They all want to control me!

Chapter 18 Complex Emotional Relationships

It was already evening when the movie ended. The clouds were dyed red and hung in the sky. The streets gradually became lively. Jiangning is a big city, and it also has its own unique night market culture.

Tao Zhiyao stood on tiptoe, raised her arm high and waved until Lin Ran's figure disappeared at the intersection. She waited for a minute before walking back to the dormitory building.

This was her habit; after Lin Ran left, she would wait a little while, afraid that if Lin Ran came back and couldn't find her, he would be anxious.

As soon as she got back to the dormitory, Tao Zhiyao's bright and energetic face immediately fell. She threw her white bag on the desk, climbed the steps to her bed, and buried her face in the pillow.

"Yaoyao's back just in time, wanna go to the night market together?"

Inside the girls' dormitory, Wang Hui asked Tao Zhiyao, who was lying on the bed opposite her.

Tao Zhiyao was still wearing the clothes she wore on the date. Her legs were thin and long, and as white as ice cream. They must taste sweet if you licked them twice.

Without even looking up from her friend's invitation, Tao Zhiyao let out a deep sigh:

"well……"

"Unhappy?"

"Wang Hui, I've noticed that Lin Ran doesn't seem to like me very much."

"Huh? You're kidding, right?"

Wang Hui climbed off her bed, crawled onto Tao Zhiyao's bed opposite her, drew the curtains, turned on her phone's flashlight to create the right atmosphere, and then asked:

"Yaoyao, you wash Lin Ran's underwear and treat him so well, how could he not like you? If it were me, I would have slept with you long ago."

Even if you say that, I won't wash your underwear for you.

"Hehe~"

Wang Hui's little trick was exposed, and she stuck out her tongue coquettishly before hugging the girl's petite body.

"Don't be upset. Tell me what happened this afternoon, and I'll give you some advice."

Tao Zhiyao hesitated for a moment, then recounted what she had done that afternoon: having a buffet, shopping, and watching a movie. Finally, she pouted and said:

"I've noticed that Lin Ran doesn't treat me like a guy. It's more like another girl is having dinner and watching a movie with me. I... I actually feel the same way. This afternoon when I was with Lin Ran, it was almost like being with you, like being best friends."

"???"

Wang Hui slightly opened her mouth.

What kind of situation is this?

Lin Ran looks quite manly, tall and handsome, a cool guy, yet he has a gentle heart. How could he not be attractive to the opposite sex?

It's impossible that Lin Ran is a man in a woman's body, right?

Damn, that's weird. I've talked to Lin Ran a few times, he's just a bit abstract, not effeminate.

Wang Hui secretly observed her best friend's expression, which was full of worry.

No, regardless of the facts, I need to at least keep this couple I'm shipping stable.

"Yaoyao, have you heard the saying that friendship is the foundation of romance? A close couple is definitely also a close friend who can talk about anything. So it's not impossible for you and Lin Ran; on the contrary, there's great potential! When your friendship transforms into romance, your feelings will be more intense than the tides on the beach in Jiangning!"

"real?"

Tao Zhiyao raised her head, revealing a pitiful look in her eyes, like a deer.

Wang Hui, against her conscience, affirmed the theory she had fabricated and nodded, saying:

"It's absolutely true! Love is a two-way battle; the one who confesses first will lose. Yao Yao, you have to hold on!"

"Well……"

Tao Zhiyao hesitated, unable to make up her mind.

Wang Hui was a little overwhelmed. "I came here to invite my friends to the night market, how did we suddenly start talking about relationship problems? And it looks like we're going to talk about this for a while."

She had a relationship once, and although it ended in a breakup, it was still a beautiful memory.

When I was in a relationship, I didn't have this much entanglement. I could just say "I'm from Shudao Mountain" and my boyfriend would obediently give in. Unlike Yao Yao, who keeps pestering me.

Wang Hui is a woman with a challenging spirit. She faces difficulties head-on. She glanced at her phone and realized it was already time for the night market.

With a determined effort, I turned off my phone and tucked it under my pillow.

I turned on the air conditioner, set it to 16°C, pulled up the blanket, and covered myself and Tao Zhiyao.

In the pitch black, Wang Hui said:

"We're not going to the night market tonight, we'll just listen to your stories, little girl. I'll give you some advice!"

"Thank you, Wang Hui! You're such a kind person!" Tao Zhiyao's eyes gradually brightened as she said happily.

Wang Hui's face stiffened a little. "Am I... being friend-zoned?"

…………

Lin Jianhua: Xiao Ran, your mother and I are planning to go to Shanghai to visit your great-grandmother. Do you want to come?

Lin Ran: I'm not going. My great-uncle is too difficult to deal with. He speaks in a disgusting way, and as a junior, I can't even curse him.

Lin Ran regained control of her body, finished chatting with her father, stood up, stretched, picked up two packages from the bed, went downstairs, and put them in the express delivery locker.

These are the little dress and tank top that Jiang Qiaoqiao bought this afternoon. She controlled the delivery time and asked Lin Ran to deliver them to the express locker before the deadline. The nanny, Aunt Zhao, will come to pick them up in a while.

Lin Ran asked her what to do if Aunt Zhao asked why she bought clothes? Jiang Qiaoqiao replied casually, "Then just say it's a little gift you bought for me, to thank me for helping you rank up in the game."

Jiang Qiaoqiao had told Aunt Zhao that Lin Ran was an online friend she met in a game, so this reason made sense.

but……

Lin Ran recalled Aunt Zhao's smiling eyes and felt that she might be suspected of exchanging gifts with a couple.

Couples...it's a headache.

The interpersonal relationships around him are a complete mess:

I like Tao Zhiyao.

Tao Zhiyao thought I liked Jiang Qiaoqiao.

Jiang Qiaoqiao knew I liked Tao Zhiyao, and she helped me win her over.

Because Jiang Qiaoqiao helped me with my strategy, Tao Zhiyao kept misunderstanding me, and we spent less and less time together, wasting several opportunities to improve our relationship. On the contrary, I spent more time with Jiang Qiaoqiao.

The messy relationships reminded Lin Ran of a love triangle anime called "Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea," whose relationships evolved from the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period to the Seven Warring States Period, which greatly impressed him.

Of course, Lin Ran's current romantic relationships are not at the level of the Seven Warring States.

The phone on the bedside table rang.

Lin Ran took the phone and answered it.

"Can I listen to your song now?"

"Wait a moment, let me get ready."

Lin Ran put down her phone, moved the guitar from the corner, thought for a moment, hung up the phone, and made a video call.

The video call connected, but the other end only showed a WeChat profile picture of a cool, aloof white kitten, while Lin Ran's camera was fully on.

Lin Ran said in a strange tone, "What kind of relationship do we have? Is there any need to hide it?"

"...I'm not wearing any clothes," the white kitten said condescendingly.

"Exhibitionism?"

"Soak in the bathtub."

"oh."

Lin Ran adjusted the camera, pointed it at himself, played a few chords to tune it, and said:

"I wrote a song called 'Coral Sea,' what do you think of it?"

"Send me the sheet music; I can tell the quality of the song just by looking at it."

"Uh, there's no sheet music."

"How can you play the guitar and sing without sheet music?" Jiang Qiaoqiao's voice came along with the sound of running water, indicating that she was indeed taking a shower.

Lin Ran pointed to his head: "The song is in my head, and I want to write it out, but I don't know how to write sheet music, so I'm asking you to teach me."

"Heh..." Jiang Qiaoqiao chuckled lightly, "You're really something, I've never seen anyone who doesn't write... Never mind, little brother, I'm magnanimous, I'll reluctantly listen to it."

Inside the villa, in the large public bath.

Jiang Qiaoqiao placed her phone, which was covered in a waterproof bag, on the marble floor. She bent her middle finger and flicked away the little yellow duck that was located between her two breasts. She then splashed water from the bathtub onto her body, the water droplets sliding down her delicate skin.

She sighed inwardly. It seemed that Lin Ran was obsessed with making money. Art requires more talent than ordinary industries, and talented people are one in a million.

Lin Ran's profile states that from elementary school to university, the only thing that could be considered related to music was standing at the front as the lead singer on Children's Day in elementary school.

There's absolutely no indication that he has any talent.

Jiang Qiaoqiao was initially delighted to hear that he was going to play a song she had written, but when she learned that he didn't even have the sheet music, her heart sank.

To put it nicely, it's just a flash of inspiration from an ordinary person; to put it bluntly, it's just nonsense.

However, Jiang Qiaoqiao was still prepared to listen carefully to Lin Ran's song.

This mentality is strange; even though you know the other person is just fooling around, you're still willing to fool around with them.

It seems that the outcome itself is not important; just wanting to participate is enough.

Even if Lin Ran said he wanted to go to outer space to fight aliens the next second, she might still sit in her wheelchair and go to outer space with him. Anyway, everyone dies eventually, and it doesn't matter where you die, so she doesn't care.

Jiang Qiaoqiao clenched her left fist and placed it on the lower left side of the mediastinum in the chest cavity, above the diaphragm and between the two lungs (the fifth intercostal space on the left anterior chest wall, 0.5-1.0 cm medial to the midclavicular line).

This is where my heart is; I feel a soreness there.

I just wanted to hear it, that's all.

A few seconds later, the sound of a guitar intro and a boy's singing came from the phone.

Jiang Qiaoqiao's eyes suddenly lit up.

This song seems to have a catchy opening.