Chapter 122 – Listen to Your Excuses
“Can I say something?” Wenren Yi suddenly spoke up halfway through the drive.
At this point, Yan Shengping had no mind for anything happening in the car, but she was, after all, his newfound niece, so he nodded.
With Yan Shengping’s permission, Wenren Yi seemed to gain a bit of confidence. “Although I don’t know what you two fought about, Ganzhi isn’t the type to get angry over nothing. For example, even though yesterday was his birthday, he wouldn’t have gotten upset just because you couldn’t make it due to work. He told me before that he really respects your attitude toward your job and is willing to support you unconditionally. Ganzhi is kind-hearted and very soft. For small things, a little comforting is all it takes for him to forgive you, and he’ll even give you a handful of candy.”
It was true. Yan Shengping recalled how Lin Ganzhi never forgot to stuff candy into his pockets wherever they went. It was because of these small details that his love for Lin Ganzhi had grown so deep.
“I know. He’s wonderful,” Yan Shengping’s voice was a little hoarse.
Wenren Yi sighed. It was a bit cruel, but she had to continue. Love makes people blind, after all. Her little uncle might be invincible at work, but he was a bit slow when it came to matters of the heart. “So, Ganzhi must have encountered something he found very difficult to accept to make him leave. Avoidance won’t solve the problem. Many things that might not seem like a big deal to you could be very important to Ganzhi. But he’s not the aggressive type. He might care, but he’ll choose to internalize it for your sake. Although I haven’t known Ganzhi for long, I feel like I understand him a little. Ganzhi is great in every way, but he’s too considerate of others, to the point of neglecting his own feelings. But when these emotions build up for a long time, they can turn into a huge conflict. He needs someone who loves him unconditionally to help him change this, to help him learn to be coquettish and to voice his unhappiness.”
Yan Shengping listened quietly. He knew all of this. He had thought that keeping the matter with Li Yueshuo a secret would solve everything, but the truth was that Ganzhi had seen it and silently processed it alone until he couldn’t take it anymore and left.
“I understand. Thank you.” Before getting out of the car, Yan Shengping gave the Wenren father and daughter a deep look, then turned and quickly walked toward the address Lin Ganzhi had given him.
Wenren Yi watched Yan Shengping’s retreating back with some reluctance, until he disappeared around a corner.
Wenren Qi rarely did so, but he gently patted his daughter’s head and said, “At least we’ve found him. We’ll have plenty of opportunities for a reunion in the future.”
***
The farmhouses in the countryside were clustered closely together. Yan Shengping’s GPS kept sending him in circles, so he eventually had to ask the local residents for directions to find Lin Ganzhi’s location. His exceptional looks saved him a lot of trouble; several aunties eagerly vied to lead the way, and in less than ten minutes, he arrived at the place where Lin Ganzhi was staying.
It was just about dinnertime. Yan Shengping had imagined Lin Ganzhi would be hiding miserably in his room, but as he walked up the stairs, he saw Lin Ganzhi lounging leisurely on the second-floor terrace, gnawing on a rack of ribs bigger than his face. His mouth was glistening with grease, yet he was reluctant to put the large rib down. When he saw Yan Shengping, an unconcealable awkwardness flashed in his eyes.
Yan Shengping had arrived more than half an hour earlier than he’d expected. He had planned to finish eating, clean up, and then wait for him properly in his room.
“Uh.” Lin Ganzhi awkwardly put down the large rib and looked around for a napkin.
Yan Shengping was only stunned for a moment before taking a handkerchief worth several thousand from his pocket. He grabbed Lin Ganzhi’s hand and carefully wiped each finger clean. The practiced and meticulous movements showed just how much he treasured the present Lin Ganzhi; he didn’t even dare to use any force, afraid that if he did, he would really leave. Lin Ganzhi had thought Yan Shengping would be furious when he found him, since he was the one who had left without a word. But seeing him like this, he found it hard to stay angry.
Lin Ganzhi looked at his fingers, which had been scrubbed several times, and steeled himself to pull his hand back. He said dryly, “Since you’re here, let’s talk. Inside.” The terrace wasn’t private enough.
With that, Lin Ganzhi, wearing slippers, went inside first and sat cross-legged on the bed. When Yan Shengping followed him in, he gestured with his eyes toward the sofa. Talking was fine, but they had to maintain a safe distance.
The light in Yan Shengping’s eyes dimmed, but he couldn’t waste this hard-won opportunity. So he very cooperatively sat on the sofa, his gaze unwilling to leave Lin Ganzhi for even a second. After all, he had just clawed his way out of a terrifying sense of weightlessness.
This time, before Lin Ganzhi could even ask, Yan Shengping anxiously explained, “Zhizhi, you’ve misunderstood. Or rather, I didn’t handle this matter well. My relationship with Li Yueshuo is completely different from what you imagine. I didn’t mention him because I didn’t want to bring him up, didn’t want you to have any contact with him, or know anything about him. Thinking about it now, I was just so overwhelmed with work that I didn’t consider your feelings at all. I’m sorry for making you suffer these past few days.”
Hearing an answer completely different from what he had expected, Lin Ganzhi was also stunned. What did he mean, his relationship with Li Yueshuo was completely different from what he imagined? He had gone to his office, and on his birthday, he had also…
“Don’t lie to me!” A look of resistance appeared in Lin Ganzhi’s eyes. He was no little fool who could be easily deceived!
Yan Shengping gave a bitter smile and said, “I was going crazy when I found out you had left. I barely managed to find you here. How could I possibly lie to you? Li Yueshuo… to me, he’s just a lunatic!”
Lin Ganzhi was taken aback. He never thought that the person others described as a White Moonlight would end up being called a lunatic by Yan Shengping.
“But Nini said you two were close in high school, and you even took a knife for him. And those photos Uncle Yan put away, you reached out to hug him after his performance!” Lin Ganzhi finally let down his guard and pulled out the thorns that had been buried in his heart one by one!
Yan Shengping, who had steeled himself, was rendered speechless by this. The relationship between him and Li Yueshuo wouldn’t have become so ambiguous in Lin Ganzhi’s mind if it weren’t for two ‘well-meaning’ people adding fuel to the fire in his ear! Yan Shengping silently made a note of this debt.
“That was all an act!” Yan Shengping’s tone was laced with gritted teeth! After taking a deep breath, he realized that if he kept this hidden any longer, people would be wishing him and Li Yueshuo a happy marriage in a couple of days! He wanted nothing to do with that lunatic!
“In our second year of high school, a girl at our school really liked me. She kept confessing and sending me love letters. I was so annoyed I just ignored her. I never expected her to attempt suicide. Coincidentally, a group of hooligans from outside the school also liked her and wanted to stand up for her. Li Yueshuo found out about it before I did, and by the time I got there, he was already beaten to the ground. While I was dealing with that group, I was accidentally cut. Although it was just a flesh wound, it bled a lot and looked very alarming. The students who saw it went back and exaggerated the story, and it became me taking a knife for him,” Yan Shengping said with displeasure.
Lin Ganzhi still felt a bit upset listening to this. “But he was standing up for you.”
“Hmph, as if he would take a beating for me for free!” Yan Shengping’s face was practically screaming, ‘He’s not a good person.’ “We had the same music teacher. That teacher was actually a recent graduate who was just an assistant at our school, mainly preparing for his postgraduate exams. He was also gay and was quite nice to me, but Li Yueshuo had a huge crush on him. He couldn’t stand me during our first year. It wasn’t until that incident that he found his chance. He then said I owed him a favor and demanded that I make it clear to the music teacher to give up on me. After that, he easily swooped in. And to prevent others from getting suspicious, he always came and went with me, using that incident to threaten me. But I got tired of all this, so I just stopped explaining when people asked. It saved me the trouble of another suicide attempt. The Zhong family cared a lot about their reputation and wouldn’t allow me to make such a mistake again.” As Yan Shengping spoke of that period of being threatened, his tone became extremely unhappy, as if he had shown Lin Ganzhi a weak side of his past.
If Yan Shengping didn’t have such an annoyed expression on his face right now, he would never have believed this absurd story. What happened to the White Moonlight? The scheming top in Yan Shengping’s story had absolutely nothing in common with the Li Yueshuo he had imagined!
What a profound misunderstanding for it to have been rumored like this. Lin Ganzhi was now starting to suspect that if he had just rushed in and opened his mouth back then, he wouldn’t have been so depressed for so long! A love rival? Based on this story, it was already generous of Yan Shengping not to have kicked the man out of the company.
But if that was the case…
“That day, I came looking for you to tell you that he and Zhong Jingyi were in contact privately. If his relationship with you wasn’t that good…” Lin Ganzhi suddenly regretted not going directly to Yan Shengping back then.
Yan Shengping shook his head and continued, “Don’t worry about that. I already know everything. But he had no intention of helping Zhong Jingyi. He just happened to meet Zhong Jingyi while studying abroad. He knew about my situation in the country and, just for fun, provoked Zhong Jingyi into returning to China to do something productive. He never expected it to end up like this. Although he’s not a good person, maybe his conscience got the better of him, or he felt he’d gone too far, so he came back to be a mole for once. That time he came to see me was just to tell me that there was a mole in our company and some of the chip information had been leaked. That matter was dealt with that same night.”
…
So he was the one who had triggered this whole chain of events.
Yan Shengping then added with a smile, “So, if he hadn’t brought me some useful information, I would have made sure he couldn’t even stay in the country.”
Yan Shengping was serious about that statement, because his smile was now filled with murderous intent.
Lin Ganzhi was now certain that there was nothing between Yan Shengping and Li Yueshuo, but he still felt a little upset. He glanced at Yan Shengping, and after holding it in for a while, he couldn’t help but say, “Do you just not trust me? If that’s the case, why didn’t you tell me this last night?”
Yan Shengping was taken aback by Lin Ganzhi’s question. A flicker of an unnatural expression crossed his face, as if there was a precise reason in his heart that he was very reluctant to say out loud.
Lin Ganzhi’s eyes narrowed slightly. So there was more to it!
Seeing Yan Shengping’s prolonged silence, Lin Ganzhi simply stood up and walked toward the terrace. If he wouldn’t talk, fine. He hadn’t finished his ribs yet!
But to Yan Shengping, this action looked like Lin Ganzhi was eager to leave him. He lost his composure for a moment and rushed forward to embrace Lin Ganzhi. When the familiar scent of cold wood hit his nose, Lin Ganzhi placed his hands on Yan Shengping’s chest, but he happened to glance at Yan Shengping’s eyes. At this moment, he was actually afraid.
In the end, Lin Ganzhi didn’t explain that he just wanted to go out and gnaw on some ribs. He obediently let Yan Shengping hug him back to the bed. Then, a certain someone very shamelessly stayed by Lin Ganzhi’s side, even holding his hand and refusing to let go!
Lin Ganzhi pursed his lips, a hint of displeasure on his face, but he didn’t struggle. He would listen to his excuses first.