Chapter 38: Avoiding Me?Â
Lin Shiyu was the first to notice something was wrong.
He frowned tightly as he looked at the chat page on his phone. The message record stopped at 10:30 this morning, and further up was 10:00 last night, 8:00 last night…
It had been fully two days, and Wen Yuhuai hadn’t replied to his messages.
Except for the last time he was kidnapped, this situation had never happened.
Did something happen to him again?
Lin Shiyu’s heart tightened. He couldn’t sit still instantly and drove fast all the way to the Wen residence.
Wen Yuhuai was at home playing with his little nephew.
The unread messages in WeChat were already 99+, but he pretended not to see them and didn’t reply to a single person.
He had already made up his mind. He would just lay low like this until the heroine appeared. It would be best if the heroine could attract the protagonist group’s attention. If not, he would simply go south with his parents. He could just find a reliable person to hold the fort in Beijing; anyone would be better than him.
As a result, Lin Shiyu came directly to his home because he didn’t reply to messages.
Wen Yuhuai was still somewhat panicked when he saw him, but he quickly covered it up and questioned him back, “Today is a workday. Why did you run to my house instead of being at the company?”
Lin Shiyu just looked at him quietly and asked instead of answering, “Why didn’t you reply to messages?”
Wen Yuhuai felt guilty. He turned his head and continued helping Wen Chi build a block castle, bracing himself to say, “Didn’t see them.”
This was obviously not the truth. If it were just the most recent one or two messages, it would be excusable. But for a full two daysâhe didn’t believe he hadn’t looked at his phone for two days.
He didn’t expose him either. He walked up to the big and small figures and started building blocks with them. His tone was breezy yet a bit teasing: “Then it’s fine. I thought you went out to fool around and got kidnapped by criminals again. On the way here, I was thinking about how to fish you out.”
Hearing the familiar banter, Wen Yuhuai’s heart, which had been tense these days guarding against gay men, relaxed inexplicably. He looked back and glared at him. “Can’t you hope for something better for me? I’ve been busy babysitting these days; really didn’t have time to look at the phone to reply.”
Lin Shiyu placed the top of the castle and hummed lazily: “I can see that. My eldest nephew is so cute; if it were me, I wouldn’t have time to reply either.”
After speaking, he touched Wen Chi’s fluffy head. “What’s your name?”
Wen Chi’s dark eyes rolled around. Seemingly sensing he wasn’t a bad person, he said crisply: “My name is Wen Chi.”
Lin Shiyu’s lips hooked up. “Forgot to bring a gift today. Next time we meet, Uncle will definitely make it up to Little Chi.”
Speaking of gifts, Wen Yuhuai paused and remembered something. He looked back and said, “By the way, this weekend happens to be Little Chi’s birthday. My parents and brother plan to hold a birthday banquet. It also counts as formally announcing to the outside world that Little Chi is a member of our family. Remember to come then.”
Thinking of this birthday banquet gave Wen Yuhuai a headache. Not because of anything else, purely because of Fu Xingjian. After brushing him off a few days ago, he hadn’t replied to any of his messages or calls these days.
On the day of the birthday banquet, he would count as half a host. Naturally, he couldn’t leave him hanging anymore. Who knew how he would torment him then?
Lin Shiyu glanced at him imperceptibly. “Why the frown? Is something troubling you?”
Wen Yuhuai looked at him and didn’t speak.
Lin Shiyu hadn’t completely cleared his suspicion in his heart yet. Of course, he didn’t plan to reveal what Fu Xingjian did to him. One was already too much to handle; he really couldn’t take another one.
Fortunately, Lin Shiyu didn’t intend to probe further. He accompanied them to build blocks for a while longer and returned to the company before mealtime.
Before leaving, he waved his phone. “Remember to reply to messages no matter how busy you are.”
Wen Yuhuai perfunctorily agreed: “Got it.”
Lin Shiyu turned and walked out of the Wen family gate. The moment he stepped out, the expression on his face suddenly turned cold.
From the first glance he saw him today, he sensed his change. It was as if he knew those dirty thoughts hidden in his heartâcold beyond measure, distant beyond measure.
Clearly, it was normal the last time they met.
Did someone do something?
Three days later, the birthday banquet was held as scheduled.
Wen Yuhuai stood in the banquet hall in a smart suit, greeting guests. With so many people coming and going, his face was about to stiffen from smiling.
When most of the guests had arrived, he finally caught a break. Just as he was about to go inside to drink some water to moisten his throat, several figures standing out from the crowd appeared at the door.
Those four actually came together today.
Wen Yuhuai sighed, tried his best to ignore that gaze with an extremely strong presence, and braced himself to welcome them.
“Welcome, welcome. Please come in.”
Song Xingmian huffed somewhat unhappily: “Does Brother really welcome us? You ignored us for so many days; I thought you forgot about us.”
The others didn’t speak, but their gazes all landed on him, obviously waiting for his answer.
Clearly, the temperature in the banquet hall was comfortable, yet Wen Yuhuai’s palms instantly sweated from nervousness. His eyes drifted here and there, just not looking at them. “I’ve been preparing for the banquet these days. Too busy, so didn’t get around to replying to your messages.”
After speaking, he immediately added a sentence: “Not just yours; I didn’t reply to anyone’s messages.”
Song Xingmian’s face then turned from cloudy to sunny. “I thought Brother found us annoying and didn’t want to deal with us anymore.”
Wen Yuhuai: “How could that be? Don’t think nonsense. Go in quickly; I’ll come in a bit.”
After much persuasion, the group finally went in. Before leaving, Fu Xingjian smiled meaningfully, his tone gentle: “I’ll wait for you.”
Wen Yuhuai instantly got goosebumps all over his body.
He knew it! This person definitely wouldn’t let him off so easily. Who knew what tricks he had thought of behind his back to fix him? He must stay far away from him later!
After a while longer, the banquet finally officially started. Wen Yuhuai breathed a sigh of relief, went inside, and got a drink to sip slowly. Before he finished the drink, Fu Xingjian walked toward him holding a glass of champagne.
Wen Yuhuai wore a white suit today, looking dashing like a Prince Charming. Fu Xingjian wore all black. Standing together like this, they were exceptionally eye-catching.
It was too late to hide now. Wen Yuhuai braced himself and clinked glasses with him. “Brother Jian.”
Fu Xingjian stood by his side, blocking the gazes faintly projected from around them. He probably didn’t know how dazzling he was today. Half of the female guests present unconsciously cast their eyes on him, and a few were eager to come over and strike up a conversation.
Warning eyes swept over them unhurriedly, finally stopping them in their tracks.
He withdrew his gaze and let it fall on the person beside him. His eyes softened instantly, but his words carried a hint of settling scores.
“Avoiding me?”
Naturally, Wen Yuhuai wouldn’t admit it. “Why would I avoid you for no reason? I was really busy. Didn’t you hear them say I was so busy I didn’t even reply to their messages?”
Fu Xingjian gently swirled the amber liquid in the glass, his voice impossibly gentle: “Ideally that is the case. Ah Yu, don’t avoid me.”
His patience had reached its limit these past few days. If he didn’t see him again, he didn’t know what excessive actions he might take.
Recommended Reads
