Chapter 239 - 136: Waiting for You
"Little bro, you’re a beast! The moment you got that Kawasaki last night, you went and clinched the championship on Ao Mountain. You’re my brother, alright—reminds me of myself back in the day!"
That was Lin Che for you—always had to hype himself up when praising others.
"Brother Che, you’re overthinking it. I wasn’t in any race last night. I was just taking the Ao Mountain route home, saw they were racing, and sped up a bit to get home so I wouldn’t disturb them."
"..."
Su Ran was telling the truth. He really hadn’t wanted to disturb their race last night, so he just hurried home.
But to Lin Che, it sounded like the ultimate humblebrag.
’Going home? Sped up a bit? Didn’t want to disturb them? And in the process, you just happened to overtake the entire pack, finish first, and set the fastest time? Breaking a ten-year record on Ao Mountain?’
’And became the God of Ao Mountain in the process?’
’This...’
"Sigh, little bro, the fact is you’re way better than that bunch of scrubs. They’re hailing you as a god now."
"...It’s not that exaggerated, is it? If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have gone through Ao Mountain."
"This..."
Lin Che didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The guy was *actually* just passing through.
In reality, Lin Che knew that Su Ran’s ’indifferent, Zen-like personality’ was actually a form of ’King’s Contempt’. Every move he made was a silent, overwhelming takedown from a higher plane.
"Little bro, here’s what happened..."
Lin Che explained the whole story.
It all started with that H2.
Lin Che had bought the H2 and ridden it around for two days. Anyang was a small place. So, when the uninvited guest on the bike blew past everyone on Ao Mountain last night, some sharp-eyed spectators recognized it as belonging to Lin Che from SJ Bar. They found his number and called him first thing in the morning to congratulate Boss Lin on his new championship title.
"Championship? What the fuck are you talking about?"
It was early in the morning, and Lin Che was still in bed, spooning a young new girl he’d met at the bar the night before.
"The motorcycle race! The one you were riding in last night?"
"Riding?"
Lin Che was a little confused.
He’d definitely done some riding last night.
But it wasn’t a motorcycle he was riding. It was a woman.
She was still lying in his bed right now.
’Could it be? Has Anyang gotten that wild?’
’They have competitions for *that* kind of riding now?’
Although, when it came to *that* kind of riding, Lin Che was indeed a recent dark horse in Anyang. He’d done a lot of it.
Then...
The person on the phone sent Lin Che a video of the race. After watching it, understanding dawned. He excitedly smacked the perky butt beside him. ’That’s my brother, Su Ran!’
After Lin Che looked into it, he learned that the motorcycle enthusiasts in Anyang were all broke. Of course, now that Lin Che had made his comeback, he was no longer broke himself.
When that broke crew found out the uninvited guest was ’Lin Che’, they called to congratulate him, hoping to pull him into their group. After all, Lin Che had money now. If he joined, their broke-ass motorcycle club would have sponsorship money for competitions.
’Crafty bastards.’
Lin Che told them the truth—that it wasn’t him last night, but a good brother of his. As for whether his brother wanted to join, that was up to him. And so, he called Su Ran to explain the situation.
"Not interested." Su Ran rejected him with two short words.
"Alright, I’ll let them know."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Su Ran was fully awake. He sat by his door, watching the ants and spacing out for a while.
When he was in school, he couldn’t wait for vacation. When vacation came, he was bored. That was just how Su Ran was.
He pulled out his phone and sent a mass message: [Good morning, what’s for breakfast?]
First up—Liu Jinyu.
Photo: [Chongqing noodles with facing-heaven peppers]
Su Ran: [Careful your butt doesn’t start smoking.]
Liu Jinyu: [It won’t.]
Su Ran: [I’ll check tonight.]
Liu Jinyu: [Pervert.]
Su Ran: [Keep eating, I won’t disturb you. I’m going to see what the others are having.]
Liu Jinyu: [When are you coming to Chongqing?]
Su Ran: [I’ll come at a future date.]
Liu Jinyu: [Okay, I’ll wait. But can’t you come *before* the date?]
Su Ran: [Whoa there, Sister Jinyu, don’t be so lewd. My body can’t take it.]
Liu Jinyu: [Hahaha...]
Next—Aina.
Photo: [Specialty roasted buns from the Western Regions] + [A slice of nut cake]
Seeing the nut cake, Su Ran let out a whistle. ’Damn.’
As the saying goes, ’a wall of anime figures for an otaku is worth an apartment on the Second Ring Road.’
But even that couldn’t compare to a small piece of nut cake.
Su Ran: [(Thumbs up) Impressive. A piece of nut cake that big must be worth an apartment in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou, right?]
Aina: [Not at all. It’s really cheap here where it’s made. It’s only expensive outside because of all the scammers. Do you want to try some? I can mail it to you.]
Su Ran: [Mail it, then.]
Aina: [Okay. You promised you’d come to the Western Regions, have you forgotten?]
Su Ran: [Haven’t forgotten. I’ll be there soon.]
Aina: [Okay.]
Next—Xiao Wanqing.
Photo: Milk + bread + fried egg + fruit salad + coffee.
Su Ran: [Tsk tsk, Shanghainese are really so refined. I used to think the movie *Little Era* was an exaggeration, but now I know it’s all true. Sister Wanqing, I’m envious of your Shanghai lifestyle.]
Xiao Wanqing: [Call me ’sister’ again and I’ll rip your mouth off.]
Su Ran: [Wanqing.]
Xiao Wanqing: [Good boy. Want to see if I look pretty today?]
Photo: A picture of her in a dress, sitting elegantly by a window. Her hair was styled in big waves, she had fiery red lips, exquisite makeup, and a deep V-neckline.
Su Ran: [Isn’t that a little revealing?]
Xiao Wanqing: [I’m not going out. I’m just at home.]
Su Ran: [You dress like you’re going to a gala just to stay at home?]
Xiao Wanqing: [It’s normal.]
Su Ran: [...]
’So this is what it’s like. The great city of Shanghai... The women living that bourgeois lifestyle really are just like they say online. They get all dolled up after waking up, even if they’re not going out.’
Xiao Wanqing: [When are you coming to Shanghai?]
Su Ran: [In a few days.]
Xiao Wanqing: [Okay. I’ll get myself all clean and wait for you.]
Su Ran: [(Innocent emoji)]
Xiao Wanqing: [Hahaha, I was talking about the jujubes.]
Next—no one.
Xie Yiren wasn’t online. She had gone back to her hometown, and unless he called her, there was no internet.
Su Ran planned to set out from Hangzhou during winter break and visit his "relatives," one by one.