When Ge Tongyuan asked Yan Heqing for his phone number, Lu Lin was present. Yan Heqing nodded and walked out of the third canteen with him, saying, "Mm."
Lu Lin chuckled, "It's rare to see you take the initiative to approach others."
"There's a reason," Yan Heqing suddenly blurted out.
Lu Lin didn't press the matter. They left the cafeteria and walked a short distance before entering a tree-lined path leading to the side gate. It was dusky and quiet, just the two of them. Lu Lin took Yan Heqing's hand and gently clasped it. "Your hands are still cold. Let's go see them when we get back from the May Day holiday."
Chatting, the two walked out of the side door and arrived at the family quarters.
The old-style building has a maximum of 6 floors. Lu Lin's apartment is on the 3rd floor, which is just right—not too damp, and not too difficult to climb.
The apartment has a two-bedroom, two-living-room layout. It's also an old building, but it's completely different from the apartment Yan Heqing rented. It's well-ventilated from north to south and has a large balcony with a view of Beijing University. The apartment has wooden floors throughout and the walls are painted with a milky tea-colored latex paint. It seems like someone comes to clean it regularly, as the room is very clean.
Lu Lin held onto Yan Heqing's hand the whole time, leading him on a tour of the room. "Look how nice it is, decorate it the way you want."
Before Yan Heqing could speak, he chuckled again, "You haven't forgotten, have you? You lost the bet yesterday."
Yan Heqing hadn't forgotten that he'd scored a goal and was planning to move here. He looked away, "It's fine, no need to change."
"After so long, the wiring has aged and poses a safety hazard; it all needs to be replaced," Lu Lin said naturally. "And you'll be living here for another three years."
Both of them tacitly avoided mentioning the two-month trial period. Yan Heqing remained silent for a moment, then tacitly agreed. The two didn't stay in the house for long before leaving, but Lu Lin didn't let Yan Heqing go home. Instead, he took him somewhere else.
Once inside the store, Yan Heqing realized it was a furniture mall.
The entire mall is filled with furniture and home furnishings.
The mall had been cleared out in advance, and the huge shopping center was brightly lit, with only one shop assistant left at each store to assist customers.
Yan Heqing was somewhat surprised, "Looking at furniture now?"
Lu Lin led him into the first store, "Let's pick out some furniture we like first, and then decide on the decorating style based on the furniture."
Yan Heqing didn't have any particular preferences, nor did he know much about these things. He simply followed Lu Lin and listened to the shop assistant's introduction. The two of them were very efficient in their shopping, and in no time, they had ordered the sofa, bookcase, and dining table. Yan Heqing had chosen the walnut wood.
Yan Heqing likes the quiet and warm texture of wood.
Finally, it's time to choose a bed.
This time, Lu Lin didn't let Yan Heqing choose. He led Yan Heqing to a walnut wood bed and smiled, "It's also walnut wood, let's take this one."
Yan Heqing estimated the bed to be at least 2 meters long. He instinctively looked for other smaller beds, thinking, "It's too big, let's get a smaller one..."
Lu Lin listened patiently to him finish speaking before patting his hair again, a faint emotion flickering in his dark eyes. "The room can accommodate it, don't worry."
Yan Heqing keenly sensed that Lu Lin was not happy.
But it wasn't for this bed; it was for something else.
Yan Heqing nodded, "Okay."
After choosing the furniture, the decorating style was basically determined. Lu Lin asked Yan Heqing to get in the car first, and he went to the restroom.
--
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Lin Fengzhi stared blankly at the snow-white wall, having not uttered a word all day.
Mother Lin looked anxious. " Zhizhi, what's wrong? Say something, don't scare your mother. Is it still hurting somewhere?"
Lin Fengzhi still did not respond.
Seeing this, Mother Lin became extremely worried and covered her mouth, crying softly.
Seeing his Mother Lin cry, Lin Fengyi suddenly lost his temper, " Lin Fengzhi, can't you be a little more sensible! Mom is talking to you, what kind of attitude is that!"
Mother Lin quickly stopped Lin Fengyi, "He's not feeling well, you shouldn't..."
"He's not feeling well, are you? Am I feeling well?" Lin Fengyi finally snapped. "I didn't go to work today, and I spent the whole day trying to appease him, but he didn't say a word! Even if he's sulking, he should at least give me a reason!" He stepped forward and pulled back Lin Fengzhi's blanket. "Answer me! Mom is asking you a question!"
Lin Fengzhi remained unresponsive, curled up like an empty shell devoid of a soul.
"Fuck!" Lin Fengyi couldn't hold back and blurted out a curse, "I guess I was just being a jerk!"
He tried to take Mother Lin home, Mother Lin resisted and they were pulling at each other when Lin Fengzhi finally spoke up, "Where's my phone?"
Lu Lin's phone was in the car, vibrating incessantly; the incoming calls were from unsaved numbers.
It rang about seven or eight times.
Yan Heqing waited until the phone was completely silent before taking out his own phone and dialing Lin Fengzhi's number.
Beep, beep, beep...
Despite the long wait, Yan Heqing was quite patient. When no one answered, he called again, making six calls in total. Through the windshield, Yan Heqing saw Lu Lin return. At the same time, the call was finally answered.
There was only silent breathing on the other end.
Yan Heqing spoke first, " Lu Lin isn't here. What do you want with him?"
Chapter 88
There was still no response from the other end.
Yan Heqing's eyes darkened slightly. This was Lin Fengzhi's new number; Lin Fengzhi had three mobile phone numbers in the original story.
The second number was the one I changed when I decided to give up on loving Lu Lin, but it has appeared ahead of schedule now.
Yan Heqing calmly repeated, "Can you hear me? Lu Lin isn't here right now. I can pass on any messages you need."
Every word was like a sharp thorn, deeply piercing Lin Fengzhi's heart.
He covered his mouth tightly, tears streaming down his face.
The thought that Yan Heqing might be with Lu Lin made him hesitant to answer Yan Heqing's call, yet he couldn't help but harbor a sliver of hope—what if they weren't? Otherwise, why not just answer Lu Lin's call instead of using his own?
With a humble hope, just for this moment, in this instant of his injury, he wished that Lu Lin was alone, perhaps still grieving for his fall.
Anyway, Yan Heqing didn't know it was his number, so he answered it.
However, Yan Heqing's words shattered his hopes completely.
Lin Fengzhi bit his lip, about to hang up the phone, when Lu Lin's voice suddenly came through the receiver.
What are you doing?
A few minutes ago, Lin Fengzhi was desperately hoping to hear Lu Lin's voice. He couldn't hold back anymore; he missed Lu Lin terribly. He wanted to hear even a single word or a soft breath from him.