The answer to Chapter 73 should be taken lightly.

After Xing Lan repeatedly asked for a meeting, the client who had stood them up for a long time finally made time to see them.

To express their apologies for the long wait, the client treated them to dinner at one of the best hotels in Los Angeles on Monday evening.

By the time everyone had finished eating, the details of the collaboration had been largely finalized. Although this business trip was a bit delayed, it was ultimately completed successfully.

It was already past nine o'clock in the evening when I left the hotel.

Everyone had been traveling for several days in a row, and now they were all exhausted, yawning constantly, not wanting to walk another step, just wanting to quickly take a taxi back to their accommodation and get a good night's sleep. But Xing Lan said something surprising at this moment, casually saying something that no one expected.

The airport won't wait for him tomorrow, because he needs to rush back to Ning City tonight.

The other colleagues were so surprised their glasses almost fell off: "What? Brother Xing, it's so late, you're leaving already?"

"Okay." Xing Lan took out her phone, glanced at the time, and calmly said to them, "I've already booked my plane tickets."

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Xing Lan glanced at them, offering no further explanation, only vaguely stating, "It's a family matter."

So, while everyone else was still resting and getting their beauty sleep at their hotels in Los Angeles, Xing Lan rushed to buy a plane ticket at the last minute, took a red-eye flight that lasted several hours, and traveled overnight from Los Angeles to Ning City, which was more than 3,000 kilometers away.

After the plane landed, he returned to his familiar apartment building.

It was already early morning when I got home.

Xing Lan opened the door, and the living room was empty except for the little prince who came out wagging his tail to greet him, rubbing his nose against his leg.

Apart from the cats and dogs, there wasn't a soul in the house. The only thing on the dining table was a half-empty bottle of Coke, which must have been sitting there for a while; it was almost completely flat.

Xing Lan glanced around and guessed that Li Baidong must have gotten up early today to go to school to prepare for the performance.

He put down his luggage, quickly tidied himself up in the bathroom, and then went out again, driving hurriedly to Ningda without stopping for a moment.

Although I had a short nap on the plane, long-haul flights are already exhausting, and having to concentrate fully on driving under such severe sleep deprivation is really not an easy task.

Throughout the journey, Xing Lan could feel his heart pounding rapidly, a warning instinctively sent to him by his body, which felt it could not bear the strain.

Fortunately, he arrived at the school safely and on time for Li Baidong's performance.

Xing Lan walked into the school auditorium and sat down in the audience.

Just like the first time he came to Ningbo University to find Li Baidong and saw him playing basketball with his classmates, he casually chose a not-so-inconspicuous corner spot.

Just like that day, Li Baidong spotted him immediately from the vast crowd.

Li Baidong glanced at him, and the next second he immediately returned to his performance mode, as if nothing had happened.

Only Xing Lan knew perfectly well the slight stunned look on his face when he saw her, and the slight tremor of excitement in his dark eyes a second later.

Li Baidong's performance that day was outstanding and won a standing ovation.

As the most important protagonist in this play, he was so dazzling. With his superior figure of broad shoulders and narrow waist, he wore a gorgeous and elegant European costume. Even without the lights shining on him, he exuded a radiance brighter than any gemstone.

Everyone present was irresistibly drawn to him, and Xing Lan was no exception.

His outstanding performance on stage was the first time he had ever directly felt Li Baidong's excellence and charm. Every detail of the performance was handled with great care. Not only was his acting superb, but his appearance was also handsome, which made him fall in love with him.

After the performance, all the actors stood on the stage holding hands to take their bows, and several girls ran up to give flowers to the lead and supporting actors.

Xing Lan had rushed around all day and didn't have time to buy flowers, so she didn't go on stage to join in the fun. She just took a picture with her phone of Li Baidong holding flowers and smiling smugly on stage.

Although Li Baidong was standing on the stage, his eyes went past the bouquet in his arms and all the insignificant audience members in front of him, staring intently at Xing Lan, who was taking pictures of him below the stage, without looking away for a moment.

After taking the photos, Xing Lan was about to get up from her seat when a tall, dark figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbed her wrist tightly, and dragged her into the dimly lit and quiet prop room backstage without saying a word.

Li Baidong turned around and closed the door to the prop room. He couldn't wait to hug Xing Lan's waist and kiss him deeply.

His kiss was urgent, passionate like that of a long-awaited reunion, as if he wanted to melt all the longing he had felt for him over the past week into this long kiss. Xing Lan was almost breathless from his kiss, her tongue went numb, and her waist went limp, nearly causing her to bump into the wooden door behind her.

After a long while, Li Baidong reluctantly moved his lips away, lowered his eyes, and carefully traced every part of his face with his gaze.

What a blissful thing this was! The person he had been longing for had finally reappeared before him and watched his entire performance.

Although the two hadn't actually been apart for very long, Li Baidong was already missing him so much that he could hardly bear it. All the intense longing that had been building up in his heart suddenly erupted at this moment, making him tremble with excitement.

He raised his hand and gently stroked Xing Lan's cheek, his voice hoarse, with a hint of coquettish sulking: "You've lost weight since you haven't eaten my cooking in so long."

Even in the dim light, Li Baidong could see that Xing Lan's eyes were red, and her cool expression revealed a weary and tired look.

He felt a pang of heartache and carefully reached out to tidy the hair on his forehead.

"When did you get back? You look like this, didn't you sleep well last night?"

Xing Lan didn't want Li Baidong to worry, so she didn't answer his question, only vaguely replying, "It's nothing. Luo City is too dry, I might be having some trouble adjusting to the new environment."

Li Baidong opened his arms and hugged him tightly, gently inhaling the slightly chilly northern scent emanating from him, trying his best to warm him with his embrace.

"By the way, I have something to ask you."

After a while, Xing Lan seemed to suddenly remember something, patted Li Baidong's arm, and signaled him to let go of her.

Li Baidong reluctantly let go of her hand: "What's wrong?"

He took a photo out of his pocket, stared at Li Baidong with a hint of doubt in his eyes: "How do you have a photo of me from high school? Where did you get it?"

"Who gave it to you?"

Li Baidong glanced down at the photo in his hand, tilted his head, and chuckled softly, "I took it myself... Aren't my photography skills pretty good?"

"You took this?" Xing Lan asked incredulously. "Didn't you say you'd never seen me when we were in school?"

Li Baidong chuckled again, bringing his cheek close to his ear and whispering, "Brother, you're so cute. Do you believe everything I say?"

"..."

Xing Lan looked at his slightly upturned eyes and wondered if it was just his imagination, but the big dog seemed to be growing more and more like a fox, looking particularly cunning when it squinted its eyes.

He slapped the photo in Li Baidong's face expressionlessly and asked him, "What exactly is going on?"

Li Baidong pursed his lips, took the photo, and a hint of grievance gradually appeared in his eyes: "Brother, don't you remember me?"

"Didn't you say before that no matter how many years later, no matter where I am in the future, I can come to find you as long as I want to?"

“I’ve liked you since I was thirteen, and that hasn’t changed for a single day all these years.” He lowered his head, his voice deep, and gently hooked Xing Lan’s fingertips with his own. He seemed casual, but his tone was very firm. “I’ve said it before, you are the best person I’ve ever met, the person I like the most in my life.”

Xing Lan's eyes flashed, and all the memories instantly flooded back into her mind.

The sentence Li Baidong just said was a promise he made to the kid who often came to see him when he had just graduated from high school.

The middle school boy from Haishi had bright, dark eyes and often squatted alone in a corner, like a homeless stray dog.

On the day Xing Lan returned to school to take graduation photos after the college entrance examination, he saw the child hiding behind a big tree not far away, quietly watching him. After watching for a while, the child turned around and ran away.

After taking the photos, Xing Lan went up to the school rooftop alone, where the child was indeed waiting for him.

The child had always been reluctant to cry in front of Xing Lan, but that was the only time he couldn't hold back his tears and sobbed pitifully in front of him, asking if he would never see him again at school.

Xing Lan looked at him, gently took his hand, and wrote her phone number on his wrist with a black pen, telling him that no matter what happened in the future, he could call her.

After that, the child would often use his family's mobile phone to send him a few blessing text messages during holidays. Although they were short, they were very sincere, and Xing Lan would reply to them.

However, he never received any more text messages or phone calls from him after that, and the child completely disappeared from his world.

As far as I can remember, that was probably when Xing Lan had just gotten together with her ex.

Xing Lan also tried to contact the child, but when she called, the person on the other end of the line was an elderly woman with an accent that sounded very similar to the child's; she was probably his grandmother or something.

Perhaps it's because the child is growing up and can handle many difficulties in life on his own, no longer needing his help. He thought this should be considered a good thing.

Xing Lan suddenly realized what was happening and couldn't help but look at Li Baidong: "So you are..."

Memories of the past replay in my mind, bit by bit.

No wonder.

Xing Lan had always felt that Li Baidong's gaze towards him was a little strange, and he spoke in a mysterious way. Even though they had only known each other for a short time, he seemed to know him very well.

Furthermore, he kept saying that he liked Xing Lan and wanted to be with her forever, but when talking about his childhood crush, he revealed a look of infatuation and happiness that made Xing Lan secretly jealous and bitter.

Now, like a ball of yarn that has finally been combed out, all the confusion has been answered.

That little kid who was shorter than a girl and looked malnourished from head to toe has grown up so much without me even realizing it.

It's no wonder Xing Lan didn't recognize him at first. In the past few years, Li Baidong has undergone a complete transformation. His growth, both physically and mentally, has been incredibly rapid.

The child from before was thin and shy, had few friends at school, was always alone, and was bullied by mean classmates. But now, Li Baidong is so outstanding, handsome, and cheerful, and he is so at ease in all kinds of social situations.

Xing Lan found it hard to describe his current feelings; he was a little at a loss, a little enlightened, and a little overjoyed.

It turns out that from beginning to end, the only person Li Baidong liked was him.

He looked at Li Baidong: "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

“I want to see when you’ll recognize me yourself.” Li Baidong said, then suddenly leaned closer and bit Xing Lan’s ear, feigning grievance. “I’m so sad that you haven’t recognized me yet.”

A warm, tingling sensation came from the tip of her ear, and Xing Lan's body trembled slightly involuntarily.

He had actually become suspicious several times, but he was always fooled by the other party's feigned innocence and sweet talk.

Xing Lan took a light breath and licked her lips with mixed feelings.

...that bad dog.

Li Baidong sensed that Xing Lan's breathing was becoming increasingly unsteady. He smiled subtly, and slowly increased the pressure on Xing Lan's waist, pressing him against the wall of the prop room with even more force than before. His fingertips left several light pink marks on Xing Lan's slender waist.

"So, how do you plan to make it up to me when I'm heartbroken?"

Having been together for so long, Xing Lan had long seen through Li Baidong's old tricks of acting cute and charming. After today's performance, he was even more certain that Li Baidong was very good at acting and could shed tears at will.

However, when the other person shows him that wet, wounded puppy look, he still subconsciously indulges him helplessly, even though he knows that a large part of it is fake.

Xing Lan closed her eyes and, relying on her intuition, kissed Li Baidong's long, narrow eyelashes. She then raised her hand and hooked it around Li Baidong's neck.

"Anything is fine."

"But be gentle."

-----------------------

Author's Note: This story should be finished this week. Thank you all for your support and love! Feel free to request extra chapters! [kiss][kiss]