CFRFGC Chapter 18

⌈”How was it? Was he sad when he left?”⌋

Amid the loud music, Madam Shen broke down and shouted, “What are you doing in the middle of the night?!”

“Madam, can’t you see? I’m at a disco!”

Lu Ran turned the volume of the portable speaker to the maximum, jumped onto the second-floor sofa, and started dancing to the rhythm of the music.

With a hammer in hand, he occasionally knocked here and there.

In an instant, the “thud thud thud” of the hammer and the “boom boom beat” of the music intertwined.

Madam Shen was utterly dumbfounded by the scene before her.

As a self-proclaimed elegant socialite, she never imagined that someone would start a disco outside someone else’s bedroom door in the middle of the night.

While happily dancing, Lu Ran laughed and said, “Didn’t you say I was making noise? Well, if I don’t drive you crazy with it, would I be getting my money’s worth?”

“If I can’t sleep, then none of you will sleep!”

Lu Ran leaped off the sofa and, with his dog in tow, rushed up to the third floor.

“Thud thud thud”—he pounded on Shen Xingran’s door too.

When Shen Xingran opened the door, he saw Lu Ran holding a hammer, accompanied by that annoying dog.

Lu Ran gave him a big smile and said, “Surprise! Welcome to the night party!”

With that, Lu Ran grabbed Shen Xingran by the hair and dragged him down to the second floor.

When Lu Ran got serious, he really went all out.

He actually played Phoenix Legend’s music all night long.

Madam Shen and the others lay in bed, wide-eyed until dawn.

For the first time, they realized that the soundproofing of the villa wasn’t as good as they thought.

No one knew exactly how loud the speaker Lu Ran could get at full volume.

All they knew was that whenever they started to get used to the volume and drifted off to sleep, it would suddenly get louder.

The songs would also switch to a new one.

Mixed in with all of this was the sound of Lu Ran pounding on doors with his hammer.

By the end of the night, the three of them were genuinely on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

In the morning, Madam Shen came downstairs with a haggard face.

She saw Lu Ran acting as if nothing had happened, cheerfully greeting her with a smile.

He looked at her in surprise and asked, “Oh! Madam, sir, why do you look so awful? Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

Madam Shen and Shen Hongyuan nearly fainted from rage.

Pointing at Lu Ran, Madam Shen weakly cursed, “You! And who do you think is responsible for that?”

“Me?” Lu Ran clutched his chest, faking a sob, “What should I do? I just love to disco at night! I can’t sleep if I don’t dance. Not only that, I’m naturally loud, even my footsteps sound like thunder. When I turn over in bed, it’s like the whole earth shakes. I can wake people from the first floor all the way up to the second. Even Shen Xingran on the third floor is terrified, rolling down the stairs when I stomp my foot…”

Shen Xingran, who had just come downstairs: “…”

Lu Ran sighed in concern, “If you really can’t bear it, maybe you should just move out and live in the storage room in the yard?”

The words he threw out came back like a boomerang, hitting them hard.

Madam Shen was so furious she couldn’t even utter half a sentence.

She pointed at Lu Ran, stammering “You!” for a long time before storming back upstairs to the second floor in a fit of anger.

Lu Ran waved from afar, “Hey, don’t forget to move out, alright!”

Of course, Madam Shen wasn’t going to move out!

That night, Lu Ran switched to a new song.

The entire Shen household echoed with:

“Stop sleeping, get up and party!”

“Stop sleeping, get up and party!”

Madam Shen was no longer having it.

She refused to believe that Lu Ran could stay awake indefinitely without getting tired!

Shen Hongyuan couldn’t hold out any longer. That night, he sneaked out to stay at the office.

By the third day, Madam Shen looked dazed, while Lu Ran was still full of energy.

If Lu Ran knew that Madam Shen was stubbornly trying to outlast him, he would have definitely scoffed.

After all, he was tapping into the same energy he used to pull all-nighters during college finals and gaming marathons.

A few sleepless days were nothing.

Wouldn’t he just take naps between classes?

Madam Shen had the same idea.

If she didn’t sleep at night, couldn’t she just sleep during the day?

But…

At noon, as Madam Shen lay in bed with a face mask on, just as she closed her eyes—

Her ears automatically filled with, “The vast horizon is my love~”

“Strong and mighty horse-riding men!”

Madam Shen: “…”

She thought Lu Ran had come back in the middle of the day, so she rushed out, only to find no one outside.

Madam Shen let out a sigh of relief.

She adjusted her loosening face mask, returned to bed, pulled up the covers, and closed her eyes again.

Immediately, her mind echoed with, “Stop sleeping, get up and party!”

This time, she could even hear Lu Ran pounding on doors with his hammer—”thud thud thud.”

Madam Shen dashed out again.

The hallway was completely empty.

Madam Shen was on the verge of losing it.

At that moment, Shen Xingran came down from the third floor, sporting a massive pair of dark circles under his eyes.

Mother and son looked at each other, tears welling up in their eyes.

“Mom, what are we going to do now?” Shen Xingran asked.

His question was sincere, with no hint of sarcasm.

He was truly at his breaking point, driven to despair by Lu Ran.

Who would’ve thought that even the quietest third floor’s soundproofing would be as fragile as paper in Lu Ran’s hands?

The two sat down together on the sofa.

Then, it suddenly hit her—the sofa they were sitting on had been jumped on by Lu Ran.

Madam Shen looked devastated. “Is he really my own flesh and blood?”

Normally, if Shen Xingran heard this, he would secretly feel delighted.

But now, he didn’t even have the energy for that. He reminded Madam Shen again, “We can’t keep going on like this!”

Madam Shen began reflecting on her decisions.

She realized that using this tactic against Lu Ran had been a mistake.

First, she couldn’t outlast him, and second, she couldn’t match his shamelessness.

Madam Shen was genuinely starting to feel afraid.

Whether it was the incident at the dining room or this middle-of-the-night disco, Lu Ran’s methods were always the kind that hurt the enemy a thousand while damaging himself by eight hundred.

And it seemed like he didn’t care about those eight hundred losses at all.

At times, he gave off this unnerving sense of madness, like he didn’t even care about his own life, which made her uneasy.

After pondering for a while, Madam Shen’s face darkened as she said, “This can’t continue.”

That evening, as usual, Lu Ran returned to the Shen household.

But this time, he couldn’t get inside.

Madam Shen and Shen Xingran were nowhere to be seen. Instead, a servant stood at the entrance.

In the servant’s hand was Lu Ran’s simple luggage.

The servant, with a hint of sympathy in his eyes, said, “Young Master Lu, these are all your belongings. Madam has asked you to leave.”

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow.

He glanced toward the villa’s living room from afar but didn’t say anything.

He neither caused a scene nor made things difficult for the servant in front of him. Instead, he silently reached out and took the suitcase.

Turning around, he left through the front gates of the Shen family’s home.

The servant watched Lu Ran’s departing figure, feeling a mix of relief and some regret.

Due to the attitude of the Shen family, the servants didn’t have a great impression of this suddenly appearing young master.

But to be fair, Lu Ran had never treated them poorly.

Though his actions often left people speechless, he had never lashed out at the servants or ignored their existence like they were invisible.

Even during the days when Lu Ran was battling with Mrs. Shen, he had never knocked on the servants’ doors.

So, over the past few days, those who lived on the first floor actually slept the best.

The servant returned to the villa and reported to Madam Shen and Shen Xingran, “Madam, Young Master, he’s already left.”

Madam Shen patted her chest in relief, finally letting out a long breath of satisfaction as a bright smile spread across her face.

After smiling, she excitedly asked, “So, how was it? Was he sad when he left?”

“Did he seem reluctant to go?”

The servant: “…”

It was hard to tell, really.

But, mindful of Madam Shen’s mood, he nodded. “He did look at the villa longingly for quite a while.”

Madam Shen was even more delighted upon hearing this.

“Hmph,” Madam Shen snorted as she popped a piece of fruit into her mouth. “He needs to know who the master of this house is. Allowing him to live here was already an act of our family’s generosity. Yet, he dares to make trouble so freely.”

After thinking for a moment, she added, “Didn’t he cancel his previous lease? Make sure no one rents that place to him again.”

Shen Xingran finally felt some relief as well.

Watching Lu Ran leave the Shen household with his dog in tow was incredibly satisfying.

Madam Shen’s approach was the most effective.

The issue that Shen Xingzhuo had been dragging on for so long—look, it was resolved just like that. She even managed to kick Lu Ran out in the process.

Madam Shen and Shen Xingran immediately opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

Shen Xingran still tried to maintain his image, wearing a slightly concerned expression.

Just as the champagne had been poured into their glasses and they hadn’t even had half a sip, the gardener suddenly rushed in. “Madam! Lu Ran has come back!”

“What?” Madam Shen was surprised. “Did he already realize his mistake?”

She asked, “Is he regretting it? Is he crying and begging for my forgiveness? If he’s sincere, we can tidy up the shed outside and let him stay there.”

Shen Xingran was stunned. He hadn’t expected Madam Shen to even consider letting Lu Ran come back.

The gardener quickly waved his hands. “No, no, no! He… he sat down at the front gate!”

“Sat down?” Madam Shen was taken aback.

The gardener peeked out again, and his surprise deepened. “He… he pulled out a sleeping bag from his bag and spread it out at the front entrance! He’s lying down now!”

“What!” Madam Shen was stunned.

She couldn’t believe her ears. Without even changing her shoes, she dashed out of the living room.

And there she saw it—Lu Ran had indeed laid out a sleeping bag.

The enormous sleeping bag stretched across the entire entrance of the villa. Anyone wanting to leave would have to step over him.

At this moment, both Lu Ran and his dog were snuggled warmly in the sleeping bag. Hearing the commotion, he looked up at her with a calm expression.

He was even leisurely playing on his phone.

“What are you doing?” Madam Shen asked.

“I’m sleeping, Madam,” Lu Ran replied.

“Why are you sleeping here?” Madam Shen questioned.

Lu Ran countered, “Why can’t I sleep at the doorstep of my own home?”

Madam Shen had never encountered someone this outrageous in her entire life.

He was actually sleeping at the front gate!

Didn’t he care that people would think he was a lunatic?

---

Moonlit: Sigh. Why can’t you just learn your lessons?