Chapter 28 You're so clingy, I couldn't resist.

Since becoming lovers, Li Baidong has become exceptionally clingy.

No matter what Xing Lan is doing, he always sneaks over like a dog, either hugging his waist, sniffing his hair, or sometimes stroking the back of his neck.

Xing Lan's neck was white and slender, and her skin was soft and delicate to the touch, which made Li Baidong love her.

Xing Lan was initially uncomfortable with Li Baidong's sudden approach, which broke their usual social distance. Her body became slightly stiff, and her mind went blank for a moment.

But after a while, he gradually became more at ease. No matter how Li Baidong played with his hair from behind, he could focus on his computer and work, and from time to time he would naturally open his mouth to accept Li Baidong's occasional treat of a sweet cherry or a salty potato chip.

Once, during an online meeting, Li Baidong sat in a corner next to Xing Lan, hiding out of the computer camera's view, casually playing with a metal pen in his hand.

The pen is hard, and when it touches the slender fingertip, it makes a crisp sound.

Xing Lan was earnestly reporting on her work when she suddenly stopped and looked away from the screen.

"Don't move around, be quiet." He frowned and said to Li Baidong, who looked bored.

He looked back at the computer, pursed his lips, and explained to the surprised colleagues on the small window, "Sorry, my dog ​​was playing with toys next to me, and I was disciplining him."

Xing Lan once brought his little prince to the office during a company pet open day, so most of his colleagues knew that he had a Samoyed at home and didn't take this little incident to heart.

Li Baidong glanced at Xing Lan's expression and was about to obediently put the pen back in the pen holder when his hand slipped and he accidentally dropped it on the ground.

The gleaming silver pen rolled along the wooden floor and unknowingly rolled to Xing Lan's feet.

Xing Lan was focused on the meeting and didn't notice.

Li Baidong lowered his eyes, staring at the pen that had fallen to his feet. Suddenly, he half-squatted down, his two large palms supporting him on the ground, and like a real puppy, he steadily crawled from the opposite side of the desk to Xing Lan's knees.

Xing Lan felt something warm against his calf. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Li Baidong's handsome and flawless face.

He tilted his head slightly, his dark eyes gleaming brightly, his expression revealing a barely concealed excitement.

The solid wood desk was heavy and tall. With the laptop on it, only Xing Lan's upper body could be seen, and no movement below could be observed.

"..." Xing Lan was completely stunned. He quickly turned off the microphone and scolded him in a low voice, "What are you doing? Are you crazy?"

"Brother, I dropped my pen, I need to pick it up."

Li Baidong gave him a very innocent smile. After quickly picking up the pen that had fallen at Xing Lan's feet, he did not leave. Instead, he remained in that position, and one hand involuntarily slipped into Xing Lan's loose trouser leg.

"Brother, your legs are so thin." Li Baidong gently circled his thin calves with his thumb and forefinger, slowly comparing them, and commented, "Thinner than my arms."

"..."

Xing Lan was completely thrown off balance by his sudden and bold move. He tried to kick him, but Li Baidong held on tightly, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free.

Even though he was in his own study, it was as if he were being entangled by a venomous snake. The more he struggled, the tighter the innocent little snake gripped him.

On his computer, his colleagues, who knew nothing about it, were asking for his opinion.

"Director Xing, what do you think?"

"I...I think..."

Xing Lan gritted her teeth, forcing herself to calm down, ignoring Li Baidong huddled under the table, and analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the two plans with feigned composure.

"Although Plan B is more conservative, Plan A is clearly more impressive, and I think we can give it a try..."

“Something new!” The last few words were emphasized.

Under the strange gazes of his colleagues, he could only furrow his brows and pretend nothing was wrong as he rubbed his forehead, which was covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

Under the table, Li Baidong rolled up his trouser leg, lowered his eyes, and looked over the inch by inch of fair and smooth skin, touching it again and again.

Xing Lan had just taken a shower that morning, and every part of her body, including the calves that Li Baidong was tightly clenching, exuded a faint, pleasant scent of shower gel. The smell made Li Baidong feel refreshed and relaxed, and he even wanted to rub his face against it.

After finally managing to finish the meeting, which was fraught with difficulties, Xing Lan immediately turned off her computer screen, lowered her head, and stared at Li Baidong with wide, beautiful almond-shaped eyes in disbelief.

He gritted his teeth and immediately pulled him out from under the table.

"Li Baidong, what are you doing?" Xing Lan raised her eyebrows in rare anger, grabbed his collar, and glared at him, saying, "I told you not to cause trouble when I'm working. It's fine if you want to stay here for a while... what are you trying to do by crawling under my desk?"

Li Baidong was too tall, and his legs went numb from kneeling for so long. He was also not very flexible. When he was pulled out, his golden head hit the corner of the table with a "thud." Although Xing Lan quickly blocked it with her hand, he still got a small bump from the pain.

He covered his injured forehead, his eyes brimming with tears, looking pitiful: "I'm sorry, brother... you smell so good, I couldn't resist."

Xing Lan's face was cold; she crossed her arms and turned her face away from him.

A long silence fell over the air.

When Xing Lan composed herself and looked at Li Baidong again, she saw a trickle of blood slowly flowing down his forehead. The silly boy was still sniffling sadly and guiltily, completely ignoring his wound.

Xing Lan sighed helplessly, her hands gripping her arm tightening.

Actually, he could understand Li Baidong. In his early twenties, he was at the peak of his youthful vigor, and it was Li Baidong's first time dating. It was inevitable that he would have all sorts of beautiful and romantic fantasies about love, as could be seen from his previous longing to hold hands with Xing Lan.

Having physical attraction to one's partner is perfectly normal at this age.

Xing Lan pulled two tissues from the table and handed them to Li Baidong, instructing expressionlessly, "Wipe the blood off your head yourself."

Li Baidong took a tissue but didn't move it. He raised his wet eyes and looked at Xing Lan with a pitiful expression, like a puppy being punished for destroying the house.

Xing Lan took another deep breath, pulled Li Baidong, who was standing in the corner as punishment, to her side, raised her long, slender, fair hand, and carefully wiped away the blood flowing from his forehead with a tissue.

Then I went to the living room to get some iodine solution and used it to disinfect him.

Bright light poured in from the window; the afternoon sun was strong, falling on Xing Lan's slightly raised face, making each eyelash seem to shimmer with soft golden light.

Although Xing Lan moved very gently, the cotton swab soaked in medicine still caused excruciating pain when it touched the wound.

Li Baidong frowned, enduring the pain in his forehead, and gently bit his lower lip.

The moment Xing Lan took out a band-aid from the drawer and carefully applied it to his forehead, Li Baidong lowered his eyes. In this similar scene, his thoughts suddenly returned to seven years ago.

-

Seven years ago, Li Baidong had just transferred to Ningzhong High School. Because he was from out of town, he was ostracized by his classmates from the city.

At that time, he was framed by his classmates for stealing money and was cornered and beaten by the school. It was Xing Lan from the high school who happened to pass by and saved him from the predicament.

He remembered that it was also an afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, and he was curled up against the cold gray wall, shivering and clutching his stomach like a pathetic stray dog, when Xing Lan suddenly descended like an angel, her cold features looking down at him against the dazzling light.

Thirteen-year-old Li Baidong always knew that in this brand-new and tidy school, he was an unpopular and disliked person. He was a country bumpkin from a poor and remote area, a dirty dog ​​that everyone could kick.

It wasn't just the discrimination and ridicule from his classmates; back then, even some of the teachers in the class looked down on him.

Some teachers would deliberately call on him to answer questions every day, and after he stammered and barely managed to answer, they would lead the whole class in mocking his accent. Regardless of whether his answer was right or wrong, he would end up being punished by standing for an entire afternoon.

That wild boy who played the wildest and most unruly game in the remote countryside became taciturn, eccentric, and a loner after experiencing verbal abuse that no child could bear.

He didn't want to talk to anyone, but people would deliberately provoke him, mocking him as a "vagrant" and asking him jokingly when he was going to scavenge for food in the trash cans.

If they have a disagreement, and someone hits him, he will hit the other person back.

He was very ruthless, basically beating people to death, but the other side had the advantage of numbers. He couldn't fight against so many opponents, and he never won a fight. His face was covered in bruises, and getting a bloody nose or a swollen eye was commonplace.

That afternoon, seventeen-year-old Xing Lan stumbled upon yet another crime scene.

He looked up and the first thing he saw was Xing Lan's eyes.

He always remembered the shape of Xing Lan's eyes. They were long, narrow, and beautiful almond-shaped eyes, with a small red mole on her left eyelid and long, delicate eyelashes like the feathers of a black swan.

Those beautiful eyes have a hypnotic effect; when he stares intently at you, you forget all your pain and just want to be forever immersed in his gaze.

The tall, slender boy reached out his hand to him, pulled him up from the moldy corner, took him to the infirmary to treat his wound, and skillfully applied medicine to him with iodine.

"Child, does it hurt?"

This was the first thing Xing Lan said to him. Her tone was casual and without any particular emotion. However, mixed with the pungent smell of medicine in the infirmary, it made Li Baidong feel incredibly heartbroken for the first time since he transferred schools.

He fought back tears and shook his head: "No, it doesn't hurt..."

This was the first thing Li Baidong said to Xing Lan, and also the first lie he told her.

Xing Lan was the most unique person Li Baidong had ever met. After discovering that Li Baidong was injured, Xing Lan did not ask him his name or which class he was in, nor did he ask him why he was beaten or whether he had provoked someone.

He didn't ask anything, but simply put a band-aid on the wound near his eye, rubbed his stiff head, and gently comforted him: "Don't worry, you still look pretty handsome."

Through the clean glass of the infirmary, Li Baidong stared at his face, which was covered in scars and looked like a mess. His expression was full of stubbornness, and his lips were bitten white by his sharp canine teeth.

"He's just too thin." Xing Lan pinched his thin chin, gently turned his face, and said casually, "You need to eat more. Malnutrition can make children stupid."

Although the junior high and senior high schools of Ningzhong are close to each other, they are not on the same campus. Students of different grades are strictly prohibited from visiting each other's schools. Xing Lan was delivering documents for a teacher that day and just happened to pass by there.

But from that day on, Li Baidong ignored all school rules and tried every means to sneak into the high school section every day.

Although he was short, he ran fast and was very agile. The students checking discipline couldn't catch him no matter what they tried, and could only watch helplessly as he disappeared into the huge campus.

He would hide in countless dark corners and silently watch Xing Lan, following him like a little mouse that he couldn't get rid of, until Xing Lan graduated from high school, left Ningzhong, and was admitted to the best university in Ning City.

Not long after, Li Baidong saw Xing Lan at the entrance of a beverage shop. Just as he was about to greet him, he noticed another man standing next to him.

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Author's Note: Li Baidong: The puppy's heart is broken [heartbroken]

The next chapter will be released the day after tomorrow! [heart emoji] [milk tea emoji]