The car window reflected the stiff expression of the young man.
The blurry lights left uneven patches of light and shadow on his side profile. As the light shifted, it revealed two people sitting in the dim back seat, sitting quite close to each other.
Lin Ran had been holding the same position for a long time, with a small head resting on his shoulder.
Sheng Qingxi had fallen asleep.
After kissing him.
It was only after the fact that Lin Ran realized he had been taken advantage of by this little thing.
Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of Sheng Qingxi’s hotel.
Lin Ran’s palms were covered in a light sheen of sweat. He clenched his fists, making sure he still had enough strength to carry Sheng Qingxi. Only after confirming did he pick her up and walk toward the brightly lit hotel lobby.
The room key was in her pocket. Lin Ran reached in and found it right away.
He took the elevator, went upstairs, swiped the card, and entered the room.
He laid Sheng Qingxi on the bed and tucked her in.
Lin Ran did all of this in one seamless motion, without showing any emotion.
Then, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.
Lin Ran awkwardly sat on the edge of Sheng Qingxi’s bed. The narrow gap between the two beds forced him to bend his long legs uncomfortably. The room lights were off, and he deliberately controlled his breathing, which had become noticeably quickened.
But even so, Lin Ran worried his heartbeat might still be loud enough to wake her.
Lin Ran had come to Ningcheng just to see her.
Now that he had, he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to return to Chucheng. What the hell was this?
Lin Ran rubbed his temples. He was sure that by tomorrow, this little tipsy cat wouldn’t remember a thing.
Sheng Qingxi slept peacefully through the night, while Lin Ran remained seated beside her the entire time. It wasn’t until the faint light of dawn crept in through the window that he stood up, went outside to smoke a cigarette, and grabbed breakfast for her on the way back.
Lin Ran knew that Sheng Qingxi’s internal clock would wake her up around six in the morning. For her, vacations weren’t much different from regular days.
Sometimes, he wondered how she had grown up to be this way—so disciplined, almost to the point of being overly strict with herself.
…
The hangover was unpleasant. Sheng Qingxi rarely felt so out of sorts. She headed to the bathroom, took a shower, and only after that did she feel a bit more refreshed.
At six-thirty, the doorbell rang.
Sheng Qingxi froze for a moment, putting down the towel before heading to the door.
The moment she opened it, she immediately closed it again. Was she still dreaming? Why was Lin Ran standing there?
Left standing outside, Lin Ran kept his expression neutral as he pulled out his phone and called her.
A minute later, the door opened again.
Sheng Qingxi and Lin Ran stood there, staring at each other with wide eyes.
Lin Ran chuckled, then reached out and ruffled her freshly dried hair into a mess. “Sheng Qingxi, how old are you? You’re not a little kid anymore, so why are you sneaking drinks like one?”
As Lin Ran pushed her gently back into the room, Sheng Qingxi was still a bit dazed. “Lin Ran, why… why are you here?”
Lin Ran shoved the sandwich and milk he had bought into her hands. “Someone called me yesterday, saying they had a little tipsy cat over there who kept calling out my name and wouldn’t leave. They didn’t know what else to do, so they called me. You tell me, why am I here?”
The sandwich and milk in Sheng Qingxi’s arms were still warm.
After a moment of silence, she whispered, “You’re lying.”
Lin Ran chuckled, lifting his chin, “Eat your breakfast. Don’t you have an award ceremony this morning?”
Sheng Qingxi nodded.
Lin Ran got up, pulled the curtains closed, and then sprawled out on her bed, completely at ease. “Wake me up when you get back. I’ll take you out this afternoon. Tomorrow, we’ll fly back together.”
Even though there were two beds in the room, Lin Ran deliberately chose to lie on the one Sheng Qingxi had slept in.
After speaking, he closed his eyes and immediately started pretending to sleep, looking serious about it.
Sheng Qingxi lowered her eyes, gazing at the sandwich and milk in her hands, her fingers tightening just slightly.
The plastic wrapping crinkled faintly, producing a soft, sharp sound.
Never—never had anyone cared for her like Lin Ran did.
—
A soft “beep” sounded at the door.
Sheng Qingxi carefully opened the door, holding her trophy and prize money. The room was dim, and the sound of Lin Ran’s slow, steady breathing filled the space.
She gingerly set everything down before kneeling by the bed, watching him sleep.
Even in his sleep, Lin Ran didn’t look peaceful or gentle. The sharpness in his features was still evident, though the coldness in his eyes was absent, making him appear just a little less intimidating.
Sheng Qingxi stared at him for a while, noticing the faint dark circles under his eyes and the stubble on his chin.
In her previous life, Sheng Qingxi had never been this close to Lin Ran, close enough to see the thickness of his eyelashes. She subconsciously held her breath as she quietly moved closer to the sleeping Lin Ran.
It was embarrassing to admit, but last night she had dreamt of Lin Ran—and in that dream, she had kissed him.
She had never dreamt of anything like that before, and even seeing Lin Ran intact in her dreams was rare.
Sheng Qingxi’s gaze lingered on Lin Ran’s lips for a while, feeling that it wasn’t quite right to have stolen a kiss in her dream. So, in a small voice, she asked, “Lin Ran, can I kiss you?”
It was just like when she had asked, “Can I hug you?” at the school gate.
Exactly the same.
That day, before Lin Ran could respond, she had hugged him. And now, with Lin Ran asleep, there was no way he could answer her.
Sheng Qingxi knelt by the bed, using just a bit of strength to lean forward until she was only inches away from Lin Ran.
His warm breath brushed lightly against her cheek, and they were getting closer.
Just a little more, and she would be able to kiss him.
And it was at that exact moment that Lin Ran’s eyes opened.
The drowsiness was mostly gone from his dark eyes as he stared intently at Sheng Qingxi, his voice husky and low. “Sheng Qingxi, what are you doing?”
Sheng Qingxi shrank back a little, her voice soft and delicate. “I want to kiss you.”
Lin Ran reached out and pressed the back of her neck, preventing her from retreating any further. There were questions he had never asked her directly before, but today, he wanted to.
Though it was daylight, the room was shrouded in darkness.
The curtains were tightly drawn, leaving no gap for even a sliver of light to enter.
Lin Ran looked at Sheng Qingxi in front of him. Her features didn’t blur in the dimness; instead, they became even more distinct. She lowered her eyes, not daring to meet his gaze, her lashes trembling slightly.
“Sheng Qingxi.”
“Mm.”
“Do you like me?”
“…”
“I do.”
“Still want to kiss me?”
“…Get up and eat.”
The girl, clearly embarrassed, shrank back.
Lin Ran couldn’t help but chuckle softly. It was the first time he had seen Sheng Qingxi back down. Normally, she never retreated, so this was quite a rare sight.
As soon as Lin Ran let go, Sheng Qingxi slipped away like a fish escaping from his grasp. She quickly got up and ran far from him, as if afraid he would pull her back and ask again if she still wanted to kiss him.
She darted into the bathroom, covering her flushed cheeks.
Her heart was pounding wildly.
“Thud—thud.”
There was a light knock on the bathroom door.
Lin Ran’s voice, still husky from sleep, came through, “I’m going to get another room and take a shower. I’ll come back to find you afterward. Don’t run off, stay in the room. Got it?”
Sheng Qingxi responded hastily, her voice flustered.
The person outside paused for a moment before leaving without saying anything else.
Sheng Qingxi let out a sigh of relief.
—
The lively streets of Ningcheng.
Sheng Qingxi sat by a fountain holding a skewer of candied hawthorn, waiting for Lin Ran. He insisted on getting her milk tea because, according to him, every other girl on the street had one in hand.
Sheng Qingxi wasn’t particularly fond of candied hawthorn. The sweet, sticky coating gave way to the sour hawthorn inside, making her scrunch up her face slightly.
She didn’t like sour fruits.
Lin Ran walked back with the milk tea, but after a few steps, he stopped in his tracks.
The mist from the fountain created rainbow-like halos under the sunlight.
Next to those colorful halos, the girl sat in a white dress, her long black hair gently lifted by the breeze. She had her head bowed, her brows slightly furrowed, seemingly troubled by the treat in her hand.
Even with her brow furrowed, her delicate features were still pleasing to the eye.
She looked pure and untouched.
She evoked a sense of tenderness, and everyone passing by the fountain couldn’t help but glance at her.
But out of all those people, only Lin Ran knew how resilient she truly was.
Before Sheng Qingxi could take a bite of the second candied hawthorn, Lin Ran approached, snatching it from her hand and replacing it with the milk tea he had brought. In the blink of an eye, the skewer was tossed into a nearby trash bin.
It was Lin Ran who had bought the candied hawthorn in the first place. Seeing random things on the street, he always wanted to buy them for her.
Despite walking the entire way, Lin Ran still couldn’t figure out what to get Sheng Qingxi for lunch. The girl’s aversion to meat made things quite tricky.
He sat down beside her, playfully curling a lock of her black hair around his finger. “Sheng Qingxi, what do you want to eat for lunch?”
As she sipped on the milk tea, the taste of her favorite brown sugar flavor filled her mouth. The pearls were soft and still warm.
Sheng Qingxi, her cheeks puffed out as she thought, recalled hearing Xie Zhen mention in the exam hall that she wanted to eat mala xiangguo (spicy stir-fry hot pot). Sheng Qingxi had only tried it in her past life after being coaxed by her colleagues—it wasn’t something she’d eaten before that.
So, she suggested, “Lin Ran, let’s go eat mala xiangguo.”
Lin Ran: ?
Eat what? For a moment, Lin Ran thought he had misheard.
He had spent the last hour agonizing over what to feed the girl he cared about, worrying that she might not like whatever he chose, and then she just casually suggested mala xiangguo.
Half an hour later.
Lin Ran and Sheng Qingxi found themselves seated in a reasonably clean xiangguo restaurant.
Still thinking about the events from last night, Lin Ran paid extra attention to what Sheng Qingxi ordered.
But the more he observed, the heavier his heart grew, and his expression darkened bit by bit.
She was eating meat again today.
Something was definitely off about her last night, especially when she had said that strange, out-of-the-blue sentence: Lin Ran, it’s raining again today.
Most people might have dismissed her words as something psychological, but Lin Ran was different. After his rebirth, his memories had been a chaotic mess, and there were times when he couldn’t even distinguish between day and night.
Unconsciously, Lin Ran’s mind drifted back to that question Sheng Qingxi had asked him at his house:
Lin Ran, does it hurt?
And also:
Lin Ran, for the next year, can you stay by my side?
The thoughts that had surged in the bathroom that night began to grow wildly in Lin Ran’s mind, momentarily leaving his brain in a blank state.
It wasn’t just that—there had been more.
On Mount Sishi, she had asked him: Lin Ran, do you not want to live?
Every word Sheng Qingxi had said replayed in Lin Ran’s mind, accompanied by the occasional pained expression she wore. She had even seriously asked him once what his dream was.
She…
She had known all along.
It was lunchtime, and people were bustling in and out of the restaurant.
The noisy chatter came from all directions, while the smell of hot, greasy smoke from the kitchen slowly dispersed.
The warmth in Lin Ran’s body drained away inch by inch, from his blood to his limbs and bones, until he was completely cold.
Lin Ran raised his eyes and looked at Sheng Qingxi, who was calmly wiping her chopsticks.
He heard himself, in a flat and emotionless voice, ask her—
“Sheng Qingxi, did you know I would die in the fire?”