Chapter 26 Slow down! Brother, you have to hold me tight~...

Li Baidong had just finished get off work at the coffee shop when he saw Xing Lan standing alone by the roadside from afar. She was tall and slender with thin shoulders, looking lonely and pitiful, like a stray kitten waiting to be adopted.

Anyone who frequently observes stray cats knows that kittens of this quality are usually snapped up quickly.

Without hesitation, he sped up and rushed to catch the cat—no, he caught the person.

The black, gleaming motorcycle stopped beside Xing Lan, creating a perfectly timed breeze that ruffled the corner of her shirt.

Li Baidong glanced at the spacious parking space next to him, a hint of surprise in his eyes, and asked knowingly, "Brother, where's your car?"

"It suddenly broke down, and I just had it towed away for repairs." Xing Lan turned her head to the side, put her hands on her hips, and sighed softly as if helpless.

Upon hearing this, Li Baidong blinked, his dark eyes pure and bright, and the corners of his lips slightly turned up.

He patted his motorcycle twice and invited Xing Lan warmly with a smile, "Brother, come home with me today?"

As if afraid Xing Lan would refuse, he turned to look at the dimly lit office building behind him and considerately added, "Don't worry, it's so late, everyone who's supposed to be off work has already left, no one will see us."

"...I don't care about that."

Xing Lan hesitated for a moment, then pursed her lips, held up her phone, showed the ride-hailing page to Li Baidong, and explained earnestly, "I just called a car, the driver should be here in about ten minutes."

Li Baidong stared at his phone for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out and quickly tapped the "Cancel Ride" button.

He looked up and smiled innocently at Xing Lan: "That's fine."

Xing Lan took her phone back and looked at it.

"..."

If calling another car would mean waiting a long time, Xing Lan gritted her teeth and couldn't help but raise her eyes to glare at Li Baidong, but when she met those bright, innocent puppy eyes, a pang of pity rose in her heart.

What did he do wrong? He just wanted to pick up his boyfriend and take him home.

Although Xing Lan never intended to deliberately hide her relationship from the company, Li Baidong had been very considerate of him since they got together, always keeping things in line and never making any overly intimate gestures towards him in public.

During this period, even when they met at the coffee shop downstairs from the company, they only ordered and communicated normally, just like other customers.

The only time Li Baidong secretly cheated Xing Lan was during a raffle held at the coffee shop, when he secretly gave him what he thought was the cutest prize.

Xing Lan was unaware at first, but after discovering it, she coldly reprimanded Li Baidong and returned the teddy bear that was the prize to him, refusing to accept it and not wanting to see it at home.

Finally, Li Baidong sheepishly carried the teddy bear out the door and casually gave it to a little girl who had just finished school in the elevator.

Xing Lan looked at Li Baidong's pitiful yet expectant handsome face, thought for a moment, and then took a long stride and got into his car.

This was the first time he had ever sat on the back of someone else's motorcycle while he was conscious.

Xing Lan appears calm and collected, seemingly omnipotent, able to learn anything quickly and well, possessing extraordinary talent.

But in fact, he is not very athletic and still cannot ride a bicycle. Motorcycles, which have a low center of gravity and are used for street racing, are completely unfamiliar territory to him.

As Li Baidong's motorcycle sped forward like a rocket, he felt his heart leap and his scalp suddenly go numb.

When he first sat down, he didn't dare touch Li Baidong's body with his hands. He just held onto Li Baidong's broad, straight shoulders from behind, carefully maintaining a certain distance.

However, in that sudden acceleration, he lowered his head, closed his eyes, and his hand instinctively fell down to tightly hug Li Baidong's waist. His usually calm tone revealed an undisguised tension: "Slow down, slow down!"

Li Baidong did not respond to him, as if the wind was too strong and he hadn't heard him.

As the car sped up, Xing Lan's expression changed, and she could only silently hug him tighter, her cold hands pressed against his warm, lean waist and abdomen.

All he could hear was the howling wind. In the fierce, cold wind, everything else was forgotten, and it seemed as if only he and Li Baidong remained in the world.

Soon, they came to a traffic light, and Li Baidong finally came to a slow stop.

"Brother, you must hold me tight~" Li Baidong's voice was a little muffled and hard to hear clearly through the thick helmet.

He quickly glanced at Xing Lan, half-threatening and half-concerned, reminding him, "If you don't hold on tight, the car's going so fast, it's really dangerous to fall off—"

At this moment, Xing Lan felt that both of her ears were being blown by the cold wind.

He really wants to call the police right now.

-

When the motorcycle stopped in front of the apartment building, it was already getting dark.

Li Baidong had been speeding wildly all the way, and now he took off his helmet with a grin. When he turned around, he saw Xing Lan staring at him coldly from behind, her delicate face pale from the wind.

He stared at Li Baidong with a cold gaze, uttering a few words in a chilling tone: "What, is your life insurance about to expire? Are you about to die?"

"Sorry, bro, I was a little excited today and drove a bit too fast."

Li Baidong apologized faster than he drove. He smiled and reached out to smooth the wind-blown hair from Xing Lan's forehead, who had a stern face in front of him. He then clasped his hands together and obediently apologized: "I was wrong, I won't dare to do it again next time."

Xing Lan ignored him, turned her head away, and tried to walk into the apartment building.

Li Baidong grabbed his arm from behind: "Brother, let's go out for dinner tonight?"

Xing Lan stopped in her tracks.

Li Baidong turned his head, his gaze falling on a distant spot, and unconsciously licked his lips: "A new barbecue restaurant opened over there, and I see it's doing pretty well every day, so the food must be good."

Xing Lan turned around and glanced at him nonchalantly: "I don't eat barbecue."

Xing Lan had never eaten barbecue in her life.

His father, Xing Yi, despised those cheap roadside barbecue restaurants, believing that the ingredients there were frozen zombie meat, the complimentary drinks were made with cheap artificial flavorings, and the colorful, low-quality plastic chairs placed in front of the shops were also a disgrace to the city.

He once asserted to Xing Lan that only pests that are of no benefit to society would eat such filthy things.

The relationship between people and their parents is always strange. Although Xing Lan loathed his father to the extreme, even to the point of hatred, the first thing that comes to mind whenever he thinks of barbecue is the scene of him and his father passing by a barbecue restaurant when he was a child, and his father frowning in disgust and warning him. This scene makes him subconsciously feel resistant.

"Are you really not going to eat?" Li Baidong lowered his eyes, gently tugged at the hem of his shirt with his finger, and asked softly, "Then what would you like to eat, brother? Let's go eat together."

Xing Lan thought for a moment, then turned around and said, "I'll take you somewhere."

After he finished speaking, he took a step and walked away. Li Baidong followed closely behind him, carefully avoiding Xing Lan's shadow under the streetlights, like an obedient puppy that would follow automatically without a leash.

-

There's a porridge shop near the apartment that's been open for many years. It's a small shop, but very clean, and the prices are reasonable.

The shop owner is an elderly woman who doesn't know how to use online marketing. Fortunately, thanks to the good reputation she has built up over the years, she has gained a group of regular customers who live nearby, and she can make a little profit every month.

Xing Lan used to frequent this restaurant when he lived alone; the food was delicious and hygienic. But now that he has Li Baidong, who is a great cook, he rarely comes here anymore; it's been quite a while.

Pushing open the door to the shop, it was as clean as ever. Several pictures drawn with oil pastels were pasted on the wall, all drawn by the shop owner's granddaughter. The one in the very center was a picture of Grandma Kong bending over and concentrating on cooking porridge.

A string of dolphin-shaped wind chimes hangs by the door; they ring as soon as someone enters.

Grandma Kong came out from the kitchen when she heard the noise. When she saw that it was Xing Lan, she smiled warmly and kindly.

She patted her floral apron off and quickly came over to greet them, "Oh, Lanlan's here?"

"Hello, Grandma Kong." Xing Lan responded politely and gently, pulling Li Baidong to sit down in a corner of the shop.

"Hello, Grandma!" Li Baidong greeted his grandmother warmly, his voice booming and his bright eyes blinking.

Grandma Kong looked at Li Baidong, who was sitting next to Xing Lan, and her joy deepened.

"Why did you bring a friend today?"

Xing Lan hesitated for a moment, then gave a vague "hmm".

Xing Lan used to always be a loner, and this was the first time Grandma Kong had seen him bring a friend to dinner. She couldn't help but take a second look at Li Baidong and praised him with a smile, "What a handsome young man! What's your name, young man?"

"My name is Li Baidong, Grandma can just call me Xiao Li." Li Baidong said with a smile, "Grandma, your apron is so pretty, it makes you look so energetic and as beautiful as a young girl."

Li Baidong was sweet-talking and a cheerful, outgoing person. He charmed Grandma Kong, making her smile from ear to ear. In no time, the once quiet and deserted shop became lively and filled with laughter.

In familiar surroundings, Xing Lan's expression relaxed somewhat, unlike her usual cold and aloof demeanor.

"Alright, stop chatting with Grandma." He picked up the menu from the side and gently patted Li Baidong's arm, who was engrossed in conversation. "Are you hungry? See what you'd like to eat?"

Li Baidong glanced at the menu and was pleasantly surprised to see that fish porridge was on it. He looked up and exclaimed, "Grandma, you can make fish porridge? It's a specialty of our Haishi!"

“Grandma used to be from Haishi, but she married into Ningshi when she was young.” Xing Lan raised her eyelids and glanced at Li Baidong indifferently. “She’s from the same hometown as you.”

Grandma Kong nodded with a smile: "Yes, the children in our Haishi all love to eat fish porridge. It's fresh, light, and nutritious."

"Then I'll order this. I haven't been home in ages, and I've been really craving this." After saying that, Li Baidong turned to Xing Lan and asked, "Brother, what do you want to eat?"

"Just like you."

After the two finished ordering, Grandma Kong immediately put on her arm sleeves and went to the kitchen to get busy.

Li Baidong looked around as if he had discovered something new, and said to Xing Lan, "Brother, this shop is really good. How come I never noticed it before?"

“Grandma Kong can’t afford high rents, so she can only rent a small shop, which is why she’s not very noticeable on the street,” Xing Lan explained to him in a calm tone. “Her son died in a car accident a few years ago, and her daughter-in-law is also in poor health. Now she mainly relies on running the shop to earn tuition fees for her granddaughter, which is not easy for her.”

"Oh? So pitiful." Li Baidong paused, as if he had thought of something, and looked at Xing Lan, saying, "No wonder you always come to this restaurant, brother. You want to support her business, right?"

Xing Lan glanced at him coldly: "How did you know I come here often?"

Li Baidong smiled, raised an eyebrow, and said with complete confidence, "Of course, otherwise why would Grandma Kong be so affectionate towards you?"

As he spoke, he affectionately nudged Xing Lan's shoulder with his own, leaned in close to whisper in his ear, and chuckled softly.

"Right?"

"Lanlan~"