Lu Han closely followed and exited.
With a ding, the elevator doors closed behind them.
Tang Su stood at the door of 602, while Lu Han hesitated slightly in his steps before heading toward 601.
"Doctor Lu, good night," Tang Su said, her voice trembling slightly.
If you didn't listen carefully, you wouldn't have noticed.
"Good night."
By then, Lu Han had already unlocked the door with his fingerprint, and he bid her good night before closing the door.
Once the door was shut, Lu Han didn't immediately change his shoes; instead, he stood there, dazed, his mind filled with the distinct touch on his palm and the sight of Tang Su's earlobes, red as a rabbit's eyes.
…
Tang Su, on the other hand, stayed rooted to the spot for a while longer. This time, she was belatedly shocked to realize that she and Lu Han were neighbors. Apart from marveling at the depth of their connection, she felt an inexplicable excitement.
Her heart pounded wildly.
It beat so fast it felt as if it might burst out of her chest.
Actually, she had been thinking about inviting him for breakfast the next day, but then she remembered he was a doctor, likely to start his day at eight, while she, owning a bookstore and a coffee shop on Culture Street, only needed to open at nine.
She had hired two people to help manage the place, so it didn't really matter if she, the boss, showed up at nine-thirty or occasionally not at all.
Their schedules were out of sync, no wonder they were neighbors yet had never met before.
From now on, if she needed him for anything, she could just knock on his door.
Or even when she just wanted to see him.
As Tang Su pressed the code and used her fingerprint to unlock the door, it opened with a ding, and she slipped inside. A few seconds later, the corridor's automatic light turned off.
In the hallway, darkness enveloped everything.
The night was deep.
Not long after entering, Sun Qing, who had waited a long time without a reply from Tang Su, directly sent a video call.
Tang Su was immersing her face in a basin of water she had just filled. So much had happened that day; she needed the cold water to calm down.
She also needed to think through her next steps carefully.
No matter what would happen with Lu Han in the future, at present, she had to deal with Ye Sichen first.
In any case, her future life would have nothing to do with Ye Sichen. She wouldn't have to sacrifice her own preferences for the sake of so-called compatibility and try to cater to Ye Sichen's tastes anymore.
When she returned from her parents' house tomorrow, she planned to buy a Ragdoll cat to keep as a pet.
The only reason she hadn't done so before was that Ye Sichen didn't like cats, and she didn't want to fight with him over a pet.
But previously, he'd never taken the initiative to visit her place—even it seemed that Shen Tian was still on his mind.
That's fine.
If he and Shen Tian rekindled their old love, she, maybe, could continue having a crush on Lu Han.
However, after this failed romance, even if it were Lu Han, she thought, she'd need time to move on.
Moreover, Lu Han might not have those feelings for her.
And she didn't want another unrequited love.
"Tang Bao, what are you doing?" Sun Qing asked through the video, seeing Tang Su's face dripping wet, with her forehead's hair strands also soaked.
"Washing my face. Have you finished your shift?" Tang Su asked.
"How could it be that fast? It's just past ten o'clock, and we're not off until midnight. Could the old hag let us off the hook that easily? It's because I said I was hungry, she was afraid I'd drop dead from overwork on her watch, so she agreed to let me go downstairs and grab some food."
Sun Qing was eating Northeastern dumplings that were so large, just four or five of them were enough to fill you up.
"Finished having dinner with the handsome Doctor Lu? Did you walk him home? Do you know where he lives?" Sun Qing asked with a smile.
"How could I walk someone home when I hitched a ride myself?" Tang Su retorted.
"Right, right. Oh, when will I get to see the handsome Doctor Lu again?" Sun Qing pouted, a true beauty enthusiast, particularly fond of handsome men and pretty women.
Lu Han's good looks perfectly matched her aesthetic preferences.
"Do you have a crush on Doctor Lu?" Tang Su asked with a laugh. If that was the case, she could certainly surprise her with the news that she was Lu Han's neighbor.
But Sun Qing, this girl, how many handsome guys had she liked from childhood till now?
From senior students to junior ones, from neighborhood crushes to Internet heartthrobs, none of her interests ever lasted, and she'd change her mind before long.
Doctor Lu was a good person, and Tang Su truly didn't want to see Lu Han get burned by Sun Qing.
What if Lu Han gave his heart and Sun Qing changed her mind again? How would Tang Su console him?
It wasn't as if such things hadn't happened before. In middle school, Sun Qing carefully pursued a top student. It took her less than two weeks to succeed, but not even a month later, she grew bored.
The top student suffered, missing the chance to go to the best high school in Hua City. In the end, he just went to an average high school. When he walked home from school with Sun Qing, they ran into his mother at the school gate, getting an earful in the process.
Luckily, a top student is a top student. With three years of hard work in high school, he eventually became the valedictorian of their class.
Even so, he couldn't forget Sun Qing, wanting to rekindle their past relationship, only to be rejected by her once again.
"Yes, I have a crush. Why, do you have a problem with that?"
Sun Qing's teasing question reached her ears.
"Sun Qing, don't fool around. I don't care about the others, but you absolutely must not harass Doctor Lu," Tang Su warned, still protective of her past idol.
"Heh, really looking out for him, huh? I got called in for overtime; did it create an opportunity for you two? Don't tell me you're trying to seamlessly transition to something with Doctor Lu..."
The words Sun Qing left unsaid, Tang Su could easily guess what she was implying.
"Don't talk nonsense. I just think Doctor Lu is a decent person. Unless you're planning to marry him, please don't mess with him for real."
"Got it. Sis, I can mess with any guy in this lifetime, except for the one you, Tang Bao, hold dear—completely off-limits. Happy now?"
Tang Su: "..."
These words made Tang Su herself feel guilty.
She couldn't deny Sun Qing's insinuations, not entirely inaccurate. After all, Lu Han had indeed been someone she cherished deep in her heart for a very long time.
As for now, she dared not let herself feel that way anymore.
If Sun Qing could be with Lu Han for the long haul without breaking his heart, then not only would she not stand in their way, but she would also help to bring them together.
The prerequisite was that Lu Han had the same feelings for Sun Qing.
"Sun Qing, weren't you always curious about who lives across from me?"
"What, you met them today?" Sun Qing paused, then a light bulb went off, and she realized, "Tang Bao, don't tell me that elusive neighbor is Doctor Lu?"
"..."
No one could say Sun Qing wasn't clever.
With just that hint, she had guessed the neighbor was Lu Han.
Without a word, Tang Su confirmed it by her silence.
As Sun Qing popped the last dumpling into her mouth, she promised Tang Su, "Mmm, I get it. You're so protective of him, rest easy, sis; I'll just admire Doctor Lu's good looks from afar. I won't lay a finger on him."