Chapter 46
Xia Lanzheng didn't know what the world outside had become like.
Chu Linchuan's lounge was exceptionally cozy, blocking out everything. The night sky was exceptionally dark today, like the eyeballs of some ferocious beast, devoid of even a single star.
Xia Lanzheng was afraid that the Chu family wouldn't be able to find him, so she left her phone by her pillow, not turned off. But Chu Linchuan must have specifically reminded her of this, so the numbers on the whitelist didn't ring.
He slept poorly and woke up several times. The last time he woke up, it was still dark. He heard birds chirping outside the window. He took out his phone and saw it was five o'clock.
After logging onto Weibo and taking a quick look, Xingpai had already issued a statement overnight. Xia Lanzheng had considered several options, the most ideal being to blur the lines between the two.
They just said it was a joke between friends. It's true that they were childhood friends and they had collaborated some time ago, which is obvious to everyone.
Just laugh and it will be over.
But things turned out differently from what he expected.
"Artists' private interactions belong to their personal space, and Xingpai respects everyone's freedom of expression."
Xia Lanzheng:?
Doesn’t this indirectly confirm the confession?
He quickly opened WeChat and was bombarded with messages. Among a bunch of chats with people he knew and didn't know, he found Chu Linchuan's. Chu Linchuan had been quiet all night, sending only a voice message at 4:58 AM.
"It's over. Call me when you wake up and go home."
Xia Lanzheng was eager to talk to Chu Linchuan, and was about to make a voice call when Cheng Lan's chat window popped up.
"Cheng Lan: Zheng Zheng, are you at the company?"
"Cheng Lan: I want to talk to you in person."
*
【5:09】
Cheng Lan seemed different.
This was Xia Lanzheng's first thought when she saw him.
The morning light barely illuminated Cheng Lan's face, outlining his straight features and making his nose look particularly high.
Xia Lanzheng pushed open the glass door of the balcony. Cheng Lan turned his head completely. With the light behind him, Xia Lanzheng suddenly couldn't see his face clearly.
"I'm sorry," his voice was filled with a weariness that Xia Lanzheng had never heard before, "I've caused you trouble because of my impulsiveness."
Xia Lanzheng stood at the door without moving forward or speaking. He knew that Cheng Lan had not finished speaking.
"Brother Chu called me a coward who didn't even dare to confess to my face. He was right."
Cheng Lan smiled self-deprecatingly.
"Actually, before I sent you a message, I still had a little fantasy. But in these few minutes, I figured it out."
Xia Lanzheng leaned against the glass and saw Cheng Lan lift his foot and then put it down.
His voice was hoarse, as if squeezed out from between his teeth, and he said softly: "Zheng Zheng, if you like me too, you wouldn't have waited until now, right?"
Xia Lanzheng didn't know how to answer, and Cheng Lan didn't want him to answer.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," Cheng Lan's shadow swayed. He raised his hand to support his forehead and smiled bitterly. "I can't help but want to see you lately. At first, I couldn't tell whether it was friendship or love. You and I are so far away, and there are so many people around you... I always think, it would be better if you just looked at me."
Xia Lanzheng's arms were covered in goose bumps, and he suddenly felt a little cold. He left the glass door, took a few steps forward, and saw Cheng Lan's face clearly.
Cheng Lan had a smile on his face that wasn't quite a smile, and the corners of his mouth seemed like they would turn down if he wasn't careful.
He was scolded by his agent Yang Pengfei for the entire night, and later, when faced with several PR plans, he was about to give in.
He and Xia Lanzheng are friends and were just joking. He is very sorry for wasting public resources.
But at that time, Chu Linchuan, who had been silent all night, spoke calmly: "Cheng Lan, I am communicating with you as your boss now."
Cheng Lan suddenly looked up and met Chu Linchuan's eyes, seeing a calmness that was different from others.
"As long as you think it through, the company will not interfere with your decision."
"Brother Chu, I..."
"Have you thought it through?" Chu Linchuan asked again, "Now, as your friend and the brother of the person you confessed your feelings to, I will give you the most basic respect and remind you that Xia Lanzheng also deserves to be treated with respect."
The morning breeze carried the foreshadowing of a hot summer, stirring up the heat in the air.
Xia Lanzheng walked up to Cheng Lan, and they were only an arm's length away.
It was his first time being confessed to, so he was actually a little nervous. He clenched his fists calmly and said as calmly as possible: "Just say whatever you want to say, I'm listening."
At this moment, Cheng Lan saw the shadow of Chu Linchuan in him.
Cheng Lan was speechless and opened his mouth. His originally vague feelings towards Xia Lanzheng came to his mind very clearly.
Seeing that he looked unhappy, Xia Lanzheng asked softly, "Do you like me?"
Cheng Lan pinched his neck, found his voice, and blurted out: "Zheng Zheng, I like you."
Xia Lanzheng paused, breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded seriously: "I'm sorry, Cheng Lan, I don't like you."
Cheng Lan's mind buzzed, and he could only see Xia Lanzheng's lips opening and closing.
Rejected...
He bent down and listened carefully, hearing his own name several times. Finally, he read it from Xia Lanzheng's lips: "I consider you a very important friend."
Rejected.
Cheng Lan closed his eyes.
Rejected.
Cheng Lan had been holding it in for too long, and when he finally said it out loud, it didn't feel as satisfying as he had imagined.
He felt an unfamiliar emotion, his heartbeat suddenly stopped, and the blood in his body boiled.
Since birth, Cheng Lan had never known how to spell the word "inferiority complex." When he said he wanted to study acting, his father lashed out at him at the dinner table, and he glared back.
He looked so cocky that Father Cheng almost dropped his chopsticks and beat him up.
But when Xia Lanzheng said this without hesitation, leaving him no room for illusions—
"I don't like you."
Cheng Lan's vision blurred, and he rubbed his arm fiercely. He wondered, why? Is it because I'm not good enough?
He heard nothing for a long time, until the morning light broke and the birds spread their wings and chirped.
【5:23】
"Cheng Lan."
Xia Lanzheng leaned over to look at Cheng Lan's expression, and seeing that his eyes were numb, she poked his arm.
"I have to go, my brother is still waiting for me."
Cheng Lan's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked particularly haggard. He tilted his head slightly, and suddenly wanted to say something to Xia Lanzheng.
Just as he struggled to open his mouth, the glass door was pushed open from the other side, and a tall figure appeared at the intersection of light and shadow.
Chu Linchuan's gaze locked onto Cheng Lan precisely, but he only raised his eyelids slightly and extended his hand towards Xia Lanzheng.
Xia Lanzheng didn't call Chu Linchuan. When he saw the person coming, he felt a little guilty: "Brother... I'm fine now. Let's go."
Chu Linchuan held her wrist, and his palm was very cold, unlike the temperature of summer. Xia Lanzheng looked up and saw the dark circles under his eyes, and immediately frowned.
His brother didn't sleep all night yesterday.
"Zheng Zheng."
Cheng Lan's voice came with the wind, sometimes far away and sometimes near.
Xia Lanzheng and Chu Linchuan looked towards the balcony at the same time. Cheng Lan rested his right hand on the railing, with a light orange sky above his head.
Suddenly, Xia Lanzheng felt a little dazed. The day she first met Cheng Lan was also in Xingpai. At that time, Cheng Lan had silver hair and always had a wicked smile on his face.
He was also smiling at this time, but his smile was different, as gentle as the morning sunrise.
Cheng Lan waved at him: "Thank you."
*
The moment Xia Lanzheng received Cheng Lan's message, she figured it out.
Although he cannot predict the future, he must decide now.
He didn't like ambiguous relationships, whether it was childhood friends or lovers... Although he had never truly experienced it in his two lifetimes combined, he knew very well that—
This kind of feeling is not love, absolutely not.
On the way home, Chu Linchuan closed his eyes and rested without saying a word. Li Pingan had slept for a while in the car and was not very energetic either. On the contrary, Xia Lanzheng, the person involved, was in good spirits.
Waiting for the traffic light.
"Brother Li."
"how……"
Xia Lanzheng made a gesture to silence the others: "Stop at the intersection ahead. I'm going to buy something."
At six in the morning, the streets were sparsely populated. Xia Lanzheng donned a hat and a mask, lowered her head, and walked into the convenience store.
The moment he got out of the car, Chu Linchuan opened his eyes: "What is he going to do?"
"Shopping," Li Pingan said, feeling a bit sleepy. "Boss Chu, can I get off the car and have a cigarette?"
Chu Linchuan didn't wait in the car, and got out with Li Pingan. Li Pingan found a trash can, took out a cigarette box, and handed one to Chu Linchuan.
"I'm so sleepy. You didn't get any rest last night, did you?" Li Ping'an said.
Chu Linchuan actually lit a cigarette. Li Pingan was speechless for a moment, thinking that this matter must be extremely tricky.
"I don't know if I can ask, I saw something on Weibo, about that incident between Brother Cheng and the young master... well, will there be any follow-up?"
Chu Linchuan raised his head and exhaled a puff of light blue smoke. When the smoke dissipated, Xia Lanzheng's figure appeared from the window not far away.
"Probably not."
The glasses were left in the car, and Chu Linchuan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Li Pingan finished his cigarette in two or three puffs and stubbed out the butt. "What does that mean? I see the young master's name is still trending... Hmm? What does that 'brother' mean?"
Hearing Li Pingan say this, Chu Linchuan wanted to laugh: "Then click in and see how your young master responded."
Half a minute later, Li Pingan was so happy that he couldn't even straighten his back. He simply leaned against the trash can and laughed out loud: "Did Cheng Lan see his reply? What's his expression?"
Chu Linchuan also had a smile in his eyes, though it wasn't obvious. He threw away his cigarette butt and vaguely saw Xia Lanzheng buy two cups of coffee.
"I'm not wrong, they're childhood friends, but..."
It’s just that Xia Lanzheng’s reply on the public platform looked serious, but actually seemed very stupid.
Last night, when Chu Linchuan walked into the office and Yu Jiawei showed him his cell phone, he almost couldn't hold it in and reacted the same way as Li Pingan.
Xia Lanzheng came out of the convenience store, still very alert. She hid behind a potted plant and looked around.
He was wearing the clothes Chu Linchuan had left in the lounge. No wonder they didn't fit him well, the hem was a bit long. Chu Linchuan raised his eyebrows. He had worn that T-shirt before, so there was no way Xia Lanzheng hadn't noticed.
"Mr. Chu, it looks like it's going to rain," Li Ping'an pointed at the dark clouds overhead. "Wait here while I move the car."
Chu Linchuan asked him to go, and Xia Lanzheng came running over with two cups of coffee.
"Brother! I bought this for you!"
Xia Lanzheng has been calling him this often recently, like a joyful little lamb.
"Coffee?" Chu Linchuan didn't even realize that his depressed mood, which had lasted the entire night, suddenly brightened. "Are you determined not to let me sleep?"
Xia Lanzheng put a straw into one of the cups and put it in Chu Linchuan's hand: "It's not coffee, it's hot milk. This is the only cup in the store."
Chu Linchuan glanced at him and asked, "Why are you wearing my clothes?"
"It's really milk..." Xia Lanzheng paused, her face visibly reddening. "I need to change my clothes... You have so many clothes in the lounge, this one won't make a difference... right?"
Chu Linchuan drank a sip of milk and nodded: "Not bad, but I've worn yours before."
"Brother Li is honking the horn." Xia Lanzheng pulled his sleeve.
"Get in the car," Chu Linchuan let him pull him, took two steps toward the car, and drank another sip of milk, "I put this dress in the clothes basket specifically."
Why can't I get over this? Xia Lanzheng said, "...I know."
Chu Linchuan said, "There are clean ones in the closet, why don't you wear them?"
He could only see Xia Lanzheng's profile. Her fair cheeks were dyed pink, almost covering up the small freckles.
Xia Lanzheng's current expression of shyness and embarrassment hadn't been revealed even when Cheng Lan had confessed his feelings for her. Chu Linchuan felt a surge of satisfaction, and even the bland convenience store milk in his mouth tasted sweet.
He watched Xia Lanzheng stop by the car door without turning her head, only her beautiful eyes slowly glanced over at him.
"Because I was scared to stay there by myself, and I wanted to smell some living human flesh, is that all right?"
Chu Linchuan paused, sensing his anger. However, to say he was angry wasn't quite right; it sounded a bit ambiguous.
Xia Lanzheng clutched her clothes tightly, turned around abruptly, and stared up at Chu Linchuan, tears in her eyes.
"This is the first time I've encountered something like this, and I don't know what to do, but I think you can put my mind at ease..."
Xia Lanzheng's voice became smaller and smaller.
Chu Linchuan unconsciously clenched the paper cup, as if a furry cat was leaning against his feet.
Xia Lanzheng avoided Chu Linchuan's gaze, opened the front door, and jumped into the car.
With a bang, the door was closed.
Chu Linchuan stood outside the car, unable to see or hear what was going on inside. The roadside was quite quiet, with few vehicles on the road.
But somehow, it was particularly noisy in my ears.
boom--
A muffled thunder sounded in the air.
In just two seconds, the rain began to pour down, and Li Pingan honked the horn twice. The window rolled down, and Xia Lanzheng reached out with a pen and poked Chu Linchuan's arm with the tip of the pen.
"Brother, get in the car! It's raining!"
Chu Linchuan felt a pain in his arm, stared at him and laughed: "Xia Lanzheng, are you childish?"
He sat in the back seat, his shoulders wet from the rain, his shirt clinging to his body. He shook it off and wiped it with a dry towel, but it was no use.
Chu Linchuan was wrapped in the wet cloth, which was so heavy that he almost couldn't breathe.
The water droplets seeped into other parts of his body, threatening to soak his entire body. But Chu Linchuan couldn't bear to take off his shirt, even holding his breath to feel the weight on his shoulders.
Right in front of me, Xia Lanzheng dozed off, her head like a chick pecking at rice.
Chu Linchuan secretly recorded the video and posted it to the Chu family's small group chat. A minute later, a string of "OK, understood" emojis followed.
He put down his phone and looked out the window. The rain was falling softly, gradually blurring the car window.
Xia Lanzheng is like the shirt he wears.
Chu Linchuan thought.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
