Lu Chengfeng frowned almost imperceptibly, his vocal tone remaining steady: “What did you say?”
Struck by a sudden awkwardness as if he had been caught red-handed, Mu Ran hurriedly lay back down to play dead, pretending as though nothing had happened: “It’s nothing. I’m a bit tired it’s probably because I’ve been under too much stress lately. Time for sleep.”
He hadn’t made it sound too abrupt just now, had he?
Mu Ran closed his eyes and reflected on whether his recent actions had been too lacking in subtlety. Was it a problem with his expression, or had his secret preparation of the confession venue been discovered?
Better yet, before Lu Chengfeng managed to figure out too much, he should hurry up and handle it, so that he could stick to his guns and firmly deny ever doing it.
This time, he absolutely must not be cannon fodder!
“If you have someone you like, you can tell me.” Lu Chengfeng paused for a moment before sitting down beside the bed.
Composing his emotions, Mu Ran rolled over and waved a hand dismissively: “I was just joking. I haven’t had enough fun yet. When your big brother here actually finds someone he likes, I’ll definitely bring him back for you to see. But let’s establish this first you’re not allowed to snatch him from me! After all, my taste is simply too good.”
“Mhm.” Lu Chengfeng’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he rasped in a hoarse voice, “I won’t snatch him from you.”
Silently, Lu Chengfeng walked back to the sofa, though the documents in his hands remained unflipped for a long, long time.
After gnawing on leafy greens for another two days, Mu Ran finally dragged himself to his discharge day.
The doctor earnestly and painstakingly dispensed instructions regarding what could and could not be eaten, and what actions were permitted or forbidden. While nodding along with a chorus of “Mhm, mhm, mhm” on the surface, Mu Ran’s heart had long since flown away to piles of various delicacies.
Knowing full well that Mu Ran couldn’t be relied upon, Lu Chengfeng specifically brought out a sticky note to jot down every single word of the doctor’s advice, intending to stick it right on Mu Ran’s bedroom door once they got back.
Once the doctor finished speaking, he began removing Mu Ran’s stitches and bandages.
The wound had healed quite nicely, though a bit of pink, tender flesh hadn’t fully recovered yet. Fortunately, it was right near his hairline, so Mu Ran’s hair could cover it up.
“Aiyo, Doctor, please be a bit lighter it hurts, hurts, hurts!” Having long since been pampered, this could be considered the most severe injury Mu Ran had ever suffered from childhood to adulthood, hurting him so much that he kept sucking in breaths of cold air.
Smoothly and naturally, Lu Chengfeng grasped Mu Ran’s hand. “If it hurts, squeeze me; don’t give the doctor a hard time.”
“What kind of remark is that?” Mu Ran retorted with a roll of his eyes. “Can’t I just cry out a couple of times because it hurts?”
“You can.” Lu Chengfeng relented with a helpless sigh, softening his tone. “It’ll be over in a second.”
“Once I track down that driver, I’m definitely going to whack him right on the forehead too, so he can understand how unsightly I look right now!” Mu Ran gritted his teeth as he endured the pain, harboring burning indignation deep within.
The day before, he had sneaked off the bandages to look in the mirror there was such a huge scar, it was far too ugly!
“Did you sneakily unwrap the wound again?” Without needing to guess, given Mu Ran’s personality, he definitely took advantage of his absence to secretly peel off the bandages, only to crawl back into bed and silently weep while lamenting how ugly he had become.
Looking deeply aggrieved, Mu Ran sat back down and extended his index finger: “J-Just for a tiny, tiny second, alright?”
“All done.” Gazing profoundly at the two of them, the doctor applied the medication to Mu Ran before instructing Lu Chengfeng: “Apply this medicine once every night before bed. Try to sleep flat on your back and avoid rubbing the ointment off the boyfriend should help keep an eye on that.”
“We’re not a couple,” Mu Ran hurriedly clarified, while guiltily stealing a glance out of the corner of his eye toward Lu Chengfeng.
Sure enough, Lu Chengfeng’s expression instantly turned icy.
He had known it, Lu Chengfeng wouldn’t care for such a misunderstanding. It was he who had forgotten his boundaries, subconsciously continuing to cling to Lu Chengfeng, which was why the doctor formed that impression of them. Lu Chengfeng getting angry was entirely natural.
Yet he could not allow such a mistake to continue.
“Let’s go.” Hearing Lu Chengfeng’s gloomy voice, which sounded thoroughly displeased, Mu Ran spoke up.
At the hospital entrance:
Mu Ran explained cautiously, “Don’t take to heart what the doctor just said.”
In a chilly tone, Lu Chengfeng replied, “I didn’t.”
The atmosphere instantly plunged into an awkward stalemate. Mu Ran pulled back the hand that was about to open the car door: “I… I’ll wait for Lin Yi to pick me up. You head home first.”
“Get in the car. Don’t make me say it a second time.”
He had no idea which phrase had offended Lu Chengfeng, but Mu Ran vaguely felt that Lu Chengfeng seemed even angrier than before.
Ever since the day before yesterday when he accidentally let his mouth run too fast and claimed he had someone he liked, Lu Chengfeng had maintained this exact expression. Even when the two of them occupied the same room, they had nothing to say to one another; Lu Chengfeng always acted as though he was exceptionally busy, and Mu Ran didn’t dare to ask either.
“President Lu, where are we heading?”
With both arms crossed over his chest, Lu Chengfeng turned his profile away, waiting for Mu Ran to speak up.
After a brief internal struggle, Mu Ran ultimately reported his own home address.
Throughout the entire journey, Lu Chengfeng didn’t utter a word to him either, leaving Mu Ran with no choice but to lean against the window and pretend to admire the scenery.
It wasn’t until the vehicle came to a halt at their destination that Mu Ran finally felt a wave of relief.
“How come you decided to buy an apartment here?” Lu Chengfeng raised his gaze slightly to appraise the residential complex.
This wasn’t the villa-style property Mu Ran was accustomed to living in, but rather a river-view flat. He couldn’t fathom why Mu Ran would suddenly purchase a home in a place like this.
Biting down on his lower lip and pretending not to hear, Mu Ran walked inside with a muffled expression.
In reality, this location was the river-view apartment closest to the Lu Corporation and not far from the venue he had scoped out. He had originally bought the property thinking that if his confession succeeded, whenever he lingered too late at the Lu Corporation, he could smoothly invite Lu Chengfeng to stay over with him at night.
The fantasy had been marvelous river views, floor-to-ceiling windows, dusk, red wine…
It would have been even better if he could have had his beloved by his side.
Yet viewed from today’s perspective, this was nothing more than a place to live.
Mu Ran swiped his key card, and the elevator indicator displayed the eighth floor.
“Are you… planning to come in too?” The subtext of chasing guests away in Mu Ran’s words was glaringly obvious.
Before Lu Chengfeng could reply, the front door creaked open with a squeak.
“I heard movement at the entrance so I came to open up. What on earth are you two standing outside for?” The person opening the door was Mu Ran’s mother, Fang Shiruan.
“Brother Ran!” Peering out from behind Aunt Fang was a young woman’s head, flashing a sweet smile toward Mu Ran and Lu Chengfeng.
Save me.
Mu Ran’s body trembled slightly.
He had previously been brimming with absolute confidence that his confession would succeed, so he had invited his mother in advance to celebrate with him. The reason he called his mother… was actually because her level of acceptance regarding him being gay ought to be relatively high.
It’s over everything is completely over.
If his mother found out about his car accident now, how was he supposed to explain it? Any explanation would inevitably drag in a slew of further complications, and by the end of it, he might really fail to keep his confession to Lu Chengfeng a secret.
“Ah.” Mu Ran squeezed out a slightly rigid smile. “I’ve been way too tired lately, Mom, so Lu Chengfeng just dropped me back off.”
“Did you two… have a falling out?” Fang Shiruan looked back and forth between Mu Ran and Lu Chengfeng.
She knew this child best; ever since he was little, he had loved trailing after that Lu boy, and that habit continued into adulthood. How come he had suddenly started addressing him so formally by his full name?
This was the first time she had ever witnessed the two of them acting so distant.
“Of course not, Auntie.” Reaching out to pull Mu Ran into a side embrace, Lu Chengfeng offered a polite smile. “Lately I noticed he’s been working too hard, so he’s just throwing a bit of a tantrum with me.”
Fang Shiruan possessed an outgoing personality. The moment she heard Lu Chengfeng’s explanation, she swallowed it hook, line, and sinker, patting Mu Ran’s hand consolingly: “Aiya, Chengfeng did mention recently that you’ve been overly busy. But you and Qingqing haven’t seen each other in ages either—Mom is going to cook hot pot for you tonight, so you two should catch up properly, alright? Mom is taking Qingqing out tomorrow to have some fun, so you get some proper rest.”
With that, Fang Shiruan stood up and headed toward the kitchen to continue preparing dinner, leaving the space entirely to the young people.
Jun Qing was the child of Fang Shiruan’s university classmate. Back when they were little, the two families could even be considered neighbors, though Jun Qing had moved away during high school. When she was small, Jun Qing loved clinging to Mu Ran’s heels because she felt Lu Chengfeng was far too difficult to talk to, whereas Mu Ran, despite his sharp tongue, was very easy to get along with, making her naturally much closer to Mu Ran.
Hearing that the Jun family had also been doing quite well over the years, Fang Shiruan’s matchmaking intentions were painfully obvious.
“Brother Ran? Are you alright? You look like your complexion isn’t too great.” Jun Qing inquired, though constrained by Lu Chengfeng standing right beside him, she didn’t dare to step too close.
This man was truly detestable! Ever since they were kids, he wouldn’t let her get close to Brother Ran, and after all these years apart, he was still guarding against her like this. Did he think she was going to eat Mu Ran or something?
Wrapping an arm around Mu Ran’s waist, Lu Chengfeng forcibly pulled him down to sit on the sofa, not even sparing Jun Qing a single glance: “Mu Ran’s stomach hasn’t been feeling well lately, and he hasn’t been resting properly either. You shouldn’t pester him too much.”
“I…” Clenching her fists tightly, Jun Qing marched over to sit directly beside Mu Ran, pulling an exquisite little box out of a shopping bag beside the sofa. “I brought you a gift, Brother Ran. Take a look.”
Looking somewhat embarrassed, Mu Ran stammered, “I haven’t even prepared a gift for you yet, how could I possibly be so impolite?”
A look of eager anticipation painting her features as she waited for Mu Ran to open it, Jun Qing spoke softly, “Aiya, I came back rather suddenly anyway, and I was even afraid I’d disturb Brother Ran. It’s just a small token, hurry up and open it to see if you like it.”
Mu Ran accepted the box, inside of which lay a watch resting quietly. Its dark green dial resembled a deep lake, encircled by a ring of tiny embedded diamonds that glinted under the reflection of the sunlight radiating steady composure tinged with a hint of liveliness. Jun Qing certainly knew how to pick gifts.
“It just so happens that your old watch is already worn out. This is the absolute newest model; I picked it out after deliberating for a long time!” Jun Qing’s pair of doe-like eyes brimmed with expectation.
Mu Ran lowered his head, his gaze falling upon the watch adorning his left wrist.
It was a style from five years ago, gifted to him by Lu Chengfeng on his eighteenth birthday. He had worn it continuously for all these years; though plenty of others had presented him with watches in the interim, he had never worn a single one of them.
He had stubbornly believed that this watch was the authentication of the relationship between himself and Lu Chengfeng.
Yet as things stood today, there seemed to be no further need for it.
Reaching into the box, Mu Ran retrieved the watch, preparing to unbuckle the old one from his wrist and swap it out.
A hand stretched out and clamped down around Mu Ran’s wrist.
A warm body pressed in from behind. Pulling close to Mu Ran in an embrace-like posture, Lu Chengfeng closed the distance, and though a wide gap still remained between them, Mu Ran nonetheless found the proximity far too scorching.
Leaning in close, Lu Chengfeng reached out to pick up the watch, examining it closely for a moment before placing it back down inside the presentation box.
“Let’s leave this one for now. Ranran’s wrist suffered an injury and hurts when winter arrives; metal bands are too cold and unsuitable for him.” Gently stroking Mu Ran’s delicate wrist with his thumb, Lu Chengfeng spoke in a warm voice, “Be a good boy. If you feel this watch is old, I’ll buy you a new one another day.”
Lu Chengfeng’s gaze burned with deep, fathomless intensity.
He would never forget what happened back then.