FD Chapter 22

As Shen Luo spoke, his gaze drifted outside the window.

Ming Shao had pulled the car over, and the small-leaved banyan trees lining the road were as lush as ever.

“…You don’t like it?”

He was referring to the sunset clouds.

Ming Shao met Shen Luo’s gaze, feeling a bit at a loss. The alpha deliberately ignored Shen Luo’s last comment—he was too cowardly to even consider the possibility that Shen Luo might not like him.

It felt like a top student, who always aces every test, had finally encountered a question he couldn’t answer. He had stumbled multiple times, finally arriving at what he thought was the right answer. But just as he handed in his paper, he realized he had misunderstood the question.

Shen Luo used to share things with him, and it made him happy.

So, in his mind, if he reciprocated by sharing things with Shen Luo, it would make Shen Luo happy too.

Shen Luo turned his head, avoiding Ming Shao’s eyes.

He knew he was still prone to softness—it’s a bad habit.

Shen Luo didn’t know how to face this, so he feigned calmness to cover up the crumbling walls inside him. But the walls in his heart had never been truly solid, especially after he returned. Though he hadn’t spoken much to Ming Shao, he had heard about what Ming Shao had been through during this time—from both Grandpa Ming and his assistant.

Shen Luo felt like a tumbleweed wandering alone in the desert.

Ming Shao was his desert—a vast, endless stretch.

He had been so thirsty for so long, but without any soil or water to take root in, Shen Luo could only keep moving, keep rolling.

Just when he was about to believe that he didn’t need water anymore, Ming Shao appeared again.

Ming Shao said, “Turn around, I have an oasis.”

No plant doesn’t long for an oasis, but in the desert, there are too many mirages. Even plants can become afraid.

Afraid it’s just a waste, afraid they can’t take root.

Don’t fall for it, a voice inside Shen Luo whispered.

But then Ming Shao suddenly pulled him into an embrace.

It was tight, and through the hug, Shen Luo could feel Ming Shao trembling.

“I’m sorry,” Ming Shao choked out.

“But could you teach me what you like?”

Ming Shao was very close, and his voice was muffled.

But his breath was hot.

And so were the tears that rolled down Shen Luo’s neck.

“I’ll learn. Just wait for me, okay?”

For the first time, Shen Luo realized how much a plant could crave water.

Even if the oasis turned out to be just a mirage, what did it matter?

The embrace ended with Shen Luo remaining silent.

But silence was already the best result Ming Shao could have hoped for at that moment.

No one mentioned the divorce agreement. The rest of the drive was spent in quiet contemplation on Shen Luo’s part.

The villa was still the same as before. Shen Luo had lived there long enough to be familiar with it. As he reached the entrance, he instinctively reached out for his slippers—his old pair, not the disposable ones.

A new sapling of an evergreen tree had been planted at the entrance. Though still small, it was growing well, with a watering can placed beside it. Seeing Shen Luo’s gaze linger on the tree outside the window, Ming Shao spoke up, “I planted it a while ago. I water it every day.”

The evergreen tree would grow back.

“Where’s Dong Dong?” Shen Luo asked suddenly.

“Huh?” Ming Shao’s mouth opened in surprise, only now remembering the excuse he had come up with to bring Shen Luo over.

“Didn’t you say Dong Dong learned how to do a backflip?”

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