Chapter 431: Tomorrow Wasn’t Far Enough
Chenghai left the bedroom before I could ask what he was planning and why he and Zhenlan had decided that now was the time to press the whole romance thing.
That was probably deliberate.
Either they were done waiting or they thought I was going to die and didn’t want to have any regrets.
But I really wasn’t complaining.
Lingyun watched the empty doorway with the kind of interest he usually saved for fire, blood, or other people’s private business. Yuche kept one hand against his chest, which was the only reason he remained flat against the pillows instead of chasing Chenghai into the hall.
I stayed against Zhenlan and tried to decide whether I should be worried.
Chenghai didn’t plan dates.
As far as I knew, he planned supply routes, vehicle repairs, and the fastest way to carry someone away from danger without listening to them complain. The man had probably never looked at a flower without checking whether it could be eaten.
Whatever he had planned for tomorrow might involve a chair and food.
Honestly, that sounded fine.
Zhenlan slid his hand beneath my shirt again and rubbed the sore muscles along my side. He didn’t seem bothered that Chenghai had claimed tomorrow. His mouth touched my shoulder while I stared at the door.
"You knew," I said.
Zhenlan’s hand kept moving. "He told me this morning."
"And you didn’t warn me?"
"He told you himself."
That was annoyingly true.
I pushed the blankets away and tried to sit up properly. My thighs complained immediately, followed by several other places that had apparently joined together overnight to punish me for having fun.
Zhenlan caught my waist before I could tip sideways.
Lingyun’s eyes brightened as Yuche covered his face again.
I ignored both of them and put my feet on the floor. Standing turned out to be a poor choice, but I refused to sit back down after everyone had already seen me attempt it.
Zhenlan rose behind me and kept one arm around my middle.
"I can walk," I muttered.
He looked down at the way I was holding onto his wrist.
I could still walk. I had never said I could do it well.
He lifted me before I could make another attempt.
This time, I didn’t argue. I wrapped one arm around his neck and let him carry me into the bathroom while Lingyun made a muffled sound beneath Yuche’s hand.
By the time I showered and found clean clothes, the smell of bacon had reached the second floor.
That did more for my recovery than hot water.
Zhenlan waited outside the bathroom with one of my loose summer dresses folded over his arm. I had left shorts and a tank top on the counter, but the idea of fabric rubbing against my thighs had become less attractive after I stood up.
I took the dress from him.
He stayed where he was while I pulled it over my head. The soft fabric fell to my knees without touching anything that currently hated me.
Zhenlan’s hand settled on my hip as soon as I finished.
The man had become impossible.
I let him help me downstairs.
Chenghai was in the kitchen, standing over two frying pans while toast browned beside him. He had already showered and changed, and there was no sign that he had spent half the morning lying awake at the bottom of the bed watching Zhenlan hold me.
He looked over when we entered.
His eyes moved down the dress, paused at the careful way I was walking, then returned to my face.
He turned the stove off.
Zhenlan’s arm was still around my waist when Chenghai crossed the kitchen. Neither of them said anything to each other. Chenghai simply bent, slid one arm beneath my knees, and took me from him.
I grabbed Chenghai’s shoulder before I dropped.
Zhenlan let go without a fight.
Apparently, they had worked out some sort of carrying schedule without including me... the person being carried.
Chenghai placed me on one of the stools at the island. Instead of returning to the stove, he stayed between my knees and ran both hands slowly down my thighs.
Heat climbed into my face.
He wasn’t touching me the way Zhenlan had in the garden. His hands were firm and careful, pressing into sore muscle until some of the ache began to loosen.
That didn’t make it less noticeable.
Zhenlan took the seat beside me and stole a piece of bacon from the plate.
Chenghai slapped his hand away.
I took two pieces while they were distracted.
Breakfast appeared in front of me a few minutes later. Chenghai had made eggs, bacon, toast, fried potatoes, and enough fruit to make it look like he cared about balance. I ate the potatoes first and left most of the melon near the edge of the plate.
Yuche brought Lingyun down after we had already started. Lingyun moved slowly, one arm around Yuche’s shoulders while his other hand protected his ribs. Chenghai had prepared a chair with extra cushions before either of them arrived.
No one asked about the garden.
Lingyun looked at the dress, looked at Zhenlan, and smiled into his orange juice.
That was all he managed before Yuche handed him a plate and told him to eat.
The kitchen stayed quiet after that. Chenghai stood near me while he ate, one hip resting against the island. Every time I shifted on the stool, his hand dropped to my leg and rubbed the sore muscle again.
Zhenlan stayed close on my other side. His fingers played with the ends of my hair while he drank his tea.
Neither man acted like the other one needed to move.
I had expected this part to be harder.
Four men were supposed to mean constant arguments, jealousy, or someone becoming offended because another person touched me first. Instead, Zhenlan passed Chenghai the butter, Chenghai moved my water closer, and Yuche made sure Lingyun didn’t choke while trying to eat too quickly.
It was almost disappointing.
Not enough to ask them to start fighting.
After breakfast, Zhenlan carried the dishes to the sink. Chenghai took my plate before I finished the last piece of bacon, but I grabbed it back and ate it while he watched.
He should’ve known better.
Once the kitchen was clean, Yuche took Lingyun into the living room to check his bandages. Zhenlan followed with the tea, leaving Chenghai and me alone at the island.
Chenghai rested both hands on my knees.
"Tomorrow," he said, "do you want to leave before lunch or after?"
The question caught me off guard.
He didn’t ask what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go, or whether I felt like leaving the house at all. He gave me two choices I could actually answer without my brain trying to chew through twenty possibilities.
"After."
Chenghai nodded once.
That seemed to settle it.
His hands slid higher beneath the loose skirt of my dress, stopping near the middle of my thighs. He leaned closer and pressed his mouth against my forehead.
The kiss was slow, but he didn’t try to turn it into anything else.
When he stepped back, he reached around me and lifted me from the stool.
I ended up against his chest again.
"You know I’m going to recover eventually," I said.
His arm tightened beneath my legs as he carried me toward the living room. "I know. But eventually is not today, so let me enjoy this for a while."
Zhenlan was already sitting on the sectional when we entered. Chenghai lowered me beside him, but before I could settle, he sat on my other side and pulled my legs across his lap.
His hand wrapped around my ankle.
Zhenlan put his arm around my shoulders.
Apparently, Chenghai had decided tomorrow was too far away to begin.
We stayed that way while Yuche redid Lingyun’s bandages and an old comedy played on television. I had seen it before, but not enough times to remember every joke. Chenghai rubbed my calf. Zhenlan fed me pieces of toast he had somehow brought from the kitchen, and Lingyun eventually stopped watching us long enough to fall asleep.
Near the end of the movie, Chenghai leaned close and told me not to wear anything tomorrow that I cared about getting dirty.
Then he went back to rubbing my leg without explaining another thing.