Chapter Ninety-six

  "---- who are you talking on the phone with so happily? Is it that actress from the circle your family mentioned?"

  Jiang Chuan slightly turned his face, and at this moment, the breath he exhaled sprayed onto Jian Ran's cheek. Although it was a cold winter day and the heating in the room upstairs wasn't turned up high, Jian Ran felt her face burning as if it were on fire - her heart was pounding heavily beneath her chest. When she heard Jiang Chuan say the words "actresses within the circle", his tone was subtly playful, and she couldn't help but lower her eyes to take a quick glance, and indeed saw that the man's lips were slightly curled up into a teasing arc...

  It's actually intentional (Heart of a Beast in Fragrance 96 chapters).

  Jin Yan was slightly annoyed, and he raised his hand to push the man who was almost pressing down on him, but couldn't push him away. At this time, the other person was still asking who that person was, and when Jin Yan didn't answer, he himself reported a string of actresses' names. The more Jin Yan listened, the more annoyed he became, and finally, he couldn't bear it anymore and raised his hand to cover the other person's mouth, saying violently: "You're annoying——"

  He didn't finish his sentence when he suddenly felt something wet and hot brush against his palm, his scalp tingling as if scalded, he hastily withdrew his hand - but before he could fully pull it back, the man standing in front of him swiftly grasped his wrist and pinned it to the door, causing a heart-stopping "thud" sound, Jian Ran was slightly stunned, subconsciously lifting his head, only to meet a pair of deep blue eyes that seemed to be gazing into his soul...

  Jian Ran: "......"

  The large hand grasping his wrist tightened slightly, and he heard the man's low, husky voice: "It's really sad, I thought we had a good relationship, but it turns out you've got someone in your heart and didn't even tell me..."

  He said, as he moved his body closer to Jin Ran, until Jin Ran was pressed firmly against the cold door panel of the Holy Lake by his sturdy chest. He took a deep breath and thought to himself, shaking his head in response with an uncertain voice that even he almost didn't believe: "Don't talk nonsense..."

  As he spoke, Jiang Chuan had already lowered his head, and the man's slightly cold thin lips brushed against his lips. Due to the slight tilt of his head, the high nose tip touched the straight nose bridge. Upon hearing the black-haired young man's words, the former let out a soft snort: "How sad."

  Although he knew the other person was just casual, his heart still skipped a beat and became impatient. His eyelashes trembled slightly as he raised his head to stop Jiang Chuan from talking nonsense. However, this movement made it seem like he intentionally offered his lips to the man's - and in his unguarded moment, the latter took advantage of it and directly bit his lip.

  Unlike the first time they got drunk, this time their kiss was fiery and lingering.

  Unlike the second time in Jiang Chuan's so-called "comfort", that kiss was warm and soft (Heart of a Beast, Sniffing Roses Chapter 96).

  Different from the third "goodnight kiss", that time their kiss was so fast that people couldn't even react to what it tasted like, only remembering the lingering heartbeat acceleration.

  This time, it seemed that he was relying on Jian Ran's concern for the people in the house downstairs to hear the commotion and not dare to struggle, Jiang Chuan completely took control of the situation. He used one hand to pin the young man's hands against the door, his teeth biting roughly into his lips until he gave up resisting and opened his mouth. The agile tongue slipped into his mouth, quickly occupying every corner, and when it was entwined, Jian Ran's heavy breathing sprayed out between his gasps for air, low moans of suffocation coming from deep in his throat. However, this time the man did not intend to let him off so easily. After Jian Ran made a "hmm" sound, his attack became even more fierce than before.

  In the quiet room, only the sound of each other's heavy breathing and the embarrassing water sounds could be heard. The whole person was pressed against the door panel, unable to move. What was most deadly was that at this moment, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from behind him as someone came up the stairs. He was startled and subconsciously retreated backwards, biting down on Jiang Chuan's tongue. In the instant when the man let out a pained cry, a bloody scent spread between their lips and tongues.

  Jiang Chuan's tongue retreated, and he took a deep breath, his face flushing red as he said "sorry". After a while, he reacted again, wondering why he was apologizing to this guy who didn't know the occasion and had been acting wildly...

  "Xiao Ran, your aunt is calling you guys to come down and wrap dumplings! Your grandma is kneading the dough, do you want to come?"

  Yuan Jincan's voice came from the other side of the corridor.

  He hastily raised his hand to wipe the saliva that had overflowed from the corner of his mouth, which he hadn't had time to swallow earlier. He shot a warning glance at Jiang Chuan before raising his voice to say to the person outside the door, "Oh, we'll be right down——ah! Damn it!"

  Jin Ran's hair almost stood on end as he exerted himself to pull out the man's hand, which had suddenly and stealthily slipped into his clothes. The man's icy hands wandered aimlessly and unscrupulously over Jin Ran's lower abdomen, back, and chest. When those rough hands grazed his chest, Jin Ran sucked in a breath of cold air. Meanwhile, Jiang Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly enjoying the warm, smooth sensation beneath his palms...

  He slowly lifted his head and looked at Jiang Chuan, who mouthed back to him: "Why did you bite me? It hurts."

  Outside the door, Yuan Jincan had already walked to their doorstep and heard Jianran's conversation suddenly stop, then a sentence of excited profanity scared him, and he hastily asked outside the door: "What's wrong?!"

  "There's no need," Jian Yan grasped Jiang Chuan's hand tightly and wouldn't let go, "I knocked over the water cup..."

  Yuan Jincan's voice sounded even more suspicious: "Did you bring water upstairs just now?"

  Jian Ran: "......"

  He lowered his azure eyes, and the man's lips curled up into a smile that wasn't quite a smile - emotionlessly watching the young black-haired person in his arms panic and back himself into a corner until both inside and outside the door fell into an awkward silence. Only then did Jiang Chuan lazily open his mouth, asking in a flat tone, "Yuan Jinran, my hands are cold, is there anything to warm them up?"

  Jiang Chuan spoke while his large hands remained on Jin Yan's waist, Jin Yan raised her head and stared at Jiang Chuan silently.

  The latter rushed him a elegant smile, lowered his head by his ear and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "You're so warm."

  Jian Ran: "......"

  There is indeed a kind of self-inflicted calamity that invites wolves into one's home.

  At this subtle moment when Zheng Yan couldn't say a word, Yuan Jingcan outside the door heard Jiang Chuan's hands moving and raised his voice: "Huh? Why is it cold? Say, Zheng Yan, you don't even turn on the heating when bringing people upstairs, are you being stingy for no reason? - Jiang Chuan, let me help you carry the heater, okay?"

  His face turned black, and at the same time, he heard the man's voice close to his ear, saying in a gentle tone, "Okay, then trouble you."

  Then Yuan Jincan really turned around and walked away in his slippers to find Nuanbaobao. Jian Ran was shocked and couldn't believe that Jiang Chuan had sent him away with just two sentences. The latter smiled lazily at him, then withdrew the hands he had placed on his waist, which had already reached body temperature, and even kindly helped Jian Ran adjust his clothes again.

  Jian Ran: "......"

  He bowed his head and remained still, allowing the man to tidy up his clothes. His chin was then grasped by a large hand and lifted upwards - Jing Ran followed the force and raised his head, meeting Jiang Chuan's eyes. The latter looked away after a second of eye contact, examining his lips with a calm, academic gaze, ensuring they didn't appear unusually red or swollen. Only then did he release him, saying: "We should also go downstairs, it's New Year's, you should spend more time with your family."

  Jian Ran: "......"

  Jian Yan continued to stare at himself in silence, his eyes fixed on his own reflection. Jiang Chuan raised an eyebrow: "What's wrong, don't you want to go down? Then we'll continue..."

  Jiang Chuan hadn't even finished speaking when Jin Ran had already turned around, opened the door and stuck his head out to yell: "Ma, we're coming down now!"

  Then she stepped out of the door, pretending not to feel the scorching gaze of the man behind her, and walked ahead downstairs, rushed to wash her hands, turned around to see Jiang Chuan standing at the kitchen door, paused for a moment and asked: "...... Want to come and learn how to wrap dumplings?"

  Jiang Chuan moved his lips but hadn't responded yet, when Yuan Zhen Cai's excited voice rose from behind them: "Of course we have to! I saw online that Jiang Chuan just returned to the country and doesn't have any relatives in China, so he probably hasn't wrapped dumplings before? This time coming to our house, we should definitely play along with local customs..."

  "What's it to you? I wasn't even asking you!"

  Yuan Jincan: "Why are you being so fierce!"

  Grandma Yan: "You all stop arguing, it's annoying - Xiao Chuan, go wash your hands and come over, Grandma will teach you how to wrap dumplings."

  Jiang Chuan made a wry face, not knowing when he had become "Xiao Chuan", and chuckled in response before walking into the kitchen. He stood in front of the young man with black hair who was standing stiffly by the sink, lowered his head to look at him: "Let me."

  He stiffly took a step to the side, and at the same time heard Jiang Chuan turn on the faucet and slowly say: "You're so obvious, it's as if you're afraid people won't know what we did upstairs... If I hadn't seen your movies before, and someone told me you just won the country's highest art award, I'd probably think this was a joke and laugh about it all day..."

  He calmly and expressionlessly lifted his foot and stepped on Jiang Chuan, then slightly composed himself, raised his head, puffed out his chest, took a deep breath, and walked out of the kitchen with steady steps.

  After standing firmly on the left, he silently took over the dough that his grandmother was kneading. Jiang Chuan walked to his side and stood still, looking at the young man with black hair who was concentrating on his work, then started chatting with the people at the table - indeed a living "husband killer", relying on his rich experience of instantly killing all the old ladies in the sports equipment square when filming in H city. Jiang Chuan showed unprecedented eloquence, approachability, elegance and refinement in front of Jian Ran's family, displaying all the merits that a mature man should possess.

  And in an hour, with a perfectly shaped dumpling, successfully upgraded to the legendary creature that often appears in Mrs. Yuan Mei's mouth: other people's children.

  Yuan Mei: "Xiao Ran, look at Jiang Chuanbao's dumplings, aren't they beautiful? Now look at yours, what a mess! They're all lopsided and will probably fall apart as soon as they hit the pot... How can you say you've been a Tianjin person for over twenty years?"

  "Haven't you heard of the saying 'learned skills bring endless troubles', mom?" The young man with black hair said, thickening his skin.

  The room was filled with whispers, Jiang Chuan narrowed his eyes and smiled, the atmosphere was truly harmonious. Everyone suspected that he didn't bring back a "future daughter-in-law" today, but rather something like a "long-lost younger brother". Lowering his head to mutter to himself for a while, at this time Yuan Jingcan brought out another batch of sweet soups from the kitchen. Jian Ran took a glance and found that it was his favorite pineapple silver ear sweet soup, so he threw down the work in his hands and rushed over to grab a bowl and start eating. The people who were wrapping dumplings by the table also gradually put down their work and came to the dinner table. Jiang Chuan sat down beside Jian Ran, but didn't move much.

  Yuan Jincan has always been someone who likes to interfere in other people's business. Seeing Jiang Chuan sitting there eating slowly, he asked: "Jiang Chuan, why aren't you eating? Don't you like the taste of this?"

  Jiang Chuan put down his spoon, smiled, and glanced at him with a hint of surprise. He was about to tell the family that Jiang Chuan didn't like sweets, but unexpectedly, the man said slowly: "My tongue was bitten by a cat just now, it hurts, I can't eat anything for the time being."

  She almost spat the sweet soup back into the bowl, her face flushing red as she swallowed it back down with a "gulp". The scalding hot liquid made her chest feel suffocated. Under the table, she heavily trod on the man's foot, signaling him to shut up - but it was already too late. Everyone at the table had shifted their attention to Jiang Chuan, and Yuan Jincheng stared with wide eyes, his expression unreadable. Jianran thought: It's all over...

  But then, Jiang Chuan slightly raised his voice and said in a somewhat surprised tone: "Ah, isn't there such an expression domestically? It means having a bit of internal heat..."

  Yuan Jincan's eyes widened even more: "Ah, you guys still have such sayings? How interesting!"

  It seems like you're completely convinced now.

  After all, Jiang Chuan also looked serious when he was talking nonsense.

  Thank goodness that my cousin's IQ is not high and doesn't pose a great threat. I calmly continued drinking the sweet soup, while his foot never left Jiang Chuan's foot. Half an hour later, he and Jiang Chuan returned to the kitchen with empty bowls, and I said without looking up, "I really want to hit you."

  "Your mom doesn't allow it," said Jiang Chuan without even lifting his head as he opened the cupboard and took a glance.

  "...Just about to spit a mouthful of blood into the sink, turned around and looked at Jiang Chuan with a strange expression, "You're not usually like this either, how come after coming to our house you're showing off like a peacock..."

  "Isn't it okay?" Jiang Chuan took the other glove from Jin Ran's hand and put it on his own, picked up an empty bowl to examine it, then tentatively turned on the faucet to rinse - not even knowing if he should add dish soap (Heart of a Fierce Tiger Sniffs Rose 96).

  “……it’s not bad either.” Jian Ran was taken aback by the question, lowered his head and saw Jiang Chuan about to put the bowl in the cabinet after a quick rinse. He took it back with a black face, brushed it with soap and water, then handed it back to Jiang Chuan, thinking for a moment before responding, “It’s just that you were too impulsive today, I was startled and frightened by you, thinking about having to spend this kind of day until the second day of the Lunar New Year makes me feel unwell——”

  "It's just that your startled and frightened expression is so amusing, which is why I couldn't help but tease you like this."

  "What?"

  Literal meaning.

  “……”

  What the hell, how can someone in this world use such a matter-of-fact tone to say "I tricked you and it's all your own fault" to shirk their responsibility!!!!!!!!!!

  He was so anxious that he stamped his feet and pounded his chest, when suddenly he heard Jiang Chuan ask beside him: "By the way, I see you have a lot of people in your family, but not many guest rooms. Where will I sleep tonight?"

  "I don't know," he said casually, shaking off the water from his ungloved hand without looking up, "My room?"

  "…", Jiang Chuan wiped away the water droplets on his face and slightly narrowed his eyes, "Together?"

  "Just sleeping."

  Jiang Chuan smiled calmly: "If not, what else did you think we would do?"

  "…Gangchuan."

  "What?"

  "Have you had enough fun?"

  "On a roll and in high spirits."

  “……”

  At this time, it had been about three and a half hours since he stepped into the house, but Jian Yan felt that he could no longer feel the warmth of home, all because he brought a melon back home.

  ……

  At night, a family of over ten people sat in the living room on time to watch Jiang Chuan's performance of "The Beauty of the World".

  The big sofa in the middle was given to the elderly and children, as well as the brain-dead fans. Jian Chuang and Jin Ran squeezed onto a small sofa together, watching and discussing in hushed tones. Sometimes they would discuss what was lacking or could be improved in the scene being played, and sometimes they would go off topic and talk about interesting things that happened on set, laughing until they couldn't catch their breath.

  It's also quite destructive to the atmosphere.

  Because today's episode is still quite sad, at least within two minutes of performing the opening song, Yuan Jingyan, who was sitting in the middle of the sofa, had already burst into tears.

  Just as...

  Yuan Jincan said that yesterday, the TV series happened to be playing the scene where Jiang Chuan played General Situ becoming a monk - at this time, on TV was Jiang Chuan with his head shaved, wearing a kasaya, kneeling on a meditation cushion, with a green lamp beside him and the sound of Buddhist chanting in his ears...

  I had seen Jiang Chuan's bald look on set before, and I couldn't help but touch it several times. To be honest, Jiang Chuan's existence really proves that "if your face is good-looking, hairstyle doesn't matter at all". Even now, even if he's just a bald man, he's still stunningly handsome, and for some reason, without the cover of hair, when the camera zooms in on his side profile, his slightly upturned nose tip and thin lips that are pressed into a straight line look even more captivating than usual.

  Sitting in front of the TV, Jin Yan almost unconsciously fixed his gaze on Jiang Chuan's nose tip.

  Because the sofa was crowded, Jiang Chuan's hand had been resting on Jin Yan's waist in a very natural posture before. At this time, he turned his head to look at the young black-haired man who was staring intently at the TV screen, and poked his waist with one finger - the latter let out a "hiss" and turned his head slightly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at him. Jiang Chuan asked: "Is it good-looking?"

  "It looks good."

  Jiang Chuan: "I'm right here, how come you don't look that happy?"

  Jian Ran: "How did you know I wasn't very happy?"

  "Shameless."

  Jian Ran: "Take your hands off my waist first, I don't want to lose face."

  Jiang Chuan's lips curved up at a greater angle, and he changed his sitting posture, but his hands didn't leave Jian Ran's body.

  At this time, the scene on TV changed, as this episode was already in the final stage of the entire series. The main storyline revolved around the female lead's wavering emotions between General Situ and the Emperor. At this moment, Mary Sue, the female lead, was seen kneeling outside the Buddhist hall, her forehead pressed against the wooden door, crying silently. Accompanied by the background music, the sound of Jiang Chuan reciting Buddhist scriptures came from within the hall. The female lead had already cried to the point of being voiceless, and in a hoarse, low voice that was almost inaudible to those inside, she said: "I forgive you."

  The sentence fell.

  At this moment, the man in the Buddhist hall suddenly stopped reciting sutras as if he had a spiritual connection. He raised his head and gazed at the Buddha statue on the high platform with a pair of deep blue eyes. After a long time, a tear rolled down from the corner of his eye.

  At this time, Yuan Jincan was beside him, holding a handkerchief and sobbing uncontrollably. Jinran also put away his playful attitude and stared at the scene on TV: A good TV series is one that has laugh points when it should, and tear-jerking moments when it should, even if the audience had just switched to this channel and had never seen this show before, they could still feel a pang of sadness in their hearts...

  When the whole scene jumps elsewhere, Jiang Chuan reminds Jing Yan in her ear: "After this section, there's basically no more of my scenes."

  "This act is quite good." Jing Ran seemed to be unable to recover from the scene where Jiang Chuan finally shed tears, "Was it real crying at that time?"

  Jiang Chuan thought for a moment and nodded silently.

  "What were you thinking of when you brought it in?"

  "The lines of the heroine are well handled by the screenwriter," said Jiang Chuan. "Everyone has some regrets in their heart, and after things have passed, they often want to hear just one sentence: 'I forgive you.' Probably only this way can put everything down - when thinking so, it's easy to have a sense of substitution."

  She quietly turned her face and stared at Jiang Chuan without saying a word.

  "What?"

  "......Are you still worried about your hamster?"

  Jiang Chuan raised an eyebrow.

  "Surely you don't think that it's because of your carelessness that your companion died, and that's why you left home?"

  Jiang Chuan: "Was it Fang Yu who told you about Xiao Hei's matter again?"

  "......Uh-huh."

  Jiang Chuan furrowed his brow, looking as if he wanted to beat Fang Yu up, but after a pause, he couldn't help but say: "There's some truth to that feeling, but sometimes I want to comfort myself, what does a hamster know anyway..."

  "What you said is five-year-old hamster IQ."

  "Are you actually going to comfort me?"

  “……”

  He stood up, shouting that he wanted to take a bath, and hastily ran into the bathroom to undress. Only then did he realize that he had not brought anything with him. He stuck his head out and shouted again for someone to hand him a towel. At the same time, he heard Ms. Yuan Mei saying that Bai Mei looked really good, and her acting skills were also great. Jiang Chuan stood up, saying that he would help Jian Ran get a towel, while turning around to chat with Yuan Mei: "Yes, on set, she had a pretty good relationship with Jian Ran - several times they almost got scolded by the director, but Jian Ran helped them out of trouble every time."

  As soon as Jiang Chuan finished speaking, the entire living room fell silent for a few seconds.

  His lips twitched at the corners: "What?"

  Grandma Yan: "Xiao Ran, be honest with Grandma, was it her who called you that day?"

  Jian Ran: "......"

  I'm going crazy, how did we end up back on this topic again?! The day is almost over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  In the midst of the wind, I saw Jiang Chuan walking slowly towards the bathroom with a bath towel, and I carefully opened the toilet door a little, stretched out my hand to take the towel. At this time, the man withdrew his hand, raised an eyebrow, and looked up at those azure eyes: "What's wrong?"

  "Did you call Bai Mei that day?"

  "Damn it, I had nothing better to do and called her, but we're not even familiar with each other. That day was clearly you who called——"

  Just as he was saying something, he suddenly felt that something was wrong, and he abruptly closed his mouth, still quite childishly raising his hand to cover it.

  Goodbye.

  He suddenly heard Jiang Chuan let out a snort, and after a moment, the hand covering his mouth was pulled down. The man standing at the bathroom door bent down to peek in and quickly pecked him on the lips - then before he could react, threw a towel over his head.

  "Go wash."