Lan Di's mouth tasted like honey, and Shi Nan loved that flavor.
She felt like she was melting, unsure of what to do with her hands, so she could only lean on the steps to support herself. Her head, tilted back, was comfortably supported by his hand, and all her senses were focused on her tongue and lips.
She was surprised that she had never felt this way when kissing Wang Fan before. Was this what kissing was all about? Her whole body felt weak and powerless, and she only wanted to be teased by his tongue, in a never-ending battle.
After an unknown amount of time, Lan Di finally pulled away from her lips, his hand still holding the back of her neck, looking intently at her, as if preparing to say something.
Shi Nan was starting to wake up. She asked herself, "How could I enjoy kissing him? How could I betray Wang Fan and kiss him? How could I not refuse and instead cooperate with his kissing!" This can't be, it can't be like this. This heartthrob really does have a knack for kissing. Even I've fallen for him.
He had to speak first, so Shi Nan mustered all his strength and gave a flippant smile, "Not bad, how many kisses have you practiced to get this up?"
Lan Di's face, still flushed with emotion, turned pale upon hearing Shi Nan's words.
After thinking for a long time, he seemed to have decided not to fight her. Suppressing his anger, his face flushed slightly, and he said in a soft, hoarse voice, "The first time."
Shi Nan was surprised, and also felt a strange sense of joy that she couldn't quite understand. She wanted to feign sarcasm, but she couldn't pretend anymore, so she lowered her head and started biting her lip again.
After a long while, Lan Di's face returned to calm, and he asked her, "Are you happy being with Wang Fan?"
"Yeah. I'm happy." Shi Nan blurted out reflexively, without even thinking.
Was it really that great? You only realized it after you got together. The old saying is true: distance really does make the heart grow fonder.
"Hmm. That's good." Good what? Do you really want me and him to be together?
But what came out was, "I should go back. What about you?"
"You go back first. It's been so long, Wang Fan should be coming out to look for you by now. I'm not going back, I'm going straight home."
"How can you leave them there alone?"
"who?"
"Zhao Beibei!" We were just sitting together chatting and laughing, and now you've just abandoned her like this. You have no manners at all.
Lan Di suddenly laughed, a laugh that seemed quite pleased him. "She's nobody to me... What are you thinking!"
Shi Nan blushed again and turned to leave.
The moment the security door opened, I heard Lan Di behind me say as she came downstairs, "Her mom and my mom are good friends. We've known each other since we were kids, nothing more."
disturbed
Shi Nan indeed ran into Wang Fan at the WC entrance. "Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for ages. I was just about to ask Tang Bei to come in and find you."
"Oh, I feel a little dizzy. I'll go upstairs to wake up."
"Are you feeling better? If not, stay outside a little longer. Your face is still red."
Shi Nan then remembered why her face was red, and upon thinking about it, it turned even redder.
Shi Nan had no desire to go back and listen to everyone's shouting; her mind was in turmoil. She told Wang Fan she wanted to go home. Wang Fan, thinking she wasn't feeling well, agreed and offered to take her. Shi Nan insisted he stay and continue with his classmates, saying it wasn't far and a taxi would be quick. He didn't insist, but asked her to call him when she got home. Since being with Shi Nan, Wang Fan, who had always been a loner, had started hanging out more often with a few people she knew. Shi Nan was very pleased with this; before, he hadn't even had a single friend.
As soon as she stepped outside, several taxis that had just arrived were immediately hailed; she couldn't compete with them at all, and there were none left for her.
Her gaze followed the taxi into the distance, and she saw Lan Di's back on the sidewalk across the street. Tall and thin, head down, walking with unsteady steps. Shi Nan stood watching.
A short while later, Landi suddenly realized that someone was watching him from behind, and he actually turned around from a distance to look at the doorway.
Under the flashing neon lights, he saw her standing there. He immediately turned around and ran towards her.
At that moment, Shi Nan was overjoyed, although his face still showed that wary little beast expression.
When he got to her, he said, "You're out too." There was a hint of joy in his voice.
"Hmm. I'm dizzy, I want to go home." Shi Nan regretted saying that as soon as she finished speaking: he wasn't Wang Fan. Wang Fan didn't know what she had just done, but he knew, he knew why she was dizzy; he was the one who caused her "dizziness."
Fortunately, he didn't seem to have thought much about her words, and instead asked, "Won't Wang Fan see you off?!"
“I didn’t ask him to deliver it.”
"Then I'll take you."
"No, I don't want it anymore. I'm not a child anymore."
Lan Di ignored her words and waited with her.
Finally, a car arrived, and he had just picked her up when the driver got out and said, "I don't pick up passengers, I'm here to pick someone up."
"Want to walk?" Landi asked her.
"Um?"
"Let's walk back. A breeze can help sober you up, and it's not cold now, so you won't catch a cold." Lan Di and Shi Nan's houses are not far apart.
"How did you know I drank?" Shi Nan was sure he hadn't seen it, because she clearly remembered that when she raised her glass, she saw Lan Di's back and Zhao Beibei's bright face right in front of her.
A hint of shyness flashed in Landi's eyes. She turned her head to stare at the ground, paused, and finally said, "I tasted it."
Shi Nan cursed himself, "How could I be so stupid!"
The dumbest way to salvage the situation is to quickly change the subject, asking, "When are you going to Japan?"
"Around the end of September, I'll need to study the language for a year before I go."
"Your dad will be taking care of you over there, so it should be fine and not too hard."
"Yes, my mom is going too."
"oh?"
"Yeah, she should have been with my dad a long time ago, but she wasn't because of me. I didn't want to go to Japan at all, but they wanted me to go there for university after graduating from high school so that she could be reunited with my dad."
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to stay in China to study. Most of the students in universities are from other provinces. You’re old enough to live on your own.” As Shi Nan spoke, she suddenly realized that she actually really wanted him to stay.
"I was originally thinking..." The voice suddenly stopped, and she didn't continue.
“??” Shi Nan looked at him.
"Let's not talk about this anymore."
"Forget it." I'm not listening anyway!
After a brief disagreement, an awkward silence ensued, and the two walked away in silence.
Unable to bear it any longer, Shi Nan decided to break the ice. "You seem to have gotten a bit darker."
"Yeah, it's from the sun. I've been learning to drive all holiday."
"No wonder. Are you taking the certification exam now? Isn't that too early? I think I'll wait until I'm almost graduating from university to take it."
“You don’t need to learn. Wang Fan already knows how.” The last part of his sentence was spoken softly, his voice carrying a hint of sullenness that she didn’t even notice.
"Huh?" Shi Nan didn't hear clearly, only vaguely hearing Wang Fan's name.
“I told you you don’t need to learn to drive, you just need to learn how to ride in a car. The man will drive for you.”
"No, that's not the second half of what you just said. You mentioned Wang Fan, I heard you. Wang Fan what?"
"...Wang Fan... should be able to give you a good life." With a light voice and a bittersweet tone, Lan Di took a long time to say it.
These words amused Shi Nan. "Lan Di, you're so young, why do you think like an old person? Two people being together isn't about who can provide the other with a better life!" Shi Nan waited for Lan Di's next sentence, but he didn't respond, as if he was thinking about what she said.
After laughing, she suddenly imagined the man driving the car as Lan Di.
What's going on? She shook her head.
Why are you shaking your head? Does your head still hurt? Should I flag down a car now?
"It's okay, I'm not in pain." Shi Nan thought for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Lan Di, does that mean you won't be coming back?"
Upon hearing this, Lan Di suddenly stopped, looked into Shi Nan's eyes, and asked, "Do you want me to come back?" His words were so clear that Shi Nan couldn't pretend she had misheard.
His standing body cast a long shadow at Shi Nan's feet, and her shadow and his head were pressed together on the ground. She subconsciously separated them and looked up.
Under the moonlight, the boy was half-lit and half-shadowed. The lit half revealed a pale face, melancholic yet captivating, eyes reflecting the stars, and pale blue shoulders illuminated by the streetlamp; the shadowed half, Shi Nan couldn't see at all. Which half was the real Lan Di? The lit half was laid bare before her, yet she felt the hidden half was him, leaving Shi Nan lost in that darkness.
Hope? What could she say? She was still reeling from the kiss and hadn't had time to process what had happened, which was why she was in such a hurry to leave. He shouldn't have asked her that now.
"Of course I hope so! There will be gatherings like this every year, right? You can't miss them." As I've already said, feigning ignorance is Shi Nan's specialty.
His face paled, his eyes dimmed, and the glint of light on his shoulder vanished with his movement. He walked on silently, as if no one was around.
Shi Nan suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart. It was the first time he'd ever felt such a sharp pain. Was this the result of deceiving himself? "Okay, actually I want to stay in touch with you, alright?"
Lan Di turned to look at her, a smug look on his face, but he said seriously, "Then I'll write to you from now on."
Several hours passed, and Shi Nan tossed and turned, still unable to fall asleep.
Shi Nan remembered that she went straight to the window after entering the house and saw Lan Di still downstairs. He waited until the hallway lights went out before leaving. As her slender shadow gradually disappeared into the distance, she was still unwilling to look away.
Her mind was in turmoil because of that kiss that gave her a feeling she had never experienced before. The world was spinning; that's how books describe it, isn't it? So apt.
But I've kissed Wang Fan so many times, how come I've never felt this dizzy? Is his technique bad?
But if it's a technical issue, wasn't that Landy's first kiss?
That was his first kiss! He gave it to himself...
He kissed her so earnestly, so meticulously, so passionately.
How could she not be flustered?
Shi Nan, how could you do this? The person you've liked for so many years is now your boyfriend. How can you let someone else make you panic? You don't like him.
And what about him? Does he like me? Shi Nan couldn't help but ask herself, suddenly realizing she really wanted to know the answer.
After kissing him, he seemed to want to say something, but I spoke first. Could that be a confession?
I couldn't sleep all night.
The next morning, Shi Nan received a call from Wang Fan. "Shi Nan, why didn't you call me when you got home last night? I was so worried. I wanted to call you but I was afraid of waking your parents, and I was afraid something might happen to you if I didn't call." At that time, Shi Nan didn't have a cell phone. In fact, very few people had cell phones that year.
Shi Nan slapped his head. "Wang Fan, I'm sorry, I forgot." Of course he forgot; his mind was completely blank last night.
"I'm glad you're alright. Don't do that again."