Chapter 1017: Shi Ran Returns Home for a Short Stay

"You've lost weight; you must not have been eating well out there."

"Exactly, you aren't as fair-skinned as when you were little. It must be that the ultraviolet rays in A Country are too strong; it's bad for the skin."

"You were so diligent with your studies when you were at home and didn't have nearsightedness, but you developed it after only a year abroad. The water and soil in A Country just don't nourish people."

The old couple sang in harmony, trying every possible way to pick faults with the outside world to highlight how good things were at home!

Shi Ran smiled and said nothing. What kind of bad intentions could her grandparents possibly have?

They just wanted her to stay in Jiangzhou so they could see her morning and night, that was all.

With their sister back, the younger brothers at home were the happiest.

They crowded around their sister, scrambling to ask about fresh and fun things from the outside world!

Is A Country fun?

What kind of new things are there?

Why didn't Brother Qi Heng come back with you?

You aren't leaving again after coming back this time, right?

"You little rascals, you're all asking at once—who should I answer first?"

Shi Ran said with a smile, "How about this: everyone ask one by one, lined up from tallest to shortest. Litian, you ask first."

"Sister, are there many sports stars in A Country?"

He liked sports the most; if there were many sports stars, he wanted to go there too.

"Not many."

Shi Ran was very patient with this brother who had no blood relation to her at all, carefully explaining to him that A Country was very strong in academic research and had produced many world-renowned great scientists and writers.

But they were relatively weak in sports, and there were basically no sports events they could show off.

"Sister, I'm done with my questions."

He sensibly gave up his spot to Sheng Zichen.

Sheng Zichen had lived in A Country before and didn't have much curiosity about it, but the siblings were very close, and they had endless things to talk about after not seeing each other for so long.

"Sister, I got first place on my final exam. Litian and I, we tied for first."

Shi Ran:...

The three younger brothers looked on with collective disdain!

"Pfft."

"Can you change to a fresh topic?"

Although they hadn't seen each other for a while, their sister had known this news for ages, okay?

And it wasn't just as simple as knowing it once; every time they video chatted or talked on the phone, Sheng Zichen would repeat this news one, two, three, four, five... times.

Their ears had grown calluses from it, yet he still talked about it with great relish.

Even Litian, who had also achieved the excellent result of first place, couldn't stand this endless showing off.

He tugged at Zichen's collar: "Brother, stop talking, it's very embarrassing."

"It's fine, I'm saying it in front of Sister, not outsiders."

Zichen didn't care at all and glanced at the twins: "Don't bother with them; they're just envious of their two older brothers."

The twins:...

Although the two little brothers had different personalities—one quiet and one active—their studies were both very good; they were the type that never needed anyone to worry about them.

It was just getting first place once, where was the need for envy?

"We aren't envious of you; we get first place every time."

"Exactly, Sister has gotten first place from childhood until now, and she has never shown off once. Unlike you, just getting first place once and you're dying for the whole world to know. It's so lame."

Sheng Zichen was very annoyed: "Shut up, or I'll hit you two."

He wanted to scare the twins, but he didn't actually want to lay a hand on them.

Shi Ran frowned slightly and lectured her brother with authority: "Proud people find it hard to make progress. Although the twins are young, they are right about this. You need to be able to listen to unpleasant but correct words, do you know that?"

"Mm."

Zichen promised honestly.

Actually, Mom often said the same thing.

But he couldn't take it in; when it came from his sister, he could!

Shi Ran didn't lecture Zichen blindly; she stopped once the point was made.

She took gifts out of her suitcase to distribute to her brothers, and the gifts for Zichen and Litian specifically indicated—they were congratulatory gifts for getting first place on their final exams.

The two brothers' gifts were different, but equal in value.

Everyone else in the family had gifts too, and it was clear she had put thought into them.

Shi Ran gave different gifts based on each person's personality and age, satisfying everyone's preferences as much as possible.

After the gifts were distributed, Shi Ran went to her room to rest, and Zichen went to the kitchen to prepare the reunion dinner.

The family was quietly undergoing changes.

Before, he had to wait for Dad to be in a good mood to go to the kitchen, but now he could go anytime.

At the dining table.

Braised pork ribs, Steamed Sea Bass, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, guo bao rou, lantern eggplant, tiger-skin eggs with braised pork, stir-fried beef with chili, spicy crab, steamed vermicelli with garlic shrimp, shredded cabbage with peppercorn oil, roasted lamb chops...

It was still mainly meat-based.

Shi Ran arrived at the dining room and praised: "Zichen, your culinary skills have improved a lot lately."

"Sister, how did you know I made it?"

Shi Ran picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork tenderloin and put it in her mouth: "It's delicious."

"Guess how I knew?" She blinked playfully.

Sheng Zichen: "I've received my master's true teachings, so the food I make is naturally different from what Fang Jie makes."

"Wrong."

Sheng Litian: "Did big sister figure it out by looking at the color?"

"Wrong."

Twin Sheng Zirui: "Big sister smelled that the scent was different."

Sheng Zihan: "Big sister saw it from the knife work."

Although Sheng Zichen's cooking tasted very good, his knife work was still lacking.

Shi Ran smiled and said: "None of your guesses are right. I was too hungry just now, so I went to the kitchen to sneak a bite and discovered it. Zichen didn't even notice me!"

Everyone:...

The meal officially began.

"Big sister, try this."

Sheng Zichen picked up a piece of Sichuan pepper fish and placed it on his big sister's plate; it was incomparably tender and fresh, the fragrance of the pepper sliding down her throat along with the freshness of the fish, leaving a lingering aftertaste in her mouth.

"Mmm, it's so delicious! Zichen, you will definitely become a Chef God." After saying this, she realized she had spoken wrongly; with Dad present, he would surely be unhappy.

She cautiously glanced at Dad, but didn't notice anything unusual; it seemed he didn't mind?

Everyone chatted while eating.

When the topic turned to future ideals, Sheng Zichen openly talked at the dinner table about wanting to open a restaurant and become a chef in the future.

Shi Ran looked at Dad; although he didn't express an opinion, he also didn't reprimand or show dissatisfaction like he used to whenever this topic was brought up.

She quietly asked Mom: "Has the weather changed at home?"

Shi Youxuan: "Yes, your dad changed his mind and is letting Zichen grow freely, no longer forcing him to be the Heir."

"Dad is truly amazing."

Shi Ran gave her father a thumbs up, praising him sincerely.

Sheng Hanyu ignored her, pretending not to see.

After the meal.

Shi Ran returned to her room to tidy up a bit, and when she came out again, she was carrying a bulging bag, preparing to go see her grandfather.

Shi Youxuan: "It's almost dark, you'd better go tomorrow."

She felt a bit embarrassed and said to her mom: "Mom, I have something to do tomorrow. My former school invited me to give a speech, and the time is set for tomorrow morning."

"Alright, I'll drive you there."

Upon arriving at her grandfather's house, Shi Yucheng and Ji Yingjie were both very happy to see Shi Ran return.

Especially Ji Yingjie, whose covetous heart for Shi Ran had not diminished.

Before they had even spoken a few words after meeting, she got straight to the point: "Ranran, you've lived in A Country long enough; has it been enough yet?"

Shi Youxuan was alert: "What are you trying to do again? You have your own son and daughter now; it's inappropriate to still be thinking about someone else's daughter."

Ji Yingjie: "Shut up. I'm chatting with Ranran for a while; what's with that nervous look on your face? You don't trust me? Hmph!"

"Yes, that's right, I don't trust you. So what?"

"I'm not going to argue with you. You leave; Ranran is staying here tonight and not going back."