor in the ward area was unusually quiet, except for the clack of heels hitting the floor, which was not a tacit sound.
The two walked to the inaccessible safe passage one after the other, Shen Yan held the door for Shi Ran, watched her walk in, and said half-jokingly, âYou just come with me so unguarded, donât be afraid of me. Push you off here?â
Shi Ran couldnât help laughing when she heard it. No subordinates showed respect to their superiors, and no one else was falsely flattering the daughter of the Xu family. She sighed, âThen this method is too obviously cheap.â
Shen Yan leaned her shoulders against the door and said to Shi Ran lightly, âIf only you didnât exist in this world, it would be fine? This is a blind spot for monitoring. With our status as a family, I can. They can escape criminal justice.
Shi Ran, however, commented, âMiss Shen, your acting skills are not good.â
If I had seen it from the stairs that day, I would never have thought you had anything to do with Chen Ruoyu.
The playfulness on Shen Yanâs face disappeared at once, and there was still some frustration in her eyes: âReally?â
âYeah.â Shi Ran nodded, straightforward.
âI also acted as the heroine of a troupe when I was in college.â Shen Yan added a little unwillingly and then changed the conversation and said to Shi Ran: âI wonât make trouble with you. You know who caused this car accident.â
âSong Yi.â Shi Ran replied intuitively.
She couldnât think of another person who had such resentment toward herself and Chen Ruoyu at the same time.
âYes.â Shen Yan nodded.
âItâs your ex-girlfriend, Ah Yuâs so-called cousin. She is more seriously injured than Ah Yu and is still in the emergency room. I have helped the Chen family find the best doctor, hoping to keep her life intact. Keep it. â
âThen send her to prison. The two families donât communicate with each other. Shi Ran continued.
She said this in a gloomy voice, but in her heart, she could not wait to let this person die immediately if the rescue failed.
But if Song Yi died because of this, Mother Song would become a poor woman who lost her daughter. With her dodder-like temperament, she would become a piece of the Chen family who could never pick off the candy.
As long as Song Yi doesnât die, the two of them will completely lose the principal that can be sold miserably. The Chen familyâs greatest forgiveness was the lack of contact between old age and death.
Dodder had no vines attached to it, and they only left it to survive.
Shen Yan smiled when she heard Shi Ranâs words: âShe is right, I will never be you.â
Shi Ran didnât understand the sudden remark, and was startled unnaturally.
Shen Yan also explained, âThis is Ah Yuâs idea. I donât know if she has broken learning with you, or if there is really a tacit understanding between the two of you. â
As Shen Yan said, there was some appreciation in those deep eyes, but more still, she was unwilling.
She had to face this woman who was more in line with Chen Ruoyu than herself and recognized: âShi Ran, you are very smart.â
But compared to what you can see clearly about this person, you donât seem to be so clear about the things between you and Ah Yu.â
Shi Ran was silent when these words sounded.
The smell of disinfectant was evident in the inaccessible corridor. Shi Ranâs hand that had been holding the handbag with the Chen Ruoyu tablet tightened slightly.
Even if there was bean paste, there was also Chen Ruoyuâs obvious favoritism towards herself.
She still doesnât know.
This time, she discovered another secret that was hidden by Chen Ruoyu, but this time, the secret of Chen Ruoyu was about herself and her.
Leave the other third person alone.
but still a secret.
Shen Yan looked at Shi Ran, who was thinking, and continued: âI think you should know that I like Ah Yu. In fact, everyone in the studio knows her, but after all these years, she still does not. Iâm tempted. I actually felt a little jealous of you when I first saw your photo. Tiantian also said that we look alike, just because you appeared in Ah Yuâs world earlier than me, so first I like you.â
But then I slowly learned that we are too far apart. I thought you were very unsuitable for Ah Yu. You are a flamboyant and outgoing person, and standing beside Ah Yu is a little out of place. I am really unwilling. But it was the words you said to Tiantian that day that made me understand that the two of you are the two pieces of the puzzle that absolutely fit together, and Iâm just the wrong piece with similar extroverts and completely different colors. â
Shi Ran admitted that Shen Yan was better than herself, and she had thought so from the beginning when she saw her standing with Chen Ruoyu.
But when the person who she thought was excellent praised herself and showed such a frustrated expression, it made her, who had always been generous with honors and praise, a little overwhelmed. âYou⦠donât need to say that.â
Shen Yan shook her head, âAlthough I like Ah Yu, I hope that Ah Yu can be well.â She was in poor health and full of malice; I had never seen her before.She passed it rashly like this. She used to take care of it slowly before, and she was drawn from the bottom of the pot. This time, she stayed up for a few nights, everyone was exhausted, and the fire burned the other party. I donât think I will say it, but you know it. Who is she for? â
âI donât know how many lives of Ah Yuâs luck have been used up to survive this time. You are her last hope. Shi Ran, promise me you will cherish her. â
Shi Ran felt very guilty. Shen Yan said with sincerity,
She took annual leave because she wanted to see her heart clearly. Because of what happened to Shi Yu, she went to the little old ladyâs house. In the same hospital filled with the smell of disinfectant, Chen Ruoyu begged herself not to break up with her.
Some things were decided ruthlessly, and she thought she avoided everything, but when she looked back and thought about it, she only felt that the last time was like a knife, sharply slicing through her soft heart.
Shi Ran lowered her head and nodded, âI see.â
The dim light in the stairwell stretched the shadow of the person, and Shi Ran sank for a while before looking up at Shen Yan: âBy the way, Mr. Shen, do you know why?â
The question was what Shen Yan said just now, âYou donât seem to be so clear about the matter between you and Ah Yu.â
âBecause she never told me personally that she liked me.â
When Shi Ran preached, her slyness was written in her curved eyes.
Shi Ran and Shen Yan are not friends, at least for now; their more appropriate identities are rivals in love.
After talking about this, they had nothing else to say, so Shi Ran walked to Chen Ruoyuâs ward with the things in her hand.
She walked a little faster, and the quiet corridor was filled with the sound of her striding footsteps.
Shi Ran pushed open the door and walked into Chen Ruoyuâs ward, and the first thing she saw was a bandage wrapped around her head.
The cold whiteness of the skin formed a strong contrast with the whiteness of the bandage. No blood stains could be seen from the wound that had been treated, but Shi Ran still felt pain from the thick gauze.
The quilt with the smell of disinfectant surrounded Chen Ruoyuâs body, almost covering the left arm hidden under it.
The slender arm was caught in the plaster, and the sunlight outside the window fell on it, making it even more fragile.
Zhou Yuan stopped cutting Appleâs hand, got up, and said, âThere are still some things in the studio. Iâll go out and make a call.â
The sound of the door opening and closing sounded twice in this ward in a short period. Chen Ruoyu looked at Shi Ran, who was standing at the door with some doubts: âWhy canât you come?â
Shi Ran recovered from her distress upon hearing Chen Ruoyuâs voice.
She looked at Chen Ruoyuâs not-so-good face and asked cautiously, âAre you okay?â
Chen Ruoyu shook her head and said honestly, âItâs alright, the inspection has been done. Except for these two obvious traumas, there is only a slight concussion.â
âThen how can you say itâs all right?â Shi Ran didnât expect the latter half of the test results, and she spoke in a louder voice, which abruptly cut through the silence in the ward.
The voice was harsh, but because Chen Ruoyu felt that Shi Ran was nervous, she had a lot of untimely joy in her heart.
She stretched out her hand towards Shi Ran, motioning her to put her hand over, and then asked, âI heard from A Yuan that she sent threatening text messages?â
This âsheâ was obscure, but the two of them knew it well.
Shi Ran nodded. Instead of putting her hand on Chen Ruoyuâs palm, she sat next to her and rubbed her face. âIt scared me to death.â
like the sudden relaxation of a tight string.
This was the first time she had shown fear of people, and the lingering fear of death makes her afraid to this day.
Chen Ruoyu was relieved to see that Shi Ran was really worried about herself, and the expression that Shi Ran showed distressed her. So she carefully stretched out the other hand with the plaster cast, gently stroked Shi Ranâs head, and said, âSorry, I didnât handle it well.â
Shi Ran shook her head.
However, Chen Ruoyu then assured: âThere will be no next time.â
Shi Ran clearly knew what others had promised her, but she became more and more saddened.
This person had been thinking about herself all the time, but her head was still wrapped in gauze.
âCandy?â As Chen Ruoyu said, she took out a plum bag of sugar from her pocket.
When she heard the food, Shi Ran opened her mouth to Chen Ruoyu naturally.
Some people complain that bean paste is a foodie, but they donât think about who it is.
Chen Ruoyu looked at Shi Ranâs little face held by her palm, and recalled with a little smile in her eyes, âI am a sick patient.â
Shi Ran listened and showed an aggrieved expression to Chen Ruoyu.
I have no choice. Seeing Shi Ranâs expression, Chen Ruoyu didnât want to tease her at all, and she still peeled one off with one hand.
The fingers that were fixed on the wrist didnât have time to withdraw, and Shi Ranâs lips were wrapped around them, which were moist and soft, making people palpitate.
Chen Ruoyu quietly rubbed her fingers, looked at the culprit who was only concentrating on tasting candy, and asked tentatively, âWhat did Ah Yan say to you?â
When the words fell, Shi Ran pushed the glass candy against the left side of her mouth, and the little face on the left side swelled accordingly.
She blinked her eyes, a little sly: âPresident Xiao Shen said that some people are haggard towards Yi Xiao.â
Chen Ruoyu moved the hand that was being pressed by Shi Ran when she heard the words, and rubbed her little face with her fingers, with a bit of doting tenderness in her tone: âThen are you willing to watch her continue to be haggard?â