Chapter 48
“Snowball…” Lin Ran, looking at the fluffy cub, ruffled its fur, and An Xun, eyes closed, leaned into his touch. He had posted their “embarrassing” video, but he seemed more cheerful now, less reserved.
Lin Ran, however, wasn’t letting him off that easily. “Grandma prepared a guest room for you. You’ll sleep there tonight.”
“Mew—?” An Xun’s eyes widened. Sleep alone? No more cuddles with A-Ran?
The crew, watching An Xun cling to Lin Ran, whispering and pleading, couldn’t believe the change in his usually aloof demeanor.
“That’s how you handle a child star…” Liu Weng Gang muttered, impressed. He was glad he had been nice to Lin Ran and Jiang Jie. Those who hadn’t been so kind were now avoiding them.
As Lin Ran listened to An Xun’s promises, he felt a tug on his clothes. A group of child actors were looking at him shyly, Nuo Nuo, the young female lead, offering him a candy.
“A-Ran-gege… Can we call you A-Ran? Here’s a cookie from my mom,” she said. She had been captivated by Lin Ran during their scene, wanting to touch his long eyelashes and beautiful eyes, her mother quickly stopping her, fearing another Huang Zi Yan incident.
Lin Ran, however, had simply smiled and given her a fruit candy from their village’s new product line. The sweet, fruity candy delighted her, and, with An Xun absent, she had enjoyed a long cuddle with Lin Ran. Now, she was returning the favor, slightly envious of An Xun.
“Thank you for the cookie. You can call me A-Ran. Your braids are cute,” Lin Ran said, touching her braids. He wondered how their scenes together would turn out.
The other children, seeing this, also gathered around, except for the space beside An Xun, which no one dared approach.
An Xun, glancing at them, didn’t object. His mother and manager had briefed him on the other child actors’ backgrounds, emphasizing the importance of befriending those from influential families. He could use their connections to promote A-Ran’s orchard.
“Do you see that? He’s clearly using you! You even gave him a role and helped him with his advertising! Are you stupid?” Lu Ya said, pulling An Xun aside after his scene.
“Didn’t we tell you about his family? They’re poor! Weren’t you scared staying in that house? What about the rats?” She couldn’t understand An Xun’s attachment to him.
But An Xun just looked at her, his expression unreadable, a hint of impatience in his eyes.
“Mrs. Lu, is An Xun ready? The director is waiting,” a staff member called out, and An Xun pulled away from her.
“I did it for A-Ran,” he said quietly. He knew his mother and manager had deliberately told him about A-Ran’s background. But he only felt sympathy for A-Ran, who deserved better. He had been planning this, using his influence to help, knowing A-Ran wouldn’t accept direct help. And he had to act quickly, before Sootball found out and stole his chance.
Unbeknownst to them, Sootball, perched on the scaffolding, had been watching, its little body slumped in dejection. It had wanted to surprise A-Ran, but he was surrounded by children again. It flew back, feeling forgotten.
After a long day, Lin Ran collapsed on his bed, exhausted. He had expected to relax before school started, but the film role and the orchard’s expansion had kept him busy. He had even forgotten to log into “Demon World.”
“A-Ran…” An Xun, holding a pillow, came to his room after his bath.
“You have to sleep alone tonight. The bed is too small,” Lin Ran said, seeing him transform into a snow leopard.
An Xun, his attempt at cuteness failing, transformed back and sadly held his hand.
Lin Ran opened “Demon World,” finding Sootball missing.
[Cub is nearby. Activating “Always By Your Side.”]
Lin Ran: ? Sootball was here? Why hadn’t he noticed?
Just then, Grandma knocked on his door.
“Lin-zai, when are you taking your cat back? It’s been clinging to me all day, refusing to come to you. Is it sulking?” she asked, holding Sootball.
“Sootball? When did you get here?” Lin Ran asked, surprised it hadn’t come to him.
He reached for Sootball, but it clung to Grandma, glaring at him, its face puffed out in a display of childish anger. [I’m never smiling at you again!]
Grandma chuckled. “Is it angry? What happened between you two?”
Lin Ran, trying not to laugh, said, “Why don’t you take it to bed, Grandma? I’m tired.”
“Alright, I’ll take it. Come get it later,” Grandma said, understanding.
“Sleep well. I made you a new quilt for your dorm,” she said, leaving with Sootball.
“Cheep…” Sootball, in her arms, looked at her and her slightly lame leg. Having spent the day with her while A-Ran and Snowball were busy, it had noticed her limp. It wanted to help, but didn’t know how.
It followed her to her room, watching as she worked on her sewing machine, making clothes for A-Ran. So, that was where A-Ran learned to sew.
“You’re a smart cat, but why are you sulking?” Grandma asked, noticing Sootball bringing her a spool of thread.
“Meow…?” Sootball tried a cat sound, remembering its disguise. It wasn’t sulking at A-Ran; it was angry at itself for being replaced by Snowball!
“Getting old… Lin-zai’s going back to school soon,” Grandma muttered, her eyes blurring as she threaded the needle.
“He works so hard, even during summer break… He came home so late last night and left early this morning…” She felt guilty for his burden. If only her leg wasn’t injured, she could help.
Sootball, seeing her struggling, used its magic to thread the needle for her. Grandma wasn’t useless! She made delicious food and beautiful plushies! She was the best grandma!
“Spend more time with him while you can,” she said, patting Sootball’s head.
Sootball’s ears drooped. A-Ran was leaving for school. It should be going to school too, but it hadn’t wanted to leave A-Ran’s side since the incident with its wings. But Snowball was already working at such a young age. Was that why A-Ran liked him?
A few minutes later, Lin Ran entered, seeing Grandma asleep. “Shh… Grandma’s sleeping. Coming back to my room?” he whispered to Sootball.
“Cheep!” Sootball, seeing A-Ran’s smile, eagerly flew into his arms.
Lin Ran tucked Grandma in and carried Sootball back to his room. “When did you get here? Did you see me and Snowball working?” he asked softly.
Sootball remained silent, and Lin Ran chuckled. “Still sulking? Snowball’s sleeping alone tonight. Want to cuddle? Or do you want your own room?”
“Cheep!” Sootball clung to him. No separate room! A-Ran had made Snowball sleep alone, but not him! That meant he was still A-Ran’s favorite!
Back in his room, after Sootball washed its face, Lin Ran gently poked it.
“Cheep?”
“Still sulking? Missed me that much?” he whispered. “Turn around.”
Sootball hesitated, then turned, and Lin Ran nuzzled its cheek.
“Don’t be mad, baby. I was just tired. I worked all day and forgot to log in,” he said, his voice sleepy, petting Sootball.
But this sleepy A-Ran was also endearing, a hardworking A-Ran who deserved affection!
Sootball, still dazed from the nuzzle, watched as A-Ran’s eyes closed, falling asleep holding it like a plush toy. He was really tired.
It dimmed the moonlight slightly, letting him sleep better. That Snowball, making A-Ran work so hard! Though Snowball seemed even more tired, working long hours on set. It remembered watching them, realizing not all cubs had tutors coming to their homes. And Snowball’s mother kept staring at A-Ran with a look it didn’t like.
[Always By Your Side: 3 hours remaining] It knew the reward wouldn’t last until A-Ran woke up, but it didn’t want to wake him. It wished it could visit A-Ran like Snowball did. But… it had never transformed into its human form. Would it be handsome? What if it wasn’t as handsome as Snowball, and A-Ran didn’t like it? It had noticed the attention Snowball received on set. For the first time, it felt a pang of “appearance anxiety.”
Three hours later, as it returned to the Luna Clan manor, Oni and Yorke, receiving its video call, stared in shock.
“Nemo, you want to go to school!?” They couldn’t believe their ears. Since the incident, Nemo had refused to leave the manor. They had given up on him ever attending school, resigned to him living as a demon cub forever.
“Cheep cheep cheep!” But Nemo showed them a map. He wanted to go to school here.
“Country C!?” Oni exclaimed, recognizing Lin Ran’s country.
“An international school, perhaps?” Yorke said.
“Cheep cheep!” And he wanted to take the peach sapling with him!
“Not a problem. We’ll airlift it,” Oni said, relieved. As long as he was willing to go to school, they would send him anywhere, even Antarctica.
Should the butler accompany him? They would need to buy a house there. This was wonderful news!
Meanwhile, Lin Ran, asleep, was unaware of the eventful night unfolding elsewhere.
Shao Zi Jue, startled awake by Shao Mian and Abyss crashing through his window, stared at the resume in Shao Mian’s hand, bewildered.
“I know him! Lin Ran! The peach seller! I have his WeChat!” he exclaimed, fumbling for his phone.
Shao Mian: ? He had the human’s contact information?!
“My phone!” Shao Zi Jue’s phone was snatched away by a tendril of magic.
Shao Mian examined the profile: a simple line drawing of a dog as the profile picture, the feed filled with pictures of the countryside, the latest one showing Lin Ran holding a box of juice, his smile warm and inviting, the caption: New juice in stock! Check out the link~ And Shao Zi Jue’s comment: Me me me! I’m buying a truckload! [Excited eyes][Confetti]
“…” Shao Mian deleted the comment, then looked at Shao Zi Jue, who quickly shut up, watching as Shao Mian forwarded Lin Ran’s contact information to himself before tossing the phone back.
“Don’t harass people just because they’re good-looking. I won’t clean up your messes,” he warned, knowing Shao Zi Jue’s character well.
Supporting a young entrepreneur isn’t harassment! Shao Zi Jue thought, but didn’t dare say it aloud. Why was Shao Mian even asking about Lin Ran?
“I want A-Ran’s contact too! Can I have a phone?” Abyss whined, feeling left out.
So, it was Abyss who had betrayed him! Shao Zi Jue was annoyed, but also curious. Why was Shao Mian so interested in Lin Ran?
Back in his office, Shao Mian was about to add Lin Ran on WeChat, then, noticing “S University, Computer Science Department” on his resume, had a different idea.
[I have a devious plan.jpg]
The next morning, Tao Shu received a surprising notification.
“But we don’t hire human interns. Our team is all demons. It would be complicated… No, wait, we can hire him,” he said, his political instincts kicking in, then gasped as he saw the resume. It was the human NPC from “Demon World”! The entire team would go crazy! How had they found him?!
Meanwhile, Lin Ran, equally surprised, received a message from his academic advisor:
[Da Ding: Ran, are you there? Looking for an internship?][Da Ding: An amazing opportunity! They usually don’t hire interns, but they specifically requested our top computer science student with a national scholarship. Only you qualify. Want to try? No pressure.] Ding Dang, his advisor, sent him the details, not wanting him to miss this chance. An internship at Morson Group would be a huge boost to his resume.
[Ran: Thanks, Professor. I’ll look into it.] He opened the details and saw it was Morson Group, the company that had acquired “Demon World.” What a coincidence. And being a “Demon World” expert would be an advantage in the interview. But was it too much of a coincidence? He looked at his phone, feeling a flicker of suspicion.
