Chapter 52 N - More Than Just

Xing Yu raised his right eyebrow, picked up his coffee cup, took a leisurely sip, and said unhurriedly, "What's there to explain?!"

Xing Yu seemed determined to play dumb to the end, but Chu Beiling wasn't about to let him off so easily: "Your office, your room, why are they exactly the same as my home in Zhanlongkou!"

Xing Yu put down his coffee cup, gestured towards the steam oven with his chin, and said, "Let's have breakfast first."

Chu Beiling stared directly at him without moving, trying to see something in his eyes, but unfortunately, she couldn't see anything.

After a moment of silence—

"Forget it, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. It's not important anymore," Chu Beiling said.

Xing Yu stopped what he was doing, looked up and saw Chu Beiling get up, go to the kitchen and bring out the breakfast and honey water that were warm in the steam oven, sit down opposite him and start eating breakfast.

"Chu Beiling." Xing Yu put the computer aside and leaned forward slightly to close the distance between them.

Xing Yu's voice was deep and melodious; even calling his name, including his full name, sounded pleasant.

Chu Beiling felt a sudden emptiness in his heart. He took a sip of honey water and replied calmly, "Go ahead."

"Chu Fanfan." Xing Yu didn't say it aloud, but used another name.

Chu Beiling steadied himself and replied calmly, "Go ahead."

Xing Yu still didn't say what he wanted to do, but directly used his trump card: "Little Blueberry".

Chu Beiling's breath hitched slightly, her fingertips felt burning hot, and her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by something.

He could no longer remain calm and jumped up from his chair.

Back then, Chu Beiling had many nicknames. Uncle Zhao and Grandma Chen called him Fanfan, and people in his class or other classes would call him Prince Fanfan. Xu Tunan and the others called him Chu Fanfan, but the nickname "Little Blueberry" belonged exclusively to Xing Yu.

It was their little secret, an unspeakable flutter of emotion.

Xing Yu leaned back in his chair with a half-smile, tapping the rim of his coffee cup casually with his fingertips, a playful look in his eyes, exuding an air of nonchalance.

Chu Beiling sat back down, suppressing her frantic excitement, and said, "Don't call me that, it's not appropriate."

The surrounding temperature suddenly dropped, and the air seemed to freeze.

Xing Yu swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. He reached for his coffee and took a slow, deliberate sip, his gaze never leaving Chu Beiling's face.

The bitterness of the coffee spread across his tongue. He spoke calmly, "Since you knew it wasn't appropriate, why did you ask about my office? My room is exactly the same as your old home in Zhanlongkou, hmm? Reason!"

Xing Yu has always been like this, extremely calm and rational, and never explicitly states the answer.

Instead, it guides you step by step, allowing you to figure it out on your own.

That's pretty realistic.

Chu Beiling's fingers tightened slightly, his knuckles turning white. He smiled, looked up at Xing Yu, and asked, "So, why did you make them the same?"

The clock in the living room ticked rhythmically.

Xing Yu's fingers gently traced the rim of the glass. After a moment of silence, he chuckled softly, "So what do you want to confirm?"

Chu Beiling's lips curled up slightly as she pressed Xing Yu, asking, "Then, what do you want to confirm?"

Their eyes met in the air, and they talked back and forth in an invisible circle, neither willing to answer first, insisting that the other give a reason.

As the two were at an impasse, the doorbell rang, and Xing Yu got up to open the door.

Yang Feng came to deliver the documents.

Chu Beiling found his phone in the living room. Xing Yu had silenced it with a single click, and a barrage of calls and messages came in, but he didn't answer any of them. He turned off the mute button and dealt with the messages one by one.

It was almost 2 p.m., and Li Zhiyi was still waiting for him to sign the documents.

Xing Yu was talking to Yang Feng in the entryway when he saw Chu Beiling walk over and his jaw dropped. His gaze darted back and forth between the Ice Prince and their boss, and he almost lost control of his expression.

"I have other business to attend to at the company, so I'll head back now. Thank you for last night." Chu Beiling said to Yang Feng, "Assistant Yang, could you please move aside?"

“Okay, okay.” Yang Feng consciously made way for Chu Beiling.

“Wait a minute,” Xing Yu called out to him, picked up the car keys from the entryway and handed them over: “Your car was brought back by a designated driver last night.”

He gave his parking location.

Chu Beiling took the keys. "Thank you."

Just as he was about to leave, Xing Yu called out to him again: "Be careful on the road."

Chu Beiling nodded slightly and took his leave.

Yang Feng sensed something unusual from the subtle expressions and atmosphere between them—

Even if there is something going on, a qualified assistant will simply pretend to be deaf and dumb and know nothing about it.

Chu Beiling made a special trip home, took a shower, and changed his clothes before driving to the company.

As soon as I entered the office, a message from Xing Yu popped up on my phone. It was a photo: "Is this your medicine box?"

Chu Beiling's heart skipped a beat, and a feeling of panic instantly flowed from his heart to every part of his body.

He took several deep breaths to calm himself, then messaged back: "[It's mine. It contains Vitamin C for whitening. It's okay, I'll leave it with you and pick it up in a few days.]"

Xing Yu: [Okay, I'll leave it at your house. Come pick it up in a few days.]

Chu Beiling breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, he had the habit of putting the medicine in a medicine box.

Chu Beiling, thinking Xing Yu might not remember, specifically reminded him: "I'm going to Chu Meng in a couple of days to oversee the game's models and basic animations. Just bring them to the company. Thanks."

Xing Yu quickly replied: [No time.]

"..." Chu Beiling really wanted to ask, "This little medicine box can be easily put in your pocket, why don't you have time?" But what she sent was: "[Okay, I'll get it when I have time.]"

Xing Yu, as if torturing himself, clicked into Chu Beiling's Moments.

Chu Beiling now has a new phone number, a new WeChat account, and a very perfunctory WeChat name—just a simple "C".

If Xing Yu hadn't been certain that the account belonged to Chu Beiling, he would have seriously doubted whether it was some kind of bot account, as it showed absolutely no signs of human presence.

After adding each other as friends, Xing Yu still didn't see any other posts from Chu Beiling's Moments. The last one was from 2018 at the Merlion Park in Singapore, the Merlion with the blood-red sunset, and the one where Zhu Qing'an smiled at him with a peace sign.

Almost two months after returning to China, Chu Beiling hasn't posted a single update on her WeChat Moments.

Besides drawing to record his life, he used to enjoy posting updates on WeChat and QQ to share his life, rambling on and on. He would even post updates to complain about not being able to get a big chicken leg at the second canteen.

He had a period of continuous bad luck, and he posted on social media:

He said he was unlucky and didn't check the almanac before going out, and Wang Caiyan read it aloud in front of the whole class, making him lose face in front of all his classmates, but it didn't affect his desire to post on social media.

It's amazing that he's managed to refrain from posting just one update in ten years.

I don't know if it's because people in Singapore don't use WeChat, so I haven't gotten used to it since returning to China, or if it's for some other reason.

Xing Yu pinched the bridge of his nose, exited WeChat, and went back to work.

Another message came in, and Chu Beiling picked it up to see that it was a voice message from Li Shuying.

Over the years, there seemed to be a silent understanding between him and Ms. Li. When it was a voice message, it was sent by Xiao Qiezi, while when it was a text message, it was sent by Li Shuying herself.

Little Eggplant asked, "Brother, Mom said Chinese New Year is coming soon, when are you coming home?"

Chu Beiling opened the calendar. Today is January 15th, and there are still about half a month until this year's Spring Festival.

The first phase of the project with Chu Meng is nearing its end, but his work is not yet completely finished.

His task was complete only after he oversaw the import of models and animations into the game engine, completed internal testing, optimized textures, ensured game operation, optimized game lighting and visual effects, handed them over to the development team, and successfully launched the game.

There are other projects in China that have just started.

These projects were all spearheaded by him, and it's impossible for him to abandon them now. Chu Beiling only wants to see things through to the end; he was just emotionally charged a while ago.

He won't temporarily withdraw from domestic projects until they are on track.

Chu Beiling didn't want to deceive Xiao Qiezi, so he sent a voice message: "Brother isn't coming home this year."

Little Eggplant burst into tears: "Brother, no, I want brother back, waaaah~ Does brother not want Little Eggplant anymore?"

Chu Beiling reached out and pinched the bridge of his nose, patiently coaxing her, "No, I don't want you. I'll go back as soon as I'm done, okay?"

Little Eggplant choked back a sob: "Really?"

Chu Beiling smiled faintly: "Yes, I'm not lying to you. When has your brother ever lied to you?"

Children's emotions come and go quickly, and they are easy to coax. Little Eggplant happily shared some trivial things with him.

Chu Beiling responded to each of them.

Realizing it was almost time, he switched to text: "President Li, I'll be back as soon as this is resolved. Don't keep sending me messages through Xiao Qiezi; she's only three years old!!"

【How could you think of your mother like that? Is it wrong for Little Eggplant to miss her brother?】 Li Shuying immediately followed up with: 【Tell me, how long have you been on this business trip in Hangzhou? Is it really necessary to get so angry just to ask?】

Another line of text quickly appeared on the screen: "[And is it because you met Xing Yu in Hangzhou that you refused to go back to Singapore for the Spring Festival? You're still not giving up, are you?!]"

Chu Beiling calmly retorted, typing with one hand: "President Li, ten years... do you think that's possible?"

Li Shuying said firmly, "You must return to Singapore for the Spring Festival, even if you have to go back to handle the aftermath."

[I can't leave.] After replying to the message, Chu Beiling exited the app, tossed his phone aside, and didn't care whether Li Shuying would reply again.

Chu Beiling opened her email and began processing the messages one by one.

Xing Yu has sent the detailed animation plan and the artwork for "Conquering the World" to his email address, along with the script for the animation "Sword Song Beyond the Clouds" written by screenwriter Lin.

Chu Beiling replied that the draft was fine and they could start basic animation production before looking at the script for "Sword Song Beyond the Clouds".

No matter how powerful the production team is, and how much they use visual effects, modern animation techniques, and special effects to their fullest potential, a script written with a sloppy hand can't save the exquisite visuals created by artists and animators working tirelessly.

In any industry related to words, especially story creation, the script must come first.

After reviewing the script outline and the first ten episodes, Chu Beiling immediately sent a message to the screenwriter: "The plot development feels somewhat rushed and lacks depth. The characters are not fully fleshed out (their motivations and actions are sometimes unclear, making them seem thin). Come to the company in a couple of days so we can discuss this in detail."

Screenwriter Lin: [Okay, Mr. Chu.]

By the time Chu Beiling finished his work, it was already nine o'clock in the evening, and he came out of the office building.

The rain had just stopped, and a damp coolness filled the air. The ground was like a series of broken mirrors, reflecting the gray sky and the tall buildings on both sides of the road. When the wind blew, all the colors blended together, like an ethereal yet fragmented illusion.

A WeChat call came in, and Chu Beiling answered it via Bluetooth. Xing Yu on the other end had probably just gotten off work, as he could hear the sound of Xing Yu unlocking his car.

Xing Yu said, "When are you coming to collect your VC?"

Chu Beiling didn't know if he was afraid of being misunderstood or if there was some other reason why he kept urging him to go and get it. He said, "If you're home, I'll go now."

“I’m home. Come on over.” Xing Yu asked, “Do you remember my address?”

Chu Beiling opened her mouth, and finally replied, "I remember."

He used the navigation app to find Xing Yu's apartment address, then turned the car around and drove towards his apartment.

The car was parked on the side of the road, not driven in. Chu Beiling turned off the engine and sent Xing Yu a message: [I'm at your apartment entrance.]

After a short wait, Xing Yu sent a message: "I've spoken to security. You can drive right in and park where you parked today."

Chu Beiling didn't want all that trouble; losing her temper and crossing the line once was enough: "If it's convenient for me at the door, could you please bring it to me? If not, just throw the medicine box away."

Xing Yu hesitated for a moment, then replied: "Wait a moment, I'll be there soon."

Having skipped dinner, Chu Beiling got out of the car while waiting, intending to buy some oden from a nearby convenience store to fill her stomach.

As the car turned into the apartment building, Xing Yu saw Chu Beiling's silver-gray ET7 parked on the side of the road, its engine still running. He drove forward in another direction, and the two driver's seats were now level with each other.

When Xing Yu saw the person clearly, he was stunned.

Chu Beiling leaned back in his seat, his elbow resting on the car window, a thin, shimmering cigarette between his fingers, which he was putting into his mouth.

Xing Yu reached out and pinched Chu Beiling's chin to stop him from biting down, then snatched the long cigarette from his hand, stubbed it out, and threw it into the car ashtray.

The action was completed in one smooth motion, and Chu Beiling didn't even have time to react.

The next second—

Xing Yu held out his hand to him: "Give me the cigarettes and the lighter."