After contracting to have a child, the icy female CEO became addicted.

Liu Wan was very punctual.

At 5:30 p.m., Liu Wan sent Jiang Ran a message on time, and Jiang Ran came downstairs as promised.

He was empty-handed, with only his phone in his pocket; he hadn't even taken a charger.

After all, these kinds of things can be discussed in just a few words, or even just a few glances, when you're face to face.

That's what Jiang Ran thought.

Once in the car, Jiang Ran remained silent throughout the journey, while Liu Wan focused on driving, occasionally glancing at Jiang Ran through the rearview mirror.

The atmosphere inside the car was heavy.

The entire journey was speechless.

When the car stopped in front of Junlan Mansion, Liu Wan parked the car and opened the driver's side door, then jogged over to open the back door for Jiang Ran.

Returning to the villa in Junlan Mansion, Jiang Ran was filled with emotion.

It's been almost a year. From being penniless at the beginning to becoming a blogger with nearly a million followers, only Jiang Ran knows the hardships she has endured along the way.

Although he still couldn't afford such a luxurious villa, he now had the confidence to rent it out, compared to before.

Life goes on, doesn't it? There's no need to live like a rich person, spending money like water.

As long as he's happy.

Jiang Ran didn't say much, and just walked silently towards the gate outside the courtyard.

"Beep! Lock unlocked—"

The iron gate opened with a click, and the keyhole clicked open.

Jiang Ran was stunned for a moment, not expecting that the smart iris lock still had his password.

He raised his hand, pushed open the door, and walked into the courtyard.

"We don't need to take care of the flower beds. You just need to supervise the gardener every day. It's almost the end of the year, and I'll buy some fairy lights in a few days. Then you and I can decorate the yard together..."

At the main entrance of the villa in the courtyard, a middle-aged woman dressed as a maid pushed open the door and gave instructions to Xia Yunxi behind her.

The middle-aged woman exuded an air of authority without being angry, clearly the person in charge, and her high status was evident to the naked eye.

Xia Yunxi was still the same as before, wearing the maid outfit that Jiang Ran remembered, following behind the woman with her back slightly bent and nodding frequently.

Jiang Ran paused, stopping on the pebbled path leading to the villa's garden.

Xia Yunxi, who came out of the door, also noticed Jiang Ran.

She caught her breath and blinked as she looked at Jiang Ran.

After noticing Xia Yunxi's sudden change, Li Shu, who was in front of her, followed her gaze and saw Jiang Ran standing in the courtyard.

He was over 1.8 meters tall, just standing there, motionless, like a piece of wood.

With his rather youthful face and rustic attire, Li Shu didn't recognize him at first glance!

She asked Xia Yunxi, "Is this a relative of yours?"

Xia Yunxi was stunned and didn't recover for a long time.

Li Shu said somewhat reproachfully, "This is Miss Wen's bridal chamber. As a servant, how could you bring your family relatives here?"

"Uh...no, Aunt Li, you've misunderstood, he's not my relative!"

Xia Yunxi barely realized what was happening and quickly waved her hand to explain, "He, he is Jiang Ran."

"Jiang Ran?"

Li Shu suddenly remembered. She quickly turned around and her gaze fell on Jiang Ran. The memory of their brief encounter at Yunqi Manor rekindled, and a hint of disgust appeared in Li Shu's eyes.

He didn't even come to see her when she was pregnant, but now that she's given birth and things have finally settled down, he suddenly shows up!

What a scumbag!

Suppressing her anger, Li Shu asked Jiang Ran, "Are you here to see Miss Wen?"

"Um."

Jiang Ran nodded and quickly walked towards the door.

"stop!"

Seeing that he was about to go inside, Li Shu stopped him, saying, "Wait at the door first, let me go in and inform Miss!"

Jiang Ran nodded obediently, "Okay."

As Li Shu turned and went inside, Jiang Ran fell silent.

As Jiang Ran approached, he recognized the middle-aged woman in front of him. He had met her briefly once before at Yunqi Manor; she was the old housekeeper of the Wen family.

Since she's here, it means that Wen Ling's parents must know about Wen Ling's pregnancy.

If that's the case, with the older generation involved, and considering that he wasn't even there to support Wenling during childbirth, it would probably be much easier to file for divorce...

"Jiang Ran... what are you thinking about?"

Standing at the same entrance, Xia Yunxi stood on the other side, her gaze never leaving Jiang Ran ever since he appeared in the center of the garden.

But he seemed not to see me at all.

Shouldn't it be like this?

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about something." Jiang Ran came back to her senses, smiled at Xia Yunxi, and didn't say anything more.

Staring at him, Xia Yunxi felt heavy-hearted.

She felt it shouldn't be like this.

If Jiang Ran really likes her...

They both knew very well what they would face next. Although they hadn't mentioned it to each other all year, this attitude was still inappropriate.

Or is it that Jiang Ran actually has feelings for Wen Ling too?

Suddenly faced with this conjecture, Xia Yunxi's face paled. She swallowed hard, took a step forward, and abruptly grabbed Jiang Ran's hem.

Then, she forced a smile onto her pale face: "Jiang Ran... no matter what happens, I will wait for you."

Her actions were so sudden, and it was the first time in so long that Xia Yunxi had taken the initiative to have such close and intimate contact with him.

To be honest, during this time, Xia Yunxi didn't mention it, and he didn't think about relationships anymore, focusing all his attention on his work.

Let alone holding hands, sometimes even if Jiang Ran accidentally touches the other person's arm, she will quietly say "I'm sorry".

And now...

At such close range, Jiang Ran could see the unease in Xia Yunxi's eyes. He took a deep breath, silently pulled Xia Yunxi's hand down, and said earnestly, "Don't be afraid. No matter what, I'll know after I talk to her."

"Um."

Xia Yunxi nodded, her smile still forced.

Shortly after, Li Shu appeared in the living room on the first floor.

From a distance, Li Shu spotted Jiang Ran and Xia Yunxi at the door, both with extremely unnatural expressions on their faces.

Li Shu's heart sank, but she didn't say much. She just said to Jiang Ran, "Go in. Miss is waiting for you in the master bedroom on the first floor."

Jiang Ran was stunned: "The master bedroom, the room I stayed in back then?"

"How would I know!"

Li Shu pointed impatiently towards the other end of the living room, "It's inside. Go in and look for it yourself."

Li Shu naturally didn't have a good temper with this kind of husband who wasn't by his wife's side when she was pregnant and giving birth!

Jiang Ran didn't seem to mind. He replied with "Okay" and then turned and walked into the house.

Noticing Xia Yunxi staring intently at Jiang Ran's retreating figure, Li Shu's eyes flashed, and she said to Xia Yunxi as if issuing a warning, "Since you've chosen to work for someone else's family, it's best not to meddle in their family affairs!"

Xia Yunxi heard it, but her attention wasn't on it.

She just nodded haphazardly and didn't say anything.

......

The master bedroom on the first floor.

Standing in front of the bedroom where he used to live, Jiang Ran felt a mix of emotions.

This is where he once lived, and many places bear traces of his life. Returning here inevitably evokes some emotions.

But sometimes things don't go as planned, and time can't be turned back.

Jiang Ran pushed open the door in one go.

The moment the door opened, a strong gust of warm air blew out, ruffling the stray hairs on Jiang Ran's forehead.

The furnishings in the room remained unchanged, just as he had arranged them when he left. The only difference was the bed in the very center of the room.

And Wen Ling, who was still lying in bed.

Standing at the door, face to face, Jiang Ran was stunned!

Wen Ling has gained weight.

She used to be very strict with her figure and paid attention to her diet, so she was slim but had a curvaceous figure.

But now, Wen Ling's pointed chin has become a rounded shape, and her whole face is rounder than before. Her upper body, which is covered by a coat, looks more voluptuous than before.

Especially her neck, which is straight and upright, seems to be a bit bigger than before...

"You're back?"

Upon seeing Jiang Ran for the first time, Wen Ling put down her phone and looked at him with a gentle smile, much like a wife waiting for her husband to return home.

"Um......"

Jiang Ran snapped out of her daze, casually closed the door behind her, and quickly walked into the room. She then pulled over a stool and was about to sit down on the edge of the bed.

Seeing his actions, Wen Ling chuckled and said, "You can just sit on the edge of the bed. There's no awkwardness between us."

Not right.

Something is really wrong.

Especially when Jiang Ran saw the faint smile on Wen Ling's face, he felt a chill run down his spine!

If a person's personality is inherently like that, then no matter how they grow up, their core traits will not change.

When he met Wen Ling, she was always so noble and aloof, and she would always keep her words as brief as possible, never saying an extra word.

Now, every word she says is beyond Jiang Ran's imagination.

Imagine you've studied a ton of information about functions to solve a problem, only to find out later that the problem is actually about geometry...

As a result, Jiang Ran became numb!

He didn't say anything, but simply pulled over a stool and placed it beside the bed. He then sat down on the stool and lowered his head.

Seeing his actions, Wen Ling didn't say anything more.

She simply held her phone and asked Jiang Ran, "My phone seems to have been formatted; all my chat history is gone. You should still have our chat history on your end, right?"

Jiang Ran originally thought he could easily bring up the topic of divorce face-to-face, but in the end, Wen Ling's changes caught him off guard.

He stubbornly persisted, stammering, "I...I guess so."

"Oh, that's good. Could you send me a copy of the chat history later? I don't have it on my phone anymore..."

Wen Ling nodded, a faint smile still on her face.

The heating in the house was still on.

A warm breeze blew, and from the moment Jiang Ran approached, his uniquely masculine coolness drifted over, lingering around Wen Ling's nose.

She could smell it very clearly.

The taste was both unfamiliar and familiar.

Half a year has passed, and Jiang Ran, whom I saw again, has not changed much.

He was still wearing the same black cotton-padded jacket from last year, which had turned somewhat gray from washing. His hair was also messy, perhaps because he had been in a hurry on the way.

The only difference is that the immaturity on his face has faded considerably; a year of social practice has made him much more mature and composed.

Wen Ling inexplicably felt like she was watching her child grow up.

He was more attracted to her in his summer clothes!

Wearing a light summer jacket, sneakers, and black trousers, he looked energetic, youthful, and full of vitality...

"Have you got a meal yet?"

In the quiet atmosphere, Wen Ling took the initiative to ask.

This somewhat considerate question made Jiang Ran feel a chill run down his spine, and he subconsciously shook his head: "Not yet."

"Oh, that's perfect. I'll have Aunt Li cook and bring the food in later, and we can eat together inside."

Wen Ling smiled and took the initiative to lift the blanket.

She wanted to get out of bed.

After a month of rest, Wen Ling's health has improved, and her movements are no longer as slow as before.

Jiang Ran then noticed that not only had her face become rounder, but her body had also gained a lot of weight.

Thanks to her wealth and access to meticulous skincare, Wen Ling's skin remains fair despite her slightly plump appearance.

Perhaps it's because she's gained weight that her former aloofness has been somewhat diminished, making her appear more kind and gentle now?

Jiang Ran comforted herself in this way.

Seeing that Wen Ling was about to get out of bed, he quickly stood up, pulled the stool to the side, and moved it aside to make room for Wen Ling to get out of bed.

However, his sudden movement of getting up made Wen Ling mistakenly think that Jiang Ran was going to help her.

Having grown accustomed to being waited on hand and foot during this period, Wen Ling subconsciously raised her hand.

And so, the awkward scene of one stepping back and the other raising his hand to wait to be helped up was blatantly obvious!

Before Jiang Ran could react, Wen Ling's voice rang out: "Why are you hiding?"

"I......"

He scratched his hair, took two steps forward with obvious embarrassment, and took Wen Ling's arm for support.

Seeing his honest actions, Wen Ling smiled with satisfaction, and stood up, stepping onto her slippers.

"Sister Wen, are you... getting up?"

Jiang Ran swallowed hard and asked aloud.

"Yeah, I'm going to the restroom. I took a nap during the day, and I just woke up."

Wen Ling nodded and slowly moved toward the bathroom.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran felt a chill run down his spine. He obediently followed beside him, but his mind was racing, trying to figure out how to bring up the topic of "divorce."

Jiang Ran didn't understand.

Isn't Wen Ling just pretending to be confused when she knows the truth?

So, we just go on like this, pretending nothing ever happened?!

Saying they won't get a divorce? What a joke! He has no feelings for her anymore, what's the point of forcing them to stay together?!

As Jiang Ran was pondering, he helped Wen Ling to the bathroom door. Adhering to the idea that men and women should not touch each other, Jiang Ran was about to say that he would wait for her outside.

However, before he could speak, Wen Ling's voice rang out first!

"Come in, you'll have to help me. My wound hasn't fully healed yet, and I can't sit up by myself..."