Difficult To Raise Chapter 31

Chapter 31 Entanglement When I returned to the dormitory, Jiang was the only one inside…

When he returned to the dormitory, Jiang Haodong was the only one inside.He was talking some disgusting love words to his girlfriend when he saw Jiang Ran coming back and greeted him with a smile.

Jiang Ran also wanted to laugh, but he couldn’t. After trying for so long, there seemed to be no progress. Jiang Jin still rejected him. He felt very powerless and sat down at the table in silence.

Jiang Haodong noticed something strange about him, and after the phone call was over, he came over and asked with concern: “What’s wrong? You’re so unhappy.”

Jiang Ran sighed and said, “My brother… still ignores me.”

Jiang Haodong said “Ah” and frowned: “No, it’s been so many days. Have you done what I asked?”

Jiang Ran nodded.

“Did you use the ultimate secret?” Jiang Haodong asked again.

Jiang Ran’s cheeks were slightly red, he lowered his head and said “hmm” in a low voice.

“Then your brother is too angry,” Jiang Haodong was puzzled: “I used this trick against my girlfriend, and within half a day, she forgave me. How could it be useless?”

Jiang Ran: “…”

Stop talking, it’s too heartbreaking.

He lost interest in talking anymore and opened his phone to send Jiang Jin a message.

R: [Xiao Jin, have you returned to school?】

Jiang Ran didn’t think Jiang Jin would reply, so he put the phone aside after sending it.He began to think about his advanced mathematics homework. The professor in this course was very strict and would not focus on the key points at the end of the semester. He would also deduct the usual points for students who were late and skipped classes. If they were not careful, they would fail the class.

Jiang Ran didn’t dare to deal with it, and he completed every assignment very seriously.

Halfway through writing, his phone rang. Jiang Ran didn’t pay attention. He took it over and took a look. His eyes suddenly stopped and he saw a new message in the pinned column.

RJ: [Yeah.】

Jiang Jin replied to the question he just asked, although it was only one word.

Jiang Ran’s mood suddenly turned from gloomy to sunny. He held the phone and looked back at Jiang Haodong, and suddenly said: “It seems…it’s not useless.”

*

With Jiang Jin’s extremely short reply, Jiang Ran regained his fighting spirit. He felt that Jiang Haodong was the only one in their dormitory with a girlfriend, and he was very skilled in coaxing people, so he asked his dog-headed military advisor to give him some advice.

Jiang Haodong was playing a shootout game with Tang Qin at that time, and the two of them had already made it to the finals.There were only a few people left on the field, the atmosphere was tense, and victory or defeat could only happen in a split second.

He took the time to reply during a burst of intense gunfire: “Keep up the good work, give him some gifts or something he likes, and let him be moved, and that’s basically it.”

It is easy to give a gift, but it is difficult to give a gift to someone’s heart. Jiang Ran thought of the guitar he gave to Jiang Jin before, and he could still vividly remember the way he almost jumped with joy.

Jiang Ran’s eyes softened unconsciously, and he came back to his senses in the next second. Jiang Jin was no better than before, and it was even harder to make him smile.

He was a little worried, thinking about it, but he really didn’t know what to give, so he had to ask again: “Then what should I give?”

Jiang Haodong didn’t have time to answer, but Tang Qin beat him to it. He raised his eyes curiously, looked at Jiang Ran, and asked, “Who do you want to give a gift to?”

Jiang Ran said: “My brother.”

“You have a younger brother? I’ve never heard you mention it before.” Tang Qin touched his head, “How old is he?”

Jiang Ran: “I just turned eighteen.”

Tang Qin said “Oh” and gave him an idea: “It’s time for an 18-year-old boy to save face. If you give him a pair of limited edition sneakers, he will definitely like it.”

Jiang Ran blinked, “Really?”

“Of course, trust me.” Tang Qin nodded, with a determined look on his face.

Jiang Haodong finally finished the game and successfully won the chicken with 15 kills. He looked up from the game in a good mood and said, “I think it will work, but limited edition sneakers are generally difficult to buy. If you trust me, pick out the brand and style and send them to me. I have channels so you don’t have to queue up.”

When Jiang Ran heard this, he didn’t agree with anything. He quickly nodded and thanked Jiang Haodong.

Jiang Ran doesn’t usually wear brand-name shoes, and he doesn’t pay much attention to these things. When buying shoes, he always chooses affordable brands. As long as they are easy to wear and the styles don’t look weird, then there’s no problem.

But when it came to choosing a gift for Jiang Jin, he couldn’t be so casual. He started to look up information about sneakers on the Internet. From brand to style, he compared them back and forth for a long time, and finally settled on a pair, but the price was 10,000 less.

Jiang Ran silently counted his savings, gritted his teeth, and decided to buy it.

He sent a screenshot of the shoes along with the size to Jiang Haodong, who responded with an OK gesture and asked him to wait for a few days.

Jiang Ran stared at the picture. Although the price was a bit expensive, he didn’t feel distressed. Instead, he was looking forward to Jiang Jin’s reaction after receiving the gift, and the corners of his mouth turned up unconsciously.

*

Jiang Ran had a full day of classes on Friday. He got up at seven o’clock and went to the cafeteria to have breakfast. When he arrived at the classroom, many classmates had not come yet. Jiang Ran sat down in the front row and sent Jiang Jin good morning as usual. After that, he opened his circle of friends.

Ever since Jiang Ran replied to his message last time, he was no longer as cold as before. He could always reply with one or two sentences every now and then. Although they were all brief, Jiang Ran was already satisfied.

He began to think optimistically that maybe giving a gift could really make people happy.Once he was in a good mood, Jiang Ran liked everyone. He liked every post in the circle of friends that he saw. He clicked and accidentally swiped the screen, and a new post appeared, which was posted by Jiang Jin.

RJ: [I won’t go to the gym tomorrow.】

Jiang Ran’s fingertips paused slightly, and his brief words reminded him of the injury on Jiang Jin’s back. Could it be that the injury from last time hadn’t healed yet, so he didn’t go?Did it really hurt the bones?Thinking about it carefully, when Jiang Jin was given the medicine that day, something seemed wrong with him. Could he have been enduring the pain at that time?

Jiang Ran was frightened by his guess. After much hesitation, he clicked into the dialog box and sent a message to Jiang Jin.

R: [Xiao Jin, are you…the injury on your back healed?Does it still hurt?】

He originally thought that Jiang Jin would not reply so quickly. Just as he was about to exit the chat box, the screen suddenly flashed slightly and a new message popped up unexpectedly.

RJ: [Not bad.】

Jiang Ran bit his lip and automatically translated the ambiguous sentence in his mind. If he didn’t say it didn’t hurt, it must still hurt. He frowned and typed on the screen.

R: [I’ll come see you tomorrow.】

After sending it this time, the dialog box was quiet and no new messages popped up.Jiang Ran was a little disappointed. He should have been used to such a cold reception, but that was Jiang Jin, his closest brother, and he would never get used to it if he ignored him.

Jiang Ran stared at Jiang Jin’s profile picture, and after a few minutes, he reluctantly exited the chat interface.

There was a half-written homework on the table. Jiang Ran picked up the pen again and read the question stem of the next question. The question that he originally thought was simple seemed to become complicated in an instant. His fingertips hung for a long time, unable to write a word.

Jiang Ran sighed, threw away the pen resignedly, and lay limply on the table.

His mind has already wandered far away, how could he still write in his homework?

Suddenly, the phone screen lit up. Jiang Ran almost sat up and clicked quickly with his fingertips.It wasn’t Jiang Jin’s message, just an insignificant push.

The light in his eyes dimmed, and he lay back down again as if frustrated. His fingers slid on the screen and accidentally clicked into Jiang Jin’s circle of friends.

Jiang Jin seems to like sharing his daily life on it. The last few updates are…

Jiang Ran’s eyes suddenly widened after a pause.

I didn’t know when there was an additional post on the page. It was posted half an hour ago, and the text was only one sentence: [I heard that the old hotpot at the school gate is pretty good. Let’s try it tomorrow night.】

Jiang Ran had noticed the store in the picture last time, and the business was indeed booming.

I haven’t had hot pot for a long time…

Jiang Ran lowered his eyes and thought to himself, how about going to eat tomorrow?Maybe we can meet Jiang Jin by chance?

*

The next afternoon, just as Jiang Ran was packing up and getting ready to go out, the counselor called and asked him urgently to go to the office to help organize materials.He couldn’t refuse, so he could only accept it.

After finishing everything, it was already half past seven in the evening. The last ray of sunlight completely disappeared from the sky, and the sky became dark.

Jiang Ran stared at the time on the phone screen, his brows knitted into knots.Rushing over now, the journey would take at least half an hour, and Jiang Jin must have left long ago.

Although he was thinking this way, he still had some hope. He hired a rental car in front of the school and planned to take a look.What if the person hasn’t left yet?

Just as he was about to open the car door, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind and stopped him abruptly.

Jiang Ran turned around and frowned even more when he saw who was coming. It was Li Song.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?”

Li Song leaned against the lamppost, staring directly at him, with undisguised inquiry hidden in his eyes.

Jiang Ran frowned slightly, “Does it have anything to do with you?”

“If you say it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter. If you say it does matter, it will of course matter.” Li Song shrugged, with a sarcastic smile on his face, “Anyway, it’s not a matter of your words.”

Jiang Ran almost laughed out of anger, as these words seemed to be his fault.

He was too lazy to argue with people at the school gate, so he simply shut up, turned around and continued to pull the car door.But Li Song refused to give in. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.

The force was surprisingly strong. Jiang Ran frowned and struggled, but he didn’t break away.

Perhaps their actions were too conspicuous, and the students passing by them all cast curious glances, occasionally mixed with a few whispered comments.Those eyes were like needles piercing his body, and Jiang Ran felt uncomfortable all over.

Seeing that he was not getting into the car, the taxi driver finally became impatient. He rolled down the window and urged, “Are you still going?”

Jiang Ran took a deep breath, suppressed the irritation in his heart, turned to the driver, and said apologetically: “I’m sorry, master, you should go first, I wasted your time.”

The driver muttered: “There’s something wrong.”

After saying that, he stepped on the accelerator and the car quickly disappeared into the night.

Jiang Ran turned around and glared at Li Song, his expression extremely cold, with obvious boredom, “What on earth do you want?”

Li Song raised his eyebrows and said meaningfully: “Are you sure you want to say it here?”

Jiang Ran’s appearance was already eye-catching, and yet he was flirting with a man here.Students passing by would have to look at him more or less twice.The prying eyes, both overt and covert, are really uncomfortable.

Jiang Ran didn’t say anything, but his face looked a little ugly.

Li Song obviously guessed what he was thinking and smiled, “Let’s talk in a quieter place.”

The area near the school is always lively, and it is even more crowded on Saturday nights. Students are either dating or having dinner together. It is difficult to find a place where no one will disturb them.

Li Song suggested going to the back door, where there was an inconspicuous tea shop with separate booths. You could order the cheapest lemonade and sit there all afternoon.

Jiang Ran had no objection. Now he just wanted to talk things through and completely draw a clear line with Li Song so that he would not pester him again in the future.

The two of them walked towards the back door one after another. They didn’t say a word on the way, and the atmosphere was so dull that it was suffocating.Halfway through, when he turned into an alley rarely used by people, Li Song suddenly quickened his pace and hugged him suddenly from behind.

This action was so sudden that Jiang Ran froze. After he reacted, his cheeks instantly turned red, and the anger in his chest surged upwards.He exerted force suddenly and pushed Li Song away.

Li Song staggered back two steps and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but what greeted him was a cold punch from Jiang Ran with overwhelming anger.

“If you’re fucking sick, go get it treated!” Jiang Ran gasped, his face turned extremely ugly, and the veins on his forehead jumped up, “Don’t go crazy here!”

This punch was completely unrestrained. Li Song tasted a bit of blood in his mouth, but he didn’t care at all. He stretched out his thumb and wiped the corner of his mouth, and said with a smile: “Why are you so fierce? Now you can’t even hug me?”

“How many times do I have to say it again, we have broken up.” Jiang Ran said with a cold face, “Show me some respect!”

“Break up? Did I agree?” Li Song said shamelessly: “Yes, I admit that I was too anxious before, but I have already apologized to you. What else are you dissatisfied with? I chased after you like a fucking dog, and in the end I couldn’t even kiss you. Is there something wrong with you? Jiang Ran.”

“If you didn’t like me, you would have told me earlier,” Li Song said, “It’s fun to tease me, right?”

Jiang Ran closed his eyes, “That’s why I want to break up with you! I was a little hasty when I agreed to date you, but that’s not the reason why you did those things. We are not suitable. Please act like a man and stop stalking me. This is really ugly.”

“Ugly?” Li Song laughed, “You think I’m ugly now? Why did you go there earlier? I’ll just leave it here today. I, Li Song, have never been dumped by anyone before. You want to throw me away like trash, no way!”

Jiang Ran stared at him with an ugly expression.His chest was still heaving violently from the argument just now.He closed his eyes and felt that all the strength in his body was drained, and even his fingertips were trembling.

How could you meet such a person?Even though they have broken up, they are still like a piece of dog-skin plaster that they can’t get rid of.

I regretted messing with him so much that my guts turned green. Jiang Ran couldn’t help but think back to how he had lost his mind before agreeing to date Li Song.