CHAPTER 313: CHAPTER 313: SPECIAL CAR PICK-UP AND DROP-OFF

If he gave himself away now, his brother would definitely skin him alive!

Thinking of this, Ke’s heart trembled uneasily, and he laughed dryly, "I... I mean, these wedding dresses you made are really beautiful."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Pianran merely smiled and said nothing.

Instantly, the atmosphere quieted down. Ke toured inside and outside Ruan Pianran’s dormitory, then walked back to the table where the wedding dress Barbie dolls were, picked up a wedding dress magazine, flipped through it casually, and, finding it uninteresting, turned to look at Ruan Pianran, who was concentrating on packing, and asked, "Ruanruan, do you need my help?"

"No, I’m almost done." Ruan Pianran said without turning her head.

So boring! Ke thought to himself. At this moment, those exquisite wedding dresses had lost their appeal.

After standing dazed for a while and seeing that Ruan Pianran was still busy, Ke couldn’t bear to rush her, so he took out his phone. As soon as he unlocked the screen, he saw a new message notification.

"Are you on the way?"

Opening the message, Ke couldn’t help but smile. But because Ruan Pianran was present, he tried hard to hold back his laugh.

"I’m in Ruanruan’s dormitory. She’s such a nice person, beautiful and kind, I can’t help but like her." Ke’s fingers flew across the phone screen as he typed the message. After editing it, he promptly sent it, a mischievous smile spreading over his handsome face.

Bzz bzz——

A few seconds later, Ke’s phone vibrated twice, indicating a new message. It was short, but it clearly expressed the sender’s anger.

Get back here now!

Seeing the words on the screen, Ke laughed joyfully, his eyes filled with mirth.

It looks like my brother is really in trouble this time!

Ke looked up at the blue sky outside the window, secretly gloating.

"Ke, what are you thinking about?" Ruan Pianran felt an inexplicable affection for Ke, as if he were her own younger brother, and she couldn’t help but care for him.

"I just thought of something happy," Ke said cheerfully. Then he turned around, glanced at the suitcase beside Ruan Pianran, and asked, "Are we ready to go?"

"Yes."

After replying briefly, Ruan Pianran reached for the handle of the suitcase and started walking towards the door, dragging the suitcase behind her.

Ke held his phone, and as he turned to leave, his gaze swept past the wedding dress Barbies. He suddenly paused, looked at Ruan Pianran, and asked, "Ruanruan, can I take some photos?"

"Go ahead." Ruan Pianran knew Ke liked those paper wedding dresses and naturally knew what he wanted to photograph. Since these paper wedding dresses were her pride and joy, she was happy to share them with someone who appreciated them. So she agreed generously.

Click——

The sound of the camera shutter echoed in the quiet space. Ruan Pianran stood at the door, watching Ke’s focused profile with soft eyes.

His skin was fair, his nose high and straight, and his eyelashes were thicker and curlier than those of most girls. Yet, despite his handsome looks, he wasn’t overly delicate. Dressed in a simple white shirt, he exuded a sense of cleanliness that made people feel comfortable.

Speaking of people with a clean aura, Shen Lingxing, Mi Jing’s husband, was also like that. However, he had more maturity and elegance. In contrast, Ke was much more youthful, with an innocence and sunshine in his eyes that hadn’t faded.

"Alright, let’s go." After taking the photos, Ke spoke cheerfully as he turned around, then walked over to Ruan Pianran and took the suitcase from her hands, leading the way towards the stairs.

Ruan Pianran held the keys, locked the door, and followed with a spring in her step. Watching Ke’s tall and straight back, she couldn’t help but imagine what her younger brother would look like when he grew up.

Would he have a lot in common with Ke?

Tall, handsome, kind, optimistic, and cheerful...

Ruan Pianran couldn’t help but attribute every good quality to her brother. It had been over a decade since she’d seen him, and her memories of him were fading. But today, because of Ke’s appearance, her deep longing for her brother was stirred.

Thinking of her brother also brought a flood of sad memories, but Ruan Pianran didn’t want to dwell on them. She tried to banish those thoughts and recall what her brother looked like, but her mind was blank. She only vaguely remembered his bright, adorable smile...

"Ruanruan, you get in the car first."

Eventually, Ke’s clear, gentle voice pulled Ruan Pianran from her wandering thoughts. As she focused her gaze, she once again saw Ke’s smiling face. In an instant, her heart skipped a beat. The blurry impression in her memory overlapped with Ke’s face!

It couldn’t be such a coincidence. Although Ke bore some resemblance to her brother, she knew he wasn’t. But even with this understanding, she couldn’t help asking, "Ke, how old are you?"

Hearing this, Ke, who was about to put the suitcase in the trunk, stopped, a look of surprise flashing across his fair, handsome face. Clearly, he hadn’t expected Ruan Pianran to suddenly ask his age.

"22." After a moment’s hesitation, Ke answered truthfully.

22, a year older than her brother.

Ruan Pianran muttered to herself and bent down to get into the car, not asking further.

That’s it?

What did that mean?

Ruan Pianran’s words and actions left Ke baffled, like a monk who couldn’t grasp the meaning, totally unable to see through her thoughts.

Perhaps this is what attracted my brother to her, a kind of unpredictable uniqueness! Ke thought to himself as he reached out and closed the car door for Ruan Pianran.

Sitting in the car, Ruan Pianran leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. Gradually, her consciousness began to blur, and she fell into a chaotic dream.

"Ranran, I’m sorry, mom can’t take you with me. You have to take good care of yourself. When mom is capable, I will come back for you."

"Sister, sister!"

"Mom, Haoran doesn’t want to go. Haoran doesn’t want to leave sister! Haoran wants to stay with sister forever!"

"..."

"Did you know she was taking Haoran away all along? You wretched girl, how dare you hide it from me! See if I don’t beat you to death!"

"..."

The scenes of bidding farewell to her mother and brother, and the brutal beatings by her cold-hearted father, were clear yet disordered, and so real they frightened Ruan Pianran, making her desperately want to escape. Thus, she instinctively struggled, shaking her head left and right.

Noticing the commotion in the back seat, Ke glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Ruan Pianran’s pained expression, her long hair swaying and revealing glimpses of her face.