Chapter 19 The Teasing Yandere Boy 19

Chapter 19: The Teasing and Obsessive Young Master 19

Jiang Ran's words came to an abrupt halt, and the smile on the face of the man on the other side of the glass gradually faded, replaced by a look of brooding menace.

Jiang Ran murmured darkly: "Dad's birthday is coming up. I remember you specifically reminded Qiao Ling about it not long ago, but I get to attend this time too."

For Jiang Ran, he knew all too well what Jian Qingming valued most.

Reputation, glory, status, and what others thought of him.

He only had to paint a few suggestive scenarios to have the man before him tossing and turning all night.

"But I'm sorry, you'll never see the sun outside these iron walls again."

With that, Jiang Ran stood up and left.

The man behind him went berserk, struggling and hurling curses, but Jiang Ran didn't hear a single word.

It's a shame he'd never get to see him make a fool of himself again in this lifetime.

Jiang Ran dimly recalled that summer day when Jian Qingming had locked him in a tiny, dark room for days.

At first, everyone just figured he'd run off to play, but after days of searching with no sign of him, they assumed he'd been snatched.

A few days later, the children at the orphanage were playing hide-and-seek when they finally went into that dark little room nobody ever went into and pulled him out.

After being found and rescued, he slept for two more days before gradually recovering.

By the time he'd mustered the strength to go beat Jian Qingming up, Jian Qingming was already gone.

The other kids talked about Jian Qingming with nothing but envy, saying his mother was very beautiful and had bought him lots of toys when she took him away.

Not only that, she'd also brought many gifts for the other children at the orphanage.

But at the time, Jiang Ran himself didn't even know that Jian Qingming had taken what was his and stolen his life.

----

On the day of Jian Han's birthday, relatives, friends, business associates, and even old classmates he hadn't spoken to in years all showed up.

The Jian family's affairs had been the talk of the town lately, and seeing Jian Han throw such a grand celebration, everyone knew the family had finally turned a corner and things were looking up.

And when everyone saw Jiang Ran, even Jian Han's classmates couldn't help but remark.

"President Jian, your son really looks just like you did when you were young!"

The younger Jian Han was nowhere near as smooth with people as he was now, and those sharp, piercing eyes of his were practically the spitting image of Jiang Ran's.

Jian Han just smiled at the comment. There were too many people here today, and he was afraid Jiang Ran might feel out of place, so after introducing him, he said quietly: "If you feel uneasy, go find a quiet spot to duck into.

The Qiao family's young master is here today too—you can go find him."

Jiang Ran smiled faintly and nodded.

The Jian residence was large, and by the time Jiang Ran spotted Qiao Ling, the young master was sprawled on a couch in the lounge, gaming on his phone.

A group was chatting in the corner, and as luck would have it, the topic was Jiang Ran.

"Tell me, aren't the Jians just heartless and cold-blooded? Jian Qingming was their son for over a decade, and they just washed their hands of him like that?"

"Ha, that Jiang Ran... he's not exactly a saint himself. I heard he was quite the troublemaker at school."

"Xiao Qiao, I heard you know Jiang Ran. What's he like? Do you know?"

At the sound of that voice, Jiang Ran held his breath.

He didn't care what people thought of him, really, but Qiao Ling—

The young master carelessly tossed his phone aside and looked at the boys in front of him: "Why ask me? Seems to me you all know more than I do, right?"

The others didn't pick up on what Qiao Ling was really saying, and the Young Master Li, who'd always been tight with Jian Qingming, chimed in slyly: "Jian Qingming really is pitiful. With the Jians holding him down, he probably has no chance of ever getting out, huh?"

Hearing this, Qiao Ling's knowing, amused gaze landed on Young Master Li, and he clicked his tongue a couple of times, as if in mock sympathy.

"Our Young Master Li is turning into such a saint, huh. You can be so forgiving even to a murderer—if you're that big-hearted, why don't you go look after that bastard kid who just showed up at your house?"

The rich circle was never short on gossip, and this Young Master Li's father had always been a player.

His mother was very domineering, but over the years, those illegitimate children seemed to reproduce on their own, popping up every now and then to surprise them.

It sent the Li mother and son into frequent rages, and they'd hurl all kinds of abuse at those surprise half-siblings.

With those words, the atmosphere froze over.

Only then did it dawn on everyone that the young master had been saying the opposite of what he meant.

Young Master Li's face darkened, and he asked coldly: "Qiao Ling, what do you mean by that?"

Qiao Ling stood up and simply left with a single line: "Not stooping to argue with morons."

Some people just love watching others fall from grace. Young Master Li had seen Jiang Ran before, and all things considered, he felt more jealousy than anything else.

His good friend had been thrown in prison, while the poor kid everyone used to boss around had suddenly become a young master of a wealthy family—of course he could make snide remarks to stir up public sentiment.

Just then, Qiao Huai's voice came from the doorway: "Jiang Ran, why are you standing here instead of going in?"

Hearing this, everyone sat up straight.

Jiang Ran was standing right at the entrance, so he must have heard everything that was said.

The most awkward thing in the world is being caught when talking behind someone's back. Everyone sheepishly picked up their phones, pretending nothing had happened.

Jiang Ran paid no attention to the trivial remarks from those irrelevant people, only saying calmly: "I'm here to find the young master."

Hearing this, Qiao Ling couldn't help but furrow his brows slightly.

Jiang Ran shouldn't be calling him that anymore, but with so many people around, he didn't rebuke him.

Qiao Huai was considerate, thinking that Jiang Ran probably didn't have many friends and could only come to Qiao Ling.

He patted both their shoulders and said: "Then you two chat. Xiao Ling, remember to take good care of Jiang Ran and help him meet some new friends."

With that, Qiao Huai went off to mingle and socialize with the crowd.

Qiao Ling figured that since those people had just been badmouthing Jiang Ran, going to chat with them now would make them think Jiang Ran was easy to bully, so he directly grabbed Jiang Ran's arm and led him somewhere private.

The second-floor balcony was quite peaceful.

A gentle breeze blew, adding a touch of coolness. Qiao Ling looked at Jiang Ran and asked: "You're probably not used to occasions like this, right?"

Jiang Ran had put considerable effort into his attire today—just looking at that meticulously neat bow tie, one could tell it was Aunt Qin's handiwork.

He was naturally tall and upright, and in casual clothes he usually had the look of a troubled youth, but now in a well-tailored suit, his air of refined nobility couldn't be hidden.

Jiang Ran didn't seem as awkward as Qiao Ling had imagined. He walked slowly to Qiao Ling's side: "It's fine, I can manage."

Qiao Ling nodded.

He was smart enough that no occasion would ever be much trouble for him.