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For a moment, Lin Zhan was speechless.
Before she could even turn around, her heart had already melted into a puddle.
She gently shook her wrist. ”I was just going to wash the cup...”
But his grip was unyielding, his fingers burning against her skin like a brand.
Lin Zhan twisted her wrist but couldn’t break free.
With a resigned sigh, she set the cup on the table and sat on the floor, letting him hold her.
“Fine, I won’t go.”
She curled up in the corner of the sofa, resting her arm on her knees, studying Shen Xi’s fingers.
One look wasn’t enough—she wanted to keep looking.
Zhang Ze said he got drunk like this… because of her? Because he thought she’d gone abroad?
Lin Zhan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She’d only joked with the airheaded Jiang Qin—how had it spiraled into this?
Lost in thought, she dozed off against the sofa.
Half-asleep, she heard Shen Xi murmur her name, his voice tender and low:
“Lin Zhan.”
She mustered the energy to respond. ”Hmm?”
But he said nothing more.
Blinking groggily, she saw Shen Xi still in the same position, asleep.
Was he dreaming?
Before she could ponder further, sleep claimed her again.
________________________________________
Early the next morning, while the world still slumbered, an alarm blared relentlessly.
The phone—tossed on the table by Zhang Ze—vibrated violently, as if screaming, ”I’m working, so you can’t sleep!”
Shen Xi’s internal clock and the alarm dragged him from his drunken stupor.
He lifted a hand to massage his temples.
Every part of his body felt like it had been disassembled and poorly reassembled—heavy, sluggish, barely responsive.
For a second, he didn’t recognize where he was.
The world spun.
His temples throbbed, his spine tingled—if his body had a warning light, it’d be flashing red.
Gripping the sofa, he stood and staggered to the table, silencing the alarm with a slap.
Blessed silence.
Moving like an old man, he shuffled to his room for clean clothes, then into the bathroom for a shower.
Hot water washed away the lingering haze.
After drying off, he did a set of neck stretches, then toweled his hair.
Now he was somewhat awake.
Wrapped in a towel, he walked back to the living room.
Fragmented memories resurfaced—the empty seat, the pitying explanations, Zhang Ze’s frantic voice…
And what else? Bottles, the sink, bloodshot eyes in the mirror…
Last night, he’d gotten drunk.
Very drunk.
He unlocked his phone and checked his messages.
Still no reply from Lin Zhan.
The word ”regret” had never existed in his dictionary—it shouldn’t now.
Even if she was truly gone, even if she’d given up on him…
He wouldn’t give up without explaining.
He refused to.
Dialing Zhang Ze’s number, he waited.
Three rings later, Zhang Ze answered, groggy.
“Dude, it’s dawn. Why are you calling me instead of doing something productive?”
Shen Xi’s voice was steady. ”This is productive. Can you get Lin Zhan’s studio address from Jiang Qin?”
Zhang Ze: ”...Why?”
“I’m booking a flight. I’m going to find her.”
Declaring this, he turned—and froze.
Standing in front of him was Lin Zhan.
“......”
Every muscle in Shen Xi’s face locked up.
Lin Zhan rubbed her eyes and stood, flexing the hand he’d gripped all night.
At the same time, Zhang Ze’s roar erupted from the phone:
“ARE YOU INSANE?! LIN ZHAN’S RIGHT THERE IN YOUR HOUSE! WHAT FLIGHT?! STOP RUBBING IT IN, YOU LUCKY BASTARD!”
Shen Xi hung up.
For the first time in her life, Lin Zhan saw something akin to shock on Shen Xi’s face.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, as if thinking—Am I hallucinating?
When he opened his eyes, Lin Zhan was still there.
The person he’d just vowed to fly across the world to find… was in his living room.
And had apparently slept over.
“I’m real,” Lin Zhan said, breaking the silence. ”100% authentic, non-exported Lin Zhan.”
She’d expected tears, a dramatic reunion, at the very least a heartfelt confession.
She’d even rehearsed her response:
Yes, I know you love me. Why else would you whisper my name in your sleep?
But after a quick scan of her clothes, Shen Xi’s emotions seemed to flatline.
The words stuck in his throat shattered, rearranging into the least appropriate sentence possible:
“Why are you here? Don’t you have class today?”
Lin Zhan: ????????
Her disbelief was palpable. ”You took three minutes to prepare… and that’s what you say?! ‘Do you have class’?! Shen Xi, last night on the sofa, you weren’t like this!”
Shen Xi: ”...”
Last night. On the sofa.
“What did I say last night?”
Lin Zhan looked ready to fake tears. ”To trick me—an innocent 17-year-old—you called me ‘Sweetie.’ Don’t you remember?”
Shen Xi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. ”What did I trick you into?”
Lin Zhan sighed dramatically. ”You begged me, ‘Hajima’ (Don’t go).”
Without another word, Shen Xi grabbed her wrist and headed for the door.
“If you didn’t go abroad, then you have class. Go to the studio.”
“You’re so cruel! Last night, drunk and puking, you begged me to stay! Now I—the me you dreamed of, the me you thought you lost—am right here. Don’t you want to say or do something to keep me?”
Shen Xi paused. ”Go to class first. I’ll pick you up after.”
Some words needed preparation.
Right now, his mind was still a mess—not the right state for those words.
Lin Zhan pouted. ”Fine. But you have to pick me up.”
Shen Xi: ”I will.”
Lin Zhan: ”Also, wash yesterday’s clothes. They’re dirty from the water—”
Shen Xi’s eyes narrowed. ”What did you do to me last night?”
“What did I do?!” Lin Zhan looked ready to throw a tantrum. ”What could I, a delicate girl, possibly do to you?!”
She pointed at the sofa. ”Last night, you kept calling me ‘Little Zhan-Zhan,’ clinging to my hand, begging me not to leave! My wrist still hurts!”
Shen Xi zeroed in on the key detail. ”What exactly did I call you?”
Lin Zhan realized her “Sweetie” and “Little Zhan-Zhan” stories didn’t match. After a beat, she grinned triumphantly.
“Sweet-Zhan.”
Shen Xi: ”......”
________________________________________
After changing, Shen Xi finally left with Lin Zhan.
“Which studio are you at?”
“Tingmo. Right across from your building.”
Lin Zhan added, ”You know Franklin·Zhan, right?”
Shen Xi: ”...Isn’t that the ‘stage name’ you made up for yourself?”
Lin Zhan explained the joke with Jiang Qin—how her half-sent message led to the “abroad” misunderstanding.
“Jiang Qin also told me you asked her not to tell us,” Shen Xi said, locking the door, his back to her.
Lin Zhan winced. ”My bad. I didn’t realize Jiang Qin would take it so literally.”
“I won’t joke like that again.”
Shen Xi pressed the elevator button. ”You can joke. This wasn’t your fault.”
It was clearly a joke. Jiang Qin misinterpreted, Zhang Ze fueled it, and he…
Outside, Lin Zhan finally said, ”But you drank way too much last night. Almost alcohol poisoning.”
“As a future doctor, shouldn’t you know better than to abuse your body?”
Shen Xi didn’t answer.
Used to his silence, Lin Zhan bought a bun for breakfast before heading to the studio.
Luckily, Shen Xi’s alarm was early—it was only 7 a.m., and no one else had arrived.
Unlocking the studio, Lin Zhan grumbled, ”I’m at fault too. Last night, I realized I forgot my phone but was too lazy to go back. Then I saw you drunk off your ass.”
Turning, she found Shen Xi watching her quietly.
“I really thought you were gone.”
Light spilled between them, their shadows merging on the ground.
Lin Zhan smiled softly. ”With you here, how could I go anywhere?”
That morning’s parting ended with Lin Zhan’s teasing victory.
________________________________________
The night market was alive with chatter and the clatter of skewers.
Lin Zhan stretched, easing her sore muscles.
Shen Xi gestured to a food stall. ”Want anything?”
Lin Zhan blinked. ”You never let me eat street food.”
Shen Xi hesitated. ”Today’s different.”
“Why?” Lin Zhan pressed.
Shen Xi: ”...”
Because I’m planning to confess, and I don’t want you ruining the mood with some absurd comment…
A granny selling corn chuckled. ”Your boyfriend’s strict, huh?”
Lin Zhan sighed theatrically. ”Yes, Granny. I have no rights at home. It’s tragic.”
She glanced at Shen Xi—no frown, but no smile either.
Pouting, she kicked a pebble.
“Shen Xi, what do I have to become for you to like me?”
A beat of silence.
Girls walked past, laughing arm in arm.
Shen Xi’s voice was quiet but firm.
“No matter what you become, it won’t make me like you.”
Lin Zhan’s heart plummeted.
Then he met her eyes, his gaze deep.
“Because I already like you exactly as you are. You don’t need to change a thing.”
Lin Zhan’s hands trembled.
...What?
Did he just—?
Her pulse skyrocketed, her face burning.
This bastard! Even his confession has to be structured like a test question?!
Shen Xi stood motionless under the streetlight, giving her time to process.
But his slightly unfocused eyes betrayed him.
...Nervous.
First confession. Still practicing.
Lin Zhan finally moved, pebbles crunching underfoot as she stepped closer.
A hug? Hand-holding? A kiss?
Shen Xi’s brain raced through probabilities, but her bright eyes scrambled his calculations.
...Forget it. Any of those would be fine.
(Well, maybe not the last one. Not yet.)
Lin Zhan stopped just shy of him, hands behind her back, tilting her head up.
Damn it, why is breathing so hard?
Her voice was playful, like a cat who’d gotten the cream.
“What did you say just now? I didn’t hear~”
Shen Xi: ”...”
He looked away. ”Good things aren’t repeated.”
Lin Zhan huffed. ”Ugh, why are your words always like a reading comprehension question?! So—”
“—unclear.”
“I like you.”
Their voices overlapped—Shen Xi slipping in the confession mid-complaint.
Lin Zhan: ”????”
“WHAT?? I didn’t hear that either—”
Shen Xi: ”Only saying it once.”
Lin Zhan wailed. ”YOU’RE SO STINGY! If you’re only saying things once, then—”
“I like you.”
Quick as a flash, he inserted it again before she finished.
Lin Zhan: ”Wow, learning fast, huh? Bet you won’t—”
“—say it again.”
“I like you.”
Another perfect overlap.
Lin Zhan stomped her foot. ”YOU’RE IMPOSSIBLE! I—”
Pause.
No reaction.
Lin Zhan glared. ”Aren’t you clever? Well, I hope you—”
Another pause.
Still nothing.
Lin Zhan looked ready to cry. ”You’re really not afraid of dying alone, are you—”
“I really like you.”
Even faster this time.
Like payback for her stairwell antics, he kept catching her off-guard.
Lin Zhan stamped her foot, flushed crimson. ”YOU JERK!”
Her cheeks were pink, puffing adorably with faux anger.
Shen Xi laughed—really laughed—until his eyes crinkled shut.
Lin Zhan pouted. ”Oh, so it’s funny? Comedian Shen, is mocking me that entertaining?”
Still chuckling, Shen Xi bent to her eye level, hands on his knees.
His voice was soft as spring breeze.
“Yes.”
This close, Lin Zhan could study his face—and her traitorous heart raced faster.
She whispered, ”You know, in dramas, this is where I’d slap you for teasing an innocent girl like me.”
Shen Xi: ”...”
Lin Zhan continued, ”Furious, helpless, I’d deliver a stinging slap.”
Shen Xi raised a brow. ”Oh?”
Lin Zhan: ”But I won’t. Because I’m a soft, delicate flower.”
“I’ll just… jump up and give you a mwah.”
His eyebrows shot up.
Straightening, he looked down at her.
Lin Zhan grinned.
Got him.
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