CH 10

When Song Ning dropped by the next day, there were several delivery trucks parked outside the villa. They were the treadmill and dynamic bike that Liang Rong bought that had arrived.

Liang Rong stood by the door wearing light gray silk pajamas as he watched the delivery workers go in and out of the house. His face was a little dissatisfied.

Song Ning went over with a smile and teased him, “From today onwards, you have to persist on with exercising.”

Liang Rong threw him a glance before calmly entering the house. As he walked, he said, “There was no need for this. I have the VIP card for the company’s gym.”

Song Ning froze in place, realizing that it was Old Liang today.

13.

Song Ning took the opportunity to report to him about the diagnosis result he had during this period of time.

Liang Rong made two cups of coffee for them then quietly leaned back on the couch as he listened. When it was done, he asked, “How confident are you with this treatment?”

“80%.”

Liang Rong nodded and said, “Then, I’ll have to trouble Dr. Song for your efforts in the future.”

Song Ning let out a shy smile.

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To be honest, after spending a long time with Xiao Liang1 these days, Song Ning wasn’t really used to facing this polite, courteous film emperor all of a sudden.

Most of the time, the two personalities of a dissociative disorder patient were contrastingly different, as if they were two separate individuals. Song Ning thought to himself, that Liang Rong was a typical example of this case.

14.

Only a short moment had passed but Liang Rong appeared to have spent a lot of his energy, sporting an extremely exhausted look after hearing Song Ning’s report. He closed his eyes for a moment of rest.

Song Ning did not disturb him any further, taking small sips of his coffee that Liang Rong had brewed.

The coffee brewed by Liang Rong was rich in aroma and the taste was purer than the ones bought in stores. Song Ning, who had some prior knowledge in coffee, had some lingering thoughts after he finished drinking it. He couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “This coffee brewing skill is quite outstanding.”

At this time, Liang Rong who was resting, curved up the corners of his mouth and said, “I’m outstanding in all aspects.”

Song Ning: “……”

The old one and the young one was essentially still the same person.

15.

It was as Liang Rong had said when they first met. The time that he could control his body was really limited. Song Ning went over continuously for the next three months and the number of times he met the real Liang Rong was not more than ten times. Plus, he could never maintain his consciousness for long.

Sometimes, while they were conversing, the younger Liang Rong would show up. He would ask in stammers, “When did you come?”

It would shock Song Ning a lot.

He took the opportunities to give him some subtle nudging and hinting, asking back rhetorically, “I was here just now, did you not notice?”

Liang Rong gave it some thought and tried to recall it before saying with certainty, “I was on the phone with my mom earlier on so I didn’t notice you.”

Song Ning couldn’t answer back.

This personality of Liang Rong was very firm.

16.

But the good thing was that Liang Rong was very dependent on Song Ning. Furthermore, he did not reject any of Song Ning’s psychological guidance whether it was intentional or not. Liang Rong told him everything that was in his heart.

Song Ning treated him like a normal patient at first. But over time, he would unconsciously talk about his own affairs to him, much like a friend.

Right after graduating, Song Ning arrived in this unfamiliar city with no close friends around him at all. Having someone around him who he could share his feelings with was nice, even if they weren’t all that mature.

17.

When New Year was approaching, Liang Rong let the auntie who cooked him meals go home earlier to reunite with her family. His own meals were now untaken care of.

Coincidentally, Song Ning’s parents went overseas to visit his aunt during the New Year. Song Ning didn’t go with them so he took the initiative to suggest spending New Year’s Eve with Liang Rong.

Liang Rong was quite happy about that. He asked him, “Do you know how to cook New Year’s Eve dishes?”

Song Ning froze before replying with an unsure tone, “I should know how to.”

On New Year’s Eve, Song Ning bought a bag of flour to Liang Rong’s house, then closed the kitchen’s door and dawdled around inside for most of the day.

Liang Rong waited in the living room until it turned dark, yet Song Ning did not come out of there. So, he walked over to the kitchen and poked his head in to check.

He saw a full table of round dough.

Liang Rong asked out of curiosity, “What are you making? Buns?”

Song Ning: “…These are dumpling skins.”

18.

Song Ning could tell that Liang Rong ate 20 dumplings with leeks only out of consideration of his feelings.

That made Song Ning feel a little apologetic. He immediately went downstairs to the 24-hour pharmacy to buy a box of digestion medicine.

After the meal, Song Ning stayed in Liang Rong’s house and watched the Spring Festival Gala show together.

It was said that the Spring Festival Gala was a show for the northerners. It turned out to be true as Song Ning drifted off to sleep after watching half of it.

When he woke up, Song Ning found himself resting his head on Liang Rong’s shoulder while Liang Rong was sitting upright, his eyes glued to the TV screen without moving.

Song Ning felt his face slightly heat up. He sat up immediately and tried to ease the awkwardness, “Is the show any good?”

Liang Rong replied quickly as well, “Pretty good.”

No one knew if it was due to the lights or not, but Song Ning noticed Liang Rong’s face was also a little red.

Footnotes

小 = Means small or just an endearing way of calling someone you’re close to but typically younger than you.