Chapter 25

Chapter 25

On the other end of the screen, a fluffy white puppy was held in one hand, raised in front of the camera, bouncing and wiggling, its big ears flopping up and down with the movement, super cute.

"Look! I caught it myself."

With the cheerful tone of the person behind it, the puppy's swaying grew more vigorous and faster, you could totally feel how pumped its owner was even through the screen.

"Isn't it cute?"

"Mm-hmm."

If it were anyone else, Li Yanchuan would likely have just frowned and called it boring, but for some reason, staring at this plush toy filling the screen, he somehow found himself softly going along with it.

"Good eye—I thought the same thing. How about I give it to you when I get back?"

Suddenly, the puppy was pulled away, and Song Nian's face appeared, a big grin popping into view.

He seemed to whisper something to the guy next to him, then the camera jiggled as he took the phone from the other's hand, bringing it closer.

Catching a faint stranger’s voice, Li Yanchuan frowned and asked, his tone pointed:

"Who are you with?"

"My friend."

Song Nian blinked at that. Without waiting for more, he turned to Lin Yunzhou, getting his okay before pulling his buddy into the frame and introducing everyone.

"Honey, let me introduce you—this is my good friend Lin Yunzhou. Yunzhou, this is my husband, Li Yanchuan."

"Hi, President Li."

Lin Yunzhou looked a little stiff, straightened up, and greeted him softly.

"Hello."

Li Yanchuan’s face didn’t change as he gave a small nod, his eyes skimmed over the guy’s face and landed back on Song Nian.

This introduction felt like he was staking his claim, and the prickly feeling inside him somehow just smoothed over.

"You're still at the mall?"

"Yep, but I've already finished shopping. Now I'm doing claw machines."

As he spoke, Song Nian showed off the prizes he was holding, then swung the phone around to show the surroundings, showing all the colorful claw machines around.

A video call doesn’t lie, and with his totally open and honest vibe, he was clearly telling the truth.

And sure enough, the texts he’d sent were real too.

The misunderstandings and doubts in Li Yanchuan’s heart melted away, his expression softening, the darkness in his eyes cleared up.

"Remember to use the card I gave you. Do you need me to send the driver?"

"No need, I'll head back on my own."

"Alright, then... get home early."

After a little more chat, Li Yanchuan said he still had work to do and hung up on that note.

Wow, he's actually caring now. Song Nian was a little surprised, his mood perking up as he hummed a little tune and put away his phone.

Just as he was about to turn and speak to Lin Yunzhou, he met his friend's shocked and amazed stare.

"What’s up?" he asked, puzzled.

"It's just... kind of shocking."

Lin Yunzhou cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to play it cool.

"I didn’t realize you two were so close. Li Yanchuan seems to really care about you."

Concerned enough to call right after wrapping up a video meeting, like he couldn’t stand being apart.

This was more than just "close"—it was almost over the top.

Earlier, when Song Nian said he was doing fine, Lin Yunzhou was still kinda skeptical. After all, his friend seemed to be living okay, but given what he knew of Li Yanchuan, he couldn’t picture how they got along so well.

Seeing is believing. It wasn’t until that phone call that he knew for sure these two really had a good thing going.

Even if it wasn’t glued-at-the-hip level, it was at least polite and friendly.

See? Not only does he give him a card, he even thoughtfully asks if he needs the driver.

That's way better than some guys who just talk big.

With this in mind, the big weight in his heart finally lifted. He patted Song Nian's shoulder emotionally, sighing with feeling:

"You've finally made it through the rough patch."

Song Nian, totally out of the loop, tilted his head in confusion.

Why the sudden sentimental rant? What's he rambling about? Aren't we still grabbing dolls?

————

"Honey—I'm—back—"

Song Nian's voice reached inside even before he did.

From his wheelchair by the living room window, Li Yanchuan turned toward the entrance.

His eyes met Song Nian's, who was walking in loaded with bags and carrying two plush dolls under his arms.

"Why did you buy so much?"

And without having the driver pick him up. Li Yanchuan couldn't help but frown.

"They're not heavy. Lin Yunzhou and I got carried away shopping, so I bought a bit more. But I didn't buy clothes—nothing beats what you got me."

These casual words seemed to have a magical effect, soothing Li Yanchuan's ruffled feathers without intent, easing his frown considerably.

Tossing his purchases onto the sofa, Song Nian picked up one of the bags and handed it to him.

"Here. A gift for you."

Looking down at the black paper bag on his lap, Li Yanchuan was stunned for a moment, then remembered that he had mentioned there was a gift.

"What is it?"

"Take a guess. Just open it and you'll see."

Hearing this, he paused for a few seconds before reaching out to open it.

The opening of the bag slowly widened, and he immediately saw the blanket—the gift.

"Oh, and this is for you too. I managed to grab two of them. Pretty awesome, huh?"

Then another brown plush bear was thrust into his arms. He slowly looked away and saw Song Nian standing with his hands on his hips, holding a plush dog in the other.

In the recent claw machine competition, Song Nian had successfully defeated Lin Yunzhou with a score of two to one, winning a bear and a dog, and generously gave one of the prizes to Li Yanchuan.

The bear lay quietly on the blanket. Two furry little things now rested in the arms of the usually mature Li Yanchuan, seeming out of place no matter how you looked at it.

However, Li Yanchuan didn't ask to have them taken away.

"Oh, by the way, do you want some milk tea?"

The ever-chattering Song Nian seemed eager to share all the treasures he'd brought back from his "hunting trip." Without even putting down the dog plush, he grabbed a cup of milk tea.

"No."

But this time, Li Yanchuan refused. He never ate such unhealthy food, so he frowned slightly and pushed the cup away.

Song Nian, unwilling to give up, looked around, and seizing his chance when Li Yanchuan wasn't paying attention, he stuffed the straw into his mouth.

"Just take a sip."

Hearing this, Li Yanchuan automatically sucked, and the sweet milk tea filled his mouth.

It was actually pretty good...

He paused, thinking to himself.

"Isn't it good?"

Reading his expression, Song Nian gave a smug smile, raised an eyebrow, and started drinking from his own cup.

No one can resist junk food!

"Ahem, it's pretty good, but you shouldn't eat too much of this kind of junk."

Li Yanchuan tried to maintain his composure, cleared his throat awkwardly, chatted a bit more, and then turned his wheelchair toward the elevator.

Of course, the blanket and the bear went with him.

Back in his room, he stared quietly at the paper bag and plush toy on his lap.

The bear's eyes were round and shiny as grapes, which inexplicably reminded him of Song Nian's clear and bright eyes.

He took out the blanket from the paper bag. It was indigo with splashes of blue-green that spread like clouds, covered with a fine layer of fuzz, feeling wonderfully soft to the touch—like someone's smooth, silky skin.

The fabric was thick; just holding it, he could feel the warmth it gave off.

Heat gathered under the blanket, seeping into his body, warming his heart, long frozen in his chest.

Before, Li Yanchuan would never have accepted such a gift.

Because it would make him aware of his weakness, remind him of his disabled legs.

It would feel like an unbearable insult.

But in the end, he did not refuse.

Just like the other new things in the room.

Li Yanchuan, lost in thought, looked up and glanced around at the call bell by the bed, the non-slip mats, and the ramps.

These were all things Song Nian had done, but none of them felt malicious to him.

That person had barged into his heart with a bang, without any warning, bringing so many firsts.

But he didn't feel repulsed.

Whenever the image of those warm and sincere eyes, along with that clean and fair face, appeared in his mind, the suspicion and hostility in his heart would unconsciously melt away.

It made him want to believe him, to get close to him, like the instinct to move toward a fire in winter.

He must have been crazy too, actually entrusting his most fragile trust because of this.

Thinking about what he had done, Li Yanchuan gave a self-deprecating laugh and shook his head.

The next day, the bear plush and blanket weren't thrown away but lay quietly in a corner of the wardrobe.

The blanket was neatly folded, and the plush was set upright against the wardrobe door, just like the giver, enjoying the special privilege of staying by his side.

——

Later, Li Yanchuan asked his assistant to check who had sent that email.

The investigation showed that the person was a business rival of the Li family, who had harbored a grudge against Li Yanchuan after losing a bid, and had kicked him when he was down after his injury, publicly mocking him several times.

On that day, he happened to run into Song Nian and Lin Yunzhou going out, mistakenly thought Song Nian was cheating on him, and deliberately took a photo to mock Li Yanchuan.

In response, Li Yanchuan gave a subtle nod to his assistant, and soon news came that the man was being investigated for tax fraud.

Song Nian was completely unaware of these undercurrents, chatting away with his friend.

The more he interacted with Lin Yunzhou, the more he felt they were kindred spirits who truly understood each other.

In the end, they were completely honest with each other, even sharing their treasured collections.

Of course, those were collections of the steamy variety.

When Song Nian pulled out his treasured photo of a "male mommy" type, Lin Yunzhou exclaimed, "Great taste!"

When Lin Yunzhou showed his carefully saved photo of a guy with abs, Song Nian shouted, "God-tier taste!"

Thus, they wished they had met sooner.

Lin Yunzhou even said emotionally, "I didn't realize you were like this before. You now are so much easier to get along with than before."

This frightened Song Nian so much that he stuck his tongue out and didn't dare to respond.

But after getting to know him better, besides his thing for muscular guys, Song Nian also discovered a little habit of Lin Yunzhou's.

That is—he really loves to text in pieces.

Every time they chatted, he often broke up a paragraph into multiple messages, so that what could be said in one message would instead arrive as multiple notifications.

At first, whenever his phone kept dinging nonstop, Song Nian thought something important was happening and would quickly grab it to see what’s up.

The constant dinging and his knee-jerk phone-grabbing often made Li Yanchuan shoot him suspicious looks.

Even after Song Nian got used to the commotion, he still quietly set his phone to silent to avoid disturbing Li Yanchuan.

One day, Li Yanchuan came downstairs and noticed Song Nian's phone sitting on the coffee table.

Remembering how Song Nian had been glued to his phone lately, chatting joyfully with Lin Yunzhou, he couldn't help but frown.

Just as he turned to leave, the phone screen suddenly lit up and a message popped up.

He restrained himself from looking, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught the name of the sender.

Wouldn't you know it, it was Lin Yunzhou.

The screen flashed a couple more times, as if the person was very excited, firing off several messages in a row.

"Lin Yunzhou: !!!"

"Lin Yunzhou: Look!!"

"Lin Yunzhou: Baby!"

After a few messages, the other person went quiet.

As if he was just calling out to Song Nian.

And this "baby" could only be referring to Song Nian.

Seeing this suspiciously affectionate nickname, Li Yanchuan narrowed his eyes, his burning gaze drilling into the phone as if he could bore a hole through it.

The trust he had painstakingly built up suddenly cracked and teetered.

So on the surface they claimed to be just friends, but behind the scenes, they had a secret relationship?

And he even set his phone to silent—was he scared of getting caught?

Song Nian, you little liar.