Lin Guo raised his eyebrows but didn’t answer. His meaningful eyes revealed a message: You’d better not lie to me.
Ding Yinan took a deep breath, maintaining an expressionless face. He resisted the urge to call Huo Zhixiao and followed Assistant Lin Guo into the elevator going down.
Strangely enough, Ding Yinan knew that Huo Zhixiao was very popular in the industry, but he had never considered it a problem. Even after being with Huo Zhixiao, he didn’t feel threatened by his past bed partners.
Perhaps it was because Huo Zhixiao had always been casual before, even deleting the contact information of his previous bed partners. So Ding Yinan didn’t pay much attention to his romantic history.
However, thinking about it now, he realized that he shouldn’t let his guard down because someone was currently coveting Huo Zhixiao.
The numbers on the elevator display decreased, but Ding Yinan’s gaze remained fixed on the back of Lin Guo’s head.
If Huo Zhixiao were to rate Lin Guo, he would probably use his catchphrase “perfect,” wouldn’t he?
The thought made Ding Yinan feel slightly uncomfortable.
The elevator quickly reached the first-floor parking lot. After the group stepped out of the elevator, Ding Yinan took out his mobile phone, intending to call Huo Zhixiao. However, at that moment, Assistant Lin Guo’s voice came through.
“Hello, Master Huo? We’re going to have a meal now. Shall we meet up?… Okay, I’ll see you at the ×× Restaurant.”
After hanging up the phone, Assistant Lin Guo engaged in a low conversation with Lin Guo. Ding Yinan vaguely heard words like “very manly” and “great physique.”
Lin Guo still wore a skeptical yet highly interested expression. Ding Yinan believed that if Assistant Lin Guo mentioned Huo Zhixiao as his favorite, then upon meeting Huo Zhixiao, he would definitely not be disappointed.
“Squad leader, why are you lost in thought? Let’s go,” Yuan Feng waved his hand in front of Ding Yinan, pulling him back from his reverie.
Although Ding Yinan had previously asked Yuan Feng not to call him “squad leader,” it seemed difficult for Yuan Feng to change the title he had been using for the past four years.
Ding Yinan snapped back to reality, pocketed his phone, and said, “Let’s go.”
If Lin Guo had just been an ordinary stranger, Ding Yinan would never have allowed him to catch Huo Zhixiao’s attention.
But Lin Guo wasn’t ordinary.
He was Huo Zhixiao’s first client after he had started working independently.
Even if Ding Yinan hadn’t let Huo Zhixiao go to dinner with Lin Guo that day, as long as Lin Guo was still Huo Zhixiao’s client, there would be many opportunities for them to interact.
Ding Yinan didn’t want to interfere with Huo Zhixiao’s work because of his personal emotions, so he simply sent a message to Huo Zhixiao, asking him to come home early for dinner.
The preliminary work for the party had been completed, and it was rare that there hadn’t been any overtime that day. When Ding Yinan returned home, he cooked a sumptuous dinner for Huo Zhixiao, showcasing all his culinary skills.
Huo Zhixiao returned earlier than expected. He lazily loosened his tie, hugged Ding Yinan from behind while he was wearing an apron, and asked, “What’s special about today?”
“Congratulations on starting your project,” Ding Yinan placed the final dish on the table.
“It’s not a major project,” Huo Zhixiao pulled out his chair and sat down, reporting to Ding Yinan, “In the end, the design fee was set at one thousand per square meter.”
A design fee of 1,000 per square meter was already quite high. Lin Guo’s house was 300 square meters, so the design cost amounted to approximately 300,000. If the project could be successfully completed, then this income would be considered a good start.
“Is he easy to work with?” Ding Yinan sat down opposite Huo Zhixiao and asked, pretending not to be concerned.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“He’s fine,” Huo Zhixiao replied. “He has some specific design requirements, but they all fall within a reasonable range.”
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It wasn’t easy for Ding Yinan to share what he had heard with Huo Zhixiao because Huo Zhixiao currently seemed solely focused on work. If Ding Yinan mentioned it and Huo Zhixiao started caring about Lin Guo instead, it would be more of a loss than a gain.
“What requests did he make?” Ding Yinan changed the subject.
“He wanted a minimalist style,” Huo Zhixiao said. “It may seem easy, but it’s actually quite challenging.”
After dinner, Huo Zhixiao went to work in his study.
Ding Yinan was watching the news in the living room, but not long after, Huo Zhixiao leaned out from the study and called out to Ding Yinan, “Honey, come here.”
“What’s wrong?”
Ding Yinan entered the study and noticed that Huo Zhixiao’s computer screen was filled with various storage plans.
“It’s giving me a bit of a headache,” Huo Zhixiao said. “He requested minimal furniture, but that leaves insufficient storage space.”
The amount of storage space determines the tidiness of a home, but that doesn’t mean more storage is always better, as having too many cabinets can disrupt the overall aesthetic.
Ding Yinan happened to be an expert in storage. The reason why his small house was neat and tidy wasn’t because he had few belongings, but because he knew how to organize them.
“Does he have a lot of things?” Ding Yinan asked.
“His assistant didn’t say much. I’ll have to come back and take a look,” Huo Zhixiao frowned. “However, he just messaged me saying he has so many things that he needs an entire wall of cabinets to accommodate them. I’m not sure what to do.”
“Things don’t necessarily need to be stored in cabinets,” Ding Yinan suggested. “The space under the bed and sofa can be utilized for storage.”
“But beds and sofas with built-in storage aren’t very appealing,” Huo Zhixiao commented.
“That’s not always the case.”
Ding Yinan had participated in the decoration of his own home and Huo Zhixiao’s home, and had visited countless building materials and furniture markets. So, when it came to storage, he still had a lot of expertise.
“Then help me take a look,” Huo Zhixiao turned the computer screen to Ding Yinan. “Where can I consider incorporating some storage designs?”
A floor plan was displayed on the computer screen. Ding Yinan looked at it for a few seconds and then realized… he couldn’t comprehend it.
He might have known that the living room was the living room and the bedroom was the bedroom, but he couldn’t visualize the three-dimensional space or conceive how to arrange the storage areas.
“Sorry, I can’t make sense of it just by looking at the picture,” Ding Yinan said helplessly.
Huo Zhixiao fell silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up and said, “Then let’s go to the location.”
“Now?” Ding Yinan was taken aback.
“I’ll inform his assistant,” Huo Zhixiao said.
“No,” Ding Yinan glanced at the time. It was already past eight o’clock in the evening. “How can we visit someone else’s house now?”
“But it’s not his home yet,” Huo Zhixiao looked at Ding Yinan strangely. “There’s nothing inside yet. It’s just a construction site.”
Ding Yinan still felt uneasy, perhaps because subconsciously he already considered Lin Guo as a rival in love, and going to his rival’s new house at night, regardless of the reason, felt wrong to him.
But he couldn’t explain his reservations, so in the end, he followed Huo Zhixiao to the upscale community where Lin Guo’s new house was located.
The community had strict access control, and Lin Guo’s assistant had made prior arrangements with the property management. The security guard at the gate allowed them entry.
After entering the community, they went directly to the door of Lin Guo’s new house. Huo Zhixiao entered the password and opened the door.
He turned on the flashlight of his mobile phone to illuminate the dark room, then pointed his chin at the wall of the entrance and said, “Here could be a built-in shoe cabinet, but he had too many shoes, so he wouldn’t have been able to fit them here.”
Seeing that Huo Zhixiao had quickly gotten down to work, Ding Yinan had to set aside his awkward thoughts and suggested to Huo Zhixiao, “Let’s focus on the walk-in closet.”
The two explored the 300-square-meter large house for a long time, considering all the storage solutions that could be utilized.
Huo Zhixiao wasn’t adept at interior design, but with Ding Yinan by his side, his thinking was clear, and they came up with many ingenious ideas.
However, as they were discussing how to utilize the balcony space, they suddenly heard the sound of someone entering the password at the gate, which felt particularly abrupt in the empty house.
The next moment, the door lock was unlocked, and a tall figure walked in.
The man took off his sunglasses and cautiously called out into the house, “Master Huo?”
“Mr. Lin?” Huo Zhixiao inexplicably returned to the entrance from the balcony and asked, “Why are you…?”
“The assistant told me you were here,” Lin Guo said. “I thought I’d come over and take a look.”
Ding Yinan couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth in speechlessness—was Lin Guo here to inspect the house or to see Huo Zhixiao?
“Who is this?” Lin Guo looked at Ding Yinan standing beside Huo Zhixiao and asked.
Due to the dim lighting in the room, Ding Yinan couldn’t see Lin Guo’s face clearly, and naturally, Lin Guo couldn’t see his face clearly either.
“This is my secretary, Ding Yinan,” Huo Zhixiao introduced.
Ding Yinan nodded at Lin Guo and said, “Hello.” He knew that at this moment, Huo Zhixiao could only introduce him as his secretary, as it would have been too strange if he had appeared there as a friend or in any other capacity.
Lin Guo ceased to pay attention to Ding Yinan but asked Huo Zhixiao, “Do you have any new ideas?”
“I did have some ideas.” Huo Zhixiao guided Lin Guo into the room and then recounted the earlier discussion between him and Ding Yinan. “What did you think?”
“Very good, I’ll follow your suggestion.”
Ding Yinan followed behind the two, his expression remaining blank. He was now certain of one thing: either Lin Guo wasn’t interested in Huo Zhixiao, or he hadn’t made a move yet.
Exiting the dark room, Lin Guo put his sunglasses back on and said to Huo Zhixiao, “Let’s just leave the house as it is. How about we go for a drink?”
“Have a drink?” Huo Zhixiao raised an eyebrow in surprise. “What are you talking about?”
Lin Guo smiled and said, “We can talk about anything you want.”
As Ding Yinan listened to their conversation, his anger grew, but he didn’t let it show easily.
“You don’t need your secretary to accompany you,” Lin Guo tilted his head, looked at Ding Yinan, and said, “You can leave work.”
Huo Zhixiao opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Ding Yinan took the lead and said, “Mr. Lin, Master Huo has an international meeting to attend later. I’m afraid he can’t join you for a drink.”
“A meeting?” Lin Guo’s eyes were hidden behind the sunglasses, so Ding Yinan couldn’t clearly see his expression. But it was evident that Lin Guo was focused on him and said, “You seem familiar.”
Of course, he looked familiar. The two had only met earlier in the day.
“Really?” Ding Yinan responded casually.
“Mr. Lin, I do have work to do tonight,” Huo Zhixiao smoothly continued the conversation, “Let’s have a drink another time.”
Lin Guo didn’t insist and calmly said, “That’s fine. We can arrange another day.”
After parting ways with Lin Guo at the community entrance, Ding Yinan walked wordlessly toward the parking lot.
Huo Zhixiao hurriedly caught up, took hold of Ding Yinan’s wrist, and said, “Honey, don’t be angry.”
Huo Zhixiao wasn’t foolish; he understood what was going on.
“Arrange another day?” Ding Yinan stopped and asked, still with an expressionless face.
“I won’t go,” Huo Zhixiao smiled slightly, “You didn’t have to say I had a meeting just now, because I wouldn’t have agreed to him.”
Ding Yinan admitted that he had been a little impatient earlier. He was afraid that Huo Zhixiao’s response wouldn’t be what he wanted to hear, so he quickly made up an excuse for Huo Zhixiao to decline.
“He’s interested in you,” Ding Yinan let out a sigh, finally saying what he had been holding back for a day. “I overheard his assistant saying that you are his favorite.”
Huo Zhixiao didn’t respond; he simply looked at Ding Yinan and smiled.
“What are you looking at?” Ding Yinan asked angrily.
“You’re jealous,” Huo Zhixiao raised his hand and squeezed Ding Yinan’s cheek.
“I’m not,” Ding Yinan furrowed his brow and swatted Huo Zhixiao’s hand away. “I don’t care if you go for a drink or not.”
“Are you sure?” Huo Zhixiao said with a smile. “Who said I was actually going to attend a multinational meeting just now?”
“I don’t know,” Ding Yinan stubbornly refused to admit it. “It was you who said you had work to do and turned down a big star.”
“I do have a job to do,” Huo Zhixiao said in a lighthearted tone as he hooked his arm around Ding Yinan’s neck. Leaning close to his ear, he added, “My job is to make you happy.”
Really drinking vinegar hehe~~
Thanks for the chapter ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡
What a sweet talker 😚
Cute ~ thank you for the chapter 💐
Thanks for the chapter 💜
Aww, “My job is to make you happy” 😍
Thanks for the chapter 💞
Sweet😍