Chapter 13
Seeing the person at the door, Lin Zheng tightened his grip on the mug.
Gu Lin: “What are you doing here?”
Lin Zheng: “What are you doing here?”
They spoke almost simultaneously.
Noticing Gu Lin’s gaze moving down his body, realizing his bathrobe was open, Lin Zheng quickly pulled it closed. The milk in his hand spilled due to the sudden movement. He glared, “What are you looking at?”
Gu Lin rubbed his temples in frustration.
He understood what happened.
Yan Yang had suddenly asked him for a key card today, saying he was preparing a surprise. So this was… Yan Yang’s surprise?
Looking at the person again, he was indeed surprised, but the other person seemed only surprised, not pleased.
Five minutes later, Lin Zheng, wrapped in his bathrobe, sat on the sofa, dumbfounded. “So, this is your house??”
“Yes.”
Gu Lin owned more than one property in City A. He only went to his previous apartment on weekends because it was far from the company. This was his usual residence.
“If you don’t believe me, you can open the closet in the bedroom. My ties are in the first hidden compartment, and my watches are in the second.”
Lin Zheng, unconvinced, rushed into the bedroom and opened the closet, finding exactly what Gu Lin had described.
Looking further, the closet was filled with suits.
Lin Zheng: “…”
Wasn’t it supposed to be employee housing?
Wasn’t it supposed to be recently vacated?
Wasn’t it supposed to be a house he got because of Yan Yang’s connections?
Damn you, Yan Yang! I’ll kill you!
Lin Zheng picked up his luggage and went to the person on the sofa. “I’m sorry for intruding. I was tricked. Excuse me.”
Gu Lin looked at the person who was about to leave in slippers and a bathrobe. “Where are you going?”
Lin Zheng turned back. “To kill the person who tricked me next door.”
Sleepiness had been replaced by rage. Lin Zheng wanted to kill Yan Yang.
However, he learned from Gu Lin that Yan Yang wasn’t next door tonight.
Lin Zheng almost went berserk.
Gu Lin managed to stop him.
After calming down, Lin Zheng realized that not only had he been tricked by Yan Yang, but Gu Lin also didn’t know he had moved in.
Lin Zheng sat obediently on the sofa and asked Gu Lin, “So, you don’t actually have employee housing?”
Gu Lin crossed his arms. “The company has over a thousand employees. Do you think it’s realistic for everyone to have a house like this?”
Lin Zheng looked enlightened. “Oh, I see. So, there isn’t even normal company housing? Because I attended the banquet with you last week, there are tons of articles online about us, and many people are at my door. I can’t even go home… It’s not a big deal, and it’s not your fault. The news will eventually die down. I won’t bother you tonight, and I’ll go back.”
Lin Zheng got up, ready to leave. “I’ll go then?”
Gu Lin smiled and waved goodbye. “There are many cars at the entrance of the community; don’t worry.”
Lin Zheng’s smile froze. He turned back, saying softly, “Aren’t you going to ask me to stay?”
Gu Lin shrugged. “You don’t like me. It wouldn’t be appropriate to live together.”
Lin Zheng: “…”
Two seconds later, Lin Zheng dropped his luggage, rushed back, knelt on his knees on either side of Gu Lin’s legs, grabbed Gu Lin’s collar, and glared down at him fiercely. “Damn it, I’m like this because of you! You’re so famous, making me famous too, and I can’t even go home! It’s all your fault! We don’t have feelings, so what?! Even without feelings, I can still sleep in the same bed with you!”
After his outburst, Lin Zheng saw Gu Lin smiling. “Oh? You can sleep in the same bed with me even without feelings?”
“…Don’t just listen to the end, listen to the beginning.”
“You’re thinking ahead. I only planned on hugging you in the second step of the treatment, but you’re so eager. You want to sleep in the same bed with me now.”
“?” What strange turn of events?
Sensing something was wrong, Lin Zheng tried to get up, but an arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him against Gu Lin’s chest.
Gu Lin looked up at him, “Since you want it so much, let’s skip the hug. Let’s sleep together starting tonight.”
Lin Zheng supported himself on Gu Lin’s shoulders, “No, that’s not what I meant. I just don’t mind, but I don’t want to sleep with you…”
“Not minding is enough,” Gu Lin said.
“…” He surprisingly found that to be reasonable.
Gu Lin, holding his waist, stood up, Lin Zheng falling onto Gu Lin’s shoulder, his legs supported by Gu Lin’s hand.
Gu Lin half-carried him towards the bedroom, saying, “Let’s see, this progress is about right.”
“No, you can think about it, but put me down first,” Lin Zheng pleaded.
Gu Lin ignored him, “We’re adults. A faster pace is fine. First, we sleep in the same bed, then we kiss, and if the atmosphere is right, we’ll…”
Lin Zheng pushed Gu Lin’s shoulder.
“Careful!”
“Thump!” Lin Zheng’s butt hit the floor.
The pain brought tears to his eyes.
But this pain was nothing compared to the mental pain of being…
Gu Lin knelt in front of him, his brows furrowed. “Why are you so reckless? What if you hit your head?”
Lin Zheng thought it was all Gu Lin’s fault, with his talk of kissing and sleeping together.
Wasn’t Gu Lin supposed to be asexual? It seemed Gu Lin was very interested.
Gu Lin seemed to see through his thoughts, chuckling. “Are you that afraid I’ll eat you?”
“…”
Seeing Lin Zheng silent, Gu Lin narrowed his eyes. “Yet you’re so bold as to say you’d sleep in the same bed with me?”
Lin Zheng blushed. “I said I don’t mind, not that I want to sleep with you.”
Gu Lin looked at him, gently flicking his forehead. “Alright, I won’t eat you tonight. Tomorrow?”
“Not tomorrow!”
“The day after?”
“Not the day after!”
“Then…” Gu Lin’s eyes softened. “You’ll stay here until the day you’re willing to be eaten by me, how about that?”
Thinking of his situation, Lin Zheng sniffed, arms crossed, chin slightly raised. “That’s not impossible.”
Gu Lin smiled and stood up. “The master bedroom is yours; I’ll sleep in the guest room.”
Lin Zheng propped himself up, “Really?”
Gu Lin grinned wickedly. “I like to fatten up my delicious food before I eat it.”
Lin Zheng froze, feeling a chill.
Gu Lin’s scary expression quickly disappeared.
Suppressing a laugh, he left Lin Zheng with a “goodnight.”
Lin Zheng expected a sleepless night in Gu Lin’s bed but fell asleep instantly.
The next morning, Lin Zheng stretched and came out of the room, encountering Gu Lin returning from his morning exercise.
Gu Lin wore sportswear and a towel around his neck. His usually neat hair looked lazy and loose.
“Awake? Breakfast is in the cabinet.”
Lin Zheng withdrew his gaze from Gu Lin, said “Oh,” and thanked him.
Gu Lin went to shower. Lin Zheng sat at the table, eating the breakfast Gu Lin had prepared.
It was simple—bacon, eggs, and milk—but beautifully presented.
It tasted good too.
Lin Zheng sighed, wondering when he would develop such culinary skills.
Bored, Lin Zheng checked his phone, wanting to see if the news had died down. He saw another shocking headline:
—[Zhao Qi, General Manager of Xingye Entertainment, involved in scandal; Xingye’s stock price plummets]
Lin Zheng took a bite of his egg.
Wow, this is exciting.
Zhao Qi, you’ve finally met your match.
Take that! You didn’t want to see me at that event? Look how powerful you’ve become.
Xingye Entertainment was one of Zhao’s businesses, but it was doing well until this scandal.
He remembered Zhao Qi leaving the banquet in a hurry. He must have received the news then, but he couldn’t cover it up.
Just thinking of the old man scolding Zhao Qi made Lin Zheng feel good.
Gu Lin came out and saw Lin Zheng happily eating breakfast.
After finding out the reason, Gu Lin sat across from Lin Zheng, his eyes filled with affection. “So happy to see Zhao Qi like this?”
Lin Zheng held his fork. “Yes. The more miserable he is, the happier I am. You don’t know how he treated me.”
“Let’s make him even more miserable.”
“You say that…” Lin Zheng clicked his tongue. “As if you can do whatever you want to him.”
Gu Lin smiled without saying anything.
“By the way, your fried egg is good. Teach me sometime.”
“I’m afraid you can’t learn.”
“…Don’t underestimate me.”
At six in the evening, Gu Lin called his assistant.
“What’s the schedule?”
“A dinner with Mr. Wang of Mingxin Industry at 6:30 to discuss the contract.”
“After that?”
“Nothing else for now.”
Gu Lin looked at his watch, stood up, “Postpone the 6:30 dinner to tomorrow. I have something important to do tonight.”
The assistant hesitated. “Postpone?”
Although the contract didn’t need to be finalized today, Mr. Gu had never postponed anything before.
“Yes.”
Gu Lin took his coat, adjusted his cuffs, “You and Lin can leave work now.”
Gu Lin left the office.
His car stopped in front of a flower shop.
“Welcome.”
Seeing the tall, handsome man, the female employee blushed.
She approached him. “What kind of flowers would you like, sir?”
The man had a pleasant fragrance, possibly perfume. The employee, close enough to smell it clearly, blushed further.
“I’d like to take a look.”
The employee nodded carefully.
The shop wasn’t large. Gu Lin walked down the aisle, glancing at the flowers.
Finally, he chose a bouquet of white platycodon grandiflorus (balloon flower).
The employee packaged it and asked softly, “For your girlfriend, sir?”
Gu Lin smiled. “Something like that.”
“Platycodon grandiflorus symbolizes eternal love. You and your girlfriend will have eternal love.”
Gu Lin took the flowers back to his car.
Eternal love?
He chuckled.
Back at the villa, he expected to see Lin Zheng in the living room, but it was quiet.
He found Lin Zheng asleep at the table with his laptop.
The house was dimly lit.
Gu Lin approached quietly and placed the flowers on the table.
He lowered his eyes, gently stroking Lin Zheng’s cheek.
He whispered, “Happy housewarming.”