Chapter 27 Do I have to teach you how to hold hands and interlock your fingers?
Li Baidong deliberately kept his voice very low, his pronunciation was sticky and unclear, and the ending of his words rose, giving his speech an ambiguous and inexplicable flavor.
Xing Lan inexplicably felt her heart beating a few seconds faster than usual, probably a hallucination caused by being too tired from work lately.
"...Don't call me that." He said coldly, frowning as he pushed Li Baidong a little away. "The seats are so spacious, don't keep squeezing in."
Every inch Li Baidong moved closer to him, Xing Lan would quietly move a fraction closer to the wall. Before he knew it, Xing Lan was almost completely squeezed out of space, and the very edge of his white hoodie was already covered in wall dust.
"Brother, it's too cold. It'll be warmer if we squeeze together," Li Baidong said innocently.
He gently rubbed the back of Xing Lan's hand with the back of his own. The temperature was indeed very cold. The moment he touched it, Xing Lan felt as if he had been frozen by an ice cube.
"If you're cold, put on more clothes." Xing Lan glanced down at the thin sweatshirt he was wearing and asked, "Where's your coat?"
Li Baidong was wearing a workwear-style denim jacket every day just a few days ago, but now that the temperature has dropped, I don't know why he's stopped wearing it.
"I don't want to wear it." Li Baidong blinked, tugged at the sleeve of his hoodie, and said with a grin, "I want to wear the same as my brother."
"..."
Xing Lan glanced at Li Baidong expressionlessly, then patted him on the shoulder: "Excuse me."
"What's wrong, bro?"
"Go to the restroom."
He said he was going to the restroom, but after leaving his seat, he turned around and went to the kitchen to ask Grandma Kong, who was busy working, for a remote control, and turned on the store's air conditioning.
As the air conditioner slowly started up, the indoor temperature gradually rose, and it wasn't as cold as before.
"Thank you, brother, you're so kind to me." After Xing Lan turned on the air conditioner and sat back down, Li Baidong smiled and turned his head to look at him.
Xing Lan ignored his burning gaze and said coldly, "After all, we live together every day. I'm just afraid you'll catch a cold and pass it on to me."
Soon, the steaming hot congee with raw fish slices and meatballs was ready, and Li Baidong and Xing Lan each got a bowl.
Li Baidong savored it carefully, then smiled and praised, "It's really delicious, just like the one I ate when I was a child."
“Although our Haishi is a small place, there are still a lot of delicious foods.” While eating, Li Baidong did not forget to introduce his hometown to Xing Lan. “Brother, have you ever eaten oyster omelet? There is a oyster omelet shop on every street in our area. With the right sweet and sour sauce, it’s so fragrant and delicious.”
“I know,” Xing Lan said casually. “I’ve been to Haishi once and eaten this once.”
"...You've been to Haishi?" Li Baidong paused in his porridge eating, seemingly remembering something, and turned to stare intently at Xing Lan.
“Yes.” Xing Lan didn’t notice the strange look in his eyes and continued, “I went there alone when I graduated from high school.”
"I was unlucky. The weather was terrible when I went there. It started raining as soon as I got off the plane and it rained for a whole week without stopping," Xing Lan said casually. "Later, I had something to do, so I went back early."
Xing Lan's solo trip to Haishi was the first time he had rebelled against his father's tight control since he came of age. The rebellion was not entirely successful, and he was bombarded with phone calls by Xing Yi after only a few days. In the end, he was tricked into returning home by using his grandfather's illness as an excuse.
When Xing Lan got home, he discovered that his grandfather was perfectly fine; it was all a lie his father had made up to get him home quickly.
Quite coincidentally, the weather in Shanghai cleared up the very day Xing Lan was tricked into returning home by his father.
If Xing Lan had stayed in Haishi for just one more day, he would have been able to see the clear sea he had always dreamed of, but he just wasn't lucky enough to have such a regret.
"Why did you think of coming to Haishi for your high school trip?" Li Baidong asked curiously. "A few years ago, the infrastructure in our area was very backward, and there weren't many interesting attractions. Few people came here specifically for tourism."
Xing Lan squinted slightly and recalled for a moment, then said casually, "A child once told me that the sea near their home was particularly beautiful, especially on sunny days. When the sun shone on the sea, it looked like it was sprinkled with gold, sparkling and shiny."
"He said that whenever he was in a bad mood, he would sneak out of the house, sit by the sea all day, feel the sea breeze, and listen to the seagulls calling overhead. Suddenly, all his worries would disappear."
Li Baidong pursed his lips, his tone suddenly becoming somewhat strange.
He lowered his eyes and asked tentatively, "That sounds interesting. Brother, didn't you think he looked especially cute sitting alone on the beach back then? Didn't you really want to go and keep him company?"
Xing Lan glanced at him indifferently.
"Accompany him? I think he's incredibly stupid."
Li Baidong suddenly choked on the hot porridge, looking down and coughing violently.
"Is it stupid?..." he tried to save face, "Even kids don't act like that."
Xing Lan criticized without reservation: "A child who thinks about this and that all day long, likes to act mature, and runs around outside alone, especially by the sea, what if the tide suddenly comes in? It's very unsafe."
Li Baidong was silent for a moment, then quietly changed the subject, saying, "Brother, didn't you ever think about going again? Maybe it won't rain next time?"
Xing Lan lowered her eyes and did not answer him.
The weather isn't sunny every day, and people don't want to see the sea every summer.
-
After finishing their porridge, the two walked out of the shop side by side, with Li Baidong affectionately putting his hand on Xing Lan's shoulder.
Under the streetlights, the dark shadows of the trees swayed.
A cool night breeze blew in my face.
Around 7 or 8 p.m. is when most people come out for a walk after dinner.
As they walked, they encountered several loving young couples, as well as an elderly couple with long white hair.
The elderly couple were probably in their seventies or eighties, even older than Grandma Kong, but they were in good spirits and dressed very elegantly and appropriately.
Their relationship was clearly very good. Although they were old, they still held each other's hands while walking. Sometimes when the grandmother got tired, she couldn't help but stop and rest for a while, and the grandfather would patiently wait for her and peel oranges for her to eat.
Looking at the elderly couple, Li Baidong suddenly smiled and said to Xing Lan, "Brother, actually I'm really happy today."
"Why?" Xing Lan turned to look at him.
Li Baidong gave a long "hmm," looked up at the dark sky where stars twinkled, and earnestly recounted, "I drove to pick you up and took you home. We had a delicious meal together, and now we're taking a walk together on the street. Don't you think this feels like a date?"
Xing Lan didn't say anything and continued walking forward at the same pace.
Li Baidong suddenly stopped and looked at him, his eyes shining.
He asked cautiously, "Brother, may I hold your hand?"
Before Xing Lan could answer, Li Baidong reached out and grabbed his hand without hesitation.
Even though he was the one who took the initiative, he was a little nervous, and the tips of his ears turned slightly red.
He subconsciously thought that Xing Lan would shake him off, so he unconsciously used more force in his hand, squeezing Xing Lan's hand until it turned a little red.
"Is that how you hold hands?" Xing Lan's knuckles were a little sore from Li Baidong's grip. He looked up at Li Baidong with a helpless expression. "Do I have to teach you how to hold hands?"
“Brother—” Li Baidong was at a loss, looking pitifully downcast.
He said to Xing Lan in a coquettish tone, "This is my first time dating someone. Can you teach me? I'll definitely learn well."
"I'll teach you," Xing Lan sighed. "Let go first."
Li Baidong reluctantly let go of her hand, but the next second, he felt his long, slender hand being gently grasped by an even softer, more delicate hand, and then their fingers intertwined.
The gaps between her fingers were gently filled by another person's slender fingers, and the cool palms of her loved one's warm body temperature emanated from them.
In the quiet, dimly lit street, Li Baidong could hear his own heartbeat, thump-thump, like drumbeats in his ears, or fireworks blooming in his heart.
He looked down at their tightly clasped hands, his eyes dark and brooding, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
Xing Lan seemed oblivious to Li Baidong's dark, murderous gaze, which seemed to want to devour him right there. She pursed her lips, her cool face expressionless.
“This is how you hold hands,” Xing Lan said, giving him a slightly resentful look. “You were too rough just now; you hurt my hand.”
Li Baidong kept his head down and didn't say anything, but gently shook his hand twice.
Even though he had just eaten dinner, he felt an even stronger hunger. This hunger was triggered by Xing Lan, and only he could satisfy it.
But it was clearly not the time to devour him yet, so Li Baidong could only endure it, until the veins in his neck throbbed.
The two walked home hand in hand, and because it was too dark, they didn't attract much attention.
Actually, it doesn't matter if people see them. In this day and age, it's not uncommon to see two boys together.
In front of the apartment building, an elderly woman with white hair set up a flower stall to sell flowers.
Perhaps because it's a weekday, her flowers aren't selling well. It's already this late and she's still not closing up shop. The once fresh flowers are starting to wilt and look mediocre, so I doubt anyone will want them.
Xing Lan saw her and subconsciously stopped, his gaze lingering on the flowers in front of her.
Li Baidong soon noticed her as well.
He turned to look at Xing Lan's expression, then knowingly took his hand and quickly walked towards the old lady's stall.
The old lady thought she wouldn't be able to sell the flowers and was about to pack up and go home when she suddenly saw two handsome young men appear in front of her.
One of the taller children, with long, curved eyes, looked at her with a smile and asked in a clear, bright voice, "Grandma, how much would it cost to buy all these flowers?"
The old lady thought for a moment, and finally only cautiously said that it would be enough for her fare home: "How about... thirty?"
“Sure.” Li Baidong said, readily taking out two hundred yuan from his pocket and stuffing it all into the old lady’s hand.
The old lady's eyesight wasn't very good. With the dim light of the street lamp, she managed to make out the red banknotes. She was immediately startled and was about to return the money to them when the two people had already run into the apartment building with the flowers and disappeared without a trace.
Xing Lan and Li Baidong each carried a bunch of flowers of varying quality as they entered the apartment elevator.
Li Baidong lowered his head and picked out a few of the most beautiful and delicate flowers. He took off the silver bracelet he always wore and used it as a binding rope to tie the flower stems. After tidying them up a bit, he created a simple yet warm bouquet.
He held up the bouquet of flowers, smiled, and winked at Xing Lan: "Brother, what do you think? Does it look good?"
Using hand bracelets to tie flowers is quite creative. Xing Lan nodded casually.
With a "ding," the elevator doors opened.
Just as they were about to step out of the elevator, Li Baidong suddenly turned around and stuffed the tied bouquet of flowers into Xing Lan's arms.
Xing Lan looked at Li Baidong, puzzled, and asked, "What are you doing?"
Li Baidong smiled and said seriously, "Brother, I've heard that dating always starts with a bouquet of flowers."
"I was too rushed before and didn't have time, so I'm making up for it now."
"……"childish.
Xing Lan didn't accept the bouquet of flowers he offered. Instead, she turned her head away, took out her keys, opened the door, and went inside.
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