Chapter 15: Cardboard Box

Lu Ran was taken aback; he hadn't expected anyone to be there.

At that moment, one hand was lifting the hem of his robe while the other rested on his unfastened pants, exposing his navel.

It was an incredibly peculiar sight.

He hastily lowered his arm and then lifted his gaze.

The person in the wheelchair was the one he had seen behind the floor-to-ceiling window.

Now, the man had taken off his coat, revealing a blue-gray suit beneath.

Unlike the observation from a distance through the window, being closer now, Lu Ran noticed that he was actually wearing gloves.

One glove was removed, revealing bony fingers nearly pale, resting delicately on a black, thin blanket.

His palms were broad, and despite his pale complexion, he didn't appear weak.

This man's aura gave Lu Ran a strange yet familiar sensation.

The unfamiliarity came from the fact that this wealthy individual was vastly different in demeanor from the Shen family members.

Excessively composed.

It was precisely this composure that made Lu Ran feel a sense of familiarity.

Like himself when he used to lie on the hospital bed.

Lu Ran wrung out the water from his clothes.

The man in the wheelchair remained silent, merely observing him with his dark, unseen eyes.

"Mr... Ji?" Lu Ran pondered for a moment before speaking first, "Thank you for giving me a ride last time."

"Mm..." He glanced at the nearby urinal once more.

Drawing from his understanding of "people with disabilities" and the shared empathy from their previous lives, he ventured to ask, "Do you need assistance?"

Upon finishing his question, the man withdrew his gaze.

He merely spoke softly, "Leave."

Lu Ran's actions stilled for a moment.

The words, on their own, were rather impolite, as if asking someone to leave.

Yet, the tone seemed to be purely descriptive, dull as could be.

Lu Ran glanced at the mess on his coat and pants, then firmly shook his head. "No."

Ji Min looked over again.

Lu Ran pointed at the row of stalls. "Isn't this a public restroom? You can use the toilet if you need to, wash your hands if you want, or even find a stall to just zone out in. I'm just staying by the sink; it's not like I'm in your way. Why do you want me to leave?"

The man's eyebrows twitched, but he truly didn't say anything more.

It didn't seem like he was indifferent; he simply lacked the energy to speak.

Lu Ran ignored him and rushed over to the cabinet to fetch a towel.

The cabinet had numerous compartments, and Lu Ran checked each one in turn.

One drawer was quite full, so Lu Ran quickly pulled it open.

With a sudden "swish," two items flew out.

Lu Ran scrambled to catch them.

Upon closer inspection, he held two elegantly packaged square boxes in his hands.

There were no words printed on the boxes, leaving Lu Ran puzzled as he examined them further.

He eventually noticed the letters "XL" in a corner.

"A towel is in the second compartment," a voice suddenly spoke up from behind.

"Oh," Lu Ran acknowledged, returning the box to the drawer.

He opened the lower compartment and found a white disposable towel inside.

"Thanks," he said.

Lu Ran took the towel and went back to the sink.

The man in the wheelchair had removed both gloves by now.

He was turning on the faucet, rinsing his hands under the cold water.

It was already quite chilly outside, and even Lu Ran felt a chill seeing him do that.

He took off his wet shirt and picked up a hairdryer to stand by and dry himself.

When he was about to remove his jeans, Lu Ran looked up.

Their eyes met.

Lu Ran stood frozen for two seconds, suddenly realizing that it might not be appropriate to undress in front of others.

After hesitating with his fingers on the button for a moment, he decided to fasten it back up. He bent down to dampen the towel in his hand and used it to wipe off the stain on his pants.

The person next to him rinsed their hands under cold water for about five minutes before turning off the faucet and maneuvering the wheelchair out.

The bathroom door was quite heavy, requiring some effort to push.

It would undoubtedly be inconvenient for someone in a wheelchair.

As Lu Ran was closer to the door, he casually lent a hand to give it a push.

The door swung wide open.

The old butler, who had been waiting outside, was genuinely startled to see Ji Min in a wheelchair: "Sir?"

Ji Min glanced at him but didn't say a word.

He proceeded to control the wheelchair forward.

Lu Ran was almost done with his preparations.

He stepped out of the room.

Ji Min, who had already walked some distance away, turned back as if he had just remembered something.

His deep, melancholic eyes met Lu Ran's, and he inquired, "Are you from the Shen family?"

Lu Ran was about to refute him.

However, the man wasn't seeking his confirmation nor did he give him the chance to speak.

Or rather, he seemed indifferent to Lu Ran's intentions, focusing only on the fact he had discovered.

Casually, he said, " Extend my greetings to your elder brother, Shen Xingyu."

A buzz rang in Lu Ran's mind.

Shen Xingyu.

Lu Ran was the person he feared the most.

At the mere mention of this name, a piercing pain would instantly seep from his bones, a phantom ache left behind in his memory from the car accident.

Lu Ran gazed at the back of the man in the wheelchair.

Suddenly, he recalled that somewhere in the original text, it mentioned that his older brother Shen Xingyu and this young head of the Ji family were alumni, and they had a close friendship.

The butler instructed a security guard to escort Lu Ran away before following Ji Min.

"Why is he here?" Ji Min asked.

"The poor kid had a small mishap, probably got bullied next door and accidentally ended up here through the fire escape," the butler explained.

Ji Min didn't ask further.

The butler chuckled and added, "Sir, you specially intervened to help this young student last time, so I assumed you'd choose to assist again since you were present."

"It's all just sweet talk," Ji Min recalled the phrase he had overheard in the car last time.

This time, the butler didn't respond.

Their relationship, however, wasn't strictly that of a master and servant; there was a certain ease between them.

At that moment, an assistant approached them.

Before the assistant could speak, Ji Min made a gesture indicating impatience.

The butler stepped forward with a smile and bowed slightly, saying, "Sir seems tired today."

The assistant grew flustered, "Mr. Ji, we...?"

"Please convey to Mr. Zhang that the project can be discussed another time," the butler interrupted.

With that, the two of them headed for the elevator, preparing to leave.

"I must ask, how did Sir suddenly end up in a public restroom?" the butler inquired.

Ji Min's voice remained aloof. "There's something impure in the room."

"Oh, I see," the butler said, slightly taken aback.

He glanced teasingly at Ji Min before turning his attention to the restroom at the end of the corridor.

Seemingly recalling something, the butler's expression held a subtle hint of apology. "I hope it didn't scare that young student."

"Uncle Chen!" Ji Min replied, his tone laced with exasperation.

Butler Chen wasn't too bothered; his smile carried the indulgence of an elder.

The two stepped out of the elevator and made their way towards the exit of the twin towers.

Recalling Lu Ran's reaction, the butler couldn't help but tease, "Mr. clearly did a good deed, yet he deliberately chose to say something unpleasing. He usually wouldn't behave like that."

Ji Min ignored him, reaching out to open the remote-controlled door himself.

As the master and servant exited, they noticed an ambulance parked in front of the neighboring building.

A figure wrapped in a blanket was pushed out into view.

Before the person was even seen, a hog-like wail echoed from under the blanket, "Lu Ran! I'll kill Lu Ran!"

Perhaps due to the intensity of the shouting,

the blanket slipped off at one corner, revealing a drenched Lin Yi.

Ji Min raised an eyebrow and looked at the butler standing by his side.

He asked with a hint of sarcasm, "This is what you call being bullied?"

Butler Chen was also slightly surprised and helplessly shrugged his shoulders.

Behind them, the flustered President Zhang, realizing he had botched things up, hurriedly caught up.

"President Ji, please wait, please wait! I'm truly sorry about today's incident, it was my subordinates' fault!" He had gone through great lengths, enlisting the help of five or six intermediaries, just to secure this meeting with Ji Min. There was no way he would let this opportunity slip away easily.

Yet, despite his efforts, President Zhang noticed that the person in the wheelchair hadn't given him so much as a glance.

He merely gazed thoughtfully at the adjacent building.

A rare spark of intense interest flickered in his dark eyes.

Following his gaze, President Zhang also froze for a moment. "Isn't that... Xiao Yi?"

Despite his words, he didn't approach.

Firstly, Lin Yi's current state was pitiful and rather embarrassing...

Secondly, for some reason, the friends around Lin Yi were subconsciously avoiding him as if he had something filthy on him.

"President Zhang, isn't that your son's fiancé causing such a scene? Aren't you going to take a look?" Ji Min's voice echoed.

Instantly, President Zhang felt a flush of heat on his face, finding Lin Yi's actions akin to that of a madman, a disgrace.

At the same time, doubts swirled in his mind.

It could be that Ji Min was upset by his "arrangements" today, so he deliberately sent someone to the adjacent building to give Lin Yi a hard time...

Lu Ran had no idea what the big shots were thinking.

By the time he returned, it was rather late, and he fetched Big Yellow before collapsing into bed upon arrival.

There were no classes the next morning.

Shen Xingzhuo had kindly given him double pay in advance, freeing him from his part-time job at the fast-food joint. Thus, he slept until noon.

It wasn't until he heard someone banging on his door that he was roused from his slumber.

Grumpily, Lu Ran dragged himself up.

"WHO IS IT?!" he bellowed.

Big Yellow crouched beside the door, glancing alternately between the entrance and Lu Ran.

The dog didn't bark, but maintained a courteous vigilance.

"It's me!" The one pounding on the door bellowed as well.

The voice sounded like Shen Xingzhuo's.

Lu Ran found it rather unusual.

Actually, the Shen family didn't often stay on the first floor.

The Shen family's villa had three floors. The third belonged entirely to Shen Xingran, while the second floor had the master bedroom and study, along with two empty rooms for Shen Xingyu and Shen Xingzhuo when they occasionally returned home.

As for the first floor where Lu Ran lived, the entire level was occupied by servants' quarters. Given the Shen family's high-and-mighty attitude, they wouldn't usually come down, let alone bang on doors.

Scratching his bird's nest of hair, Lu Ran grumpily shuffled out in slippers.

Outside, Shen Xingzhuo was about to continue pounding when Lu Ran suddenly pulled the door open.

"What's wrong with you? Do you want people to sleep or not in the morning?"

Shen Xingzhuo seemed to have heard something absurd. He pointed at the bright daylight outside and said, "You call this early morning? How can you sleep more than me?"

Lu Ran didn't engage in further banter.

He stretched out his foot to block Big Yellow, who was wagging its tail as it approached, and looked at Shen Xingzhuo. "What do you want? The money transferred to my Alipay is mine. Don't even think about getting it back."

"Who's talking about money?" Shen Xingzhuo was exasperated.

Then, he hastily corrected himself, "It's all about the money! How much did you spend yesterday?"

"Huh?" Lu Ran hadn't recalled yet.

Not until Shen Xingzhuo pulled up an electronic bill and shoved it into Lu Ran's face did he remember. Yesterday, to take advantage of Shen Xingzhuo, he had ordered more than a dozen bottles of fine wine.

Although Shen Xingzhuo had agreed to pay yesterday, he hadn't expected Lu Ran to go that far.

When the club sent the bill over this morning, Shen Xingzhuo was almost dumbfounded with anger. He immediately drove back to the Shen residence to confront Lu Ran.

"Can't you even afford this small amount?" Lu Ran yawned.

Shen Xingzhuo choked on his words.

He had indeed lost quite a bit of money in his studio recently, but it wasn't to the point where he couldn't afford it.

It was just an unusually large expense.

But for Shen Xingzhuo to admit in front of Lu Ran that he couldn't pay...

Shen Xingzhuo... simply couldn't bring himself to say it.

He was furious.

Yet, upon seeing Lu Ran lying there with disheveled hair and rubbing his eyes sleepily, a corner of his heart softened, and the anger dissipated somewhat.

Shen Xingzhuo was used to doing as he pleased, always expressing his anger freely whenever he felt like it.

For the first time in his life, he felt the sting of swallowing this loss, holding back the fire inside him until it dwindled into silence.

"You!" Shen Xingzhuo pointed at Lu Ran.

"What's wrong with me?" Lu Ran looked at him innocently. "Didn't you agree to it yourself?"

Stuttering on the 'you' for a while, Shen Xingzhuo couldn't come up with a follow-up.

He turned around, intent on grabbing something to throw, but even as he picked up a cup, he found himself inexplicably unable to bring himself to throw it.

In the end, Shen Xingzhuo slammed the cup down on the table in a fit of anger.

Bending down, he seized Big Yellow's dog head and fondled it roughly for several moments before turning away with a huff.