Free Web NovelChapter 180: Chapter 180: It Turns Out It Was All His Wishful Thinking
After applying medicine for Jiang Xia, Shi Lan quietly went upstairs. She first glanced into their bedroom, and when she saw it was empty, she told Jiang Xia to go look inside.
Jiang Xia, smelling the pungent medicine on his face, didn’t dare to make a peep. He silently went back into the room to look, but it was empty.
After a moment’s thought, Shi Lan went to the door of the game pod room.
She tried the doorknob. It was locked. She instantly knew Mu Tangfeng was in this room.
Shi Lan thought she heard a sob from inside the room, but it quickly vanished without a trace, leaving only silence.
She asked tentatively, "Mu Tangfeng, can you open the door?"
After a long moment of silence from inside, the sound of movement could be heard.
Though his heart was full of grievances, Mu Tangfeng couldn’t bear to make the female he liked wait for him.
For the first time, the pampered young master had willingly fallen for someone, quietly swallowing all his pain and sorrow.
The door opened. With his back to Shi Lan, Mu Tangfeng said, "What are you doing here? I was just about to play a game."
Shi Lan couldn’t see his face, but from his hoarse and choked-up tone, she knew he’d been crying.
She stepped inside and closed the door. Jiang Xia stood outside, watching for a moment, but didn’t disturb them.
Inside, Shi Lan pretended not to notice anything was amiss and said in a deliberately lighthearted tone, "What game are you playing? Can I play with you?"
Terrified that Shi Lan would see his red and swollen face, Mu Tangfeng scrambled into the game pod. He reached up to close the hatch, and his muffled voice came through the thick mechanical door, indistinct.
"This game isn’t really suitable for females."
"Is that so?"
Shi Lan walked over to his game pod. Unlike a Treatment Pod, the hatch of a game pod was almost completely opaque and sealed, with only a number of air vents on either side.
Hearing Shi Lan’s voice right beside him, Mu Tangfeng was terrified she would peek inside and see what he looked like. He covered his face with his hands, a futile gesture of self-deception.
But Shi Lan didn’t try to peek. She just sighed, sounding a little dejected. "Fine. Is it because I’m not good enough at the game? Is that why you don’t want to play with me?"
Mu Tangfeng instinctively retorted, "No."
A flicker of a smile touched Shi Lan’s eyes. She knew Mu Tangfeng was all bark and no bite. She pressed on, "Is it because you think I’m bothering you?"
"If that’s the case, then I’m sorry. I... I guess I should just leave."
Inside the game pod, Mu Tangfeng hesitated for a moment. In reality, it was the complete opposite of what Shi Lan was thinking.
Though he was hurt and aggrieved, the moment he realized she had come looking for him, the first emotions he felt were relief and joy.
’This means that no matter what, Lanlan still cares about me.’
But when a few seconds passed outside with no reply, Shi Lan’s heart sank. ’Looks like Mu Tangfeng is really heartbroken this time. He won’t even talk to me.’
She let out a soft sigh. "Alright. I’m sorry. I’ll go now."
With that, she walked toward the door.
The sound of a door opening and closing echoed in the room, which then fell silent once more.
Hiding in the game pod, Mu Tangfeng listened intently for a while but heard nothing.
’Shi Lan was really gone.’
The light in his eyes instantly dimmed, and the tears he had just managed to suppress threatened to overflow once more.
’I’m not important to her after all. It was all just my own wishful thinking.’
’Lanlan couldn’t even spare him this little bit of patience.’
Mu Tangfeng cried in the game pod for a few more minutes before finally getting out.
There was a reflective mechanical panel on the outside of the game pod’s hatch. As he cried, he found himself staring at it. Seeing his own distorted, ugly face reflected back at him, he instantly burst into even more heart-wrenching sobs.
’Boo-hoo-hoo, how can I be so ugly?’
"My face... my Lanlan..."
He sobbed, touching his face. The green mushroom hiding in the corner couldn’t stay hidden any longer. Shi Lan quickly reverted to her human form and, before he could run and hide, gently tugged on his soiled clothes from behind.
"Don’t cry. I’m still here..."
she said softly, wrapping her arms around him from behind to soothe his shrinking heart.
Suddenly hearing her voice again, Mu Tangfeng was both overjoyed and startled, but his hand moved to cover his face faster than he could think.
’He always wanted to present his best side to Shi Lan, not this version of himself with a face swollen like a pig’s.’
"Lanlan, you didn’t leave?"
he asked, his voice thick and nasal from his stuffy nose, still hoarse. ’To think I was just crying so unattractively, and Lanlan was hiding in the dark listening to it all.’ He was so ashamed he wished he could dig a hole and bury himself in it.
This time, however, he didn’t dare move. He was afraid that if he really did hide, Shi Lan would leave and never come back.
He didn’t want to experience that feeling of loss again.
Shi Lan hummed in agreement. "I’ve been here the whole time."
’She’d only said that; she never actually intended to leave.’
’After all, she was here to comfort him, not to upset him even more.’
Besides, listening to him cry on and on, her heart ached with a mix of pity and exasperated amusement.
’It was the first time she’d seen a guy cry while looking in a mirror, only to get so upset by how ugly he thought he looked that he cried even harder.’
Mu Tangfeng was so embarrassed he fell silent, then just gave a resigned "Oh."
Shi Lan slowly moved from behind to stand in front of him. She gently pulled his hand away from his face.
Mu Tangfeng didn’t resist this time, but he couldn’t stop his reddened eyes from darting away as he looked down.
Shi Lan looked at his face. One side was bruised and swollen from the fight, while the other was flushed red from crying.
His skin was fair and delicate, so any marks from crying or injury showed up very clearly.
Shi Lan’s fingertips gently brushed his skin as she took some ointment from her Space Bag to apply to his face.
As she applied the ointment, she said, "You’re handsome. I like it very much."
"You’re not ugly at all."
"If anyone dares to call you ugly, I’ll beat them up for you."
The lips Mu Tangfeng had been pressing together in a sullen line began to curl up without him realizing it. The gloom in his eyes receded, replaced by a renewed glimmer. His pupils, looking even brighter for having been washed by tears, stared intently at her rosy lips, so close to his own and speaking such sweet words.
’In his dreams, his fingers had traced those lips hundreds of times, but he’d never dared to actually kiss them.’
’He was afraid of upsetting Lanlan, and he kept telling himself to wait until the time was right—a little more right—until after he became her Beast Husband...’
’But he never expected this. Lanlan was simply unwilling to kiss him.’
’She was willing to be intimate with Jiang Xia, and even with Admiral He. He was the only one left out.’
As he stared, his eyes began to well up with tears again. He blinked, a little awkwardly.
’He had already embarrassed himself enough in front of Shi Lan. If he cried again, he’d ruin the ointment she was applying for him.’ He choked back his tears.
But how could Shi Lan not sense the fervent thoughts behind his gaze?
She finished carefully applying the ointment, her gaze drifting down until it landed, almost without her noticing, on his peach-pink lips.
’She’d never really looked at his mouth so intently before. Now that she was, she realized he had a full, rounded peak on his upper lip. It looked like a soft, juicy peach—one that seemed fragrant and delicious.’
She stared for a few seconds before she was unable to resist leaning her head down.
