The moon in the night sky was as bright as a jade plate, emitting a soft glow that cast a hazy veil over the earth.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, a piercing scream tore through the night sky, shattering its quiet and enchanting beauty.
Shen Nanxian was startled awake and scrambled up from the bed. He saw Liu Lanci curled up tightly in a ball beside him, his eyes shut tight as he whimpered, seemingly trying hard to suppress his agony. Dense beads of sweat oozed across his forehead.
His fair, delicate little face was completely devoid of color, and his lips were slightly dry.
“What is wrong?”
Shen Nanxian frowned, his heart hammering inexplicably against his ribs, and hurriedly reached out to nudge Liu Lanci.
However, Liu Lanci remained in a semi-comatose state without the slightest reaction. Shen Nanxian pushed him a few more times with force, but still failed to wake him.
Liu Lanci had fallen deep into a nightmare. He saw his own corpse lying sprawled in a pool of blood, yet he was standing right there, though everyone else acted as if they could not see him.
He wanted to scream for help, but found that his throat felt as though it were stuffed with something, making it impossible to utter a sound. What was even more terrifying was that as he struggled, bright red blood spurted out and splattered everywhere.
“Baby, wake up! Do not scare me!”
A familiar, low male voice drifted into his ears, warm, firm, accompanied by a warm and familiar embrace.
Shen Nanxian slowly opened his eyes, realizing that his back was soaked with sweat.
“You must have had a nightmare! There, there, it is all right now.” Shen Nanxian picked up a tissue to wipe the sweat beads off Liu Lanci’s forehead, gently kissing his brow to comfort him.
By this time, Liu Lanci had already calmed down, though his face remained deathly pale, making him look exceptionally pitiful.
Liu Lanci looked up and kissed Shen Nanxian. Inhaling his unique scent, his heart instantly settled. “Nanxian, you really scared me to death just now!”
“It is fine, it was just a nightmare. Everything in dreams is fake.” Shen Nanxian wrapped his arms around Liu Lanci, comforting him softly. The two embraced intimately, filling the atmosphere with sweetness.
Liu Lanci had simply been under too much stress lately because of those two madmen.
“Mhm.” Liu Lanci nodded, resting in Shen Nanxian’s arms. But he could not fall back asleep, counting sheep in his head until the dawn slowly began to break.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang. Fully dressed, Shen Nanxian walked over to the door and opened it to find Liu’s mother holding a tray of breakfast.
“Mother-in-law, I can handle these things. You should go rest,” Shen Nanxian said, quickly taking the breakfast from her hands.
“Oh, it is no trouble at all.” Liu’s mother cast a glance past Shen Nanxian toward Liu Lanci, who was still fast asleep in bed, and thought for a moment. “Son-in-law, although you two are still young, it is best to exercise some moderation.”
“Cough, cough, cough!” Shen Nanxian was drinking a glass of plain water when he heard her words and nearly choked to death. This was a total injustice, for he had not done anything last night!
“Mom, you have misunderstood! Zhi-zhi and I…” Shen Nanxian explained awkwardly, but the more he tried to explain, the darker it looked.
“I understand, you two have a great relationship, but you should still take it easy. I am heading out now. It rained a bit last night, and the air today is wonderful, so I need to go for a stroll in the park.”
Without waiting for the rest of Shen Nanxian’s words, Liu’s mother turned around and shut the door with a swift, smooth motion.
Shen Nanxian thought that he was so wronged!
Because of this incident, Lu Ming and Li Xiao back in the country were about to have a terrible time. There was no helping it, since Shen Nanxian had been wrongfully accused, and even when he tried to explain, his mother-in-law would not listen. This frustration had to be vented somewhere.
He had originally planned to thoroughly teach Lu Ming a lesson anyway to vent Liu Lanci’s anger, and now he was just moving it up by a few days. Lu Ming should not mind.
Liu Lanci slowly woke up, his mind still somewhat hazy. Seeing Shen Nanxian sitting by the bed, he reached out and tugged at the cuff of his shirt. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting for our little rabbit to wake up for breakfast.” Shen Nanxian smiled, reaching out to stroke Liu Lanci’s cheek.
“Who is a little rabbit?” Liu Lanci rolled his eyes, pushed back the blanket, and climbed out of bed. “You are so cheesy!”
Rejected again, Shen Nanxian touched his own face with a bitter smile. This little rabbit’s temper was getting bigger and bigger.
Still, this feeling of being scolded by his wife was not half bad.
After washing up, the two of them went downstairs.
Shen Nanxian prepared a glass of milk and pasta for Liu Lanci, then sat down leisurely with his phone to browse travel guides.
“By the way, where are we going to play today?” Liu Lanci walked over to Shen Nanxian in a loose T-shirt and shorts, pulled up a chair to sit beside him, and poked at the pasta on his plate with a fork.
“Whatever you want. I am fine as long as I am with you.” Shen Nanxian looked at Liu Lanci with a smile.
Hearing those words, Liu Lanci began to ponder seriously. “Why does that line sound so familiar? I feel like I have said something similar before.”
“Well, I want to go to the church, and I want to feed the pigeons,” Liu Lanci said, blinking his pretty eyes in anticipation.
“Alright, no problem,” Shen Nanxian nodded in agreement.
After finishing their meal, Liu Lanci took Shen Nanxian’s hand, walked out of the villa, and headed down to the underground garage.
Sitting in the convertible with the refreshing, cool breeze blowing past, Liu Lanci closed his eyes in contentment.
“After we feed the pigeons, let us go to the aquarium. The dolphin show is great too,” Shen Nanxian suggested as he drove.
“Okay.” Liu Lanci had no objections, and his mood today was quite wonderful.
The cathedral in the capital of Country H was located in the most prosperous and bustling commercial district in the center of the city. Occupying three floors of a high-rise building, it was one of the most famous churches in the world.
Shen Nanxian parked the car in the parking lot outside the church, and the two of them got out and walked inside.
The church looked much like the pictures on the internet, but the sense of realism was even stronger, making it all the more captivating.
Liu Lanci held Shen Nanxian’s hand as they walked slowly, admiring the scriptures hanging on the walls and some incomprehensible murals.
They reached a long table in front of the priest, standing side by side as the priest looked at them with a benevolent gaze.
“How may I help you two?”
“What do pigeons like to eat?” Liu Lanci asked after thinking for a moment.
The priest was slightly taken aback. “The pigeons outside the church love eating bagels.”
“Thank you!”
With a word of thanks, Liu Lanci pulled Shen Nanxian along and hurried outside. Although the inside of the church was huge and beautiful, none of the murals made any sense, and the ones that did make sense were far too wild, proving that foreign countries really were open-minded.
Shen Nanxian bought a bag of bagels, and Liu Lanci broke them into small pieces, mimicking the people around him as he tossed them into the air.
Catching the scent, the pigeons fluttered their wings and scrambled eagerly to grab the food.
“Hahaha!” Liu Lanci laughed cheerfully. “Pigeons are so cute.”
“Yeah, they are cute. But I still think the little rabbit is the cutest,” Shen Nanxian chimed in.