Chapter 36

Xia Lanzheng always knew that Chu Linchuan was a low-pressure person in the morning, so he observed Chu Linchuan's expression and tried to find signs of insomnia on his face, such as dark circles.

However, there was nothing. Chu Linchuan looked fine, but his expression was serious.

"What's wrong?" Xia Lanzheng stood at the door of his room, not intending to go in.

Chu Linchuan waved at him: "Come in, Chu Linyu is still sleeping."

Xia Lanzheng had no choice but to go in, shivering in the 16-degree air conditioning. He looked around, then turned around to find Chu Linchuan standing right in front of him.

"What happened?"

Chu Linchuan's hair was scattered casually on his forehead, and his hair was black. He looked at him with a deep and profound look. His face was expressionless, and perhaps because of his glasses, he looked even colder.

He remained silent, reaching out to press Xia Lanzheng's shoulders and patting them lightly a few times. He wasn't done yet, frowning and twisting his fingertips before adding more force to his palm.

His tone was kind, almost too kind to be creepy.

"Nothing, just some dirt."

Xia Lanzheng's eyes widened slightly.

Is Chu Linchuan angry?

After Chu Linchuan said this, he turned and went into the bathroom. Xia Lanzheng was stunned for a second and turned her head to look behind her.

"What dirt? Ashes?"

The sound of water came from the bathroom. Xia Lanzheng was used to Chu Linchuan speaking half-sentences, so she went into the bathroom, squeezed next to Chu Linchuan, and looked out from the mirror.

"There's nothing." Xia Lanzheng and Chu Linchuan looked at each other, then took a look by the collar. "You're lying to me again, aren't you?"

Chu Linchuan held a toothbrush in his mouth and squinted at him: "What do you mean by 'again'? When have I ever lied to you?"

Xia Lanzheng sighed and walked out: "When we were little, you lied to me and said that mud on my body couldn't be washed off..."

His voice faded away, but it didn't sound like he had left the room. Instead, he sat down by the window.

Chu Linchuan stood where he was, slowly spitting out the foam and looking outside.

Finally remembered?

He lowered his head, turned on the running water, and put his hands under the water to rinse. The cold touch spread from his fingertips to his whole body, and he finally came to his senses.

Chu Linchuan was woken up by a phone call in the morning. Although it was still dark outside the window, he saw a familiar figure at a glance.

Xia Lanzheng was all alone, as if she was lost. Chu Linchuan was saying something at the time, but suddenly he couldn't make any sound and subconsciously hung up the phone.

He watched Xia Lanzheng walk further and further away, calmly heading towards the sea. He stopped where the waves couldn't reach him, and Chu Linchuan quietly accompanied him for a while, as if they were waiting for a sunrise together.

But not long after, perhaps just as the sky was getting light, Chu Linchuan saw another shadow falling behind Xia Lanzheng.

The man was not unfamiliar. After meeting with Lu Yanqing last time, he asked someone to check on him - Su Cheng.

When did Su Shao, who lived abroad, return to China? It was so quiet that no one heard the news.

"Mr. Xia didn't have much contact with him," the assistant said, "Well... but he went to the hospital with Su Cheng once."

"Which hospital?"

"The Su family, since then, the two have not had much contact."

"Why did Su Cheng return to China?"

"I heard there was a conflict with his family. Ah... I got some personal news."

"What?"

"Su Cheng had a big fight with President Su at the time and said that she liked men."

Click——

Thinking of this, Chu Linchuan threw down his phone and called out to Xia Lanzheng without thinking.

A lost lamb in an unfamiliar area could easily be deceived by a dubious man. Su Cheng had better stay away from Xia Lanzheng.

"Chu Linchuan!"

He heard Xia Lanzheng's voice calling out from outside, but he didn't get a response, so he kept calling out.

"Chu Linchuan! Brother! Chu Linchuan! Brother! Are you okay?"

Chu Linchuan rubbed his temples, rinsed his face, and pushed open the door. Xia Lanzheng pressed against the door and almost fell into his arms.

"Are you going to have breakfast?" Xia Lanzheng was hit by two drops of water on her face. She shook them off without paying any attention. "If you don't want to eat, I'll go by myself."

Chu Linchuan slipped the person away from him: "What do you want to eat? I'll call room service."

"What are you eating? I'm so hungry, I feel like I can eat anything."

"Pig," Chu Linchuan laughed, dialed the phone, and beckoned Xia Lanzheng over, "You go talk, I'm going to take a shower."

Twenty minutes later, the intern from last night passed through the corridor pushing a cart. The cart was almost full of plates, and the whole corridor was filled with fragrance.

"Excuse me, sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

Su Cheng made way and shook his head gently: "Thank you, but no need."

The intern nodded in agreement and walked towards the innermost room.

Su Cheng looked ahead and heard him knock on the door. The door was opened, revealing a furry head.

Su Cheng suddenly retreated into the corner, and then another man appeared behind Xia Lanzheng.

Before he could take a closer look, the door closed again.

Su Cheng stood there, unable to move for a long time.

He didn't expect to meet Xia Lanzheng here. In fact, they hadn't seen each other for a while.

Although Xia Lanzheng said nothing, he knew that because he had hidden his name, their relationship had taken a sharp turn for the worse and was no longer as close as before.

Xia Lanzheng never mentioned anything about other friends, and Su Cheng thought he was special because they were friends and could talk about anything.

But the reality is not like that at all.

There were many people around Xia Lanzheng, and he was almost ranked last.

Su Cheng was unwilling to accept this, and didn't even realize the jealousy in his heart. He only knew that seeing Xia Lanzheng interacting with others made him angry but powerless, like a child whose toy had been taken away.

This special feeling reached its peak when he picked up the paintbrush.

He couldn't lift his brush, couldn't paint. He missed Xia Lanzheng so much that her face kept appearing intermittently on the canvas.

The assistant had found another model for Su Cheng, saying there was a college student named Song Xinghuai who also had beautiful hands. He called the person over, but it was completely wrong.

Su Cheng couldn't explain why, but it just wasn't right. Perhaps if it wasn't Xia Lanzheng, then nothing was right.

He clumsily tried to please Xia Lanzheng, asking her out and removing her from trending searches...

But Chu Linchuan, who was rumored to have always been at odds with Xia Lanzheng, got there before him.

Su Cheng gritted his teeth. Even though he had only met Cheng Lan once, he looked different from the rumors.

Xia Lanzheng has no shortage of friends.

Has Xia Lanzheng forgotten him?

The lights suddenly came on, so bright that it was almost blinding.

"Isn't it too bright in here?"

Chu Linyu sat on the sofa in the living room of the suite, raised his head, and let the crystal light above his head shine completely on his face.

In fact, he has pretty good looks, tall and long legs, but he's a bit cocky.

Xia Lanzheng fiddled with the camera and aimed the lens: "Not bright, not bright. I think it looks pretty good."

He had been taking photos for Chu Linyu for half an hour. No wonder Chu Linchuan and Yang Yuxiao left so quickly, one answering the phone and the other replying to messages.

Chu Linyu glanced at the photo and smiled from ear to ear: "Alright, your photography skills are the best in our family."

Xia Lanzheng glared at Chu Linchuan, who was enjoying the fun, and heard Yang Yuxiao say, "You guys can go play by yourselves this afternoon. Your dad and I won't be going."

Chu Linyu got excited when he heard this: "Where are you two going? You're in such a hurry to leave us behind."

Chu Lang kicked him and said, "Stop asking questions. Have you taken enough photos?"

"That's enough," Chu Linyu said with a playful smile, turning back to ask Chu Linchuan, "Boss Chu, what do you mean, are you done with this?"

Chu Linchuan didn't play along. He was answering the phone one second, and put it away in front of him the next: "I'm done. I'm waiting for you."

Xia Lanzheng saw clearly that Chu Linchuan was answering the alarm clock.

The beach became crowded in the afternoon, and the group found an empty spot. Chu Linyu pulled a blanket and a moisture-proof mat from his bag and set up a folding table at his feet. Chu Linchuan's bag contained sunglasses, sunscreen, and other items.

Xia Lanzheng also brought a bag, which Chu Linchuan had thrown to him before he left. He opened it and saw that it was filled with a few bags of potato chips. No wonder it felt so light to carry.

Chu Linchuan put a sun hat on Xia Lanzheng's forehead and asked, "How is it? Is it enough to eat?"

Xia Lanzheng was covered by the hat. As soon as she looked away, she saw Chu Linchuan's smiling face: "Is the company collaborating with a potato chip manufacturer recently?"

Chu Linchuan said: "If you want, it's not impossible. I can ask if they need any endorsements."

Chu Linyu came closer and saw that the potato chips were all cucumber-flavored. "Chu Linchuan, you did this on purpose. I've eaten all kinds of flavors since I was a kid, but I never eat cucumber-flavored ones!"

Chu Linchuan laughed out loud, patted the recliner and sat down: "That's too harsh, I had no idea."

Xia Lanzheng laughed along, and Chu Linyu turned to look at him: "Zhengzheng, stop hanging out with him. He's such a bad guy."

"Hmm, hmm, it's really bad." Xia Lanzheng opened the potato chips and chewed them. He didn't dare to say that he only liked cucumber-flavored potato chips. He handed a piece to Chu Linyu, "Why don't you try it? It's actually quite delicious."

I don’t know what words just now pleased Chu Linchuan, this person said with a raised voice: “Don’t give it to him, it’s a waste, I’ll eat it——”

Before he could finish his words, a piece of food was stuffed into Chu Linchuan's mouth and almost fell into his stomach.

Chu Linchuan leaned back from the recliner and turned to look at Xia Lanzheng. Xia Lanzheng curled her lips to take credit for it, "I specifically picked the most complete piece."

“…”

Okay, don’t hit someone who smiles at you.

Chu Linyu finished tossing himself, put on sunglasses, and was applying sunscreen on his body: "By the way, have your parents mentioned that to you recently?"

These words were obviously directed at Chu Linchuan. Xia Lanzheng sat between the two of them, listening attentively without saying anything.

Chu Linchuan sighed, thought for a moment and said, "No, I rejected you last time. So, did I tell you?"

"Well," Chu Linyu said helplessly, "He insisted that I go meet him. He said he had already added my contact information. Why would he refuse?"

"What do you mean?" Xia Lanzheng pulled her head out of her potato chips, stunned for a long moment, then said to the person to her right, "Are you going on a blind date?"

Chu Linyu on the left turned his head away: "You've missed the point, Zheng Zheng. It's me, not him."

Xia Lanzheng swallowed, then glanced to the right. Chu Linchuan brushed the sand off his trouser legs and lay down with his hands folded, seemingly unconcerned.

"Then do you want to go on a blind date?" Xia Lanzheng asked.

"We'll see." Chu Linyu ate some potato chips, but still couldn't stand the choking taste. "Let's talk about it when we get home."

Xia Lanzheng nodded and found a hair tie to tie her hair up.

He wondered what about Chu Linchuan? What did this man mean by not speaking?

Just as he was thinking, Chu Linchuan reached out and took the potato chips in front of him: "Anyway, I'm not going. If you want to go, go by yourself. Don't always drag me down with you."

Chu Linyu raised his eyebrows: "Taking the blame? How can you talk to your brother like that? Give me back the puzzle I gave you before."

Chu Linchuan argued with him, but Xia Lanzheng was the only one who said seriously, "You really aren't going?"

The wind blew up the remaining hair on her temples, and the loose bun at the back of her head also came loose. The fluffy curls suddenly spread out, and Chu Linchuan laughed when he saw it.

"What?" He blew into Xia Lanzheng's ear, blowing away the hair that was stuck to his face. "You want me to go?"

"No," Xia Lanzheng's ears felt itchy, and she tilted her head to avoid it. "I was just asking casually, it's none of your business."

Chu Linyu gloated: "Yeah, don't worry about him. He has never even been in a relationship in his life. He is just frigid."

Xia Lanzheng rubbed her earlobe. The sun made her feel lazy, and no one spoke for a while.

Xia Lanzheng was lying on the soft beach, drowsy. As her consciousness gradually drifted away, Chu Linchuan's voice came to her ears again.

"Xia Lanzheng, what about you? Have you ever been in love?"