Chapter 35 My heart is pounding. Sit down and drink your soup. I'll blow on it for you. ...

Xing Lan felt a burning pain on her left cheek after being slapped hard, but her heart remained calm and undisturbed.

After Xing Yi flew into a rage, no one dared to step forward to help him, not even to say a word or two on his behalf.

After a long silence, the elderly nanny, who had worked from home for over twenty years, finally walked over shakily, wiped the blood from the corner of his lips with a handkerchief, and asked with a worried look, "Alan, are you alright?"

Xing Lan lowered her eyes, her lips twitched slightly, and as expected, she gave a cold snort as she looked at the group of people around her who dared not utter a sound.

He quietly turned around, then suddenly kicked over all the expensive tea sets his father had placed on the coffee table.

With a sharp crash, the antique celadon teacups engraved with lotus patterns, along with their sandalwood bases, all fell to the ground, none spared. Scalding hot tea splashed everywhere, and the visibly tense and fearful expressions on everyone's faces were reflected on the gleaming marble floor.

Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, Xing Lan calmly straightened her sleeves, wiped her hands with a tissue, and turned to walk straight out the door.

"You...you bastard!" Several veins on Xing Yi's forehead bulged instantly, and he clutched his chest with his right hand, panting heavily.

Seeing Xing Yi's furious expression, Lin Ya quickly ran over in her red high heels, patted his back, and gently comforted him, "...Alright, alright, the child is still young, don't take it to heart...getting angry is bad for your health."

"How could I have given birth to such an unruly child!" Xing Yi was still furious, pointing at Xing Lan with his finger and saying angrily, "You've brought shame to the Xing family!"

Lin Ya looked up at Xing Lan's retreating figure as he slammed the door, then quietly moved closer to Xing Yi, placing her hand on his shoulder and whispering in his ear, "It's okay. No matter what, we still have Chenchen, don't we? Our Chenchen is so well-behaved and obedient."

"Chenchen secretly told me a few days ago that his father is the person he likes and admires the most in the world. When he grows up, he will work hard to become a high-ranking official and then take good care of his father."

Hearing this flattery, Xing Yi's expression softened slightly.

He patted Lin Ya's hand on his shoulder, shaking his head and sighing, "Thank goodness for Chenchen."

A light drizzle had started outside, and raindrops fell on Xing Lan's thin shoulders, leaving faint, tear-like marks on her clean white shirt.

As Xing Lan passed the exquisitely carved koi pond in the courtyard, she stopped and glanced at it, noticing that koi were no longer kept in the pond.

When Xing Lan was a child, he loved koi fish the most. He always liked to drag his mother to the koi pond to feed the fish, making each fish plump and healthy.

In my memory, he and his mother stood by the pond, feeding the fish and chatting aimlessly. They gave each koi a nice name based on its color, and the whole afternoon was filled with laughter.

Now, the pond is completely empty; there isn't a single koi left.

Xing Chen had been having a fever recently, which worried Xing Yi a lot. He went to another province to consult a master, who told him that raising fish in the northeast direction of the house was bad for the health of future generations.

Upon hearing the master's words, Xing Yi did not hesitate and immediately ordered the entire pool to be emptied.

Xing Lan and her mother had carefully raised the fish for so many years, and suddenly they all disappeared without a trace. Perhaps some ignorant servant sold them off cheaply or cooked and ate them.

Everything has changed.

He gave a self-deprecating laugh, looked away, and stepped into the car.

-

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the indoor and outdoor temperatures were very low.

Xing Lan parked her car in front of the apartment building. As she got out and closed the door, a taxi suddenly sped past her and splashed her with dirty water, leaving her in a disheveled state.

He lowered his face, pursed his lips slightly, and his indifferent expression revealed a hint of paleness.

The sadness and loneliness that seemed to flash across his expression lasted only a few seconds before being completely obscured by the deepening night sky.

"Beep".

The front door was pushed open.

A few days ago, the fox was bitten by an insect that flew in from outside the window. One of its paws swelled up. The small paw, which was originally only the size of a coin, is now swollen to almost the size of a human fist. It looks particularly pitiful. Li Baidong is sitting cross-legged on the sofa, applying medicine to it.

Hearing a noise at the door, he looked up and saw that Xing Lan was soaked to the bone, looked terrible, and seemed completely distracted, as if she was about to faint at any moment.

"elder brother??"

Startled, he quickly threw the ointment aside and hurriedly ran towards the door.

He reached out and grabbed Xing Lan's shoulder, his gaze sweeping down from top to bottom, looking incredulously at the other's rain-soaked shoulders and back. His face was full of worry, and he asked anxiously, "Brother, what happened to you? Why are you all wet?"

Xing Lan ignored him, standing at the door with her head down, looking tired as she tried to change her shoes and go inside.

When Li Baidong didn't get a response from him for a while, he simply knelt down, grabbed his thin ankle with one hand, and personally helped him take off his leather shoes. Then he took out some cotton slippers from the shoe cabinet and carefully helped him put them on.

Xing Lan leaned against the door, her beautiful face shrouded in the shadows of the room, and her expression finally showed a slight change.

He turned his face away and said indifferently, "It's nothing."

"Don't touch it." Xing Lan lowered his eyes, looked at Li Baidong who was squatting in front of him helping him change his shoes, and frowned. "They're all dirty."

He meant he didn't want to get Li Baidong's hands dirty, but Li Baidong misunderstood him and thought Xing Lan was unhappy because his shoes were dirty from the rain. He smiled and said, "It's okay, brother. I'll wash them clean later. I promise they'll be as good as new."

Upon hearing his words, Xing Lan inexplicably thought of his favorite pair of frog rain boots from his childhood.

He hasn't worn rain boots since his mother passed away.

This means that every time it rains, one of his shoes is bound to get ruined.

Shoes soaked in water are often very uncomfortable to wear, and even the socks inside get wet from the icy rain. The chill seeps in everywhere, making it damp and bone-chilling.

Even the most capable person is completely helpless in the rain.

Faced with a pond too large to cross, one can only close one's eyes and slowly walk across it step by step.

Although he hadn't been out in the rain for long, Xing Lan was already weak, and now he felt cold all over, his thin shoulders trembling slightly. Li Baidong was afraid he would catch a cold, so he quickly went to the bathroom to prepare hot water for him so he could take a hot shower.

The hot water was just the right temperature, and the sensation of it washing over me was so pleasant and comfortable that it made me forget all my troubles for a moment, and I just wanted to keep washing like this forever.

But that's impossible.

There's no use in running away; people always have to face reality.

As he turned to get the shower gel, his arm accidentally bumped into something soft, making a flat, high-pitched sound.

Xing Lan looked closely and saw that Li Baidong had bought two rubber ducks at some point and placed them beak to beak on the edge of the white bathtub.

Li Baidong often buys useless little things and puts them in various corners of the house, as if he wants to mark every place in Xing Lan's house with his own mark in this strange and childish way.

Xing Lan went from questioning and not understanding at the beginning to gradually getting used to it now.

The two little yellow ducks that were kissing were scattered on either side of the bathtub by his accidental movement, and they were far apart, becoming the Cowherd Duck and the Weaver Girl Duck gazing at each other from afar.

Xing Lan paused for half a second, then raised her hand and waved it slightly.

Although they weren't restored to their original intimate state that was inappropriate for children, they were at least brought back to stand side by side on either side of each other.

After taking a shower, Xing Lan came out of the bathroom and was about to blow-dry her hair when she saw Li Baidong wearing heat-resistant gloves and carrying a bowl of steaming soup into the bedroom.

The round soup bowl contains evenly sliced ​​snow pears and large red dates, with a few goji berries floating on top, making it look very healthy.

He placed the hot soup on the table, took off his thick heat-resistant gloves, and winked at Xing Lan with a hint of smugness.

“Brother, this is my family’s secret recipe, passed down from my great-great-grandmother’s generation.” He said earnestly, “I guarantee that if you drink it today, you will definitely not catch a cold tomorrow.”

Xing Lan glanced casually at the soup in his hand and nodded.

Li Baidong sat on the edge of the bed, his hands resting on the edge, watching Xing Lan calmly walk past the bowl of cold soup he had carefully prepared, take out a hairdryer from the cabinet underneath, and start drying his hair.

He pursed his lips and couldn't help but remind him, "Brother, it's cold now, the soup cools down quickly, you have to drink it while it's hot."

"Oh, I'll drink it after I've dried my hair," Xing Lan said casually, without turning her head, as she dried her hair.

Li Baidong thought for a moment, then suddenly stood up from the bedside, walked over and grabbed Xing Lan's wrist.

Xing Lan looked up at him.

"Brother, the soup won't taste good if it gets cold," Li Baidong said with a smile. "Sit down and drink the soup, I'll blow on it for you."

Before Xing Lan could agree, Li Baidong pushed his shoulder to make him sit on the edge of the bed, took the hair dryer from his hand, and carefully dried his hair.

Li Baidong has long, soft fingers, and his hair-drying skills are surprisingly good; he maintains a perfect distance between the hair dryer and Xing Lan.

Her slender fingertips ran through his soft hair, occasionally brushing against the tips of his ears and the back of his neck.

Xing Lan hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head and held the bowl of hot pear soup. She first tested the temperature with the tip of her tongue, and after finding it wasn't too hot, she began to drink it in small sips.

Pears are naturally sweet, and the addition of rock sugar makes them even sweeter and more delicious.

If the hot bath just now only warmed the surface of the body, then this bowl of pear soup warms the blood throughout the body, down to the torso.

Actually, his hair was almost dry, but Li Baidong pressed on his shoulder and deliberately dried it for a while longer. When Xing Lan noticed something was wrong, he made an excuse in a serious tone: "Only the ends of your hair are dry, the roots are not yet dry. If you don't dry it thoroughly, you will still easily catch a cold."

By the time her hair was completely dry, Xing Lan had finished the pear soup in her bowl.

Li Baidong looked down and saw that Xing Lan had only eaten the pear and red dates, but left all the goji berries and ginger in the bowl without touching them.

He put down the hairdryer, smoothing Xing Lan's hair as he raised an eyebrow and murmured as if talking to himself, "Brother, you're acting like a child."

"Who's acting like a child?"

Li Baidong took out a tissue and carefully wiped Xing Lan's mouth.

“Brother, ginger is very good for your health. You should eat some too. Don’t be picky about food.” Li Baidong said, scooping up a slice of ginger from the bowl with a spoon and feeding it to Xing Lan’s lips.

Xing Lan frowned, her body instinctively leaning back, her resistance clearly evident in her expression.

Li Baidong rarely saw Xing Lan throwing a tantrum, and found it particularly novel and adorable. He became even more excited, licked his lips, and kept chasing after him with a spoon, determined to feed him the piece of ginger.

Xing Lan dodged in such a hurry that, before she knew it, her head almost hit the bed behind her.

Li Baidong quickly reached out and placed his large hand behind the other's head.

Li Baidong casually placed the soup bowl aside, and as he moved, the porcelain spoon collided with the bowl, making a crisp sound.

Suddenly, the distance between the two shortened, and in the quiet bedroom, it seemed that only their unusually loud heartbeats could be heard.

Thump, thump thump.

Li Baidong stared intently into Xing Lan's eyes, but in the dim light of the bedside lamp, he felt that something seemed off about Xing Lan's face.

The fair skin on the left side of his face was noticeably red, and there was also a slight swelling.

His heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously frowned. He slowly raised one hand and gently cupped his face. His pupils shrank, as if the sky had collapsed.

"Why is your face so red?" Li Baidong gently touched his left cheek, his voice trembling. "Brother, who hit you? Tell me, who hit you?"

Looking back, ever since Xing Lan returned home, she had deliberately kept her head down and turned her face away, refusing to meet Li Baidong's gaze. She didn't turn on the lights after entering the house, presumably because she didn't want Li Baidong to see her and worry.

But Li Baidong still found out.

Every subtle change in Xing Lan did not escape Li Baidong's persistent and attentive gaze.