Chapter 473: 473: A Bit Sentimental

Luo Ziling had arrived at the car park when Lin Lan was already waiting in the car.

Before Luo Ziling had even buckled his seatbelt, she started the car.

“Where is your sub-base located?” After fastening his seatbelt, Luo Ziling asked curiously.

Lin Lan gave him a strange look but didn’t answer his question, “Don’t ask, I won’t tell even if you do.”

Luo Ziling returned the look with curiosity, “Why didn’t you ask what Phoenix said to me just now?”

“No need to know,” Lin Lan replied softly and then fell silent again.

“Alright, then I won’t ask,” Luo Ziling felt a bit dispirited, but still couldn’t help asking another question, “When will you come back?”

“Not sure, maybe one or two months, maybe longer, and it’s also possible that I’ll never come back.”

Even though Lin Lan spoke without much expression, Luo Ziling could still sense a hint of desolation in her eyes, which made him feel a bit sad as well.

Although he and Lin Lan often argued or got annoyed with each other, no matter what, Lin Lan had a unique place in his heart.

After all, Lin Lan was the first woman to see his body’s secrets, and the first beauty he had spent considerable time with since he became sensible, with so many intimate encounters between them—though those were for treatment, Luo Ziling still felt they were extraordinary.

He knew Lin Lan treated him quite well, even though she was often fierce with him.

The time she beat up those thugs at the school gate, and after he was attacked, she personally investigated the matter, vowing to not let off anyone involved once she found out who it was—such actions made Luo Ziling feel warm inside.

“Iron buddy” Luo Ziling wanted to use this term to describe Lin Lan, but then he felt it didn’t quite fit, unsure of how to properly regard her. Today’s words from Phoenix made him feel odd, and seeing Lin Lan’s demeanor made him suspect that the situation was not simple. Therefore, the thought of not seeing Lin Lan for a long time, or perhaps never again, pained him.

Lin Lan didn’t say much else; she just focused on driving.

As the car left the Dragon Rise base, Luo Ziling suddenly thought of something and shouted, “Stop the car!”

Startled by his outburst, Lin Lan still slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a slow stop.

“What is it?” she asked, looking angrily at Luo Ziling.

“Let’s take a photo,” Luo Ziling took out his phone, leaned his head a bit closer, and snapped a selfie using the front camera.

Looking at the photo, with its weird expressions—Lin Lan’s face full of anger and his own comical look—Luo Ziling was dissatisfied no matter how he looked at it.

He immediately opened the car door, jumped out, and called to Lin Lan, “Come on, I’ll take a picture of you as a keepsake. We’ve known each other for a while and we’re friends. Considering that I treated you to soup dumplings this morning, let’s take a proper photo together to avoid forgetting what each other looks like if we don’t see each other for a long time.”

Lin Lan was stunned.

Upon being urged again by Luo Ziling, Lin Lan finally got out of the car with a bit of reluctance.

“First, let me take a photo of you standing by the car,” Luo Ziling directed Lin Lan.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Lan eventually stood by the car door as instructed by Luo Ziling, though her face bore no expression.

“Smile a little, don’t keep a poker face all the time. Do you think you’re the Queen?” Luo Ziling complained loudly, “Smile, come on, smile, or I’m going to twist your mouth, spank your butt.”

Upon hearing these words from Luo Ziling, somehow, Lin Lan actually started to smile, and it was quite brilliant at that.

She was amused by Luo Ziling’s words.

Looking at the photo he had just taken, Luo Ziling was a bit surprised, “Heh, such a good photo, it’s really rare.”

Lin Lan was curious but ultimately did not come over to look.

Luo Ziling switched his phone to selfie mode, then opened the car door, lowered the window, and set the phone on the car door, using the gap to secure it in place. He then called Lin Lan to stand in front of the camera.

Lin Lan was a bit reluctant, but in the end, she still followed Luo Ziling’s instructions.

After receiving the camera button, Luo Ziling quickly walked over to Lin Lan, stood next to her, and smiled at the camera.

After taking one photo, he gestured to Lin Lan not to move; he wanted to check the result first.

Seeing that they both looked good in the photo, he adjusted the angle slightly, then ran back to Lin Lan’s side.

This time, for some reason, he actually put his arm around Lin Lan’s shoulders, and they took a photo in this pose.

Lin Lan didn’t expect Luo Ziling to do this; she felt slightly annoyed, but Luo Ziling didn’t pay attention to her and went to look at the photos they had just taken.

“Hey, these two photos are pretty good,” Luo Ziling handed his phone to Lin Lan, who was walking back to the car, and said with a smiling face, “The man looks handsome, the woman beautiful. Hehe, if you looked like this all the time, you’d probably dazzle everyone. I’d even feel bad for getting angry at you.”

“Let me see,” Lin Lan said, not waiting for Luo Ziling to agree, and snatched the phone away.

When she opened the solo photo of her, she herself was stunned by the shy look on her face.

It was quite moving; she felt a bit embarrassed looking at it.

In their photo together, her expression was still quite spirited. Seeing Luo Ziling’s radiant smile, she was a little dazed.

Eventually, she didn’t say anything, used Luo Ziling’s phone to send those photos to her own phone, then handed the phone back to Luo Ziling and softly said, “Let’s go!”

Luo Ziling obediently got in the car, and they continued driving towards the school.

However, Lin Lan remained silent, her expression not as cold as before but somewhat infused with a gentle warmth of a woman.

On the way, Luo Ziling received a call from Ling Ruonan asking him to come over for dinner that night and saying that Wuyue would pick him up.

Luo Ziling told Wuyue to wait for him at an intersection near the school, to avoid backtracking. Since he would pass that intersection on his way back to school, Ling Ruonan agreed.

Luo Ziling also told Lin Lan where he would be getting out, and she nodded to show she understood, still not saying much.

After the car arrived there, Lin Lan stopped the car woodenly and then sat silently, still not speaking.

“Don’t change your phone number, so I can contact you,” Luo Ziling gently instructed as he was about to get out of the car.

Lin Lan nodded.

After Luo Ziling opened the car door and got out, she floored the accelerator and left. But while driving away, she adjusted the car’s rearview mirror, gazing for a while at Luo Ziling’s reflection in the mirror. Only after his figure disappeared from view did she speed up and leave.

Luo Ziling waited at the intersection for a few minutes before he saw Wuyue driving towards him and immediately waved to signal.

Wuyue didn’t say much either. After exchanging a few courteous words, he drove Luo Ziling towards Ling Ruonan’s villa.

Because Lin Lan was going to be away for a while, Luo Ziling’s mood was a bit affected; he didn’t feel very cheerful and didn’t initiate conversation with Wuyue.

It seemed Wuyue didn’t really want to talk either, and the two of them didn’t say much during the drive.

To Luo Ziling’s surprise, when the car arrived at the villa, he did not see Ling Ruonan standing at the door to greet him as she had the previous times.

After getting out of the car and walking up the steps, Luo Ziling heard voices inside, including a man’s voice.

He pushed the door open and went in; the voices inside stopped suddenly.

Luo Ziling immediately saw the speakers, and when he recognized the man standing next to Ling Ruonan, he froze on the spot.

Suddenly, tears uncontrollably began to seep from the corners of his eyes…