Chapter 118 – Li Yueshuo
Suddenly, a hand landed on Lin Ganzhi’s shoulder. Startled, Lin Ganzhi turned around to see Tian Nini shushing him, then pulling him to an office in another direction.
“Have some coffee,” Tian Nini said, pouring a cup for Lin Ganzhi. Lin Ganzhi sat on the sofa, his mind in turmoil, and gave a distracted response. His heart was a mix of anger, grievance, and a deep ache.
“Why the long face, sweetie?” Tian Nini asked, sitting opposite Lin Ganzhi, puzzled. Seeing Lin Ganzhi’s silence, he sighed and continued, “Those young ladies really… they didn’t even check the situation before sending you to CEO Yan’s office. He’s meeting a guest right now and specifically told me not to let anyone disturb him,” Tian Nini explained.
“That person…” Lin Ganzhi didn’t know how to continue.
To his surprise, Tian Nini answered matter-of-factly, “Oh, a high school classmate of CEO Yan.”
Lin Ganzhi was surprised. “You know?”
Tian Nini immediately launched into a self-proclamation of his fan status. “Of course! Although I’m not like that guy named Lian and didn’t get to go to the same high school as our CEO Yan, I was at the school right across from his. I know all the gossip about CEO Yan from school. Back then, who didn’t know the story of our CEO Yan and Li Yueshuo!”
Hearing this, Lin Ganzhi’s expression visibly stiffened. It seemed like a lot of people had been mentioning Yan Shengping and Li Yueshuo to him recently, not just in reality, but even in his dreams.
Seeing Lin Ganzhi’s face fall, Tian Nini realized what he had said and quickly moved to Lin Ganzhi’s side, patting his head comfortingly. “Ganzhi, don’t overthink it. CEO Yan and Li Yueshuo had nothing going on back then. It was all just rumors on the school forum. As far as I know, the only reason they had any interaction was because they had the same music teacher. I’m the head of your and CEO Yan’s CP, and as long as I’m alive and breathing, I’ll never stray. CEO Yan told me not to let anyone disturb him just now only because Li Yueshuo seemed to have something important to say to him, and he looked pretty upset. I was worried you’d walk in and get caught in the crossfire. CEO Yan has been in a bad mood these past few days. It’s much better to find him after they’re done talking, with no third wheel around. You have no idea what CEO Yan has been through these past few days. He’ll be so happy to see you in a bit!” Tian Nini said, trying to console him gently.
Lin Ganzhi lowered his head and thought for a while, clutching the lunch box tightly in his hands. After a moment, he asked, “Nini, based on their past relationship, Li Yueshuo wouldn’t do anything to betray Yan Shengping, right?”
“Of course not,” Tian Nini answered decisively. “Although I’m not familiar with that Li Yueshuo, the one surnamed Lian once said that Li Yueshuo was CEO Yan’s best friend in high school. If it weren’t for Li Yueshuo’s sudden transfer in their third year, he probably would have become a key member of our company. It seems Li Yueshuo’s family was going through a tough time back then. I heard he even took a knife for CEO Yan once, so they have a life-and-death bond. Besides, ever since the boss left the Zhong family, he’s become much more careful about the people around him. He wouldn’t have let him into the company if he didn’t truly trust him.”
Took a knife for him?
Lin Ganzhi’s heart sank instantly. No wonder Yan Shengping let Li Yueshuo in just like that. In that case, it was even less likely that Li Yueshuo would plot against Yan Shengping; he was probably even helping him.
And as for him, he was of no use to the current Yan Shengping.
Lin Ganzhi lowered his head and stared at the lunch box, the scene before him blurring. He blinked hard, forcing back the things that shouldn’t be there. When had he become so fragile? He had survived cancer, so was he afraid of such a small problem?
Thud!
Lin Ganzhi slammed the lunch box onto the table, startling Tian Nini.
“Sweetie! What are you doing?” Tian Nini asked, dramatically clutching his chest.
“Nini, you probably haven’t had dinner yet, right? You can have this. And don’t tell Yan Shengping I came to the company. I don’t want to distract him,” Lin Ganzhi said.
Tian Nini’s heart skipped a beat. Anyone could see that Lin Ganzhi was jealous. He quickly tried to stop him. “No way! If I eat what you brought for CEO Yan, he’ll kill me!” Tian Nini refused quite decisively.
But right now, Lin Ganzhi’s only thought was that he didn’t want to see Yan Shengping in this state. He didn’t want Yan Shengping to praise Li Yueshuo in front of him. After all, that person was too perfect. He hadn’t helped at all, so he would only be able to follow Yan Shengping’s lead. He couldn’t bring himself to say it! But if he didn’t, he would be too tactless. This jealousy was too unreasonable, and Lin Ganzhi didn’t want to make things so ugly.
The more Lin Ganzhi thought about it, the more the sour feeling in his heart bubbled up, almost making his eyes sting.
“Nini, for the sake of our friendship, can you not tell Yan Shengping I came this time? I originally came to talk to Yan Shengping about my work, but he finally has a break from meetings and can rest a bit. I don’t want to disturb him. If you don’t eat this, I’ll just take it back. I have plans with Wenren Yi and the others,” Lin Ganzhi said, looking up at Tian Nini seriously, feigning a mature demeanor.
Tian Nini looked into Lin Ganzhi’s eyes and finally sighed.
“Alright then. But you have to promise me you won’t be unhappy. I can guarantee that CEO Yan definitely likes you. I’ll inform the secretarial office and the front desk who saw you, so they won’t tell CEO Yan.”
Lin Ganzhi gratefully thanked Tian Nini, then left Yan Shengping’s company with the lunch box.
Before leaving, Uncle Yan had told Lin Ganzhi to call him half an hour before he came down, but Lin Ganzhi’s mind was in a mess right now, and he didn’t feel like going back for the time being. The food he had brought over was taken out by him, still untouched. Lin Ganzhi walked aimlessly along the road until night fell, when he stopped at a bus stop.
At this moment, his stomach growled very uncooperatively. Lin Ganzhi sat on the bench, looking at the creamy yellow lunch box in his hand, and finally chose to consume it himself.
The place Lin Ganzhi had walked to was already near the suburbs, and there were few people on the road. Lin Ganzhi opened the lunch box meant for two. Fortunately, the quality of the insulated container was good, and it was still slightly warm. Lin Ganzhi eagerly took out a spoon and ate, bite after bite. Although he couldn’t taste anything, Lin Ganzhi didn’t choose to stop.
Counting the passing car lights, eating the lukewarm, tasteless food.
Did Yan Shengping like him? What exactly did he like about him? He had only taken care of Yan Shengping when he was sick. Yan Shengping had given him far more than he had given back. Would Yan Shengping get tired of it after a while? After all, living in modern times, Lin Ganzhi had always been taught that only an equal relationship could lead to equal love. The gap between him and Yan Shengping was too large, and their thoughts and pursuits were not on the same starting line at all. It seemed only natural to abandon the bad and seek the good.
As Lin Ganzhi ate, his eyes blurred. When his feelings for Yan Shengping were still vague, Yan Shengping had confessed to him forcefully and directly. It seemed that before he had even fully understood his own feelings, he had seen someone more suitable for Yan Shengping, the kind of person he couldn’t even bring himself to be jealous of.
Lin Ganzhi swallowed the last bite of rice, his stomach uncomfortably full. He arduously rubbed his bulging stomach.
He couldn’t help but take out his phone again and open his chat with Yan Shengping. He typed and deleted messages for a long time before finally sending one: [Are you coming home today?]
Lin Ganzhi didn’t expect Yan Shengping to see it and reply right away, but this time, the response was surprisingly fast.
Yan Shengping: [Sorry, Zhizhi. I can’t come back today. I miss you.]
Seeing this message, tears fell from Lin Ganzhi’s eyes. His heart felt like it was being kneaded by a withered hand, sending stabbing pains through his entire body.
Lin Ganzhi: [I miss you too. Have you been busy with the chip stuff all this time?]
After writing it, Lin Ganzhi wanted to delete it, but he accidentally hit send. This message, full of probing malice, was sent out just like that. Before Lin Ganzhi could retract it, Yan Shengping replied.
[Yeah, just got out of a meeting.]
Lin Ganzhi was stunned. Was he deliberately hiding the fact that Li Yueshuo had come over?
The temperature of the early spring night gradually dropped. As Lin Ganzhi looked at his phone, wanting to reply, he found that his fingers had frozen. The pale gray streetlight shone on his bloodless fingertips, making them look particularly pale and weak. Lin Ganzhi blinked quickly, then roughly wiped away whatever was about to fall from his eyes.
After a long time, Lin Ganzhi stood up, walked onto the bus that had stopped in front of him with the lunch box in his arms, and after returning home, he washed the lunch box three times with cold water before putting it back on the highest shelf of the cabinet.
When Uncle Yan got up in the middle of the night, he happened to see Lin Ganzhi coming out of the kitchen. He was stunned for a moment, feeling that something was off about the Lin Ganzhi before him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. When he asked about his visit to Yan Shengping’s company, Lin Ganzhi only said it was good and that he had eaten everything.
Uncle Yan thought about it and figured Lin Ganzhi was just tired. He even asked if Lin Ganzhi had eaten his fill there.
Standing on the stairs, Lin Ganzhi gave Uncle Yan a smile and said he was very full.
Yes, so full it was a little uncomfortable. He hadn’t left any for Yan Shengping.
The next day, Lin Ganzhi’s low-grade fever returned, but he didn’t tell Uncle Yan. He secretly took a few fever reducers and went downstairs to see Uncle Yan fully armed and ready to go out. When he asked, he found out that some of his friends had invited him to a resort in the neighboring province for a few days.
Lin Ganzhi kept urging Uncle Yan to go and have fun for a few more days, saying he could take care of himself. Uncle Yan had witnessed Lin Ganzhi’s impressive survival skills and agreed with a cheerful laugh.
But as soon as the main door closed, Lin Ganzhi’s smile vanished. He stared blankly at the door for a while, his stomach hurting, but he was very tired now. He casually ate a few slices of toast and lay back down on the bed.
During this time, his WeChat messages never stopped. There were messages from Wenren Yi, Lu Xi, and even Qi Yushuo, all inviting him out to play. Lin Ganzhi groggily got up around noon, replied to more than a dozen messages, and then fell asleep again.
He didn’t know how long he slept, but in a daze, it felt like someone was holding him. The familiar scent of cool wood enveloped Lin Ganzhi, followed by a series of soft kisses on his forehead. Lin Ganzhi’s lips trembled slightly, and then he pretended to turn over, avoiding the continuing kisses, and closed his eyes again with his back to Yan Shengping.
Fortunately, Yan Shengping didn’t notice the change in Lin Ganzhi’s mood, or perhaps he was also very tired right now. He held Lin Ganzhi tightly and fell asleep as well.
In his sleep, he occasionally heard a few sobs, but Yan Shengping was too tired to open his eyes. He just thought it was a dream and fell into a deep sleep.