Chapter 44 – Even Persimmons Are Picked When Soft
Heh, now he had well and truly offended his boss.
Lin Ganzhi didn’t dare stay in bed for another second. He quickly got up, put on his shoes, and then grabbed his pillow and small blanket to leave. Just as he opened the door, Uncle Yan, who was coming upstairs with coffee, looked up and saw Lin Ganzhi, disheveled with messy hair, peeking his head out of the master’s room like a sneaky cat.
Their eyes met.
Lin Ganzhi: !!!
Uncle Yan’s expression completely changed. He looked at Lin Ganzhi with a gaze full of gratification. “Ganzhi, you don’t have to make breakfast today. I’ll make pasta for you both. I saw you make it last time and wanted to try. I have a special sauce, so it won’t be a disaster. You go get some more rest.”
Without giving Lin Ganzhi a chance to explain, Uncle Yan knocked on the door to Yan Shengping’s study and went inside.
Lin Ganzhi stood frozen for a long time before retreating back into his room. He waited for five minutes after hearing the sound of the door opening and closing outside before peeking his head out again. Uncle Yan was no longer in the hallway.
Lin Ganzhi tiptoed to the study and knocked guiltily on the door. Only after hearing a “come in” from inside did he shuffle in.
Inside the study, Yan Shengping was looking down at his computer, his fingers flying across the keyboard. The crisp sound of the blue-switch keys made Lin Ganzhi’s heart pound.
“Yan Shengping,” Lin Ganzhi hesitated.
Hearing the odd tone in his voice, Yan Shengping looked up, sensing that what Lin Ganzhi was about to say might be a little dangerous.
“There was nothing wrong with the medicine Grandpa Qin prescribed for you. It was a communication problem between my friend and me. From the very beginning, Grandpa Qin only prescribed medicine based on what I told him.”
In short, the medicine was fine.
But what Yan Shengping heard was: The medicine was fine, but tormenting you yesterday was real.
And so, until the afternoon, Yan Shengping refused to say another word to Lin Ganzhi, not even sparing him a glance.
Princess Yan was thoroughly angry!
Lin Ganzhi was beside himself, not knowing how to atone for his sin. However, after this incident, he told Uncle Yan not to brew any more medicine for Yan Shengping for the time being. It was safest to wait until Yan Shengping’s anger subsided and take him to see Grandpa Qin for a proper diagnosis in person.
Regardless, because his various mistakes had caused trouble for Yan Shengping, Lin Ganzhi spent the whole day in a daze, completely disoriented. He was still listless even when they got in the car to attend the evening banquet.
Strangely, before the culprit Lin Ganzhi could even make a sound, Yan Shengping put down his tablet and looked at him. In a low, rather certain tone, he asked, “Are you upset?”
It would have been better if he hadn’t asked. The moment he did, Lin Ganzhi, who had been bottling it up all day and tormented by guilt, let out a voice that was several degrees more aggrieved. His long eyelashes seemed to moisten again. “I’ve been upset all day. I really didn’t expect this to happen. Yan Shengping, can you…”
Yan Shengping propped his head up with his right hand and looked over. The coldness in his eyes gradually faded, and his tone seemed to have become much more cheerful. “Seeing you upset puts my mind at ease. Yesterday’s matter is in the past.”
Lin Ganzhi froze, sitting there and repeatedly pondering Yan Shengping’s logic. About ten seconds later, it dawned on him. For the first time, he felt the terror of someone with a thousand brilliant schemes.
He didn’t even have to lift a finger. He used every external tool he could to punish him, such as his own heavy conscience!
Lin Ganzhi wanted to get angry on the spot, but he had just managed to coax his boss into a good mood. If he angered him again, he would probably be the one to suffer.
Besides, his boss had just given him a hundred million. What was wrong with a little mind game? When it came to screwing people over, Lin Ganzhi blushed and fell silent.
Sitting in the front, Uncle Yan was also a little speechless. What kind of husband treats his wife like this? What was that internet buzzword he should use to describe it? Uncle Yan recalled the variety show he watched with Lin Ganzhi. Right, a Hopelessly Unromantic Man without a heart!
In the back seat, an innocent Yan Shengping received a disdainful look from Uncle Yan.
Yan Shengping: ???
Before getting in the car, both of them had changed into more formal attire, though neither had thought about getting their hair and makeup professionally done.
Previously, Yan Shengping had a professional styling team for any conference he attended, but during this period, he had deliberately done without.
As for Lin Ganzhi, it simply hadn’t crossed his mind. Halfway through the drive, Qin Taotao sent him a special message on WeChat. It was a picture of a grand meal their chef had just prepared, served on exquisite small plates that looked particularly high-class and appetizing. Caviar, also known as Black Gold, was spread over hundreds of delicate little pastries as if it were free.
Gulp.
Lin Ganzhi was in love.
Watching the scenery recede outside the window, Lin Ganzhi didn’t turn to look back into the car to face the awkwardness, even though he felt it was just average. Although he didn’t plan to be angry, he still didn’t want to face his boss after getting a taste of his terrifying side.
Just then, Lin Ganzhi’s peripheral vision caught sight of a small calico cat dozing on the sidewalk. A yellow cabbage butterfly landed on its pink nose, and the cat shook its head to dodge it. Its ears twitched outwards, and then it swiftly pounced with its right paw, trapping the butterfly under its paw in a few moves. The captured butterfly was small and helpless, only able to flutter its yellow wings desperately. Perhaps the little calico cat had no intention of making it dinner, as it just played with it, not even pressing down hard with its claws.
Lin Ganzhi saw a place where they could park nearby and turned back to look at Yan Shengping. “Yan Shengping, is that the cat we saved the other day?”
Yan Shengping put down his tablet and turned to follow Lin Ganzhi’s gaze. “Uncle Yan, stop the car.”
Now, Yan Shengping didn’t even need to wait for Lin Ganzhi’s next sentence. As soon as the car stopped, Lin Ganzhi was about to get out, but to his surprise, Yan Shengping got out with him this time.
“Let’s go, together.” Yan Shengping nonchalantly avoided Lin Ganzhi’s probing gaze and walked with him toward the sidewalk.
The little calico cat, busy pouncing on the butterfly, wasn’t scared when Lin Ganzhi and Yan Shengping approached. It released its right paw, and the butterfly, having just escaped death, fluttered away. Seeing this, Lin Ganzhi moved a little closer.
As he sized up the little calico, the cat tilted its head and observed him back, its fluffy head rippling in the wind.
In Yan Shengping’s eyes, the two fluffy creatures didn’t seem fundamentally different.
Cats, in some sense, are very vengeful. After being separated from Lin Ganzhi for two days, it took about ten seconds for it to remember who this audacious human was. The fur on its back stood on end, and it radiated an aggressive signal.
Lin Ganzhi wasn’t afraid. It was a joke; would a battle-hardened veteran like him be scared of a little cub?
The little calico, of course, had no idea what this pink-haired human was thinking. It wiggled its raised bottom and lunged at Lin Ganzhi’s face with its front paws.
“Careful!” Yan Shengping hurriedly stepped forward, trying to shield Lin Ganzhi. But Lin Ganzhi was a step faster, pinching the scruff of the little calico’s neck. His movements were so agile that one might suspect they were filming a movie.
The little calico was stunned in mid-air for a few seconds, unable to believe that the same trick could fail on the same human.
Just as it was about to retaliate with its claws, Lin Ganzhi raised his hand and unceremoniously tapped the cat’s head three times, not too hard, not too soft. “If you make any more trouble, I’ll have you neutered!”
Yan Shengping: ……
The little calico was terrified. It subconsciously curled its tail up, covering its privates.
Of course, Lin Ganzhi was just trying to scare the little cat. How could a kitten of only a few months be taken to be neutered? He’d have to wait until it was an adult at least.
The little calico was frightened by Lin Ganzhi’s calculating gaze and let out a spineless meow, so shrill that one might think it was being slaughtered.
Only then did Lin Ganzhi notice a pink collar around the little calico’s neck, with a small tag that read: Thorn Ball.
Indeed, the name suited the cat.
The dramatic little cat ultimately couldn’t escape the fate of being taken into the car. To prevent the furball from peeing everywhere, Lin Ganzhi laid a thick layer of paper towels between himself and Yan Shengping. Yan Shengping didn’t comment on the whole process, even helping Lin Ganzhi lay the paper towels. Once it was done, Lin Ganzhi, feeling mischievous, held Thorn Ball and sparred a few more rounds with it.
Yan Shengping watched with his peripheral vision the entire time, afraid that a certain someone would get himself hurt.
However, it was clear he had underestimated Lin Ganzhi’s agility. He now suspected that Lin Ganzhi might have trained somewhere as a child; this level of skill couldn’t have just been innate.
Thorn Ball had some fight in it at first, but it soon discovered that Lin Ganzhi didn’t even blink when playing with it. On top of that, every time he caught it, it came with a complimentary head-patting package. Before long, it wilted, dragging its tired paws to the makeshift nest.
Cat life is so tiring~
But a kitten’s troubles come and go quickly. Before long, it looked at the man next to them, sharpening its claws, wanting to pounce.
Yan Shengping’s senses were naturally sharper than most. He looked up from his tablet and at the eager Thorn Ball, his gaze turning cold.
“Mee~” The little Thorn Ball was so scared its paws went limp, and it tipped over onto the paper towel nest, its paws trembling faintly.
Lin Ganzhi burst out laughing. “Yan Shengping, did you see that? Thorn Ball knows how to play dead!” Lin Ganzhi’s eyes shone as if he had discovered something incredibly interesting.
The faint awkwardness between them seemed to completely dissipate with that sentence.
“Maybe it just lost its balance. It’s just a little kitten,” Yan Shengping’s tone lifted.
Lin Ganzhi didn’t believe it. He made a shape with his hand. “Thorn Ball, look at me, biu!”
Thorn Ball, who had just regained its footing, shot Lin Ganzhi an exceptionally disdainful look, meowed contemptuously at the foolish human, and then turned its back to sleep. But when it turned around, it met Yan Shengping’s gaze again. This time, his eyes were even colder, with a hint of frost.
Mee, mee!
Thorn Ball’s body tilted, and it fell over even more dramatically, rolling onto its back and exposing its white, fluffy belly.
Lin Ganzhi smiled in surprise. “Thorn Ball even learned to delay its reaction this time. Yan Shengping, did you see it this time?” After speaking, Lin Ganzhi looked at Yan Shengping.
Hearing this, the corners of Yan Shengping’s eyes lifted slightly, his beautiful features seeming to become even more captivating. A single word escaped his throat: “Yes.”
It was deep, hoarse, and carried a trembling tail note.