Chapter 80 – The One and Only
“Hmm? You don’t want to live there anymore? Should we bring your children?” Yan Shengping looked up after tapping the last key, accepting Lin Ganzhi’s suggestion with unusual calmness.
However,
“What children do I have?” Lin Ganzhi was confused.
Yan Shengping’s lips curved, a flicker of a smile in his eyes. “Aren’t they all in that patch of land when you open the gate?” As long as Lin Ganzhi was home, he never missed giving them their three meals a day.
Lin Ganzhi froze, then his slow-reacting brain finally caught on. He was both annoyed and angry. Yan Shengping was actually joking with him? For some reason, it felt a little different.
“Well, if we move, we definitely have to bring them. Don’t say that, or I won’t be able to bring myself to eat them.” Was it possible to develop a father-son bond with vegetables?
“I mean, we taught Shi Wending a lesson today. He’s one of the investors in our show. If we offend him, I might have to leave the entertainment circle early. I’m worried he’ll really hire people to come after us. Should we go into hiding for a while?” He had encountered something like this in his previous life. When that big boss saw that he really couldn’t be persuaded, he directly sent people to his rented apartment to beat him up. Unwilling to pay for medical expenses, it took him over a month to recover.
Lin Ganzhi felt a pang of sadness at the thought. Why did society love to bully honest people so much?
Suddenly, a large hand covered his. Yan Shengping’s calm yet powerful voice sounded by his ear. “Remember what I’m about to say. Our family’s strength right now doesn’t need to fear these rats. If someone bullies you, hit them directly. If you can’t win, call me. Our family can afford this little bit of medical expenses. I’m just waiting for the right time to make a comeback. But you have to remember, my bottom line is that if anyone bullies you… a mere Shi Wending, you can beat that kind of scum a hundred times, and I’ll back you up a hundred times.”
Lin Ganzhi’s eyes grew hot, his heart surging with emotion. Sob, sob, sob, boss, you have no idea how cool you sounded when you said that.
“Do you remember?”
“Okay,” Lin Ganzhi sniffled, never having felt so secure in his life.
“So, can you tell me the whole story now?” Yan Shengping turned his head, precisely capturing Lin Ganzhi’s attempt to dodge his gaze.
Lin Ganzhi coughed guiltily. Being stared at by Yan Shengping’s 360-degree, no-blind-spot gaze, he clearly had nowhere to hide, but he didn’t know how to begin.
“Uncle Yan, please close the partition.” Yan Shengping put down his tablet, his hands clasped on his lap, looking dignified and elegant. Only the content of his words wasn’t so friendly, his tone laced with a faint anger. In fact, he had been very angry when he saw Lin Ganzhi being pulled by Shi Wending. Beating him up just now had been quite restrained, only letting Lin Ganzhi do the hitting.
Lin Ganzhi watched as the partition between the front and back seats slowly closed, leaving only the sound of their two breaths in the entire back seat.
“Do you remember what you promised me on my birthday?” Yan Shengping played his trump card.
Lin Ganzhi sniffled, his voice a little muffled. “I remember.”
But he didn’t really want to talk about this matter with anyone. It was as if talking about it would rip open old wounds. But he had also promised Yan Shengping. And for something like almost being forcibly cheated on, it seemed reasonable for his husband to want to know.
Lin Ganzhi was thinking so hard his head was almost buried in his thick collar. It was Yan Shengping who reached out and pulled him out. When their eyes met, Yan Shengping saw the difficulty in Lin Ganzhi’s eyes.
Forget it. Why keep forcing this little fool? It wasn’t like he couldn’t find out on his own.
Yan Shengping now instinctively softened when it came to Lin Ganzhi.
“For—”
“It was… the night before your birthday,” Lin Ganzhi said, lost in his own world, not hearing the single word Yan Shengping had uttered. Yan Shengping also fell silent, and in the silence, his anger gradually built up, his hands clenching uncontrollably. On the… eve of his birthday?
“The director treated us to dinner. Halfway through, Shi Wending came over, speaking in a very passive-aggressive way. I couldn’t stand it, so I went out. But he followed me out, saying something about keeping me and belittling you.” By the end, Lin Ganzhi sounded completely wronged, his nasal tone becoming more and more pronounced.
“Were you bullied?” Yan Shengping turned to the side, gently adjusting Lin Ganzhi’s collar. His voice was like crushed ice, its tips sharp with ferocity.
Lin Ganzhi shook his head and said eagerly, “Later, I got so angry I kicked him in the… you know. When he fell down in pain, I gave him another kick before running off.” After saying that, his tone was inexplicably a little proud.
Yan Shengping’s hand paused, the knot in his brow finally loosening a bit. He praised without reservation, “Well done.”
Lin Ganzhi felt a warmth spread through his heart at the praise. The unhappiness he had felt earlier seemed to completely disappear. He couldn’t help but proudly add a few more sentences. “I’m not someone who can be bullied by just anyone when I’m out. This time was a miscalculation; I let him see through my tricks. Otherwise, I would have given him a few more kicks to teach him a lesson!”
Yan Shengping stared at Lin Ganzhi’s somewhat cute hair whorl and coaxed softly, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the rest. I guarantee he’ll never forget it.” Yan Shengping’s words were calm yet cruel, making Lin Ganzhi look up at him. Yan Shengping’s fingertips curled slightly. He had accidentally revealed his true nature. Would Lin Ganzhi be afraid of him now?
In reality, Lin Ganzhi’s feelings at this moment were very complex. Something he had feared so much in his previous life was replaying in this one, but this time, there was someone who stood up for him and said these words. He had only dared to dream of this feeling of being backed up in his previous life. A certain old song suddenly came to his mind, one that perfectly captured his current mood.
Brothers, let’s hug, and talk about…
“Yan Shengping, can I hug you?” Lin Ganzhi reached out, his fair paws emerging from his sleeves. Paired with his eager expression, Yan Shengping, as if possessed, reached out his own arms.
The black coat and white cotton jacket merged. Compared to the hug in the recording studio today, Lin Ganzhi hugged Yan Shengping tighter and more freely this time. His head rested firmly on Yan Shengping’s chest, and he even recklessly nuzzled his chest muscles. The feeling was quite nice, but it was more of a mental massage. After speaking out this time, Lin Ganzhi seemed to have subconsciously taken the first step toward bidding farewell to the past.
And this step was one Yan Shengping had pulled him toward. It was he who had given him the courage and confidence.
Next, it was his turn to help Yan Shengping. If he didn’t cure Yan Shengping’s body this time, it would be his fault!
After returning home, Uncle Yan lavished praise on Lin Ganzhi’s dance.
“Ganzhi, I never knew you danced so beautifully before! Did you learn it in the past? But I heard you studied acting in college. I didn’t expect you to learn classical dance too. Does this mean we’ll have a show to watch for New Year’s this year?”
Lin Ganzhi’s face turned red.
Yan Shengping frowned. Having suffered greatly from this in the past, he put down his scarf and was about to come to Lin Ganzhi’s rescue when Lin Ganzhi, wringing his hands, obediently nodded.
Seeing this, Uncle Yan was even happier and went in to cook them some ginger soup to ward off the cold. Although Uncle Yan’s cooking skills were quite average, ever since he took over the task of making ginger soup, his confidence had soared, and he was eager to make a bowl for them every time they came back.
Once the air conditioner reached a constant temperature, Lin Ganzhi pulled off his large cotton coat. The feeling of sudden relaxation made him stretch, and the light yellow sweater lifted slightly, revealing a sliver of his milky-white waist. The dimples on his lower back were shallow and cute. Yan Shengping’s gaze uncontrollably drifted there.
However, Lin Ganzhi’s yawn was over rather quickly, and his hands came down in less than five seconds.
A trace of disappointment flashed in Yan Shengping’s eyes. He then said, “I have a colleague who practices yoga. She says that stretching often might even make you taller.”
When it came to the topic of growing taller, Lin Ganzhi was interested. He asked seriously, “Really? Like this?” Lin Ganzhi raised his hands again. This time, it was even more difficult; his body arched back slightly, and Yan Shengping could even see his navel.
The old beast suppressed his voice and hummed in agreement, his conscience not bothering him in the slightest. He watched Lin Ganzhi stretch while changing the subject. “Why are you willing to go along with the old folks’ fun? You must have experienced plenty of New Year’s performances before, right?”
Lin Ganzhi froze, his stretching stopping mid-motion. This kind of life, like a real family of three, was something he was experiencing for the first time. But with his cover story, Lin Ganzhi quickly concealed his loneliness and just said, “My aunt and uncle weren’t very fond of these things during New Year’s before.” The original owner didn’t have anything to perform, and even if he wanted to, his aunt and uncle couldn’t be bothered to watch.
Yan Shengping hadn’t expected to touch a sore spot for Lin Ganzhi. He suddenly looked around, a little at a loss, and then saw the candy box on the table. Knowing Lin Ganzhi liked them, Uncle Yan had specially bought over a thousand yuan worth of candy before he came back. He picked up a milk candy and handed it to Lin Ganzhi. “Then I’ll look forward to your performance at New Year’s.”
Lin Ganzhi was amused by Yan Shengping’s clumsy gesture and couldn’t help but ask, “Was today’s performance not good?”
Caught off guard, Yan Shengping paused. If it weren’t for the unpleasant incident in the middle, he probably still wouldn’t have been able to get over Lin Ganzhi’s dance. It was like a huge boulder crashing into his calm lake. Yan Shengping could still vaguely recall that feeling of losing control. He said, “To deal with various occasions, I’ve seen many live dance performances, but none of them have been as stunning as what you brought me today.”
Lin Ganzhi was so flattered his breath caught in his throat. It wasn’t about being praised for how beautiful he was, but for being praised as the one and only. The feeling was hard to put into words. Lin Ganzhi blinked nervously and finally, timidly, chose to change the subject. “Then are you going to perform something for New Year’s too?”
Put on the spot, Yan Shengping let out a chuckle. “I’ll perform by handing out red envelopes for New Year’s. Do you like that?”
The little money-lover immediately gave Yan Shengping a big thumbs-up!
That night, Yin Quanxi’s interview show shot to the top of the trending topics: #HumanEvolutionLeftMeBehind
#LinGanzhi,FanDance
#QiYushuo,Pipa
#LuXiYourFaceIsHighlyDeceptive
#WenrenYiAndQueJin,StunningCP
#QiYushuoThanksLinGanzhi
Six consecutive trending topics were all about this interview show. This was the show’s most popular episode of the year. There was nothing to be done; this episode’s guests were simply too full of hidden talents. Plus, it was live, so even if the guests wanted to fake it, they couldn’t escape the eyes of tens of millions of viewers. Just based on Lin Ganzhi’s dance on the live broadcast, his five million followers quickly broke the ten million mark. Fans with magnifying glasses finally summed up the reason for Lin Ganzhi’s sudden popularity.
[Have you guys noticed? Ganzhi has been bursting with charm ever since he got married! I became his fan after he got married. What a treasure of a little brother!]
[Seconded on the post-marriage thing. After getting married, Lin Ganzhi’s mental state has improved by more than just a little bit. All I can say is, this marriage was not a loss for our boy.]
[Sob sob sob, I dug up Ganzhi’s past information. It turns out his parents passed away a long time ago, and he grew up with his aunt’s family. His aunt’s family treated him very poorly. I think Ganzhi was so dramatic before because he was insecure. Now there must be someone who is willing to spoil him unconditionally, so he can be so confident in being himself!]
At the same time, some people started to dig into the reasons why Yan Shengping had been universally slandered before.
[Damn! Now that you mention it, this CEO Yan is not only not a bad person, but he’s also so charming that he can change a person. So what was that about him stabbing Zhong Jingyi? Why do I feel like there’s something fishy about that?]
[Seconded. I’ve never seen Zhong Jingyi on a reality show before. As expected, a reality show reveals a person’s character. Belittling his juniors and being a manipulative gaslighter, there’s really no one like him. I’m a fan of Luan Yuanzhou, and it hurts to see the growing disappointment in Yuanzhou’s eyes on the show. Yuanzhou used to love Zhong Jingyi with all his heart and gave him so many resources. I never expected it to end like this. Bro, if it’s not working out, let’s just break up. Wouldn’t it be better to find someone like Ganzhi?]
For a time, online opinions were divided. Zhong Jingyi had to pull a lot of strings to suppress the slanderous material about himself.
“I don’t think you should be taking any acting jobs for a while. Just stay at home and reflect on your actions! Hmph!” Father Zhong slammed Zhong Jingyi’s door shut. Zhong Jingyi sat in his room without a word. Outside the door, Madam Zhong’s weeping gradually faded away. He never would have thought that things would turn out like this. What made him even more upset was that he couldn’t even get through to Luan Yuanzhou’s phone now. Since they started dating, Luan Yuanzhou had never given him the cold shoulder for this long.