Give Me a Hug

Chapter 20: Baby

Xie Jiaran remembered to lock the door this time.

Zhou Wenyue went to the backyard to water the flowers, leaving only Lu Shang in the living room, holding a snatched paintbrush, glaring at Xie Jiaran as he left, not even sparing him a glance.

The late summer rain had steamed away the heat from the ground, leaving the air damp with the scent of grass mixed with soil, clean and cool.

As Xie Jiaran stepped out of the house, he felt raindrops hitting his nose, realizing he had rushed out without even taking an umbrella.

"I'll go back and get an umbrella," he said.

He tried to turn back but was intercepted by Liang Sunian before he could.

"Two umbrellas are too troublesome, and it's not good to be too far apart for a conversation. Don't worry, this one is big enough for both of us."

Liang Sunian handed over an unopened ice cream he had grabbed from a supermarket on the way: "Here, I passed by a supermarket on my way here and bought this. Consider it a housewarming gift for my first visit to your place."

Xie Jiaran looked at the ice cream in front of him, not sure what he was thinking. He blinked his long lashes a few times and didn't take it.

"Don't you like this flavor?" Liang Sunian asked.

"No," Xie Jiaran instinctively denied, as if just realizing his excuse, he furrowed his brows, "But you didn't even go in."

"So my gift is quite thin," Liang Sunian chuckled and urged him, "Hurry up and eat, or it'll melt soon."

Xie Jiaran wanted to take the ice cream, but his attention was inadvertently drawn to Liang Sunian's hand.

Unconsciously, he turned his wrist and lightly touched him with his knuckles.

Like a small animal cautiously seeking affection from someone.

Liang Sunian almost instantly understood, smiled softly, and said, "Don't rush."

He tore open the ice cream and handed it to his right hand, then lowered his head, rolled up his shirt cuff to his elbow, pulled Xie Jiaran's left hand through and hooked it onto his own arm, their palms touching.

"I can't hold your hand if I'm holding the umbrella," he shook the umbrella to indicate helplessness, "This is the best we can do, okay?"

Xie Jiaran lowered his head and took a bite of the ice cream, silently holding him tighter.

Due to the weather, the return journey took longer than the one home yesterday.
The rain in Miancheng hadn't reached Jincheng, and it wasn't until he was almost at school that Xie Jiaran received a message from Zhou Wenyue, asking why he had left and what to do with Shang Shang's test paper.

Xie Jiaran replied: [There's something at school I need to attend to, if Shang Shang is struggling with his studies, just find him a tutor. I don't have time.]

Without even looking out the window, Liang Sunian got off the car and followed suit.
After sending the message, he looked up and realized they hadn't reached the school yet. Liang Sunian brought him to a commercial plaza near the school.

"Why are we here?" he asked, "Aren't we going back to school?"

"Of course," Liang Sunian looked around, chose a direction, and turned back to Xie Jiaran with a smile, "But we have to eat first."

"Since I've kidnapped you from home, I can't neglect your meals, right?"

"..."

He always had strange reasons, leaving Xiao Xie, who was already not good with words, unable to argue.