Chapter 20 Soaked

Fu Zhiheng stared intently at Luo Xincheng's face, and swallowed for no apparent reason.

I really want to take a bite.

But the moment the thought crossed his mind, he closed his eyes in shame and pinched the bridge of his nose hard.

She is mourning her beloved pet's passing. What are you thinking about?

What's the difference between indiscriminate estrus and bestiality?

Luo Xincheng caught his movement out of the corner of her eye and saw that he looked uncomfortable. She asked, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, ashamed to tell the truth, and only said, "I didn't sleep well last night, and my head hurts a little."

She wasn't concerned about his health and didn't react much to what he said. Instead, she took out her phone from her bag and took a picture of Bossy's tombstone.

Fu Zhiheng had had enough of being ignored by her, so he started to find a topic to talk about again, "Do you take pictures to remember the occasion every year when you come to see it?"

She became much more patient with Bossy's questions, saying, "Yes, we'll print them out and keep them as a souvenir."

He smiled, seemingly lost in thought, and asked, "Did you take a lot of pictures of it when it was still around?"

"Definitely," she replied without hesitation. "I already have several photo albums."

But it just sits there, and I never actually look at it. It only adds to my sadness.

"That's wonderful." He looked on with envy, then fell into a subtle self-pity. "If we've spent so much time together, but can't even produce a single photo, it's easy to feel that all that time we spent together was just a beautiful illusion, isn't it?"

Luo Xincheng: "..."

Her eyes darted around, and she cautiously refrained from responding.

I have a feeling he's alluding to something...

Fu Zhiheng's gentle gaze fell on her. "Do you often think about it?"

She paused slightly, then chose the latter between giving a casual answer and answering honestly, saying, "Sometimes I really think about it, especially..."

During high school, I really missed it during that period.

But then she remembered that she had told him before that she had forgotten most of her high school experiences, so she quickly stopped him.

Under Fu Zhiheng's curious gaze, she vaguely replied, "I don't remember very clearly, but it must have been around the time my mother had just remarried. I missed it a lot, and... I needed it very much."

He looked bewildered: "Do I really need it?"

Luo Xincheng hummed in agreement, unsure why she was talking more and more.

Perhaps these are just idle thoughts that people don't usually have anyone to talk about.

It's not easy to find someone willing to listen, even if it's an awkward ex, it's still good to be able to vent.

“My stepsister has a blue and golden macaw. I don’t know why, but it likes to peck at me. It pecked me several times when we first met. Although it didn’t hurt much, I just found it very annoying.”

As she said this, she unconsciously rubbed her arms. "Although she always said that it was a silly bird that would peck anyone who came to the house, I always felt that she disliked me and deliberately sent the parrot to trip me up."

"So, every time I get pecked by a parrot, I really miss Bossy."

“Every time I fantasize, if it were still here, I would make it cause trouble for my stepsister, make it spit on her, make it gnaw on her hair…”

She was silent for a moment, then suddenly slumped her shoulders in dejection. "But this is all just wishful thinking on my part."

"Even if it were still alive, it wouldn't avenge me because it's stupid and can't understand me at all. No matter how many times I talk to it, it will only gnaw on my hair."

Fu Zhiheng considerately looked away, "It's because it only likes you, isn't it?"

She twitched the corner of her mouth and, while tidying up the stray hairs by her temples, rubbed them against the corner of her eye.

“Who knows?” she said detachedly. “It’s been so long, I don’t really remember how we used to get along.”

All the related memories have long been re-edited by the passing of time, automatically cutting out the less pleasant scenes, splicing the remaining shots, and applying a rosy filter and warm background music. So every time she recalls them, the scenes that flash through her mind are hazy and beautiful.

Gradually, Bossy really did become a smart, beautiful, and obedient pony.

She lowered her eyes, looked at the photos she had just taken for a while, then left the room and looked at the time in the upper right corner.

"It's already this late..."

Fu Zhiheng's gaze swept over her phone. "Are you going back?"

She frowned, a hint of annoyance in her expression. "The rain is too heavy."

He thought for a moment and then tentatively asked, "Didn't the driver bring you here today?"

Without looking up, she replied, "Yes, I drove here myself."

He nodded thoughtfully, his words carefully chosen, "So you think driving in a downpour is too dangerous and prone to accidents, and you want to be on the safe side and wait for the rain to stop before you go?"

He remembered that the day she had her car accident on her way back to China was also in such extreme weather. After she first mentioned it, he made a point of looking it up.

Luo Xincheng checked the weather app on his phone; it showed that the rain would continue for at least another half hour.

She resignedly opened WeChat and said, "I'll just have the driver pick me up."

She's not a very good driver, so she shouldn't challenge herself at a time like this.

Fu Zhiheng opened his mouth, about to say that he could take her home, but then he changed his words as if possessed, "Although it's in the suburbs, I remember there's a pretty good bakery nearby. We can take shelter from the rain there, have afternoon tea, and wait for your driver to come."

“I remember you used to love eating dessert on rainy days.”

"..."

Luo Xincheng gripped her phone tightly; the past was the past all over again.

“Just because I liked you before doesn’t mean I still like you now.” She lifted her eyelids, staring intently at him. “People change. Mr. Fu, please stop trying to understand me now based on things I don’t remember from the past.”

He was silent for a moment, then said, "...I'm sorry, I was narrow-minded."

He looked very docile as he lowered his head to admit his mistake. Looking at his disappointed eyes, Luo Xincheng felt a strange feeling rising in her heart.

Then he suddenly asked, "So you don't like eating dessert on rainy days anymore?"

Luo Xincheng: "..."

like.

Of course I like it.

Is there anything more pleasant than enjoying dessert while listening to the rustling of leaves in the forest?

But she'd already said those harsh words, so she definitely couldn't admit it.

"I don't like it anymore." She paused for a moment, then said rather insincerely, "But I have nothing else to do to pass the time, so I can eat a little bit even if I have to."

He blinked, his bright eyes carrying a somewhat ambiguous smile.

He tilted the umbrella towards her.

"Shall we go eat now?"

"……Um."

Luo Xincheng carried a large umbrella with her when she went out. It was large enough to shelter two adults from the wind and rain, but not so large that their shoulders and arms would occasionally touch uncontrollably as they walked.

The rainwater sliding down the umbrella formed an impenetrable curtain, trapping the two in a small space. The damp air was filled with a complex scent: earth, grass, and a faint, almost imperceptible citrus aroma.

Is it his perfume, or the smell of his laundry detergent?

Layers of mist rolled in, obscuring visibility, while the lush greenery on both sides of the road swayed gently, exuding a somewhat unpleasant vitality.

Luo Xincheng hunched her shoulders and straightened her back, trying her best to walk in a straight line and avoid bumping into him. However, the muddy road, washed by the rain, was not easy to walk on. She narrowly avoided puddles, and her body swayed, causing her to bump into his shoulder. She didn't like the cold, hard touch, and even though it was just a brief contact, the sticky, damp feeling seemed to be seeping into her skin.

Fortunately, the two finally arrived at their destination not long afterward.

This bakery, located in the suburbs, is not large. From the outside, it looks like an old bungalow with a wooden sign hanging on the mottled gray-white walls and clumps of roses planted in front of the door.

Whether it was because it was a weekday or because of the bad weather, there were hardly any customers in the bakery. There were only a few scattered people sitting there, and most of them were wearing the shop's uniform.

Upon reaching the door, Fu Zhiheng closed his umbrella.

Luo Xincheng's gaze swept over his completely soaked half of body, then she raised her hand to touch her own dry cloak, feeling inexplicably annoyed.

“My umbrella isn’t that small; it’s more than enough to keep us dry. There’s no need to tilt all the umbrellas toward me.”

She took a shallow breath and gave a harsh, uncompromising comment.

"It only moved me."

Fu Zhiheng straightened the umbrella, tied it up, and remained calm.

“The cloak you’re wearing is made of vicuña wool, which can’t get wet. My coat isn’t made of such delicate fabric, and it was already wet before, so it won’t matter if it gets wet again.”

That's all.

He finally looked at her and said, "I didn't mean to use these small favors to morally blackmail you."

Luo Xincheng's expression didn't improve much from his explanation.

"It's just a cloak, I'll wear it twice and then it'll be relegated to the bottom of the drawer, why are you doing this to me..."

She muttered complaints that only she could hear, as the welcoming waiter led her into the bakery.

There weren't many customers in the shop, and there were plenty of empty seats for the two of them.

They followed the waiter around and finally sat down in a corner by the window.

In the short time it took to order, the sky outside became incredibly gloomy, as if a progress bar had been sped up, instantly turning from daytime to night.

The store was well-heated, and the air was filled with a sweet aroma, which quickly put Luo Xincheng at ease.

She glanced out the window; the rain seemed to have lessened a bit. She wondered if it would stop after she finished her afternoon tea.

Looking across at the other side, the waiter thoughtfully brought over a clean towel, and Fu Zhiheng was slowly drying his hair and clothes.

The coat became heavy after absorbing water, and the dampness made him feel uncomfortable. So after a quick wipe, he took off the coat without thinking.

He wore a pure white shirt under his suit, which was his usual attire.

Very business-like, but also very boring.

This was Luo Xincheng's previous thought, because she was tired of seeing men dressed in such a monotonous way.

But today, such stereotypes seem to have been broken.

The soaked shirt clung to his skin, its rounded curves stretched by his bulging chest, rising and falling with his breath, the almost transparent fabric subtly revealing a hint of alluring pink.

What is this...?

Luo Xincheng picked up the water glass shakily and took a sip, but her eyes remained fixed on the conspicuous speck of powder.

Fu Zhiheng, who was originally turning to the side to adjust his coat, seemed to be about to say something to her. Suddenly, he turned around, and with the large movement, his full chest seemed to tremble as well.

"Cough cough," Luo Xincheng choked and quickly reached for the tissues on the table.

The person opposite her handed her a tissue first.

She thanked him, wiped her mouth, and looked at his chest, hesitating to speak.

"you……"

Fu Zhiheng, confused, followed her gaze to himself, and when his eyes fell on her exposed nipples, his face immediately turned embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry," he said, his face flushed, as he quickly pulled his jacket open and put it back on, explaining, "I usually wear a vest underneath, but I don't know why I forgot today..."

He wrapped his coat tightly around himself, trying to cover himself up completely.

"I'm sorry to have shown you such an unseemly scene..."

He lowered his head in embarrassment, his ears burning red, looking like he wanted to disappear into the ground.

She usually wears tank tops...

I didn't see you wearing any when I ran into you at the hospital last time. You just bent over and everything was visible...

But seeing how ashamed he was, Luo Xincheng felt complicated and also a little embarrassed.

"It's nothing really..."

She pretended to press her head, avoiding looking at him again.

“Wearing a wet coat is very uncomfortable, so it’s okay to take it off. If you feel embarrassed, I won’t look at you.”

Almost the instant he finished speaking, the corners of his mouth that had been raised suddenly froze, and an unnatural gloom flashed across his calm face.

After a long while, his usual gentle voice reached Luo Xincheng's ears again.

"There are other people in the store, it wouldn't be good if they saw us."

He raised his face, clearly smiling, but a hint of sarcasm lingered at the corners of his mouth.

"It's an eyesore and affects the city's appearance."

Luo Xincheng felt something was off about what he was hearing, and just as he was wondering about it, he saw the waiter carrying the food from this table toward them.

"Here they come, ours."

The dishes were placed on the table one by one.

Luo Xincheng pushed the ginger milk curd she had ordered to the opposite side.

"I just got caught in the rain, so I'll drink this to warm myself up."

Fu Zhiheng was surprised for a moment, staring blankly at the bowl of ginger milk curd, and said, flattered, "You ordered this for me...?"

This restaurant uses a paper menu where customers check off items on a box. They each ordered their own food. After she finished selecting her items, she handed the menu directly to the waiter, who didn't even have time to glance at it and therefore didn't know she had also ordered ginger milk curd.

Even if he knew, he wouldn't presume to think it was specially ordered for him.

Luo Xincheng picked up a croissant and said casually, "So you're the only one who got caught in the rain. I didn't get wet. When you get home, have the family doctor check you up so you don't catch a cold."

As she took her first bite of the croissant, she heard him say:

"Thanks."

She lifted her eyelids, and in the instant the sweet aroma of the croissant filled her mouth, her gaze met his joyful smile.

She had her head down and eyes downcast, but her apple cheeks were exaggeratedly puffed out, and her dimples were deeply sunken.

Luo Xincheng swallowed the croissant without tasting it.

Suddenly I felt a cloying sweetness in my throat.