18. She longed so deeply for a home.

Chen Yuru had come to deliver some scar-removal ointment to Ji Qingran.

According to her, the product was imported and expensive, and most importantly, extremely difficult to obtain.

“This morning, as soon as I mentioned it to Mrs. Li, she hurriedly brought it out. See? She cares about you so much,” Chen Yuru said, motioning for the young man she brought along to step forward, smiling as she introduced him, “This is Mrs. Li’s son.”

Ji Qingran glanced coldly at the man, her tone indifferent. “Is the Ji family planning to cooperate with the Li family recently?”

“You child!” Chen Yuru’s smile faltered slightly, but she forced a few tender words. “Your mother cares about you. The Li family is wealthy, and Young Master Li is ambitious. I sincerely think you two are quite compatible, so I arranged for him to come meet you.”

“We’ve already met. Please take your leave now,” Ji Qingran stood, signaling the end of the meeting.

They had met at a café near the company, a crowded place where Chen Yuru could hardly afford to lose her temper. She merely smiled and urged Ji Qingran to keep in touch with Young Master Li before leaving.

The next day, Young Master Li came to see her again. She responded with cool detachment, clearly stating, “I am the daughter the Ji family has cast out and no longer favors. There is no benefit for you in marrying me. Besides, since I have no protection from the Ji family, I won’t allow them to manipulate me either. Save your effort when it comes to me.”

After seeing him off, she unexpectedly bumped into Du Mingqian, who gave her a meaningful look that seemed to last several years.

Soon enough, the news reached Lu Tingyuan’s ears.

He called Ji Qingran and asked her to come see him.

Although Ji Qingran initially wanted to refuse, Lu Tingyuan hung up before she could say a word.

After some thought, she decided she still needed to stay in Jiang City and saw no reason to worsen her relationship with Lu Tingyuan, so she went.

Moreover, Lu Tingyuan had promised to compensate her two million yuan, but the money had yet to arrive.

She needed to remind him.

When she arrived, the apartment door was ajar. She knocked twice before entering, only to find Lu Tingyuan stepping out of the bathroom, wrapped in just a towel. Water droplets trickled from the tips of his hair, sliding down along his defined torso and disappearing beneath the towel, stirring the imagination.

Having been with him for six years, Ji Qingran knew well what assets he possessed and couldn’t help but blush.

“The door was unlocked...” she explained.

Lu Tingyuan nodded without concern and bent down to drink water. “I left it open for you.”

He tilted his head back to drink, his Adam’s apple moving up and down—a small detail that always appeared when he was stirred.

Ji Qingran turned her head away, dryly asking, “You called me here for something to say?”

He gestured for her to sit and came straight to the point. “That man the Ji family arranged for you—don’t see him again. I’ve looked into him; he’s just a private son of the Li family. His mother has been unable to rise in status, and now that he’s older, people with better conditions look down on his identity, while those worse off are rejected by his mother.”

He paused, looking at Ji Qingran with a cold sneer. “Coincidentally, your parents are seeking favors from the Li family and want to use you as a bargaining chip by matching you with that illegitimate son. Don’t be fooled by your parents into jumping into the fire pit blindly.”

Ji Qingran lowered her head, masking all emotions in her eyes, and said calmly, “Whatever charity the Ji family offers me, I certainly won’t accept. But I am rather surprised—you actually have time to investigate such matters for me.”

Lu Tingyuan caught the meaning behind her words and frowned slightly. “What are you trying to say?”

Ji Qingran smiled lightly. “Don’t you think it’s exhausting? You have to fight with Lu Weian at the company and worry about Su Yiyi’s health. How much energy do you have left to pay attention to my affairs?”

In other words, Lu Tingyuan was meddling.

His expression immediately darkened. “I’m your boyfriend. If I don’t care about your matters, who else will?”

Ji Qingran opened her mouth to speak, but he harshly threatened her, “Ji Qingran, try saying ‘break up’ again and see what happens.”

When he was angry, his presence was oppressive. After so many years with him, Ji Qingran had learned to yield and swallowed the words she had on the tip of her tongue.

Changing the subject, she asked, “So you called me here just to warn me?”

Lu Tingyuan massaged his brow with a weary tone. “Yiyi was scared by you. She’ll probably have to stay in the hospital for half a month.”

Ji Qingran sensed the implied accusation but pretended not to notice and said lightly, “That night, what I destroyed was all my own property.”

Lu Tingyuan looked at her coldly and snorted, “You went mad in our house and still have the nerve to justify yourself.”

When she heard him say “our house,” Ji Qingran’s fingers involuntarily clenched.

She longed for a home of her own so desperately.

Since she was twelve, she had always felt like a burden living under others' roofs. Watching other classmates rush home after school, she envied them deeply.

But she couldn’t be like them.

Back then, she wished the school would schedule endless classes so she could stay in the library until closing time, anything to avoid going back to the Ji family.

Later, after leaving the Ji family, her life was turbulent and rootless, leaving her without a sense of belonging or security.

So when Lu Tingyuan said he had bought a marital home for her, she was eager to move in, painstakingly decorating the place and resolved to live there for the rest of her life.

One could say she had a deep affection for this apartment because it was the first place she had ever called “home” in all those years.

Yet soon after, she thought perhaps the “we” Lu Tingyuan referred to meant him and Su Yiyi.

The slight unease she had just felt immediately vanished.

“Sorry,” she apologized out of routine, “I lost control of my emotions that night.”

After a pause, she reminded him, “I’ve already transferred the cleaning fee to you.”

“I know you were upset, so I didn’t hold it against you,” Lu Tingyuan said, looking at her. “But Yiyi was frightened, and that’s a fact. You owe her that.”

Ji Qingran looked up sharply and, after a long pause, said evenly without a trace of emotion, “So you called me here today to vent your anger on Su Yiyi?”

Lu Tingyuan frowned disapprovingly. “Can you not put it so harshly? I called you here because I have something to discuss.”

Ji Qingran responded with a faint “Oh,” offering no further reaction.

He continued, “Yiyi wants to join Professor Qi’s research group, but she lacks relevant project experience and doesn’t have a competitive edge compared to her classmates. I want to arrange for her to spend some time at the company you run with Jiang Yao.”

“No,” Ji Qingran rejected immediately without a second thought. “Jiang Yao’s company is not a stepping stone you can pave for Su Yiyi.”

Hearing this, Lu Tingyuan scoffed coldly and bluntly, “As far as I know, that small company of yours has cash flow problems you haven’t resolved yet. Who knows how much longer it can last? It might collapse overnight.”

What he said was true, but it was unbearably harsh.

Ji Qingran’s expression turned icy in an instant.