Loneliness

Chapter 2

When Yuan Yuan arrived, everyone at the gathering seemed to have had about enough to drink.

When they saw him, they were already red-faced and shouted for another round of drinks, simultaneously wanting to make him drunk. Yuan Yuan's capacity for alcohol wasn't bad, but it still couldn't take the combined attack by this group of drunks. in the end, when they scattered after midnight, ne couldn't walk straight.

When he reached home, the lights were still on, and Chen Dong Lan was sitting on the sofa watching television. In the middle of the night, it was a variety show rerun and the host's laughter was very exaggerated.

"You haven't slept?" He asked in shock.
Chen Dong Lan lowered the television volume. " just finished my work and couldn't sleep, so I was watching for a while."

Chen Dong Lan was a Chemistry major and was now working at a pharmaceutical manufacturing company. From what Yuan Yuan remembered, this was the first time he saw him working so late after returning home

Yuan Yuan rubbed his head, "Rest early. Even later and it might be more difficult to fall asleep."
Chen Dong Lan sighed faintly and turned off the television. Yuan Yuan felt that this action was excessively straight-forward.

Could it be that if he said, "You don't need to sleep, just watch television for the whole night", Chen Dong Lan would also follow accordingly?
"You're not feeling well?" He asked.

Yuan Yuan rubbed his temples without stopping. "A bit."

"I'll cook you some soup to sober up." Chen Dong Lan still sat on the sofa. With his head bent, his fingers kneaded the remote control, unconsciously kneading it here and there.

Yuan Yuan looked distracted, ".. there's no need, it's too late." Often he couldn't differentiate whether Chen Dong Lan's consideration was genuine or just a courtesy, like now.

"I can't sleep anyway." Chen Dong Lan spoke very naturally, and stood up to walk to the kitchen. This apartment wasn't large, and with the kitchen light on, the whole house seemed to come alive. Chen Dong Lan turned on the stove, and the sound of it being lit rang out. It didn't seem like it was late at night anymore.

There's really no need." Yuan Yuan followed behind him. "Your working hours are stricter, but if I'm a little late, it won't tter. If you really feel that I need to drink some sobering soup, then leave it and I'll make it myself."

Chen Dong Lan paused.

"Okay." He stopped for maybe two seconds, continued to put the small soup pot on the stove, then let go, "I'm actually a bit tired. You can continue."

"Okay...good night." Yuan Yuan's mood was slightly complex.

Chen Dong Lan's tone really did carry some tiredness. He hung his head slightly while walking out of the kitchen, and because Yuan Yuan was leaning against the side of the door, their shoulders bumped.

Right then, Yuan Yuan suddenly realised that he might have said something wrong.

He was left alone in the kitchen, with the light still on, the stove still lit, but the house was dead and the late night was again the late night.
Yuan Yuan stood in front of the cooking counter. Referring to the tutorial on his phone, he randomly cooked the sobering soup, suddenly feeling that the interaction between Chen Dong Lan and himself was not as satisfactory as before.

In the past three years, he lived together with
Chen Dong Lan comfortably in all aspects, like family.

But recently, towards Chen Dong Lan, he would often excessively try to interpret his behaviour and mannerisms. Deep down in his heart, he always felt that maybe these interpretations were not excessive
Suddenly remembering the table of food from tonight, Yuan Yuan opened the refrigerator. The refrigerated cabinet was completely empty, except for a few bottles of water.