Lack of Love

 

The following day, Yan Hao suddenly said he wanted to take him out.

Since the car accident four years ago, they rarely went on long trips alone in a car. Although Zhong Qiran knew they couldn’t live under the shadow of that time forever, it still took a considerable amount of courage to take that step. He thought for a moment and confirmed once again, “No driver?”

Yan Hao replied, “No driver.”

“Do we have to go?”

Yan Hao nodded, “I want to take you to a very special place.”

Upon hearing Yan Hao’s words, Zhong Qiran stopped asking further. He knew that Yan Hao’s insistence must have a reason.

Before leaving, Zhong Qiran was still a bit nervous, constantly checking if he had forgotten anything, stuffing useless things into his bag, and then taking them out again.

Yan Hao didn’t rush him, just stood at the door and watched, as if no matter how long Zhong Qiran struggled, he would wait for him.

Zhong Qiran glanced at Yan Hao and finally gave up the struggle. He admitted that he was still afraid, worried about another accident happening. After overcoming countless difficulties to be together, he just wanted to live a peaceful life without any more challenges. But he also thought that if it couldn’t be avoided, this time he would protect Yan Hao.

The two got into the car and fastened their seat belts. Before setting off, Yan Hao held Zhong Qiran’s hand by his side, and then started driving.

The car slowly entered the road, and Yan Hao still drove smoothly, no different from before. However, Zhong Qiran couldn’t relax because he realized that the route Yan Hao was taking was the same one they had taken during their car accident four years ago. He seemed to have guessed where Yan Hao was taking him, but he didn’t feel good about it. Now he only hoped for a safe journey and didn’t want to think about anything else.

Before long, the car left the road and headed towards the mountainous area.

Zhong Qiran was extremely nervous, his eyes fixed on the oncoming cars, gripping the handrail tightly. The closer they got to the location of their car accident, the more afraid he felt.

At this moment, Yan Hao spoke, “Don’t be afraid, I will protect you.”

Zhong Qiran quickly shook his head, “No, no, this time it’s my turn to protect you.”

Yan Hao fell silent and didn’t say anything.

The weather was good that day, and there were many people out for a trip. The car was moving slowly, so there was really nothing to worry about.

Yan Hao remembered the photo of the two of them placed on his desk. The location of the photo was the destination of their trip, a dating spot. It was also the first place Yan Hao took Zhong Qiran after they got married.

Eight years ago, as a young master of the Yan family, he went online for the first time to search for dating guides, arranged the itinerary himself, and remembered all the precautions, just to give Zhong Qiran a beautiful memory. But no matter how well he had planned, it still went wrong that day because shortly after they arrived at the destination, it unexpectedly started pouring rain in the mountainous area.

They didn’t bring an umbrella, so they could only take shelter from the rain in the service area of the scenic spot. The service area was built in the form of small wooden houses to match the local scenery, with sloping roofs that had a quaint feel.

They stood under the leaves and watched the rain.

At that time, Zhong Qiran saw that Yan Hao seemed a bit dejected, so he smiled and walked over with his phone, taking a selfie of the two of them on the spot.

The background of the photo was ordinary and nothing special, but perhaps due to the presence of people and the shimmering rainwater, the expressions of the individuals in the photo became vivid.

Later, when the rain stopped and the sun came out, they took more photos, but surprisingly, the other photos didn’t turn out as good as this one.

So Zhong Qiran took this photo to a photo studio to have it developed, took out a long-unused photo frame, and placed it in the most prominent position in the living room, saying with a smile, “This is their first date commemoration.”

Yan Hao still remembered the smile on Zhong Qiran’s face when he said those words, which was heartwarming and made him want to cherish it deep in his heart and savor it slowly in old age.

Even now, his thoughts hadn’t changed. It seemed that through those memories, his emotions were slowly becoming clear. He held the steering wheel firmly. “I don’t want this road to be the source of your fear.”

Zhong Qiran was stunned for a moment, understanding Yan Hao’s meaning. This journey should have been a time to create beautiful memories, not to be overshadowed by fear.

He still remembered that on the day of the car accident four years ago, they were originally planning to revisit the old place. Yan Hao had said at the time that he knew something very special and insisted on taking him to see it. But after the accident, no one had the mindset to think about that anymore.

While Zhong Qiran was reminiscing, the car had already passed the location of their previous accident and was far behind. The broken guardrail had been repaired and blended seamlessly with the surroundings, leaving no trace.

Zhong Qiran was momentarily lost, as if he hadn’t expected them to pass by so easily, without any accidents happening. He murmured to himself, “We made it…”

As if with the utterance of those words, the fear in his heart also dissipated. What was even more important was that there was someone beside him, and they were going to overcome difficulties together.

Yan Hao repeated once again, following his lead, “We made it.”

Zhong Qiran suddenly realized something and asked, “Are you still going to show me that thing you mentioned before?”

Yan Hao replied, “Yes. Only you can see it.”

They safely arrived at their destination this time.

After eight years, they finally came back to this place. It was a natural forest area with a beautiful view of the mountains below. What made this place special was that two rivers curved and intersected below, forming the shape of a heart. It was a natural wonder, which is why this place was also known as the confession spot.

Yan Hao held Zhong Qiran’s hand and counted the trees, stopping at the ninth tree.

Zhong Qiran watched as Yan Hao rolled up his sleeves and started digging the ground with his hands. He was taken aback and looked around. When he realized that nobody was paying attention to this side, he used his body to shield Yan Hao’s actions and asked, “What are you doing?”

Yan Hao said, “Looking for something. After all this time, I don’t know if it’s still here…”

Zhong Qiran had a vague idea in his mind but didn’t dare to guess.

Until Yan Hao dug out a small package from the soil and handed it to Zhong Qiran.

Zhong Qiran took the object and didn’t notice that his hand was trembling slightly. The object had been stained with mud and water, indicating that it had been buried in the soil for a long time.

Yan Hao used his hand to remove the dirty outer covering and handed the small box inside to Zhong Qiran, saying, “Open it and take a look.”

After Zhong Qiran opened the box, he found a pair of couple rings inside. The inside of the rings was engraved with their initials and a congratulatory note: “Wooden Anniversary, Five Years of Marriage.”

Seeing the words on it, Zhong Qiran couldn’t help but feel a tingling in his nose, and tears started flowing down. This was something that Yan Hao had prepared for them four years ago, and he only received it now.

They have known each other for eight years, been married for four years, separated for three years, and finally reunited in the last year. The twists and turns in between were countless, but fortunately, neither of them  gave up.

Yan Hao said, “It’s a little late. I don’t know if it’s still possible now.”

Zhong Qiran wiped away his tears but shook his head and said, “It’s too late.”

Yan Hao stared at him.

Only then did Zhong Qiran say, “I’ll accept the object first. But you’ll have to wait for another five years before you have the qualification to wear it.”

Yan Hao said, “I’ll wait for however many sets of five years, ten years, twenty years.”

Zhong Qiran shook his head again, half-jokingly saying, “After ten or twenty years, I want a bigger one each time, bigger than the previous one.”

After he finished speaking, he found it amusing and couldn’t help but laugh. Then he turned his head and seemed to see Yan Hao smiling at him too.

“Okay.”

THE END.

1look forward to the extra episodes and Li Qi and Lian Sijiao’s love story

1look forward to the extra episodes and Li Qi and Lian Sijiao’s love story