After I Died, My Childhood Friend Became Daddy - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: School He is Unwilling to Resign Himself

Throughout the morning, Huo Yan drank four or five cups of coffee until finally, even his tongue felt numb from the bitterness. He really couldn’t hold out much longer, and on the last occasion that Fang Ran tried to refill his cup, he finally held the boy back.

“That’s enough, Ranran,” Huo Yan spoke sincerely. “I’m a bit bloated from drinking so much.”

Fang Ran looked at him expectantly. “And then? What else do you need me to do?”

Huo Yan beckoned to him, and Fang Ran immediately walked over obediently. “President Huo, your orders”

Before he could finish, he was suddenly scooped up by the waist by Huo Yan; the man pulled him directly into his lap.

Fang Ran was startled. He didn’t know why Huo Yan had taken such a liking to this posture lately making him sit on his thighs. The muscles on the man’s thighs were rock-hard, making it quite uncomfortable for Fang Ran to sit there.

He squirmed a few times, trying to struggle and jump down, but Huo Yan only held him tighter.

“Don’t move.”

He whispered, “Didn’t you ask what other work you could do? Act as my plushie for a bit and let me hold you.”

Fang Ran: “…”

He spoke out, unable to bear it any longer, “President Huo, this is workplace harassment.”

The man let out a low chuckle. “Ranran even knows about things like that?”

He deliberately leaned in very close, his lips brushing past the tip of Fang Ran’s ear intentionally or otherwise, causing Fang Ran’s body to shudder. He felt as if an electric current had passed through him; his eyelashes trembled violently. Just at that moment, a knock sounded at the door. Fang Ran quickly used all his strength to struggle out of Huo Yan’s lap.

Huo Yan slightly loosened his grip to let him go, paused for a moment, and then spoke coldly, “Enter.”

The secretary pushed the door open. “President Huo, the meeting room is ready.”

Huo Yan had worked from home for several days, piling up quite a lot of tasks. Today was packed with one meeting after another.

He tilted his head to look at Fang Ran, but before he could speak, Fang Ran cut in first, “Go on! I’ll wait for you in the office.”

Huo Yan raised his hand and ruffled the boy’s hair. “I’ll have someone bring you some snacks. There’s a lounge in the back; go lie down if you get tired or sleepy.”

“I know, I’m not a child.”

Not a child?

Huo Yan looked down at Fang Ran. His hair was getting a bit long, styled in a very obedient bob; his eyes were round, dark, and beautiful. He was the exact same Ranran from his dreams.

How are you not a child?

But Huo Yan said nothing more, standing up to go to the meeting room.

Today was the mid-year work report, and all the senior executives were reporting to President Huo in person. President Huo was usually a harsh man—regardless of whether you were a founding veteran or what status you held, he would criticize you to your face without giving an ounce of face.

Therefore, these executives were always cautious during their reports, their hearts in their throats.

Unusually, President Huo seemed to be in a good mood today.

Huo Yan kept staring at his phone screen, his expression soft. It was unclear what he was seeing, but the corners of his mouth were slightly curled.

It was the surveillance feed from his office.

He moved his fingers slightly, zooming in on the screen bit by bit.

Until the entire lens was pressed right against Ranran’s face.

Baby.

Fang Ran was very good, just sitting in his chair playing on his phone.

Suddenly, Huo Yan’s gaze froze.

Why did it look like Fang Ran’s phone interface was WeChat?

After the phone was bought and brought home, Fang Ran had registered a WeChat account, but his contact list only had Huo Yan as a friend. He had complained it was boring and went trotting off with his phone to try and add Liu Ma.

Liu Ma had happily wiped her hands, but just as she was about to pick up her phone, the smile on her face froze. Mr. Huo was standing right behind Fang Ran, looking at her with a very cold gaze.

“Little Master, I don’t have WeChat. I’m old; I don’t use that,” Liu Ma laughed awkwardly.

Fang Ran pouted.

Huo Yan had called him from behind at the right time, wordlessly draping an arm over his shoulder. “What’s wrong? Do you find me boring? You can talk to me on WeChat whenever you want; I’ll always reply.”

So right now.

Huo Yan’s phone hadn’t rung.

Then who was Fang Ran messaging?

Where did he meet this person?

A sense of anxiety from losing control over Fang Ran began to sprout in his heart.

The executive across from him was halfway through speaking when he suddenly realized a mistake in the data. He stammered for a moment and saw President Huo look up slightly; his expression was terrifyingly cold.

Cold sweat was about to break out on the executive’s brow.

But Huo Yan didn’t say anything directly. He simply leaned back, watched him quietly for a few seconds, and said coldly, “Next person, go first.”

…

The two-hour meeting finally ended.

When Huo Yan returned to the office, Fang Ran had already fallen asleep facedown on the desk. Over these days, his cheeks had finally been nursed back to a bit of flesh; lying sideways on the desk like this, a bit of meat was squeezed out. Because he was fast asleep, his face looked flushed and rosy, making Huo Yan want to lean in and take a bite.

Fang Ran’s phone was lying to one side.

Huo Yan could easily pick it up and use Fang Ran’s finger to unlock it to see who he had been chatting with.

But that was a last resort.

He looked down for two seconds, then withdrew his gaze.

Then, Huo Yan leaned down slightly and touched his lips against Fang Ran’s forehead.

…

The room was very quiet; even the sound of typing on the keyboard was very light.

Fang Ran hadn’t been deeply asleep to begin with and woke up after a short while. He climbed up from the sofa and rubbed his eyes. His clothes slid down; Fang Ran caught them and took a look—it was Huo Yan’s jacket.

He looked around and immediately saw the man at the desk opposite. Huo Yan was looking at the computer. Perhaps because of work, he was wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, making him look a bit more cold and sharp than usual—like the “refined scumbag” type written about in novels.

Fang Ran hesitated and walked over slowly. As soon as he moved, Huo Yan looked over, his expression softening. “Woken up?”

Fang Ran nodded. His hair was a bit messy from being pressed down, with a few strands sticking up at the crown. Huo Yan raised his hand and smoothed them back down.

The youth who had just woken up looked like a somewhat dazed puppy, coming over to nuzzle someone with a wet nose.

Huo Yan’s heart softened into a pool of water.

He stood up and leaned over slightly, helping Fang Ran tidy his hair, his voice gentle. “Hungry?”

Fang Ran shook his head.

“Wait a bit longer, I’ll take you downstairs to eat something.”

Huo Yan paused, then said as if casually, “While you were asleep, your phone kept ringing. Is someone messaging you?”

“Ah?” Fang Ran was a bit bewildered. He took out his phone and opened it. “Surely not? I remember I muted it.”

Huo Yan was standing right beside him. He was much taller than Fang Ran, so as soon as he looked down, he could easily see Fang Ran’s phone screen.

On the WeChat list, besides Huo Yan, there was another person below.

Without waiting for the man to ask, Fang Ran proactively turned the phone toward Huo Yan to show him.

“Do you remember our class monitor back in school? I remembered his phone number and tried searching for it. I didn’t expect to actually be able to add him.”

Huo Yan’s gaze darkened.

How could he not remember?

That four-eyed nerd.

He always liked to hang around Fang Ran.

He curled his lips into a semblance of a smile, but his tone was very cold. “There were so many people in class; why do you only remember his phone number?”

Fang Ran scratched his head. “I don’t know. He had just gotten a SIM card and insisted I memorize it, saying I could find an auntie back home to borrow a phone and call him.”

Huo Yan slightly tightened his fist. “How come I didn’t know about this?”

Fang Ran blinked innocently. “Maybe I forgot. A small matter like this didn’t need to be told to you, right?”

A small matter?!

This was clearly a matter as big as the sky.

Huo Yan acted as if they were just chatting. “What did you say to him?”

“He asked why I suddenly dropped out back then and didn’t even take the Gaokao, and why there had been no news for so many years.”

Fang Ran sounded a bit down when he started, but he looked at Huo Yan and smiled again. “I said I went abroad.”

Huo Yan curled his lips. “Ranran is so smart.”

Fang Ran said with a beaming smile, “He even said he wanted to treat me to dinner.”

The smile on Huo Yan’s face faded again. He spoke softly, “Better not to meet for now. Otherwise, if he sees that you look exactly the same as ten years ago, he’ll probably be scared to death.”

Fang Ran raised his hand and touched his face, looking a bit sullen. “True, oh!”

Huo Yan looked into his eyes, his tone carrying a persuasive lure. “I won’t be, Ranran. No matter what happens to you, no matter what you become, you will always be my Ranran.”

A true master never misses a moment to praise themselves while putting others down.

Fang Ran was instantly moved to his core.

He sniffled, leaned in proactively, and looked up at Huo Yan earnestly. “A-Yan, I’ve thought about it. I still want to go to school.”

Huo Yan: “…”

Fang Ran’s tone was very serious. “You all have your own things to do office work, business. I really can’t help you with anything by coming here, and I truly want to take the Gaokao.”

The man’s gaze turned slightly dark. Then he raised his hand and ruffled Fang Ran’s hair. “Fine, go to school. But your enrollment details need to be rearranged; it will probably take a few days.”

Fang Ran tilted his face up with a smile and shook his head. “I’m in no rush for those couple of days.”

Huo Yan knew he couldn’t truly find the heart to stop Fang Ran from doing anything. What he could do was expand his territory step by step, keeping Fang Ran forever under his control.

…

When he received the admission notice, Fang Ran was so excited he ran two laps around the living room. Finally, he jumped directly onto Huo Yan, wrapping his arms around his neck, his eyes shining. “I really can go to school now?”

Huo Yan was practically dazed by the baby’s cuteness.

Meeting Fang Ran’s round eyes, he smiled along. “I didn’t see you being this fond of school before.”

Fang Ran said with a beaming smile, “You only learn to cherish things once you’ve lost them.”

Huo Yan paused and said no more, but the hand wrapped around Fang Ran’s waist tightened slightly.

Yes.

Once he lost it.

Only then did he know that Fang Ran was more important to him than his own life.

That is why these ten years have been like being in hell.

Fang Ran didn’t notice Huo Yan’s expression and rested his chin on his hand, thinking leisurely, “I wonder if I can still keep up after leaving my studies for so many days.”

Huo Yan snapped out of it slightly and smiled. “The second semester of senior year has just started. You’ll just transfer in directly. There’s no need to study too hard; I’m not expecting you to come back as the top scholar. Just treat it like going to play, okay?”

Before, he watched over Fang Ran’s studies for the sake of their future. Now it was different; he had the ability to give Fang Ran the best of everything, so why should Fang Ran work so hard?

If Fang Ran wanted to attend a good university, he would just donate a few buildings. Anyway, he had more money than he could ever spend.

In contrast, what made Huo Yan more irritable at this moment was that after going to school, the time he could spend with his baby would be drastically reduced. Fang Ran was so lively and cheerful; he would meet new people and new friends.

His heart could be divided into hundreds of pieces, and Huo Yan could only pitifully possess a tiny portion.

He was unwilling to resign himself to that.