Chapter 15 It's Crazy
Ling Shen withdrew his thoughts and met Su Nian's clear eyes. Under the warm yellow light, those eyes were like glass beads immersed in a stream, reflecting his slightly tired figure.
"Nothing." His Adam's apple rolled slightly, and as he reached for his chopsticks, his knuckles scraped against the bamboo, making a subtle rustling sound. His sleeves also slipped down half an inch, revealing the red marks on his wrist from being rubbed by documents. "Why aren't you closing the shop so late?"
Su Nian raised an eyebrow. "The sun was shining, so I fell asleep. I didn't expect that I would wait for you instead of the thief."
The teasing words made Ling Shen's frown relax slightly, and he couldn't help laughing. Su Nian saw him relax, lowered his head, and picked up the noodles, "Eat it quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold."
The night deepened outside the window, the shadows of the sycamore trees swaying on the glass into blurred ink marks. Occasionally, the footsteps of latecomers drifted down the alley, mingling with the lingering sound of the bubbling noodles cooking in the bookstore.
Ling Shen ate the noodles slowly. The sour and sweet taste of tomatoes mixed with the mellow aroma of eggs spread on the tip of his tongue. The soup slid down his throat into his stomach, and even the muscles in the back of his neck that were stiffened by the air conditioner began to relax.
He suddenly felt that this simple bowl of noodles was more delicious than all the delicacies at the banquet - especially when Su Nian glanced at him from the corner of her eyes from time to time and found that he was eating seriously, the corners of her mouth would curl up slightly.
When the warm soup noodles were finished, Ling Shen pressed his back teeth against his sore temples, and the fatigue from working all day came flooding back like a tide.
He forced himself to stay awake and watched Su Nian washing dishes in a dark blue apron. The sound of running water mixed with the soft clink of porcelain bowls colliding formed a lullaby in the silent bookstore.
After wiping his hands, Su Nian turned around and saw Ling Shen leaning on the recliner, forcing his eyes to look at him stubbornly.
"Go to sleep, the guest room is still the one you stay in." Su Nian's voice was wrapped in the coolness of the night, and as soon as her fingertips touched the wall of the cup, they were burned by another temperature.
When Ling Shen's palm covered over, it brought with it the scent of whiskey mixed with cedar. The glass of water swayed between their intertwined fingers, like the moon hanging on the edge of a cliff.
The crisp sound of shattering startled the cry of a night owl outside the window, and moonlight slanted through the glass onto the two of them. Ling Shen lowered his eyes to look at Su Nian's whitened knuckles, his Adam's apple rolling down, and his eyelashes cast a fine shadow under his eyes.
When the tip of his nose was about to touch the other's trembling breath, Su Nian suddenly raised his hand and pressed it against his cold lips. The warmth of his palm instantly ignited the dark fire in Ling Shen's eyes.
"You're tired, go to sleep." Su Nian's voice had an imperceptible tremor. When he turned around, the hem of his shirt brushed against the broken glass, making a slight sound on the ground.
Ling Shen lowered his head dejectedly, and did not ask Su Nian why she stopped him, but went up the stairs silently.
The wooden stairs made a heavy sound underfoot, and the dim light pulled the two figures further and further away, until there was no possibility of them crossing each other.
It was not until the sound of a door closing came from upstairs that Su Nian, holding the broom, squatted on the ground exhausted. The necklace on his neck swayed in the light because of his movement.
"It's crazy. I almost followed him..." Su Nian reached out and grasped the necklace, muttering bitterly, "Chen Ran, I'm sorry, he really looks too much like you..."
Su Nian held the necklace tightly in her hand, and the words she kept murmuring were both an apology to the non-existent person and an attempt to numb her own aching nerves.
Upstairs, Ling Shen slid slowly against the door panel, oblivious to the raised door handle. He unconsciously rubbed his lips, the warmth of Su Nian's palm like a mark on his skin, the more he tried to erase it, the clearer it became.
The moonlight climbed up his angular jaw, illuminating the undercurrent surging in his eyes. "Could it be that his lips are softer than his hands?" The thought startled him so much that he clenched his fists suddenly, and his knuckles hit the wall with a dull sound.
"It's really crazy..." The night swallowed up the last whisper, leaving only two severed shadows, trembling slightly with the heartbeat in different spaces.
That night, the two of them lay quietly, separated by a wall, the moonlight gently pouring down onto the ground. The silvery moonlight filtered through the window lattice, casting mottled shadows on the floor, and the swaying shadows of the trees cast subtle swaying patterns on the wall.
The air was filled with the faint scent of grass, and it was so quiet that only the faint sound of each other's breathing could be heard.
Ling Shen didn't know when he fell asleep. He only knew that when he woke up again, the sun was already very high in the sky, and a sweet fragrance from downstairs came through the crack in the door.
The sweet fragrance mixed with the richness of butter and the burnt aroma of baked dough penetrates into the nose, making people's appetites whet.
The morning light shines through the gaps in the curtains, casting golden spots in the room and giving the entire space a warm filter.
"Awake?" Su Nian looked at Ling Shen, who was slowly walking down the stairs with a damp face, and raised her head with a smile.
Ling Shen agreed vaguely, and neither of them tacitly mentioned what happened last night, as if it were just a lingering dream. Silence stretched between the two of them, but it didn't seem awkward, instead it was filled with a subtle warmth.
Some words don't need to be said, some emotions are hidden deep in the heart, just like the sunshine in the early morning, although not scorching, but warm enough.
"Are you still busy?" Su Nian placed the baked bread in front of Ling Shen and spoke casually.
Ling Shen spread the jam on the fruit and handed it to Su Nian while picking up the coffee beside him. "It's vacation time now, so take a rest from now on."
Hot steam rose from the coffee cup, slowly dispersing in the cold air, carrying a rich aroma. His movements were gentle and natural, as if this scene had been repeated countless times.
Su Nian took the bread and put it in his mouth. The sweet and sour jam made him frown slightly, "The sourness and sweetness of this jam seems not right." He said thoughtfully while chewing the bread.
"What about you? Aren't you going to rest?" Ling Shen gently placed the bone china cup on the wood-grained coaster, the metal spoon making a clear sound as it hit the cup wall. Amidst the lingering aroma of coffee, his gaze pierced through the wisps of steam and settled on Su Nian's forehead, where her hair dangled.
Su Nian swallowed the bread in his mouth and cast his eyes on the bookshelf behind him. "I may rest for a few days, but I will still stay here. After all, I am alone, so it doesn't matter where I go."
Ling Shen looked at the tiny shadows cast by her eyelashes under her eyes, and realized belatedly that the hum of the air conditioner had stopped at some point.
He felt a dull pain in his chest, as if someone was clutching his beating heart. He heard his own dry voice: "Is there anything I can help you with?" The moment the words came out of his mouth, even he was stunned - this was not in line with his usual aloof style of doing things.
Su Nian paused, then smiled brighter than the sunlight outside the window. "Okay, as long as you don't mind." Su Nian smiled and handed him a piece of bread. "Eat quickly, there's still a lot to do after you finish eating."
The steam in the coffee cup suddenly rose again, making the vague warmth between the two people even more blurred.
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