Chapter 27: Kissing

Chapter 27: The Kiss

The trip back to the old mansion was set for Friday.

Lu Hechi was a bit nervous, kept pulling at Shen Lanxue, firing off question after question.

He learned that even before losing his memory, he rarely went back, and even Shen Yixing seldom visited his grandparents.

Once he understood the situation, he just waited for the day to arrive.

Friday afternoon, Shen Lanxue and Lu Hechi drove back to the old mansion.

It wasn't until Lu Hechi got there that it hit him—rich folks all live in the same kind of place.

This was the same place he'd picked up Little Star last time.

The car pulled into the garage, and after a servant showed them in, only Wen Lan was home—Lu Hechi's biological mother.

She took a sip of tea and had just set it down when she saw someone coming. Her eyes flicked to Shen Lanxue next to Lu Hechi, and a flash of surprise crossed her face.

"Lan Xue, you came too?"

Shen Lanxue gave a small nod, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. "Mom."

Wen Lan acknowledged him with a hum, then turned to Lu Hechi.

Lu Hechi's lips moved, then moved again. The word "Mom" did a hundred-and-eighty-degree spin in his throat.

In the end, all that came out was a faint, hushed sound.

"...Mom."

Wen Lan nodded. She wore a plain, elegant qipao, her long black hair swept up with a hairpin, her face refined, and every move she made carried an air of quiet luxury.

"Please, sit."

Wen Lan instructed a servant to serve tea, then looked at Lu Hechi. "How's that injury healing up?"

The sofa was an off-white, curved half-circle style. Shen Lanxue and Lu Hechi sat across from her.

From the second he walked in, Lu Hechi felt completely out of place. He sat with his back ramrod straight and only managed, "A lot better."

The room fell silent.

Then footsteps suddenly sounded. A few seconds later, Lu Xiuran padded down the stairs in loungewear.

He cuddled up to Wen Lan like a little kid, whining, "Mom, why didn't you call me down when big bro got here?"

Wen Lan made as if to swat him, but her eyes were full of doting amusement. "You little—go say hi to your brother and Lan Xue."

Lu Xiuran straightened up a little, one eyebrow raised. "Bro, sis-in-law, why didn't you bring Little Star?"

Shen Lanxue said, "Little Star's at Grandma's for the weekend."

"Oh." Lu Xiuran rested his head on Wen Lan's shoulder and asked, "Bro, how's your head? Still drawing a blank on everything?"

"Watch your mouth." Wen Lan gave him a light scolding, then turned to Lu Hechi. "Xiaochi, what did the doctor say? Did he give any timeline for when your memory might come back?"

Lu Hechi replied, "The doctor said it's up in the air—could be a week, a month, or even a year."

Lu Hechi didn't catch it, but Shen Lanxue's eyelid twitched at the words "memory come back." He dropped his gaze and stayed silent.

Wen Lan sighed. "Your dad has a friend who's a brain specialist. I'll send you his info later—go get a second opinion. You can't just stay like this, not remembering anything."

Lu Hechi was taken by surprise when Shen Lanxue suddenly grabbed his hand.

He figured his brother was just reassuring him not to be nervous, so he smiled, said "Sure" to Wen Lan, and secretly traced a tickle across Shen Lanxue's palm.

Shen Lanxue suddenly couldn't make out what anyone was saying.

His mind went fuzzy, replaying the memories from these past weeks on a loop.

This Lu Hechi with no memory was too perfect—so perfect that Shen Lanxue had let himself forget there were other possibilities.

What if—what if Lu Hechi got his memory back and turned cold on him again, just like before?

Shen Lanxue pictured it.

And all at once, he couldn't keep lying to himself.

Could he honestly handle that?

Getting used to someone being good to you, then having to swallow their coldness again.

Their hands were clasped tight.

But time was slipping by faster.

Little by little, the grip went slack.

Wen Lan kept chatting, and with Lu Xiuran cracking jokes here and there, the tension in the room eased up noticeably.

Lu Hechi was about to say his goodbyes, still holding Shen Lanxue's hand, when Wen Lan cut in, "Stay for dinner—your dad will be home any minute."

Lu Hechi hesitated for a second, then didn't turn it down.

"Bro, wanna go check out your room?" Lu Xiuran said. "Maybe being around familiar stuff will jog your memory."

Lu Hechi mulled it over and said, "Yeah, sure."

He was honestly curious what his room here even looked like.

"Brother?" Lu Hechi called Shen Lanxue's name twice, but got no answer. Seeing the look on his face, he immediately tensed up. "You feeling okay?"

He pressed the back of his hand against Shen Lanxue's forehead.

It was cool.

Probably not a fever.

Shen Lanxue snapped out of it and shook his head. "I'm fine."

He let go of Lu Hechi's hand and asked, "What is it?"

Lu Hechi felt something was off, his hand now empty. He reached out to hold it again, but Shen Lanxue subtly dodged away.

Shen Lanxue stood up, smiling. "Come on, weren't we going to see your room?"

Something was definitely wrong.

Lu Hechi couldn't wrap his head around it, figuring his brother probably felt just as trapped here as he did.

Lu Xiuran led the two of them upstairs to a south-facing bedroom on the second floor. He pushed open the door to reveal Lu Hechi's room.

The space was large, styled like a boutique hotel room—clean and tidy, but with no traces of anyone living there.

Lu Hechi looked at these unfamiliar surroundings, but nothing jogged any memories.

"Did I used to live here?"

He asked Lu Xiuran.

Lu Xiuran went "Oh," arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe as he replied.

"Yeah, but you only stayed here for two months. You studied abroad in London for college and only moved back four years ago."

Four years back?

So that means he married Shen Lanxue the moment he got back?

"Nothing rings a bell?" Lu Xiuran asked.

"No."

Lu Xiuran shrugged. "Can't help you there."

"When you first got back, you were supposed to stay at the house, but Dad wanted you to marry into the Shen family. You got into a huge fight with the family and moved out."

He suddenly smiled at that.

His gaze flicked back and forth between Lu Hechi and Shen Lanxue.

"But somehow, before long, you came running back by yourself, saying you wanted to marry him."

Shen Lanxue said flatly, "That's none of your business."

Lu Xiuran pressed his lips together. "Fine, you two can have some time alone. When Dad gets back, the staff will come get you."

With that, he closed the door and left.

Now just the two of them were left in the room, and it got quiet for a moment.

"Brother, are you in a bad mood today?"

Lu Hechi cupped his face in both hands, looking down at him as he asked.

Shen Lanxue said flatly, "No."

Lu Hechi pulled him into a hug and kissed his forehead.

"If you're in a bad mood, you can tell me. I might not be able to help with work stuff, but I can help carry the emotional weight and find ways to cheer you up."

Shen Lanxue's heart was tearing apart. On one hand, he knew everything Lu Hechi felt for him right now was real.

But on the other hand, he was equally aware.

This relationship had no foundation, yet it was suspended high in the air.

All it would take was one strong gust of wind to bring it crashing down.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, the churning emotions inside had settled back into calm.

He tried to pull away from Lu Hechi's arms, but Lu Hechi was holding on too tight.

Shen Lanxue looked up.

At the same time, Lu Hechi looked down to meet his eyes.

Their eyes met.

Lu Hechi took a deep breath, then suddenly cupped Shen Lanxue's chin and kissed him—