Chapter 302: Oiling and Being Oiled
Chapter 302: Oiling and Being Oiled
He actually doesn't live here. In fact, after being in Tiesi Village for so long, Zhan Lian has no home. He eats and sleeps at the checkpoint, which is the highway gas station where An Ran was found.
But Zhan Lian has already set his sights on this place. Though he doesn't know when he'll find An Ran and Doll, he has been preparing for their arrival—food, clothes, daily necessities, and even a place to stay, all ready for when he finds his wife and child. Everything is prepared so that it can be used the moment they arrive.
Holding a cigarette in his mouth, Zhan Lian walks up the slope with his hands in his trouser pockets. He looks up at the branches above his head. The branches make a strange creaking sound, but he doesn't take it seriously and goes straight into the yard. Just as he passes the wall covered with ivy and is about to go up to the corridor on the first floor, he suddenly senses a murderous intent behind him.
He can sense the attack, so he tilts his head slightly and turns his body, narrowly dodging the attack. He lands a punch, grabs the military knife aimed at the back of his head with one hand, and uses the other to punch the person behind him in the face.
He freezes in surprise when he sees the person’s face by the moonlight. After a quick assessment of the outline of their face, he immediately withdraws his punch, narrowly avoiding landing the killing blow on the person's forehead and temple. His deadly strike is abruptly held back.
"Ah~~" An Ran, caught by the gust of wind from the punch, winces in pain. She also feels the unbearable pain in her wrist, which is almost twisted out of place. She has no choice but to let go and is about to shout to wake up Little Mint inside. However, she hears Zhan Lian scold, "What are you doing, standing behind me with a knife?"
"Zhan Lian?" An Ran is startled and looks up, recognizing the man in front of her. "Why are you here?"
The plants tell her that someone has come, and she wonders who it is!
"Who else would it be if not me?" Zhan Lian grumbles as he releases An Ran. Seeing her rubbing her wrist, he reaches out and grabs her hand, inspecting it under the moonlight. His expression shows both frustration and regret, though his tone remains harsh. "Put some medicine on it. I didn’t break it. That was my oversight."
There are a lot of cars parked in a mess on the high ground. Zhan Lian turns around and walks to the side of a car, opens the door, opens the trunk, takes out a large plastic storage box from the trunk, and walks in front of An Ran.
An Ran rubs her wrist and grins as she watches Zhan Lian walk over. He nods at her, carries the big box into the room next to Doll, and An Ran follows him, standing outside the door and looking in under the moonlight.
Zhan Lian is lighting a candle inside. The white candle is burning with a weak flame. He drips a few drops of wax and places the candle on the tabletop of the small wooden table. He opens the lid of the box and takes out an unopened bottle of bruise ointment.
Turning his head, he sees An Ran still standing outside the door and says, "Come in. What are you doing, standing there like a door guard?"
"I..." An Ran opens her mouth, about to ask what Zhan Lian means by that, but her feet move involuntarily, stepping into the room.
At that moment, Zhan Lian kicks a chair toward her, signaling for her to sit on the edge of the bedframe. He sits down on the chair himself, holding the bruise ointment. He grabs her wrist and begins to apply the oil to it.
"It's just a minor injury." An Ran retracts her hand and gives Zhan Lian an awkward smile in the dim yellow candlelight. "No need to apply oil, it will heal in a while."
Zhan Lian glances up at her but doesn’t respond. He puts the bruise ointment down, then grabs her wrist again with one hand and gently massages it with the other.
And so, they both fall into silence—one anointing the oil, the other being anointed with oil.