Chapter 15: Li Ran (3)

Seeing the mahjong game, Lin Yan couldn’t help but furrow her brow. Memories from childhood surfaced—how the uncle next door used to quarrel constantly with his wife over mahjong. Eventually, his wife took her own life, and the uncle, filled with regret, sent their youngest daughter to live with relatives before following his wife into the river. Their family was shattered, destroyed beyond repair.

“Yan Yan…”

Lost in thought, a voice from behind abruptly broke her reverie. Turning around, she saw Li Ran waving her brightly colored nails and calling out to her with a wide smile.

Lin Yan’s mood instantly lifted. She never expected to see her dear friend at Leng Mohan’s gathering—her closest, only friend.

“What are you doing here?” Lin Yan asked as she approached Li Ran.

“I came with my boyfriend,” Li Ran said, admiring her freshly done nails with a hand gesture, joy evident in her eyes.

“Isn’t your boyfriend Zhang Hao?” Lin Yan asked, surprised; she didn’t recall Zhang Hao knowing Leng Mohan.

“Oh, that was a month ago. My boyfriend now is Liu Yang,” Li Ran said happily.

“Uh, another change?”

Regarding Li Ran, Lin Yan thought she was great in every way—except for how frequently she changed boyfriends.

Li Ran had been the little girl next door when they were young. Perhaps because she lost her parents early, she always seemed starved for affection, constantly swapping one boyfriend for another, never satisfied. None of her relationships lasted more than a month. Every ex-boyfriend found her personality unbearable. Though outwardly careless, she was incredibly sensitive, often sneaking peeks at her boyfriend’s phone. At the slightest hint of suspicion, she would throw a scene, convinced they no longer loved her.

No one could stand her. Indeed, no one could.

“Hey, Yan Yan, look at my new nails! Aren’t they pretty?” Li Ran stretched out her multicolored claws to show off. “Liu Yang just got me a membership card yesterday—Miti’s membership card. You know, without it, a single manicure there costs thousands.”

Lin Yan had no interest in manicures. She quickly slapped Li Ran’s hand away. “Alright, every boyfriend gets you a different membership card. Why are you so excited about this one?”

“This time it’s different. I really love Liu Yang,” Li Ran said, clutching her hand to her chest in a dreamy manner.

Lin Yan rolled her eyes, finding it unbearable, and decided to ignore her.

Leng Mohan stood patiently by a circular doorway, waiting for Lin Yan. There was no impatience in his demeanor; a faint smile graced the corners of his lips.

Seeing that Lin Yan had finally dealt with Li Ran, he broadened his smile and called out, “Over here, Yan Yan.”

Lin Yan glanced at him, then grabbed Li Ran’s hand and walked toward Leng Mohan. “Alright, stop showing off. Let’s go inside.”

Lin Yan already knew Liu Yang, though only by reputation. She had never met him. She knew he was a close friend of Leng Mohan and came from a prestigious, well-connected family. She never expected him to become Li Ran’s boyfriend.

Passing through the circular doorway, the inside was completely different from the outside. The walls were covered with climbing ivy, lush and green, interspersed with twinkling little fairy lights.