Chapter 58
About ten minutes later, Lin Zheng, in a completely different outfit from yesterday, sat primly on the living room sofa, his hands on his knees.
If he had to recall how he got out of bed and into the living room… he couldn’t. His mind was essentially a blank.
This was mainly because Gu Bo was sitting opposite him.
He was a person he didn’t want to face right now, or ever, but he had no choice but to brace himself and do so.
Looking at the man’s stern face, and thinking about his own inappropriate drunken behavior from the night before, Lin Zheng wanted to travel back in time and give himself a loud slap for getting so familiar with a man two decades his senior.
Who was this man? This was the famous, influential, and powerful head of a major corporation in A City.
Was he someone Lin Zheng could be so casual with?
Of course not.
He looked up again at the man, who was as cold as an ice mountain.
I’m done for. Gu Bo must have a terrible impression of me now.
He hadn’t felt it while drunk, but now that he was sober, he realized that a man like Gu Bo would definitely think, Why is this kid so bold? Why is he so rude?
Thinking this, Lin Zheng tried his best to appear as a polite junior, hoping to salvage his image. He smiled and asked, “Did you sleep well last night?”
Gu Bo glanced at him, took a sip from his teacup, and then replied, “Mmm.”
Gu Bo put his cup down and asked, “How about you? Did you sleep well?”
The man was a true leader. Even when talking to him, Lin Zheng felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Lin Zheng couldn’t believe his own audacity from the night before, agreeing to drink with Gu Bo.
Lin Zheng resisted the urge to wipe the sweat from his forehead, trying to maintain a calm facade. “I slept very well, thank you for your concern, Unc—” Lin Zheng was about to say “uncle,” but Gu Bo didn’t seem to be in a good mood, probably because of his behavior from the night before. So Lin Zheng quickly swallowed the word and changed it. “Thank you for your concern.”
Gu Bo looked at him.
Although Gu Lin looked mostly like his father, his eyes and some of his mannerisms were more like his mother’s.
Compared to his son, Gu Bo felt more distant and colder. When he looked at someone, he gave off a feeling of being intimidating without even trying.
The look he just gave Lin Zheng was enough to make him sweat.
Gu Lin, who was sitting next to Lin Zheng, noticed Lin Zheng’s hands, which were clenched tightly on his knees from nervousness. He looked at his father without any hesitation and said bluntly, “You’re scaring him.”
Lin Zheng: “?”
Gu Bo heard the protective tone in Gu Lin’s voice and narrowed his eyes. “What’s the rush?”
Lin Zheng was already nervous enough. Now, seeing the tense atmosphere between the father and son, he became even more anxious.
He quietly tugged on Gu Lin’s shirt, signaling him to stop talking.
Arguments are like this: as long as one person backs down, the other can’t continue. But if no one gives in, it becomes a difficult situation.
After all, the person opposite was Gu Lin’s father. It was okay for Gu Lin to back down a bit. He wouldn’t lose anything by doing so.
Besides, Gu Lin didn’t have to treat his father like this for his sake.
Lin Zheng was just an outsider, but the man opposite was the one who had raised him.
More importantly…
If Gu Lin kept doing this, his father would dislike him even more!
Gu Lin didn’t seem to get his hint. He still asked his father, “How is this not your business?”
Lin Zheng’s heart sank. He was making things worse.
Lin Zheng quickly tried to defuse the situation. “I’m not scared, not at all!”
But the two of them didn’t seem to notice Lin Zheng’s presence.
Gu Bo: “You think this has nothing to do with me?”
Lin Zheng said weakly, “I’m really not scared.”
Gu Lin: “Can’t you see that he’s so nervous he can’t even hold a cup of water?”
Lin Zheng: “What are you talking about? I’m not that nervous! Don’t make things up about me!”
Gu Lin: “Did you hear that? He’s so scared that he’s forgotten what he’s done.”
Lin Zheng: “…”
Gu Bo was silent. A moment later, he looked at Lin Zheng and asked, “Did I scare you?”
His voice was still cold.
Lin Zheng, who was truly terrified, shook his head quickly.
Of course I’m scared! he thought. But how can I possibly say that?
“You, on the other hand, Gu Lin,” Gu Bo said, “I heard from my nephew that you’re not treating him very well.”
Gu Bo’s words stunned both Lin Zheng and Gu Lin.
Lin Zheng: “Hmm?”
Gu Bo looked at Lin Zheng and said, “Didn’t you tell me last night that Gu Lin was trying to undermine you at work?”
Lin Zheng was stunned. “Huh?”
He had told Gu Lin’s father that Gu Lin didn’t want him to go back to work, but he hadn’t said anything about being undermined.
Gu Bo said to him, “Everything I said yesterday still stands. If you want, you can come work at my company anytime.”
Lin Zheng: “Huh??”
Gu Bo said, “My company’s doors are always open for you.”
Lin Zheng felt incredibly flattered.
Lin Zheng, moved, said, “Uncle!”
Gu Bo smiled.
But wait a minute!
Lin Zheng cautiously asked Gu Bo, “You, you don’t dislike me because of last night, do you?”
Gu Bo looked confused. “?”
What is he talking about?
When they left the Gu family’s home, Lin Zheng was happily holding the gifts Gu Bo had given him.
Inside were two bottles of fine wine.
They were expensive wines that Gu Bo had bought at an auction when he was abroad.
He said he gave them to Lin Zheng because he had never met such an interesting friend before.
Although it felt a little strange to give a gift and then receive one in return, it was the thought that counted!
Lin Zheng had thought that after last night, Gu Bo would think he was a bit too much and a bit too familiar, and that he was no good. But he never expected that Gu Bo was actually a very sincere person. Even though he seemed cold, his heart was very warm.
Gu Lin looked at the person who had been smiling all the way. “Two bottles of wine make you so happy?”
Lin Zheng, holding the wine bottles as he walked on the snow, said, “You don’t understand. This is a gift from an elder, and it’s a symbol of my friendship with my uncle!”
Lin Zheng’s attitude had done a complete 180. He felt that coming to the Gu family’s home was completely worth it. He not only received two bottles of good wine, but he also made a true friend.
That friend was Gu Bo.
Gu Lin just shook his head.
Lin Zheng remembered that Gu Bo had told him to come work at his company. He also remembered what Gu Lin had told him last night, while he was drunk, about why he didn’t want him to go back to work. As they were about to get to the car, Lin Zheng slowed down.
He called Gu Lin’s name, “Gu Lin.”
Gu Lin, who was walking ahead, turned around. “Yeah?”
Lin Zheng’s cheeks started to get warm. “You… were you telling me the truth last night?”
He was also referring to the explanation.
Gu Lin knew exactly what Lin Zheng was talking about.
He lowered his gaze, then looked up again and confessed openly, “Yes.”
The moment he had said it, he was prepared to explain everything to Lin Zheng.
Gu Lin didn’t hold back. He repeated what he had said last night. “Because I want to see you waving goodbye to me every morning before I leave for work, and I want to see you the first thing I do when I come home from work.
Gu Lin turned around and walked back to Lin Zheng on the snow. “I want your scent to fill every corner of my home.”
Lin Zheng looked at the person who was walking toward him.
Gu Lin stood in front of Lin Zheng and placed a hand on the top of his head. He smiled, “Lin Zheng, just as you said in the beginning, don’t be bound by any rules. Do what you want to do, try what you want to try, and live a free and happy life. And I… I’ll be your support.”
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