Striving for Science C64

After finishing the snacks Dao Nian had given him, Shen Chang'an pushed Dao Nian into the room to rest. He glanced out the window and said, "I thought only Wuming City's weather was strange, but I didn't expect the weather in the capital to be so unpredictable."

Dao Nian only responded with silence.

"I think the environmental experts are right. We really should protect the environment. I'm afraid if the weather keeps getting weirder, winter will be like summer, and summer will be like winter." Shen Chang'an pushed open the door to Dao Nian's room. "Get some rest."

"I'll make a reservation for tomorrow. " Dao Nian said, then realized his tone might have been a bit harsh. "Is that okay?"

"Okay." Shen Chang'an nodded. "With you around, I don't have to worry about where to eat or whether I can get a reservation."

"Get some sleep early." Shen Chang'an glanced at the time and yawned. "I'm going to take a shower and then sleep too."

Shen Chang'an closed the door for Dao Nian, then went back to his room, took a shower, and lay down on the bed. He had gotten up at midnight last night and had been up ever since, so he was already tired.

As he drifted off to sleep, a strange thought flashed through Shen Chang'an's mind.

How did Dao Nian get off the car and into the wheelchair last night?

Did Shen Tu help?

Why didn't he notice…

***

The next morning, when Shen Chang'an opened the door, he saw Liu Mao standing in front of him with a smile. He looked down at his pajamas. "Brother Liu?"

"Mr. Shen, these are the clothes you need to change into today." Liu Mao handed Shen Chang'an a bag of clothes, along with two boxes.

Shen Chang'an threw the clothes on the bed and opened the boxes. A watch and a brooch?

Just going to dinner with an old classmate, why dress up like I'm going on a blind date? Shen Chang'an held the boxes and knocked on Dao Nian's door. "Dao Nian, why did you prepare these for me?"

"Don't you like them?" Dao Nian, wearing a well-tailored suit, lowered his head to fasten his watch. "If you don't like them, I'll have Liu Mao get you a different style."

"I like them, I like them." Shen Chang'an sat down in front of Dao Nian. "I'm just curious, why are you suddenly making me wear a watch and a brooch?"

Suddenly, his eyes changed, and he looked at Dao Nian with suspicion. "You wouldn't be like other people, seeing me have dinner with a girl, and wanting me to do all sorts of things with her, even become a couple?"

Dao Nian: "..."

"Cai Ran and I are just pure friends, absolutely no other relationship. Even if you want to rush me into marriage, you can't rush me blindly." Shen Chang'an put the watch on his wrist. "But this watch is pretty nice, I'll wear it first."

"You're thinking too much." Dao Nian lowered his head and helped Shen Chang'an fasten the watch. "You said this classmate is very capable?"

"Yes." Shen Chang'an nodded.

"People's hearts are fickle. You haven't seen each other for a year. Do you want to go see your friend looking like a mess?" After adjusting the watch on Shen Chang'an's wrist, Dao Nian sat up straight. "You have a good face, better than anyone else."

Shen Chang'an immediately understood. Dao Nian was afraid that he would feel embarrassed when he saw his old classmate, so he had specially prepared all this. He wanted to say that Cai Ran, a woman who was devoted to her studies and research, wouldn't care about these things, but looking at the stylish watch on his wrist, he couldn't say anything.

Dao Nian was using his own way to protect his dignity as much as he could.

Actually, when he was sick, Dao Nian asked him to invite his colleagues to the villa. Shen Chang'an knew that Dao Nian was always worried that he would be looked down upon by his colleagues, worried that he would be looked down upon by his old classmates. He was a person who was too lazy to even peel his own melon seeds, but at night he would still worry about his snacking.

Ever since that night, when he cried in front of Dao Nian because of his parents, Dao Nian had started to clumsily learn to care for him from his parents' perspective, as if he were a child who needed his parents' care.

"Dao Nian." He suddenly felt sentimental, resting his head on Dao Nian's lap. "If you keep this up, I really want to mooch off you for the rest of my life."

Dao Nian looked at Shen Chang'an's crown, slowly reaching out to rub his hair: "Okay."

"Huh?" Shen Chang'an looked up. "Really support me for life?

Dao Nian didn't speak, but his eyes told Shen Chang'an that it seemed like the natural order of things.

"Carrying me, a twenty-something-year-old dead weight, you're not planning to get married?" Shen Chang'an nudged Dao Nian with his elbow. "You're like this, you're making my standards for future friends skyrocket."

Dao Nian withdrew his hand, calmly saying: "Without you, there wouldn't be anyone else by my side."

The morning light slowly climbed onto the windowsill, leaving a glow on the curtains.

Even though it was a very calm statement, Shen Chang'an felt like his heart was being tightly gripped by something, an indescribable discomfort.

He instinctively grabbed Dao Nian's wrist, smiling at him: "Then I'll just stay by your side and never leave. When we're young, we'll work hard together, and when we're old, we'll drink tea and travel together. We won't have to worry about the troubles of our children and grandchildren, how nice."

"Come on, for our interdependent future, let's go downstairs for breakfast now." Shen Chang'an pushed Dao Nian downstairs, his mind already pondering which countries they could visit when they were old, and how much money he needed to save from now on to ensure a comfortable life of eating, drinking, playing, and shopping in his later years.

After breakfast, Shen Chang'an changed into the clothes Dao Nian had prepared for him. He didn't know who tailored this entire outfit, but it was practically perfect. After putting it on, he looked like a noble young master, even he couldn't help but admire himself in the mirror for a few extra moments.

"Today is the peak of my good looks." Shen Chang'an ran his fingers through his hair, muttering to himself. "It really is true that people rely on clothes."

He strode downstairs, walked in a circle in front of Dao Nian with his hands behind his back: "How do I look?"

Dao Nian: "Good."

Although, he couldn't see any difference between today's Shen Chang'an and any other day. To him, all appearances were similar, what was special was the soul.

But if praising Shen Chang'an would make him happy, he could still manage to praise him with one or two words.

***

It was almost noon when Cai Ran got out of the car. She glanced at this high-end consumption venue that was famous nationwide, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked up the steps in her high heels.

"Welcome, ma'am, do you have a reservation?"

"I'm here by invitation." Cai Ran said, "Is there someone surnamed Shen with a reservation here?"

"So you're Mr. Shen's esteemed guest, please follow me this way." The waiter smiled and led Cai Ran to a private room. "Mr. Shen, your guest has arrived."

Cai Ran knocked three times on the door, pushed it open, and saw Shen Chang'an sitting in a chair drinking tea. Beside him sat an extremely handsome man, wearing the same style of suit as Shen Chang'an, even the brooches were somewhat similar.

Seeing her enter, the man slightly raised his head and glanced at her, quickly withdrawing his gaze. But Cai Ran felt that this one glance had already scrutinized her from head to toe.

"Ranran, it's been a year, you've become even more beautiful." Shen Chang'an stood up and gestured for Cai Ran to sit down. "Let me introduce you, this is my friend Dao Nian. Dao Nian, this is my college friend, Cai Ran."

"Nice to meet you." Cai Ran shook hands with Dao Nian, then turned to Shen Chang'an and said, "Don't think that just because you say a few nice words, you can get away with disappearing without a word."

In Cai Ran's eyes, the one who had truly become more handsome was Shen Chang'an. She didn't know where he had been for the past year, but he didn't have the skinny, suffering image she had imagined, instead, he had a healthy glow.

A year had passed, and with a stranger sitting at the table, Cai Ran felt that the closeness she once shared with Shen Chang'an was gone.

Exquisite dishes were served one after another, with elegant tableware and artistic plating. Cai Ran looked at Shen Chang'an, who was smiling at her with a flattering expression, and her heart gradually softened. "Since you can't tell me why you left, I won't ask anymore. In the future, if conditions allow, let us friends know in advance if anything happens. At least we'll know if you're alive or dead."

During the time Shen Chang'an was missing, there were many rumors in the school. Some said he went on a secret mission, others said he went back to his hometown to inherit his family's fortune, and still others said he was murdered by Cao Jin. If the school hadn't come out and said that Shen Chang'an was safe, they would have called the police.

"Sorry to worry you." During the months Shen Chang'an was away from school, he did indeed go on a secret mission, as rumors had it, but he couldn't say. "Now I work in Wuming City. If you ever feel stressed at work and want to come to Wuming City to relax, you can come find me."

He turned to look at Dao Nian: "Dao Nian's house is very spacious. Your whole family can come and stay, no problem."

"You live together?" Cai Ran glanced at Shen Chang'an, then at Dao Nian, her expression momentarily strange before returning to normal.

Shen Chang'an's tone was too casual, so casual that it seemed like his friend's house was his own. Cai Ran had been friends with Shen Chang'an for three or four years and knew him very well. He was someone who disliked taking advantage of his friends. Even when she bought him a bottle of water at the sports meet, he would find an opportunity to buy her a box of milk in return.

But in front of this friend, he never minded these things, not even for a moment thinking that inviting a friend to another friend's house to stay was inconvenient.

And this friend seemed to let Shen Chang'an take the lead, as if Shen Chang'an was another master of his house.

Cai Ran tightened her chopsticks, a wild guess forming in her mind.

"The heating is a bit strong." Dao Nian adjusted his bow tie and took off his suit jacket. "Chang'an, are you hot?"

"A little." Shen Chang'an also took off his suit jacket and hung both of their clothes on the coat rack.

Cai Ran saw that Shen Chang'an was wearing the same watch as his friend.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Shen Chang'an asked Dao Nian in a low voice, "Are you coming?"

Dao Nian shook his head.

"Then I'll go." Shen Chang'an quickly walked out of the private room.

After Shen Chang'an left, the atmosphere in the private room fell silent. Cai Ran put down her chopsticks and looked at the man across from her, who remained silent.

"You..." She only managed to utter a single word before the man lifted his head.

The other person was handsome, incredibly handsome, but she couldn't feel even a hint of admiration for him. Instead, she felt an inexplicable fear.

"Are you and Chang'an... the kind of relationship I imagine?" Cai Ran added, "Please don't think too much into it, I absolutely don't mean anything else."

"Chang'an and I..." Dao Nian wiped his mouth and spoke slowly, "We promised to live together until we're old."

Cai Ran remained silent for almost half a minute. "I understand. Please rest assured, I will keep this secret well."