Chapter 18
Upon hearing “my partner,” Zhao Ming understood.
He had originally thought the online rumors were baseless, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Moreover…
He watched Gu Lin comforting the person in his arms, the gentle look in his eyes that Zhao Ming had never seen before. As someone who had been through it, Zhao Ming knew that unintentionally revealed expressions were the most honest.
He tactfully didn’t disturb the two of them, gestured to Gu Lin, and went back into the hotel.
After everyone else left, only the two of them remained.
Unsure what had happened to the person in his arms, Gu Lin gently patted his back, concerned, “What happened?”
Lin Zheng only then lifted his head from Gu Lin’s embrace, his face already flushed red.
As for why he didn’t emerge sooner…it was because after rushing into Gu Lin’s arms, he belatedly realized that there was someone else beside Gu Lin, and that person was none other than Zhao Ming, the high-ranking executive he had met yesterday as an assistant.
He wondered if Zhao Ming had recognized him.
“So embarrassing,” Lin Zheng mumbled quietly.
Gu Lin teased him, “Only now are you shy? You weren’t so timid when you were charging at me.”
“It wasn’t boldness, I was scared,” Lin Zheng explained to Gu Lin about his encounter with the KW Group heir in the elevator, exaggerating that the man tried to trick him with sweet talk, but he cleverly avoided him.
Gu Lin couldn’t help but chuckle, but still agreed, “Is that so? That was pretty dangerous.”
“Of course, it was my cleverness in the end.”
“Mm,” Gu Lin stroked his head, “Very clever. You knew to run into my arms when you were in danger. That’s praiseworthy.”
Lin Zheng felt that Gu Lin was mocking him. He narrowed his eyes, glanced at him, and took his hand off his head, “Don’t touch me.”
Gu Lin leaned closer, “What’s wrong? Is the little bunny angry?”
Lin Zheng clicked his tongue. Thinking about the rabbit ear photo from last night, he was about to complain, but then he remembered the sumptuous breakfast this morning, and retracted his words.
Forget it, let him call him whatever he wants.
Learning that Lin Zheng planned to go out for a walk, Gu Lin warned him, “Aren’t you afraid that the heir’s informants are everywhere outside? The moment you go to a less crowded place, they’ll grab you?”
Lin Zheng got goosebumps and complained, “Don’t scare me.”
“I’m not scaring you,” Gu Lin straightened up, “Go ahead if you don’t mind.”
Gu Lin said he wasn’t scaring him, but the follow-up sentence was full of frightening implications.
Lin Zheng was already hesitant, and now he was even more scared. He didn’t dare to take a single step outside. At least in the hotel, he had Gu Lin, who could protect him. If he went outside and something happened, even if he called Gu Lin, it would be too late.
So Lin Zheng ultimately decided to stay put and remain in the hotel.
Gu Lin gave him an approving look.
“By the way, should I start working now? Haven’t you finished discussing things with Mr. Zhao yet?”
“No need. I don’t want to rely on someone hungover to handle things without making mistakes.”
Lin Zheng found something wrong with that statement. “No, wasn’t it you who made me drink last night?”
“Yes, because I made you drink,” Gu Lin reached out and pressed down a strand of hair that was sticking up on Lin Zheng’s head. Then, looking down at his face, his beautiful eyes held a smile. “Therefore, I’ll handle all your work while you’re hungover. All you need to do is make good use of the vacation I gave you. No problem?”
Lin Zheng stared blankly at the person in front of him.
Gu Lin was considering him.
Is this man good or bad? At this moment, he couldn’t tell.
After Gu Lin left, Lin Zheng regained his freedom.
There were still several hours until the end of his vacation, and staying in the room seemed too wasteful. Hearing that other guests mentioned the hotel had a swimming pool, Lin Zheng, who hadn’t been in the water for a long time, became interested.
All the hotel’s facilities could be purchased on the spot. The pool was semi-outdoor; although indoors, the ceiling and three walls were transparent.
Lin Zheng swiped his card to buy a set of swimwear and changed in the dedicated changing room before heading out.
Because of the frequent water changes, the pool water was very clear, and there weren’t many people, only a few. Lin Zheng swam for a while, and the fatigue from his hangover lessened considerably.
Indeed, water is the source of healing.
There were lounge chairs by the pool. Lin Zheng got a juice after getting tired from swimming, leaned back on a lounge chair. The sunlight shone through the glass onto his bare upper body, and his already fair skin seemed even more translucent. From the side, the edge of his delicate and straight nose bridge seemed to have a layer of bright light, making the tip of his nose appear even more refined.
He rested his head on one hand, swung his legs, and closed his eyes, enjoying the leisurely time.
Suddenly, a voice came from beside him.
“What a coincidence, we meet again.”
Hearing this voice, Lin Zheng’s leisurely expression instantly turned to vigilance. He suddenly opened his eyes.
He looked at the lounge chair next to him, which had been empty a moment ago.
…It was Zhao Yi!
Lin Zheng almost instantly picked up his phone and tried to run.
Unfortunately, he didn’t succeed.
He was stopped by Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi pushed his sunglasses up, looking at Lin Zheng in confusion, “Why do you want to run away as soon as you see me? Am I that scary?”
Lin Zheng’s face darkened. He fiercely thought, You’re not scary, who is? But what came out of his mouth was a very gentle tone, “No, not at all scary.”
Zhao Yi smiled, “That’s good.”
Good? What’s good, bro, it’s not good at all.
Zhao Yi tilted his head, “The scenery here is quite nice, stay a little longer?”
“That…staying a little longer isn’t impossible, but could you…” Lin Zheng glanced at his arm being held by Zhao Yi, his tone cautious and probing, finally saying with a smile, “Let go of my hand first?”
Hearing this, Zhao Yi seemed to have just realized, immediately releasing his hand, his ears tinged with red, “Sorry.”
Hmm? This reaction?
Lin Zheng looked at Zhao Yi’s unnaturally reddened ears and suddenly felt something was wrong.
This time too, and the last time in the meeting when he replaced the empty plate in his hand.
Seeing Lin Zheng staring at him, Zhao Yi coughed and lowered his head slightly, “Is there something on my face?”
Lin Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly, realizing what was wrong.
He walked closer to Zhao Yi.
It has to be said that Zhao Yi was very handsome, with three-dimensional and deep features, his appearance and temperament combined to give him a mature yet slightly childish aura. He was also very tall, at least 1.8 meters or more. Small diamond-shaped ruby earrings on his ears glittered in the sunlight, giving him a touch of rebelliousness and unconventionality.
If Lin Zheng wasn’t mistaken, this was incredible.
Lin Zheng walked in front of him and suddenly said, “Am…I white?”
Hearing this, Zhao Yi’s gaze unconsciously fell to Lin Zheng’s exposed upper body. Instantly, incongruous with his handsome and rebellious appearance, his cheeks flushed crimson, and he quickly moved his gaze elsewhere.
Lin Zheng shouted in his heart: Damn! I guessed right!!
Zhao Yi didn’t hate him, he didn’t want to assassinate him, this was clearly love at first sight!!
From yesterday in the meeting when Zhao Yi kept stealing glances at him, to when he was getting snacks and trying to chat him up, to thoughtfully replacing his empty plate, then blushing himself, and even just now, blushing just by seeing his upper body.
This is love! It’s definitely love!
Moreover, although he looks unrestrained and unruly on the outside, he’s actually a pure person on the inside?!
…So unbelievable.
It took Lin Zheng a long time to recover.
Then he suddenly reflected.
So what were his worries before?
He wasn’t trying to assassinate him, he liked him!
Thinking of this, Lin Zheng straightened his back, flicked his still-damp hair with his hand, and was about to coolly say, “Don’t love me, it won’t work out,” when he saw Zhao Yi fiddling with two phones.
Hmm?
He looked back at his desk where he had originally placed his phone.
Hmm? Where’s my phone?
Zhao Yi saved his number on his phone, called his phone, returned it to him, and said with a smile, “I couldn’t get your contact information last time, so I took the liberty this time.”
“…”
Only if it wasn’t password-protected could you have gotten away with it.
Just as Lin Zheng was about to say something, Zhao Yi’s phone rang.
Zhao Yi answered the phone, then gave him a gesture, and left to take the call.
Gu Lin returned earlier than scheduled. After resting for the afternoon, Lin Zheng had mostly eliminated his fatigue. After packing their things, they set off for Yinlu County. Since they both drank last night, they called a designated driver.
It took a while to reach Yinlu County. Gu Lin closed his eyes to rest after getting in the car.
But Lin Zheng knew Gu Lin wasn’t asleep.
…Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken his phone away and prevented him from playing games when he was secretly playing.
After complaining a little, with no phone to play with, Lin Zheng naturally started thinking about other things.
This trip to Yinlu County, he actually had a guess.
Perhaps, maybe the plot had changed…Gu Lin and the main protagonist had already met beforehand…
Otherwise, he couldn’t figure out why Gu Lin would go to Yinlu County, no matter how much he searched the plot.
Thinking this, he casually asked, “Gu Lin, aren’t you going to Yinlu County to look for someone?”
“Mm?”
“Could it be…” Lin Zheng cautiously asked, “The person you’re looking for, is their surname Wu?”
The original novel’s main protagonist’s name was Wu Yu.
Hearing this, the person beside him slowly opened his eyes, looked at him, and his tone seemed somewhat surprised, “How do you know?”