CFRFGC Chapter 37

⌈”Mr. Ji…when are you leaving?” ⌋

Afternoon.

In the winter sun, a brilliant white radiated.

When it shone on people, it brought a comforting warmth.

This was the lunch break for most people.

Even in the Ji Corporation building, known for its intense work culture, most employees had begun their brief rest.

Only a few of the most hardworking individuals continued to work secretly.

As the top worker among them, Ji Min stopped his wheelchair in front of the glass door of an unfamiliar cafe.

The decorations on the glass door were beautiful.

The caramel-colored patterns emitted an enticing fragrance in the winter.

However, Ji Min did not have a habit of drinking coffee.

He stared at the glass door for a moment.

Then he maneuvered his wheelchair up the ramp of the accessible pathway.

The glass door automatically slid open to the sides.

The doorbell by the entrance chimed with a crisp “ding”.

But the shop was empty, devoid of any figures.

It was quiet behind the counter as well.

Ji Min slowly approached the counter.

The sensor bell rang again and a mechanical female voice announced, “Welcome, please place your order.”

The sound was somewhat jarring in the tranquil, deserted afternoon.

A loud “thud” echoed from behind the counter.

Then there were sounds of hurried movement, a flurry of noise.

Soon after, a slender hand with long fingers, faint scars, and thin calluses reached out.

The hand held a rolled-up English Level 6 exam paper and a click pen without a cap.

This seemingly fragile hand struggled to set things down carefully before gradually applying pressure.

The veins on the back of the hand slightly bulged as it pressed against the counter surface.

A fuzzy head popped up from below the counter, using the counter for support.

“Sorry, oh, welcome…”

The voice still carried a heavy sense of drowsiness, a light nasal tone that made one’s eardrums soften.

The cafe was warm. The boy behind the counter had rosy cheeks from sleep, with a red mark on the side of his right cheek pressed against something.

“Would you like to dine in or take away?”

There was a visible struggle to wake up.

The boy finally suppressed his drowsiness and struggled to stand up.

He hadn’t yet had a chance to see the customer in front of the counter.

He hurriedly tapped on the computer screen a couple of times.

But after waiting for a while, Lu Ran still didn’t hear anyone responding at the counter.

He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was dreaming.

Leaning forward to look closely, a cold, low voice suddenly rang out: “One Americano, for takeout.”

Lu Ran was taken aback.

He turned his gaze to the computer screen again, finally noticing the man in front of the counter.

Ji Min sat steadily in his wheelchair.

He emanated a calm demeanor, neither looking at the boy behind the counter nor at the electronic menu.

He merely tilted his head slightly to the side.

It was as if he was deep in thought or perhaps avoiding something.

Lu Ran felt a bit surprised.

Many Ji Corporation employees passed through this cafe.

However, he never imagined he would see Ji Min here.

After all, Ji Min didn’t seem like the type who would appear in such a place.

It was hard to imagine that he would come to a casual cafe like this, standing in line to order a cup of instant Americano.

He sat there. It made one feel that if he were to drink coffee, he would surely select premium coffee beans, freshly ground and brewed.

Even if he occasionally had a simple pour-over, it would have to be made by someone else and served with both hands.

So Lu Ran blinked several times.

He blinked away all the remnants of drowsiness in his mind before finally reacting: “Oh…”

After placing the order, Lu Ran turned to operate the coffee machine.

Xiao Wang was taking a nap in the back kitchen.

His snoring was quite loud.

Lu Ran lowered his head to secure the paper cup lid, placing it in a leak-proof paper bag.

The boy wasn’t wearing thick clothing.

The cafe’s white shirt and vest uniform clearly outlined his slender back.

Ji Min withdrew his gaze.

Lu Ran placed the packaged coffee on the counter. “Your Americano.”

The counter was quite high.

As he put it down, he realized the person across from him was in a wheelchair, making it somewhat inconvenient.

So he stretched out his arm, reaching over the counter to hand the bag to the man in the wheelchair.

Ji Min reached out to receive it.

His pale knuckles brushed against the boy’s healthy, creamy skin, parting almost instantly.

It left a faint, cool sensation at their fingertips.

However, after taking the paper bag, Ji Min didn’t leave.

He continued to look to the side, as if engaged in casual conversation, and asked, “How’s the job going?”

“Pretty good, I guess.” Lu Ran yawned.

Ji Min seemed to be conducting a professional business evaluation: “The location is good, but the customer base is quite narrow.”

Lu Ran yawned again.

“Excluding the rush hours, the store’s income isn’t high.”

Lu Ran couldn’t hold back anymore.

The politeness he usually showed to customers slowly faded from his face.

Propping his chin on one hand, he looked at the man in the wheelchair and asked, “Mr. Ji… when are you leaving?”

Ji Min: “…”

Very well.

No one had ever made such an obvious request for him to leave before.

Especially while he was still a customer.

The man raised an eyebrow. “Does the boss mind you talking like that?”

“The boss isn’t here.” Lu Ran yawned so hard he nearly shed tears. “What do you want? If there’s nothing, I could still catch a little more sleep.”

A hint of aged laughter leaked in from outside the store.

Lu Ran immediately perked up, stretching his neck to look outside.

Ji Min turned his head and pressed his lips together.

In the end, he sighed softly and spoke the words that had been brewing on his tongue since he entered: “Are you interested in switching jobs?”

Lu Ran was taken aback.

Then he withdrew his gaze, looking down at the flow of orders on the computer screen.

“No, thanks.” Lu Ran looked up and smiled at him. “I’m doing quite well right now.”

Lu Ran didn’t feel any need to consider his response.

He detected the hint of guilt in Ji Min’s words.

However, he didn’t care and had no desire to probe further.

Ji Min’s knuckles rested lightly on his knee, slightly bent.

He raised his gaze to the boy’s brows and eyes.

Noticing something, he withdrew his gaze and nodded nonchalantly. “Okay.”

His tone was so casual it felt like an offhand remark.

After speaking, he turned his wheelchair and, holding the gradually cooling Americano, left the store.

Once outside, he went down the steps.

As the wheelchair was about to reach the accessible stairs of the Ji Corporation building, Ji Min asked in a low voice, “Why did you follow me?”

The voice of Butler Chen rang out. “Forgive me; I was just worried about you going out alone.”

Ji Min closed his eyes for a moment, suppressing his impatience beneath his gaze.

But he knew very well that this was an objective fact determined by his physical condition. He could not blame anyone else for it.

After walking a little further, Ji Min handed the now-cool paper bag to Butler Chen. “Americano, for you.”

Butler Chen took the bag, somewhat surprised. “Older people shouldn’t drink this.”

“Then throw it away,” Ji Min said.

Butler Chen glanced down at him.

The figure in the wheelchair looked the same as usual.

Butler Chen had watched Ji Min grow up, but after Ji Min’s accident, he often found it hard to understand his feelings.

“Didn’t you get a chance to make it up to that young student today?” Butler Chen asked.

Ji Min’s wheelchair came to an almost imperceptible stop for just a moment.

Then it returned to its normal speed.

“He doesn’t trust me,” he said.

It wasn’t that he minded the misunderstandings from the past.

Nor was it about wanting to take advantage of the situation.

It was simply a matter of distrust and… wariness.

He felt guilty for his attitude.

But the other party maintained the demeanor of a stranger, never expecting an apology or remorse from him.

In fact, the boy seemed to find him burdensome, only wanting to know when he would leave.

They passed by a trash can.

Butler Chen raised his hand, ready to throw away the coffee he was holding.

The wheelchair in front suddenly came to a halt.

The person in the wheelchair turned his head, staring at the coffee in Butler Chen’s hand.

“You can’t be serious about making this old man drink it, right?” Butler Chen asked.

Ji Min extended his hand toward him. “Give it to me.”

Butler Chen handed him the paper bag.

Ji Min took out the coffee cup, unwrapped it, and took a light sip.

The Americano was cold, not quite refreshing ice.

It had a lukewarm, non-heated texture.

Somehow, it tasted bitter.

Shen family.

The recent atmosphere had been quite tense.

The incident where Madam Shen stormed into the barbecue club to confront someone had also reached Shen Hongyuan’s ears.

That same night, Shen Hongyuan had a fierce argument with her and moved to the company to live.

Aside from that, Shen Xingran was also having a tough time.

Madam Shen was dining in the restaurant.

The servants said something and she responded with a couple of cheerful remarks.

Shen Xingran stood on the staircase for a while, observing, and confirmed that Madam Shen was in a good mood before he made his way downstairs with something in hand.

“Mom!” he sat down affectionately as usual.

Madam Shen glanced at him with indifference.

Shen Xingran maintained a smile on his face, showing her the box in his hands.

He opened the box to reveal a string of black pearl necklaces.

The pearls were lustrous, uniform in size, and the design was eye-catching.

“Mom, look! This is the work of a designer from Dubai. There are only three handcrafted necklaces in the world. When I saw it, I thought it would look great with your black evening gown, so I specifically had a friend help me get it,” Shen Xingran said.

“What do you think? Do you like it?”

Shen Xingran looked forward to Madam Shen’s reaction.

Madam Shen was usually easy to please.

Saying a few nice words, complaining about Shen Hongyuan along with her, or gifting some rare jewelry that others didn’t have would always bring a smile to her face.

This time, Shen Xingran had really put in a lot of effort for this string of pearl necklaces.

He had emptied quite a bit from his little savings.

The moment Madam Shen saw the box being opened, her eyes instinctively fixed on the necklace.

She couldn’t help but pick it up to admire it.

Seeing Madam Shen’s reaction, Shen Xingran finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Having been adopted by the Shen family for so many years, he had always been cherished by everyone.

Madam Shen especially indulged him.

But this time, she was genuinely angry with him.

She had ignored him for several consecutive days.

Shen Xingzhuo was usually living outside.

Shen Hongyuan often didn’t come home.

So Shen Xingran spent the most time with Madam Shen. Her constant stern demeanor made him feel quite uncomfortable.

“Mom, let me put it on for you?” Shen Xingran offered, already planning how to praise her later.

Madam Shen subconsciously nodded.

However, suddenly, she noticed the high price tag inside the box.

Shen Xingran was waiting for her to notice this, nonchalantly averting his gaze.

Usually, whenever Madam Shen received gifts from him, she would transfer the money back to him without hesitation.

This time, Shen Xingran similarly waited for her to speak.

Madam Shen slowly reached out to take the receipt.

As she checked the amount on the receipt, the joy in her eyes faded, replaced by a hint of suspicion.

She suddenly asked, “Where did you get so much money?”

Shen Xingran was taken aback.

He instinctively explained, “It’s all the pocket money Dad and my brothers usually give me. I haven’t spent any of it; I’ve been saving up.”

If it were any other time, hearing such words would have led Madam Shen to praise him for being well-behaved.

But this time, she shot him a glance.

In a tone that Shen Xingran couldn’t quite understand, she said, “Your dad really dotes on you, huh?”

Shen Xingran was momentarily at a loss for words.

“Alright, don’t buy things like this in the future,” Madam Shen said, tossing the necklace back into the box and pushing the box back toward him.

She stood up and left the dining table.

A faint mutter reached Shen Xingran’s ears: “Spending this and that, but it’s still Shen family money, isn’t it?”

Shen Xingran froze.

An uncontrollable panic slowly crept into his heart.

That evening, Shen Xingran called Shen Xingzhuo and asked him out.

In the Shen family, the one who pampered Shen Xingran the most was Madam Shen.

Shen Hongyuan was also very fond of him.

But Shen Xingran was well aware that this was based on the condition that he didn’t cause any trouble for Shen Hongyuan.

As for his older brother, Shen Xingyu…

There was quite an age gap between him and his older brother.

Moreover, since Shen Xingyu was often away on business trips, Shen Xingran wasn’t familiar with him.

Besides…

He was also a little afraid of this older brother.

Other than that, the only person he could rely on was Shen Xingzhuo.

In the past, when he had felt invincible and reckless, Shen Xingran often expressed his dissatisfaction with Shen Xingzhuo, frequently shouting at him.

But now, upon seeing Shen Xingzhuo, tears immediately streamed down Shen Xingran’s face.

He rushed forward, hugging Shen Xingzhuo’s shoulders. “Brother! Please help me! What should I do if Mom doesn’t want me anymore?”

“Are they going to send me back to the orphanage?”

“Brother, I’m so scared…”

Half of these words were genuine, and half were feigned.

Of course, the Shen family wouldn’t send him back to the orphanage.

He was not like Lu Ran, someone who could easily be overlooked and dismissed.

Shen Xingran clutched Shen Xingzhuo’s sleeve and cried for quite a while.

“Brother, you know why I said Lu Ran is an illegitimate child. I was just so scared; I never meant to hurt anyone…”

He sniffled and looked up at Shen Xingzhuo.

The casualness that once lingered in Shen Xingzhuo’s expression had long since faded.

He frowned seriously, staring intently at him.

Shen Xingran was about to continue his sob story when he heard Shen Xingzhuo ask, “Xingran, on the day of the birthday banquet, Zhang Lin went to cause trouble for Lu Ran, right?”

Shen Xingran was taken aback; he hadn’t expected him to bring up this topic.

Before he could respond, he heard Shen Xingzhuo continue asking, “Did you know about this in advance?”

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