CH 7

Lin Ran was not willing to finish all of the fist-sized cake, so after eating only half of it in the car, he carefully closed the box again, even the bowknot ribbon was tied back to its previous form before he held it in his arms.

When they returned to the residence, Lin Ran was still holding the clothes he wore when he left the house and got out of the car first with the cake while he waited for Song Zhi Xu obediently.

After Song Zhi Xu parked his car, the two of them walked towards the mansion.

Song Zhi Xu unlocked the door with his fingerprints and then opened it for Lin Ran to go in first. He followed behind him and before he could enter the door, he heard Lin Ran cry out in surprise. He rushed out from the house again and ran into his arms, his entire body trembling with fear.

“What’s wrong?” Song Zhi Xu held him up, frowning slightly.

“There …There is a bad person.” Lin Ran’s body trembled, his clothes had fallen from his hands, but he still carried tightly half of the cake in the box, too scared to look up as he was in Song Zhi Xu’s embrace.

Before Song Zhi Xu could say anything, a slightly older female voice came from the house and shortly after that, a woman in her fifties walked to the door to take a look and patted her own chest.

“Mr. Song, you’re back. Oh my, scared me to death! Suddenly screaming, it scared me so much that I dropped my mop.”

Seeing that it was his family’s nanny (housemaid), Song Zhi Xu gently patted Lin Ran and pushed him away from his arms, but Lin Ran was afraid and kept clinging to him, so he could only lead Lin Ran into the door.

“Aunt Chen, you’ve come over! How’s Uncle Xu’s health?” Song Zhi Xu brought Lin Ran into the house. Lin Ran quickly hid behind Song Zhi Xu again, his eyes were red, biting his lips to be suffused with white.

Aunt Chen sighed before she picked up the mop and continued mopping the floor while saying, “He’s old and just had a small operation. He’s still recuperating in the hospital. I am going to take care of him later after I finish cooking.”

Song Zhi Xu saw Lin Ran’s appearance, his eyes were red and his body was trembling and he looked like he could not stand up steadily. For some reason, not knowing why, when Lin Ran saw Aunt Chen, he seemed particularly scared.

Before Song Zhi Xu could say anything, Aunt Chen noticed Lin Ran who had been hiding behind Song Zhi Xu. She then moved closer with some curiosity.

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“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, don’t hit Ran Ran! Don’t hit!” Lin Ran sat on the ground and curled up into a ball, hugging himself tightly and crying out in fear.

“I… I didn’t. Mr. Song, I didn’t hit him.” Aunt Chen was so scared and terrified. Mr. Song was her boss and when suddenly something like this was happened, she was afraid that Mr. Song would misunderstand.

Of course, Song Zhi Xu knew it had nothing to do with Aunt Chen. Moreover, Lin Ran was basically already different from normal people, he was probably afraid of having strangers in the house.

After a moment of silence, Song Zhi Xu said, “Aunt Chen, why don’t you stop coming over here for a while and take care of Uncle Xu at the hospital?” Fearing that Aunt Chen might misunderstand, he explained, “This is the younger brother of my friend. It’s just because he is afraid of strangers, so don’t worry, your salary will be paid as usual, not dismissed.”

Aunt Chen was relieved after she heard that he was not going to fire her. She nodded hurriedly, taking off her apron, putting the mop back in the corner before she said goodbye and left.

The teenager squatting on the floor was still crying, she really shouldn’t be here.

Only until Aunt Chen left did Song Zhi Xu squat on the ground and gently patted Lin Ran.

“… Ran Ran, Aunt Chen has left. No one is going to hit you, don’t be afraid!” Lin Ran did not seem to hear him, only after Song Zhi Xu called “Ran Ran” a few more times did he gradually and finally look up. His eyes were full of fear.

After realizing that Aunt Chen was really not here anymore, Lin Ran struggled to stand up. He found the cloth and bucket that Song Zhi Xu had asked him to put away in the morning, knelt down on the floor and started to mop the floor.

As he wiped the floor, he muttered in a low voice.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Ran Ran didn’t slack off.”

“It can be done. You can finish wiping it today.”

“Ran Ran was wrong, don’t hit…don’t hit Ran Ran.”

Song Zhi Xu picked up the cake that Lin Ran had dropped on the floor and placed it on the table, then looked with a heavy gaze toward Lin Ran who was kneeling and wiping on the floor.

He didn’t know what to say for a moment, but it was obvious that Lin Ran had been abused before. No wonder, just now, he thought that Aunt Chen was going to beat him, it was all because he hadn’t finished mopping the floor this morning and after coming back home, he then saw Aunt Chen doing the work.

Song Zhi Xu was silent for a while, but still picked up his smartphone and walked over to the french window to call Lin Mu.

When the call was answered, Lin Mu’s voice was a little hoarse so even through the phone Song Zhi Xu still could feel his exhaustion.

“Zhi Xu? I’ve been too busy these past two days. I also didn’t have time to call you yesterday. How is Ran Ran doing? Is he getting used to it?” Before Song Zhi Xu could speak, Lin Mu already took the initiative to ask.

Song Zhi Xu glanced at Lin Ran. He felt somewhat upset that he shouldn’t ask him at this exact time.

By now Lin Mu should be very tired, besides that, he probably didn’t know or unaware of Lin Ran’s affairs.

“Zhi Xu?” After not hearing Song Zhi Xu speak for a long time, Lin Mu called out to him again and asked with some concern, “Did Ran Ran stir up some trouble? It’s not easy for him to adjust to being together with strangers.”

“No.” In the end, Song Zhi Xu still didn’t tell him about Lin Ran’s situation, but only asked and tried to find some hints secretly, “I just wanted to ask about Lin Ran’s previous daily habits, he did seem to have some discomfort.”

This time it turned out to be Lin Mu who was silent, but Song Zhi Xu did not urge him either, just quietly waiting for his answer.

It was only after a long time that Lin Mu said in a low voice, “Zhi Xu, Ran Ran was sent away when he was very young. I have only been able to visit him occasionally over these recent years. He is always being taken care of by the nanny. However, after this time coming back, we can’t contact her anymore. Ran Ran also seems to refuse to come back there, that’s why I’m really…not a competent brother.”

Lin Mu was also blaming himself in his heart, he did not do a good job as his big brother. He really had no idea what kind of daily habits Lin Ran had, because even he had only seen him a couple of times.

Song Zhi Xu probably guessed that this was the case, the Song family still had some friendship with the Lin family and he knew that Madam Lin was someone who could not tolerate having grit in her eyes, so Lin Ran’s presence was already a surprise.

“Zhi Xu, is Ran Ran there? Can I talk to him?” Lin Mu asked again.

Song Zhi Xu looked at Lin Ran who buried his head while immersing himself in scrubbing the floor, so he finally found an excuse.

“Lin Ran is asleep, wait for another time.”

“Okay.” Lin Mu agreed and added, “Zhi Xu, thanks.”

Song Zhi Xu didn’t say much and hung up the phone to stand beside the french window for a while.

Behind him, Lin Ran slowly stopped the movement in his hand, lowered his head and asked in a low voice with some nervousness.

“Song Zhi Xu, you…also do not want Ran Ran anymore?”

He did not dare to mention that Song Zhi Xu had previously promised not to let him leave again, but only asked Song Zhi Xu in a whisper if he also did not want him.

Lin Ran had always been very cautious, never dared to ask or demand for something, even with Song Zhi Xu who had made that promise with him.