Yu Liang was the most reliable brother and he had sworn to do everything in his control to bring these two lovebirds together again. As he drove to Shanghai, his mind was filled with a lot of thoughts. He was physically tired from the flight, but mentally he was calm.
On the other hand, Ruan Nanzhu looked like he was troubled, but this time, Yu Liang didn't bother at all. After all, he had done his part. Now it was upto these two to sort things out their way.
It seemed like forever, but just when Ruan Nanzhu was about to ask his brother how long it would take, the car came to a stop. They both got out and walked in the direction of a very tall building. The two security guards seemed to recognize Ruan Nanzhu and hurried towards them.
"Son, you've finally returned. Where have you been? How are you feeling now?" Said guard A.
"Are you here to see your husband? Poor boy, I always felt bad for him. It's good you're back now. Nobody understands him like you, if he is angry, just coax him back with love. Go, go, we won't stop you." Said guard B and made way for the two after giving a nod to Yu Liang.
Yu Liang saw the confused didi and patted his shoulder, "They probably have worked here for a longer time, maybe they know you both. You know even before your accident. It's fine. Take you time. You will remember everything. Just be patient and...." Yu Liang stopped as she stared straight behind Nanzhu.
Following his brother's gaze, Nanzhu turned around to see Lin Qiushi walking towards them with his head low, just that he hadn't seen them yet. He also bumped into Nanzhu who stood like a wall.
He immediately apologized, "Sorry, I-" and he stopped when he met those eyes.
Yu Liang knew when to disappear. "Take care of him, I will take my leave."
He even left without giving either of them a chance to say anything. Qiushi knew he couldn't escape now, so he signed for Nanzhu to get into the lift and pressed on Penthouse, which was on floor 30. The floor below the penthouse was actually the garage for the cars owned by Qiushi and Nanzhu. The building had a separate lift for the cars as well.
"Ding" the sound came and the lift opened to the penthouse. Actually there was a separate private elevator apart from the vehicle lift, which went directly from floor 29 to floor 30. The rest elevator went only upto the 28th floor. There was no other way to go up other than the private elevator. And since it was private and belonged to these two, only these two could go up and down.
Qiushi went ahead and opened took off his shoes, changing them to house slippers. He did the same for Nanzhu. Nanzhu, on the other hand, started feeling very familiar with the place. He took his time to touch and feel the parts of the house, as if he was reminiscing the past. Qiushi immediately had tears in his eyes.
Nanzhu had one exceptional quality and that was he just knew if Qiushi was happy or sad evne without having to look at his face. And right now, he knew he was breaking inside. Nobody had said a word since entering the house.
"This feels so familiar, this feels home." Nanzhu said and Qiushi heard it. He immediately started to leave and started walking towards their bedroom.
But Nanzhu was very quick. He immediately stopped him by holding him by his wrist.
"Lin Lin," He called very softly, making the other turn towards him.
Qiushi's eyes were red with tears. There was an indescribable pain in those eyes. Nanzhu slowly took a step ahead and hugged him and laid his head on Qiushi's shoulders.
"I'm sorry. Please don't avoid me. I need your help. Please." Ruan Nanzhu's voice became more softer like a whisper but Qiushi heard every word.
"I- I-" Qiushi couldn't speak a word. Not wanting to hold on anymore, he put his arms around Nanzhu and closed the space between them, holding Nanzhu tightly as if he would disappear if he left.
They stayed in that position for both didn't know how long until, Qiushi's phone went off. He didn't want to answer it, but Nanzhu insisted and it was indeed his Qiushi's dad, Mr. Lin calling.
"Paa" Qiushi answered the call. There was complete silence before the elder said,
"I know I will sound selfish, but my child, everyone knows how much you love that boy. Not to mention, how crazy he was for you before- ah, what I mean is, take this as a second chance at love and at life, and start over, okay?" Mr. Lin's words struck some chord definitely, but then there was someone else, whom Qiushi was very close to, Ruan's mother.
"My baby, it's been hard on you, I understand. But somewhere it was also our fault, we should have brought him back and let you two decide for yourselves. I am very sorry about it. My baby, Ruan, he knows everything. Xiao Liang told him how you both were in love, how you got married, he even has his marriage certificate in his pocket and he never took off that ring, no matter what. Doesn't it mean that fate has been on your side and given you both a chance to mend things again? Will you think about it?" Ruan's mother asked him, but there was that subtle pleading for her both sons to get back together.
Qiushi looked at Ruan who was now seated on the couch.
"Yes, Maa. This time, I won't let him go. I promise. Let him stay with me with for a few days. Clothes? I have a closet full of his clothes, it's fine. I know he came back for work, but can we just...." Qiushi stopped while thinking it would be too much to ask, but he was once again proved wrong.
"Xiao Lin, this is Paa. You don't worry about anything. No matter how many days, it won't be enough to make up for the 10 years of lost time. Your Paa is still very young and strong. And Xiao Liang is back too. I can always ask him and Zeng Shunxi to manage and look over stuff. Chen Fei is also there. So don't worry okay." Qiushi agreed and then hung up.
Qiushi went to Ruan Nanzhu and extended his hand to him, which Nanzhu took gladly. They both went to thier bedroom, but Nanhzu stopped at the door, which made Qiushi stop as well.
"What? This belongs to you and me. This is our bedroom. You can enter here." He told him and then he walked to the closet and brought a pair of joggers and a loose black shirt for Nanzhu and gave it to him along with a new set of underwear and a towel.
"Go, wash up. I will cook your favourite noodles soup for you. Be good." Qiushi said and kissed on Ruan Nanzhu's forehead before disappearing in the kitchen.
Meanwhile Nanzhu, took in the look of the bedroom. While looking around, his eyes fell on the photo frame which was kept upside down on the bedside table. He picked it up and his eyes instantly filled with tears. It was a picture of him and Qiushi. And for some reason he even remembered when that was taken, as if the memory came to him naturally.
It was when they had gone on their very first trip after confessing to each other. It was cold winter and then they had managed to take that one picture before running back to their car. A snow storm was indicated that day. When they came back, they had noodles prepared by Qiushi which were his favourite with a braised egg on top. He smiled to himself and looked back towards the bedroom door in the direction of the kitchen.
"Lin Lin, I sure am here for helping my Dad in taking over the business, but before that I will first try to make up to you for the last 10 years. I want to remember everything, every single detail that took place. I will make sure that I remember everything and bring back that free, fun loving, sassy Qiushi back. I can see and feel that you are restraining yourself. Are you thinking that I might not like if you do anything? Then I will take the initative to prove that I may have forgotten stuff, but there's this feeling that tells me, I probably loved you more crazily than you did and which is also what is hurting you the most right now. I will make up to you everything. I promise."
Ruan Nanzhu lowered his head and once again looked at the picture before heading to the bathroom. 15 minutes later, he was out with just the joggers on, he threw the shirt on the bed and wrapped the towel around his head and went out. He saw Qiushi cooking and this scene seemed very familiar to him.
Not sure what came on him, he started walking towards Qiushi and slowly wrapped his hands around Qiushi's waist and leaning his chin on his shoulders, back hugging him. Qiushi remembered this familiar moment which took place every time he turned around to cook. Because his Nanzhu was not only childish, but also very clingy. He leaned his head and kissed Nanzhu's forehead and that's when he realised something.
He turned around and rolled his eyes. Sure enough, he was still childish as before. He held the child's hand and pulled him out of the kitchen after turning off the gas. He made him sit down on the chair and then went to their bedroom and came back with a dryer.
"You, dry your hairs first, then come to me." He said handing the dryer to Nanzhu.
"Do it for me, please. Lin Lin, I like it when you dry my hairs. I will hug you meanwhile." Nanzhu said without realizing that it was the same sentence he said everytime he washed hairs.
But Qiushi who heard this, only smiled. I know, once you're in a familiar environment, a familiar place, with someone you've known, it helps you get back memories, or your behaviours are the same, unknowingly you will do things or say things as you used to. And I am glad, you are already getting back. At least you've never stopped being childish, which I loved a lot.