When Li Shanqing woke up, he was in the underground parking lot of a hotel. After being woken up by Zhuang Xu, he was not yet fully awake before he started coughing again.
It felt like tobacco was burning in his lungs, the thick smoke rising to his throat. He coughed until his brain felt like it was being stirred together, and he was on the verge of vomiting before he could finally catch his breath.
His eyes were filled with tears, and he could not see Zhuang Xu’s expression clearly. He only knew that Zhuang Xu was supporting his arm, his hand on his back, just like his parents and Mary, very nervous about him, but also somewhat different.
After all, Li Shanqing now knew that saying Zhuang Xu was like his parents was definitely a minefield for Zhuang Xu.
Although he did not know why Zhuang Xu was so sensitive. Saying he was like Li Shanqing’s parents was just a metaphor for their closeness, what was wrong with that?
His mind was muddled, but what Li Shanqing was surprisingly thinking was that no matter what, returning to Binhai this time was not a mistake.
After drinking some more water, Li Shanqing sat in his seat to regulate his breathing, gradually calming down. Zhuang Xu told Li Shanqing that he had booked a hotel for him. The decoration was fairly new, the room was on a higher floor, which should keep it away from mold, and he had arranged for someone to dust the room and place an air purifier inside.
Li Shanqing rarely heard Zhuang Xu talk so much, and Zhuang Xu’s usual coldness often made him forget that Zhuang Xu had the same photographic memory and intelligence as he did.
“Thank you,” Li Shanqing said with heartfelt gratitude, “You remember quite a lot of things.”
Zhuang Xu said, “You’re welcome.”
Li Shanqing rested for a while longer, and gradually he could see Zhuang Xu’s face clearly. So many things had happened in the past few days, Zhuang Xu must have been very tired, but his expression was no different from usual, showing no fatigue, at most just a little down.
Zhuang Xu was probably always this kind of person. Whether you call him reliable or indifferent, most of the time, his emotions were so stable that Li Shanqing found it hard to understand. Only on rare occasions would he be provoked by Li Shanqing. They would argue for a few sentences, and Zhuang Xu would choose to give him the cold shoulder, withdrawing without a second thought.
Maybe this was a good thing, Li Shanqing thought. Only a person who can rationally control themselves from having strong emotions in all emergencies and quickly find a solution can succeed as quickly as Zhuang Xu.
Actually, he felt he should also learn this spirit, but it was a bit too difficult for him. Although their intelligence was similar, Li Shanqing’s personality and Zhuang Xu’s could be said to be poles apart.
Maybe this was also the reason why Zhuang Xu did not want to bother with him, thinking he was childish.
Thinking of this, Li Shanqing’s heart soured a little again.
However, on this day, after being scrutinized up and down by Li Shanqing for a moment, Zhuang Xu did not show any impatience. Instead, he simply unbuckled his seatbelt for him and asked: “Can you get out of the car by yourself now?”
Li Shanqing had reason to suspect that Zhuang Xu was a little moved by his sudden visit. Because his patience today was indeed much better.
Li Shanqing admitted that his character was sometimes not good. Seeing Zhuang Xu speak like this, he was surprisingly not used to it. He could actually walk, but he said slowly: “I can’t. If I get out of the car by myself now, I might only be able to crawl on the ground.”
Zhuang Xu was slightly stunned.
Li Shanqing was about to laugh, but he suddenly thought of Zhuang Xu’s busy schedule and immense pressure in recent days. The next second, he regretted it, feeling that he was being a bit mean. Before he could take back his words and say “I was lying, I can actually walk,” Zhuang Xu spoke first: “Then I’ll go borrow a wheelchair for you.”
As he said this, he was about to get out of the car. Li Shanqing immediately stopped him: “No need.”
“Just help me up.” Then he braced himself and added, deciding not to speak nonsense today.
Zhuang Xu then walked around the front of the car and opened the door for him. Li Shanqing dragged himself along, leaning on him. Zhuang Xu’s hand was very steady, and even when Li Shanqing pressed his whole body against him, he did not move an inch.
The room was on a high floor, a large suite.
Li Shanqing walked in, lavishly praising the view, saying it was his “first time staying in a hotel in my hometown,” and also said: “I have a home but I can’t return to it, I hope my parents don’t run into me on the street.”
His body had recovered a little. He sat and used the oxygen for a while, took his medicine, and became more talkative, complaining: “You don’t know how unhappy Mary was. This time when I came out, she refused to put salt in the protein bars she made for me, she wants me to die from the bad taste.”
“I’ll have the chef make you a meal and have it sent over at noon.”
Zhuang Xu helped him put away his luggage, then had to leave. He had to go accompany his mother for further evaluation and discuss treatment plans with the doctor. There were also decisions at the group that could not be delayed any longer.
Li Shanqing rolled his eyes: “Do you still have my allergy list? Do you want me to send you a new one?”
Zhuang Xu did not answer. Li Shanqing seemed to understand and smiled. He sat curled up on the sofa, using the oxygen on one hand, and waved at him understandingly on the other: “Go on, go on, I’ll wait for you here.”
On the way to Qunying Hospital, it was already the busiest morning rush hour in Binhai. The cars became numerous, and every lane was congested.
Zhuang Xu drove very slowly, thinking all the while. He could not deny that his originally low and numb emotions seemed to have received timely treatment when he thought of Li Shanqing returning to a place just a few kilometers away from him, for his sake.
At noon, Zhuang Xu did not go to Li Shanqing’s place, but he did receive a photo of lunch from Li Shanqing. Li Shanqing said it was delicious and he had no allergic reaction, and asked if Zhuang Xu’s family chef could be given to her, so that Mary could have an easier time.
In just three or four days since Zhuang Xu called Li Shanqing, they seemed to have returned to their former relationship, as if the argument had never happened, the kiss did not exist either, and everything had returned to the starting point.
Zhuang Xu was not sure whether Li Shanqing was so slow that he could treat a kiss like a handshake, or if he actually understood but was just unwilling to say it.
—Li Shanqing had never had any problems in social situations, how could he be as ignorant as a child about everything?
So he should have asked Li Shanqing for a clear answer, but Zhuang Xu continued to hesitate, and in the end, decided not to break the balance at this moment.
Zhuang Xu had his reasons. The timing was not good. Zhuang Xu himself had too many things to worry about and should not be distracted by getting to the bottom of things.
To take a step back, even if he did ask and get a clear answer, even if the two of them could really try, what then? He could not be by Li Shanqing’s side all the time right now.
Li Shanqing had already come from Fancheng to Binhai for him, enduring complete torture. It was unknown how long it would take for him to recover—even if Li Shanqing said something about Zhuang Xu being like his parents again, Zhuang Xu felt that at least this time, he should endure it.
And to put any pressure on Li Shanqing would seem even more inhumane. Perhaps Li Shanqing would not be able to come up with an answer and would even curse Zhuang Xu for repaying kindness with ingratitude, causing him to have a headache from thinking too much.
Of course, perhaps it was also that Zhuang Xu had suddenly figured it out. Being the one to make concessions was not so unbearable.
In the evening, Zhuang Xu was still working in his office, reviewing reports and applications submitted by the laboratory.
After dinner, Li Shanqing said he had slept all afternoon and had almost recovered, and wanted to come over to see him.
Zhuang Xu gave him a call, checked his voice, and felt that he seemed to have more strength than in the morning, so he had the driver pick Li Shanqing up.
Because he was busy with work, Zhuang Xu forgot to tidy up his desk before Li Shanqing entered. This also led to Li Shanqing noticing, as soon as he sat down in his seat, the few small ornaments that he had impulsively bought when passing by a zoo one day two years ago.
Li Shanqing felt that the small ornaments placed next to Zhuang Xu’s family photo were very familiar, and also felt it was strange—Zhuang Xu was not the kind of person who would buy such small ceramic rabbit ornaments, let alone display them in a prominent place.
“Little Zhuang, where did these come from,” Li Shanqing immediately became alert, picked up a small gray rabbit, and looked up to ask sternly, “How come CEO Li hasn’t heard of this? Who gave them to you?”
Then he put down the small gray rabbit, picked up a cuter white rabbit, and said: “Give me one.” and stuffed it into his pocket.
“I forgot who gave me these creative products.” Zhuang Xu looked down at him with a straight face.
Li Shanqing had a gut feeling that something was wrong. A thought flashed in his mind, and he suddenly remembered that he had seen these rabbits alive, old acquaintances from the old place. It was on Zhuang Xu’s birthday, when they went to the zoo.
“Really?” Li Shanqing immediately wanted to expose him. “You didn’t buy them yourself, did you?”
But Zhuang Xu said: “I remember now, I think Silan gave them to me.”
Li Shanqing had originally felt a strange sense of happiness, suspecting that Zhuang Xu valued him immensely. He had not expected Zhuang Xu to say that, and immediately became unhappy: “You can put something on your desk even if you forgot who gave it to you? Why did you put the thing Zhou Silan gave you next to your family photo? Is he your best younger brother?”
After speaking, Li Shanqing slapped his hand on the table. It did not make much sound, but his palm hurt strangely, and he immediately retracted it, glaring at Zhuang Xu: “Hurry up and say it, who is better?”
Zhuang Xu seemed to find it amusing, did not answer, and even asked: “Li Shanqing, what are you comparing?”
Seeing Zhuang Xu’s nonchalant expression, Li Shanqing became even more annoyed. He stood up, walked over, and pulled at the front of Zhuang Xu’s suit, asking him: “Why did you put the thing Zhou Silan gave you here? In your heart, am I more important or is Zhou Silan more important? Hurry up and say it!”
“Does this question have any meaning?” Zhuang Xu completely ignored his antics.
Since he could not force an answer out of him no matter what, Li Shanqing had no choice but to swallow his anger with a sense of grievance. He decided to take a step back and find a way out for himself, saying: “Forget it, I know you’re too embarrassed to say it.”
“Is that so? Then what do you think the answer is?” Zhuang Xu asked him back.
Li Shanqing smiled smugly: “You know it in your heart.”
For some reason, Zhuang Xu’s expression suddenly darkened, as if Li Shanqing had said something wrong. His gaze also became a little colder.
Li Shanqing looked at this inexplicably sensitive Zhuang Xu, and suddenly remembered the joke he wanted to make in Zhuang Xu’s car in the morning, which he did not get to make because he fell asleep. So he continued with it now: “Zhuang Xu, I fell asleep before I finished talking this morning. I’ve thought about it, and I think we should be in a relationship.”
The reason for this joke was that Senior Zixi had heard that Li Shanqing had carried an oxygen concentrator to Binhai and insisted on saying that he was foolish from being in love.
Li Shanqing thought about it, and wasn’t his relationship with Zhuang Xu just like how other people are in a relationship?
Calling, texting, meeting up, all the things that should be there were there.
When Zhuang Xu heard this, his eyes were nothing short of bewildered, his brow furrowed slightly, as if he suspected he had misheard.
Li Shanqing almost laughed. He pushed Zhuang Xu’s shoulder and began to preach his own distorted reasons.
First, because you are very sensitive, like those girlfriends who post online complaining about their boyfriends always saying the wrong thing.
Zhuang Xu’s face turned so sour that Li Shanqing immediately apologized: “Don’t be angry, this is a joke. It’s because we kissed, so we have to be responsible for each other.”
Because I always want to see you, isn’t that what love is like?
Because being in a relationship gives us more reasons to meet.
Li Shanqing often made jokes like this. His original intention was to amuse Zhuang Xu. When Zhuang Xu heard the latter part, he was a little stunned again.
At that time, Li Shanqing was indeed not very serious, and he had also reflected on his lack of seriousness. He just thought this way of putting it was funny. At that time, his romantic feelings had not yet blossomed, and he still saw himself as a child, never having thought about love.
After stating his reasons, Li Shanqing asked him: “Right? Don’t you think we should be in a relationship? Let’s be in a relationship.”
He thought Zhuang Xu would tell him to get lost, but Zhuang Xu did not understand his joke.
And even if he did not understand and did not find it funny, Li Shanqing had not expected Zhuang Xu to say: “If you really want to.”
