novelraw Chapter 186 Must Eat
Chapter 186 Must Eat
After examining the patient, the doctor said it was a minor ankle sprain, but he would need to rest for at least a week.
Lu Xiran sat on the sofa, looking at her bandaged ankle, feeling an indescribable frustration. Her plan to fly to Switzerland tomorrow was ruined again. How many times had this happened? She couldn't remember. She had initially thought of booking a ticket in advance, but then she opened her phone and closed it again—it had been rescheduled so many times already. Oh well, she'd just book it when she was actually going.
Anyway, she's really leaving this time, so a few more days won't make a difference.
Gu Yanshen did not leave.
He stood by the doctor from the moment the doctor entered, asking the same question twice, as if he couldn't believe it was just a sprained ankle. After the doctor left, he clumsily fetched water, medicine, and applied ice.
Lu Xiran ignored him, so he busied himself with tasks, like a child who had done something wrong, not daring to speak, just silently doing his work.
Because Gu Yanshen was almost always by Lu Xiran's side, all the work fell on Lin Chen's shoulders.
When Lin Chen got home, it was almost eight o'clock. The moment he pushed open the door, he saw Gu Yanshen standing in front of the stove, holding chopsticks in his hand, with steam rising from the pot in front of him; he was cooking noodles.
The movements were very clumsy.
He added too much water, and the noodles overflowed. He tried to scoop them out with his chopsticks, burned his hand, pulled them back, and then stuck them back in. Lin Chen leaned against the doorframe, watching the man who was decisive and ruthless in the business world now frantically trying to manage a pot of noodles.
"Gu Yanshen, do you know today is my birthday?" Lin Chen complained, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "You've given me so much extra work."
Gu Yanshen didn't even look up. "Ranran sprained her ankle."
"I know," Lin Chen said, changing his shoes and walking in. "When I came back this afternoon, didn't the doctor say I just needed to rest? He didn't say I needed you to stay with me, did he?"
Gu Yanshen did not answer.
He scooped the noodles out, found they were overcooked, frowned, poured them out, and boiled water again.
Lin Chen looked at him, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Besides, it seems you can't even get into your own room, right?" His tone carried a hint of schadenfreude. "What are you doing here?"
Gu Yanshen put the second batch of noodles in, and water splashed out, scalding the back of his hand. He ignored it.
"Wait for her to call me," he said.
Lin Chen looked at him. The man who never bowed his head, who never waited, said, "Wait for her to call me." He suddenly couldn't laugh anymore.
Gu Yanshen ladled out a bowl of noodles, brought it over, and placed it in front of Lin Chen. "Happy birthday."
Lin Chen looked down at the bowl of noodles. The noodles were uneven in thickness, with a few stuck together. The broth was a bit cloudy, and a poorly fried egg lay on top. But it was hot, steaming, and smelled of scallions and soy sauce.
"This is the first time I've made longevity noodles," Gu Yanshen said, standing in front of him with his apron still on. "Try it, how does it taste?"
Lin Chen glanced at him. "At least you still have some conscience."
He picked up his chopsticks and scooped up a mouthful of noodles. The taste was a bit salty, and the noodles were a little soft, but he didn't say anything and ate them in big mouthfuls.
Gu Yanshen watched him eat, then suddenly said, "Tell her this is your birthday noodles, you can't not eat it."
Lin Chen's chopsticks froze in mid-air. He looked up at Gu Yanshen's expressionless face and suddenly felt that his three seconds of emotion had been wasted.
"I wasn't even moved for three seconds," he sighed. "You've gone too far!"
Gu Yanshen ignored him. He filled another bowl, placed it on the tray, and then looked at Lin Chen. "Go knock on the door."
Lin Chen shook his head helplessly. He, the birthday boy, was just a tool.
He stood up, walked to Lu Xiran's door, and knocked. "Ranran, have some noodles with your uncle."
The door opened a crack. Lu Xiran poked her body out, about to say something—but Gu Yanshen had somehow moved in front of Lin Chen and swept Lu Xiran up in his arms. She gasped, instinctively grabbing his collar, then realizing what she had done, she let go and turned her head away.
"Gu Yanshen! Put me down!"
He didn't put her down. He gently placed her on the chair in front of the counter, very quietly. Then he pushed the bowl of noodles in front of her.
"You can't miss your uncle's longevity noodles."
Lu Xiran glanced at him. It was a brief glance, almost an unintentional sweep, but she noticed his hand—a red burn mark on his fingers, running from the base of his thumb to his index finger. She didn't ask. She lowered her head, looking at the bowl of noodles.
"Happy birthday, Uncle." Her voice was very soft.
"Thank you, Ranran." Lin Chen sat down opposite her and continued eating his noodles.
Gu Yanshen also filled a bowl for himself and sat down next to Lin Chen.
He watched as Lu Xiran picked up her chopsticks, chose a noodle, and put it in her mouth. She chewed it twice and swallowed. She neither said it was delicious nor bad; she simply lowered her head and ate it bite by bite.
He looked at her.
Looking at her downcast eyes, her slightly trembling eyelashes, and her fingers gripping the chopsticks tightly, he wanted to ask if she was in pain, if she wanted an egg, if she could look at him. But he said nothing. He lowered his head and ate the noodles he had cooked—which were rather unpalatable, completely incomparable to hers.
Lin Chen finished his noodles and stood up. "I'm going to take a shower first." He glanced at Gu Yanshen, "Please clear the table when you're done eating."
Gu Yanshen nodded.
Only the two of them remained in the living room. Lu Xiran kept her head down and continued eating her noodles. She wanted to say, "Don't look at me," she wanted to say, "Go away," she wanted to say anything, but she just didn't want to talk to him. She didn't know why, even though she had so much to say, she couldn't utter a single word.
"Ranran," he called to her.
She did not respond.
"Does your foot still hurt?"
She still didn't respond. She finished her noodles, put down her chopsticks, and tried to stand up, supporting herself on the edge of the table. He immediately reached out to help her. She dodged away.
"I can do it myself." Her voice was cold.
She hopped twice on one foot, grabbed the wall for support, and slowly moved towards the room. He followed behind her, a step away, neither daring to approach nor leave. She entered the room, turned around, and closed the door.
The moment the door closed, she heard him say, "Goodnight."
She didn't answer. She leaned against the door, listening to the footsteps outside. He didn't leave. He stood there for a long time. She didn't know what he was thinking. She just leaned against the door, listening to her own heartbeat, heavy and astringent.
She looked down at her ankle, which was wrapped in bandages. He had bandaged it, and it looked ugly and loose, but it was very warm.
She knelt down and began to unwrap the bandage. She stopped halfway through. Underneath the bandage was a small ice pack. When did he put it on? She didn't know. She only remembered the doctor saying "ice within 24 hours," but she hadn't taken it seriously. But he remembered.
She stared at the ice pack for a long time. Then she rewrapped the bandage, doing it better than his.
She stood up, hopped back to the bed on one foot, lay down, and pulled the covers over herself. Her phone lit up. It was a message from Lin Chen.
He cooked three pots of noodles. The first pot was burnt, the second was too salty, so he only served you the third.
She looked at the words but didn't reply.
Another message popped up: "My hands are burning too. I dare not say anything."
She placed her phone face down on the bedside table and turned over. The night outside was dark, and her eyes burned. She didn't cry. She just stared at a point in the darkness for a long, long time.
Outside the door, Gu Yanshen leaned against the wall, still clutching the apron in his hand. He looked down at the burn mark on his fingers, recalling her downcast eyes as she ate the noodles. She ate the whole bowl. She didn't say it was good, she didn't say it was bad, but she ate the whole bowl.
He folded the apron and placed it on the sofa. Then he went to the door and knocked gently.
no respond.
"Good night," he said.