Chapter 28 – He Loves Me?

Yan Shengping slowly lifted his eyelids, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. “You still feel proud of yourself?”

Lin Ganzhi was suddenly a little baffled. Why shouldn’t he be proud of saving someone? If he didn’t have so many anti-fans right now, he would have secretly posted on Weibo to praise himself. Now, he could only settle for the next best thing: posting on his private social media feed before bed to celebrate.

“What else?” Lin, the hopelessly unromantic man, Ganzhi, spoke bravely, his eyes clearly saying, “I’d do it again.”

Yan Shengping’s eyes darkened. All his anxiety from the day felt like it had been for nothing. The newspaper in his fingertips was gradually crumpled out of shape.

After a long moment, Yan Shengping suddenly let out a laugh, but it was a laugh full of sarcasm. He then stood up. His height, which was clearly half a head taller than Lin Ganzhi’s, brought a faint sense of pressure.

In this atmosphere, Yan Shengping looked down at Lin Ganzhi with a blank expression and coldly uttered a few words: “Tonight’s dinner, I’m not eating.”

Lin Ganzhi, who had been tense for a long time: …You’re so childish!

Watching Yan Shengping’s tall, resolute back, Uncle Yan didn’t know whose side to take for a moment.

“Ganzhi,” Uncle Yan called out to the boy.

Lin Ganzhi came back to his senses. For some reason, his heart also felt a little heavy. His little pink-haired head was filled with grievance. He hadn’t felt this bad even when he was being battered by the waves while saving someone this morning.

“If he doesn’t want to eat, then he doesn’t have to. Uncle Yan, is the milk tea in the fridge? I want to drink some,” Lin Ganzhi said pitifully.

Uncle Yan’s heart ached. He quickly went to the fridge to get the milk tea he had bought for the boy and even tuned the TV to Lin Ganzhi’s favorite emotional drama channel.

“Ganzhi, a new spicy crayfish shop opened nearby. I heard from my old friend that young people love it. It’s numbing and spicy. Should I go buy some for you?”

After a big gulp of milk tea, Lin Ganzhi finally calmed down. It wasn’t his style to trouble an elder when he had just returned, but his appetite was indeed piqued by Uncle Yan’s words. Although he hadn’t lacked food on the island these past few days, it definitely couldn’t compare to the fragrance of spicy crayfish stir-fried with various spices.

“Uncle Yan, you don’t have to go to such trouble. I’ll just order takeout.” The gluttonous student, Lin Ganzhi, didn’t forget to comfort his stomach even when he was angry.

Uncle Yan didn’t want to reason with Lin Ganzhi when he was unhappy. The boy was only twenty-three this year. Even if an apology was needed, it should come from the twenty-eight-year-old tsundere upstairs!

Lin Ganzhi ordered two and a half kilograms of spicy crayfish at once. While waiting for the takeout, he received a call from Tian Nini.

Tian Nini: [Ganzhi, are you home? Did you see a starving man as soon as you got back?]

Lin Ganzhi: [??? No starving man, but does a ferocious god count? (grievance.jpg)]

Tian Nini immediately smelled the smoke of battle: [Did CEO Yan bully you? That shouldn’t be right!]

Does a boss need to pick a day to bully an employee? Lin Ganzhi took a mournful sip of his milk tea and, under the gentle watering of Tian Nini’s fierce-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside heart, recounted the course of events.

[Ganzhi, I can’t even use ‘amazing’ to describe you. You’re super manly!]

Lin Ganzhi puffed out his little chest proudly, finally hearing a pleasant compliment: [Right? Isn’t your reaction the normal one? What’s wrong with me saving someone? He can’t understand me at all!]

Pink-haired rage.jpg

Tian Nini: [Mhm, mhm! But, Ganzhi, I don’t think you handled this matter very appropriately either. If, and I’m just saying if, it was Yan Shengping who saved someone this time, and you were very worried about him, and then he came back and asked you if he was awesome for saving you, what would you think?]

Lin Ganzhi wanted to answer “a miraculous recovery,” but he knew Tian Nini would definitely get angry. Lin Ganzhi lowered his eyes and thought for a moment.

[I’d be a little angry. His health is already so poor. But I’m very healthy, and I’m a great swimmer!]

Tian Nini: [Ganzhi, I don’t think this has anything to do with your physical fitness. CEO Yan cares about you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a swimming champion or how strong you are, he will still worry. I think CEO Yan is just a tsundere who doesn’t know how to express himself. What he wanted to say was that he was worried about you.]

Lin Ganzhi was greatly shocked. [He was worried about me?!!]

Tian Nini felt a little tired. She felt like a dog being led to the slaughter, with their public displays of affection being shoved in her face! Two primary school kids in their first love!

[Not only was he worried, CEO Yan really loves you. I’ll tell you a secret, don’t tell CEO Yan. The big shot who spent millions on you during your variety show live stream, that was CEO Yan himself! The first time you went live, CEO Yan even specifically asked me how to enter the live stream room. You have no idea what kind of bloodbath the live stream room went through. Whenever someone mocked you, CEO Yan would just throw money at them. Otherwise, there would have been even more people cursing you.]

Lin Ganzhi was greatly shocked, his neural pathways seemed to have short-circuited. [How… how much did he spend?]

At this moment, Tian Nini couldn’t help but feel proud of her boss. [At least five or six million, a rough estimate~]

Lin Ganzhi’s head was spinning. His appearance fee was eighty thousand, but his partner on the marriage certificate had thrown five or six million into it.

Seeing that Lin Ganzhi hadn’t responded for a long time, Tian Nini thought he was moved to the point of insanity. With the last shred of her conscience, she offered some comfort: [Alright, I know you’re moved, sister. Talk things over with CEO Yan tonight. Don’t couples always make up in bed after a fight?]

No, they couldn’t make up.

Lin Ganzhi’s eyes were full of hot tears.

[Do you know how much my appearance fee is?]

Tian Nini didn’t react for a moment.

[Eighty thousand… Conservatively speaking, I’d have to stay on a deserted island for a year and a half to earn back five or six million.]

A long silence fell between them. The domineering CEO script Tian Nini was watching instantly turned into a tragic one.

[Well, it’s also an investment for the future. Look, your exposure has gone up now, right?]

[Is there a possibility that I’m not that passionate about my career?] Being a minor celebrity is great, just lying flat like a salted fish.

The two of them fell into a complete silence.

Finally, Tian Nini tried to get back on topic: [But doesn’t it at least prove that CEO Yan loves you?]

Lin Ganzhi snorted. No, the boss would never like him. He wished he would leave as soon as possible. But, he had spent five or six million in the live stream room! Why not just give it to him directly!

Lin Ganzhi fell into a funk, chatting listlessly with Tian Nini until the spicy crayfish arrived.

Having lost a huge sum of money, Lin Ganzhi could only turn his grief into appetite, devouring the two and a half kilograms of spicy crayfish.

Although he didn’t think Yan Shengping liked him, Lin Ganzhi still took Tian Nini’s words about his concern to heart. His relationship with Yan Shengping was now at least that of friends. It seemed understandable for a friend to worry about him.

But he still couldn’t calm down enough to go upstairs and apologize to Yan Shengping. After all,

He hadn’t finished the spicy crayfish yet!

Lin Ganzhi didn’t like to be on his phone all the time at home. Perhaps because he was an orphan, he enjoyed the feeling of having someone with him. Eating spicy crayfish and watching TV with Uncle Yan was quite nice. Seeing the boy was upset, Uncle Yan didn’t mention that Lin Ganzhi should eat less.

After all, he had witnessed Lin Ganzhi’s stomach capacity, so he wasn’t too worried. After Lin Ganzhi finished his milk tea, he even handed him the iced lemon tea from the fridge. When Lin Ganzhi was hissing from the spice, he would take a big gulp.

A blush appeared on his fair face.

By six o’clock, Lin Ganzhi had finally calmed down. He cooked two large bowls of wontons in fresh broth, one for Uncle Yan and one he carried upstairs himself.

“Ganzhi, go up and talk things over properly. If Mr. Yan is harsh with you, just come down and tell me,” Uncle Yan gave Lin Ganzhi his full assurance.

The pink-haired boy nodded confidently and then resolutely went upstairs.

Halfway up, Lin Ganzhi suddenly felt a little sick to his stomach, but this minor pain didn’t affect his thinking. After all, he had endured the pain of stomach cancer before.

He walked to the study with practiced ease, suddenly feeling like he had returned to square one.

He sighed. Who asked him to be the boss?

Lin Ganzhi resignedly knocked on the door. As expected, there was no answer from inside. This time, Lin Ganzhi directly grabbed the doorknob and boldly turned it.

Creak.

The door opened.

Yan Shengping, sitting behind the desk, looked up, his eyes filled with annoyance. “What are you doing in here?” Was he here to anger him again?

Lin Ganzhi chuckled and came over with small steps, carrying the small wontons.

“Shengping, you can’t skip meals just because we’re arguing. Let’s eat first and then argue~”

Yan Shengping gave a cold look at the steaming wontons. They smelled even better than what that fool Uncle Yan made. His stomach ungratefully growled in pain, but someone’s mouth was as hard as a rock.

“Not eating. Not hungry. Take it away.”

Tsk!

Lin Ganzhi looked at this stubborn mule and wanted to curse. He kept telling himself, a hundred million, a hundred million, and his temper would fly away!

“But, didn’t you just promise me you’d take good care of your health? You have no idea how hard I worked to make this bowl of wontons for you,” Lin Ganzhi said pitifully.

Yan Shengping sneered. Did he really think he didn’t know? These wontons were made by Uncle Yan! “Oh? How hard did you work?”

…You’re actually taking this seriously.

“Ahem,” Lin Ganzhi coughed twice, giving himself a moment to buffer. “First, you have to put in… mmmph!” Lin Ganzhi suddenly covered his mouth.

Yan Shengping looked at the soup with a complicated expression. “You didn’t, in there,”

“How could I! That was my painstaking effort!” Lin Ganzhi quickly covered his mouth this time. His usually calm stomach began to churn violently, and a strong wave of nausea rose in his throat.

“Uh, you eat first. I’ll go down and copy a recipe for you.” Lin Ganzhi’s face was pale as he rushed out.

Only then did Yan Shengping realize something was wrong. He hadn’t even expected his reaction to be so fast. The moment Lin Ganzhi’s front foot left, his back foot was already chasing after him.

Lin Ganzhi rushed all the way back to his room, not even having time to close the door to his private bathroom before he started vomiting violently into the toilet.

The spicy taste of the crayfish he had just eaten shot up his nose, making him so uncomfortable that tears streamed down his face. What was even more uncomfortable was his stomach, a dense pain like fine needles piercing into the flesh of his stomach. The pain from his past life was awakened at this moment.

After a round of vomiting, Lin Ganzhi heard footsteps behind him.

“Don’t come over!”

The little pink-haired boy had his pride too!

Lin Ganzhi struggled to press the flush button. When the nausea came again, he could only vomit up stomach acid. The little salted fish’s face was now deathly pale.

“Yan Shengping, you go out first, and help me close the door on your way out. I have my pride too.” When Lin Ganzhi said the last few words, his tone was noticeably lower, carrying a hint of stubbornness and grievance, like a cat’s paw scratching at one’s heart.

An inexplicable sourness welled up in Yan Shengping’s chest.