The system makes me so beautiful that I don't care about anyone else's life or death.

Su Ran left after dropping Tang Shan off at the hotel.

I had just gotten home and was getting ready to celebrate Grandma Su's birthday when I saw a car parked downstairs.

Upon seeing Su Ran, the car slowly pulled up, the window rolled down, revealing the man's handsome profile.

"Happy birthday," he said.

The car door opened, and he held a black gift box in both hands.

"I was going to call you, but I figured you were with your friends, so I won't disturb your enjoyment."

"Thank you." His sudden attention made her feel uncomfortable for a moment. Before this, she thought that she and he were just acquaintances.

"You won't accept your gift?" He smiled, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“This box looks very valuable,” she said.

Gift-giving is a reciprocal affair. Mr. An had given her a gift before, and according to social etiquette, she should have returned the favor. But she hadn't returned the favor yet, and Mr. An had given her another one. She felt that the gift was a bit too much.

Furthermore, she couldn't understand what An Yecheng really thought of her.

“A coming-of-age ceremony should be a bit grand. And it’s not just for me.” He opened the trunk, revealing a large rectangular gift box. “My mom also prepared a gift for you. She’s coming back from America next month. Don’t you want to see her?”

Su Ran wanted to see An Xin.

She still harbored resentment towards what Ye Zi said when she was arrested.

She went to the prison to ask Ye Zi, but Ye Zi just looked at her and laughed, saying nothing.

"When is Aunt An coming back next month? I'd like to visit her."

Hearing Su Ran's reaction, An Yecheng's lips curved upwards even more, and his narrow eyes softened considerably.

"No need, I'll pick you up then. Aren't you going to take the gift? I've been holding it since I got out of the car, my hands are getting stiff."

His tone carried a hint of teasing, which seemed somewhat out of place with his aloof demeanor. However, he was handsome, and if a naive young girl stood in front of him, she might very well be captivated by his gentle side.

Su Ran took the gift box from his hand and was about to thank him when he took out another green gift box from the trunk.

“This is your maternal grandmother’s,” he said.

She froze for a moment.

"Did you prepare it?"

“I bet the old lady will really like this.” He added, “Last time when Grandma Su was sick, I didn’t bring anything with me when I went to visit her. I hope she won’t mind.”

Upon hearing this, Su Ran chuckled, her face becoming even more breathtakingly beautiful.

An Yecheng's heart skipped a beat; the usually composed man felt a surge of joy at her smile.

"My grandmother is so grateful to you, how could she possibly blame you? It's all thanks to Mr. An for showing up when my grandmother needed help, otherwise I might not be able to see her now," Su Ran said sincerely.

An Yecheng had to admit that he had deliberately brought this up.

The two had very little interaction, and the biggest thing they experienced together was when Grandma Su fainted and was hospitalized.

He wanted to have more and more interactions with her, so much so that he could never finish recalling them all.

After thanking them, Su Ran carried the two gift boxes upstairs. An Yecheng said he wanted to see his grandmother, but Su Ran did not agree.

Only his car lights were on downstairs.

An Yecheng looked up for a while before slowly driving away.

Su Ran placed the gift box on the table, opened the one An Xin had given her, and found a set of silver tableware inside.

She remembered that her mother also had a set of tableware like this when she was a child.

She had asked her mother out of curiosity why she didn't use porcelain tableware, but preferred silver.

My mother just smiled faintly and said it was because porcelain can break.

Su Ran opened another gift box, inside which was a set of opera cassette tapes. They looked quite old, with labels from the 1990s still attached, clearly indicating they were collectibles.

Grandma likes listening to traditional opera, so it seems Mr. An did some research on that.

Then she opened the gift that An Yecheng had given her.

It is an SD doll made according to her facial features, dressed in a sweet and cute style, with a pair of big, lifelike eyes.

"It looks good, but it's a little creepy."

Perhaps the resemblance was too great, triggering the uncanny valley effect. When a pair of large, movable eyes rolled around and stared at her, Su Ran felt a chill run down her spine.

An Yecheng investigated most of Su Ran's life and found that even the dolls she had in the countryside were found by people who didn't want them.

He thought that giving Su Ran a high-end SD doll would make up for Su Ran's past little wish, little did he know that Su Ran had already grown up.

The old, worn-out dolls accompanied her through her impoverished childhood, something that high-end SD dolls could not compare to.

Su Ran sent An Yecheng a WeChat message: 【Grandma really likes the gift, thank you.】

The reply came quickly: "I'm glad Grandma likes it... Do you like what I gave you?"

Su Ran didn't give a direct answer. She said, "You and your mother are both equally meticulous."

There was a long silence before a reply came: "My mom was very happy to hear that."

Su Ran did not reply.

On the other side, An Yecheng sat in the car, his brows furrowed.

She didn't say she liked the doll.

Don't like it?

He then called Zhou Ming.

Late at night, Zhou Ming crawled out of bed to answer the phone. When he saw that the name on the screen was his boss, he had no choice but to swallow all his resentment.

"Didn't you say that girls generally like cute gifts? I don't think she really likes them."

"Boss, how would I know? My niece just loves SD dolls. Why don't you treat her to a meal and have a chat? You can always tell what someone likes from their life." Which girl is the boss so interested in? I thought he was a cold, aloof guy, but now he's actually showing some affection and even giving her a gift like other people do.

"Dinner?" Thinking of An Xin's upcoming return to China, An Yecheng had a vague idea in mind. "I understand."

Zhou Ming was completely bewildered when the call was disconnected.

***

The folk music festival held in Kyoto emphasizes inviting veteran artists. Since opera is also a type of traditional Chinese music, Ms. Li Youli also received an invitation.

With Ghost Voice's qualifications, he wouldn't have made it to such a prestigious place.

However, Li Jian and Li Youli insisted on taking this opportunity to let everyone observe the young man, Guiyin. In addition, everyone was also very curious about Guiyin, so the organizers sent Guiyin an invitation.

Su Ran was very willing to participate in music-related activities, but she didn't expect the scope to be so vast.

While others might need decades to accumulate experience before stepping onto the stage of the Chinese Folk Music Grand Ceremony, she achieved a dream that others could only dream of in a few months.

Su Ran chose a dark green horse-face skirt with Hanfu elements, covered it with a heavy beige velvet long shirt, and wore a black butterfly mask on her face.

Her hair had grown to shoulder length, and she casually tied it into a small bun at the back of her head, which made her look cute, but also a bit sharp because of her height.

"Ghost sound?"

As soon as I arrived at the venue, a well-dressed middle-aged man walked towards me.

Su Ran didn't know him, but he had heard of Su Ran's reputation.

When he saw Su Ran turn around and look at him, he turned around and scolded the staff next to him.

"How did you manage to hold this ceremony? How could just any Tom, Dick, or Harry get in? She's so young, how can she be compared to the seniors!"