Chapter 16 The Teasing Yandere Boy 16

Chapter 16: The Teasing, Obsessive Boy 16

For Jian Qingming, Jiang Ran represented the possibility of destroying his life of luxury and ease.

Facing such a massive potential threat, of course he'd be rattled.

But...

Jiang Ran couldn't shake the feeling that things were going too smoothly—and that smoothness actually made him uneasy.

The Jian couple agreed without a second thought after hearing what Jiang Ran had to say.

They now regretted trusting Jian Qingming based on nothing more than a keepsake and a passing resemblance. So it wasn't hard to understand why Jiang Ran would be worried now.

But by now, the Jian couple had already made up their minds about Jiang Ran, so they rushed the paternity test results.

The Qiao brothers were there with them the whole time.

Jiang Ran's face was calm, betraying neither joy nor sorrow.

The Jian couple, caught between guilt and concern, carefully asked Jiang Ran how hard his life had really been all these years.

They made small talk, and it wasn't too awkward.

Qin Qing managed a strained smile and said, "It was probably fate that I found you. Ever since that brief encounter with you at the hospital, I began to have my doubts...

I... I'm so sorry."

Qin Qing choked up, yet deep down she was immensely grateful she'd ever had that suspicion.

Jiang Ran had certainly yearned for parents growing up, but his childhood had been rough, and once he got older, he had to stress over tuition and grades.

He knew there were countless kids across the country separated from their parents, and the odds of finding them were slim to none, so he never had the time to wonder how he'd ended up separated from his own parents.

Seeing Qin Qing getting emotional now, he awkwardly tried to console her.

"Either way, this isn't your fault. You... take care of yourself."

Over on the other side, Qiao Ling and Qiao Huai were way more relaxed.

The two of them sat on the couch, Qiao Ling chomping on an apple while watching Jiang Ran.

Qiao Huai gave Qiao Ling a subtle nudge and asked, "You... haven't done anything too outrageous to Jiang Ran, have you?"

Since Aunt Qin already got the test results, this thing is basically a done deal.

The moment he thought about his little brother's secret affair with Jiang Ran, he felt a little guilty.

The guy was a fallen prince, and he'd been defiled by his little thug of a brother. Just thinking about it felt criminal...

Hearing that, Qiao Ling let out a cold laugh.

This was his own brother in front of him, so he didn't care about looking ridiculous.

He tugged his collar down to show Qiao Huai: "Do you think he's some delicate little flower?"

Qiao Huai: "..."

He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, gave a light cough, and reached over to fix Qiao Ling's collar himself.

"Xiao Ling, show some decency."

Qiao Ling took a big, aggressive bite of the apple and mumbled with his mouth full, "My innocence is already gone, what's the point of being proper?"

They'd spent the whole afternoon with the Jian family and hadn't even had lunch.

Qiao Huai went out to grab some food, and Qiao Ling sidled up to the Jian couple to console them: "Aunt Qin, don't cry. If Jiang Ran really is your son, you should be happy! You should be making up for all the lost time, not crying your eyes out and ruining your health."

Qin Qing nodded and smiled at that. She looked at Qiao Ling and said, "It's really all thanks to you that we even got the chance to meet Jiang Ran."

Qiao Ling smirked, hiding his triumph.

Of course—did he have this genius little brain for nothing?

"I'm taking Jiang Ran home with me today. You go home and clear out anything that shouldn't be there before Jiang Ran comes back.

He's got exams these next few days, so let's not switch things up on him for now."

Mainly... Qiao Ling figured that Jiang Ran suddenly becoming a rich young heir needed some time to adjust.

Qiao Ling's words did ease Qin Qing's mood a bit.

Thinking about how Jian Qingming had lived in their house for so long, and how even at the very end he'd used Grandpa Jian as a shield, her anger burned even hotter.

Qin Qing held Jiang Ran's hand and said, "Then... during these two days of exams, I won't bother you. If you're willing, I'd love for you to come home. And of course, I won't force you to do anything you don't want to."

Jiang Ran could see how careful she was being, and he pressed his lips together and nodded.

Only then did the Jian couple leave, glancing back every few steps.

And at that moment, Jiang Ran's dark, piercing gaze landed on Qiao Ling.

Qiao Ling was taken aback, blinking blankly.

He was the one doing a good deed—so why did Jiang Ran look like he was trying to burn a hole through him with his eyes?

Jiang Ran leaned closer to Qiao Ling and asked in a low voice, "Young master, is there nothing you want to say to me?"

That day when he got hurt, his injuries were clearly lighter than Qiao Ling's, yet Qiao Ling had made a huge fuss, dragged him to the hospital, and even had the director personally check him over.

No wonder that woman had been looking at him weirdly ever since then.

Jiang Ran had a strong hunch that Qiao Ling had orchestrated this whole thing.

But how the hell did he know?

Qiao Ling blinked, looking at Jiang Ran and said, "I... I think it's great! Mother and son reunited—so touching!"

He didn't say anything else, and just then Qiao Huai came back, so they all headed home.

---

During Jiang Ran's exams, the Jian couple called to check in on him, keeping a respectful distance, probably afraid that Jiang Ran would push back and refuse to come home.

Jiang Ran also found out from Qiao Huai that Jian Qingming probably wasn't getting out anytime soon.

Clearly, the Jian family had already caught wind of something being off before this, and on top of that, Jian Qingming's deception had only deepened their resentment toward him.

The Qiao and Jian families had always been close, so Qiao Huai couldn't help but put in a few good words for the Jian family.

"Jiang Ran, you probably don't know this, but Uncle Jian and Jian Qingming never saw eye to eye. Looking back now, this was probably fate."

These years they've worked so hard searching for their son, I hope you won't blame them too much."

Qiao Ling thought his brother was overthinking it, gave his shoulder a pat, and said, "Alright, alright, Jiang Ran knows what he's doing, no need for you to go on about it.

Now that he's found his birth parents, of course he should go home."

At that, Jiang Ran's gaze landed on Qiao Ling.

"So the young master's trying to send me off?"

His voice was low, and the question had a hint of challenge that Qiao Ling didn't miss.

Qiao Ling knew that getting Jiang Ran to go home would mean his mission was eighty percent done.

So of course he had to make him go home.

"You're the Jian family's eldest young master now, so of course you should go home. And..."

Qiao Ling leaned close to the young man, whispering in his ear, "Our relationship can't see the light of day, don't you know that?"

Qiao Huai could feel the tension in the air.

He figured the mess his brother made was his own to handle, so he made up some excuse and slipped out.

But the moment the door closed, Jiang Ran pressed forward.

He stared down at the young master with clear, bright eyes and asked, "In your heart, is that all we've ever been?"

"Update delivered! Begging for your comments and messages, starting tomorrow I'll gradually increase updates!!!"