FD Chapter 20

How do you express liking someone? Ming Shao didn’t know.

He had fantasized countless times about reuniting with Shen Luo, practicing the motion of opening the passenger door until it was smooth as water, but when Shen Luo actually returned, he found himself becoming clumsy again.

He memorized where Shen Luo worked, even found the best angle to look up at Shen Luo’s office.

He learned to wait.

But in the end, he was an unqualified student, learning too late.

Ming Shao opened his phone, like on so many mornings without Shen Luo, and clicked on the familiar avatar, opening the chat history.

The green chat box stretched endlessly, filled with messages sent since Shen Luo left, with none in return.

In front of the green chat boxes were red exclamation marks. Ming Shao had looked it up on Baidu and learned it meant the other person had blocked you.

Yet, Ming Shao stubbornly kept sending messages to Shen Luo.

When they lived together, Shen Luo would always send greetings.

“Good morning.”

“Good night.”

Maybe that’s when the seeds of affection were planted, but Ming Shao hadn’t realised it. So the seeds didn’t sprout, instead rotting and growing moldy in the midst of awkwardness and self-inflicted torment.

Ming Shao really wanted to hear “good morning” again.

But Shen Luo wouldn’t say it to him anymore.

Still, Ming Shao learned to say it to Shen Luo. As soon as the input box popped up, he typed “z” and “Good morning” appeared at the top of the suggestions. Ming Shao clicked the word, then switched to the emoji page, carefully choosing a smiling face.

The message sank like a stone.

Because almost immediately, as soon as Ming Shao hit the send button, a red exclamation mark appeared in front of the green chat box.

Ming Shao wasn’t discouraged.

He couldn’t find Shen Luo before, but now Shen Luo had appeared before him. It might sound cliché, but when he saw Shen Luo’s jacket on the sofa, it felt like a light had suddenly appeared in his dark and chaotic world.

The withered seed began to sprout, and amidst the rubble, a bit of green pushed through the debris, growing from the ruins.

And then Ming Shao turned around.

And saw the “ruins”—the divorce agreement.

The divorce agreement was laid out openly on the coffee table. Ming Shao walked past the table, thought for a moment, and soon returned with a cup of “coffee.”

The tabletop was tidy, with nothing cluttering it.

If the coffee were just spilled, wouldn’t that seem unreasonable?

Too deliberate. That wouldn’t do.

Ming Shao placed the coffee beside the divorce agreement.

Then, with a furrowed brow, he tried several times but couldn’t get the feeling right.

A flash of inspiration hit, and Ming Shao left the house.

Five minutes later, he returned, holding the neighbor’s cat.

The kitten was cradled in the Alpha’s arms, and as Ming Shao pressed the kitten’s paw, it just so happened to knock over the coffee cup.

“Splash—”

The coffee spilled.

The kitten’s paw was splattered with coffee.

Ming Shao, pleased, pulled out his phone, snapping a few photos.

The Alpha looked at the photos over and over, then lifted the kitten by the scruff, using a bag of cat food to coax the kitten to stretch out its paw, capturing a close-up of the coffee-stained paw.

“Click—”

Ming Shao was satisfied with the photos.

He opened his social app and found Shen Luo’s assistant.

“The coffee got knocked over by Dong Dong.”

“Can you help me forward this to Luo Luo? Thanks.”

Assistant: ???

Though he couldn’t quite figure out what Ming Shao was up to, thinking back to how Ming Shao looked in the hospital, the assistant decided to go ahead and forward the photos to Shen Luo.

When Shen Luo received the assistant’s message, he suddenly remembered that he had blocked Ming Shao. He recognized the document by the kitten’s side at a glance. Last night, Ming Shao had clung to him, refusing to let go, alternating between apologising and saying he wanted to bring him back home.

…saying he liked him.

Shen Luo couldn’t have missed it.

It was once the thing he most wanted to hear.

In countless sleepless nights, when people asked about his relationship with Ming Shao, even on the night he left the villa, he had fantasised about Ming Shao holding his hand.

Firmly, without hesitation, saying he liked him.

But now, when he actually heard those words, his first reaction wasn’t to be moved, but rather confusion, even… panic.

Alcohol makes people think strange thoughts, and Ming Shao had reeked of alcohol.

Shen Luo didn’t dare have expectations. What if it was just Ming Shao’s fleeting impulse? What if he took it seriously? What would he do?

Not being liked, not being accepted, was already painful enough.

Shen Luo didn’t want to be abandoned again and again.

It hurt too much.

He couldn’t bear it.

Reason told him to avoid Ming Shao.

But if he had been rational, he wouldn’t have agreed to the arranged marriage in the first place, wouldn’t have jumped into the fire pit knowing full well what it was.

After a long hesitation, Shen Luo unblocked Ming Shao.

Ming Shao’s situation seemed unstable—what if something really happened to him? Shen Luo thought.

He…just didn’t want anything to happen to Grandpa Ming’s grandson.

Another day of work, another day of driving, and Ming Shao repeated the same routine.

As usual, after work, he drove to Shen Luo’s office.

“Luo Luo, I’m off work,” Ming Shao messaged, talking to himself as always.

He was earnestly learning how to share, wanting to share everything he encountered with Shen Luo.

“Today’s sunset clouds weren’t as beautiful as yesterday’s.”

“Picture.JPG”

“There was a bit of traffic again today.”

“Oh, I changed into a dark gray suit today. The stylist said a lot of people like this look.”

“I said I didn’t care if a lot of people liked it, I just wanted to know if Luo Luo liked it.”

Meanwhile, Shen Luo was still in a meeting at the office, with his phone connected and the screen being projected.

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