They all want to control me!

Chapter 22: A Touch of Femininity When She's Shy

"Would you like to get a membership card?"

"Ah, no way."

"No points or discounts without a card, it's 261.8 yuan in total, I'll scan your code."

"it is good."

When the supermarket clerk heard that she wouldn't be buying a shopping card, her enthusiasm immediately waned. She tilted her head, squinted, and gave her a sadistic look as she packed up the items and pushed them towards her.

Jiang Qiaoqiao's eyes twitched. She picked up two large plastic bags, turned around, and left without even saying thank you.

"What kind of service is this? They gave me a cold shoulder just because I didn't sign up for a membership card. That's outrageous!"

"If you don't sign up for a card, she doesn't get a commission, so of course she'll be very businesslike and her attitude won't be very nice."

Lin Ran used to work part-time at a convenience store. Being a student worker was fine because it was new and exciting, but seasoned employees who had been working for a few years had long since given up and started slacking off, since being enthusiastic about their work didn't guarantee a raise.

It's not the workers' fault, it's the job's fault.

If only there were seven days off a week, everyone would be smiling.

The thought that every smiling college student will turn into this grotesque mess after entering society fills me with a deep sense of helplessness.

Jiang Qiaoqiao had a very fruitful trip, carrying bags and purses all over her body, and chewing on snacks in her mouth.

"Hmm~ Lin Ran, what's this snack called? It's so delicious~" she mumbled.

"Spicy strips. You're a rich woman and you've never eaten them?"

"The life of a 'little rich girl' isn't as idyllic as you imagine. I have limited mobility, I try new medications every month, and there are many things I can't eat. This spicy snack... at first it's very oily, but soon the numbing spiciness travels along my tongue to my brain, making me sweat profusely. The spicier it is, the more I sweat, and the more I sweat, the more fragrant it becomes—delicious!"

Judging from Jiang Qiaoqiao's enjoyable tone, she seems to have already joined the spicy snack craze.

The two felt a connection, and Lin Ran also tasted the spicy strips. He remembered when he was a primary school student, he would run to the corner store every day after school to buy spicy strips, share them with his friends, and enjoy their praise.

Spicy strips are truly timeless.

Lin Ran rented a house in the staff quarters of the heating plant. The original heating plant was demolished long ago, and now only the buildings remain.

The old building had no elevator, so Jiang Qiaoqiao carried a bunch of bags and struggled up to the sixth floor, leaning against the wall and panting heavily.

"I can't take it anymore, Lin Ran. Your family is missing so many things. I'm exhausted from walking up here."

Lin Ran spends most of his time in school, doesn't come home for lunch, rests in the library, and only goes home after school in the afternoon. He doesn't even know if something is missing from his home.

"I didn't know we were always short of so many things... Seriously, why are you buying sanitary napkins, you're a grown man?"

"Ahem, I just bought it on a whim... Oh dear, I might need it in the future, like when Tao Zhiyao has her period, you can give her a sanitary napkin, how thoughtful—I'm a girl, this kind of behavior earns me a lot of points."

"You're just talking nonsense to me..."

Jiang Qiaoqiao had rested enough, took out her keys, and was about to open the door when she was startled by a shout from next door, almost dropping her keys down the stairs.

"I said! I! Won't go on blind dates! I'm only 24, just graduated from university, and have only been working for a year. I can't even take care of myself, and I haven't saved any money. If I get married, I'll just be ruining someone else's life! Don't set me up on blind dates anymore, no matter how good they are, I won't go!!!"

Lin Ran and Jiang Qiaoqiao tacitly remained silent, afraid of upsetting their angry neighbor.

Click!

Jiang Qiaoqiao opened the door, brought in all the things she had bought, and breathed a sigh of relief after closing the door.

"There are so many parents pressuring their children to get married these days. You're being pressured to get married, and so is your neighbor."

"I don't really understand either. I feel like there's a contradiction between parents and schools in China. Before university, anyone who dares to date will be suspended from school, as if they've committed a heinous crime like murder or robbery. But once you get to university, let alone graduate, even as a freshman, your parents and the whole social atmosphere are urging you to get married and have children as soon as possible. It's like the previous days were a dream, and you've returned to reality."

"I pity you, Lin Ran."

Jiang Qiaoqiao went to the bathroom to wash her face. After drying it with a towel, she looked at Lin Ran's face in the mirror. His features were sharp and defined, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. For some reason, she subconsciously avoided looking at him.

What's wrong with me?

Jiang Qiaoqiao shook her head, banishing the strange thought, rolled up her sleeves, tied on an apron, and went to the kitchen. She put her hands behind her back to tie her hair, but couldn't grab anything. Then she remembered that Lin Ran had short hair.

"Listen to my instructions later, and don't cook anything recklessly, or you might blow up the house."

Cooking involves handling sharp knives and fire, which is very dangerous. Lin Ran wanted to remind Jiang Qiaoqiao not to do anything reckless.

"Yes!" Jiang Qiaoqiao nodded seriously.

Fifteen minutes later.

"Fire! Quick, put the lid on the pot!"

"Don't...don't panic, I'll put out the fire!"

The flames surged and soared, so Jiang Qiaoqiao quickly grabbed a pot lid from the side and put it on the newly bought electric cooker. Without oxygen to burn, the flames immediately went out.

She turned off the power, found a wet towel and covered the pot lid, then slumped to the ground and wiped away her sweat.

"Are we still cooking?"

"..." He remained silent for a long time before saying, "You're not suited for the kitchen. For my safety, please leave and don't come back in."

"And what about lunch for Uncle and Auntie...?"

"I'll cook for them when they arrive. If that doesn't work, I'll order takeout or treat them to a meal out. Anyway, I'm only eighteen this year, I still have a long life ahead of me, and I don't want to die."

"..."

Jiang Qiaoqiao felt her whole face burning.

She just did as Lin Ran said: heat the pan and add oil.

The new pot has a high heat output and gets too hot; it ignited a large fire the moment I put the oil in.

He died before achieving his goal.

This was almost fatal.

Jiang Qiaoqiao still wanted to struggle a bit. As a remarkable woman who possessed both beauty and wisdom, how could she stumble on something as trivial as cooking? At least... at least she couldn't do nothing at all!

"I think I can..."

"No, Damn, no!"

"I won't touch the fire. I'll wash and chop the vegetables; the rest is up to you to control your body and do it yourself."

"...Slow down, be careful."

"walk slowly."

Jiang Qiaoqiao breathed a sigh of relief, a smile returned to her face, and she began washing the vegetables.

There was no danger, so Lin Ran relaxed her tense nerves a little, but then she thought of something and her mood became strange.

—A wealthy woman living in a villa is sitting in a cheap rental apartment, washing vegetables for me? And she's beaming with joy!

—It's a bit unrealistic. If this were made into a short drama, the audience would definitely criticize it.

"Lin Ran, this vegetable leaf has been bitten by a bug."

"Take it off, then throw it away."

"oh."

Jiang Qiaoqiao was very obedient. She did whatever Lin Ran asked her to do without resisting or talking back. She played with the water in the basin, washing vegetables.

Lin Ran asked in surprise, "Qiaozi, you've been unusually well-behaved today."

"What you said makes sense, and it won't do me any harm, so of course I'll do it."

Jiang Qiaoqiao couldn't quite describe how she felt right now.

If a pampered young lady who is used to being waited on suddenly had to fetch things, wash vegetables, and cook, she might actually have a little emotional reaction if she hadn't met Lin Ran.

But not with Lin Ran.

Perhaps it was because Jiang Qiaoqiao was controlling Lin Ran's body that no matter what she did, she wanted to do it with Lin Ran again, feeling that she wasn't alone and had a companion by her side.

She enjoys the feeling of doing something together with Lin Ran.

It's a strange feeling: when you do something alone, you feel very unwilling, but when you have a companion with you, you feel happy.

"Lin Ran, let me know your feedback after your aunt and uncle have tasted your cooking."

Jiang Qiaoqiao got tired of washing vegetables, so she rubbed her sore and numb arms, took a few breaths, picked up the washed bok choy, Chinese cabbage, radish and green onion, put them on the cutting board, cut them into sections, put them in a small bowl, and then opened another bag of vegetables and continued washing.

Why are you listening to my parents' opinions?

"Although the people around me don't say it, I know very well that I've been troubling others, whether it's Aunt Zhao, the nanny, or you. So I also want to accomplish something myself. If you let Uncle and Auntie have a good meal, I'll be happy to tell you, because I've been a part of it, and it's an achievement we made together."

After Jiang Qiaoqiao finished speaking, she laughed twice, feeling embarrassed. She felt that she was not suited to say such mushy things and was almost dying of embarrassment. However, she was afraid that Lin Ran would not agree if she did not speak her mind, so she had no choice but to say it despite her shame.

Lin Ran smacked her lips, and the little witch looked quite womanly when she was shy.

"Okay, I'll let you know what my parents think of my cooking after they've eaten it."

"Thanks."

"...Qiaozi, next time you teach me to sing and write sheet music, can you show your face?"

"Huh? Why?"

Jiang Qiaoqiao's heart suddenly panicked. She stopped washing the vegetables and unconsciously gripped the vegetable stems tightly with her fingers, swallowing nervously.

Lin Ran said very frankly, "For no reason other than wanting to see your face once."