Chapter 52 Jealousy: Is the heart-shaped chocolate delicious?
After asking the question, Li Baidong nervously licked his dry lips in the darkness, afraid that Xing Lan would be merciless and bluntly say "No."
A long silence fell over the air, as if time had stood still.
After a very, very long time, Xing Lan finally spoke: "Since it has already happened, this assumption is meaningless."
"Maybe, maybe not. I don't know."
Li Baidong's expression suddenly froze, like he had just eaten a piece of very concentrated dark chocolate, which was bitter at first taste but had a different flavor upon closer inspection.
He knew Xing Lan wouldn't lie; at least, every word he said now was his truest thought.
He wouldn't pretend to nod just to appease Li Baidong, but on the bright side, at least he wasn't so cold as to deny it outright, leaving Li Baidong with a glimmer of hope.
Even someone as rational and decisive as Xing Lan, who never hesitates, would struggle to give an ambiguous answer.
Clearly, his attitude has softened and his rationality has wavered during this period.
"I know."
Li Baidong lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought, and silently hugged Xing Lan from behind.
“You will, brother.” Li Baidong’s voice was as soft as a whisper, yet it carried a strong possessiveness, each word clear and powerful. “You will definitely be with me. You will only be with me.”
Xing Lan felt Li Baidong's cheek pressed against the back of her neck, a soft warmth emanating from it. Long bangs brushed against her ears, causing a slight tickle to her sensitive ear tips.
The night was as dark as ink. Just as Li Baidong was about to fall asleep, he felt Xing Lan, who was in his arms, move slightly.
He turned around and gradually faced Li Baidong. The two were so close that they could clearly hear each other's breathing, and their high noses were about to touch.
Li Baidong opened his eyes drowsily, and the next second, he felt something warm and soft quickly touch his chin in complete darkness.
Xing Lan raised her face slightly and gently kissed Li Baidong's neatly shaped chin. Then, as if nothing had happened, she lowered her head, buried her soft cheek in the man's warm chest, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
Before that night, Xing Lan had never thought about being with Li Baidong.
He never thought he would date someone younger than himself, but unexpectedly, after a hangover, he ended up sleeping with one.
When he woke up and discovered this absurd result, he was very flustered and didn't know what to do. All he wanted to do was make it up to Li Baidong.
Xing Lan was forced to mature early due to her family background. She was very thorough in her work from a young age, always liking to plan ahead, weigh risks, compare pros and cons, exhaustively list every possibility, and then make a careful choice.
Until he met Li Baidong.
This person gave him no chance to react, barging into his closed world with a cat and knocking on his lonely heart, becoming his young and clingy boyfriend.
All these unexpected twists of fate are like opening Pandora's box; it's hard to say whether it's good or bad.
The only thing that can be confirmed is that he is indeed a little happier now than when he was alone before.
Li Baidong's heart skipped a beat. He savored Xing Lan's rare, gentle kiss, and his heart was filled with happiness. He felt like he had transformed into a warm spring garden.
He gently opened his eyes, looked down at Xing Lan who was falling asleep in his arms, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, and his drowsiness vanished instantly.
Li Baidong didn't go back to sleep. He quietly watched Xing Lan all night by the faint moonlight outside the window, tracing the soft curves and delicate beauty of Xing Lan's face as he slept peacefully.
Since moving in, he had been quietly getting closer to Xing Lan, figuring out all his habits and becoming familiar with the most subtle changes in his expression.
Therefore, he knew that Xing Lan always had clear likes and dislikes, but Li Baidong was left in a vague gray area in his mind, deliberately ignored, and he dared not think about him deeply.
Li Baidong thought, isn't this a kind of special treatment?
Their relationship was like a window fogged up in winter. When Xing Lan happened to remember it one day and wiped it clean, she would find that the long-standing window was actually a mirror.
Li Baidong never stood outside the window; he was always beside him.
-
In the morning, when Li Baidong went out for a morning run, someone handed him a flyer for an event at a nearby park.
It was the park that Li Baidong and Xing Lan had passed by when they took the fox to get it spayed. They were holding a pet festival there, and every dog participating in the lawn activities could receive jerky and toys, while cats could also try the latest freeze-dried cod for free.
Li Baidong clutched the promotional leaflet in his hand, looking at it again and again, really wanting to go.
That evening, Xing Lan curled up on the sofa reading a book when Li Baidong sneaked over, holding a kitten and gently nibbling a piece of paper in his mouth.
Xing Lan narrowed her eyes, put down her book, deftly pulled out the paper, ignored the faint, puppy-like teeth mark at the top, looked at the words on it, and casually read: "Pet Day?"
Li Baidong nodded.
"You want to go?"
Li Baidong grabbed the fox's little paw, waved it at Xing Lan, smiled slyly, and said, "It's the fox that wants to go."
The fox in his arms opened its round eyes and looked at Xing Lan innocently, then let out a soft "meow".
Xing Lan suddenly remembered reading in a magazine that owners and their pets often share certain personality traits.
Fox and Li Baidong are somewhat similar; both look harmless, love to act cute, are not afraid of strangers, and occasionally have a bit of a cunning side.
He reached out and patted the fox's fluffy head, then nodded slightly to Li Baidong beside him: "Okay, let's go then."
Li Baidong's eyes lit up instantly. He looked closely at the date on the flyer and said, "Brother, the event ends this weekend, so let's go together on Friday?"
Xing Lan readily agreed: "Okay."
The two agreed that Xing Lan would drive the two little ones to Ningda University to pick up Li Baidong this Friday, and then they would go to the park together.
Li Baidong told Xing Lan that he might be rehearsing with his club in the afternoon and asked her to go directly to the school auditorium to find him.
On that day, Xing Lan drove the car to the entrance of Ningda University, put the car in pet mode, and got out to find Li Baidong.
However, before they even reached the school auditorium, they saw Li Baidong walking with a girl, seemingly having a lively conversation.
Although the two did not stand side by side, but maintained a normal social distance, the girl would occasionally turn her head to steal a few glances at Li Baidong, and every few steps she would quietly move a little closer to him.
Li Baidong maintained his usual smile, relaxed and casual, handsome and approachable, giving people the illusion that he was very easy to get along with.
For some reason, he seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood today, walking lightly, each step treading on the bright sunlight.
On the tree-lined avenue where a gentle breeze was blowing, the young and handsome boys and girls looked so innocent and beautiful, as well-matched as the male and female protagonists in a movie.
Xing Lan stopped and looked at them from a distance.
Even he himself didn't realize that after seeing this scene, the expression on his face instantly turned cold, his lips pressed into a straight line, and he felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.
He stared at Li Baidong's familiar yet glaring smiling face, intending to turn away silently, but was spotted by the sharp-eyed guy.
Upon seeing Xing Lan, Li Baidong immediately abandoned the girl beside him who was hesitant to speak, and like a dog seeing its owner, happily ran towards Xing Lan.
He quickly arrived at Xing Lan's side, a large hand naturally wrapped around his waist, his eyes lowered, his affectionate tone tinged with a hint of grievance: "Brother, why did you take so long to get here? Our rehearsal has been over for ages."
"The traffic is terrible." Xing Lan glanced at him coldly, her expression devoid of emotion. "Don't you know it's Friday evening rush hour?"
Li Baidong paused for a moment, his previously happy smile freezing in place.
He was just casually being affectionate like he always was, but Xing Lan seemed a little angry for some reason, and her tone was harsh.
The next second, Xing Lan slapped away Li Baidong's hand that was on his waist, his thin eyelids half-open, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes.
"...Don't touch me here."
Xing Lan didn't hold back much this time, and Li Baidong felt a sharp pain on the back of his hand from the slap, and was stunned.
It's not just a little bit, it's clearly a lot of anger.
What did he do wrong?
"What's wrong, brother?" Li Baidong softened his tone, grabbed Xing Lan's arm to stop him from leaving, and said pitifully, "Did the little prince destroy the house again and make you angry? ... Don't be angry, I'll clean it up as soon as we get home, and I promise I'll make it all spotless."
Xing Lan ignored him, shook off Li Baidong's hand again, and turned to walk quickly out of the school.
Just as Li Baidong was about to chase after him, a voice called out from behind him.
As the young girl ran towards them, Xing Lan caught a whiff of that familiar peach perfume scent in the wind.
The scent is quite unique. Xing Lan remembers that the heart-shaped chocolate that fell out of Li Baidong's backpack had the same scent.
Xing Lan clenched her fists awkwardly, her expression turning even worse.
He clenched his fists, deliberately turned his head away, pretending he didn't care, and walked out without waiting for Li Baidong.
"President Li," Song Lu hurried over, blushing as she said to Li Baidong, "Thank you so much for teaching me how to act out a crying scene today. Tomorrow's the weekend, if you have time, could we have dinner together? I'll treat you."
"Oh, it's nothing." Li Baidong smiled politely at her. "It's not really about teaching you. After all, your role is quite important. If you can't cry, we can't keep everyone waiting."
Hearing this, Song Lu was silent for a few seconds, then said somewhat flusteredly, "I'm sorry... I wasn't prepared and I've wasted everyone's time."
She bit her lip, as if still unwilling to give up, and tentatively asked again, "Then tonight—"
Li Baidong frowned and waved his hand at her: "No need for dinner. I'm busy, I have plans."
"Then tomorrow—"
Just as Song Lu was about to speak, Li Baidong looked at her and said expressionlessly, "Sorry, I'm always busy."
“Aside from school, all my time is devoted to my baby. Besides, I’m going to celebrate the holiday with my baby and our two babies today, so it’s impossible for me to have dinner with you.”
He refused decisively, leaving no room for negotiation, and unintentionally showed off their affection.
Song Lu's eyes widened in surprise. "Your...your baby??"
She had only vaguely heard that Li Baidong had a very beautiful and wealthy girlfriend, but she didn't know how the two of them even had a child.
"Okay. I have something to do, I'll be going now."
Li Baidong nodded, didn't explain further, and ran towards Xing Lan's direction.
Xing Lan got into the car and was about to close the door and start the engine when a familiar large hand stopped her.
Li Baidong ran very fast, catching up with Xing Lan in just a few steps. Seeing Xing Lan's cold face as he was about to close the door, Li Baidong recklessly reached his hand into the gap between the doors and forcibly grabbed it. If Xing Lan hadn't noticed in time and stopped, he would have almost suffered a serious fracture.
Xing Lan was taken aback, and looked up in surprise at Li Baidong standing outside the car: "...What are you doing?" Staring at his almost injured hand, she frowned and said coldly, "You think you have too many hands and want to cut one off?"
Li Baidong smiled, said nothing, then forcefully pried open the driver's side door with one hand, lowered his head, and nimbly climbed inside.
The driver's seat was a single seat, and the interior space was extremely cramped, making it impossible to fit a second person. Moreover, Li Baidong was quite tall, with broader shoulders and longer legs than the average adult man.
Li Baidong forced his way into the car, like a high wall, his tall and strong body completely blocking Xing Lan, who was originally sitting there. From the front window, Xing Lan could no longer be seen at all, completely obscured by Li Baidong's broad back.
The car was dimly lit, and Xing Lan's view was blocked by Li Baidong, so she could only raise her face and be forced to look him in the eye. Her cold eyes carried a hint of resentment.
"Brother, why did you run so fast? Were you trying to shake me off?" Li Baidong licked his lips, raised his hand to gently touch Xing Lan's cheek in a conciliatory manner, and said softly, "What's wrong? Aren't we supposed to go to the pet festival together?"
Xing Lan rolled her eyes at him, grabbed his wrist, and pulled his hand away from her cheek.
He turned his face away, bit his lip with mixed feelings, and said indifferently, "I'm a little tired, and suddenly I don't want to go."
"Suddenly don't want to go?" A glint flashed in Li Baidong's eyes. "Why do you suddenly not want to go? Brother, didn't we make a promise?"
"For no reason," Xing Lan said coldly, "I just don't want to go."
"Brother." Li Baidong swallowed subconsciously, looking at Xing Lan with innocent eyes, "Did I do something wrong?"
"..."
Xing Lan paused, as if suddenly remembering something, then turned to look at Li Baidong and asked indifferently.
"Is the heart-shaped chocolate delicious?"
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