He didn't dodge, but instead gripped her waist and continued what they had started.
That night, and until the afternoon of the next day, Lan Lan spent it in bed.
Even during their passionate phase, she and Liang Yufeng had never experienced such a debauched period.
After showering in the afternoon, Lan Lan's legs were so weak that she could barely operate the accelerator pedal. Liang Yufeng, likely aware he had gone too far, drove her car to her apartment.
On the way, Lan Lan said to him, "You can drive my car back later. It's hard to get a taxi here."
Liang Yufeng replied, "Mm, I'll drive it back before you return."
Liang Yufeng accompanied Lan Lan back to her apartment. He was not a guest, so Lan Lan didn't fuss over him. Her luggage still needed packing. She grabbed a large suitcase and began to fill it with things.
Since she was going to Northern Europe, where the weather was cold, she packed thick clothes. Fitting everything into one suitcase proved slightly difficult, so she got a second one.
She hadn't traveled in a long time, and suddenly having to pack, Lan Lan didn't know where to start. As she stood staring into the cabinet, Liang Yufeng had already placed her only two windbreakers into the suitcase.
Those windbreakers were given out during a company hiking event. Although they were a collaboration with a well-known brand, they were too ugly. Lan Lan's taste would never allow her to wear such clothes. "Why are you putting this in?"
"It's cold there, this will be better," Liang Yufeng said. "These two will be enough for outerwear. Pack a few sweaters too."
He then looked at the cabinet. Lan Lan didn't have any thick sweaters; most of hers were form-fitting knit tops. Liang Yufeng knew she prioritized style over warmth. "Do you want to go out and buy some?"
"No!" Lan Lan was afraid of Liang Yufeng. When they were dating, she had gone shopping with him and had a deep understanding of his aesthetics and taste. "These will be fine. If I wear the windbreakers over them, it won't be cold."
Liang Yufeng said, "Oh," and then looked at her legs. Lan Lan didn't have many pants; she usually wore skirts with stockings, and occasionally suit pants. The sweatpants in her closet were thin ones she wore for yoga.
"Do you have thermal leggings?" Liang Yufeng asked.
"What are you talking about?" Lan Lan's disdain was evident. Thermal leggings already challenged her aesthetic sensibilities, and he was mentioning thermal leggings? "Do you think I would allow such a thing in my home?"
"It's cold there, you'll get 'old leg disease' if you don't wear them," Liang Yufeng stated matter-of-factly. "You're thirty, you can't compare yourself to young girls."
"...Can you speak properly!" Lan Lan couldn't help but hit him. His mouth had been unpleasant for years. "A woman at thirty is a flower, thank you."
Liang Yufeng didn't argue with that. His focus wasn't there. "You pack first, I'll go to a nearby mall and buy them for you."
Without giving Lan Lan a chance to refuse, Liang Yufeng left in an instant.
Lan Lan couldn't speak. She had no hope for Liang Yufeng's taste.
Before packing, Lan Lan checked the temperatures of several countries. Indeed, the temperatures were very low. Even at its coldest, Nanjiang was warmer than the highest temperature there. Looking at it this way, the clothes she usually wore would indeed be useless there.
Lan Lan also found a long down jacket that she rarely wore and folded the yoga pants together. She would never wear thermal leggings; she'd rather wear a down jacket like a quilt, wrapping herself up completely.
Liang Yufeng returned an hour later, carrying bags and bags. There were down jackets and fleece-lined yoga pants. As for the thermal leggings... he had bought four pairs.
Lan Lan looked at the four pairs of black thermal leggings, her feelings incredibly complex. Should she be grateful that Liang Yufeng hadn't bought her any strange colors?
Aside from the thermal leggings, Lan Lan was quite satisfied with the yoga pants and the down jacket. The down jacket was white, with a simple design and no extra decorations. The yoga pants were from the brand she always wore, and they were in a common color.
"Your taste seems to have improved a bit," Lan Lan rarely offered Liang Yufeng praise. "Except for the thermal leggings."
Liang Yufeng continued packing with Lan Lan. Lan Lan was stubbornly refusing to put the thermal leggings into the suitcase. Liang Yufeng had no choice but to roll them up when she wasn't looking and place them in the zippered compartment of the suitcase.
By then, the suitcase was completely packed, and Lan Lan likely wouldn't discover them.
Lan Lan indeed didn't discover them until she was in Iceland, shivering uncontrollably and her legs trembling, finally realizing the importance of thermal leggings.
In Reykjavik, the daylight hours were only a few hours. When they arrived, the weather wasn't great either; it was cold, damp, and humid. Lan Lan returned to the hotel and began to shiver, suddenly missing the thermal leggings Liang Yufeng had bought her.
She had originally intended to buy some at the mall, but thermal leggings seemed to be a specialty of Chinese people, and Iceland was not a commercially developed place...
Lan Lan had to rummage through her suitcase, preparing to layer several pairs of pants.
As she searched, she found the four pairs of thermal leggings in the compartment. She felt a glimmer of hope. Not only did she put them on, but she also shared one with Yu Ran. After putting it on, Yu Ran praised her, "These leggings are really warm. Where did you buy them? They're much warmer than the brands I bought before."
"My friend bought them for me, I'll ask him."
At dinner, Lan Lan sent Liang Yufeng a photo of herself wearing the thermal leggings. "Thanks."
Liang Yufeng replied, "They look good."
She could tell he was trying to compliment her, but Lan Lan couldn't bring herself to smile. They were warm, but they couldn't hide their ugliness.
Lan Lan typed, "When did you stuff them in?"
Liang Yufeng responded, "When you weren't paying attention."
Lan Lan replied, "Good thing I wasn't paying attention, otherwise I would have frozen to death today."
Liang Yufeng said, "Wear more tomorrow. The places where you can see the aurora are very cold, and the wind is strong."
Lan Lan replied, "Mm, by the way, what brand are the thermal leggings? My mom says they have good warmth retention."
Liang Yufeng told her the brand name. Lan Lan wrote it down and stopped bothering him. At this time, he should have been at work.
With the thermal leggings keeping her warm, the next day's trip was not as arduous. Public transportation within Iceland was not well-developed, so Lan Lan chose to rent a car for sightseeing. Her family of three took turns driving, heading to a waterfall to wait for the aurora.
As Liang Yufeng had said, in the scenic areas far from the city, the wind was strong, and the temperature was lower than in the city. Nearby, tourists were even setting up tents or driving their RVs directly, looking like they were going to spend the night there.
Lan Lan hadn't experienced natural scenery in a long time. She flew around for business trips, almost always staying in cities, visiting the most economically developed cities in various countries, and staying in five-star hotels, overlooking the bustling city night view. Standing in front of a waterfall waiting for the aurora was an entirely different state of mind.
Mountains and water can indeed bring peace. Listening to the sound of the waterfall and the wind around her, she felt an unprecedented sense of tranquility.
Yu Ran and Lan Zhong brought out some cushions, and the three of them sat down and started chatting. This warmth made her temporarily forget the cold.