CH 11

After having a taste of Song Ning’s cooking skills, Liang Rong would often make him stay over for dinner.

The auntie who cooked for him always served dishes that smell, look and taste great, so Song Ning readily agreed.

There was once during dinner, Liang Rong curiously asked him while picking out the carrots from the dish, “Why did you decide to become a doctor in the first place?

Song Ning said, “My family made me study medicine.”

“To save lives, treat the injured and contribute to society?”

“No, to cure myself.”

Liang Rong’s movement stopped in mid-air, “You’re sick?”

Song Ning calmly took the carrots Liang Rong picked out and placed them in his bowl, “No, I like men.”

20.

Song Ning had a crush on a boy in his class when he was in high school.

He was really good at sports and liked to play basketball. Song Ning would always go to the playground secretly to watch him.

Near graduation, Song Ning gathered up the courage and prepared a love letter. He wanted to pass it to him after their college entrance examinations, but it was found by his mother while cleaning up.

His parents thought it was a psychological problem, so they asked Song Ning to write down ‘psychology’ on his career form.

“I hadn’t thought about what I wanted to study in the first place, so I agreed.”

Liang Rong widened his eyes in surprised, “So is it cured now?”

Song Ning shook his head and patiently explained, “Liking the same sex is not a disease.”

Liang Rong did not say anything else, lowering his head and silently ate his rice. After a while, he raised his head to say, “I’m pretty good at sports too.”

21.

Over the weekend, Song Ning took a rare two-day leave from Liang Rong, saying he had to go on a trip.

Liang Rong looked up from his comic book and asked, “Where are you going?”

“My mother had a minor operation last week, I have to go home to look after her.”

“Oh.” Liang Rong’s voice sounded a little muffled and low, “Say hello to auntie for me.”

Song Ning thanked him before saying, “Remember to take your medicines on time even if you’re by yourself. Don’t go out too far during the day and check if the gas is off before you go to bed at night…”

“I got it.” Liang Rong impatiently cut him off, “I had no issues living on my own before this.”

Song Ning froze for two seconds and hesitantly asked, “Do you want to go with me?”

22.

Song Ning took Liang Rong with him and drove back to his hometown.

He wasn’t quite sure why he decided on a whim like this but seeing the hint of loneliness in Liang Rong’s eyes yesterday made his heart feel unpleasant. It was an unexplainable heartache.

Song Ning glanced at Liang Rong who was sitting in the passenger seat and helplessly shook his head. This old age kid sure made it hard for others not to worry about him.

But this old age kid was well received by Song Ning’s parents.

When they stepped into the house, his mother was lying in bed, resting. The moment she saw the tall film emperor appearing in front of her eyes, she almost jumped out of bed from joy and recovered on the spot.

Only then did Song Ning remember that his own mother was a fan of Liang Rong.

He hurriedly closed the door and said to her, “You have to pretend you don’t know him later on.”

His mother couldn’t understand, “Why? I wanted to ask for an autograph too.”

Song Ning cut the long story short, “His brain is damaged.”

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23.

At night, Song Ning’s dad made a pot of chicken soup for Song Ning’s mom. He served Liang Rong a bowl too.

Liang Rong took the bowl and thanked him with a smile. He was acting so politely that Song Ning almost thought Old Liang had returned.

Song Ning’s mother was utterly charmed by Liang Rong’s smile that she repeatedly suggested, “Since you’re here already, just stay over for the night.”

Liang Rong asked, “Won’t it disturb auntie’s rest?”

“Not at all. I’ll recover faster with you here.”

With that said, she hurried Song Ning to clean up the guest room.

Song Ning was just about to chew on a chicken claw, but now he couldn’t even chew on its nails.

The guest room in their home hadn’t been used for several years now. The inside was filled with miscellaneous things, making it hard to clean up all of a sudden. Song Ning stood there for a long time, not knowing where to start.

Liang Rong leaned on the door frame while chewing on the chicken claw, “How about I sleep in your room?”

“That works too. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

Liang Rong stopped chewing the bone and said, “If you want to try squeezing in with me, I won’t mind either.”

24.

Song Ning’s bedroom was two meters wide, but two men with large builds lying together still made it seem a little cramped. He could feel Liang Rong right beside him. If it was any closer, their skins would have touched.

Song Ning gulped nervously, secretly inching towards the edge of the bed a little.

Although the mind of the person next to him was only 16 years old, but his body still belonged to the mature and charming film emperor. As a single, young man filled with vigor, it was hard not to overthink this.

Song Ning was really torn. He thought of waiting for Liang Rong to fall asleep before he sneak out of the room to sleep on the sofa. Yet, he heard Liang Rong’s voice ringing in his ears then.

“I’ve never slept in a bed with anyone else since I grew up.” He said.

That voice was gentle and low, reaching his eardrums beat by beat in the darkness. Song Ning’s heart started beating a little faster for no reason. He responded in a small voice, “Me too.”

Liang Rong paused a little, “No family member has ever cooked chicken soup for me either.”

“…..”

“Thank you, Ah Ning.”