“Good, not that. You scared me.” Lu Chuchu patted her chest, relieved. “Go ahead, what is it?” Why did it have to be a confession?
Jian Ran opened her mouth, not knowing where to start. After thinking for a moment, she decided to skip the details and just blurt out the result with her eyes closed.
“Actually, I've been keeping a younger college guy.”
The air suddenly froze.
Lu Chuchu's eyes widened. “Holy crap! You're serious? How long has this been going on?”
Jian Ran scratched her head, a bit embarrassed. “Not too long. Anyway, it's a long story. It just happened by accident.”
“Not too long?” Lu Chuchu was clearly excited. “So, did you sleep with him?”
Jian Ran: “???” “Aren't you supposed to criticize me?”
Both of them were all talk. Although Lu Chuchu had once told her to find a younger guy, Jian Ran knew it was just a casual comment at the time. Just like how they'd talked about hiring male models since college, but neither had ever done it.
Lu Chuchu went, “Ah, why would I criticize you? It's no big deal. As long as you don't break the law or betray the country, all I need is the right to know.” As for everything else, of course, unconditional support.
Jian Ran was deeply moved hearing this.
“Speaking of which, you're the first among my friends to keep a younger guy.” Lu Chuchu looked proud. She really was her bestie!
Jian Ran: “...” This didn't seem like something to be proud of.
“So, how old is the younger guy? Is he handsome?” Lu Chuchu was dying of curiosity.
“Just over twenty, very handsome.”
Hearing 'very handsome,' Lu Chuchu said, “Oh,” with a meaningful tone. “Handsomer than Zhou Yu?”
Jian Ran thought for a moment, pursed her lips, and gave a soft “Mm.”
Lu Chuchu went, “Ooh,” and teased with a smile. “Damn! How handsome can he be?”
Jian Ran couldn't help but facepalm. As expected, all her embarrassing moments were in high definition in front of her best friend. Back in the day, she had sworn that no one was handsomer than Zhou Yu in her heart. Even a slew of popular male celebrities in the entertainment industry were all outshone. But times had changed. Probably past the 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' phase, she could now make a more objective assessment.
“Now that you mention it, I'm really curious what this younger guy looks like. Do you have a picture?”
Jian Ran paused. A picture? She actually didn't have one. Come to think of it, they had known each other for so long, but they had never taken a photo together.
“Forget it, forget it. Compared to the real person, a picture would always fall short. I'll just wait until this drama wraps and go back to Jing City to meet this seductive younger guy in person.” Lu Chuchu rubbed her hands together, looking eager.
“Seductive? He's a perfectly normal and innocent guy,” Jian Ran said with a helpless laugh.
Lu Chuchu clicked her tongue. “Already defending him? And you say he's not a seducer!”
Jian Ran raised an eyebrow. Fine, she'd shut up.
Lu Chuchu stopped teasing her. Actually, she was quite happy—happy that Jian Ran could finally see other men. It was a good sign. At least it showed she had moved on. However, Lu Chuchu suddenly had another worry. “You're not just climbing out of one mud pit and falling into another, are you?”
Jian Ran paused. She knew what Lu Chuchu was worried about and shook her head with a smile. “No, I know what I'm doing.” She had always known that she and Chu Lulin wouldn't last. That hadn't changed. Especially on this trip, from other classmates, Jian Ran had learned more about Chu Lulin. He was even more outstanding than she had thought. His future was surely boundless, so of course he wouldn't keep doing this.
“That's good.” Seeing this, Lu Chuchu felt relieved. Then she began imparting advice she had picked up from chatting with older sisters on set. “With this type of younger guy, spending some money is fine. You're after the emotional value. It's okay to spoil and coax him a bit, but don't overdo it, or he might get spoiled and become arrogant.”
“That won't happen. He's completely obedient to me.” Jian Ran raised an eyebrow, maintaining her sugar mama dignity.
Lu Chuchu laughed, and the two chatted about this and that.
Just before hanging up, Lu Chuchu suddenly thought of something and asked seriously, “By the way, is that younger guy clean?”
Jian Ran went, “Huh?” momentarily not catching on.
Seeing her reaction, Lu Chuchu felt the need to worry. She began to advise earnestly, “Even though he's a college guy, the circles of male college students nowadays can be quite promiscuous. You absolutely can't be careless.” Especially this kind of college guy who seeks out sugar mamas—their boundaries might be even lower. You need to be even more careful.
Jian Ran wanted to say Chu Lulin wasn't that kind of person, but she knew that the more she explained, the more her friend would worry, thinking she was blinded by lust and beyond hope. So she just gave a direct response.
“Don't worry, he's fine.”
“How can you be sure?”
“…He has a medical report.” And it was recent.
Thinking of the very detailed medical report still at her place, Jian Ran couldn't help recalling the scene when Chu Lulin voluntarily gave it to her that day. That was when Hulu had just arrived at home. She and Chu Lulin took the little one to the pet hospital for a very thorough check-up.
People who knew Jian Ran well knew she didn't like physical contact. Everyone thought she had a strong sense of boundaries, but actually, it was mainly because she had a cleanliness obsession. It was probably a kind of mental cleanliness; she always felt that any unfamiliar creature other than herself carried unknown bacteria that made her keep her distance. The solution was scientific data in black and white, or a long period of contact until she became very familiar and could slowly let down her guard.
“The kitten is healthy in all aspects and has no infectious diseases. You can adopt it with peace of mind.” Holding that medical report, Jian Ran finally felt at ease. She patted the little one's head and said half-jokingly, “With this certificate, I'll permit you to share my bed from now on.”
But who would have thought that a few days later, when they met again, Chu Lulin suddenly pulled a stack of A4 paper from his backpack and handed it to her. On it was clearly written: ** Hospital Medical Report.
“Big sister, this is my certificate.”
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Author's note: Chu Lulin gave Hulu a jealous glance, then turned around and submitted his application to share the bed~