Chu Cheng never thought that love at first sight would happen to him.
In the dimly lit bar, the first ti Ran Jing and Ye Leyao passed by him, Chu Cheng only caught a glimpse of Ran Jing's attractive profile.
Before he could take a closer look, the two n had already walked away.
Chu Cheng didn't think much of it at the ti and quickly looked away.
What he didn’t expect was that he would get another chance to co face-to-face with Ran Jing.
The lighting at the booth wasn’t as dark as the hallway, but it was still dim.
But the mont Chu Cheng's eyes landed on Ran Jing, he found it impossible to look away.
In that brief instant, Chu Cheng felt his heart beat wildly in his chest.
It was as if his heart were pounding like a drum, restless and loud, like the thunderous roar of a spring storm—impatient to announce his sudden feelings.
So without hesitation, after confirming that Ran Jing and ng Yue weren’t in a relationship, Chu Cheng boldly expressed his desire to pursue Ran Jing.
What he didn’t expect was the reaction of everyone present—their expressions were sowhat aningful, especially ng Yue’s, who even fainted on the spot.
Chu Cheng may have never been in a relationship before, but that didn’t an he was emotionally clueless. He and ng Yue weren't familiar with each other back then, so Chu Cheng didn’t think much of it. He assud ng Yue was also pursuing Ran Jing, which led to him feeling a bit of hostility toward ng Yue.
This only strengthened Chu Cheng’s determination to get to know Ran Jing better as soon as possible.
But what he didn’t anticipate was that he couldn’t even get Ran Jing’s contact information. His first attempt ended in failure.
This setback hit Chu Cheng harder than he expected.
After sighing in front of his friends several tis, one of them finally couldn’t hold back and asked, “You’re giving up already?”
Chu Cheng sighed, “It’s not that I want to give up, but Ran Jing wouldn’t even give his contact information! Maybe I’m not his type?”
“You barely know anything about him. How do you know you’re not his type?” his friend asked.
Chu Cheng thought about it and realized his friend made a good point. But soon after, he beca dejected again, “But I don’t even have his contact information. How can I find out what his type is?”
His friend looked at him strangely for a long mont before saying, “If you really wanted to, there’s nothing you couldn’t do, right?”
Chu Cheng was startled.
Then, he smiled.
It was true—if he wanted, he could easily find out everything about Ran Jing.
But he didn’t want to investigate that way. He didn’t want to reduce his feelings for Ran Jing to a cold, impersonal inquiry.
For the first ti, Chu Cheng was this invested in soone, and he wanted to get to know Ran Jing through their day-to-day interactions rather than through clinical, detached research.
Despite the regret, Chu Cheng decided to temporarily set his feelings aside.
A week passed in the blink of an eye, and Chu Cheng hadn’t thought about Ran Jing for a while.
That morning, Chu Cheng went to the hospital to visit Old Master Gu.
The old man’s health fluctuated, sotis better, sotis worse.
After chatting with him for a while, Old Master Gu fell asleep.
Chu Cheng left the room, intending to take a walk and get so fresh air when he suddenly heard a familiar voice nearby—
“Doctor… I promise! By tomorrow, at the latest, I’ll have the money. Can’t we arrange the surgery for my mother any sooner?”
Chu Cheng couldn’t help but look in the direction of the voice, and there, he saw Ran Jing standing with tears streaming down his face.
At that mont, only one thought crossed Chu Cheng’s mind: sotis fate really has a way of working things out.
Here was the opportunity he had been waiting for.
Chu Cheng stepped in to help Ran Jing, paying for his mother’s surgery and taking care of everything.
It wasn’t until the doctors wheeled Ran Jing’s mother out of surgery and into the ICU for observation that Chu Cheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He glanced at Ran Jing standing next to him. He couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, but it seed like Ran Jing had changed sohow since that night at the bar.
It wasn’t just that Ran Jing looked pale and worn out. His entire aura and deanor seed different.
When Chu Cheng first saw him at the bar, Ran Jing had a bright and friendly smile, but it was as though a thin veil covered it, making it feel unreal—a facade.
Today, Ran Jing smiled again when the doctor told him that his mother’s surgery had been a success and that, as long as she passed the critical period, there wouldn’t be any more problems.
This smile wasn’t as radiant as before; it looked a little tired, but to Chu Cheng, it felt more genuine and heartfelt.
It was as if the version of Ran Jing he had t at the bar had been wearing a mask, but the real Ran Jing was standing before him today.
“Thank you. I’ll pay you back as soon as I can,” Ran Jing said, noticing Chu Cheng’s gaze. His pale lips curved into a smile as he spoke.
Chu Cheng wanted to tell him not to worry about it, but the words got stuck in his throat.
He thought back to how Ran Jing had insisted on writing an IOU before accepting his help earlier, his eyes red with emotion. Only after that had he reluctantly accepted Chu Cheng’s assistance.
So instead of saying, “Don’t worry about it,” Chu Cheng simply smiled and replied, “Let’s wait until your mother is better. How about we exchange contact information in the anti?”
This ti, Ran Jing didn’t refuse.
---
For the next week, every ti Chu Cheng visited Old Master Gu in the hospital, he would take the ti to check on Ran Jing’s mother.
Just as the doctor had said, as long as she passed the critical period, there would be no further complications.
Ran Jing’s mother’s condition gradually improved, and as she recovered, the smile on Ran Jing’s face grew more frequent. During this ti, he and Chu Cheng beca closer.
Then, Chu Cheng’s birthday arrived.
Chu Cheng could have invited Ran Jing directly, but he worried that a sudden invitation would seem too abrupt. So, in the end, he asked Ye Leyao to invite Ran Jing on his behalf.
As expected, once Ye Leyao extended the invitation, Ran Jing agreed.
Chu Cheng was thrilled. He was already imagining how this could bring him closer to Ran Jing when ng Yue showed up.
Not only did ng Yue co, but he also shattered the delicate veil that Ran Jing had so carefully maintained, exposing the truth to Chu Cheng.
Chu Cheng felt it was absurd, and more than that, he found ng Yue utterly ridiculous.
ng Yue didn’t value his own feelings, nor did he respect the emotions of others. People like that were no different from scum.
What made Chu Cheng even angrier was that ng Yue had dragged Ran Jing into the ss.
But was Chu Cheng really not angry with Ran Jing at all?
Upon reflecting on it later, Chu Cheng realized that he was, to so degree.
He was upset that Ran Jing had swallowed all his grievances instead of standing up for himself, and even more upset with himself for not appearing in Ran Jing’s life sooner.
If only he had t Ran Jing earlier—before ng Yue had the chance to ss things up. If he had been there to support him through his hardships, perhaps ng Yue wouldn’t have been part of the picture at all.
But regardless, the issue with ng Yue had been resolved.
Afterward, Ran Jing reached out to Chu Cheng and requested to et, sincerely apologizing to him.
Even after many years, Chu Cheng still rembered everything that happened that day.
Ran Jing sat across from him, a cup of coffee in front of him, the steam gently blurring his features. His head was bowed, and his voice was soft, but his words were clear: “In the end, it’s all my fault. But don’t worry. Once my mother recovers, I’ll pay you back the money, and then… I won’t bother you anymore.”
“Wait,” Chu Cheng interrupted, looking at the teary-eyed young man in front of him, finally realizing what Ran Jing was trying to say.
He had assud Chu Cheng would be angry and was planning to disappear from his life.
If Chu Cheng put himself in Ran Jing’s shoes, he could understand his concerns.
After all, no one likes being soone's replacent, especially when they had once played the role of a "substitute."
If it had been anyone else, Chu Cheng might indeed have been angry.
But perhaps Chu Cheng was simply biased—when it ca to Ran Jing, those principles didn’t seem to matter anymore.
Looking at the young man before him, Chu Cheng took a sip of his coffee and then suddenly smiled, “I’m not angry.”
At this, Ran Jing looked startled, his beautiful almond-shaped eyes widening in disbelief as he stared at Chu Cheng.
Chu Cheng’s lips curved slightly.
ng Yue had said that Ran Jing resembled him, and upon closer inspection, there was indeed a bit of similarity.
But their resemblance was more in spirit than in appearance.
Ran Jing’s features were more refined and delicate, and while there were slight similarities in their eyes, they weren’t that alike overall.
At least, that’s how Chu Cheng saw it.
ng Yue’s belief that they resembled each other was mostly due to Ran Jing’s deliberate imitation.
Because he had observed Chu Cheng’s social dia closely over the years, Ran Jing’s outfits, hairstyle, and even his mannerisms had all subtly gravitated
toward Chu Cheng’s style.
But now that ng Yue was out of the picture, Ran Jing’s behavior and style had reverted to sothing more uniquely his own.
And fortunately, Chu Cheng had fallen for the real Ran Jing.
At first, it had been Ran Jing’s face that caught his attention. But after spending ti together, Chu Cheng was far more drawn to Ran Jing as a person.
Ran Jing raised his eyes, still looking a bit lost. He parted his lips to speak but hesitated before asking, “Why...?”
Chu Cheng smiled softly. “You should know that I like you.”
Ran Jing’s face flushed red, clearly not expecting Chu Cheng to be so direct.
After a long pause, Ran Jing finally asked, “So... why?”
Why would he like soone like him?
Ran Jing knew his appearance had its advantages, but given Chu Cheng’s status, it wouldn’t be hard for him to et plenty of other attractive people.
Why him?
Especially when Ran Jing had once been a stand-in for soone else in front of other people.
Why wasn’t Chu Cheng angry? Why did he say he liked him?
Ran Jing didn’t understand.
Before eting Chu Cheng, Ran Jing had never been soone who questioned things too deeply.
But sitting across from Chu Cheng now, perhaps it was the genuine warmth in Chu Cheng’s gaze, or perhaps it was Ran Jing’s own longing for an answer, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking.
Unfortunately, Ran Jing still didn’t get the answer he was looking for.
Because love, after all, often cos without reason.
No one knows exactly what it is that draws them in when they fall in love at first sight.
Chu Cheng was the sa.
The only thing that left a lasting impression on him was the fleeting smile Ran Jing had shown that first ti they t.
Maybe it was in that very mont that his heart began beating so loudly, so insistently, that he could no longer ignore it.
Love sotis begins without explanation, yet it deepens endlessly.
---
From that day on, Chu Cheng and Ran Jing started interacting more frequently.
Though there was no significant breakthrough in their relationship, Chu Cheng would occasionally share updates about his daily life, and Ran Jing would reply to each ssage. However, his responses were still a little too formal and polite, lacking the warmth of a more intimate connection.
Chu Cheng wasn’t impatient, though. He understood that rushing things wouldn’t help.
So, he decided to take his ti and began contemplating his future.
His mother had always wanted him to settle abroad, which was why she had taken him with her when she moved overseas after the divorce.
But in all those years abroad, Chu Cheng never felt completely at ease.
To outsiders, his life seed carefree and full of adventure, but only he knew that he preferred life in his ho country.
Moreover, if he really did settle abroad, what would happen to Ran Jing?
Even though they weren’t officially together yet, Chu Cheng was serious about his feelings. When he thought about his future, he had to consider Ran Jing as well.
Ran Jing’s mother was in China, and his job was based there, so there was no way he could leave the country.
After much deliberation, Chu Cheng made up his mind—he would stay.
Not just for Ran Jing, but also for himself.
Making the decision wasn’t difficult, but convincing his mother was a different matter.
Just as Chu Cheng was struggling to figure out how to bring it up with his mother, sothing unexpected happened.
Even after two years had passed, Chu Cheng still rembered the day of the heavy rain.
The passing of Old Master Gu, Gu Rou’s car accident, and—
Ye Leyao.
After Ye Leyao’s departure, everyone he had helped began to rember him.
This included both Chu Cheng and Ran Jing.
Ran Jing didn’t know whom to call, so he dialed Chu Cheng’s number. As soon as Chu Cheng picked up, he heard Ran Jing’s anxious voice on the other end: “Is Ye Leyao… is he okay?”
Chu Cheng had been far away from Qin Hongxi at the ti, but the bright lights of the truck were burned into his mory, impossible to forget.
After a long silence, Chu Cheng finally responded in a hoarse voice, “Ran Jing, don’t worry...”
But before he could finish his sentence, he realized that his own tears were already falling.
Of course.
In the Gu family, besides his mother, there were only two people who had treated him kindly. One had passed away that day, and the other was left devastated.
Even though Chu Cheng knew he needed to be strong, he couldn’t suppress the overwhelming grief.
In the days that followed, Chu Cheng was overwheld with work.
He was busy running between the Gu and Qin families, helping with the funerals.
The day of Old Master Gu and Gu Rou’s burial was also rainy.
After a long, exhausting day, Qin Hongxi asked Chu Cheng to stay and rest at his house, but after seeing how worn out both father and son were, Chu Cheng declined.
Qin Yao and Qin Hongxi needed ti to process their emotions, and Chu Cheng needed his own space as well.
So he returned to his apartnt in the city center. The apartnt had only been purchased recently, and while its décor wasn’t exactly to Chu Cheng’s taste, the location was convenient, and the single-occupant floor plan was quite comfortable.
When the elevator doors opened, Chu Cheng froze.
The figure leaning against the wall didn’t expect Chu Cheng to show up either and was equally startled. “You… you’re back?”
Chu Cheng scanned Ran Jing up and down for a mont before finally speaking, “Ran Jing, you—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Chu Cheng noticed the tear stains on Ran Jing’s face.
His heart clenched as if sothing had grabbed hold of it tightly. Suddenly filled with worry, Chu Cheng forgot all about his luggage and rushed over. “Why are you crying…? Is it your mother…?”
Ran Jing tilted his head up slightly to et Chu Cheng’s gaze, his eyes brimming with even more tears. Covering his face with his hands, he shook his head helplessly.
Chu Cheng’s heart ached. Without thinking, he pulled Ran Jing into his arms.
With their chests pressed together, Chu Cheng could finally hear the faint, trembling words from Ran Jing’s lips: “I… I thought you weren’t coming back…”
Chu Cheng’s eyes grew warm, his heart swelling with a mix of emotions—mostly sweetness. It took him a mont to fully process the feeling.
“How could I not co back?” Chu Cheng whispered, his voice gentle. “How did you even know I went abroad?”
Chu Cheng pulled back slightly, using his fingers to wipe away the tears still clinging to the corners of Ran Jing’s eyes. His gaze was filled with tenderness and concern.
Ran Jing looked at him with tearful eyes and, after a brief hesitation, admitted softly, “I… I ca to your place and found you weren’t ho. I couldn’t get in touch with you, so I went to Qin’s house… I lied and said my mother was gravely ill…”
Before leaving the country, Chu Cheng had specifically asked Qin Yao to look out for Ran Jing, worried that sothing might happen to him.
So when Qin Yao learned that Ran Jing’s mother was supposedly in a critical condition, he hadn’t hesitated to tell Ran Jing the truth about Chu Cheng’s departure.
But before Qin Yao could fully explain the situation, Ran Jing, anxious and panicked, had already left.
Ran Jing had only recently co to terms with his own feelings. He hadn’t even had the chance to confess his feelings to Chu Cheng, and now Chu Cheng had suddenly left.
The shock had been too much for Ran Jing to handle, which was why he had shown up in Chu Cheng’s apartnt looking so distraught.
In the end, what had happened, this whole sequence of events, had beco a catalyst for their relationship.
Ran Jing had already realized how he felt about Chu Cheng, but it wasn’t until Chu Cheng had left for abroad that Ran Jing truly understood the depth of his emotions. He realized that, just like Chu Cheng, he had long since fallen deeply in love without even knowing it.
This situation proved the old saying true: “Love grows unknowingly but runs deep.”
It was only because of love that you think of soone constantly, that you panic when they leave.
Ran Jing loved Chu Cheng just as deeply as Chu Cheng loved Ran Jing.
---
**Ran Jing x Chu Cheng’s Story Ends**
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