In the living room, Zuo Baixuan was sitting diagonally on the sofa, her legs half-curled up, the hem of her dress draped over her shoulders and falling to the floor.
The floor-to-ceiling window behind her was open, letting in the light from outside and framing Zuo Baixuan like a painting.
Luan Yenan wanted to hug her, but then felt that this was a beautiful thing and she should remain beautiful in the picture alone.
"The wine hasn't been opened yet." Zuo Baixuan looked up and reminded Luan Yenan as he walked out of the storage room, holding snacks but standing still.
Luan Yenan nodded, walked over, put down the snacks, and then found a bottle opener and a decanter.
Open the red wine bottle and pour it into two shallow glasses.
She sat down on the floor beside the sofa, opened a bag of fish slices, and handed it to Zuo Baixuan, as if it were a relaxed preparation before watching a movie with friends at home. This was completely different from Zuo Baixuan's serious demeanor in her formal dress.
Zuo Baixuan was a little taken aback, but seeing Luan Yenan's actions, she breathed a sigh of relief, took the fish slices, and the salty and sweet taste brought her some calm.
She leaned over, took a wine glass from the coffee table, and drank it all in one gulp.
"Hey..." Luan Yenan couldn't stop him in time.
It seems Little White Flower is really planning to get drunk tonight.
Luan Yenan stared at her for a while, then reached out and pinched her ankle.
"Ah!" Zuo Baixuan was startled by the cold touch on her ankle, but she couldn't pull it away. She looked down at Luan Yenan.
Luan Yenan's gaze was calm as he simply reached out his hand to her.
Zuo Baixuan hesitated for a moment before handing over the wine glass.
Luan Yenan poured her another shallow glass, but instead of handing it back directly, he instructed her, "Don't drink too fast, it's bad for your stomach."
As Zuo Baixuan accepted the wine glass with both hands, she glanced down at her ankle, which was still held tightly in Luan Yenan's hand, as if it were locked by her side.
Long eyelashes cast shadows under the eyes, making it difficult to find an opportunity to speak.
Luan Yenan wasn't in a hurry and continued to open a small bag of cakes and hand it to Zuo Baixuan.
The tense atmosphere was completely disrupted by her act of feeding the food. Zuo Baixuan's sadness lessened considerably, and she swayed her head as she took another sip of red wine.
The red wine melted in her mouth, and she smacked her lips. Surprisingly, given her low alcohol tolerance, she found the red wine not stimulating enough.
"I suddenly want to try vodka," Zuo Baixuan blurted out.
It was said unintentionally.
Luan Yenan glanced at her after hearing this.
Drinking wine.
One was wearing a bathrobe, and the other was wearing a formal dress.
When you're alone like this, a glance, an expression, or a single word can all carry different meanings.
Zuo Baixuan blushed under Luan Yenan's gaze, pursed her lips, and whispered, "That's not what I meant. I just wanted to drink some strong liquor."
Luan Yenan raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.
He held a glass of red wine in his hand, swirling it around, and brought it to his lips.
Zuo Baixuan stared as the red liquid slowly flowed into Luan Yenan's mouth.
She swallowed lightly and finished her first glass of red wine.
As Luan Yenan poured himself a drink, accompanied by the gurgling sound of the liquor and the clinking of glasses, he spoke slowly: "So, are you ready to start telling your story?"
Zuo Baixuan looked at Luan Yenan.
Luan Yenan held his wine glass, turned his head, and leaned against her leg with a faint smile on his face.
Do not pressure, keep your presence low-key and simply be a listener.
When Zuo Baixuan saw this scene, she felt her scalp tingle and tightened her grip on the wine glass.
If Luan Yenan weren't treating her as well as he was now, and if his every action didn't give her the perfect sense of security, she might give up on revealing herself at any time.
But she didn't.
Zuo Baixuan raised her head.
The light and shadow behind her fell on her face, blurring her features.
"The protagonist of the story is a girl who was born into a happy and fulfilling family." Zuo Baixuan looked at the ceiling.
The light from the floor-to-ceiling windows shines through the glass, falls on the floor, and then reflects off the floor onto the ceiling, leaving a hazy trail, like ripples on water through a veil.
Like Zuo Baixuan's recollections, there are clear parts and vague parts.
Luan Yenan sat up straight and looked at Zuo Baixuan's profile. Her delicate and three-dimensional features were reflected in the cold light, and her eyes became complicated with reminiscence.
This is a little white flower outside the outline, one that I didn't know about, a little white flower that I couldn't see before.
That's why Zuo Baixuan became Zuo Baixuan.
Luan Yenan listened quietly.
Zuo Baixuan didn't hear Luan Yenan's response, but knowing she was listening, she slowly continued, "She has a loving mother and a father who is always smiling. Even though they are busy with work, they still play with the little girl on weekends. Their home is always filled with laughter."
Luan Yenan looked at Zuo Baixuan, who had a faint smile on her face but her eyes were full of sadness. Her brain, which was affected by alcohol, was half-conscious and half-dazed. She was indulging in the beautiful memories of her childhood, but was also pulled by reality and could not relax.
Even though he only heard about the "little girl's" happy childhood, Luan Yenan was already worried about what the future held.
Sure enough, the idyllic description didn't last long before the plot took a sharp turn for the worse.
"However, when the little girl was seven years old, her mother's family fell into poverty. Her maternal grandparents' business went bankrupt. In order to pay their employees' wages, they incurred a lot of debt. Even after filing for bankruptcy protection, they were still chased by debt collectors at their doorstep. Her maternal grandfather died of a sudden heart attack, and her maternal grandmother was so devastated that she fell ill and never recovered."
Zuo Baixuan finished the red wine in her shallow glass as she spoke.
Luan Yenan remained silent.
She simply put down her wine glass and refilled Zuo Baixuan's glass with fresh wine.
When defining an ordinary person, people might use the following descriptions.
For example, a child born into an ordinary working-class family with just enough to eat and drink cannot be provided with a superior material foundation by their parents. Therefore, the child wears ordinary clothes from a young age and attends ordinary nine years of compulsory education.
For example, someone with average intelligence might only barely get into an ordinary university through hard work, lacking any special experiences, and thus only manage to obtain an ordinary diploma.
For example, someone with an average appearance cannot provide any help in life or work, so after graduation they only found an ordinary job and earned an ordinary salary.
Is this an ordinary person?
yes.
It's ordinary enough.
But we were lucky enough.
Because such ordinariness means having both parents alive, not experiencing harm in childhood, not experiencing disasters in adulthood, and being free from illness and pain.
She and Zuo Baixuan cannot be considered "ordinary people".
Luan Yenan sat down on the sofa.
Zuo Baixuan took a breath and continued, "Grandpa's passing and Grandma's serious illness dealt a heavy blow to the little girl's mother. She wanted to rely on her father, but the once responsible and cheerful father suddenly seemed like a different person. No, to be precise, he didn't change; he was just good at pretending. After the little girl's mother's support collapsed, he revealed his true self."
Luan Yenan leaned against Zuo Baixuan.
Zuo Baixuan almost immediately turned her head and leaned on Luan Yenan's shoulder.
"The little girl's mother came from a wealthy family and was raised in luxury, never experiencing any hardship. When the little girl's father married her, he promised to treat her well for the rest of his life. But the betrayal came quickly. It was like the load-bearing wall of a building being blown up, causing the entire building to collapse in an instant. Only the little girl's mother sat in the ruins, her body covered in bruises from being hit by rubble, still unwilling to accept the reality."
Luan Yenan remained silent.
The warmth emanating from the bathrobe on her shoulder made her even more speechless. She simply lowered her head and kissed the top of Zuo Baixuan's head.
Zuo Baixuan knew that Luan Yenan had seen through her emotions, so she simply didn't hide them. She rubbed against Luan Yenan's shoulder to wipe away her excess emotions before looking up and taking another sip of wine.
Not satisfied, after Luan Yenan poured her another cup, she insisted on clinking glasses with him before she would stop.
Zuo Baixuan was already drunk.
Because the "sober Zuo Baixuan" cannot tell this story, the "drunk Zuo Baixuan" must completely take her place.
Luan Yenan clinked glasses with her and drank with her.
Zuo Baixuan smiled with satisfaction.
She continued to ramble on about the "little girl."
"The last straw that broke the camel's back was the death of the little girl's maternal grandmother. The family couldn't afford the medical expenses, and the little girl's father felt it was bad luck, so he refused to even see her one last time. After the mother took the little girl to see her grandmother off, she went to find the father, only to see him being intimate with someone else in the hotel lobby. When the girl's father saw them, he was furious and pushed the mother and daughter away, throwing them to the ground, and then left."
For a little girl who always felt loved by her parents, such a reversal of fortune is devastating.
Zuo Baixuan stopped speaking there, and then tilted her head back to look at the light and shadow on the ceiling.
I don't know if it's the lighting that's blurry or my vision that's blurry this time.
Luan Yenan picked up his phone and started playing a piano piece.
Zuo Baixuan blinked, tears streaming down her face, and turned to look at Luan Yenan.
Luan Yenan extended his hand to Zuo Baixuan: "Would you like to dance?"
Zuo Baixuan placed her palm on Luan Yenan's palm.
Because of the alcohol, Luan Yenan's body became warm, and his palms were burning hot. He transferred his strength and warmth to Zuo Baixuan.
Zuo Baixuan got up and leaned against Luan Yenan's chest.
Following the gentle music, without any particular pattern, just moving rhythmically, Zuo Baixuan's mood gradually calmed down.
He spoke again.
"After the little girl's mother returned home, she was depressed for a long time. During this period, the little girl's father's behavior worsened until he finally had a mental breakdown and chose to end his own life. The little girl's father was very capable; he had connections and resources, and successfully got rid of the little girl, who was a burden, and lived a happy life."
Luan Yenan frowned.
Zuo Baixuan's stories, whether at the beginning or the end, use fairytale-like language, but their core is completely different.
The sudden changes in the family, which happened in just a few months, became thorns sticking out at the little girl.
It made her disbelieve in love, promises, intimate relationships, and even more so, fairy tales.
The environment forced this little girl, who had spent her childhood in fairy tales, to face the harsh reality, and she had no choice but to become independent and self-reliant.
That's why Zuo Baixuan has a personality that keeps a certain amount of her attention to her close friends, but a full amount of it to strangers.
Even if Zuo Baixuan takes the step of "storytelling" now, it will be difficult for her to fully accept "her intimate relationship with Luan Yenan".