Chapter 27.

Three days before Sunday, Tao Ran began to think about what gift he should give Qiao Ye. He felt that Qiao Ye didn't lack anything in terms of toys and gadgets, so he decided to give him something fun and interesting.

After the monthly exams, Tao Ran didn't attend the afternoon self-study and left school more than three hours early. He glanced down West Street from afar and saw that Old Wang still hadn't arrived. Tao Ran followed the street near the school and wandered around. The area near the school was full of shops selling small accessories and gifts. Tao Ran looked around for a while but didn't find anything he particularly liked. As he was about to leave the shop, he caught sight of something interesting in the corner of his eye.

It's a charming and alluring potted plant with a semi-extended arm of pink petals. The large circular petals resemble a face sporting a pair of black sunglasses, while its arms cradle a saxophone with a particularly devilish smile.

It was only thirty yuan for the inquiry, and they even gave me two battery packs. Tao Ran took a big black plastic bag and covered the flowers with it, then carried it out.

He bought this flower thinking that it actually resembled Mr. Qiao quite a bit.

Tao Ran sent a text message to Li Zekun to tell Laowang not to come, then carried a black bag and strolled to take the subway back home.

He received a call from Qiao Ye when he was on the road, and he had to hold onto the flowers with one hand and answer the phone with the other, struggling to maintain his balance.

"What's wrong?"

"Send me your address and I'll come pick you up tomorrow.", said Qiao Ye.

"I don't need any trouble. I can find it myself."

"No," Qiao Ye smiled, "I'm just afraid you might change your mind."

Taoran feels depressed and says, "Is my credit score in your heart really that low? I can't believe I went the extra mile to pick a gift for you."

Qiao Ye exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, you're so good. What is it?"

"I'm not telling you, figure it out yourself. I'm hanging up, the subway is shaking too much."

Tao Ran put his phone into his pocket and felt very good.

He only saw Li Zekun's message after he arrived home. he replied saying that he acknowledged it and asked him to remember to come home early tomorrow.

After taking a shower, Tao Ran wanted to go to bed early. He had been staying up late for a while and finally he could relax a little bit after finishing his exams today.

As soon as he entered the bedroom, he noticed a change - the wardrobe door was wide open. It had been empty just yesterday, but today it was unexpectedly full. Tao Ran was initially puzzled, but upon closer inspection realized that everything was in his size, and so he understood.

Li Zekun is probably afraid that he won't have any clothes to wear when he goes out to play with his classmates, right? It's just that despite being so busy outside, he still has time to worry about finding someone to tidy up his wardrobe for him. He must have someone he likes being around, right?

Just this small speculation made Tao Ran's heart feel warm and hot. Even in his dreams at night, he couldn't stop smiling.

Qiao Ye couldn't fall asleep all night. He first took half the night to pick out what he would wear tomorrow, then called a group of buddies one by one to arrange the time and place.

"By the way, don't forget to buy a cake to bring along."

When Jia Mingxuan heard Qiao Ye's request, he was playing with Tang Hao at the bar. Both of them were shocked when they heard it and held the phone together, "None of us have birthdays this month, Qiao, who are you bringing with you?"

"The person who I like, oh by the way, tomorrow is my birthday."

"Didn't Qiao's birthday already pass two months ago? And didn't Mr. Qiao even give him a horse ranch as a gift.", Jia Mingxuan whispered to Tang Hao, venting his thoughts.

"You fool, haven't you heard of bringing people over? You're obviously just making excuses to invite the little girl over!"

Tang Hao has indeed revealed the truth, but this time Mr. Qiao did not bring a young girl.

Qiao Ye showed remarkable emotional intelligence as he chased after the person. He wouldn't let the other person feel any discomfort. He had to suppress his desire to look for Tao Ran in the morning, and he scheduled the meeting for 6 pm in the afternoon.

After finishing dinner, go find a nice bar to hang out and stir up the atmosphere. Who knows, they might stay up late and even end up taking someone home.

On Sunday, Tao Ran spent the morning reading at home and then had a refreshing nap in the afternoon. It wasn't until he was about to leave in the afternoon that he changed clothes.

Li Zekun's clothes that he prepared for someone unexpectedly fit perfectly. The majority of the styles and fabrics are minimalist, low-key, and comfortable. Tao Ran recognizes some of the brands, but there are some brands that he can't even pronounce. He knows that these clothes must not be cheap, but he doesn't feel too burdened in his heart. Clothes that exist in this way are much more gentle and caring than the stack of money that was stuffed into his arms back then.

Tao Ran never competed with Qiao Ye, but in the end, it was Qiao Ye who came to pick him up. He drove the McLaren, whose lines were truly beautiful.

Tao Ran sat on the passenger seat with the big black plastic bag in his arms. He said, "Happy birthday, Uncle Qiao."

Qiao Ye narrowed his eyes and stared at the thing in Tao Ran's arms, saying, "Quick, show me what it is."

"You should focus on driving first," Tao Ran said. After a moment, a worried expression appeared on his face, "We won't get caught for driving without a license, will we?"

Qiao Ye was at a loss for words and couldn't help but laugh and cry. "Who told you that I don't have a driver's license? I became an adult a few months ago."

Tao Ran felt a lot of information had been conveyed, but it took him a while to react. He said, "You became an adult a few months ago, so why are you doing this today? You're not lying to me, are you?"

Qiao Ye's mind spun quickly. "In order to attend school in the morning, I altered my ID card to make myself appear older. So today is actually my real birthday."

Tao Ran nodded with a sudden realization.

When they arrived at the restaurant, all of Qiao Ye's friends were already there. There were probably eight or nine of them, playing video games and card games in the private room. As soon as Qiao Ye pushed open the door, everyone became excited.

"Brother Qiao!" they all greeted, their jaws dropping when they saw the person behind Qiao Ye.

Jia Mingxuan had already discussed it with them thoroughly and said that the boss wanted to bring over someone to take a look. How did this become a man?! I've never heard that the Qiáo family's genes have all deviated toward homosexuality.

Jia Mingxuan felt that he couldn't make a big fuss like this. He walked over, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and carefully shouted, "He...Hello, little... sister-in-law..."

Taoran's brain buzzed for a moment.

"Go to hell!" Qiao Ye kicked Jia Mingxuan and pleaded, "Please don't stop giving you medicine." He then turned around and pointed to Tao Ran, indicating that he was an idiot.

Tao Ran felt a little lost in front of so many strangers. He timidly handed the large plastic bag to Qiao Ye and whispered, "It's nothing. Happy birthday."

The group of onlookers finally took a closer look at Tao Ran and couldn't help but admit that even as a homosexual, Qiao Ye had exceptionally high standards. Everyone present belonged to the second generation with affluent family backgrounds, yet they all thought Tao Ran was very well-raised.

Today, Tao Ran is wearing a white embroidered short-sleeved shirt from Dior and a pair of milk tea-colored long pants. He looks clean and exquisite, like a painting comes to life as soon as he stands still.

Qiao Ye couldn't wait any longer to open the gift, and his face lit up when he saw the flower inside. His friends also laughed and said, "Hey Qiao, this flower looks just like you!"

"Do you also feel the same way?" Tao Ran laughed, his eyes curved like a small crescent moon.

"...Tang Hao, you wait for me." Qiao Ye gritted his teeth and glared at his friend, but didn't say anything to Tao Ran. At that moment, he seemed to notice there was a switch on the especially ugly flower pot. Sorry, the young master really didn't have any experience with alluring flowers, so he turned on the switch.

So everyone saw a very enchanting scene. The vase of flowers twisted seductively in Qiao Ye's arms, blowing music while twisting like a pole dancer, it was almost eye-catching.

Qiao Ye was completely dumbfounded, with a look of despair on his face. However, after seeing tears rolling down Tao Ran's smiling face, he decided to swallow his own grievances. He freed up one hand and pressed it against the big face of that flower plate, and said with a deep and authoritative tone that only a seasoned cadre would possess, "You're truly a troublesome little demon."

The whole audience burst into laughter, the effect was equivalent to the entire De Yun Society streaking.

Qiao Ye's sacrifice had some effect. At least Tao Ran has loosened up a bit. His friends are all outgoing and lively teenagers, and because of Qiao Ye's influence, they take very good care of Tao Ran. As a result, they are having even more fun than Qiao Ye had expected.

After finishing dinner at nine o'clock, Taoran was about to leave. Qiaoye's expression changed, he held Taoran's shoulder and said, "We finally got out for a while, let's hang out a bit more, it's okay to be late. I'll take you home."

Tao Ran looked embarrassed. To be honest, he didn't have any issues, he just didn't want to upset Li Zekun. He had promised to be back home before ten o'clock...

"Are you not having fun?" Qiao Ye softened his tone, rare for him. "If you don't like any of them, let them go now."

Jia Mingxuan also joined in and said, "Yes, Ruran, we all really like you. Can you play with Qiao for a while? He hasn't gone out with us in a long time."

Tao Ran hesitated, "I...I promised my brother that I would be home before ten o'clock."

Jia Mingxuan turned his eyes and said, "Isn't it only nine o'clock? Why don't you wait outside for another forty minutes and leave then? There won't be any traffic at that time and you'll definitely make it home on time."

Tao Ran glanced at Qiao Ye's expectant eyes and said: "Alright then."

They were afraid Tao Ran wouldn't be accustomed to going to nightclubs, so after discussion, they went to the newly opened KTV near Worker's Stadium. The boss there had a lot of connections and was acquainted with Qiao Ming. Qiao Ye also got a diamond card.

Young people have a lot of ways to have fun. They taught Tao Ran how to play Werewolf. The losers had to drink a glass of alcohol. Jia Mingxuan, being protective of Tao Ran, suggested that they drink brandy if they lost. And if Tao Ran lost, he had to drink a Long Island iced tea.

Tao Ran didn't understand, but was particularly moved. But who among those present didn't frequent nightclubs more than their own homes? Long Island iced tea is a hidden alcoholic drink, with strong after-effects. I don't even know what benefits this guy got from Qiao Ye, it's clearly urging Qiao Ye to quickly handle this person.

Qiao Ye frowned, feeling a bit uneasy. He gave Jia Mingxuan a disdainful look, then pushed Tao Ran's shoulder and said, "Ran Ran, don't play with them."

Tao Ran has already finished half a cup of wine, his eyes are already moist with infatuation. He is enjoying himself, saying: "It doesn't matter, anyway, I won't be at a loss."

Qiao Ye picked up an apple from the fruit plate and stuffed it into Tao Ran's mouth, thinking that they wouldn't trick this foolish guy to death.

Unknowingly, Tao Ran had become a little tipsy after downing a glass of wine, but still remembered promising to return home early with Li Zekun. He asked a nearby person for the time.

Jia Mingxuan showed his phone to Tao Ran, which he had already set back 40 minutes: "It's only 9:15, want to play another round?"

Qiao Ye couldn't stand watching as Tao Ran was coaxed into drinking half a cup of wine. He said, "Get away, don't go around causing trouble for others."

Tang was a bit surprised that Qiao Ye cared so much about someone. "Isn't this an opportunity for you to create something?" he said.

"No need." Qiao Ye dragged Tao Ran over and said, "Stop playing."

Tao Ran started to get drunk, and as soon as he got drunk, he felt drowsy and leaned against Qiao Ye, lowering his head and yawning.

"Ranran, would you like to sing a song?" Qiao Ye's heart softened.

"No."

"Are you afraid to sing because you're going off-key?"

"Absolutely not!"

"That's why?"

"I'm afraid I might turn up the volume too high and scare you!"

Qiao Ye was incredulous: "I don't believe you can sing anything."

"On the Field of Hope!"

The entire room burst into laughter as they commented on how Jo Ye had indeed found a treasure. It's even more adorable than a little girl and worthy of tender loving care.

Tao Ran was awakened by the laughter and asked, "What time is it?"

Jia Mingxuan swiftly passed the mobile phone over, saying: "It's 9:35, just wait a little longer for Qiao to pick you up."

Tao Ran felt that something was not right and pushed Qiao Ye aside, saying, "I'll go to the restroom."

Tao Ran splashed cold water on his face, hoping to wake himself up. He wanted to call Uncle Wang to come pick him up but realized his phone was left in the private room. As he steadied himself to go back, someone suddenly hugged him from behind!

"I've been looking at you for a while now! Just from your silhouette, you look so conceited, it really is you!" The person pulled on Tao Ran's collar from behind, with the stench of alcohol on their breath: "You haven't hooked up with a wealthy sponsor again, have you? Dressed all fancy and high-class. "

Tao Ran was dumbfounded, he kicked and struggled instinctively but was completely no match for a fat man whose brain was addled with lust.

"I missed you so much, little Tao... I'll raise your price for you." The man twisted Xiaoran's face and started to nibble on it disgustingly.

Tao Ran gasped in fear, his face drained of color.

Suddenly, a strong force pulled the man away from her body. Trembling, Tao Ran looked up and saw that Qiao Ye was standing there with a dark expression on his face.

"Do you fucking dare to bully him?!"

Tao Ran had never seen such a gloomy and terrifying expression on Qiao Ye before. Previously, some of his small temper tantrums at school had only appeared as playful in comparison.

"I will let you die today!"