"Lu Hanting, I like you."
It has been seven or eight years since they met in college, and this is the first time that Shen Yinran has spoken out loud about the feelings they both knew.
Maybe it was Cheng Kou's happiness that gave her courage, or maybe she no longer wanted to go on.
The smile on Lu Hanting's lips froze for a moment, and he spoke softly: "I thought you would never mention this matter."
"You don't like me..." Shen Yinran asked stubbornly, "Is it because of Cheng Kou?"
She felt that she could no longer control the tears flowing out, and she felt that she should not be so useless in front of him, so she avoided his gaze in disgust.
Lu Hanting was silent for a while, then turned to the person in front of him who was bowing his head, and asked slowly: "Yinran, I won't always like Cheng Kou, so, are you willing to wait for me?"
Shen Yinran was stunned for a moment, looked at him in disbelief, and then burst into laughter, nodded and said, "Okay, it's a deal."
"Let's give it a try."
Lu Hanting raised his hand, and just when he was halfway there he wanted to put it down. In the end he did not retract it. He placed it on the top of her head and patted it gently. After a few seconds, he patted it again.
After that day, they continued to get along the same way as before, but Shen Yinran herself knew that she could taste some subtle differences.
Lu Hanting called Shen Yinran, who was about to leave work, and said with a gentle smile: "Would you like to have dinner together?"
Shen Yinran was flattered and nodded quickly, "Okay."
Lu Hanting took her to a high-end western restaurant. Someone was playing a piece of music at the piano. Everyone around them looked elegant. They talked in low voices, occasionally exchanging a smile and clinking red wine glasses.
Shen Yinran was actually not used to this kind of environment. She would rather eat a big meal at a roadside kebab stall than pretend to be a lady here.
But she still sat opposite Lu Hanting without daring to breathe, just because the other party smiled at her, and that smile contained sincerity.
Shen Yinran didn't know if she was full, but the atmosphere was definitely harmonious. Lu Hanting was always thoughtful and considerate, and it was impossible to find fault with him.
When they were leaving the hotel, they realized that it was raining heavily outside. Lu Hanting asked her to wait here and planned to get the car and come back to pick her up.
Shen Yinran grabbed his sleeve and shook her head firmly.
She said, "I'll run with you."
Lu Hanting's surprise only lasted for a moment, and the next second the emotion disappeared from his eyes. He took off his suit, covered the two of them with it, and ran quickly to the parking space with her.
A long time later, Shen Yinran recalled that night and found that running in the rain was the only time they were in step with each other.
The rain hit the car window, leaving a circular mark that was quickly washed away, and the cycle repeated again.
Lu Hanting turned on the air conditioner, and the temperature in the car gradually rose. However, Shen Yinran's body seemed unable to adapt to this change. She trembled, and the sound of her sneeze seemed to echo in this quiet and small space.
Shen Yinran felt embarrassed, but Lu Hanting just smiled indifferently.
Compared to his normal speaking voice, his laughter was much deeper and more alluring.
"Go to my house first and change into clean clothes." He paused, then added, "I'll take you back when the rain stops."
"Oh, okay." Shen Yinran naturally would not refuse and agreed obediently.
In Lu Hanting's impression, there were several new sets of women's clothing at home, but after searching in the closet for a long time, he only found a skirt that Du Lanshan had dropped.
The skirt was forgotten in the corner of the closet, a dead spot that could not be illuminated by the overhead chandelier. Lu Hanting was hesitating whether to find a piece of clothing he had never worn, when Shen Yinran half popped her head out from behind him and saw the clothes in his hands that he had not yet put down.
The clothes are clean and smell the fresh scent of detergent.
"You have women's clothes? That's great. Then Senior Brother Lu, I'll lend you my bathroom to take a shower." Shen Yinran took the clothes from his hand and went to the bathroom along the path he pointed.
The endless stream of hot water washed away the cold and sticky feeling. Shen Yinran felt that every pore on her body was open and she was breathing freely.
When she came out drying her hair, she called out a few times tentatively, but got no response from Lu Hanting, so she went back to the room she had just been in.
The lights were on and Lu Hanting was not there. Shen Yinran was about to go out and call him when the earrings on her ears fell to the ground and rolled under the bed.
It was dark under the bed. She used her cell phone to light it up. Apart from the sparkling diamond earrings, there was also a notebook lying quietly on the floor.
There was a lot of dust on the notebook, but the original pattern on the cover could still be vaguely seen. This style was definitely not used by Lu Hanting.
Shen Yinran picked it up, put it on the table, hesitated for a moment, and slowly opened it.
A name was clearly written in blue ink on the slightly yellowed paper.
There is no room for misjudgment in the three words "Du Lanshan".