Now standing before you is...

Chapter 39

The door slammed shut, and Ye Zhenzhen jolted in surprise.

Looking at Gu Ran's face, a hint of shyness flashed through her clear, cold eyes, and she quickly turned her head away.

She gently scanned Gu Ran's room, a trace of curiosity rising in her gaze.

Worn clothes were tossed casually onto the bed, the wardrobe doors were left wide open, and the items in the room were scattered in a chaotic mess.

It perfectly matched what she had expected in her mind.

Pfft, what a slob!

After silently criticizing Gu Ran's laziness, she shifted her attention to the desk.

On it sat a computer with an LCD screen, looking much more advanced than the bulky monitors in the school's computer lab.

The screen was filled with dense lines of English letters, and next to the speakers sat her old little bear plushie.

Seeing this, her pretty face couldn't help but flush red again. She gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear to distract herself.

"What are you doing? Memorizing English vocabulary?"

She stared at the computer screen for a few seconds and frowned slightly, unable to understand a thing.

Just as she turned to look at Gu Ran, he looked back at her with a deadpan expression.

Solemn and dignified!

"Allow me to introduce myself. Standing before you is the future father of global mobile games, the founder of a mobile gaming empire, the lifelong nemesis of Tencent Games, the chairman of a Fortune 500 company, and the supreme creator of mythical monthly revenue records!"

Ye Zhenzhen: "???"

Do you even hear yourself?

Is this guy having an episode???

Noticing Ye Zhenzhen looking at him like he was an idiot, Gu Ran's mouth twitched. He turned to look out the window, clasping his hands behind his back to put on an unfathomable, profound posture.

"You may not believe me, but time will prove everything!"

Ye Zhenzhen: "..."

Is there... something actually wrong with his brain?

With a look of sympathy for the mentally impaired in her usually cool eyes, she stood on her tiptoes, gently raised her hand, and patted Gu Ran's head.

"There, there. If you're stressed out, just play on the computer for a while. I won't scold you."

Gu Ran: "???"

He turned his head in bewilderment, looking in confusion at Ye Zhenzhen, who was patting his head.

What was with this motherly tone?

Did she really think she was his mom???

Frowning slightly, his hand quietly reached out and grabbed the young girl's waist.

"Ah!"

With a delicate tremble, Ye Zhenzhen stepped back a few paces, her face flushed red. She covered her waist with both hands and glared at him in embarrassment and anger.

"What... what are you doing?!"

Gu Ran shrugged and said shamelessly, "Touching your waist."

Ye Zhenzhen: "???"

Are hooligans all this self-righteous nowadays?!

"Pervert!"

Hearing this, Gu Ran immediately frowned and righteously denied it, "Nonsense!"

"Who's talking nonsense? That's exactly what you are! You dare to do it but don't dare to admit it?"

Ye Zhenzhen put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest angrily, and stared straight at Gu Ran.

The latter simply raised an eyebrow and said faintly, "Don't you know that a man's head and a woman's waist are not to be touched? Since you touched my head, I touched your waist. Pay attention now, this move is called 'courtesy demands reciprocity'!"

Ye Zhenzhen: "..."

"How... how is that the same? We..."

She was getting a bit frantic, but before she could finish, Gu Ran shot back.

"How is it not the same? The principle of equivalent exchange, you were the one who taught me that."

Deeply infuriated by his shamelessness, Ye Zhenzhen grew angrier the more she thought about it. Flying into a rage out of humiliation, she lunged at him, grabbed Gu Ran's ears with both hands, and they started to scuffle.

They fought from the doorway to the desk, and from the desk to the bed. Gu Ran's movements were sharp, but he didn't dare to actually fight back. He could only play defense and was beaten into a steady retreat.

In the end, their war concluded with him being pinned face-down on the bed with his arms behind his back.

Gu Ran twisted his body, which immediately earned him a slap from the girl straddling him.

Smack!

Her slender hand smacked against his rear, producing a crisp sound that instantly made Gu Ran's face flush red.

"Ye Zhenzhen, you're crossing the line! Get off me!"

"Show some respect, call me big sister!"

The young girl scolded sharply and backhanded his rear again.

"Ye Zhenzhen! Do you really think I can't beat you?!"

Smack!

The girl sitting on top of him didn't reply; she just delivered another slap.

Gu Ran: "..."

Completely helpless against the girl on top of him and unable to actually use force, he had no choice but to bow his head and beg for mercy, obediently calling her big sister.

Seeing him act sensibly, Ye Zhenzhen nodded in satisfaction. She gave his rear one last light pat, then shifted her body and climbed off him.

The physical damage was minimal, but the insult was immense!

Gu Ran felt as if he had just been sexually harassed by a ruffian.

"Stinky little brother, do you still dare to act like a hooligan toward your big sister?!"

The victorious girl looked like a little hen that had just laid an egg, proudly craning her neck and lifting her fair, delicate chin.

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare..."

Gu Ran rolled over to lie flat on the bed, glancing at her before answering weakly.

Seeing this, Ye Zhenzhen dropped her previous attitude and instantly became virtuous and gentle.

She gently raised a hand to tuck her hair back, her expression turning calm, and turned to start picking up the clothes scattered all over the bed.

But this demeanor didn't last long before the aloof girl broke character again.

Annoyed, Ye Zhenzhen raised her foot and kicked Gu Ran's butt.

"Lift your butt!"

Hearing this, Gu Ran, who was lying on the bed like a dead dog, lazily rolled over.

Ye Zhenzhen picked up the clothes he had been lying on, rolled her eyes at him, and then suddenly realized something.

Why was she cleaning up this guy's room?

She glanced at Gu Ran, who lay motionless on the bed, and sighed.

Whatever, after all, an eldest sister is like a mother...

After gathering the clothes, she glanced at Gu Ran and asked helplessly, "Are these clean or do they need to be washed?"

Gu Ran rolled over, looked at the clothes in her hands, pondered for a moment, and answered, "They're clean. I only wore the top one for two days, the middle one three times, and the bottom one can be worn for another three days..."

Ye Zhenzhen: "..."

Listening to Gu Ran's rambling, she helplessly rolled her eyes again. Ignoring his muttering, she carried the clothes into the bathroom and stuffed them all into the washing machine.

After setting the timer, she returned to the room and began tidying up the other messy areas.

Sitting on the bed and leaning against the headboard, Gu Ran quietly watched her clean his room, his heartstrings inexplicably plucked.

It wasn't the blossoming of teenage romance, but rather a feeling that this girl was actually raising him like a son?

Whose stepsister would clean their room for them?

Not even a biological sister would do that...

Something wasn't right. It was twelve out of ten times not right!

He narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling that there was definitely something fishy going on.

A scene unconsciously flashed in his mind: We have a mole, abort the baby-making!

Once Ye Zhenzhen had completely tidied the room and refolded the clothes in the wardrobe, her gaze unconsciously landed on the computer on the desk.

"What is... this?"

At the mention of this, Gu Ran immediately perked up. He sat up straight in bed, his face full of utmost seriousness.

"Allow me to introduce myself once again. Sitting before you is the future father of global mobile games, the founder of a mobile gaming empire, the lifelong nemesis of Tencent Games, the chairman of a Fortune 500 company, and the supreme creator of mythical monthly revenue records!"

Ye Zhenzhen: "..."