The next day, Huo Zhixiao still had to go to the construction site, and only Ding Yinan and Guo Yi were left in the office.
Ding Yinan finished his work first, picked up the cup, and went to the rest area to get a cup of coffee. He then casually beckoned to Guo Yi and said, “Xiao Guo, come and have a chat.”
Ding Yinan had thought about it for a long time the night before, but he still felt that it would be better to talk about these things in person. There was a big disadvantage of sending messages – it was impossible to observe the tone and expression of the other party, and a little carelessness would cause misunderstanding.
Guo Yi stuck out half of his head from behind the computer screen to look, then picked up the mug and came to Ding Yinan’s side.
“We’ve been doing well recently.” Ding Yinan chatted with Guo Yi while drinking coffee. “I’ve planned to move the office to the 5A office building.”
After all, a small apartment was no match for a regular office building. As the studio’s scale expanded, an office building with a strong business atmosphere was their inevitable choice.
Guo Yi nodded, took a cup of warm water, and asked, “Do you have any specific plans?”
“There are already several options.” Ding Yinan said, “But it’ll need some time to consider which.”
Guo Yi didn’t inquire further and silently took a sip of water. Although he felt a bit heartbroken, on the eve of his resignation, the boss suddenly wanted to talk about the company’s future development, and normal people could see that the boss had other plans.
“Do you really want to resign?” Ding Yinan asked directly.
Guo Yi seemed to be well-prepared, took a deep breath, and said, “Mr. Ding, I like our studio very much, but I have a reason to leave, so…”
Ding Yinan interrupted: “I know the reason for your resignation.”
Guo Yi looked at Ding Yinan with an incredulous expression.
Ding Yinan continued, “It’s because of Lin Guo.”
Now the surprise in Guo Yi’s eyes turned into embarrassment. He uncomfortably picked up the water glass in his hand and drank water to relieve the embarrassment.
Ding Yinan had considered that Lin Guo might be only one of the reasons for Guo Yi’s resignation, but now it seemed that Lin Guo was 100% the culprit.
He was grateful that he didn’t choose to communicate through WeChat, as seeing Guo Yi’s evasive attitude, a WeChat conversation might not have yielded such a direct response.
“I have to tell you something.” Ding Yinan said frankly, “Master Huo and I are both gay.”
“Puff–”
Hearing this, Guo Yi spit out water from his mouth, which Ding Yinan did not expect.
The embarrassment in Guo Yi’s eyes disappeared, replaced by surprise and disbelief, as if he was wondering what kind of situation he had walked into.
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.
“Master Huo and I are lovers, and,” Ding Yinan paused, carefully choosing his words, “I’m the one who takes the bottom position.”
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Ding Yinan wanted to explain this to Guo Yi so that he wouldn’t feel embarrassed. Even if he was in the receiving position during intercourse, it didn’t mean he couldn’t hold his head high in other aspects of life.
Guo Yi’s eyes became very complicated, he looked Ding Yinan up and down and murmured, “I can’t tell.”
“Yes.” Ding Yinan said, “Maybe you think all gays are effeminate, but it’s not true.”
“I really can’t see it.” Guo Yi lowered his eyes and shook his head with a conflicted expression, “I didn’t expect Mr. Lin and Mr. Ding to…”
Oh.
Ding Yinan suddenly realized that Lin Guo was still the one taking the bottom position.
It was really interesting that “being slept with by someone” didn’t mean “putting someone to sleep.” It seemed that Lin Guo was quite assertive in their relationship.
“Do you think I’m weird?” Ding Yinan asked.
Guo Yi looked at Ding Yinan, then shook his head.
“Maybe you don’t want me to know about you and Lin Guo, but I can tell you clearly that these things don’t matter to Master Huo and me.” Ding Yinan said, “If you don’t want to, I won’t either. I’ll arrange for you to have another conversation with Lin Guo. So, do you want to reconsider resigning?”
All the cards have been laid on the table, and Ding Yinan’s sincerity was evident. Guo Yi lowered his head, silently looking at the water glass in his hand.
After a moment, he nodded.
Guo Yi’s emotions seemed to have stabilized, but Ding Yinan still needed to recruit new people.
During these days, besides screening resumes, Ding Yinan also scouted for suitable office buildings around the city.
He couldn’t help but feel envious of Yuan Feng’s team having their own office space in the downtown area. Owning a dedicated office was the dream of every business owner.
If possible, Ding Yinan also wanted to find a modern and comfortable office, and he believed that Huo Zhixiao would also prefer that kind of working environment.
Soon, the weekend night arrived, and celebrities in the construction industry gathered in the banquet hall of a five-star hotel in the city.
Ding Yinan was still wearing the dark green dress that Huo Zhixiao gave him, but unlike last time, he no longer had to wait for Huo Xun’s call at any moment.
The organizer purposely arranged for Huo Zhixiao and Huo Xun to sit together. Before entering the venue, Huo Zhixiao went to the bathroom. Ding Yinan found himself alone at the seat when Huo Xun arrived.
“Mr. Huo.” Ding Yinan took the initiative to say hello.
Huo Xun glanced at Ding Yinan upon hearing the greeting, then frowned, and said, “Secretary Ding, didn’t I tell you to wear a bow tie when you wear a suit?”
Ding Yinan looked at the tie on his chest and smiled faintly, “Yes, Mr. Huo. But I tried it before going out today, and I still think a tie looks better on me.”
Huo Xun raised his eyebrows slightly, seemingly surprised that Ding Yinan would refute his suggestion.
At this moment, Huo Zhixiao returned to his seat, and Huo Xun stopped paying attention to Ding Yinan, turning to ask Huo Zhixiao, “Are you confident about winning the prize this time?”
Huo Zhixiao sat down beside Huo Xun with a calm demeanor and replied, “I’ll leave it to fate.”
Huo Xun’s expression soured slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and calmly looked at the podium.
The architectural award was divided into several categories, and Huo Zhixiao’s nomination was in the rural architectural design category, which had gained popularity in recent years. He was also competing against four other designers.
Coincidentally, Huo Xun was the presenter for this session.
As Huo Xun walked up to the awarding platform step by step, many people in the audience were discussing in low voices while looking at Huo Zhixiao.
They were not fools, after all.
The organizers purposely arranged for Huo Xun to present the award. If Huo Zhixiao was not the final winner, it would have made Huo Xun stand on the stage awkwardly.
However, everyone could guess in their hearts that there was a 90% chance Huo Xun would announce Huo Zhixiao as the winner. After reading the introductions of the works of the other four designers, that 90% chance turned into 100%. The works of the other designers were well-regulated and conformed to the characteristics of rural architecture. Only Huo Zhixiao’s work had variations in the rules, developing more possibilities for rural architecture.
Furthermore, Huo Zhixiao’s project was a public welfare library that brought hope to children. This alone made his work more meaningful than that of the others.
Huo Zhixiao deserved to be the winner, and Ding Yinan believed others in the audience shared the same sentiment.
A few minutes later, Huo Xun, with a proud and joyful expression, read his son’s name as the winner. Huo Zhixiao, with long strides, stepped up to the awarding platform to receive the trophy.
“Everyone knows that designer Xiao Huo is the son of Mr. Huo; he’s truly a chip off the old block.” The host held the card in his hand, creating an enthusiastic atmosphere, “I wonder if designer Xiao Huo has something special to say?”
“Yes.” Huo Zhixiao went to the microphone with the trophy and adjusted the height of the microphone calmly. “I want to thank someone in particular.”
At the sound of this, Huo Xun immediately straightened his back, and his smile widened, expecting Huo Zhixiao to say “father.”
“In recent years, I’ve been troubled by a dilemma – whether to stick to my own style or cater to the market.” Huo Zhixiao said, “I believe most designers face this dilemma, but I only found the answer recently.”
Huo Xun turned his head to look at Huo Zhixiao, maintaining a smile on his face.
“If it weren’t for that person, I might have forgotten the wonderful feeling of being immersed in design. It was he who helped me find myself and unleash greater creative energy. Without his companionship day and night, my progress wouldn’t have been so smooth.”
As Huo Zhixiao continued, the smile on Huo Xun’s face grew stiffer. It was evident that the person who had accompanied Huo Zhixiao day and night was not him, Huo Xun.
However, Huo Zhixiao didn’t directly name the person he was thanking. He only looked in Ding Yinan’s direction and vaguely said, “Thank you, love.”
The audience responded with whistles and booing, and Ding Yinan even heard someone behind him ask, “Is Huo Zhixiao married?”
The awards ceremony ended quickly, and the host invited another award presenter.
Huo Xun and Huo Zhixiao returned to their seats. Unlike Huo Zhixiao’s relaxed demeanor, Huo Xun’s face was now serious, and he left his seat within five minutes.
Once Huo Xun left, Huo Zhixiao turned to whisper to Ding Yinan, “Wife, did you like my awarding speech?”
Ding Yinan didn’t answer but spoke in a hushed tone, “Did Mr. Huo ask you anything?”
When Huo Xun and Huo Zhixiao walked down from the stage together, they didn’t exchange a word, which made Ding Yinan uneasy.
As expected, at that moment, Ding Yinan’s phone vibrated suddenly; it was a message from Huo Xun.
[Huo Xun: Come to the smoking area.]
Ding Yinan pocketed his phone and said to Huo Zhixiao, “I’ll go out for a while.”
The awards ceremony continued while Huo Xun stood alone in the smoking area outside the banquet hall.
He stood tall with his hands gracefully inserted into his suit pants, looking at the night scene outside the window.
Ding Yinan took a deep breath, walked over to Huo Xun’s side, and greeted him, “Mr. Huo.”
Huo Xun turned his head, looked at Ding Yinan expressionlessly, and asked, “Who is his wife?”
Ding Yinan pursed his lips and said slowly, “Boss Huo, there’s something…”
“Is it you?” Huo Xun coldly interrupted Ding Yinan.
Ding Yinan took another deep breath, steadied his nerves, and said, “Yes.”
Huo Xun didn’t respond immediately but took out a flat metal cigarette case from the inner pocket of his suit jacket. Then, he pulled out a shiny golden lighter from his outer pocket and lit a cigarette slowly.
He looked out the window and exhaled a puff of smoke, as if preparing himself, and muttered, “What kind of scene that I haven’t witnessed with my age…”
In saying that, Ding Yinan faintly noticed that Huo Xun’s hand holding the cigarette was slightly trembling.
Thanks for the update
uh oh is it time for the shovel talk?
Sigh, this will come to light sooner or later… Face it bravely together! ><
Thank you!… I am liking this author’s way of building up the story as well as your clear translation!
Woah, the big talk with the father – hope all goes well 😬
Thanks for the chapter 💞
I think the dad is trying and I love that
My phone fell out of my hands. It was too spectacular