Chapter 70.1

Editor: SleepyMango123

Proofreader: meowmiao

Ji Ran went home to get his clothes. Before going out, he picked out an off-road vehicle, thinking that whoever tried to hit this grandpa again in the future, at most, they’d see who could hit harder.

He didn’t rush back to the hospital, but made a trip to Yue Wen Wen’s family factory.

Yue Wen Wen was standing at the entrance with a safety helmet, and looked quite silly.

Stopping in front of him, Ji Ran wound down the window. “Did you bring it?”

“It’s here.” Yue Wen Wen passed a plastic bag over.

“Thanks, I’ll transfer you the money in a while.”

“No need, it’s a small matter. How’s your body?”

“There wasn’t much harm in the first place.”

Yue Wen Wen relaxed. “Do you know how to use it? There’s a manual in the box”

It’s all smoke anyway.” Ji Ran opened the bag and saw a white box.

After struggling for half a day, he finally dug it out from inside.

“That’s right, that’s how you use it.” Yue Wen Wen leaned over the window and asked, “Why’d you suddenly think of switching to e-cigarettes?”

“I’m quitting.”

Yue Wen Wen thought he’d heard a joke. “Quit? You? Why?”

“Smoking is harmful to the body.”

“…”

Ji Ran had been smoking for a decade. It wasn’t going to be easy, and it’d require some time for him to adapt. After researching, he decided to first try e-cigarettes before slowly cutting down on the frequency. Finally, he’d rely on nicotine patches… that’d be almost it.

After bidding farewell, he made a trip to his high school.

Old Xing was watching a movie on his phone in the security room. Hearing two knocks on the glass, he looked up and immediately felt a headache when he saw who it was.

“Why are you here? Old Xing let him in, not without a warning. “There are students at school today, I won’t let you in.”

Ji Ran sneered. “If I really wanted to, could you stop me?”

Heh.

Old Xing was at a loss for words. He really didn’t f*cking know how to. Climbing walls was as easy as eating for him.

“Relax, I’m not so bored today. I don’t have time to play with this bunch.” Ji Ran jiggled the black bag in his hand. “I brought you something.”

Old Xing looked over. Good lad, it was full of high quality cigarettes.

“… What are you doing? Trying to bribe me?”

“It’s for you. I’m not using it anymore, it’s just taking up space at home.”

“What do you mean not using it?”

After a few minutes, Old Xing lit one up and leaned into his chair. “That day when you said you were going to bring me some cigarettes, I thought you were just saying it for fun.”

“I do what I say.” Ji Ran watched him and also felt a craving. He took out a plastic one from the white box in his plastic bag.

“What the hell is this? Chalk?”

“E-cigar, it’s good quality.” Ji Ran scoffed. “You wouldn’t know.”

Old Xing only laughed and didn’t refute him. The world of young people was something he really didn’t know.

He’d been a security guard at this school for a long time. Many students have come and gone, but Ji Ran was the one who left the deepest impression on him. Perhaps this lad was most similar to him in his youth- but of course he wasn’t as well-off.

That was why when facing Ji Ran, he had more words to give out. “On the day of the school anniversary, did you fight with that top student again?”

Ji Ran laughed softly. “Yeah.”

“You’re doing alright, why’d you suddenly provoke him?”

“I provoked him?” Ji Ran clicked his tongue. “Old Xing, don’t look at others through tinted glasses.”

Old Xing laughed. “Do I not know you? You were always looking for trouble with him back when you were in school.”

“How’d you know?” Ji Ran narrowed his eyes. “Did he tattle to you?”

“No way. It’s because the students in his class couldn’t stand it. They came to me and told me to catch you.” Old Xing blew out the smoke and said, “I was confused. Neither of you were in the same class or grade. It was unlikely for you to fight with him, so why’d he mess with you, and why’d you insist on making trouble for him?”

The taste of e-cigarettes was very different from that of real cigarettes. Ji Ran was not used to it, so his brows were scrunched. He replied, “He didn’t mess with me, I just felt he was an eyesore.”

Alright, this answer was very bastardly.

“Childish.” Old Xing grinned, “Actually, every time I look at you two, I think of my wife and I.”

Ji Ran glanced at him unexpectedly. “What?”

When he mentioned his wife, Old Xing’s eyes became much gentler. Ji Ran was used to seeing the fierce appearance of the other party, but now he realised that Old Xing actually seemed pretty wild, with a crew cut and a beard hanging on his chin. He was obviously a small-time security guard, but he carried an inexplicable sense of the vicissitudes of life.

“My wife and I were childhood sweethearts. When we met, I was eight years old and she was seven. We went to the same school growing up… Oh, I only went to high school and then stopped because I had no money.”

“My wife’s family was very rich. If there were no policies in place at that time, I would not have had the opportunity to go to school with her.”

Ji Ran crossed his legs and interrupted him, “Get to the point, don’t be silly. Besides, Qin Man and I are not childhood sweethearts, so don’t get us wrong.”

“It’s all the same. You’ve known each other since junior high school.” Old Xing laughed, “My wife was very cute, had a good temper, good character, and good academic performance. There were forty boys in our class. Thirty-eight liked her. But I was just like you, a scumbag.”

Ji Ran said, “Scram, you scum. Don’t drag me into the water.”

After being interrupted again, Old Xing said in a tone of displeasure, “Do you want to listen or not?”

Ji Ran clicked his tongue and stopped talking.

“I was one of those thirty-eight people. But apart from being good-looking, I had nothing else. I didn’t study, and liked to fight. Even if you thought with your toes, it was clear that she wouldn’t like me.” Old Xing took a drag on his cigarette and said with a smile, “But I liked her, I liked her very much. The first time I saw her, I wanted to marry her.”

“Others wrote love letters and confessed to her, but none of them were successful. No matter how handsome or high-achieving they were, she never looked at them twice. My wife was very demanding.”

“I didn’t dare confess my feelings at the time, but I wanted to get close to her, so I did a bastard thing.”

Ji Ran glanced at him, “You couldn’t have…”

“No, what are you thinking about? How is it possible?” Old Xing stopped his thoughts, “…I would bully her every day to gain a sense of presence.”

“I would pull on her pigtails, hide her rubber bands, and put fake cockroaches in her school bag… She cried every time, but she wouldn’t tell the teacher. Finally, one time, she couldn’t help it anymore and came to me and asked me why I always bullied her. Her eyes were red, just like a rabbit.”

“I said I hated her, and she cried even harder. My heart almost stopped.”

“I feel like I was really naive at that time. I thought to myself… she doesn’t like me, and since we will part ways after graduation, isn’t it better to make her hate me, so that she will remember me in the future?”

Ji Ran was fascinated, and asked after a while, “So how did you get together?”