Unable to Fall in Love Syndrome - Chapter 25.1

Chapter 25 – Sunny Side Up Fairy Tale 04 – Part 1

He hadn’t realized it before, but Qiao Shan was actually this adorable. He flipped her over again with a gentle hand, propping his head up on his palm as he quietly gazed at her face.

He got lost in watching her, and before he knew it, two hours had slipped by. Just staring at her peaceful form like this, he felt tireless, as if the world was perfectly fine and warmth seeped into his very bones, even with the heavy rain pouring outside and thunder rumbling.

He turned off the main bedroom light, leaving only the vintage lamp on the wall. Its soft, warm yellowish glow spilled onto his face, making his refined features look like smooth, lustrous white jade.

Finally, he leaned down and gave her lips a quick peck.

In that moment, he felt like he’d spend the rest of his life ruined by her. For a split second, an impulse surged through him—he desperately wanted to claim her as his own, to announce to the world that her sovereignty belonged to him.

He switched off the last remaining light in the bedroom, grabbed a blanket, and headed to the living room. Lying on the sofa, he felt wide awake. Recalling that earlier scene, it seemed unbelievable. How had he come to like her? And when?

Clearly… the initial disgust had been so intense, so how could he like her now? Was this what they meant by extremes leading to opposites? Hating deeply at first, only to love fiercely in the end? He rolled over, his mind flashing back to the stolen kiss, and down below… he got hard.

This wasn’t the first time he’d kissed her—it was the third.

The first was in the elevator, and thinking back, he couldn’t fathom why he’d done it. Just to piss her off?

The second was purely a prank by Ying Shengnan. As for this third time… hmm, sweet, better than eating candy.

He lay there with his eyes open until 4 a.m., still not sleepy at all, so he got up and called Ying Shengnan. On the other end, Ying Shengnan answered lazily, yawning as he asked, “Are you sleepwalking? Calling this early?”

Zuo Yi got up and went to the study, closing the door behind him. He pulled out a photo of Qiao Shan from when she was little from the drawer. He’d brought this photo from home to the office, then from the office back home—after all the back-and-forth, his mindset had changed completely.

He didn’t speak for a long time, and Ying Shengnan thought he really was sleepwalking, about to hang up, when Zuo Yi’s calm, emotionless voice came through the receiver.

“I kissed her.”

Ying Shengnan: “Huh? Kid, having a wet dream?”

Zuo Yi kept it brief: “She got drunk, she’s at my place.”

Ying Shengnan finally caught on, letting out an “Oh”: “Nice one, you moved fast and got it done?”

Zuo Yi’s voice remained flat. “What should I do next?”

“What do you mean, what next?” Ying Shengnan replied. “You beast, you already did the girl, and you’re asking me? Beast, beast, little beast! Marry her and make her my sister-in-law!”

Zuo Yi: “Yeah, if she’s willing, I’ll take responsibility and marry her. But she doesn’t know what I did to her. How should I tell her tomorrow? Would proposing right away be too fast? Shouldn’t we become a couple first before marriage? What do I do?”

Ying Shengnan’s tone was full of mock disgust, but his expression was the exact opposite—he was grinning ear to ear with the phone in hand, stifling a laugh.

“You beast, what’s your excuse? Buy her a bouquet tomorrow and start pursuing her! Beast, beast, little beast!” Ying Shengnan couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing on the other end. After a while, he said, “Third bro, if your second brother was half the beast you are, it’d be great. You act all proper on the surface, but damn, you’re such a beast, huh? No need to say more—it’s done, so I’ll start preparing the betrothal gifts. Chase her hard, good luck… Oh, right, do you even know how to chase someone?”

Zuo Yi: “If I did, would I be calling you?”

Ying Shengnan nearly fainted, collapsing onto the floor before scrambling up with the phone, composing himself: “First, send flowers, take her out to eat, spend time with her, take care of her. If she says east, don’t go west. If she says west, don’t go east. Basically, she’s your goddess, and you follow her lead, got it?”

Zuo Yi nodded: “I think I get it. So tomorrow, start with flowers.”

Ying Shengnan snapped his fingers: “Right, first ask what kind she likes, then send them.”

*

In the morning, Qiao Shan woke up to find herself wrapped in a blanket like a zongzi. She got out of bed and called through the door to Zuo Yi, “Was it the security lady who changed me again? I feel bad about troubling her so much. Where are my clothes?”

After a moment, there was a knock on the door. She cracked it open, and the man handed her dried clothes through the gap.

She changed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. Looking in the mirror, she saw her long hair braided into eight-strand braids—pretty cute. The braids were tight and held up well after a night’s sleep; a quick comb with some water smoothed them out.

After combing, Qiao Shan looked at the comb in her hand, stunned by its intricate carved patterns. She took it to the dining room to find Zuo Yi, sighing at his back: “Zuo Stingy, this comb must be worth something, huh?”

“Hmm? You like it?” Zuo Yi brought over the sunny-side-up egg he’d fried and a glass of milk to the table.

She nodded: “Yeah, I do.”

Zuo Yi: “Then it’s yours.”

She’d just sat down to eat when she suddenly stood up again, slapping the back of her head: “Oh no, Dudu must be starving at home. I gotta get back and feed him.”

“That dumb dog?” Zuo Yi lifted his chin, pointing toward the balcony.

Qiao Shan followed his gesture and saw Dudu sprawled on the floor, holding a big bowl with his chubby front paws, happily lapping up the food inside.

The dog’s eyes caught someone watching out of the corner of his eye, and he quickly shielded the bowl with his paws, plopping his heavy head over it to hide his meal.

Dumb dog… Zuo Yi shook his head in exasperation, wondering why he’d ever been afraid of this idiot. He sliced a few pieces of kiwi into a small dish and pushed it toward Qiao Shan, explaining: “The guy kept scratching at the door and barking like crazy. I was worried he’d disturb the neighbors, so I used your keys to let him in and brought him over. He must’ve been starving—look, he ate a full twelve pounds of chicken br3ast.”

Qiao Shan took a sip of milk, glancing at the ravenous dog, and sighed: “Twelve pounds of chicken br3ast? Feed a dog like that, and you’ll go broke.”

Zuo Yi asked her: “How do you usually feed him?”

Qiao Shan: “On good days, dog food. On bad days, he eats instant noodles like me.”

“Eating dog food and growing this big—it’s not easy,” Zuo Yi said, eyeing the fat dog.

Qiao Shan tilted her head slightly, pointing to her eight-strand braids: “Hey, Zuo Stingy, does the security lady’s braiding look good on me?”

Zuo Yi coughed, lowering his head and dodging the question: “Yeah, pretty good.”

Qiao Shan: “Ooh, when did your mouth get so sweet? Speaking of… I didn’t do anything to you while drunk last night, did I?”

Zuo Yi: “You were actually quiet last night. The time before, you hugged me and puked—I was a saint for not tossing you out on the street.”

Qiao Shan scratched the back of her head sheepishly: “Sorry, my drunk behavior isn’t great.” She looked down at the sunny-side-up egg on her plate and sighed again: “Zuo Stingy, you know? Wenwen really loves sunny-side-up eggs.”

Zuo Yi said, “Perfect, no big work at the company today. Let’s head to the hospital later to see the little girl. While she can still eat, we’ll bring her a sunny-side-up egg.”

After breakfast, Qiao Shan leashed the dog and took him home, then headed out with Zuo Yi. While waiting downstairs for him to bring the car, she ran into the security lady and greeted her warmly: “Thanks so much for last night—troubling you to change my clothes again.”

The female security guard blinked in confusion. “What?”

Qiao Shan pointed to her braids: “And your hands are so skilled—this eight-strand braid is great!”

The security guard was utterly baffled, about to ask if there was a misunderstanding, when Zuo Yi pulled up and honked rudely a few times. Qiao Shan waved to the guard: “Thanks! I’ll treat you to dinner sometime!”

The security guard watched Zuo Yi’s car disappear, completely at a loss. What on earth…

On the way to the hospital, Zuo Yi suddenly asked her, “Do you like flowers? What kind?”

Qiao Shan hummed in thought: “Yeah, I guess. I like broccoli—it’s edible, two uses in one, so practical?” She licked her lips; stir-fried broccoli was the best, crisp and refreshing. She hadn’t had it in ages and was craving it.

Zuo Yi glanced at her. Broccoli… unique taste.