CH 22.1

Hearts Softened (1)

...... unrestrained?

Lin Yu He froze in the midst of nodding his head.

In all his education, ‘unrestrained’ was a pejorative word; a behavior that was forbidden.

Lu Nan was the first and only one who said, “You have to be more unrestrained,” to him.

The task was indeed a bit difficult for Lin Yu He, who answered dryly, “I’m not quite sure how to do it......”

Lu Nan continued, “There’s no fixed method or way to do this. It’s just a natural reaction.”

His expression and tone were serious. “That’s why we have to spend more time together. You’ll get used to it after some time.”

Lin Yu He was shocked by the seriousness in his tone and couldn’t help but feel that Lu Nan analyzed such things so thoroughly.

No wonder he was doing so much better than himself.

Lin Yu He, with an open-minded attitude toward learning, carefully took note of the assignment given and nodded. “Okay.”

“Since we’re going to spend more time together, we have to do some math.” Lu Nan laced his fingers and put his hands on his thighs. His fingertips tapped the back of his hands as he patiently analyzed, “Now that we have less than a month away from the wedding, there is not much time left for us to get along.”

He looked at Lin Yu He and slowed down his already patient tone. “In order to get used to it as soon as possible, it’s better for us to live together.”

Live together?

Lin Yu He was stunned.

Premarital cohabitation, in fact, had already been mentioned when signing the agreement. But at that time, it was said that Lu Nan was busy with work and would not necessarily come to Yan City before the wedding. His visits were all up to his work situation.

Now that Lu Nan has moved to Yan City, the cohabitation suggestion came suddenly, but it was not unexpected.

Lin Yu He nodded. “Okay.”

Suddenly, he had to live with his ‘fiancé’ whom he didn’t know much about. He still felt nervous about it, but the man’s calmness made Lin Yu He felt unprofessional.

In fact, Lu Nan was busier than a medical student like him, so there was no reason to hesitate about if the man had already said so.

And so, the matter of living together was agreed upon systematically.

The car drove all the way to another mall, and the two got off and walked together toward the restaurant on the upper level.

Unlike the previous shopping mall, which was mainly for luxury brands, this was a new plaza that was built only two years ago. The style of the two malls was extremely different, and the difference could be clearly felt as soon as one entered.

This mall had brighter colors, bold decorations, and more people; many of which were youngsters who wore trendy clothes and sports shoes.

Lin Yu He was a little surprised.

It looks more like a place he and his friends of the same age would visit, and he never pegged Lu Nan as someone who would shop in these places.

Lin Yu He didn't know what he was going to eat until he stepped out of the elevator and smelled the rich and spicy aroma. Then, he realized that they had come to an old Shu style’s hot pot restaurant*.

*TN: In China, different provinces have different methods of prepping or eating the same food, such as preference for spiciness, saltiness or sweetness, etc. Also note that the author uses Shu Province, which is known as the Sichuan Province in modern China, hence Lin Yu He’s inclination to bamboo forest views (Sichuan houses pandas)

Lin Yu He grew up in the Shu Province, and he could tell right away that this hot pot restaurant was quite authentic. The people from Shu Province loved hot pot and could even eat it three times a day, so Lin Yu He naturally liked this restaurant too.

However, he was still a bit surprised.

He noticed that Lu Nan had invited him to eat Shu’s cuisine several times, including the first time they met. It was as if Lu Nan knew his preferences.

Lin Yu He wondered if this was specially prepared for him or if it was just a coincidence. If it was specially prepared, then he was definitely performing poorly as a cooperative partner.

Lin Yu He was thinking about it when he saw Fang Mu Sen in front of the hot pot restaurant. The restaurant allowed the customers to pick up the waiting number online, but the reservation would be invalidated the moment their number passed. Hence, Fang Mu Sen arrived first to help them pick up the waiting number.

Lin Yu He had a good impression of Fang Mu Sen. Although he knew it was just Fang Mu Sen’s job, he still had an inexplicable feeling of closeness to Fang Mu Sen. The latter felt like a caring older brother.

There were still two more numbers until it was their turn, and it happened that Lu Nan had a work call to take, so Lin Yu He chatted with Fang Mu Sen instead.

He asked, “Mr. Fang, do you know why does Gege chose this place for dinner?"

He was worried that it was still going to be used as some kind of material or something, after all, Lu Nan really didn't seemed to be very aligned with the picture of the hot pot restaurant.

Fang Mu Sen smiled, thinking, "What else could it be for if not for you?”

It's not that Lu Nan didn't consider other restaurants, but the young man in front of him wrote ‘the hot pot is not spicy enough’ on the questionnaire, so Lu Nan chose a hot pot restaurant that served very spicy hot pot to make up for Lin Yu He.