Chapter 53
Lin Zheng’s mind went blank.
Gu Lin’s mother wanted to see him? Why would Gu Lin’s mother want to see him?
Lin Zheng excitedly grabbed Gu Lin’s arm and leaned in close. “How does your mother know about me? When did you tell her about me?”
Gu Lin’s expression relaxed. “Just now, in the coffee shop. Weren’t you hiding your face with a book and eavesdropping? I thought you heard everything.”
Ever since he had blurted out that “Mom!” in the restaurant, Lin Zheng’s head had felt like it was full of paste. He was in a constant state of embarrassment. Forget eavesdropping; he didn’t even know when Gu Lin’s mother had left.
He couldn’t help it. After such a mortifying moment, his brain had automatically pushed everything happening with Gu Lin to the back of his mind.
Lin Zheng said, full of self-righteousness, “Let’s be clear, I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was listening openly and honestly.”
He wasn’t hiding in a corner, and he hadn’t planted a bug on Gu Lin. He was sitting right near him in plain sight. How could that be considered eavesdropping?
It definitely wasn’t eavesdropping. Hmph.
Gu Lin looked at the man whose chin was practically pointing at the sky and could only nod along. “Alright, not eavesdropping. You were sitting behind me and listening with utmost integrity.”
Lin Zheng touched his nose with his finger. “That’s more like it.”
A thought occurred to him, and he asked Gu Lin, “But honestly, after you found me out, weren’t you curious why I was there?”
Gu Lin thought for a moment. “I was curious, but I couldn’t just expose you when I could clearly see you were hiding from me, could I?”
Lin Zheng was touched by Gu Lin’s words. Gu Lin, willing to play along with his act, was pretty great.
Gu Lin continued, “Besides, my mother was there too, and, well… if she had seen you in that getup… it would have been a little…”
Lin Zheng, realizing Gu Lin was making fun of his strange outfit: “…”
He took back his previous thought about Gu Lin being great.
Speaking of his clothes, Lin Zheng was wearing a random assortment of items. But it really wasn’t his fault. It was Gu Lin’s fault for notifying him so close to the end of the workday. Worried that he would miss the mysterious woman if he was even a few seconds late, Lin Zheng had passed a discount department store on his way and just went in and picked out a random outfit.
Come to think of it, he seemed to have forgotten to remove the price tag from the back of the sweater he was wearing under his coat.
Lin Zheng reached his hand back, slipped it inside his sweater, and sure enough, he pulled out a tag.
He gave it a firm tug and pulled it off. At the bottom of the tag was the number 200, the price of the sweater.
Gu Lin took the tag and smiled. “Quite the homemaker, aren’t you?”
Lin Zheng, half proud and half joking, said, “Of course. You think everyone is as rich as you, where you can just buy things without looking at the price? For ordinary people like us, if we don’t know how to live frugally, we probably wouldn’t be able to get by for long.”
Lin Zheng had seen it too many times, including with many of his friends in the past. As soon as they earned money, they couldn’t wait to spend it all at once, living a life as extravagant as a king or queen. Then, when the money was gone, they would start complaining about being broke.
He had learned this lesson the hard way himself, so he had gradually learned to be more frugal, especially after his younger brother started high school.
Gu Lin rested one hand on the steering wheel, a hint of a smile in his eyes as he looked at Lin Zheng.
Lin Zheng suddenly remembered the question Gu Lin had asked him earlier. He hadn’t given him an answer yet. Worried that his silence would be taken as agreement, Lin Zheng said, “Gu Lin, about meeting your mother… I don’t think it’s the right time.”
To put it bluntly, the two of them hadn’t even confirmed their relationship yet. For Gu Lin to specifically take him to meet his mother, it felt far too soon. If they did meet, how should he introduce himself? In what capacity? It was a huge problem.
Besides, Lin Zheng wasn’t prepared to face Gu Lin’s parents.
…Legend had it that Gu Lin’s father was terrifying!
He had already met Lin Zheng’s mother, and forgive his lack of vocabulary, but he could only describe her as divinely beautiful.
All in all, Lin Zheng felt he wasn’t ready to go yet.
Gu Lin instantly read the thoughts on Lin Zheng’s face and understood his concerns.
He said, “Don’t worry too much. I introduced you to my mother as a friend.”
Lin Zheng looked at Gu Lin. “?”
Gu Lin raised an eyebrow. “To be precise, as a roommate.”
Hearing this, Lin Zheng’s spirits lifted. He slapped Gu Lin on the leg and said cheerfully, “Hey, you should have said so earlier! Of course, that’s fine. No problem at all!”
A roommate, bringing a friend home for dinner—what could be more normal?
He had received a lot of care from Gu Lin, so it was only right that he should bring a gift and visit Gu Lin’s family properly.
“But,” Lin Zheng thought of another concern, “do we really have to do it on Saturday?”
“Is the time inconvenient for you?” Gu Lin asked.
Lin Zheng smiled. “It’s not inconvenient.”
He knew that Gu Lin was sensitive about his birthday, and he was worried that a happy gathering might bring back bad memories for him.
But then Lin Zheng remembered that Gu Lin had just said Saturday was a good day. Although he didn’t know exactly what Gu Lin was thinking, the fact that he could say that meant that the date probably wouldn’t make him unhappy.
They drove back together.
Just as the car pulled into the courtyard, Lin Zheng saw in the rearview mirror Yan Yang, hugging himself and looking pitiful in a thin shirt, standing at Gu Lin’s front door.
His hair was a mess, and he looked like he had just been beaten up.
Lin Zheng got out of the car and asked Yan Yang, puzzled, “What happened to you?”
Yan Yang looked exasperated. “I don’t know what happened. I’m just as confused as you are.”
Gu Lin got out of the car right after him, sized up Yan Yang, and asked heartlessly as he walked inside, “Did your ex come looking for revenge?”
You’re being way too blunt, Lin Zheng thought.
But… he was also a little curious.
Heh.
After Gu Lin opened the door, Lin Zheng quickly followed. As he reached the doorway, he let out another unfortunate sneeze.
Seeing Yan Yang still standing at the door, Lin Zheng turned back and said kindly, “Hurry up and come in.”
The three of them sat in the living room. Seeing how pitiful Yan Yang looked, Lin Zheng poured him a cup of hot water.
After that, he went upstairs to change his clothes. As he was coming back down, he heard Yan Yang say to Gu Lin in the living room, “What did I do wrong? He just got back from a business trip today, and I wanted to give him a surprise. I had everything ready at home, but as soon as he arrived, before I could even show him the gift I prepared myself, he dragged me out and beat me up. He was yelling at me, saying I was a flirt and asking if I was interested in pretty young ladies. To be honest, after I got with him, I haven’t said a single woman was pretty. But he wouldn’t listen to my explanation and just kicked me out. Tell me, am I not being wronged?”
Gu Lin, always objective and fair, said, “Who knows?”
Yan Yang said, “Hey, are you my brother or not? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Hearing Yan Yang’s words, Lin Zheng had a slight inkling of what might have happened. Thinking of the possibility, he asked cautiously, “Yan Yang, are you talking about your boyfriend? The one I saw at the company before?”
Yan Yang said, “Yeah.”
A cold sweat broke out on Lin Zheng’s forehead. He asked even more cautiously, “Perhaps… is he also in a lot of the company’s group chats?”
Yan Yang shrugged and said with a laugh, “I don’t know if he’s in the company’s group chats, but I do see him chatting in groups a lot. Oh, and he especially likes those anonymous chat things.”
Lin Zheng smiled, but the sweat on his forehead was dripping. “Ah, I see.”
It’s over. That guy must have been in the anonymous group chat he joined last night.
And he mistook him for the real Yan Yang.
Yan Yang asked Lin Zheng, “Little chicken nest head, do you have any ideas? Give your big bro some advice.” Then, as if remembering something, he added, “But don’t suggest breaking up.”
Asking about another woman wasn’t a huge deal in itself, but the problem was that Yan Yang used to be a player.
Lin Zheng tilted his head back, forcing his tears back into his eyes. He had never considered the possibility that Yan Yang’s boyfriend would also be in the group.
It was a huge miscalculation.
As the culprit, how could Lin Zheng dare to suggest that Yan Yang break up?
He was the one at fault.
Lin Zheng came downstairs, saw that Yan Yang’s cup was empty, and proactively took it. Under Yan Yang’s puzzled gaze, he refilled the cup with hot water and said to him sincerely, “Bro, although I can’t give you any advice, you can call me anytime if you need more water.”
Beside them, when he heard Lin Zheng call Yan Yang “bro,” Gu Lin turned his head to look at Lin Zheng with a puzzled expression.
Unfortunately, Lin Zheng’s entire focus was on Yan Yang right now.
After speaking, Lin Zheng carefully put down the cup and comforted Yan Yang, “Bro, it’s just a small fight. It’s normal. I believe in you. Things will get better.”
Yan Yang was comforted by Lin Zheng’s words. “I’ll take your good wishes.”
Beside them, Gu Lin let out a speechless scoff.
Hearing this, Yan Yang turned to glare at Gu Lin. “Gu Lin, I suggest you say what’s on your mind!”
Lin Zheng also turned to look at him and said dramatically, “That’s right! If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t be like that to my bro.”
Gu Lin looked at the two of them, acting in perfect harmony. He couldn’t stay any longer. He uncrossed his legs, shook his head, and stood up to leave.
When Yan Yang left, he was in much better spirits. Lin Zheng saw him to the door, waving goodbye. “Bro, come again next time.”
After seeing him off, Lin Zheng clutched his chest and let out a sigh of relief.
He sincerely hoped that Yan Yang would be safe and sound when he got back.
He promised he would make it up to Yan Yang in the future.
Lin Zheng sniffled his stuffy nose and closed the door.
The cold air was instantly shut out.
He turned around, about to walk inside, when he saw Gu Lin leaning against the entryway cabinet with his arms crossed, staring straight at him.
Lin Zheng felt a little baffled by the intense gaze.
He suddenly remembered that he had to bring a gift to Gu Lin’s house on Saturday, but he didn’t know what his family liked.
I know, I’ll just ask Gu Lin.
“By the way, Gu Lin, I wanted to ask you, what do your family members…”
Lin Zheng was only halfway through his sentence when he saw Gu Lin reach out a hand towards him.
Puzzled, Lin Zheng was then grabbed by the arm and pulled towards him.
They weren’t far apart to begin with, and with that one pull, Gu Lin pulled him straight into his arms.
Realizing they were too close, Lin Zheng pushed against the chest in front of him, trying to create some distance. He asked, embarrassed, “What are you doing?”
But as soon as there was a small gap between them, Gu Lin’s arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him in, closing the gap once again.
Just as Lin Zheng was about to say something, he was pinned against the wall by Gu Lin.
“What did you just call Yan Yang?” Gu Lin lowered his head, his forehead touching Lin Zheng’s. “Try calling me that once.”
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