WHI – Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The restaurant was quite crowded, especially during lunchtime, making the owner exceptionally busy. Wen Lan had to call out several times before the owner, who was constantly on his feet, finally came over. “Pan-fried mushrooms, and stir-fried mushrooms with green peppers… What do you want to eat?”

Lin Ting looked at the menu. “Let’s get braised eggplant too.”

The owner scribbled a few illegible characters on the paper and then hurried off to attend to another table. “There’s a water dispenser over there, help yourselves.”

“He’s quite busy,” Lin Ting said, pouring two cups of water and placing one in front of Wen Lan. “Why did you suddenly want to eat vegetarian food?”

“This place is quite famous and the food is good,” Wen Lan said, taking a sip before putting the cup down. “Aren’t we going to a haunted house? Eating some vegetarian food will earn us some good karma.”

“…Alright, if you think it’s good, then it’s good.” Lin Ting’s stomach was growling with hunger. Although he really wanted to eat some meat, he couldn’t bring himself to say it, seeing Wen Lan’s earnest expression.

It’s fine, eating vegetarian is good for your health.

The nearly half-hour wait for the food felt like the longest time for Lin Ting. He watched the group chat as people discussed whether accidentally eating a fried egg that morning counted as eating meat, and a girl named Qin Wan said she planned to wear a Lolita dress with a cross pattern to ward off evil spirits.

“My mom told me not to play with idiots.” Lin Ting suddenly thought of this internet meme and struggled to suppress a laugh.

“How many people are going today?” Lin Ting looked at the food that had finally arrived, his stomach practically wanting to sprout a hand and swallow everything, plates included.

Wen Lan seemed hungry too. He grabbed his rice bowl and ate two mouthfuls of rice before starting to pick up dishes. “You, me, Big Ear, Pockmarked Face, Yu Zhile and Li Ziyao, plus Han Ziqiu and two girls from other classes, nine people.”

Lin Ting paused for a moment when he heard “Big Ear” and “Pockmarked Face” but then smiled. “Oh, the Left and Right Guardians.”

“Left and Right Guardians?” Wen Lan paused his action of bringing food to his mouth.

“When you were fighting that day, Yu Zhile and Li Ziyao stood guard like sentinels while you slept. Aren’t they the Left and Right Guardians?”

Wen Lan laughed incessantly. “You’re really funny. Hey, honestly, I’ve been in a bad mood lately, but I don’t know why, I feel much better when I’m with you.”

“Because you’re a masochist. I diagnosed you on the first day, remember?” Lin Ting ate a mushroom, which was quite tasty, so he picked up another one. “What’s wrong? Got dumped?”

“No, I just had an argument with my family. Sigh, it’s nothing… Never mind.” Wen Lan clearly became unhappy when this topic came up, so Lin Ting didn’t press further.

He ate until he was stuffed. It turned out two people shouldn’t order three dishes. Lin Ting looked at the nearly empty plates with some hesitation.

Pack it up?

Who packs leftovers for an adventure?

Just as they were hesitating, debating whether to eat a few more bites before wasting it, the owner thoughtfully called out, “Come to the counter to pay! It’s fine about the leftovers, I’ll feed them to the pigs.”

As they stood at the cashier paying, Lin Ting suddenly remembered a comment he’d made to Wen Lan when they first entered. “Hey, this place can still take you in, right?”

“What?” Wen Lan didn’t quite react.

“Nothing, just complimenting you on your handsomeness.” Lin Ting smiled and transferred half the money to him, only to have it returned immediately. He looked up at Wen Lan, who was beaming with pride.

“Brother Wen is treating you,” Wen Lan winked at him.

Lin Ting suddenly felt very apologetic.

It was past one o’clock when they left the vegetarian restaurant. Lin Ting hailed a taxi and took them to the abandoned villa in the suburbs.

Perhaps it was because he woke up too early, or because he felt sleepy after eating his fill, Lin Ting was yawning non-stop, leaning against the back window of the taxi. His thoughts drifted from “Why am I here?” to the meaning of life.

Wen Lan wasn’t much better. They sat on opposite sides, staring out the windows at the passing scenery, taking turns yawning.

“What time did you go to bed last night? Why are you so sleepy?” Lin Ting asked without turning his head, watching the street scenes outside the car window gradually disappear, replaced by sparse, withered trees and grass.

“Around two-something, but I got up to pack my bags at six in the morning.” Wen Lan said, letting out a big yawn. He seemed to remember something and pulled his backpack closer, opening it to check its contents.

Lin Ting glanced back at him, his gaze drifting towards the bulging backpack on Wen Lan’s lap. “What were you packing that took you from six in the morning? Aren’t we only staying for one day?”

Wen Lan confirmed that everything in his bag was there, zipped it up, and placed it by the window. He then shifted closer to Lin Ting. “I can’t, I can’t, I need to sleep for a bit.” He closed his eyes and didn’t move. Within a few minutes, he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Lin Ting looked at this young man, who had been so arrogant and even annoying when they first met, now resting his body carelessly against the seat beside him. The car was extremely quiet. Lin Ting could hear Wen Lan’s subtle, slow breathing. He wasn’t sleeping soundly, and after only a short while, his brows furrowed.

Lin Ting hesitated for a moment, then leaned over slightly and reached out, smoothing the crease between Wen Lan’s brows.

He couldn’t figure out what kind of person Wen Lan was.

The arrogant rich second-generation who beat people up in alleys and picked fights with him;

The same person who provided him with a place to stay and truly “protected” Han Ziqiu when he had a dispute with Gu Jiang.

The one who was followed by a group of lackeys every day, “claiming territory,” and bossing people around in the group chat;

The lonely one in the classroom, enveloped in a hazy twilight, whom no one could approach.

The weather was just right today, and the car didn’t need air conditioning. However, without the hum of the air conditioner, the silence was almost excessive.

The sound of Wen Lan slumping onto his right shoulder made Lin Ting’s ears ring.

Lin Ting carefully maintained his original posture, wanting Wen Lan to sleep better, but he couldn’t help but tilt his head and look at his face.

It was a face he had seen countless times up close, yet from this angle, this sleeping profile made it seem a little unfamiliar.

His eyelashes were so long, and the curve of his lips was beautiful…

And the faint scent of sandalwood on him. Lin Ting’s heart felt as if it had been lightly brushed by a feather, and even his breathing slowed.

He couldn’t figure out Wen Lan, and he was also starting to question himself.

The taxi stopped steadily in front of a chain business hotel, 700 meters away from the abandoned villa. As soon as the car stopped, before Lin Ting could speak, Wen Lan groggily opened his eyes. “Are we there?”

“I say, Brother Wen! We’re here, get off now! My shoulder is numb from you leaning on it all the way here.” Lin Ting pushed him off his shoulder with his left hand and got out of the car without looking back, grabbing his bag.

This place was remote, so having a proper hotel was already fortunate. Several students with large bags and luggage were gathered on the sofas in the hotel lobby. Hearing the sound of the door, they all looked up.

“Brother Wen! Brother Lin!” Song Mi stood up as soon as he saw them, grabbed a power bank and his phone from the table, and headed towards the front desk. “Let’s go, everyone. Did you all bring your IDs?”

The luggage was temporarily placed on the lobby sofas. The group took out their IDs from their bags and headed over.

Lin Ting and Wen Lan were at the back. In front of them were Qin Wan, wearing a Lolita dress with crosses, and Fang Ran, in a Hanfu.

“Are you… Lin Ting? I’m Qin Wan, from the next class. It seems like… this is our first time meeting?” The girl looked at the crowd at the front desk and turned to Lin Ting.

“Probably,” Lin Ting said, looking at the two girls. They were both quite pretty.

Tsk.

“I’m Fang Ran. We’re here to take photos. You don’t mind, do you?” Fang Ran looked at Qin Wan, then turned to Lin Ting.

“Do you think they’re here for anything serious?” Lin Ting gestured towards Yu Zhile, who was rummaging through a large backpack, pulling out a pile of clothes and muttering, “I really brought my ID, wait a minute.”

Fang Ran followed his gaze, then exchanged a look with Qin Wan. They both pursed their lips and giggled for a while.

The check-in process was very quick. Lin Ting even suspected that this hotel hadn’t had any guests in the past half-month besides their group. The receptionist was smiling so happily, it felt like she might pull out a large knife from behind her and slice them into thin pieces.

By the time everyone returned to their rooms, unpacked, and gathered in the lobby to wait for departure, it was nearly 4 PM.

“Should we eat something first?” Yu Zhile looked at his watch. “This time is neither here nor there.”

Lin Ting shook his head and looked at Wen Lan. Wen Lan also shook his head.

“We’ll talk about it if we’re hungry. I can’t eat anything right now anyway,” Wang Xingzhi said, and everyone else nodded.

700 meters wasn’t particularly far or close. They all knew each other and walked ahead, chatting and joking, leaving Han Ziqiu and Lin Ting to walk at the rear.

“Brother Lin, thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for? That was a personal matter between me and Gu Yi. The one who helped you was Wen Lan.” Lin Ting looked at the dazzling but smug figure in front, surrounded by laughter and joy.

Wen Lan happened to look back at the same time.

Lin Ting coughed and averted his gaze. “Wen Lan… is a good person. You should thank him.”

“Brother Lin, I know you’re a good person, and Brother Wen is too. I plan to follow you both for life!” Han Ziqiu said with genuine sincerity.

“No? Ah… well, then… okay.” Lin Ting wanted to say something but didn’t know how to phrase it.

Back when he was studying in Yuzhou, he always fought alone. His peers either looked down on him or feared him. This was the first time someone had said they wanted to “follow” him.

This feeling wasn’t bad.

“Okay, Brother Lin will cover you too,” Lin Ting smiled at Han Ziqiu.

“Lin Ting, what are you doing? Trying to poach someone?” Wen Lan, who had slowed down at some point, was now closer. He stopped and put his arm around Lin Ting’s shoulder, pulling him closer.

“Didn’t you say we’d rule the world together, inseparable? What, is ‘Brother Wen’ going back on his word?” Lin Ting’s eyes curved at the corners as he teased.

Wen Lan froze for a moment, and the arm on Lin Ting’s shoulder stiffened as he lowered it. “I… I was just saying.”