Chapter 113 – Revealing One’s Feelings
After washing up and going downstairs, Lin Ganzhi happened to see Yan Shengping coming out of the kitchen. He was wearing an apron that was a stark contrast to his usual self, and in his hands, he held a bowl of congee and a few small side dishes.
Neither of them expected the other to appear like this, and they stood there, staring at each other for several seconds.
Finally, Lin Ganzhi cleared his throat and asked, “Is Uncle Yan in the kitchen?”
He would rather believe that Yan Shengping was just the one helping to bring the food out.
However, an extremely unnatural expression flashed across Yan Shengping’s face. He turned and placed the congee on the dining table, and after a long moment, he managed to reply, “Uncle Yan went fishing.”
That one sentence was enough to prove everything.
Lin Ganzhi approached in disbelief. The white congee bowl had a few pieces of shrimp floating in it, sprinkled with a bit of chopped green onion. It smelled slightly burnt, but there were no visible burnt parts in the snow-white congee. He guessed that Yan Shengping had painstakingly scooped out only the good parts. In terms of presentation, it was a little lacking compared to takeout congee, but if Lin Ganzhi actually said that, given Yan Shengping’s personality, he probably wouldn’t be coaxed back for weeks.
“Am I the first person to eat your cooking?” Lin Ganzhi asked, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Yan Shengping.
Yan Shengping turned his head and coughed, a small patch on the tip of his ear turning strangely red. Then he gave a soft “mm” through his nose.
Lin Ganzhi was instantly overjoyed. He took the spoon and sat down, taking a small taste. Mmm, it was a little burnt, but he was still very happy.
“Have you eaten? Can you join me?” With a great beauty for company, eating burnt congee wasn’t a big deal.
“I had a little with Uncle Yan this morning.” Although Yan Shengping said this, he still untied his apron and sat down opposite Lin Ganzhi. He skillfully poured Lin Ganzhi a glass of water. Lin Ganzhi obediently took a sip, then continued to eat his congee and side dishes.
At first, Yan Shengping thought Lin Ganzhi was eating quite normally, but he gradually noticed something was off. He asked, puzzled, “Why do you look at me every time you take a bite?”
“It whets my appetite,” Lin Ganzhi said with utter honesty.
For some reason, this sentence triggered something in Yan Shengping. Just as Lin Ganzhi was about to lower his head and dig in, Yan Shengping slid over and kissed the corner of his lips, his husky voice full of temptation. “There’s something even more appetizing. Want to try?”
Lin Ganzhi expressionlessly pushed Yan Shengping’s handsome face away and said very coldly, “No!”
Yan Shengping didn’t insist, or perhaps his original intention was just to tease Lin Ganzhi and get him to eat properly. However, facing Lin Ganzhi, he couldn’t stop himself and added, “Zhizhi, you weren’t so resistant last night. You even begged…”
“Have you been jealous this whole time and just not saying it?” Lin Ganzhi interrupted Yan Shengping, his face flushing red. You old pervert, don’t talk about this in broad daylight just because Uncle Yan isn’t here! Doesn’t he have any face to save? Lin Ganzhi had originally planned to be tactful, but Yan Shengping had forced his hand!
His thoughts exposed, Yan Shengping’s expression stiffened, and then he said very firmly, “No.”
Lin Ganzhi didn’t give up and continued, “Impossible! I still remember everything from last night! You told me!”
Of all the things he could have miscalculated, Yan Shengping hadn’t anticipated this, and his face turned somewhat pale. He gazed deeply at Lin Ganzhi, concealing his own dark emotions, and said, “Those were just angry words last night.”
Just looking at Yan Shengping’s current expression, anyone could tell they weren’t just angry words.
“Oh, alright then. In that case, can I go hang out with Qi Yushuo alone? It’s a perfect chance to visit his hometown…”
Before Lin Ganzhi could finish, Yan Shengping reached out and cupped his cheeks, his expression displeased. “Zhizhi, you’re doing this on purpose.” On purpose to force him to admit it, on purpose to annoy him.
It was the first time his face had been squeezed so hard it hurt a little, but only a little. Yan Shengping was deliberately controlling his strength, even though his expression was at the peak of displeasure. Lin Ganzhi suddenly thought that perhaps Yan Shengping’s personality was most honestly expressed when they first met and were unfamiliar with each other.
After they started dating, Yan Shengping had been trying hard to maintain a balance, and just now, it seemed he had broken that balance himself.
Lin Ganzhi blinked, and his eyes quickly reddened. He said with some grievance, “It hurts.”
Hearing this, Yan Shengping quickly let go. Two red finger marks were already left on Lin Ganzhi’s fleshy cheeks. Yan Shengping took a deep breath and turned to go to the washroom.
Lin Ganzhi was stunned. Did he overdo it and completely push Yan Shengping into a corner? Crap, he just wanted the two of them to be able to talk things over calmly. Lin Ganzhi was about to follow him, but Yan Shengping came back out, holding a wet white towel. He reached out and placed it on Lin Ganzhi’s cheeks. The cool towel instantly soothed Lin Ganzhi’s slightly feverish face.
At this moment, although Yan Shengping’s face showed little emotion, his worried eyes had completely betrayed him.
Lin Ganzhi tilted his head up to look at him, thinking to himself that this person was terrible at getting angry. It only lasted a few seconds.
“Why won’t you admit you’re jealous? If you hadn’t brought it up, I wouldn’t have even thought about Qi Yushuo,” Lin Ganzhi said, rubbing his face against the towel.
Yan Shengping pursed his lips and didn’t speak, but his gaze followed Lin Ganzhi’s every move.
This sense of dependence greatly encouraged Lin Ganzhi to solve the problem like a man. So he asked again, “Is it because I haven’t given you enough security that you won’t tell me when you’re jealous?”
“Then and now, I’ve never liked anyone else. You’re the first. But I know I agreed to be with you because I like you. I may be slow when it comes to feelings, but I’m not stupid. No matter how people ship me with other artists, I’m very clear about who I truly like. So you shouldn’t be misled by things online either. I only have you in my heart—now, and in the future!” Lin Ganzhi promised.
Yan Shengping looked at Lin Ganzhi, and the anger in his eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by a kind of helplessness. He was truly dense. How could he feel insecure because of online shipping? He could tell at a glance which people truly liked Lin Ganzhi. He couldn’t deny that he had been provoked by the look in Qi Yushuo’s eyes last night, which was why his emotions had become so out of control that he hadn’t even noticed Lin Ganzhi was gradually sobering up.
“So, if you’re jealous in the future, just tell me. And if I’m jealous, I’ll tell you too. It’s too hard to hold it in!” Lin Ganzhi encouraged, determined that there should be no barriers between a couple!
Yan Shengping took a deep breath and bent down to kiss his silly wife. He really was helpless against him.
Lin Ganzhi was kissed until he was muddled and couldn’t help but open his mouth, and then…
“The congee is burnt!” Yan Shengping said, his face turning ugly as he stood up.
Uh…
Forgetting himself for a moment, Lin Ganzhi tried hard to salvage the situation. “Because you made it, I want to finish it even if it’s burnt.”
Yan Shengping wordlessly took the congee back to the kitchen. Lin Ganzhi anxiously followed, wanting to coax him.
But Yan Shengping had already poured the congee into the trash can. He was silent for a moment before turning back to say, “I’ll practice more. I’ll make it for you again when it’s not burnt. Let’s just order takeout today.”
A light flashed in Lin Ganzhi’s eyes. He stepped forward and hugged Yan Shengping, his heart tingling. It was rare for Yan Shengping to show such an expression after they started dating. He didn’t find it annoying at all; in fact, he quite liked it.
***
Just after the first snow had melted, Lin Ganzhi invited the friends he had made on the show for a get-together at his house. However, Qi Yushuo couldn’t make it due to a scheduling conflict. Lu Xi, seeing Yan Shengping in person for the first time in a sober state, stared with wide eyes. Taking advantage of a moment when Yan Shengping went upstairs, he pulled Lin Ganzhi aside and whispered, “Ganzhi, if I were you, I’d be a love brain too!”
Lin Ganzhi irritably kicked Lu Xi away.
Que Jin was also there, and like Lu Xi, it was her first time seeing Yan Shengping in person. Although there were plenty of good-looking people in the entertainment industry, a man like Yan Shengping, who was breathtakingly beautiful even without a trace of makeup, was truly a rare find. On top of that, the aura he exuded had a natural, captivating charm.
Both of them were staring straight at him.
The key was that Yan Shengping, who usually had eight hundred schemes up his sleeve, didn’t use a single one today. Even though he knew two lustful gazes were fixed on him, he was still able to exude charm from every angle, saying things like, “Thank you all for taking care of my Ganzhi,” and “What would you like to drink? I’ll get it for you.”
Lin Ganzhi thought: Excuse me, I’m usually the one taking care of them. What are you thanking them for?
In the end, Lin Ganzhi and Wenren Yi were left squatting by the door, venting their frustrations. One was smoking, while the other was revenge-eating a popsicle, making loud crunching sounds.
Wenren Yi asked curiously, “Doesn’t that hurt your teeth?”
Lin Ganzhi crunched down, his lips turning bright red from the popsicle, and shot Wenren Yi a sideways glance. “Doesn’t that hurt your lungs?”
They looked at each other, both speechless, and then went back to their own business.
Lin Ganzhi finally knew what it felt like to be silently jealous. They were definitely sleeping in separate beds tonight, to teach him a lesson!
“Your husband really doesn’t need to be displaying his charm here,” Wenren Yi said, exhaling a puff of white smoke with a world-weary air.
“Then why don’t you rein in your wife a little?” Lin Ganzhi was almost at the end of his popsicle, his tongue numb from the cold, but it still didn’t feel like enough.
“You think I dare?” Wenren Yi said honestly. To Que Jin, Yan Shengping was like a figure who once stood on a divine pedestal. There was no way a mere Wenren Yi could stop her from getting this close to her god for the first time.
Lin Ganzhi sighed. He could stop it, but wouldn’t getting jealous over something so groundless make him seem petty?
He suddenly felt the weary burden of being a good man.
“By the way, when did you and Sister Que Jin get together? You two didn’t even tell me!” Lin Ganzhi gossiped. He hadn’t seen Sister Que Jin in a long time, and this time they had arrived holding hands, not hiding it at all.
“It was that night, after we finished filming the second episode of the show. I started to care about her then, but I wasn’t sure if Que Jin would like women, so I never said anything and even avoided her for a while. Later, Que Jin came to my house herself and asked me out.”
“Sister Que Jin confessed to you!” Lin Ganzhi was stunned by this piece of gossip. He had always thought Wenren Yi was the one who pursued her relentlessly.
Wenren Yi shot Lin Ganzhi a sideways glance; she could tell what the little fool was thinking at a glance. “Don’t think of me like that. Although my orientation is towards women, I’ve never been in a serious relationship, let alone fallen for a straight person. Not until Que Jin bluntly told me that day that she wouldn’t like men anymore,” Wenren Yi said, suddenly breaking into a silly smile.
Lin Ganzhi, while eating his candy, gave her another disgusted shove. The two, who had been adversaries just a moment ago, were now reconciled over a little piece of gossip.
“What are you two doing here?” Que Jin’s voice suddenly sounded from above, but her tone was low, not sounding happy.
Wenren Yi stiffened and quickly stood up, then with lightning speed, she stomped out the half-smoked cigarette in her hand under her foot.
Seeing this, Lin Ganzhi quickly moved aside. Just as he was getting ready to watch the show, the last bite of his popsicle was snatched away. Yan Shengping looked at Lin Ganzhi with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. Lin Ganzhi’s expression froze, and like a child caught doing something wrong, he hid to the side.
And so, before the main course began, Lin Ganzhi and Wenren Yi were each given a scolding.
Lu Xi, waiting in the living room, couldn’t help but let out a burp. “Uncle Yan, the snacks you bought are really delicious.”
Uncle Yan said with a beaming smile, “If you like them, take another box home. They’re all your favorites. Remember to come visit often next time.”
Lu Xi nodded in satisfaction.
That day, a world was achieved where only Lu Xi was happy.