Chapter 29 Dream
Su Nian wore a well-tailored white suit, the vibrant wintersweet embroidered on his shoulders intertwining its delicate fragrance with the unique aroma of the suit fabric. A familiar, gentle smile played on his lips as he extended his hand toward Ling Shen, his eyes curved, his brows curved, as if concealing a myriad of charms.
The faint scent of jasmine mixed with the cold breath of cedar lingered around. Ling Shen felt his heart tremble, as if he was cast an invisible spell, and his steps moved uncontrollably towards the other party.
He suddenly grabbed the back of Su Nian's head and eagerly kissed the lips that had haunted him. Her lips were as soft as petals soaked in morning dew, and he greedily took them, a long-suppressed sigh escaping from his throat.
He roughly ripped open Su Nian's suit with his hands, the sound of the fabric tearing being particularly clear in the quiet room. Su Nian lay there obediently, her eyes flickering, attracting Ling Shen even more.
Cool fingers wrapped around his neck, holding him tighter. Su Nian's bewitching whisper came to his ears, like a feather, gently plucked his heartstrings, making him willing to drown in this gentle land.
The night was long and lingering. As soon as the sky turned pale, Ling Shen opened his eyes.
The sticky touch beneath him instantly sobered him up, and he cursed in frustration, "Fuck, what a demon."
He flung back the covers, turned on the air purifier, and strode into the bathroom. A moment later, a suppressed growl came from the bathroom, followed by the sound of rushing water, as if to wash away everything.
In the cloakroom, a variety of gorgeous clothes were neatly displayed, sparkling. The white suit was hung in the most conspicuous position, like a silent provocation.
Ling Shen reached out and gently stroked the surface of his suit. He took a deep breath as if in self-mutilation and forced himself to look away.
By the time Ling Shen was dressed and out of the room, Su Nian had already prepared breakfast. On the table were small steamed buns and a glass of steaming soy milk.
"Let's change our taste today. You'll get tired of eating bread all the time. Try these buns." Su Nian invited Ling Shen to sit down and eat.
Ling Shen, dressed in a suit, showed no trace of his recent irritability, but the faint dark circles under his eyes showed his fatigue.
"What's wrong? Didn't you sleep well?" Su Nian pushed the soy milk in front of him and asked curiously.
Ling Shen's action of taking a bite of the fresh meat bun suddenly froze, and the soup splashed through the gaps between his teeth onto the bone china plate, forming dotted oil stains.
His Adam's apple rolled up and down twice, and his nasal voice wrapped around the unchewed noodles: "No, maybe I caught a cold."
Su Nian didn't ask any more questions, but just nodded slightly. Ling Shen secretly raised his eyes to look at Su Nian opposite him.
The other person was eating a bun quietly with his eyes lowered. His long and thick eyelashes cast a small shadow under his eyelids. The morning light fell on him through the floor-to-ceiling windows, giving him a soft halo.
Ling Shen closed his eyes and suddenly remembered the same eyelashes in his dream last night, which made him feel itchy and hot when they brushed across his neck.
"Ling Shen, Ling Shen, your phone is ringing."
It was not until Su Nian's call brought him back to reality that Ling Shen swallowed the bun in a few bites with some embarrassment.
When I picked up the phone and saw the display, all the beauty in my heart disappeared, and my originally gentle face became cold.
Su Nian handed the coffee she had prepared long ago to Ling Shen who was walking to the door, and also stuffed a packet of cold medicine in his hand. "Here's the coffee, and the medicine."
Ling Shen held the warm coffee and jasmine-scented cold medicine in his hand and looked at Su Nian deeply. The collarbone that appeared and disappeared at the neckline looked as white as jade.
Memory and reality overlap at this moment. Last night, the same collarbone was branded crimson by his kiss.
His Adam's apple moved with difficulty, and when he turned around, he knocked over the brass ornaments at the entrance. Amid the jingling sound, the last sentence "I'll be back early" sounded like some kind of pale promise.
The moment the door closed, Su Nian straightened the tilted ornaments with a bit of amusement, and a chuckle filled the silent room.
Ling Shen hurried downstairs. His assistant was already waiting downstairs in his car. He looked at Ling Shen with a smile on his face as he came down. He opened the door for him with some confusion, "Boss Ling, you..."
Ling Shen calmly stuffed the mint green package of cold medicine into the inside pocket of his suit. He pressed the corners of his lips with his fingertips, trying to calm the tenderness in his eyes. "Nothing, let's go."
The assistant agreed in a low voice, but when getting into the car, he inadvertently looked upstairs and weighed the options silently in his mind.
It was he who gave Su Nian the contract and made him recognize his identity, but now it seems that Mr. Ling is really interested in this Su Nian.
Then, as an assistant, he should naturally put all matters concerning this person named Su Nian first according to the boss's wishes.
Ling Shen's fingers slowly stroked the cup in his hand. The aroma of the warm coffee made him subconsciously ignore the dull pain in his forehead.
On the first day of work after the New Year, everything was proceeding as planned. Ling Shen paused as he signed the document - the most pointed clauses in the follow-up plan for the Jiang Group were finally deleted.
After all, he was concerned about Jiang Yi and showed some mercy to the Jiang family's men. In Ling Shen's heart, he wanted to use this mercy to completely repay Jiang Yi's kindness. That way, he could slowly let go of Jiang Yi and focus his whole heart on Su Nian beside him.
In the following days, Ling Shen was busy with company affairs every day, but no matter how busy he was, Ling Shen would leave the office on time at the end of the get off work day.
This change shocked the entire group. The workaholic who once regarded the office as his home has now become a "Mr. Punctual" who counts on a stopwatch before leaving get off work.
Only the assistant stood in the tea room, watching the news exploding in the group and calmly sipping his coffee - after all, those carefully selected construction teams and the fresh organic vegetables delivered every day were all arranged by him.
When the car reached the alley entrance, the willow tree's paper strips had just sprouted new buds. Su Nian now commuted between the bookstore and Ling Shen's home every day. Almost every day, Ling Shen personally drove Su Nian back home. Although the two places weren't close, Ling Shen insisted on doing so.
The bookstore's regular customers have long figured out this pattern. Whenever a low engine sound comes from the alley, customers who are flipping through books will close the pages tacitly.
"Boss Su, are you not doing business lately?"
A college student who often came to enjoy the air conditioning came over, holding a coffee cup, his eyes full of ridicule: "That's right, you used to be open until ten, but now you close at seven. I'm afraid this store will become an exclusive pick-up point?"
Su Nian gave the girls some cookies she baked with an apologetic smile, but she didn't even mention extending the opening hours.
When the last batch of cookies came out of the oven, the rich aroma of butter filled the cafe. Several young girls gathered in front of the counter, greeted Su Nian with a smile, and passed by Ling Shen who pushed the door open.
"Are you ready?" Ling Shen pushed the door open and looked at Su Nian, who was taking off her apron behind the bar. The sound of wind chimes rang out as Ling Shen's slender figure entered, enveloped in the twilight. A few rays of warm sunlight stained the shoulders of his dark grey coat.
Su Nian smiled, turned around, picked up the wrapped biscuits and walked towards Ling Shen, "Let's go, what do you want to eat today?" The biscuit crumbs left on her fingertips fell on the brown paper bag. Su Nian deliberately picked the wrapping paper with a coffee bean pattern printed on it, and carefully put the still warm biscuits in it.
Ling Shen naturally took the box from Su Nian's hand and helped him close the door, "Let's make seafood risotto tonight." The metal door lock clicked lightly. Ling Shen's slender fingers still lingered on the door handle, watching Su Nian flip the "Open" sign at the door of the store to "Closed".
The warm yellow light shone through the frosted glass, outlining a furry halo at the feet of the two people. Ling Shen reached out and gently flicked away the biscuit crumbs that had fallen on Su Nian's shoulder. His movements were so familiar as if he had done it a thousand times.
The two of them walked towards the parking space, talking and laughing. The setting sun cast a soft halo on the two people as they walked away, and their shadows gradually merged together.
The willow trees on the roadside swayed gently, and spring came to everyone quietly.
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