I Found My Future Wife Next Door - Chapter 12

Ji Nuan had already stepped forward. “Alright, Ranran, you can call me Auntie. ‘Aunt’ sounds a bit too distant.”

Yu Qianran nodded.

His gaze nervously and covertly followed Ji Nuan’s movements, afraid she might take a dislike to him and send him home.

“So well-behaved.” Ji Nuan reached out to ruffle his hair, but Yu Qianran dodged.

She withdrew her hand without a word, her eyes gentle as water, showing no sign of anger.

Yu Qianran pressed his lips together, feeling both guilty and a little scared.

Ji Nuan, perceptive to the child’s thoughts, half-crouched to meet Yu Qianran at eye level and smiled warmly. “Ranran, don’t be afraid. Auntie is a good person.”

Yu Qianran nodded stiffly, his whole body trembling slightly.

He didn’t dare meet Ji Nuan’s gaze. As his eyes darted around, they landed on Lu Zhishen, and he immediately sent a silent plea for help.

Lu Zhishen hastily stuffed the last bit of bread into his mouth, cheeks bulging as he mumbled urgently, “Mom, you should go to work now.”

Ji Nuan turned around and gave him a reproachful glance. “Oh? Has the sun risen from the west today? Why are you urging me to go to work now? I never got this treatment before.”

Lu Zhishen “clattered” over to Ji Nuan’s side, shielding Yu Qianran behind him like a mother hen protecting her chick, and declared righteously, “That was before. Starting today, I’ll remind you to go to work.”

Ranran was afraid of his mom. If Mom went to work, Ranran would be willing to come over and play with him. So, he had to get Mom out of the house early.

Ji Nuan saw right through her little troublemaker’s plan and her expression turned indescribable. Glancing at the well-behaved, blushing Ranran shielded behind him, she sighed inwardly.

Without comparison, there’s no sense of loss. Why do other people’s children always seem better than one’s own?

“Alright, alright, I’m going now.” Ji Nuan shook her head as she stood up. “Be polite when you visit someone else’s house later. Don’t make the butler clean up the messes you cause.”

At this point, Ji Nuan felt the butler deserved another raise.

“Mm-hmm, don’t worry.” Lu Zhishen patted his chest, speaking with confidence. “I’m very obedient.”

Ji Nuan fell silent.

Ji Nuan left the house.

As soon as Ji Nuan was gone, Lu Zhishen eagerly grabbed Yu Qianran’s hand. “Come on, let’s play for a bit before going to Yuyu’s house.”

Yu Qianran glanced back at Ji Nuan’s long-gone figure, then at the excited Lu Zhishen. His little mind hesitated for a moment.

Auntie Ji didn’t seem that scary after all, and she wasn’t very strict with Shenshen either. Was it because she was in a good mood today?

Oh well, Shenshen was more important.

Yu Qianran was pulled over to the unfinished block tower from last time, and his attention was immediately captivated, pushing all previous thoughts to the back of his mind.

…

At nine in the morning, the scorching heat began to spread across the entire city. Skin exposed to the sunlight burned, retreating into the shadows.

“Whoa, I almost got roasted.” Yuyu exclaimed, standing firmly at the entrance of the apartment building downstairs, refusing to take another step outside.

He looked around, searching for Ranran and Shenshen, but found nothing. He couldn’t help muttering, “That’s strange. Didn’t they say they were here?”

Five minutes later, Yuyu, wearing a sorrowful expression and muttering “I’ve been tricked, I’ve been tricked,” took the elevator back to his floor.

“Ding-dong.”

As the door opened, he met two pairs of clear eyes, one of them filled with anger.

“Ranran? Shenshen?” Yuyu blinked in disbelief, rubbing his eyelids. “How did you two end up right at my doorstep?!”

“Then what?” Lu Zhishen retorted with a dark expression. “Didn’t you send your home address? Ranran and I waited for ages, but you never opened the door.”

Yu Qianran chimed in appropriately.

Yuyu, hands on hips, replied confidently, “I thought you were downstairs. I was waiting for you there.”

Yu Qianran: “…”

Lu Zhishen: “…”

Right, no wonder they couldn’t find each other.

Yuyu walked past the two of them, unlocked the door with her fingerprint, and turned around, saying, “Come on in. Yangyang and Jiajia will be here soon.”

Lu Zhishen gave an “oh,” took Yu Qianran’s hand, and leaned so close to him it was as if his head were attached to Yu Qianran’s shoulder. He muttered quietly, “I told you we came too early. Next time, we can leave a bit later.”

Yu Qianran softly agreed.

He felt a bit regretful about leaving behind the building blocks he had almost finished, all because he was afraid of arriving late and upsetting Yuyu. Next time, he’d go to Shenshen’s house instead.

When Yuyu turned around, she saw Shenshen clinging to Ranran and let out a soft snort, as if she disapproved or was jealous of the behavior.

Yu Qianran keenly caught the sound and tilted his head, asking, “Yuyu, don’t you like us coming over?”

“I do like it,” Yuyu replied with a big smile.

Yu Qianran stared at her in confusion. “Then what was that sound just now?”

Yuyu hadn’t expected Ranran to hear her dissatisfaction with Shenshen. She laughed twice and made up an excuse: “My nose felt uncomfortable.”

Yu Qianran gave an “oh” and fixed his gaze on Yuyu’s guilty face.

He felt like Yuyu wasn’t telling the truth, but she didn’t seem to have any obvious ill intent. Maybe it was some kind of secret she couldn’t share.

He didn’t want his own secrets to be known by others either.

Yu Qianran sat on the soft sofa, staring at the assortment of snacks and drinks on the coffee table, some he recognized, others he didn’t. He glanced sideways at Lu Zhishen, who had only fruit and water in front of him.

He noticed that Lu Zhishen’s expression had visibly worsened. Reaching out, he tugged at Lu Zhishen’s sleeve and said in a soft, childish voice, “Shenshen, eating fruit is healthy. I’ll share with you.”

Hearing this, Lu Zhishen’s expression brightened noticeably. “I’ll listen to Ranran.”

What were snacks and drinks compared to having Ranran by his side?

Stingy Yuyu wouldn’t give him any, but he’d go home and ask Uncle Butler to buy a whole truckload! No, ten truckloads!!

Yu Qianran had no idea about the little schemes in Lu Zhishen’s mind, but he was happy to see the smile on Lu Zhishen’s face.

That’s how it should be, Shenshen looked best when he smiled.

“What are your full names?” Yuyu asked, sitting across from them on the other side of the long coffee table, looking at them curiously. “I’m Chen Liyu, and I’m five years old, about to start kindergarten.”

“You don’t match your name at all,” Lu Zhishen commented. When it was his turn, he tried to act cool like a silly young master from a wealthy family, keeping it brief: “Me, Lu Zhishen.”

Yu Qianran glanced at him and learned from his example, keeping it even shorter: “Yu Qianran.”

“Mine,” Lu Zhishen added after Yu Qianran.

Yuyu: “…”

Something felt off.

After a few attempts to force her way into the conversation, Yuyu gave up and focused on waiting for Yangyang and Jiajia.

Yu Qianran’s attention was completely occupied by Lu Zhishen, so he didn’t notice what Yuyu was thinking.

Otherwise, he might have gone over to pat him and offer some comfort.

Half an hour later, the children gathered in a circle to play house.

“I’m the queen,” Jiajia announced, her hair styled in beautiful braids and a sparkling tiara on her head. “Ranran, you can be the prince. Shenshen, you’re the knight. Yuyu, you’re the dragon.”

Her gaze fell upon Yangyang, and after a moment of thought, she arranged, “You’ll be my soldier.”

Yuyu protested, “Why am I the evil dragon? I don’t want to be the bad guy.”

Lu Zhishen chuckled, “You don’t seem like a good person anyway.”

The minority had to obey the majority, and Yuyu was forced to take on the role of the evil dragon.

In this game, the wicked dragon Yuyu arrived at the kingdom to steal the prince from the queen. The queen ordered her soldier to rescue the prince, but he was beaten by the evil dragon and failed.

Jiajia raised her lollipop and declared with a serious expression, “Oh, my goodness! If anyone can retrieve the prince from the evil dragon for me, I am willing to betroth the prince to them.”

“Really?” Lu Zhishen couldn’t resist making an early appearance, standing boldly before Queen Jiajia.

“Impudent commoner, are you questioning me?” Jiajia spun around, climbed onto the coffee table from the floor, and stood tall, looking down from above.

Lu Zhishen looked up, showing no acting skills whatsoever. “Just tell me if it’s true or not.”

Jiajia: “…”

For the sake of the plot, she held back.

“It’s true.”

Lu Zhishen barged unreasonably toward the kitchen and encountered the evil dragon Yuyu guarding the entrance in the dining area. He shouted at him, “Hand over the prince, and I’ll spare your life.”

Yuyu was taken aback at first, then quickly realized that Lu Zhishen wasn’t following the script. He immediately improvised as well, “How delightful! I, the little dragon, am the most wicked dragon in the world. No one has ever been able to take my treasure.”

“So you’re an ancient dragon?” Lu Zhishen pointed his sugarcane at Yuyu. “So what? There’s no prince this knight can’t reclaim.”

“Ouch!” Yuyu jumped in pain and accused, “Lu Zhishen, you have no honor! You ambushed me! Ahhh!”

Yuyu initially tried to fight back but soon found himself chased around the table by Lu Zhishen. As he ran, he shouted for help, “Ranran, come save me! Lu Zhishen has gone crazy…”

Hearing his name, Yu Qianran poked his head out from the kitchen and witnessed Yuyu’s frantic scrambling.

Yu Qianran fell silent.

He glanced toward Jiajia and Yangyang in the distant living room and noticed that their expressions didn’t look too pleased either.

His voice was filled with childish innocence, “Shenshen, I’m here.”

“I’m coming!” Lu Zhishen received the signal, abruptly stopped in his tracks, and changed direction to rush toward Yu Qianran.

Like a lost satellite drifting in space finally finding its way home, he sped back to his planet at the speed of light.

Yu Qianran was caught in a full embrace, his nose catching the faint scent of freesia on Lu Zhishen.

For the first time, he noticed Lu Zhishen’s scent. They had been close before, but he had never paid attention.

However, he used lavender-scented body wash. He wondered if Shenshen would like it.

Lu Zhishen couldn’t wait any longer. He pulled Yu Qianran along as he walked, saying, “Come on, let’s go get married.”

Yu Qianran was bewildered. “Huh?”

When did that become part of the story? He didn’t know the prince was supposed to marry the knight. Why hadn’t anyone told him?

While Yu Qianran was still pondering, Lu Zhishen had already led him back to the living room. He looked up at Queen Jiajia, urging her to fulfill her promise.

Yu Qianran, wide-eyed, asked first, “Queen Jiajia, am I really going to marry the knight?”

“Ahem.” Jiajia pretended to be busy, as she had also played a part in altering the script. “That’s how it is.”

The living room was some distance from the kitchen, making it hard to hear the conversation clearly from either side. Yu Qianran was clearly the victim. Puffing out his cheeks and pouting, he pretended to be angry, “You changed the script without me. I don’t want to get married.”

Ranran was still young and didn’t want to get married. He just wanted to stay with his mom and dad.

Lu Zhishen insisted, “That won’t do! Jiajia already agreed.”

Yu Qianran blinked innocently, not falling into the trap. “Jiajia isn’t me. If I didn’t agree, it’s not happening.”

Lu Zhishen looked at Jiajia with a resentful gaze, hoping she would solve the problem.

However, Jiajia was an extremely cunning queen who excelled at shifting responsibility, tossing the problem back to Lu Zhishen to handle himself.

“I did agree with you. I said yes. Now it’s your turn to get the prince to agree on his own.”

Lu Zhishen: ?

Is this how the game is supposed to be played?