The train was still in motion, and she was worried he’d feel unwell the next day.
Lin Ran didn’t respond, just gently stroking her fingertips.
After thinking for a moment, Sheng Qingxi told Lin Yanyan and the others that she was going to help Lin Ran back to his room. She was so focused on Lin Ran that she didn’t notice the way the other three were all looking like they had something to say but couldn’t.
As Sheng Qingxi helped Lin Ran up, a nearby staff member approached to offer assistance. Most of the staff on the train spoke Chinese, so communication wasn’t a problem.
Naturally, Sheng Qingxi refused. Lin Ran never liked being touched by others.
Xie Zhen, He Mo, and Lin Yanyan watched as the two walked away, with Lin Ran’s large frame leaning heavily on Sheng Qingxi. They couldn’t believe how shameless he was. The trio began grumbling amongst themselves.
He Mo sighed, “Only the fairy would believe Brother Ran got drunk on so little.”
Xie Zhen condemned Lin Ran, “Brother Ran has no shame! He can come up with any trick.”
Lin Yanyan pouted, “Only Sister Sheng would indulge him like this.”
She began to worry whether Sheng Qingxi would even come back tonight. If not, should she go to Lin Ran’s room to find her? But if she did… would she be disturbing them?
The three of them sighed in unison.
Meanwhile, Sheng Qingxi couldn’t hear their complaints. She was carefully supporting Lin Ran as they walked.
The carriage swayed slightly, and Lin Ran draped his arm over Sheng Qingxi’s shoulders, letting her lead him. This little thing, with her tiny arms and legs, surprisingly had a lot of strength, despite barely eating anything.
Once they reached his room, Sheng Qingxi paused at the door, taking a moment to catch her breath before asking Lin Ran, “Lin Ran, where’s your key?”
Lin Ran’s eyes were half-closed, and he didn’t respond, as if he hadn’t heard her.
Sheng Qingxi had no choice but to search for it herself.
The door handle had a wooden pendant hanging from it, and one glance at Lin Ran’s upper body told her the key wasn’t there.
His black suit pants fit snugly around his long legs, and his polished black shoes reflected the light from the hallway lamps. Bracing herself, Sheng Qingxi reached toward his waist to search for the key.
She didn’t immediately put her hand in his pocket but cautiously felt around the outside of it.
The pocket on his left side, closest to her, was flat and smooth. The moment her fingers brushed the fabric, she could feel Lin Ran’s firm, taut muscles underneath. The memory of the intimate scene from that afternoon flashed through her mind, and her cheeks began to flush.
Sheng Qingxi bit her lip, pushing those thoughts aside, and reached around Lin Ran’s lean waist to feel for the pocket on the other side. The thin fabric did little to block the warmth of his skin.
Her fingers curved slightly as she cautiously explored his pocket. After a moment, she finally felt the wooden pendant of the key.
Sheng Qingxi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Supporting most of Lin Ran’s weight, she used her free hand to unlock the door. The room inside was dark, with only a sliver of light from the hallway seeping in as the door opened.
Through the faint light, Sheng Qingxi could make out that the sofa had already been made into a bed. She carefully guided Lin Ran into the room, closed the door, and moved to turn on the light.
But just as her hand reached for the switch, her wrist was suddenly grabbed. Lin Ran, even in the darkness, had accurately caught her hand, preventing her from turning on the light.
Sheng Qingxi was startled for a moment. “Lin Ran?”
The man who had been lying there quietly with his eyes closed suddenly moved. His large hand slid around her waist, and with little effort, he pushed her against the wall. His tall frame pressed closely against her.
Sheng Qingxi was wearing the black dress that Lin Ran had personally chosen. He knew exactly how this dress was designed.
The black bow at her chest could be undone with just a simple tug, and once that bow was untied, the ribbon around her waist would loosen, pulling down the special zipper at the back.
Only after untying the bow could the zipper be pulled down.
Lin Ran’s gaze fixated on her delicate, pale neck. To cover the marks he had left on her skin, she had tied a thin, semi-transparent black ribbon around it, which, in the dim light, constantly stimulated Lin Ran’s senses.
The faint scent in the stifling air lingered around them.
Sweet, Lin Ran thought.
The effects of the wine were beginning to kick in.
It felt like every nerve in his body was submerged in scorching blood. She was like a flame, igniting every restless cell in his veins, making it unbearable for him.
Her soft, worried voice sounded beside his ear, “Lin Ran, are you okay?”
Soft and gentle, just like before, as if she wasn’t even aware she was being pinned against the wall.
Lin Ran’s gaze faltered for a moment before a low chuckle escaped his throat, his voice hoarse and deep. “Officer, will you lie with me for a while? I just want to hold you. Just for a bit, no kissing, I promise. Don’t go.”
Sheng Qingxi rose on her toes and gently touched Lin Ran’s forehead, checking his temperature before quietly responding, “Alright, I’ll take you over. No lights?”
Lin Ran whispered, “No lights.”
…
The train continued its journey.
Sheng Qingxi lay on the bed, facing the wall. Lin Ran, behind her, had wrapped her entire body in his embrace, his chin resting near her neck, and his warm breath tickled the back of her ear.
One breath in, one breath out.
In the silence, neither of them spoke.
“Sheng Qingxi.”
Lin Ran’s voice broke the quiet, slow and raspy.
Sheng Qingxi shifted slightly, trying to turn her head to look at him, but Lin Ran didn’t move. Unable to see him, she softly replied, “I’m here. Lin Ran, what’s wrong?”
Lin Ran closed his eyes, holding her even tighter as he asked in a low voice, “How did you live before? Growing up, all those years… I want to know. Will you tell me?”
Sheng Qingxi sighed quietly in her heart.
The memories of her childhood were a bit blurry, after all, so much time had passed. She could only share what she still remembered. “When I was little, I loved winter the most.”
For Sheng Qingxi, winter always meant celebrating the New Year. During that time, Sheng Lan would buy her new clothes and toys, and most importantly, she’d get to eat a lot of candy.
“Back then, I didn’t understand why the people around me came and went, or why I never saw them again. It wasn’t until I got a bit older that I realized we were all orphans.”
Unlike the other children, Sheng Qingxi had been taken in by Sheng Lan as a baby. She always believed that Shengkai was her home, and the children she grew up with were her brothers and sisters.
“Sheng Mama once told me that many people wanted to adopt me. But she was always worried, weighing this and that, and in the end, she decided to keep me with her. When I was at school and no one would play with me, she’d sometimes ask me if I resented her for keeping me. Maybe I could have had a better life. But I didn’t know what a ‘better life’ meant. I just wanted to stay at Shengkai. Shengkai was my home.”
“In school, I was always by myself. I liked being alone. I had a lot of things I wanted to do, a lot of thoughts about the future, so I didn’t care what others said. None of that mattered to me.”
At that time, Sheng Qingxi thought her life would always be that way.
Until one Christmas Eve, when she met Lin Ran.
Not knowing what she was thinking, Sheng Qingxi pressed her lips into a small smile and said softly, “Lin Ran, back then, I used to sneak over to No. 1 High to watch you—many times.”
Lin Ran froze.
He had never heard Sheng Qingxi mention this before.
Before he could ask, Sheng Qingxi continued, “One time, I saw you standing at the school gate with a girl. You smiled at her.”
Lin Ran: ?
I smiled at a girl? That’s impossible!
…
In the darkness, Lin Ran furrowed his brow, trying hard to recall when he might have smiled at a girl. Did he look like the kind of guy who would smile at a girl? No way!
But Sheng Qingxi didn’t seem to dwell on it and kept talking. “Most of the time when I saw you, you had a cold expression on your face. You looked distant, like you were hard to approach. You were usually only with He Mo and Xie Zhen, and of course, your car.”
Suddenly, she changed the subject. “But that day, you smiled.”
Lin Ran: “…”
Damn it.
He was almost tempted to travel back in time and see who he had smiled at. But still, even as he thought that, he seriously began to consider what kind of situation would lead him to smile at a girl.
Based on what Sheng Qingxi had said, he could rule out Lin Yanyan.
It couldn’t have been Lin Yanyan, otherwise, Sheng Qingxi wouldn’t have brought it up.
As for other possibilities…
The more Lin Ran thought about it, the less likely it seemed that he would smile at a girl.
After thinking for a long while and still coming up blank, Lin Ran finally bit the bullet and asked, “Sheng Qingxi, who did I smile at?”
Sheng Qingxi stifled a laugh. “The girl worked at the garage. She handed you a helmet. It was the one you had been waiting for. As soon as it arrived at the garage, they brought it straight to you.”
Sheng Qingxi had discovered this detail much later when she happened to look into it.
When Sheng Qingxi said that, Lin Ran finally remembered. That day, after school, he and Xie Zhen had just left the gate when someone from the garage approached them with the helmet he had waited three months for.
But Lin Ran had no memory of whether the person who delivered it was a man or a woman. He vaguely recalled saying thanks and maybe smiling a bit.
In a playful move, Lin Ran bit down on Sheng Qingxi’s soft cheek as punishment. “You remember such small details. What’s going on in that little head of yours all day, huh? Have you been thinking about me this whole time, hmm?”
Sheng Qingxi laughed softly but didn’t reply. Lin Ran, realizing that she indeed had been thinking about him, smiled as he hugged her tighter.
Sheng Qingxi scrunched her face and muttered softly, “No bullying me. If you bully me again, I won’t say anything more!”
Lin Ran: “…”
She was getting bolder by the minute.
Lin Ran had no choice but to obediently close his mouth, not wanting to upset his little princess. He leaned in again and kissed the spot where he’d just bitten her. “If I kiss it, it won’t hurt anymore.”
“Lin Ran!”
Sheng Qingxi called out in mock annoyance.
Lin Ran wanted to laugh but didn’t dare to, so he just stayed quiet, holding her still.
With Lin Ran interrupting her like that, Sheng Qingxi found herself a bit flustered, but what she was about to talk about next was something she had a hard time confronting. Even though Lin Ran had already moved past it, she still couldn’t.
Her voice grew softer as she continued, “Lin Ran, when I used to sneak over to see you, I would always run into people who didn’t know me, just like you didn’t know me.”