On the next few occasions when she went to buy them, You Ran would secretly hide the condoms under a pile of face masks, and would only dare to pay when there were fewer people around.
Recently, I've become more skilled at this and have dared to have lively conversations with Durex sales representatives, ultimately securing a 24-pack at the best global price.
That's why people say, practice makes perfect.
Although she had become thick-skinned, You Ran was still cautious in her actions, always going to a supermarket three stops away from Qu Yun's house to buy this item.
Even so, she was still discovered by someone she knew.
Just then, You Ran was happily paying for Durex's latest promotion when someone suddenly asked, "I really can't believe Qu Yun is still the same model."
“That’s right.” You Ran tilted her head slightly and smiled politely at the person who spoke, like a mother who had just heard her child being praised.
Turning around, the next second, You Ran's lips stiffened. The person who had just spoken to her was—
"You're not going home for winter break, you're staying at Qu Yun's house, right?" Long Xiang asked ominously.
With leisurely steps, he moved forward, and with a light, agile movement, he leaped over the dragon soaring and rushed out the door, looking exactly like a thief who had successfully stolen something and was on the run.
You Ran always thought that her mother was good in every way, except that she shouldn't have been born with short legs. Just as she ran to the store door, You Ran heard footsteps behind her. After a few moments, her scarf was grabbed.
"Do you know your death is near?" Long Xiang's voice seemed to come from hell.
"Don't do anything reckless in broad daylight," You Ran warned in a low voice.
"Unfortunately, even in front of the police station, I will tear you to pieces." There was no hint of joking in Long Xiang's tone.
"Have you forgotten that I still have that photo?" You Ran pulled out her last straw.
"I'd be willing to run naked in this square if it meant I could get my revenge today." Long Xiang's determination to seek revenge was immense.
As Long Xiang was about to shove her into the taxi, You Ran was so anxious that her insides felt like they were shifting. In her panic, she suddenly remembered Qu Yun, quickly took out her phone, and dialed Qu Yun's number.
"Qu Yun, save me!!!" You Ran only managed to shout this one sentence before Long Xiang snatched her phone away.
Long Xiang was about to throw his phone into the trash can when he heard Qu Yun's calm voice from the other end of the line: "Long Xiang, let's talk."
“I have nothing to talk to you about…” Long Xiang put the phone to his ear, about to say a few more harsh words, but his expression suddenly changed.
First came surprise, then anger, and finally, restraint.
You Ran noticed that Long Xiang's hand, gripping the phone, had veins bulging.
Before long, Long Xiang hung up the phone with a livid face, angrily handing it back to You Ran, and at the same time, he released the hand that was holding her collar.
"Excuse me, may I leave now?" You Ran asked tentatively.
Long Xiang raised his eyes, staring at You Ran with piercing gaze, as if he wanted to spray sulfuric acid from his eyes to corrode her.
After a long pause, his lips trembled slightly: "You guys are ruthless. Get lost!"
He said those words through gritted teeth.
At this point, You Ran became curious: "What exactly did Qu Yun say to you?"
The real question should be, what exactly did Qu Yun threaten him about?
But Long Xiang had no interest in sharing this with her. His thick eyebrows were like swords, and he held a poisoned sword stained with anger: "Li Youran, you better pray that you never fall into my hands!"
After saying that, Long Xiang turned to leave, but You Ran called him back.
"What is it?!" Long Xiang glared at You Ran as if he wanted to strangle her.
"It's a small matter—could you please pick up all the things you dropped?" You Ran said, pointing to the items that had been scattered on the ground because of Long Xiang's chase.
Those items included face masks, cotton pads, snacks, and... promotional packs of thin Durex condoms.
"Say that again!" Long Xiang looked like he wanted to strangle You Ran, chop her into dumpling filling, and eat her one by one.
“I said, please pick up all the things you knocked over.” You Ran obediently repeated, and just as Long Xiang angrily charged at her, ready to kill her at any cost, she added, “Otherwise, it wouldn’t be good if I told Qu Yun.”
Just as You Ran had predicted, Long Xiang abruptly stopped in his tracks, and even made a swallowing motion.
You Ran had every reason to believe that what he swallowed was blood that surged to his throat from anger.
Long Xiang, angry, humiliated, and somewhat helpless, picked up the face mask, cotton pads, snacks, and finally... the promotional pack of ultra-thin Durex condoms.
The fact that Xiao Xin, who was always arrogant and didn't even respect Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, was so obedient made You Ran realize once again that Qu Yun was a genius.
As for what Qu Yun actually said to Xiao Xin back then, You Ran never managed to get the answer out of him in her entire life.
Of course, that's a story for another time.
"You two will definitely get your comeuppance." Long Xiang vented all his bad emotions in this sentence, then threw the things into You Ran's arms and left her as if avoiding a plague.
I discovered that teasing Shin-chan is a really fun game.
"Oh, how awful," You Ran thought to herself, and then started brainstorming new tricks to make Shin-chan suffer the most when they met again.
As she walked back, she looked up and saw an old friend.
Of course, the word "friend" needs further consideration.
You Ran said that she didn't know how to define their relationship.
Gu Chengyuan.
He's here again.
Fortunately, Gu Chengyuan was standing far away from them, so he probably didn't hear the conversation.
You Ran stood there, watching Gu Chengyuan slowly walk over and stop in front of her.
He exuded a unique scent, a masculine aura, overflowing with a leisurely charm that even caressed her pores.
However, even if he was intoxicated by the peach blossoms, it was nothing more than fireworks in a dream.
"Did you come here specifically to see me?" You Ran didn't want to drag things out; she wanted to end the conversation as soon as possible.
“You Ran, come back with me,” Gu Chengyuan said.
"I have other things to do here." You Ran turned her head away.
"Are you sure you want to use the excuse of attending tutoring classes to fob me off?" Gu Chengyuan's voice was a few decibels lower.
"Whether you believe it or not is not that important to me," You Ran said, and she was telling the truth.
“I understand you don’t live in the school dormitory, so you’re with that man now?” Gu Chengyuan asked.
"Maybe yes, maybe no, but that really has nothing to do with you." You Ran lifted the shopping bag up, the green bag making a rustling sound.
“You Ran, I can tolerate your willfulness for a while, but now you’ve had enough fun and it’s time to come back.”
This time, Gu Chengyuan's voice carried a warning.
“I think you’d better wake up. Not everyone is your slave.” You Ran was annoyed by Gu Chengyuan’s attitude.
“You’ve really changed a lot since that man appeared.” Gu Chengyuan studied You Ran’s expression and said softly, “That makes me very unhappy.”
You Ran despised Gu Chengyuan's attitude, as if she should always be subject to him: "If you still think this way, then there is no need for us to meet again."
"Does that man know about our relationship?" Gu Chengyuan suddenly asked.
“Yes, he knows, he knows everything, so please abandon any plans to threaten me with this secret that is no longer a secret,” You Ran said.
"It seems that man is no ordinary person." Gu Chengyuan's eyes gradually darkened.
“I think he’s a good match for me, and I really want to continue our relationship. So please, have mercy on me and let yourself go.” As she finished speaking, You Ran’s voice fell weakly, because she knew very well that such a request was useless to Gu Chengyuan.
"If I let you go, what am I supposed to do?" Gu Chengyuan's expression was shrouded in mist, making it difficult to see clearly, but his voice, word by word, reached You Ran's ears and struck something painful: "We are destined to be inseparable."
"I've said everything I needed to say. Since you don't understand, I think we should just forget about it." You Ran walked past Gu Chengyuan and headed back.
However, Gu Chengyuan followed closely behind. You Ran deliberately took many detours and went through crowded streets, but she still couldn't shake him off.
You Ran knew this couldn't go on, so she stopped, walked up to Gu Chengyuan, and questioned him, "What exactly do you want to do?"
"I want to see that man." Gu Chengyuan did not hide his thoughts.
"Impossible." You Ran refused decisively.
"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid I'll deal with him?" Gu Chengyuan's words were full of hidden meaning: "Is the man you carefully selected really so vulnerable?"
“First, I didn’t carefully select him; I just met him, liked him, and grabbed him. Second, he’s not easily defeated.” You Ran corrected Gu Chengyuan’s statements one by one.
"If that's the case, why won't you let me see him?" Gu Chengyuan stared directly at You Ran: "I want to know why you won't let me see him."
Suddenly, something indescribable welled up in You Ran's heart, like magma erupting from the ground, scalding her self-control. You Ran sneered, "Gu Chengyuan, why can you do this? Why can you act so nonchalantly? After you hurt me, you can still appear in front of me as if nothing happened, disrupting my life, and always acting as if it's perfectly natural, interfering with and controlling everything I do... Sometimes, I really think you're terrifying. What is it that allows you to hurt me with such peace of mind?"
Gu Chengyuan remained silent, his temples shrouded in a dim light under the gloomy weather.
In the past, I loved to stroke his sideburns; the prickly hairs felt pleasantly stimulated when touched by my fingertips.
However, looking back now, it feels like my fingertips were on fire, and all that's left is the burning heat.
You Ran Tiao Er chuckled awkwardly: "No, I was wrong too. I always acted so great in front of you, as if to say, I don't care, please continue to hurt me... Yes, it was my fault."
You Ran continued, "Then let me make myself clear, I'll only say it once."
"What happened that year was not as simple as just taking a fall for me. Back then, I really... had feelings for you."
“During that time, I also had crazy thoughts. I wanted to kill you, or kill myself… In just one night, I came up with every idea in the world that could destroy you and destroy myself.”
"But I didn't do it, because... I loved you, whether that love was right or wrong, I still loved you."
"I think there will only be a few people I fall in love with in my life, so what's wrong with letting them have their way?"
"So, I let you go."
"It's not because I'm weak, it's just because I loved you, it's that simple."
“And now,” You Ran met Gu Chengyuan’s gaze, her head just below his ear, but her neck held high with pride, “I no longer love you. If you hurt me again, I will spare no effort to take revenge.”
Gu Chengyuan looked at You Ran, his eyes filled with the blue waves of the Yachting River and the cool ripples of a small boat from who-knows-where.
"Well then, goodbye," You Ran said, preparing to leave.
But as always, she couldn't leave; her wrist was held by Gu Chengyuan.
His eyes, like magnificent gems buried deep in an underground palace, were so cool that they slowed the flow of blood: "Yes, from the day you were born, our lives were destined to be intertwined. Even in destruction, it would be good to have you by my side."
Looking into Gu Chengyuan's eyes, You Ran knew that this man had gone mad.
At the same time, she also knew that if she continued talking like this, it would never end.
So she yelled at the group of middle-aged women buying groceries, "Indecent assault!!!"
The group of middle-aged women across from them, dressed in pajamas, with curly hair and slippers, who were spitting as they haggled with the vendor over a penny, immediately turned their eyes toward them.