“Sheng Qingxi, where are you? You…”
Lin Ran’s voice suddenly stopped.
A girl’s voice came through the phone, soft and sweet, as if she had a thousand candies in her mouth while acting coy with him: “Lin Ran, why didn’t you pick up my calls? Lin Ran, the moon is so beautiful tonight. Lin Ran, can you see the moon?”
“Lin Ran, Lin Ran, Lin Ran.”
She kept calling his name, her voice sticky sweet.
Her tone was entirely different from usual.
After a brief moment of shock, Lin Ran snapped back to his senses.
He frowned, his tone not very pleasant, “Sheng Qingxi, where are you?”
She obediently replied, “I’m having dinner with the aunties and sisters.”
The car that had come to pick up Lin Ran was already waiting at the exit. He bent down and got into the back seat, “Send me your location, and don’t hang up.”
At the Japanese restaurant.
Sheng Qingxi had slipped away to a corner of the viewing platform by herself. She hadn’t expected that she would get tipsy so easily after drinking a little. Using the excuse of needing some fresh air, she had snuck up to the small second-floor viewing platform.
In one corner of the platform, there was a small swing and a simple little table beside it. Other than that, the only thing left by the railing was a bunch of light purple flowers.
Sheng Qingxi curled up on the swing, gazing up at the sky. She missed Lin Ran.
Missed him very much.
She held her phone, tilting her head, speaking softly to Lin Ran, “Lin Ran, I often dream of you. For a while, I wanted to dream of you, but I was also afraid to.”
Sheng Qingxi’s scattered memories intertwined.
In her previous life, she had worked on a malicious arson case. During that time, she didn’t even have the courage to visit the victims in the hospital. Her senior brother, thinking she was scared, had gone in her place.
She knew the victims were in pain.
During that period, Sheng Qingxi couldn’t stop thinking about Lin Ran day and night. She couldn’t bear to imagine Lin Ran engulfed in flames back then, nor could she dare to think about how much pain he must have been in.
The brightly lit city outside the car window didn’t hold Lin Ran’s attention in the slightest.
Lin Ran silently listened to Sheng Qingxi’s soft rambling on the other end of the phone. It seemed like she didn’t want his response, only to talk to him quietly for a while.
“Lin Ran, it’s raining again today.”
Lin Ran was startled and turned his head to look out the window.
There were only a few scattered clouds above Ningcheng, and the crescent moon hung high in the night sky.
The ground was dry and clean.
“Lin Ran, I miss you so much.”
Her voice gradually softened, and by the last two words, it was slightly choked with emotion.
Lin Ran tightened his grip on the phone and asked the driver in a low voice, “How much longer?”
The driver glanced at the map. The traffic wasn’t bad at this time, so there shouldn’t be any delays. “We’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Sheng Qingxi’s voice grew softer and softer, and Lin Ran could no longer make out what she was saying. He kept reminding her not to fall asleep outside.
Ten minutes later, Lin Ran got out of the car.
The Japanese restaurant was modest in size, making it relatively easy to find someone. When he didn’t find her on the first floor, Lin Ran headed straight upstairs. There were only a few tables occupied on the second floor, one of which was filled with people wearing uniforms he had seen before on a livestream.
Lin Ran scanned the room and walked toward the small balcony.
As soon as he stepped onto the balcony, he saw the little tipsy cat curled up in the corner.
The little tipsy cat was still holding her phone, muttering quietly, her face flushed red, and her misty eyes glistened with tears.
She looked sad and fragile.
Lin Ran’s heart tightened in an instant.
“Sheng Qingxi, look at me.”
Lin Ran bent down and gently touched her slightly warm face.
The little tipsy cat, nestled in the corner of the swing, didn’t lift her head to look at him. Instead, she grumpily pushed his hand away, mumbling softly, “Don’t touch me. Lin Ran wouldn’t like it.”
Lin Ran sighed helplessly—so she still knew he’d be upset.
He let out a soft sigh and then picked her up.
As her body suddenly lifted off the ground, Sheng Qingxi was forced to look at the person holding her.
She blinked her big eyes, taking a long time to recognize that it was Lin Ran carrying her. Still dazed, she asked, “Lin Ran, why are you here?”
Why was Lin Ran here?
Of course, it was because he missed her so much he could barely stand it, and that’s why he bought a plane ticket to come find her.
No distance was too far to stop him from wanting to see her.
However, Lin Ran had barely stepped off the balcony with Sheng Qingxi in his arms when he was stopped. The people blocking him were, without a doubt, the aunties and sisters who had been participating in the Gomoku tournament.
The aunties were already poised to take her back, and they looked at Lin Ran as if he were some kind of villain, chattering about how he should put her down immediately.
Before they could cause a scene, Lin Ran quickly explained, “Sheng Qingxi is my… my sister. The tournament is over, and I’m here to take her home.”
Aunt Zhao glared at him. “What proof do you have that you’re her brother?”
Lin Ran glanced down at the girl in his arms. She gazed up at him with her watery eyes, the flush on her cheeks making her normally gentle demeanor appear a bit more playful.
He asked her softly, “Do you know who I am? I’m here to take you home. Do you want to come home with me?”
After a moment, Sheng Qingxi nodded. She wrapped her arms around his neck and murmured quietly into his shoulder, “Lin Ran, I’ll go home with you.”
Even though Sheng Qingxi had said this, Aunt Zhao still wasn’t reassured. “Let me see your ID.”
Lin Ran simply handed over both his ID and student card to Aunt Zhao.
The group of aunties huddled together, whispering to each other as they took a photo of his ID. After a brief discussion, they asked Lin Ran for his phone number before finally letting them go.
The car was still waiting downstairs.
The driver saw Lin Ran coming out and quickly got out to open the rear door.
Lin Ran knew which hotel Sheng Qingxi was staying at, so he gave the address. The driver, without a word, immediately put up the privacy screen.
Lin Ran was slightly baffled by the driver’s action. What was this about?
Although Sheng Qingxi was drunk, she was still conscious and hadn’t completely passed out. She had only eaten a bit of sushi and drank a little, so after resting for a while, she started feeling hungry.
She touched her stomach and instinctively said, “I want oden.”
During the few years she worked, her favorite place to go was the oden shop in front of the police station, especially in winter. The steaming broth and fresh vegetables were simply irresistible.
Lin Ran paused for a moment and tapped on the privacy screen. “Where can we get oden?”
The driver, being a local from Ningcheng, knew the snack streets well. When they arrived at the spot, he got out and bought two large cups of oden for Lin Ran, purchasing everything the shop had to offer.
Perhaps it was the aroma that woke her, but Sheng Qingxi started fidgeting, trying to get to the oden.
Lin Ran firmly held her down. “Don’t move, it’s hot.”
Though Lin Ran appeared slim, he was actually quite muscular. Sitting on his lap felt no different than sitting on a sofa, but occasionally his knee would press into her uncomfortably.
Sheng Qingxi, as if knocking on a door, tapped on Lin Ran’s chest, muttering softly, “I want to sit by myself.”
Normally, Sheng Qingxi was quite well-behaved, but after drinking, she showed a bit of a stubborn streak.
Lin Ran found her sudden attitude amusing. Smiling, he pinched her cheek. “Why don’t you act this cute more often? Look at you now, finally acting like a little girl.”
Sheng Qingxi kept a straight face, ignoring him, and grumbled, “I want to get down.”
Lin Ran, intrigued by her sulking, couldn’t resist teasing her. “Why do you want to get down?”
She didn’t answer, simply turning her gaze away from him.
Fearing he might actually upset her, Lin Ran quickly lifted her off his lap and placed her on the seat. As soon as she was down, she scooted as far into the corner as possible, putting as much distance between them as she could, almost as if she wanted to be eight hundred meters away.
Lin Ran raised an eyebrow but didn’t push her further.
He pulled out a skewer of beef balls and asked, “What do you want to eat?”
Sheng Qingxi took one look and immediately wrinkled her nose. “No meat, I feel like throwing up.”
Lin Ran’s hand froze mid-action. She had been slowly changing her vegetarian-only habits recently. Just a few days ago on the island, he had seen her eat a few meat skewers. Though it wasn’t much, it was a significant improvement from before.
But now she didn’t want any again?
Trying to keep his voice as gentle as possible, he asked, “Why do you feel like throwing up?”
Sheng Qingxi, thinking about something, covered her mouth and shook her head, her eyes showing both fear and disgust.
Lin Ran’s gaze darkened. He put the beef balls away and pulled out a skewer of kelp. “How about some kelp?”
The sight of the kelp seemed to soothe Sheng Qingxi. When Lin Ran didn’t move, she leaned closer to try to take it herself. But Lin Ran didn’t hand it to her; instead, he held it up to her lips for her to bite.
Sheng Qingxi opened her mouth and took the kelp knot into her mouth.
Seeing that Sheng Qingxi had swallowed the food, Lin Ran continued feeding her.
He estimated that it took about ten minutes to finish all the vegetarian options in the cup. Most of what was left were meat dishes.
Lin Ran didn’t mind; he ate the rest himself. He hadn’t eaten anything since he got off the plane at 9:30 p.m., and he hadn’t touched the airplane food.
After filling her stomach, Sheng Qingxi became a bit more talkative.
Lin Ran still felt there was something deeper behind her refusal to eat meat, but instead of asking directly, he tried a different approach. “When did your eating habits change?”
Sheng Qingxi turned to look at him, her gaze clear and steady.
After a moment, she asked, “Are you Lin Ran?”
Lin Ran reached over, pulling her closer, placing her hand on his face. “See for yourself, am I Lin Ran or not?”
Sheng Qingxi rarely dreamt of Lin Ran while he was still alive. This moment didn’t feel like a dream; it felt like the real Lin Ran.
She felt a bit dazed, but her fingers could feel the warmth of Lin Ran. She carefully traced his face inch by inch. His skin was flawless, and the breath he exhaled was warm.
Sheng Qingxi murmured, “It’s Lin Ran.”
Lin Ran tolerated her little hands wandering all over his face. He wasn’t sure where she had learned to touch someone like this, but she didn’t stop at just his face—she even brushed her fingers over his eyelashes and ears.
When her cool fingertips grazed his earlobe, Lin Ran couldn’t take it anymore.
He grabbed her delicate wrist, pretending to be stern as he threatened, “If you keep touching me like that, I’m going to kiss you.”
Kiss?
Sheng Qingxi tilted her head slightly, thinking it over. In her dreams, Lin Ran had never kissed her before.
Would she mind if Lin Ran kissed her?
After considering it carefully, Sheng Qingxi decided that she wouldn’t mind.
Lin Ran thought that his warning would make Sheng Qingxi back off. He waited for her to pull her hand away.
But instead of retreating, Sheng Qingxi slowly leaned toward him, and to his surprise, she sniffed softly at the corner of his lips like a little puppy.
Lin Ran froze in place, unable to move.
There was a faint smell of sake in her breath, and it seemed like the intoxication was radiating off her.
In the next second, a gentle kiss brushed the corner of his lips.
A faint sweetness slipped through the cracks of his lips, mingling with his breath.
His hands, which had been resting at his sides, clenched into fists, and his pupils dilated slightly.
His heartbeat felt like it had stopped.
His mind went blank, and only three words echoed in his head:
Fuck, I’m dead.