Chapter 17 Grapes and Sour Candy: Do you want me to take a bite of you?
The French meal service is quite lengthy; by the time they finished eating, it was already dark outside.
This so-called "520 Couple's Set Meal" wasn't actually that delicious, and the price wasn't much cheaper than other regular set meals. The only difference was the awkward violin performance. After paying the bill, they were each given a fresh pink lily, presumably as a wish for a long and happy marriage.
After paying, Xing Lan put her hands in her pockets and didn't take the flowers from the waiter. Li Baidong, on the other hand, was quite interested in the flowers. He took two stems and curiously touched the pink and white petals with his fingertips, occasionally lowering his head to take a deep sniff.
"Brother, can you smell it? It smells so good."
"...Not all flowers are fragrant."
The temperature has been fluctuating lately, dropping sharply at night. After leaving the warm restaurant, Xing Lan hadn't walked far when she turned her head and coughed lightly twice.
The shirt he was wearing was too thin and couldn't block the night wind blowing by the roadside at all. The cold wind blew into his clothes, and he felt that every cell in his body was cold.
Li Baidong looked up and saw Xing Lan's slightly trembling shoulders. Without thinking, he took off his hoodie and chased after him to drape it over Xing Lan's shoulders.
"Need not……"
Xing Lan frowned, and was about to dodge when she turned her head and saw the male waiter who had served them earlier standing at the store entrance, looking at them with a curious gaze.
The play must be performed completely.
Xing Lan hesitated for a moment, then pursed his lips. He stopped trying to hide and let Li Baidong carefully drape the coat over him. Then, like any clingy boyfriend in love, he reached out and affectionately wrapped his arm around Xing Lan's slender waist.
They walked all the way until they got into the car, at which point Li Baidong released his hands from around his waist.
Xing Lan wondered if it was just her imagination, but when Li Baidong let go, it seemed like he deliberately slowed down the process.
Her warm palms lingered on his waist for a few seconds, seemingly reluctant to leave.
He opened the car door for Xing Lan, then went around to the other side of the car, holding two flowers in his hands, and obediently sat in the passenger seat.
Xing Lan got into the car, and before fastening her seatbelt, she took off her coat and handed it back to Li Baidong next to her.
Li Baidong's hoodie had shallow pockets, and when he handed it over, something inside accidentally fell out.
Xing Lan glanced down and saw a small bag of imported candy, green grape flavored, with a white bear printed on it.
He was familiar with this candy packaging; Xing Lan used to buy it frequently in high school to relieve academic pressure. Therefore, he knew that this candy was only available at certain imported supermarkets, and because of its limited production, it wasn't always available on every visit.
After graduating from high school, he rarely ate this candy anymore, and thought it had been discontinued. He never expected to see it at Li Baidong's place today.
"This candy is very sour." Xing Lan glanced at the candy that had fallen into the car, then looked up at Li Baidong. "You like to eat this?"
He also remembered that once when Li Baidong bought a drink, he accidentally bought a high-concentration lemon juice. He was so sour that he grimaced, which was unlike someone who usually liked sour candies.
Li Baidong nodded and laughed lightly, "Many years ago, someone gave me one. At first, I also thought it was very sour, and I couldn't help but want to spit it out as soon as I put it in my mouth."
"But because he liked it so much, I forced myself to try it again and again. As I ate it, I got used to it. When I felt sleepy in class, I would occasionally eat one to perk myself up."
As he spoke, he casually unwrapped a candy, held it between his fingers, and waved it at Xing Lan: "Brother, do you want some?"
Just as Xing Lan was about to open his palm, Li Baidong ignored his outstretched hand and directly handed the candy to his lips.
He hesitated for a moment, then slightly opened his mouth.
Li Baidong seemed to have little experience feeding people. After stuffing the candy into Xing Lan's mouth, his slender fingertips did not move away. Instead, they were still restless at Xing Lan's soft lips, and even seemed to want to explore and touch his warm tongue.
"...Want me to bite you?" Xing Lan glanced down at his finger and warned coldly.
Li Baidong reluctantly withdrew his hand, blinking innocently, "No, brother, it hurts."
"Then don't be so slow to retract your hand." Xing Lan said, biting into a candy, seemingly a little angry.
"Okay, brother, I'll definitely be more careful next time," Li Baidong promised with a grin.
-
After returning home, Li Baidong went to the bathroom to take a shower.
Xing Lan was sitting on the sofa, propping herself up with her hand while reading a book, when she suddenly heard her phone ring on the table.
I picked it up and saw it was a message from the company group chat.
[Campus Image.jpg]
[Thank you all for your hard work lately. The company plans to organize a team-building activity this Saturday. We hope that while you are working diligently, you will also remember to relax appropriately.]
[We are now counting participants. If you would like to participate, please type '1'. @Everyone]
Fu Lin: [1]
Xia Wang: [1]
Fatty: [1]
Deng Hao: [1]
L: [2]
Deng Hao: [?]
Deng Hao: [The company has organized so many team-building events, Director Xing, you seem to have never participated. Are you going to make an exception this time? @L]
Xing Lan glanced at the message Deng Hao sent, which sounded like he was picking a fight, and didn't intend to pay any attention to it.
Just as he put down his phone and was about to continue reading, he heard it ring several more times.
It wasn't Deng Hao; it was sent by Fatty.
Fatty messaged Xing Lan privately, asking, "Xiao Xing, aren't you going to participate in this team building activity?"
L: [Yes, what's wrong?]
When Xing Lan first joined the company, it was Fatty who was in charge of mentoring him. Fatty was a very good person, straightforward and warm-hearted. He helped Xing Lan a lot, both at work and in life. Fatty was not only a senior Xing Lan respected, but also his first mentor in the industry.
Fatty: [When Sweetie came to the office last time, you gave her a piece of chocolate, and she loved it so much that she didn't want to eat it. She kept asking to see you again at home.]
Fatty: [This team-building event happens to be her birthday, and I wanted to take her with us. If she knew you could come too, she'd be ecstatic!]
Sweetie is Fatty's daughter. She is five years old this year and looks just like her dad. She is cute and lovable. Every time she comes to the office, her female colleagues, overflowing with maternal love, take turns pinching her cheeks and giving her snacks.
She's a sucker for good looks and likes to stick to Xing Lan all the time. Although Xing Lan isn't very good at coaxing children, he once folded a paper crane out of scrap paper for her to play with, and the little girl was happy for a long time.
Xing Lan looked down at his phone screen. Fatty had sent him two voice messages. When he opened them, he heard a sweet, childlike voice saying that he wanted to play with Xing Lan again.
He thought for a moment, then sent a voice message, promising Sweetie, who was holding her dad's phone, that he would definitely spend her birthday with her on Saturday.
When Li Baidong came out of the shower, he saw Xing Lan with her head down, sending a voice message to someone. Her tone was very gentle, which made him gasp and listen intently.
Xing Lan usually had a cold expression and a voice devoid of emotion, like an ice cube in plain water, cold and transparent. Only when dealing with cats and dogs would a hint of tenderness appear in her expression, like a feather tickling Li Baidong's heart.
However, cats and dogs obviously wouldn't use a mobile phone to register for WeChat.
Who's on the other side?
Thinking this, Li Baidong unconsciously walked to the sofa in the living room, dried his hair with a towel, and kept glancing at his phone.
After replying to the message, Xing Lan had already switched out of the chat interface.
He didn't notice someone silently approaching him, who was looking down at a search engine to find the location for the team building event.
Although it was in the suburbs, it wasn't very remote. Xing Lan thought he could go to the mall beforehand to buy Tian Tian a gift and give it to her later.
He turned off his phone, got up to go back to his bedroom, only to find Li Baidong standing beside him, silently watching him.
"...What are you doing standing here?" If Xing Lan hadn't been mentally strong, she would have been startled by him.
Li Baidong has excellent eyesight; he could see the address displayed on Xing Lan's phone with just a glance and memorized it using his super memory.
He chuckled, his blond hair still damp, and said casually, "Brother, I forgot where I put the hairdryer at home. Could you help me find it?"
"Hasn't it always been kept in the second cabinet?"
Xing Lan walked over, quickly found the hair dryer in the cabinet, took it out and handed it to him, giving him a lukewarm glance.
"If you have something to say in the future, don't just stand there silently like a ghost."
Li Baidong took the hair dryer and said with a smile, "I saw that you were quite busy, so I was afraid of disturbing your work."
"By the way, bro," he said to Xing Lan while drying his hair, "Do you have time this week?"
Xing Lan didn't answer directly, but instead asked him, "Is there something you need?"
Li Baidong said, "The fox has been making a lot of noise lately, probably because its mating season is approaching. I'm thinking of taking it for a check-up to see if I need to have it spayed or neutered."
"I don't know which pet hospital is good nearby. Bro, if it's convenient for you, could you come with me?"
After he finished speaking, he blinked and looked at Xing Lan.
Xing Lan thought for a moment and said, "Sunday, then. I have something to do on Saturday, so I might have to go out all day."
"Okay, bro." Li Baidong smiled gently.
-
The weather was great on the day of the team building activity; the sun was shining and the sky was cloudless.
Xing Lan got up very early, went to the store to buy a gift for Tian Tian, and then drove herself to the team building site.
The team building event was held at a newly developed campsite, next to a clear stream, with fresh air and an endless expanse of lush green lawn.
As soon as Xing Lan got out of the car, she saw several colleagues gathered together in the distance, setting up a barbecue by the charcoal grill.
Deng Hao glanced at him and said in a strange tone, "Oh, some people are really two-faced. Who was it that said in the group chat that we couldn't come?"
"Whether I come or not is my business." Xing Lan glanced at him indifferently. "Mind your own business."
Just as Deng Hao was about to retort, he heard someone next to him pat his shoulder and exclaim, "Brother Hao, skewers!"
Deng Hao was distracted by Xing Lan and forgot to check the heat, causing all the skewers in his hand to burn.
"Damn it," he cursed under his breath, and hurriedly began to salvage the situation in a flurry of activity.
Xing Lan looked around and saw Fatty and Sweetie squatting by the stream, catching small fish or shrimp.
Sweetie was carrying a small iron bucket. After a whole morning of hard work by the father and daughter, there was already a small harvest inside.
Xing Lan walked towards them, carrying the gift in one hand behind her back.
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