Sometimes, life could be truly cruel. While it may give you a taste of sweetness, it won’t forget to rain on your parade as well. Lin Hui had an incredibly wonderful weekend, and he was destined to pay for it with his remaining good mood. Once the new week rolled around, He Jianshan asked him to book a reservation at Garden Dining. Min Jia’s schedule had freed up, so he was going to have dinner with her on Thursday.
It might have been due to the fact that this was his second time hearing about it. However, Lin Hui was unexpectedly calm about all of this. He even took the initiative to ask, “Do you still need me to get movie tickets?”
He Jianshan hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Sure, go ahead and buy the tickets.”
Lin Hui paused for a moment. He then suggested, “Maybe it would be best to book the entire venue given Ms. Min’s level of fame.”
“It’s not necessary.” He Jianshan’s brows furrowed. “You can simply buy tickets for the movie she just finished promoting.”
Back when the movie was just released, Min Jia had sent an employee to the company building and gifted them with tickets. By now, the movie was nearing the end of its run. Nevertheless, He Jianshan still chose to see this movie. Lin Hui thought to himself, “Min Jia has to have seen that movie no less than a dozen times already. He Jianshan must know that. Ordinary people go to the movie theater for the sake of watching movies, but He Jianshan and Min Jia probably go to the theater for the atmosphere—the date atmosphere.”
Lin Hui felt a little stifled. For a brief moment, he didn’t know what to say, so he turned his head toward the window. Upon noticing the other’s sudden silence, He Jianshan turned his head and followed the other’s gaze. Not too far away, there was a building with a new advertisement plastered on its exterior. It seemed to be an endorsement by a dashing male celebrity for a watch brand, catching eyes under the sunlight. He Jianshan took a look and said, “Gu Jiaran.”
Lin Hui was a little surprised. “You actually know of him.” He had always thought that He Jianshan only knew of the celebrities that had worked with the company.
“His boss lives in the same neighborhood as me.”
“… Lanhai’s Wen Yan?”
“Mn.”
Lin Hui hesitated for a moment, but he couldn’t help but ask, “Have you heard … the rumors about Wen Yan and Gu Jiaran?”
“What rumor?”
“It’s just … they seem very close, almost like … a pair of lovers.”
Lin Hui spoke vaguely and unclearly, but He Jianshan understood what he meant. He stopped writing and raised his head, “This is the second time you’ve asked me that question, Lin Hui.”
Lin Hui suddenly became nervous. “I didn’t ask a question.”
“You want to ask me what I think of this matter, right?” He Jianshan’s tone was calm, but Lin Hui’s breathing started to become short. However, he didn’t refute him, seemingly putting himself at odds with someone or something.
He Jianshan earnestly looked at his assistant. “I don’t know why you care so much about this, but I think I can give you a serious answer now. Quite frankly, I don’t really care whether they’re gay or straight. If they’re gay, that’s great, and, if they’re straight, that’s also fine. It’s all apples and oranges to me, to each their own.”
“That’s because they have nothing to do with you. Take, for example, someone close to you, like your child—”
He Jianshan interrupted him, “That example doesn’t apply to me since I don’t have children.”
Lin Hui paused. “How about … ”
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.
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Before He Jianshan could say anything, Lin Hui gasped and said, “Oh, I know—”
He Jianshan quickly stood up. “What I meant was—”
“Xue Pei!”
He Jianshan fell silent.
He nervously pinched the pen in his hand, which he had yet to set back down on his desk. In the end, he nodded stiffly. “Yes. Him.”
Lin Hui had a knowing look on his face and said, “Well, there you go. What would you think if Xue Pei fell in love with, um, a man?”
He Jianshan found himself a little helpless when faced with Lin Hui’s unwavering insistence on the topic. It was rare for him to be at as much of a loss as he was now. “I…”
Lin Hui continued to stare at him with single minded focus.
Some issues would in fact become different when it came to someone close to you rather than some random stranger. Lin Hui felt that he just might be able to get a more genuine answer this time.
“I…” He Jianshan looked away and said softly, “I’d hope he’s happy.”
Lin Hui was taken aback. After a while, he whispered, “You really are…”
In the end, He Jianshan never did find out what Lin Hui had been going to say.
Later that evening, He Jianshan visited Hush by himself. Xue Pei was a little surprised to see him. After all, He Jianshan hadn’t let him know that he’d be coming. Also, he didn’t expect He Jianshan to actually take his advice. It was rare for He Jianshan to visit the bar without Lin Hui. He poured He Jianshan a glass of wine, same as always. However, He Jianshan sat there in a daze, seeming preoccupied. Xue Pei asked him, baffled, “What’s with you? I don’t think you’d be this worried even if Wanzhu went bankrupt.”
He Jianshan thought for a bit. The conversation he had with Lin Hui was rather personal. Therefore, he presented the situation as having happened to “a friend” and then brought up the questions from their conversation. He then raised questions of his own. Why did he ask such a question? What kind of answer was he hoping to get?
Xue Pei was in the middle of his drink when he suddenly realized something. “Oh, I get it now. One of them’s you, and the other’s Lin Hui. Lin Hui’s the one who asked the question, right?”
“…”
Xue Pei was a little confused. “I’ve also got a question. Why are you so hung up about it?”
He Jianshan almost felt a headache coming on. “I came to you for help, not for an interrogation.”
“Geez, fine.” Xue Pei started getting serious. “I’m gonna be honest with you. There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that Lin Hui probably has someone he likes. The bad news is that the person’s a man.”
Before He Jianshan could even recover from the shock, Xue Pei continued.
“He’s probably testing you for your opinion because he’s worried his sexuality is going to affect him at the workplace. After all, Lin Hui’s always been a very earnest person. Although society’s a lot more open and inclusive nowadays, there’s still going to be people who aren’t accepting of homosexuality. Also, you’re his direct superior. Your opinion is very important to him, no doubt about it. I’m sure that’s why he cares so much, enough so to even ask you about it twice. It’s because he needs a clear answer from you. He wants your approval or support.”
He Jianshan didn’t respond for a long while.
He didn’t know whether he should be shocked by the fact that Lin Hui liked men or the fact that Lin Hui had someone he liked. He knew that someone as excellent as Lin Hui would always be popular, but he still couldn’t imagine what kind of person Lin Hui would fall in love with, especially if this person was a man.
Xue Pei added on, “However, I don’t think he’s in a confirmed relationship. It might be a crush or a situationship, but it definitely isn’t a relationship.”
“Why?”
“If he were really in a relationship, you’d definitely be the first to find out.” Xue Pei leaned back on the sofa. “What do you think? Has he changed recently? Is there anyone that he’s been paying special attention to? Maybe he’s been looking at his phone more often?”
He Jianshan froze as if he’d thought of something, but, in the end, he just hesitantly shook his head.
“Usually, if he were really in a relationship, there’d definitely be hints of it, but, since you haven’t noticed anything up with him, it might just be a talking stage. He might not have even realized it himself. Honestly speaking, I feel like his social circle isn’t that big, and he’s busy with work a lot of the time. If he really has a crush on someone, I would think you’d also know the person.”
As soon as the words left Xue Pei’s mouth, He Jianshan thought of Feng Ying. Lin Hui said that he liked people he could get along with. He and Feng Ying had certainly been getting along during that meal together. Moreover, Lin Hui hadn’t been very happy the last time he spoke ill of Feng Ying. Was it during that meal that he’d gained a good impression of him? If that was truly the case, it would all make sense. Once his thoughts reached here, He Jianshan’s expression suddenly worsened. He didn’t know what that playboy had said to catch Lin Hui’s attention, but he couldn’t help but feel that Lin Hui couldn’t possibly be attracted to such a person. However, it was clear at a glance that his assistant was a blank sheet of paper when it came to matters of the heart. What if he was being deceived by some schemer?
In just a short period of time, He Jianshan’s expression had already morphed several times. Xue Pei didn’t know what it was he was thinking, his expression both indignant and distressed. It was incredibly amusing. He’d known He Jianshan for so many years, but he had never seen such colorful expressions on his face before.
“Speaking of which, you don’t seem to care that much about the fact that he might like a man. You didn’t seem to care very much when I told you a guy had a crush on him either. You were only concerned about whether the guy was good enough for him or not.”
He Jianshan had mixed feelings in his heart when he thought of this. “Lin Hui has always been outstanding. It doesn’t matter whether he likes men or women. I’ll wish him well regardless.”
Xue Pei joked, “Then what if he likes you?”
He Jianshan was taken aback for a moment. He then furrowed his brows and stared at Xue Pei.
Xue Pei raised his hands in his defense. “If my reasoning is correct, then it’s definitely a possibility, isn’t it? After all, the famous He Jianshan is a man among men. Besides, you’re always complaining about how this guy’s not worthy, that guy’s not worthy. You should at least pass your own criteria, right?”
He Jianshan’s stiff face looked even more shocked than when he heard about the possibility of his assistant liking men. Xue Pei couldn’t help bursting into laughter. “Okay, I thought about it. Assistant Lin wouldn’t be that silly, even if he did like men. If you guys were together, wouldn’t all of your dates end up like business meetings?”
After saying this, he thought of something again and laughed. “Hey, don’t blame me for making fun of you. After all these years, I feel like only people with Lin Hui’s personality can get along with you. If you ask me, you should just look for someone like him to be your partner.”
Inexplicably, He Jianshan found himself a little unhappy. “What do you mean by that? Lin Hui is Lin Hui. It doesn’t matter if there’s someone with the exact same personality as him. It still wouldn’t be him, and I’m not the type to recognize just anybody.”
Xue Pei couldn’t win against him, so he simply raised his hands in surrender. “Yes, yes, yes. Assistant Lin is completely unique. No one can compare.”
He simply raised his wine glass and clinked it against He Jianshan’s. “Well? Have all your worries been resolved?”
“Thanks for all your help. I’m even more confused now.”
“…”
He Jianshan spent a lot of time that evening thinking about all things related to Lin Hui. In some ways, it was like handling his work, yet, at the same time, it wasn’t. In the face of his work, He Jianshan could always find the breakthrough. It was like chopping bamboo, one clean stroke from start to finish. Meanwhile, Lin Hui was like a cloud of gray mist, existing everywhere yet always escaping his grasp.
For He Jianshan, the more unpredictable something was, the greater the risk.
Originally, he’d come to Hush to get Xue Pei’s opinion. However, the situation had only gotten more complicated. He thought about it carefully. If Lin Hui really did like men as Xue Pei suspected, there really wasn’t any problem with it, but it’d be best if the person he liked wasn’t Feng Ying, who was clearly unreliable.
Lin Hui deserved the best of everything in work, in life, or in love.
He didn’t know what Lin Hui would be like when in love. Would he be as polite as usual? Would he be as playful as he was during that evening at the Changning Night Market? Would he also tell his lover about his childhood over a meal together?
He Jianshan suddenly realized that Lin Hui was already thirty years old. He’d spent the best years of his life following closely behind him, as upright as a poplar tree. Time had steadied his temperament, but the one thing that remained unchanged was his fresh and lively face, never a single trace of tiredness to be seen. Throughout all the years, whenever he stood there, whenever he faced himself, what had he been thinking?
Upon thinking of this, He Jianshan began to feel regretful. They’d clearly had countless opportunities to do something together unrelated to work, like they had the day before yesterday. They hadn’t needed to think about or care about anything. They simply spent their time enjoying the breeze and talking—
Lin Hui could continue to lean against the railing and talk about his childhood. His eyes were very bright, and, when he smiled, the corners of his mouth seemed to hold a bit of the moon. The wind would mess up his hair, and he would have to brush it back down. Lin Hui would look at him from time to time, sometimes with a frown, sometimes with a small smile. He may even just sit there, staring at him quietly. Ordinary nights would become different because of him. Not even the golden sunflowers behind him could shine half as bright as him.
This was Lin Hui.
He Jianshan slowly closed his eyes. His heart suddenly began beating very fast, almost as if he had returned to that night. He’d never felt such want before. He wanted his presence. He wanted his voice. He wanted to know him. He wanted everything that had even the slightest to do with him—moonlight, legos, a stack of papers, or a bouquet of flowers .
He wanted Lin Hui.
The Author Has Something To Say:
Some bosses seem to be busy on the surface, but they’re actually gossiping about celebrities with their assistants.
The Translator Has Something To Say:
So sorry for being gone! Hopefully updates will be more consistent, but …
🥰I missed this novel!
Eyy this is it! Haha missed this two lol
Ohoho, he started to think~ (￢‿￢ )
Thank You for the new chapter (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤ Great to see You again! 💕
Thank you for the update!
Thank you so much for the new chapter. Finally we are having some good development. I’m excited to know what will happen next.
Wow! Can of worms opened 🤣
Thanks for the chapter!
Thank you for the chapter. Oooh Boss He I think you fell in love too…
Thank you for the update – definitely been keeping an eye out for this one – such a lovely story 🙂
I’m crying, he’s so serious and confident!!!! It’s so s*xy!!!!!!
Thank you for your translation 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
Ahhhhh the DEVELOPMENT but thanks for the chapter!!
why in the world did i have the urge to read this novel today instead of reading it when it’s finished- or at least 50 chaps and more😫😭 now i won’t be able to sleep because i need moreeee😭
❤❤❤Thank you so much for translating !!! ❤❤❤
I truly missed Assistant Lin’s cuteness,
the way Xue Pei got it all right tho… he sure is an open book
Ahhh He Jianshan has finally realized his feelings!!! We’re almost there!!