Chapter 317: You Are Ambitious
Chapter 317: You Are Ambitious
Zhan Lian nods without asking further questions. He tears off the packaging of the disposable chopsticks, stirs the boiling water in the pot with them, and An Ran adds a handful of noodles to the pot.
She sighs, pulls up a chair, and sits down, resting her hands on the table as she stares absentmindedly at the white steam rising from the pot.
"You hated me so much back then—how did you end up wanting to keep Zhan Anxin?" Zhan Lian suddenly asks this question while stirring the noodles.
Perhaps because An Ran is deeply conflicted about Little Mint’s situation, she seems to lean more toward the idea of Little Mint having an abortion.
An Ran tilts her head, looking at Zhan Lian through the curling steam. She asks in confusion, "I didn't hate you. I never said that, right? The reason I wanted a divorce was to find a man to live with and have a child. Now that I’m pregnant, why not have Doll?"
Her situation is completely different from Little Mint’s. An Ran will have Doll because Zhan Lian is the father. Her relationship with Zhan Lian is mutual, though he always seems eager for intimacy every time he sees her. An Ran goes along with it, and she also enjoys it.
But Little Mint’s situation is entirely different—it is harsh and unfair.
"Then why didn’t you come back to me when you were pregnant? Why did you have Doll on your own?"
An Ran raises her head in confusion, looking at Zhan Lian, who is standing next to the table, looking down at her. She hesitates before saying, a little sheepishly, "Didn't people always say, 'A good horse doesn't turn back to eat old grass'?"
"You sure have some pride," Zhan Lian mutters, visibly irritated. He takes some noodles from the pot, places them in a disposable bowl, and hands it to An Ran.
"Just eat the noodles without any seasoning," he says. He turns around, takes out a bottle of noodle soup from the plastic storage box, pours a generous amount into his own bowl, mixes it with the noodles, then stands off to the side, watching An Ran eat.
An Ran, sitting at the table, reaches for the noodle essence Zhan Lian has left on the table, pours some into her own bowl, and looks up at him. His childish expression—his nose scrunched and eyes narrowed—makes him look like a petulant child.
She thinks about it for a moment, then speaks: "Actually, I just thought that your conditions were good. After our divorce, you could find someone better. If I had a child for you, the flower of the army would probably despise you."
"Why are you talking about army flowers now?" Zhan Lian, having taken two mouthfuls of noodles, can’t help but make a sarcastic remark toward An Ran.
An Ran can’t help but laugh, her laugh soft and clear through the swirling steam, as she looks at Zhan Lian, who looks like a sulking child. She asks, "So, did you end up finding an army flower later?"
"No," Zhan Lian says quickly. He almost says "found one," but then swallows the words back. Why would he admit that he hasn’t? He could have said he found one to irritate An Ran, but he also fears that she might misunderstand. The delicate balance they’ve finally started to build might collapse.
So, in the end, Zhan Lian just grumbles, places his empty bowl into a plastic bag by the door, and says, "I’m going out for a walk."
With that, he leaves the room, heading who knows where.
Seeing him act like this, An Ran can’t help but sigh once more.