It happened to be noon by the time they returned to Beijing from Changning. He Jianshan and Lin Hui had lunch on the plane. Once the plane landed, He Jianshan gave Lin the rest of the day off. Lin Hui wasn’t actually all that tired. Still, he wasn’t going to say no to a free holiday. Before leaving, he handed the specialty snacks and legos that they’d brought back from Changning over to He Jianshan, asking him to take them back to the company building.
“Hand the fruit drops and candied fruit to Zhao Xiaoxiao for me. I’ve already told her to share them with the other girls in the office. As for the legos, they can go in my office. Actually, the door to my office might not be open. In that case, you can just leave everything with Zhao Xiaoxiao.”
“Mn.”
“Mr. Zhao is probably waiting for you already. I’ll just take a taxi home and save him the trouble of taking a detour.”
“Alright.”
“Let’s save the rest for tomorrow. I’ll discuss the project in Ninghai with you then.”
“Okay.” After saying this, He Jianshan suddenly chuckled. “Mr. Lin.”
Lin Hui felt his face start to blush as soon as he heard that form of address. He bowed his head and replied to a message on WeChat, pretending that he hadn’t heard. In just a mere two days, He Jianshan had already teased him twice. Lin Hui felt as though he had ants in his pants. He really didn’t know how to resist this sort of attack.
On the following day, Zhao Xiaoxiao sent him some documents that needed to be reviewed, as well as the legos, as soon as he arrived in the office. “Assistant Lin, I’ve reviewed the files for the past couple of days, and there aren’t any issues. As for the legos, I believe the president said that they were yours?”
“They’re mine. Thank you. How did you like the snacks we brought back, by the way?”
Zhao Xiaoxiao quickly nodded. “They were delicious. There was also that lingonberry tea. It was both sweet and sour. It was really good.”
“I would hope so. It cost us ¥960 after all!” Lin Hui immediately started laughing.
“Huh? How could it be that expensive?”
Lin Hui briefly recounted how they had attempted a gashapon machine at the night market. Zhao Xiaoxiao stared in shock. “So … you guys went to the night market … and then the president insisted that you play gashapon?”
Lin Hui neatly signed his name and replied, “Yep. It’s a good thing I managed to win the prize in the end. Otherwise, we probably would’ve been there forever. It’s just like when he’s working on a project. Once he’s got his mind set on something, nothing can get him to give up on it. These two write-offs have been approved. They can be taken away.”
Zhao Xiaoxiao came back to her senses. “Oh. Oh. Okay.”
“I just remembered. Help me ask the administrative department if they have any vases of about this size.” Lin Hui gestured with his hands. “If there are, I won’t have to go out of my way to buy another one.”
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.
“Is it for these flowers? I’ll go ask later.” Zhao Xiaoxiao suddenly thought of something and couldn’t help asking, “Assistant Lin, where are you going to place it once it’s been put together?”
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He Jianshan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Feng Juntao wants to exchange some resources in Zhengtai for a seat on the project in Ninghai. He just wants to make money.”
“That would be rather beneficial to us. Either way, it’s not like we’re short of money. It doesn’t really matter if we share some of the profits with them.”
“Yes.”
“Do you need me to follow up on it?”
“Not for the time being. No rush. I have a phone call with him scheduled in two days, so I’ll discuss this with you then.”
“Okay.” Lin Hui laughed. “Feng Ying sent me a message this morning on WeChat. He was asking me about fun things to do in Beijing. I thought you guys had made an appointment with each other. I had actually wanted to ask why we were meeting up again so soon.”
He Jianshan’s brows furrowed slightly. “Feng Ying sent you a message on WeChat?”
“Yeah, we’ve been chatting on and off for the past two days.” Speaking of which, Feng Ying was really incredibly friendly. He spoke to Lin Hui as if they had been friends for many years. He had not exhibited any sort of distance between them at all. Lin Hui always replied to his messages out of politeness.
He Jianshan suddenly stopped talking.
Lin Hui noticed something was off and asked, “What’s the matter? Is something wrong?”
He Jianshan momentarily found himself at a loss for words.
That night at the night market, He Jianshan had seen Feng Ying hugging the boy beside him with an intimate expression on his face. He Jianshan had been groomed to inherit the family business since he was a child. His grandfather had always been strict with him. However this didn’t prevent him from seeing all the absurd things that other trust fund babies got up to in their free time. The arrogance of the rich and powerful wasn’t something ordinary people could imagine. He wasn’t interested in what this guy was like, what he was up to, or what kind of relationship he had with that boy. However, it was absolutely unacceptable for him to be involved with Lin Hui.
He Jianshan looked at Lin Hui. He recalled his previous conversation at Hush. Xue Pei told him that there was a strange man at the bar who wanted to get to know Lin Hui. He then thought of how overly attentive Feng Ying was. He found himself becoming somewhat unhappy for some reason. He pondered for a moment and said, “It’s best to have less contact with Feng Ying.”
Lin Hui was taken aback. “Why?”
“He seemed to have a rather special relationship with the boy next to him.”
He Jianshan spoke tactfully. However, Lin Hui was a smart person. He immediately understood. “… He likes men?”
Lin Hui was truly dumbfounded. Feng Ying had never said anything out of the ordinary to him. He would’ve never even considered this possibility if it weren’t for He Jianshan. He had also seen the boy at the night market that night. He’d originally thought that they were friends. He hadn’t expected them to have this kind of relationship. He Jianshan said that they only “seemed” to have a special sort of relationship. However, based on his understanding of the man, he must be at least seventy or eighty percent sure to be saying something like this. Now, the only question in Lin Hui’s mind was whether He Jianshan said this because he was afraid that Feng Ying would have designs on him or whether He Jianshan simply didn’t want him to have contact with a gay man.
Lin Hui’s mood suddenly became complicated. He hesitated for a long time, but, in the end, he couldn’t help but ask, “In that case, what … do you think … about him liking men?”
He Jianshan didn’t answer immediately. He looked at Lin Hui, but Lin Hui guiltily avoided his gaze. He Jianshan didn’t know why he cared so much about Feng Ying. Lin Hui had even gone so far as to ask him for his own opinion. He couldn’t help but feel a little irritated. “I don’t think anything of it. He’s not my responsibility. However, you should stay away from him, Lin Hui.”
He Jianshan’s voice was a little cold. Lin Hui’s expression worsened. How could he have forgotten? He Jianshan had once rejected homosexuality right in front of him.
At that time, China’s top financial magazine had invited He Jianshan to do an exclusive interview. The entire interview was carried out under the theme of “A Day In He Jianshan’s Life”. The magazine wanted candid photos of He Jianshan to go with the interview, so they arranged for the well-known photographer, Li Qing, to come to Wanzhu and shadow He Jianshan. Li Qing was rumored to be incredibly arrogant and to have a bad temper. However, when photographing He Jianshan, he was extremely gentle, one could even say shy, and Lin Hui knew exactly why that was. Li Qing had fallen in love with He Jianshan at first sight. His eyes, eager, burning, had reminded him of himself.
At the end of the shoot, Li Qing extended his hand with a smile on his face. “My colleagues are going to be so jealous that I get to take a photo of someone like President He.”
He Jianshan replied indifferently, “You flatter me.”
Li Qing had seen his fair share of the world, both bold and straightforward. He didn’t care about the presence of a third person at all and said softly, “I don’t know whether you’re free or not. I would like to buy you a drink.”
His eyes nakedly raked across He Jianshan. He had hardly concealed his affection for He Jianshan. Lin Hui awkwardly stood behind He Jianshan. He couldn’t step forward, but he couldn’t retreat either. He wanted nothing more than to find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
However, He Jianshan didn’t even frown. He said, “Mr. Li might as well get to the point.”
“I really like you, so I want to invite you for a drink.”
Li Qing has never concealed his sexual orientation and had come out publicly a few years ago. His industry was one that spoke for itself through strength. He was a leader in the photography industry, so, even though he’d come out of the closet, it hadn’t had a very great impact on him.
Lin Hui had been stunned by such bold and straightforward words. He snuck a look at He Jianshan and found that He Jianshan was actually smiling. “What do you like about me?”
Li Qing had already prepared himself to be driven out. He hadn’t expected He Jianshan to ask such a question. He felt that there was a chance, so a look of infatuation emerged on his face. “I don’t know. I just know that I liked you very much from the very first moment I saw you.”
“I only just met you today. You don’t know me at all, yet you say you like me. I’m afraid your ‘like’ is a little too cheap.”
Li Qing let the words sink in, and the smile on his face became a little ugly. “President He, haven’t you heard of love at first sight?”
“It sounds like something that has nothing to do with me.” He Jianshan’s eyes sharpened. “Mr. Li, do you know what I hate the most? It’s a lack of distinction between public and private affairs. We’ve only just finished the photoshoot. Work hasn’t even ended, yet Mr. Li is already itching to invite me for a drink. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought that this was a bar. Lin Hui—”
Lin Hui hurried forward. “President He—”
“Contact Gu Mao. Inform him that I have doubts about Mr. Li Qing’s professional ability and that I intend to cancel the interview.”
“Yes, President He.”
Li Qing was furious. “He Jianshan, if you don’t like men, then just say that! Do you really think I’m that hung up on you? Don’t give me that pretentious excuse. We’re all adults here, okay? Just tell it to me straight!”
He Jianshan nodded. “You’re right. I don’t like men.” After saying that, he turned and left without a single glance towards Li Qing.
Lin Hui bit the bullet and stretched out his hand to motion to Li Qing. “My apologies, Mr. Li. Come this way please.”
“Hmph!”
This incident stayed in Lin Hui’s mind for a long time afterwards. Whenever he thought of the impatient look in the man’s eyes as he declared his dislike for men, his heart ached. He didn’t hate Li Qing. On the contrary, he envied his courage. Since falling in love with He Jianshan, he’d been like a fish in a frying pan, constantly sizzling away. On the one hand, he was always falling into these sweet, gentle delusions. On the other hand, he had to force himself to look reality in the eye. He had held some impulsive desires at the beginning, but they were eventually worn away by the passage of time.
However, this wasn’t He Jianshan’s fault.
Lin Hui suddenly felt embarrassed. He took a deep breath and pulled himself together. “President He, I think you’re overthinking it. Even if Mr. Feng likes — likes men, he couldn’t possibly be attracted to an ordinary person like me. I think he just wants to get some information about the project out of me.”
He Jianshan noticed the drop in Lin Hui’s mood. He kept getting the feeling that something wasn’t right. However, before he could figure it out, Lin Hui had already turned around and left.
The Author Has Something To Say:
Some small trials.
Translator’s Note:
Sorry for disappearing! I’m finally back with a chapter!
welcome back <3
Thank you for translating! <3
Oh no poor Lin Hui🥺
Oh my D:
Thank You for the new chapter ❤️\(๑╹◡╹๑)ﾉ❤️
Thank you for the chapter 👍
Welcome back! Thank you for the chapter. I’m really loving this story! ❤️
Welcome back ! And thank you for the chapter I missed those two
Apologize now ML☺️🔪
thank you for the update~
Welcome back!!
Thank you so much for the new chapter and welcome back! I hope the week will be very good to you! ❤
It’s great to have you back ! ~(≧▽≦)/~
Thank you so much for this chapter !!!❤️
I really like this novel , and thank you sm for introducing this one to me . Thank you for your hardwork .😊
Thank you for translating! I like this author’s way of writing. very engaging and warm.
President He, please, thinks harder
Thank you for your translation 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
Thx for the ch and welcome back ٩( >ヮ<)۶
Aww Lin Hui…
Thank you!!!
🙂 thanx for the chapter!