Liu Mingchen didn’t expect that Lin Nuan would pick up so fast, so he cleared his throat, a little embarrassed. His distinctive and gentle voice traveled through the phone, saying, “Nuan Nuan, I was wondering if you’re free today for dinner.”
“Tonight…” Lin Nuan touched her earlobe, feeling slightly uneasy as she answered, “I already have something planned for tonight.”
Liu Mingchen was slightly disappointed.
“Professor Liu! The liquid on your lab table is spilling!”
A lady’s scream suddenly pierced through the phone from the other end of the line.
Liu Mingchen had indeed been distracted during his experiments that day.
“What are you panicking for?” Liu Mingchen spoke calmly and strictly as he called for someone to clean up the mess. He walked out of the laboratory and said to Lin Nuan, “If you’re booked for the night, how about we meet before you head out?”
Liu Mingchen looked at his wristwatch and asked, “Can we meet at 4.30p.m.?”
As he spoke, Liu Mingchen’s heart thundered against his chest.
Even though they had clearly just met each other, Liu Mingchen was already starting to miss her, to the point where he was unable to focus on his experiments.
Because Lin Nuan’s answer was ambiguous, Liu Mingchen’s heart remained raised to his throat, unable to calm down!
Such a matter as asking others if he could woo them would be too casual if he asked it over the phone.
Liu Mingchen treated Lin Nuan with a lot of care and significance.
Hearing the urgency and well-hidden hint of tremble in Liu Mingchen’s voice, Lin Nuan held her phone tighter and said, “Even though it’s on the phone…”
Before she could get out her words of rejection, she was cut off by Liu Mingchen.
“I want to see you, can I… Say it to you face-to-face? I’ll go find you, and I won’t take up too much of your time.”
Liu Mingchen walked out urgently as he spoke and unbuttoned his white lab coat.
If they were meeting at 4.30p.m., it was best to head off immediately in case of any unpredictable accidents.
Liu Mingchen was not an impatient person; it was the first time he was so hung up over something.
“Okay, give me a call when you arrive.”
…
When Lin Nuan got Liu Mingchen’s call, it was already 5.15p.m.
It was a Friday afternoon, so Haicheng’s traffic started jamming ever since 3p.m., turning the roads into chaos.
When Lin Nuan went down the stairs, Liu Mingchen stood beside the car with barely concealed nervousness. When he saw Lin Nuan walk out wearing light gray and carrying a Parker Pen carrier bag, his eyes darkened.
Before she could walk to Liu Mingchen, Lin Nuan’s landlord called.
In the call, the landlord still used a soft and gentle voice as she told Lin Nuan that they were planning to sell the house, and Lin Nuan thought it was a test to check her attitude towards the spike in rental fees.
The landlord explained everything to Lin Nuan apologetically, choking up as she mentioned that their child had been suffering from bullying in school for a long time and was extremely against going to school. The couple was heartbroken over not paying their child enough attention; when they heard their friends mention that their child had been through a similar experience as their daughter but got better after being sent overseas… With the change in environment, the child had let go of their past and turned bright, and the story influenced the landlord couple. They lacked money, so they decided to sell the house.
Lin Nuan understood—if parents didn’t discover the bullying of their child at school in time, the trauma could really ruin the child’s future, becoming their lifetime burden.
Lin Nuan easily agreed to find a new apartment.
Hanging up, Lin Nuan apologized to Liu Mingchen and passed the Parker Pen bag to him, saying, “Thank you for your meeting gift. I really like the flowers, and I’ve already placed them in the vases. Take this as my return gift… I hope you’ll like it!”
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