After Marrying Bigshot Vegetable Boss - Chapter 24
The night passed relatively peacefully towards the end. With Yu Lan having thoroughly built a perfect and self-contained logical chain in his mind, he hugged the quilt before going to sleep, showing half of his head and said, “Good night,” to Chu Wang.
Only then did he remember that Chu Wang wouldn’t sleep.
But Chu Wang was quicker in realizing it than him and said first, “If there’s nothing you need, I won’t come in.”
Only then did Yu Lan close his eyes in peace.
It had been a somewhat tiring day for him. The bed in the bedroom was very comfortable, and Yu Lan fell asleep shortly after lying down. Chu Wang, on the other hand, paced around the dressing room several times alone and then spent quite a while idly staring at the moon.
Initially, Chu Wang hadn’t paid much attention to this matter before Yu Lan mentioned it. But for some reason, after it was brought up, Chu Wang found himself occasionally wanting to glance over.
Subconsciously, Chu Wang felt that this behavior was somehow inappropriate, and he couldn’t even find a reasonable or correct reason to look at Yu Lan. However, the more he felt this way, the more he found everything else uninteresting.
He had never encountered such a situation before slipping into a coma.
Chu Wang even felt annoyed because of this inexplicable hesitation, but he also knew that this unease had nothing to do with anyone else; it solely stemmed from himself.
Even his emotions seemed to have shifted compared to before.
Just as he was thinking, he heard some movement from the inner room of the bedroom. All his complex thoughts were suddenly cleared away, and Chu Wang immediately floated over, only to see Yu Lan just turning over, making some exaggerated movements and murmuring something in his sleep.
His sleeping posture was indeed as described.
Not very good.
At the moment, he was lying sprawled out, the whole person sleeping sideways, and the quilt kicked to the side.
Frowning tightly, mumbling a few words, but his voice was muffled, and Chu Wang couldn’t hear clearly.
He glanced at the window that wasn’t closed properly and then at bed the sleeping youth.
But this time, he suddenly realized that he couldn’t walk over to close the window, nor could he cover Yu Lan with the kicked-off quilt.
His body couldn’t move, and his soul was powerless.
Fortunately, Chu Wang was already accustomed to this situation. He was always emotionally stable, so he just left quickly and didn’t come back for the rest of the night.
After the weekend, when Yu Lan returned to school, news about him had already spread in the department.
Combined with the encounter with Yu Ling in the mall that day, and some gossip heard from Yu Ling’s lackey, most of the classmates basically concluded that he was a distant relative of Yu Ling, who was quite famous in the neighboring school.
Yu Lan himself had only six points to say about this:…
Although the Yu family’s business wasn’t as big as before, they had once been glorious. Plus, while Yu Ling pretended to be low-key, in reality, he wanted to flaunt “I am the beloved only son of the Yu family” all over his face. Many people in the university town knew about this, and they admired him even more.
Due to the difference in social class, some news circulated through different channels. The fact that the Yu family found their biological child wasn’t publicized loudly; basically, only those involved in business dealings could inquire about it. Not to mention using the recently found biological child to please the Chu family as a tool for reconciliation.
So, on Monday, when Yu Lan just entered the classroom, curious glances were abundant.
He didn’t mind though, walking over to the seat reserved for him by Zhong Jiale, shielding himself from all the stares.
But by the end of the class, some voices still reached his ears.
“When I first found out his surname was Yu, I thought I was overthinking it. How could he be related to that influential figure from the neighboring school? Didn’t expect it to be true…”
“But didn’t I hear he’s called Yu Ling’s brother? Doesn’t the Yu family only have one child?”
“He’s probably just a distant relative.”
“Yeah, he doesn’t look anything like the other side, and I feel like the distant relatives have better genes…”
“Isn’t that daring to say?!”
“Well, it’s true. The noble air around that young master from next door is just piled up; his looks are average.”
“Average doesn’t negate his good background!”
Yu Lan had been listening for fun, but he couldn’t help but chuckle at the last comment.
However, Zhong Jiale, who was sitting next to him, thought he was angry: “Don’t mind them. Sometimes these classmates just like to gossip, but it’s definitely not about you. It’s just because of the rumors about you and… your brother, spreading around.”
“No, no,” Yu Lan waved his hand quickly, even turned his head and greeted the group of people chatting, curiously asking, “Have you all heard of Yu Ling?”
Those classmates were initially a bit embarrassed and stunned.
“It’s really okay, it’s almost as you guys guessed,” Yu Lan coughed and said, “I am indeed a relative of his family, but not very close. He’s quite famous at the neighboring school, right?”
“He’s considered a minor celebrity, I guess?” Seeing Yu Lan initiating the conversation, the others quickly added to keep the atmosphere from getting cold, “He’s a year above us, not that he’s particularly high-profile, but for some reason, almost everyone in the nearby university town knows who he is when his name comes up.”
“Maybe because his family is wealthy. Every time there’s a charity event or community service in the university town, he’s there. And once you inquire about his background, it’s hard not to know.”
Zhong Jiale whispered softly, “But I feel like…”
He deliberately draws attention.
But he didn’t know the relationship between Yu Lan and the other person, he just guessed from the one meeting they had.
“His name is mentioned every time we organize events together. Remember the party our college organized before? Couldn’t get sponsorship, but he managed to get money from his family. After a few times, everyone knows,” one of them couldn’t help but glance at Yu Lan as he explained.
Receiving the glance, Yu Lan didn’t avoid it and casually followed up with an “Oh,” “That’s impressive!”
“We thought you were close to him!” Those classmates were somewhat surprised, “If we didn’t know the Yu family only has one child, we’d think you’re really his brother.”
“No, no, he’s after all the only son of the Yu family. We distant relatives can’t compare,” Yu Lan casually replied, “Unlike me, who can only rely on my husband’s credit card…”
Zhong Jiale, who witnessed the scene just now, hesitated to speak again: “…”
But I think your husband seems quite impressive too?
When the next class was about to end, after finishing the discussion, Zhong Jiale glanced at Yu Lan, who was listening attentively, and sincerely said, “You seem… very affectionate with your… partner?”
Yu Lan had just casually wanted to tease Chu Wang through Zhong Jiale, but since he asked, he nodded unabashedly.
“That’s nice,” Zhong Jiale thought for a moment and comforted him, “Although you’re just a distant relative of the Yu family, you shouldn’t feel inferior because of your brother.”
“Look, the other side may have a bit more fame, but as long as we live our own lives well, we don’t need to care about others!”
Yu Lan remembered the shopping mall Chu Wang took him to and knew that the other party was genuinely kind, perhaps thinking he was feeling down because of Yu Ling’s situation, and he sincerely expressed his gratitude even though he found his logic a bit strange.
Zhong Jiale even gave an example, “Your brother comes from a good background, but you also have a loving husband. Harmony in marriage…”
Yu Lan quickly interrupted his idiom, “It’s just okay.”
“Then the other person must be very outstanding,” Zhong Jiale asserted. “A marriage is fulfilling only with love!”
“…?” Yu Lan didn’t understand why he emphasized marriage so much, but unable to resist, he asked, “Do you have any stories or insights?”
This time, Zhong Jiale shook his head very solemnly, then sighed deeply.
Probably because Yu Lan hadn’t seen him show this expression in the past few days, he was about to ask if there was something he couldn’t say, but then he heard Zhong Jiale say, “It’s not my story.”
“But there’s someone I admire a lot, he’s always been my idol.”
Following the usual logic, Yu Lan casually asked, “Is he married?”
Zhong Jiale instantly looked like he had stepped on something painful, desperately explaining, “No! Wait, yes! He is married! No! It’s none of my business!”
“But he didn’t marry the person he loves!” He gritted his teeth, looking regretful for the other person, “He was forced to marry a stranger because he couldn’t resist.”
Listening to the story-like narrative, Yu Lan just said, “…Oh.”
Zhong Jiale showed a look of great pity. “This is clearly harmful to both parties!”
“He’s obviously a courageous person but had to accept a marriage that’s in name only.”
Yu Lan pointed out a loophole, “You said he’s courageous, then why didn’t he just refuse?”
“This… it’s very complicated!” Zhong Jiale lamented, “It’s not something he can control.”
Yu Lan listened with confusion, and finally couldn’t help asking, “So, do you have feelings for him?”
“How could that be, he’s…” Zhong Jiale began but then stopped himself, “Anyway, it’s definitely not what you’re thinking!”
Yu Lan had already imagined a poignant story—classmate Zhong had an idol, but the idol was forced into a marriage for various reasons, leaving Zhong alone in melancholy and helplessness.
Frowning, Yu Lan asked, “…So you really don’t like him?”
“Admiration! Admiration!” Zhong Jiale emphasized repeatedly, then said, “After all, he always thinks I’m too childish.”
The story in Yu Lan’s mind got updated: it seemed like a mature and knowledgeable older sister/brother.
He thought for a moment and asked, “Do you still keep in touch with him now?”
Zhong Jiale nodded, then shook his head.
He wore a look of “you wouldn’t understand, it’s complicated.”
Yu Lan somewhat understood why Zhong Jiale had such a strong reaction when he used marriage as an excuse back then.
“So I think, someone like you already has a good story,” Zhong Jiale concluded.
Yu Lan thought for a moment, then floated in the air of the bedroom, “Flattering.”
“Oh, by the way…” He was about to tell Zhong Jiale that he had to leave early after class today when Zhong spoke up too.
“—You’re right, I should go see him.” He declared firmly.
Yu Lan admired his decisiveness and thought his words had given him courage, “Great!”
Then he added, “But he’s married, so don’t rush to confess your feelings.”
For the third time, Zhong Jiale clarified that they weren’t what Yu Lan imagined, and Yu Lan couldn’t help but nod with a smile, “Got it, got it.”
After all, the image of this person in Yu Lan’s mind was quite strange. He was described as courageous but unable to refuse an arranged marriage; no matter how he thought about it, it seemed a bit odd.
After the last class ended, they went their separate ways.
Today, Yu Lan’s driver came to pick him up after class because tomorrow, as Xie Yun said, the master would come, and today the doctor would re-examine Chu Wang to see how things were going.
On the way home, Yu Lan was thinking about what the “master” tomorrow would be like and whether they would notice anything, and soon he arrived home.
Chu Wang had his examination in the morning, and when Yu Lan arrived, the results had just come out.
Having taken care of Aunt Liu for a while in high school, Yu Lan could understand most of the medical reports. He compared the results of the two examinations and found that, indeed, as Xie Yun had said, there were no major issues with the blood results and biochemistry, except for not waking up, the other indicators were not much different from those of a normal person.
Just as he sent the doctor away and returned to the hallway, he suddenly heard a familiar voice—
“Auntie, Auntie!”
The person who had sat next to him just two hours ago rang the doorbell, calling out very familiarly, “I’m here again!”
Yu Lan walked step by step to the front door, and sure enough, he saw Zhong Jiale still wearing his school bag, standing and waiting for someone to open the door.
Seeing Yu Lan, Zhong Jiale’s expression turned pleasantly surprised, “Hey, what are you doing here?!”
But Yu Lan was quicker in response, probably summarizing what they discussed in the afternoon, he tilted his head back slightly, hesitatingly said, “Is there a possibility that…”
“I’ve been here the whole time?”
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Rebecca
I love this story so much!