CFRFGC Chapter 10

Thank you to 貝妮_Blazy for the ko-fi~

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⌈”Come back! Don’t go!”⌋

Looking at the things in the small storage, Shen Xingzhuo’s mind instantly echoed with a soft voice: “Brother, Grandpa said we have to put the toys away!”

As he stared at the yellow plastic bucket in a daze, his phone buzzed.

He glanced down at the screen.

Someone in the group chat had sent a message: “Brother Zhuo, we’re already here!”

Shen Xingzhuo’s head buzzed and he suddenly remembered what he had asked them to do the night before.

Hurriedly, he placed back the wooden plank, not bothering to clean his dirt-covered hands, and quickly typed a message: “Come back! Don’t go!”

There was no immediate response, likely because they were busy with something.

Shen Xingzhuo followed up with a voice message.

In a few quick moves, he climbed back out of the old house, ran to his car, and dialed the group on voice chat while heading straight for the pet shop.

Traffic was jammed at this hour.

Shen Xingzhuo’s car was stuck on the road and he was anxious to the point of frustration.

Luckily, midway there, some of the group members finally saw his messages and replied: “What’s up, Brother Zhuo?”

“Forget about what I said,” Shen Xingzhuo replied.

They were confused and asked, “Weren’t we doing this for Ranran?”

At the mention of Shen Xingran, Shen Xingzhuo suddenly froze.

His mind was still in a mess and he had no idea how to explain it. After a long pause, he finally managed to say, “Don’t ask, we’ll talk next time.”

Fortunately, they were obedient and ended the call.

But Shen Xingzhuo was left with an uneasy feeling. He knew these guys all too well—before they answered his call, they had likely already reached the pet shop and could have stirred up trouble.

Shen Xingzhuo didn’t go back to the Shen family home but instead continued driving toward the pet shop.

When he arrived at the street, he saw that the shop wasn’t open today.

The cages and enclosures inside had been moved further back into the shop.

A lock hung on the door and the keyhole had faint scratch marks—probably the handiwork of his friends.

Shen Xingzhuo peered into the shop but didn’t see Da Huang, nor Lu Ran, or even the owner from the day before.

Instinctively, he pulled out his phone, only to realize that he didn’t have Lu Ran’s number.

Their relationship wasn’t close enough for that level of contact.

Before today, he had never imagined that one day, he would even want to reach out to Lu Ran.

The image of the little boy from the dream flashed through his mind again.

Feeling irritated, Shen Xingzhuo lit a cigarette and aimlessly wandered down the street.

His mind alternated between thoughts of the dog and the yellow plastic bucket in the courtyard of the old house…

And those two identical rubber balls.

It was rush hour and the street was bustling with people.

Shen Xingzhuo wandered aimlessly and eventually stopped in front of a fast-food restaurant.

Inside, there were still customers eating breakfast and a long line had formed at the counter.

Shen Xingzhuo was about to walk past, but through a gap in the crowd, he spotted Lu Ran.

Lu Ran was wearing the restaurant’s uniform, busy behind the counter.

There were a lot of customers, but he handled everything calmly—taking orders, processing payments, printing receipts, and handing them off to the kitchen staff.

Shen Xingzhuo stood there, watching for a moment, comparing the man in front of him with the little boy from his dream.

From this angle, Shen Xingzhuo couldn’t see Lu Ran’s eyes.

But it wasn’t the same.

There was a big difference.

The child in the dream was carefree, with stars shining in his eyes.

Lu Ran silently carried out his tasks, his movements displaying a skillfulness far beyond his age, and there was something about him… a stillness that seemed to have been repressed for many years.

There was an inexplicable sense of weariness.

When most of the customers had left, Shen Xingzhuo pushed the door open and found a seat.

As soon as he entered, the boy behind the counter immediately looked over and asked, “What are you doing here?”

His tone was far from pleasant.

It was a complete contrast to the boy in Shen Xingzhuo’s dream.

Those eyes also glanced over.

But unlike the joyful upward gaze in the dream, Lu Ran, standing behind the counter, looked over with his eyes half-lowered.

His long eyelashes shielded his pupils, making it hard to read his expression, leaving only a cold, guarded feeling.

“I’m here to eat,” Shen Xingzhuo averted his gaze.

“Oh.” Lu Ran pointed at the menu. “Order.”

Shen Xingzhuo, distracted, randomly pointed to something.

Lu Ran processed the payment, handed the receipt to the kitchen, and then returned to the counter.

For a moment, Shen Xingzhuo didn’t know what to say.

He didn’t even know why he had come here in the first place.

The number of customers in the restaurant dwindled, leaving just a few scattered ones.

Shen Xingzhuo sat at his table, zoning out.

As the front became less busy, even the task of delivering food to customers fell to Lu Ran.

When Shen Xingzhuo’s order was ready, Lu Ran picked up the tray and placed it in front of him.

“Clack.”

The plastic tray made a light sound as it hit the faux-wooden tabletop.

Shen Xingzhuo snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Lu Ran, who had brought him his food.

At that moment, a strong sense of discord washed over Shen Xingzhuo, making him feel deeply uncomfortable.

He usually acted on impulse.

Without thinking, he frowned and asked, “What are you doing?”

Lu Ran looked at him as if he were an idiot. “Serving you food. Isn’t this what you ordered?”

Shen Xingzhuo was at a loss for words.

But as he watched Lu Ran, who had just set down the tray, bending slightly as he placed it in front of him and even taking the time to neatly arrange the napkins, he still felt incredibly uneasy.

His family had servants.

Shen Xingran would never do these things.

In fact, no one in the Shen family needed to do this kind of work.

But now, here was Lu Ran, standing before him, acting like a waiter.

And he was the one being served.

Suppressing this inexplicable discomfort, Shen Xingzhuo blurted out without thinking, “What are you doing here?”

Lu Ran remained silent.

This time, the look he gave Shen Xingzhuo was even more like that of someone staring at a clueless, aging fool.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “I bought this store yesterday and disguised myself as a waiter today to inspect it.”

Shen Xingzhuo nodded and the discomfort in his heart faded a little.

He didn’t feel anything amiss.

In his life, among the people he encountered, the reason Lu Ran mentioned was the most common and reasonable.

But just as he nodded, he heard the boy in front of him laugh and call him an idiot.

Returning to the counter, Lu Ran took the opportunity to play with the fish during a lull.

He swiped at his phone, casually looking up to say, “Second Young Master, are your eyes blind? I’m here working.”

Shen Xingzhuo was taken aback.

Working.

It was a common term, but it was absolutely rare in his life.

He should have known.

After all, he had been to that pet shop yesterday and had seen Lu Ran scooping cat litter and changing the pee pads with his own eyes.

But at that time, Shen Xingzhuo hadn’t delved into whether Lu Ran was working or doing something else.

He just wanted to find Lu Ran and that dog; since Lu Ran was at the pet shop, he went there.

Everything else was irrelevant to him.

It wasn’t until this moment that Shen Xingzhuo seemed to truly understand that Lu Ran got up at five or six in the morning and didn’t come back until eleven or midnight and that he was actually working outside.

Doing things for others to earn a little pocket money.

A complicated feeling stirred in Shen Xingzhuo’s heart.

He recalled how Shen Xingran had once done volunteer work while in college.

He had gone for half a day.

Madam Shen had worried it would be too hot and had personally gone to pick him up.

“I was asking… how you ended up here,” Shen Xingzhuo said, his voice slightly hoarse as he struggled to explain. “Weren’t you at… that pet shop yesterday?”

After asking this, he felt a wave of anxiety wash over him.

Could it be that the people from this morning had done something?

Lu Ran had been busy until now and hadn’t eaten breakfast. Now, taking advantage of the fewer customers, he had hidden behind the counter to eat something.

He took a bite of a hamburger and, with his mouth full, said, “Big brother…”

Hearing that address and his indistinct voice made Shen Xingzhuo’s heart skip a beat.

Lu Ran took a sip of water before continuing, “You don’t really think that a part-time job can support a person, do you?”

Shen Xingzhuo paused.

Hearing the words “part-time job” reminded him that Lu Ran was probably still in college.

Suddenly, Shen Xingzhuo felt he could no longer sit still.

The food he had ordered was still sealed when he stood up and hurriedly left.

Lu Ran watched Shen Xingzhuo’s departing figure.

He hadn’t lied to Shen Xingzhuo; it was true that he had been working a few odd jobs.

However, he had already resigned from the pet shop.

When Shen Xingzhuo came by yesterday, Lu Ran didn’t have high expectations for the character of the second young master of the Shen family.

For one, it was for the safety of Da Huang; for another, he didn’t want to cause trouble for the pet shop owner. So, last night, Lu Ran quit his job there and advised the owner to be cautious for the next couple of days.

During the day, he had taken Da Huang back to the security room of the orphanage.

Although the director was gone, the security guard who had watched him grow up was still there. Da Huang was also an old dog that frequently stayed there, so Lu Ran felt at ease leaving him there.

After Shen Xingzhuo left the shop, Lu Ran began to pack his things.

He glanced at the unopened food on the table, didn’t disdain it, and simply packed it up in a bag to eat during lunch.

At that moment, Shen Xingzhuo stood by his car, looking back toward the shop, and happened to witness this scene.

There was no contempt, no disdain.

In that instant, Shen Xingzhuo felt an overwhelming urge to rush into the shop, knock the things out of Lu Ran’s hands, and drag him out.

But the next moment, he saw the boy open the fries from his table, pick one up, and put it in his mouth.

After seemingly tasting the flavor of ketchup, the boy happily squinted his eyes.

Shen Xingzhuo couldn’t bear to look any longer.

He hurriedly got into his car, fumbled to buckle his seatbelt, and started the engine.

It was almost a hasty escape.

For several days, Shen Xingzhuo did not return to the Shen family home.

Shen Xingran called him, but he brushed him off with “There are things at the studio”.

Until a few days later, it was Madam Shen’s birthday, and the family gathered for a small get-together.

Shen Xingzhuo arrived at the private room a bit late, and most people were already there.

This time it was just a small gathering; no grand banquet was held and there were no outsiders present.

In the room were only Shen Hongyuan, Madam Shen, and Shen Xingran.

Seeing the tardy Shen Xingzhuo, Madam Shen complained, “So you remember to come back?”

“Isn’t Big Brother not back either?” Shen Xingzhuo replied nonchalantly as he walked to his seat.

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock at the door of the private room.

A young man in a suit entered, bowed to everyone, and said, “Hello, Mr. Shen and Madam Shen. I am Assistant Xiao.”

He handed over a gift box, saying, “This is a gift prepared by Young Master Shen for Madam Shen. Happy birthday, Madam Shen.”

The assistant didn’t linger, placing the gift box down and leaving.

“Look at your big brother; even in another country, he remembers to send me gifts,” Madam Shen said.

Shen Xingzhuo scoffed.

“Alright,” Shen Hongyuan said to the server beside him.

The server nodded and led everyone toward the inner part of the room.

Shen Xingzhuo was quite familiar with this process.

The lights were off in the inner room, but there was a cake and some surprises.

However, this part usually started only when everyone had arrived.

But…

Shen Xingzhuo instinctively stopped, saying, “Wait, there are still people…”

Shen Hongyuan, Madam Shen, and even Shen Xingran all looked at him in confusion.

Shen Xingzhuo suddenly choked.

He realized that from the very beginning, Lu Ran had never been counted in.

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