This is also why Xia Ran never realized that Yu Chao liked him. After all, who could like someone and still be so restrained?
Xia Ran: "Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I'm the one who asked you to come over. I should be the one thanking you. Come on, drink your milk."
Yu Chao maintained a faint smile, and Xia Ran nodded and took a sip of milk.
It was just ordinary pure milk, and Xia Ran didn't notice anything wrong with it. However, after seeing him drink it, Yu Chao's eyes flashed with a triumphant light.
Perhaps because he felt that everything was under his control, Yu Chao no longer bothered to hide his emotions.
When Xia Ran suddenly saw the intense gaze Yu Chao was giving him, he felt inexplicably afraid. He didn't know why, but that look made him very uncomfortable.
"Senior...you still haven't told me why you asked me to come here. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Xia Ran suppressed her discomfort and asked a question.
He felt he must be overthinking things; his senior was such a nice person, how could he have such wild thoughts?
"Yes, there is something I need your help with, and it has to be you."
Yu Chao's tone and words became somewhat strange, but Xia Ran suppressed her doubts and didn't let herself get too anxious.
"What is it?" Xia Ran smiled casually. "Senior, just tell me. Don't worry, I'll definitely help if it's something I can do."
"Really?" Yu Chao suddenly asked, "Are you sure you'll agree to help no matter what I say?"
“Yes.” Xia Ran nodded in response.
Yu Chao suddenly lowered his head and chuckled softly, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Just as Xia Ran was about to ask a question out of curiosity, Yu Chao looked up.
"Xiao Ran, can I ask you a question? What exactly is 'liking'?"
Xia Ran was taken aback, not expecting Yu Chao to ask him this question.
"Senior, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Xia Ran began to feel uneasy. Did his senior mean he wanted to make his feelings clear? If so, how should he refuse him?
And if the senior really says it, will they not even be able to be friends anymore?
Yu Chao: "It's nothing, I just suddenly wanted to know and asked. What? Is it inconvenient for you to tell me? I really just want to know."
Since Yu Chao had already gone this far, Xia Ran had no choice but to suppress her chaotic thoughts and earnestly explain to Xia Ran.
"Actually... it's really hard to say what it means to like something. It's like drinking water; only the person drinking it knows whether it's hot or cold. I don't think there's a 100% answer to whether you like something."
"Really?" Yu Chao countered. "Then why do you like Gu Zheng? Don't you like him a lot?"
Xia Ran's expression darkened slightly upon hearing Yu Chao mention Gu Zheng.
Although he thought he had already let go, the fact that his senior suddenly brought it up still made him feel very uncomfortable.
The senior rarely mentioned Gu Zheng before, and he knew perfectly well that Gu Zheng was the person he least wanted to talk about right now.
But looking at the senior's expression, it seemed as if he didn't think there was anything wrong with asking that question.
Xia Ran sighed inwardly and could only continue answering.
"Actually, it's nothing. I liked it at first sight back then. I feel that there's really no way to study this kind of thing in detail."
"But there's also a saying that sometimes liking someone doesn't necessarily mean you can be together. If it's just one-sided liking, I think you shouldn't continue liking them like that."
Chapter 254 Xia Ran is imprisoned
"One-sided affection will only make you more and more miserable, it's not worth it, I am the best outcome."
Since things had come to this point, Xia Ran had nothing left to hide, and even used himself as an example.
Actually, he said this to stop Yu Chao from focusing his attention on him.
He knew he was destined never to be with his senior or to like him, and he was genuinely afraid of unintentionally hurting him.
However, after Xia Ran finished speaking, Yu Chao's expression did not change at all; he simply nodded thoughtfully.
"So do you think that if you like someone, you have to love them wholeheartedly? Love them without any reservations?"
Xia Ran subconsciously wanted to nod and say yes, because that was indeed what he had thought before.
However, he couldn't help but think about the consequences of his unreserved love, so he couldn't answer Yu Chao for a moment.
"Xiao Ran?" Yu Chao called out again, and Xia Ran came back to her senses and subconsciously nodded.
Seeing his nod, Yu Chao's smile became even more meaningful.
"I also think it's okay to love without reservation, because he's just liking someone, and there's nothing wrong with that, right?"
Xia Ran thought Yu Chao was trying to comfort him, but before he could speak, Yu Chao changed his tone and asked another question.
"Xiao Ran, do you believe in the idea that feelings can develop over time?"
Xia Ran did not hide anything from this, but answered directly.
"I used to believe that I would eventually win Gu Zheng over. After all, we lived under the same roof every day, and we were bound to develop feelings for each other. But... you've seen how I ended up now."
Xia Ran gave a bitter laugh, recalling her past thoughts, and found them truly laughable and naive.
Yu Chao didn't comfort Xia Ran, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter, indicating that Xia Ran also felt that he had done the right thing.
Yes, he just likes Xia Ran wholeheartedly, what's wrong with that? He only asked Xia Ran to come over so that he could keep her by his side. Time will tell, and Xia Ran will eventually fall in love with him.
Yu Chao's obsessive and insane thoughts kept spreading, every cell in his body was clamoring for him to keep Xia Ran, as long as he kept Xia Ran, then Xia Ran would be his.
Xia Ran noticed Yu Chao's unusual expression and finally realized that it wasn't just her imagination; her senior seemed really off today.
"Senior... is there something bothering you that you want to vent to me about? Why did you call me here? If you're done here, I need to go back now. My grandpa is waiting for me at home."
Xia Ran suppressed her fear and asked the question as if nothing was wrong.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Yu Chao's eyes were now filled with a frightening madness.
“Go back? Ha…” Yu Chao suddenly chuckled, “You’ve only just arrived, why are you in such a hurry to go back? Wait a little longer.”
Xia Ran, who already wanted to go back, wanted to go back even more after hearing this.
"No need, my grandfather hasn't been feeling well these past few days, so I need to go back early."
Xia Ran stood up, wanting to leave, but Yu Chao was one step ahead of him.
Because Yu Chao was sitting outside him, Yu Chao stood up before he did.
"Xiao Ran, what are you afraid of? I already told you not to rush back. You've only just arrived, why are you in such a hurry to go back? Wait a little longer, and when the time is right, I will naturally take you back."
Looking at Yu Chao standing in front of him, Xia Ran could no longer deceive himself into believing that Yu Chao was a good person.
He just couldn't understand why Yu Chao had become like this. He wasn't like this before.
"Senior, what do you mean by this?" Xia Ran tried to calm herself down.
"What do I want to do?" Yu Chao suddenly laughed. "Don't you know what I want to do? I already answered you, didn't I?"
"I... want to love you without reservation, want to develop feelings for you over time. Xia Ran, Gu Zhengcai is not right for you. Look at me too."
Yu Chao's expression turned extremely crazed, even somewhat distorted.
Xia Ran was startled by Yu Chao's appearance and subconsciously took a step back.
No wonder he found Yu Chao's words a bit strange earlier.
"Senior, you know you can't force matters of the heart, right? You deserve better. I'm already married, I'm not good enough for you."
Yu Chao: "I don't mind. I think you're good enough for me. It's okay, I don't look down on you."
"But I don't like you. One-sided love never ends well," Xia Ran blurted out.
It was precisely because of his words that Yu Chao was completely enraged.
"Why don't you like it!" Yu Chao grabbed Xia Ran's shoulders with both hands and shouted loudly.
"Why don't you like me? Why don't you like me? What do I lack compared to Gu Zheng?"
Xia Ran's face was extremely pale. He tried to break free from Yu Chao's grasp, but Yu Chao was holding on too tightly. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free. He could only verbally ask Yu Chao to let him go.
"Senior, don't get agitated. Let go of me first, calm down, and let's have a proper talk."
"Let you go?" Yu Chao looked at Xia Ran's face, seemingly hesitant about Xia Ran's words.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You want me to let you go? Dream on! Xia Ran, let me tell you, you can only be mine, you will only ever be mine. Believe me, I will love you even more than Gu Zheng, and I will treat you even better..."
Seeing Yu Chao's frantic state, Xia Ran had no idea what to do. She could only push Yu Chao away forcefully and then run towards the door.
Perhaps because Yu Chao was completely unprepared, he was also pushed away by Xia Ran.
Yu Chao slumped onto the sofa, watching Xia Ran run towards the door without showing any panic or intention to chase after her. Instead, he laughed loudly and said...
"You can't leave this room without my permission, Xia Ran. Just stay by my side and I'll let you out when the time is right."
As he was saying this, Xia Ran had already run to the door to open it, but he quickly discovered that the door was locked.
Xia Ran's heart sank to the bottom of the sea. He turned his head and looked warily at Yu Chao, who was walking towards him unhurriedly, and asked,
"You're not the senior, the senior isn't like that, who are you?"
Chapter 255 The Mad Yu Chao
The face of Yu Chao in front of him was indeed the Yu Chao he knew.
But Yu Chao's every move made him feel unfamiliar, as if this Yu Chao was not the one he knew.
"Heh..." Yu Chao laughed inexplicably. "I'm not Yu Chao? How could I not be Yu Chao? We've known each other for so many years, don't you even recognize who I am?"
It's unclear whether Xia Ran's words angered Yu Chao, but Yu Chao's tone turned cold.
Xia Ran was even more shocked. "Since you're a senior, why did you become like this? Senior, if you encounter any difficulties, you can tell me. Please don't go astray."
"If you're having any troubles, I can help you. Just tell me, and I'll help you solve it, okay?"
Xia Ran's hand was already reaching into his pocket; he needed to call the police, as his senior's mental state was clearly very abnormal.
"Sure, if you want to help me, it's very simple. All you have to do is stay by my side. But why won't you do that?"
Yu Chao gradually approached Xia Ran, forcing Xia Ran to retreat step by step.