Chapter 326: Beijing
What kind of place was Beijing? Although she had always heard about it, she had never been here. When she first set foot on this land, Yu Linna felt it was not bad. Unlike the fast-paced life of Guangnan, this was the political and cultural center of the country, with a rich local flavor. And from a distance, she could smell the fragrance of street food stalls, making her eager to try a bite.
Lan Ranyan had the butler drive to pick them up. When the luxury car drove in front of them, the three of them were shocked. This luxury car was clearly a Rolls-Royce! Such a good car, and it was actually from Lan Ranyan’s family!
“Ranran, although I know your family is not simple, you don’t seem to have mentioned that you are a young miss from a rich family.”
Xiao Yanhan indicated that she needed to calm down.
Although the three of them present were not simple characters, they wouldn’t just casually drive a luxury car like Lan Ranyan. Take Xiao Yanhan for example. Although her family was still quite rich, her old man advocated for a frugal lifestyle, would not casually drive a luxury car, let alone live in a villa. The money was all used for investment. At most, they would go to a private villa or rent a luxury yacht during family vacations, and could also travel around the world every year. But they would never show off their wealth, let alone be high-profile.
As for Fang Jiangning and Yu Linna, it went without saying. They had both started from scratch.
So the first time the two of them saw this car, they were dumbfounded. They quickly asked if they could touch it. After getting her permission, Fang Jiangning even took a photo. How long would she have to stream to be able to afford such a luxury car? She was so envious she could die.
And that wasn’t the end of it. When the butler drove to Lan Ranyan’s mansion, Fang Jiangning was completely stunned. Such a beautiful building, and the garden behind the iron gate, and a famous-brand dog! Most importantly, there was also a private swimming pool! After walking in, the magnificent hall, the neat rows of maids greeting the young miss Lan Ranyan, the famous paintings hanging on the walls, all of which were genuine, Fang Jiangning’s legs went soft.
“Is this a duchess from somewhere… I feel like I’ve accidentally grasped the future…”
Her eyes were spinning. She could no longer tell who was who.
Although Yu Linna had been to Ye Zhiyun’s house before and had a certain understanding of the residences of the rich, she was still startled by Lan Ranyan’s home. This level should be even bigger than Ye Zhiyun’s house.
“The guest rooms are ready. You can put down your luggage. We’ll rest today, and I’ll take you out to play tomorrow.”
Lan Ranyan turned and disappeared, and when she came back, she had changed into a set of expensive clothes. This set of clothes changed her entire temperament. There was not a single trace of the big sister from the dorm. Instead, she looked like a young miss who frequented high society. Yes, Yu Linna thought of Ye Zhiyun again.
“So, actually, the richest one in the dorm is not Linna, but the big sister?”
Fang Jiangning looked at Lan Ranyan with a slightly terrified expression, as if she were meeting her for the first time. Because Lan Ranyan had never talked about her family’s affairs, no one knew what her family did. They just had a vague feeling that this person was not simple. The dorm was full of extraordinary characters: a great author, a great streamer, a flop manga artist. She was surprisingly calm and didn’t show a surprised expression at all. Completely different from that simp Xiao Yanhan.
Thinking about it carefully, if Lan Ranyan didn’t have a mine at home, it really wasn’t very likely for her to do this kind of thing.
“I say, Ranyan, what does your family do?”
Yu Linna was really getting more and more curious about her. They had been roommates for a year, but she still knew too little about her. She only knew that she liked to chase dramas, occasionally went to the gym, usually didn’t stay up late or binge eat, had a very regular life, and also that her favorite food was noodles.
Besides that, she really didn’t know what she did.
Lan Ranyan scratched her face, seeming to find it a little difficult to speak, but she still tried to calm down and choose her words.
“My father is an army officer, a soldier,” she answered concisely.
A second-generation military.
Yu Linna and the others added another label to their perception of Lan Ranyan.
When asked about her father’s military rank, Lan Ranyan hemmed and hawed for a long time, not knowing whether to say it or not. Later, the butler came forward and answered:
“The master is an army officer in the military. He is now a brigadier general.”
Pfft!!!
The three of them spat on the spot.
This… this official was really not just any big shot. In any case, he was a national-level cadre, right? An ordinary person really couldn’t get to know him. No wonder Lan Ranyan was not very willing to say it. She was probably afraid of scaring people to death.
Lan Ranyan had gone to a noble school before. Everyone was of the same noble status as her, so she didn’t have many worries. But when she came to university, she had to restrain herself. Although everyone in the dorm was also not ordinary, she didn’t have the courage to confess. She felt that saying it would scare people to death.
The good thing was that everyone was only surprised for a moment and then returned to normal, continuing to play and joke with her, eating what they should eat and sleeping when they should sleep. They had a big meal at Lan Ranyan’s house. Just as she had said, her parents were usually out and rarely at home. Xiao Yanhan had even suggested having a pillow fight, which was firmly rejected by Lan Ranyan.
Lan Ranyan had a habit of going for a morning run every day after she returned home, and then practicing military gymnastics in the park. She said this was a family tradition, which made Yu Linna recall her military posture and movements during military training, which were so standard they couldn’t be more standard. She thought to herself, as expected of a second-generation military. Because Yu Linna also woke up early, she suggested running together. As for the big lazy bum Xiao Yanhan, it was absolutely impossible to count on her. Fang Jiangning also didn’t want to get up so early to run.
Only the two of them were left.
Early in the morning, the weather in Beijing was not very good. The air in the city was always not very good. As she ran along, Yu Linna felt the fog was a bit thick. Fortunately, the sun got up early, and the fog quickly dispersed. Lan Ranyan, in her sportswear, ran with a rather standard posture. As expected of someone from a military family, in comparison, Yu Linna’s movements could be said to be quite casual. According to Lan Ranyan, she had also gone to the army with her father before, of course, for the experience. She had learned a lot. Her father hoped that after she graduated, she would join the army and learn more. He even said that if she were a boy, her father would have thrown her into the army long ago.
“Phew…”
After running for a long time, Lan Ranyan finally stopped, wiped her sweat with a handkerchief. And Yu Linna was already out of breath, almost dying.
“You still haven’t exercised enough, Linna.”
She handed Yu Linna a tissue. The two of them sat down on a park bench. Yu Linna indicated that she needed to rest. Her stamina was no match for Lan Ranyan’s at all. Lan Ranyan exercised every day and also had to practice military gymnastics. How could she compare?
“Ranyan, you, since your family is so rich, you have many choices, right? Why did you choose Guangnan University?”
She wiped her sweat and asked.
Lan Ranyan was silent for a while.
“This question, shouldn’t I be asking you back? Why didn’t you choose Tsinghua or Peking University and come to Guangnan University?”
“Will you laugh if I say I want to be closer to home…”
“That won’t happen. In fact, I could have gone to a university like Stanford or Cambridge. I could have considered it.”
“Then why didn’t you go?”
“Tsinghua and Peking University can’t be bought with points.”
“…You’re really humorous.”
“I’m not lying to you. I did poorly on the gaokao, and I was also angry with my family. I didn’t want to go abroad, so I chose a university far from home.”
As Lan Ranyan spoke, she seemed to remember something and was unwilling to say more. She seemed to care a lot about this matter. On the surface, she said it was because she was angry with her family, but it didn’t feel like that was the case. Yu Linna felt that this child must have a story.
“I’ll go buy a drink. What do you want?”
“Just orange juice.”
Lan Ranyan stood up, went to buy something, and also to avoid this topic. Clearly, she didn’t want to say more about this topic.
But just as she had walked a few steps, she heard a few familiar voices.
“Isn’t this Ranyan? Long time no see.”
“Hey, Ranyan, it’s me, Sun Xiaofang.”
Following their voices, two tall girls stood outside the park, one with short hair and one with a ponytail. Looking at them, they seemed to be very familiar with Lan Ranyan. Although these two were not as beautiful as Lan Ranyan, they were also very good-looking among ordinary people, with fair skin and beautiful faces, a proper Beijing girl.
“Ah… long time no see, Xiaofang, Bingbing.”
Lan Ranyan subconsciously took a step back. She seemed very reluctant to see them, even though they were her past friends. Yu Linna watched this scene. She was an outsider and it was not appropriate for her to interrupt, so she obediently sat there.
“I heard you’re studying at Guangnan University. Is that true?”
“…Mmm.”
“No way, this joke is not funny at all. Didn’t you say you were going to Stanford or MIT before? Wow, the drop is too big. Just because you didn’t get into a Beijing university, is it necessary to run so far?”
Her friends’ words were like sharp thorns, stabbing at her heart. Although Lan Ranyan didn’t say it out loud, her fists were already clenched. What they said was the truth, and she couldn’t refute it. But… why was she so unwilling?
Just because she didn’t do well back then, did she have to be treated like this? But she felt that she was not doing badly.
“Bingbing, where are you studying?”
“The University of Tokyo. It’s not bad there. If you had gone with me back then, it would have been no problem. I really don’t understand you. Why did you stay in the country?”
“I think I’m quite good in Guangnan. At least I don’t think I’ve chosen the wrong place. Besides, I have very good friends.”
“Ranyan, stop deceiving yourself. You actually really want to go, right? You used to always tell me you wanted to go abroad.”
Lan Ranyan gritted her teeth, trying her best to control her anger. It was the first time Yu Linna had seen such a Lan Ranyan. She was terrified. Without a doubt, Lan Ranyan was on the verge of exploding. Yu Linna quickly went over and grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the scene.
“Sorry, Ranyan is not feeling well. I’ll take her away first. I’m sorry.”
Yu Linna suddenly appeared, which surprised the two of them. They had thought the blonde girl sitting on the bench was a tourist from abroad. They didn’t expect her to speak Chinese.
“What’s wrong?” Lan Ranyan said in a bad mood.
This person is really on the verge of exploding, Yu Linna thought. But she couldn’t just leave her alone.
Yu Linna dragged her, forcefully pulling her away from the scene. “Ranyan, I’m a little hungry. Let’s go, let’s go get something to eat.” And just like that, Yu Linna took her away, leaving the two of them looking at each other.
