burden
Ordinary people live good lives, free from bloodshed and warfare. They laugh in the sunshine and worry about trivial matters.
Lin Yu's schedule at the training institution isn't very full; most of his classes are in the afternoon, helping students who are preparing to study abroad to cram for language learning.
Lin Yu was young, handsome, and had a great physique, and quickly became one of the students' favorite teachers.
During a casual chat between classes, some students were curious about his background and asked him if he had lived abroad since childhood, why his accent was so authentic and exactly the same as the original movie, and why he knew all sorts of slang.
He casually made up a story about his experiences abroad and told several interesting stories he had seen while on missions overseas, easily making the students laugh.
When he has free time, he still plays basketball with Wei Yang and the others. Wei Yang and his friends recently signed up for an amateur 5-on-5 basketball tournament and invited him to participate. He accepted.
The more basketball he played, the sweeter he felt the sense of sweating and competing with his team, and he wanted to experience it more.
Secret agents are solitary, efficient, and flexible, and they will never cooperate with each other unless absolutely necessary.
Teamwork was something new and exciting for Lin Yu.
Later, he took some time to go to the hospital for a follow-up examination. The results showed that his recovery progress was encouraging, and he could begin formal rehabilitation training in about two weeks.
He received the report and celebrated with a big meal that very evening. Although he knew Chen Chao might see the results even sooner than him, he still proudly presented the report to Chen Chao at dinner, saying, "Boss, I'll be done soon."
"That's great." Chen Chao's eyes sparkled with affection as he gently embraced him and tenderly kissed his eyes.
Chen Chao would hold him while sleeping almost every night, and he liked to snuggle in Chen Chao's arms, letting the familiar scent of grass envelop him.
But neither of them had done it recently, and Lin Yu could sense that Chen Chao was restraining himself.
Chen Chao was afraid that he would affect him.
Chen Chao was trying to give him absolute space to think things through: what kind of relationship and desire did he really want? Could he still truly derive pleasure from kneeling and submission?
Undoubtedly, he was still willing to kneel before the Chen Dynasty. He could clearly feel that he had no resistance to kneeling before the Chen Dynasty, neither in body nor in mind.
Willing to submit and finding pleasure in submission are two different things. Lin Yu knew that if it were only the former, Chen Chao wouldn't need him to kneel.
But as he truly grew up, Lin Yu himself still didn't understand what attachment really felt like.
He now lives an independent and confident life, but he still longs for Chen Chao's embrace. No matter what, Chen Chao's villa is home to him, and no matter how wild he plays outside, he will always want to come back.
Influenced by the students in the training class, he gradually came into contact with many novel things.
Street dance, ukulele, sketching... He tried them all in his spare time, only to find that he really had no musical talent.
He can handle street dance, but he doesn't really like it. On the contrary, sketching, with its quiet strokes, brings him inner peace.
So he simply enrolled in a class to learn.
He wasn't entirely without foundation. Secret agents need to draw maps, requiring excellent spatial awareness and observation skills. Therefore, his understanding of light control, structure, and perspective far surpassed that of most beginners.
He made rapid progress in the adult class, and even the teacher couldn't help but praise his extraordinary talent, saying it was a real pity he hadn't received training from a young age.
He smiled proudly, thinking that it wasn't too late to start practicing now.
That evening, he nestled on the sofa in the study, keeping Chen Chao company as he worked, while taking notes on how Chen Chao worked.
The charcoal pencil made a soft scratching sound on the paper. When Chen Chao finally turned off the computer, his quick portrait sketch was finished.
He walked to the desk and handed Chen Chao the sketch he had just finished. Chen Chao looked at it, and a wide smile burst from his lips: "It's really well drawn!"
Lin Yu's paintings feature concise and strong lines, completely devoid of superfluous strokes. The Chen Chao he depicts possesses a cool and aloof demeanor, yet also a softness that most people have never seen before.
"It's not that I draw well, it's that the boss is just naturally good," Lin Yu said with a smile.
"Your words are getting sweeter and sweeter." Chen Chao put his arm around his waist and they walked towards the bedroom together.
"Boss, let me help you." In the bedroom, Lin Yu took the initiative to say to Chen Chao. He didn't want Chen Chao to endure it for him; no matter what, he was always his outlet.
Chen Chao grasped his hand and shook his head: "I don't want to force you."
"No pressure," Lin Yu replied with a smile. "Boss, I haven't really figured out the question you asked me to answer yet, but I know I'd be happy to do it."
Lin Yu knelt down as he spoke.
Afterwards, Chen Chao pulled Lin Yu up from the ground and hugged him, grabbed a tissue from the bedside table and handed it to him, saying helplessly, "You're getting more and more lawless. Do you want me to help you?"
Lin Yu nodded in Chen Chao's arms, swallowed what was in his mouth, and didn't take the tissue: "Boss, help me with your hands."
"good."
Even without actually entering into a relationship, they remain each other's comfort.
This will never change.
The basketball game between Lin Yu and Wei Yang went very smoothly. With his body fully recovered, Lin Yu became the team's key player, leading the team through all the challenges to reach the knockout stage.
On the day they advanced from the group stage, everyone was clamoring for a celebratory dinner. Lin Yu tried to decline several times but couldn't, and was even teased, "Why do you always have something to do at dinners? Are you henpecked, or do you have a wife who sets a curfew at home?"
Wei Yang's words left Lin Yu completely stunned. He tried to connect Chen Chao with his beloved wife, and was immediately shocked by his own words.
What is all this?!
"No, no, it's just that I need to let my family know if we're having a get-together. Otherwise, it wouldn't be good if they saved food for me and I didn't go back to eat it."
To avoid Wei Yang and the others making any more outlandish guesses, Lin Yu reluctantly compromised and hid aside to send a message to Chen Chao.
Chen Chao was probably not in a meeting; the message came back quickly:
"Celebrate and have fun."
Lin Yu couldn't help but smile, then turned around and gave Wei Yang an OK sign.
The gathering consisted of hot pot, and the group partied until very late. Lin Yu didn't get home until 10 p.m.
He went upstairs and saw that no one was in the bedroom, so he guessed that Chen Chao was probably still working in the study. He didn't disturb Chen Chao, but instead took a shower and changed his clothes to get rid of the smell.
He was used to being rough around the edges and it was fine, but it was obviously inappropriate for him to go to Chen Chao smelling of hot pot and alcohol.
After making sure he was clean, Lin Yu changed back into his grass-scented pajamas, knocked on the door, and entered the study.
"Boss, are you busy?" Lin Yu saw Chen Chao leaning back in his chair, looking intently at the computer screen in front of him.
"No, I was watching the video of your match today." Chen Chao smiled and waved to him as he came in.
"Hey, are there video recordings of the group stage matches in this kind of competition?" Lin Yu asked curiously as he leaned over to watch.
"No, but I checked the surveillance footage on public roads, and one of the cameras happened to capture it."
Lin Yu saw on Chen Chao's screen that it was clearly an enlarged road surveillance camera, shot from above. Because the image was magnified so much, it wasn't very clear.
"After seeing this, I realized that I've almost never seen you so dashing and carefree in person. I know you can shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces away and walk through the mountains and forests as if it were flat ground, but I've never had the chance to truly see it." Chen Chao's tone was filled with undisguised regret.
Lin Yu was taken aback; he had never realized this before. He had always known that Chen Chao remembered and acknowledged all their sacrifices, so he had never cared whether Chen Chao had personally seen his "handsomeness."
"Boss, do you want to see it? I'm planning to resume training tomorrow. If you're free, we can go together."
"Okay, are you planning to go every morning? I'll ask Trot to help me adjust the schedule so I can try to find time to be with you."
Lin Yu nodded happily: "Thinking about it this way, I'm luckier than the boss. After all, I often see you making decisive orders. You probably have no idea how cool you were back then."
"You're always so cheeky." Chen Chao said, exiting the video interface, turning off the computer, and getting up. "Did you have fun today?"
"It was great, a bunch of us drank and had a lot of fun." Lin Yu replied as he followed Chen Chao to the bedroom.
"As long as you're happy." In the bedroom, Chen Chao pushed him onto the bed and gently hugged him. "I probably won't be able to find the time tomorrow, but remember to train in moderation. I don't want you to exhaust yourself."
"I know, I still want to lead Wei Yang and the others to win the basketball championship, so I need to conserve my energy and won't push them to their limits."
"That's good." Chen Chao hugged him, his breathing gradually becoming steady and long. Lin Yu smiled and gently kissed Chen Chao's forehead, then tucked him in and let himself drift off to sleep.
Recently, Lin Yu and Chen Chao's lives have been free of missions and bloodshed. They each have their own work during the day and only have time to be together on weekends or in the evenings.
Sometimes, even on weekends, Chen Chao might have to work overtime, or Lin Yu might have to go out to accompany Wei Yang and the others to do competition training.
Lin Yu recalled the time when he first took leave to donate bone marrow. Back then, whenever Chen Chao was free, he would stay by Chen Chao's side, unlike now.
At that time, his world consisted only of missions and Chen Chao.
But now, many things are different.
His world became richer, and he was no longer just Agent Z0002, Steve.
He is Lin Yu, and he is also Steve, but Steve is only a part of him.
He remains strong, steadfast, and loyal; he is still willing to give everything to Chen Chao, but he is also beginning to learn to bear the burden.
The burden is not about following orders and making sacrifices, but about proactively helping Chen Chao share the burden.
In his ordinary life, he seemed to gradually understand Chen Chao's expectations of him. Freed from the heavy pressure of the system, he began to understand what a real burden was.
Just like an assist in basketball, a guard needs to deliver the perfect pass before the forward can react. If there's a good assist, then all the forward has to do is catch the ball and shoot.
That's what a burden is.
Passing the ball only when instructed is not a burden.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com