Chapter 19

He returned to the apartment from last night and arrived in less than twenty minutes.

Tao Ran went up by himself, and stood outside the door to ring the doorbell. Soon, someone came to open the door.

He was a stranger, very young, with a slightly chubby baby face that appeared especially kind. Tao Ran paused for a moment, sweeping his gaze past him and scanning the living room, but couldn't see Li Zekun anywhere.

"Kun is still on the road. He was negotiating a business deal halfway up the mountain when he heard you were sick and hurried back." Liu Yan smiled. "He cares about you a lot."

Tao Ran's heart trembled slightly, and the warmth inside felt like a beam of light shining on a snowy field after a blizzard, brightening up a large area with just a little bit of light.

"Hello.", Tao Ran suddenly remembered to greet the other person.

"My name is Liu Yan. I run my own clinic, and Kunzi asked me to come over and take a look at you."

They sat on the sofa. Liu Yan did not immediately consult his illness, and he just stared at Tao Ran for a long time. Tao Ran felt somewhat uncomfortable being stared at by Liu Yan. He had an intuitive feeling that Liu Yan's gaze carried some kind of probing meaning, as if he was trying to identify something.

"What...do you have to ask me?" Tang Ran spoke up.

Liu Yan regained his senses and smiled a bit awkwardly, "Oh, right, you just came from the hospital, didn't you?"

Tao Ran nodded and said, "It's nothing serious, just acute gastroenteritis."

Liu Yan grunted, "What is the reason?"

Tao Ran's face turned slightly red, "I ate something I shouldn't have."

Liu Yan chuckled knowingly and said, "It's normal for children to be gluttonous, but you still need to be careful."

Liu Yan rummaged through his portable medicine box and found a pillow for Tao Ran to rest his wrist on. Tao Ran was completely unaware that this baby-faced young man was actually a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.

"Having a weak body and cold stomach, still need to take care of yourself," said Liu Yan to Tao Ran without saying too much. He grabbed a piece of blank paper and quickly wrote a page. "I'll have someone simmer the medicine tonight. Tomorrow, you can have Kun pick it up for you. I'll tell you the dosage later."

"Thank you for your trouble."

"It's not necessary. Just don't blame me when the medicine is bitter.", Liu Yan said with a smile as he tidied up his things. He had just finished dressing when he heard the sound of the anti-theft door unlocking and Li Zekun walked in.

"Finished?" asked Li Zekun to Liu Yan.

"Uh, nothing major, just take him to my place tomorrow to get the medicine," Liu Yan carried his suitcase, "I'll leave now, I have to go back to the courtyard to have dinner with my grandfather tonight."

"I won't keep you then," said Li Zekun as he pulled off his suit and tossed it onto the foyer, "Come out here, I want to ask you a couple of questions."

Liu Yan smiled and waved to Tao Ran before following Li Zekun out of the door.

"What's wrong, Kun?"

"Did you tell him any nonsense?" Li Zekun got straight to the point.

Liu Yan gave him a punch and sneered: "Oh, what can I say to him?"

"Alright, you can go back home now.", Li Zekun turned around and was about to leave.

Liu Yan didn't move a step but asked aggressively, "Are you serious again this time?" The use of the word 'again' made the veins on Li Zekun's forehead twitch a few times.

"If it's true, I wish you all the best." Liu Yan's face had no trace of joking or teasing. He had always believed that even though Li Zekun loved Cheng Xia deeply and had been in a half-dead state for four years, now that he finally had someone by his side, even if it wasn't similar to Cheng Xia, it was still good news. Even if it was just a boy, it was still something to be happy about.

Li Zekun didn't say much, he simply let out a tired sigh and said, "Thanks for coming out with me on such a hot day today. Let's hang out again another day."

Liu Yan grunted in response before finally leaving.

When Li Zekun returned, Tao Ran was waiting for him at the doorstep and even helped him find his slippers.

"Your homeroom teacher called me and said you had a stomach problem. Are you feeling better now?" Li Zekun reached out and affectionately stroked Tao Ran's hair.

"It's much better now."

"What's going on?"

Tao Ran lowered his head and followed Li Zekun into the living room. "Lunch wasn't suitable," he said.

Li Zekun is not as easy to dismiss as Liu Yan: "What did you eat?"

Tao Ran fell silent for a moment, but he still couldn't lie: "Hotpot and ice cream."

Li Zekun's hand holding the water cup trembled slightly. Eating hotpot was not a one-person job. "Who are you going with?" he asked.

"My Classmate."

Li Zekun suddenly smiled and said: "You've only been there for a few days, yet you're already so close with that classmate, is male or female?"

Tao Ran's fingers were crossed and twisted together. Li Zekun only glanced at it and knew that it was another small action from Cheng Xia, who was feeling guilty and uncomfortable.

"You're quite capable. Alright, do whatever you want." Li Zekun went straight to the bathroom without paying any attention to Tao Ran.

Tao Ran suddenly felt inexplicably guilty. He didn't do anything wrong, but because he was led out of that kind of place by Li Zekun, everything he did was scrutinized with different eyes. Tao Ran felt a little aggrieved, but also realized that he seemed to be cared for by Li Zekun, and most of all, he was afraid that Li Zekun would actually be angry.

The stomach was no longer hurting much, so Tao Ran waited by the bathroom door for Li Zekun to come out.

Li Zekun closed his eyes and tilted his head back, letting the flowers rain down on him. His heart was a bit tumultuous, although he didn't want to admit it. He was feeling jealous. Perhaps it was more complicated than that, as he hadn't completely ignored Liu Yan's words. That was why he felt a bit scared - scared that he was actually developing feelings for Xia. He was afraid that if he forgot, Xia would be the one to suffer.

Li Zekun wiped off the water from his eyes, turned off the showerhead, put on a bathrobe and was about to go outside to take a breath. However, when he opened the door, he almost stepped on something.

"What are you doing?" Li Zekun frowned.

Tao Ran stood up and stretched his arms, wrapping them around Li Zekun's neck.

Li Zekun raised his eyebrows, has the child become more courageous?

Tao Ran raised his foot and puckered his lips. Li Zekun immediately turned his face and avoided it, asking, "What are you doing?"

Tao Ran's eyes turned red and his voice was timid and weak, "I... I want to kiss you..."

Li Zekun's heart was tightly pinched: "Which part of me do you want to kiss?"

Tao Ran lightly kissed Li Zekun's face, and this time he didn't dodge.

"Even you little thing knows how to flirt?" Li Zekun planted a deep kiss on Tao Ran's lips. "From now on, you're not allowed to go out for dinner alone with anyone when I'm not here."

Tao Ran responded with a blush as Li Zekun kissed her entire small face.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Li Zekun's mind like lightning. He raised Tao Ran's chin and asked in a deep voice, "Do you like me?"

Tao Ran buried her face into Li Zekun's neck and spoke in a muffled and honest tone: "I...I like you..."

Li Zekun's mind exploded with a loud bang, his throat feeling like it had been filled with lead. He stuttered, "Who said you could have feelings for me?"

Taoran remained silent, extending one hand to pull on the belt of Lizekun's bathrobe.

Soft fingers slid down from the waist, and Li Zekun squinted his eyes, with a low and hoarse voice: "You won't cry this time, will you?"

Tao Ran bowed his head and after a long time, he replied, "Will not cry."

Li Zekun still had the intention to make a move on him, so he let Tao Ran use his mouth like last time.

After finishing, Li Zekun felt much more at ease and had the patience to comfort Tao Ran. "Is your stomach still hurting?"

Tao Ran buried his face in the blanket but didn't let go of his hand that was holding onto Li Zekun's arm. After a day of tossing and turning, he quickly fell asleep.

Li Zekun gazed deeply at Tao Ran for a while before he heaved a long sigh and said, "Little guy...let's leave it at that for now."