There is no difference
The next morning, Chen Chao hypnotized Lin Yu again, removed the hypnotic suggestion that forbade him to fake it, and gave him complete freedom.
"Come to me anytime if you feel unwell, and just follow your heart for the rest." Chen Chao gently hugged Lin Yu before leaving and gave him these words of advice.
"I understand." Lin Yu hugged Chen Chao back, then smiled and watched Chen Chao leave.
He knew that from this moment on, he would begin to try a completely new life, just as Chen Chao had suggested.
Chen Chao's villa may seem to have no servants, but in fact, servants come twice a day to clean and take care of everything.
The room is cleaned, the clothes are washed and ironed, and even the water in the bedroom at night is meticulously prepared by someone.
Aside from cooking for Chen Chao, Lin Yu doesn't need to worry about anything else.
Now, Chen Chao said that if he's having fun outside and doesn't want to come back to cook, or if he wants to eat out, he just needs to send a message.
What Chen Chao gave him was true freedom.
However, just like his initial boredom during his vacation, Lin Yu didn't know how to enter the world of ordinary people, nor did he understand the joys of ordinary people.
He changed into Chen Chao's casual clothes and went out. He first went to the bustling commercial street, and then checked in at some of the top attractions in Gailalle.
He watched large groups of tourists excitedly taking photos in front of the buildings, and couples carefully selecting jewelry in the shopping mall. Seeing these scenes, he did feel happy, but this happiness always seemed somewhat distant, superficial, and not truly heartfelt.
Because of his training, he could blend into the lives of ordinary people very naturally, without anyone noticing anything amiss. But no matter how indistinguishable he appeared on the surface, there was a fundamental difference in his mindset compared to them.
He is a protector, while they have no idea how dangerous the world really is.
Lin Yu sat on a park bench, pondering with some helplessness, wondering how he could truly experience the life of an ordinary person.
"Hey handsome, wanna play basketball? We're short enough people, can you help us out?"
A cheerful voice came from not far away. Lin Yu looked up at the source of the voice, somewhat bewildered. After hesitating for a few seconds and confirming that there was no other living person in that direction, he realized that the person was indeed calling him.
Do you play basketball?
This seems like a good opportunity to connect with the ordinary world.
He stood up and gave the other person an innocent smile: "Okay, but I haven't played in a long time, so I'm a bit rusty."
"It's okay, I'll cover the loss, and I'll treat everyone to some skewers," said a young man in a yellow vest.
Lin Yu laughed, quickly warmed up, and jogged onto the field.
Lin Yu knew almost nothing about the rules of 3-on-3 street basketball, but after playing for a while, he perfectly integrated into the team.
When it comes to sports, talent makes everything fall into place. With top-notch physical fitness and exceptional coordination, dealing with an amateur-level street basketball game is a piece of cake for Lin Yu.
Lin Yu's body is not yet able to do high-intensity rehabilitation, but the doctor has indeed advised him to do a certain amount of exercise to gradually restore muscle strength.
The intensity of basketball playing for an average person is just right for Lin Yu right now.
"Wow! You're a true master! We've met a real expert. How come we've never seen you in this match before?" After a few rounds, Lin Yu's skills shocked the opposing team.
Initially, judging from Lin Yu's artsy attire, they assumed he was just a white-collar worker on break, calling him only because they were temporarily short-handed. Unexpectedly, after the first couple of rounds, he played with increasing vigor, almost overwhelming them.
"I recently changed jobs and have only just started working in this area," Lin Yu casually lied.
"My name is Wei Yang, let's be friends." Wei Yang pulled a bottle of water out of his bag and handed it to Lin Yu. "Your skills are pretty good. You seemed a bit rusty at first, but you've really improved since you found it."
"My name is Steve. I used to enjoy playing, but I haven't played in a long time because I've been busy with work." Lin Yu took the water, held it in his hand, but didn't drink it.
"Are you free later? I said the loser treats me to some skewers, wanna join?"
"Excuse me, I have something to do tonight. Are you guys going to stay here all night? We can exchange contact information so we can play ball together sometime." Lin Yu declined the dinner invitation but asked for contact information instead.
"OK!"
Then everyone exchanged contact information.
After parting ways with the other young men playing ball, Lin Yu's steps became noticeably lighter.
He seems to have grasped a little bit of the world of ordinary people.
He went back to the mall to buy groceries, picked up his car, and rushed home to shower, change clothes, and cook dinner.
When he returned to the villa, the new medication plan and lifestyle guidelines from the hospital were already on the table in the living room. He carefully read and wrote them down, and then received a message from Chen Chao saying that he had a lot to do today and might have to work overtime, and that he should eat first if he was hungry.
He thought for a moment, put the groceries he bought in the kitchen, and went upstairs to take a shower.
After taking a shower, Lin Yu dialed Trot's contact number.
"Boss, will you be free in about an hour and a half? I'll bring you the food."
Trott was used to Lin Yu's communications, and she was very happy about the relationship between this top agent and her boss.
She checked Chen Chao's schedule and replied, "I'll free up some time for you. There's an hour and a half free after one hour and forty minutes."
"Thanks." Lin Yu hung up the phone and went downstairs to cook.
He couldn't wait to tell Chen Chao what he had done, seen, and felt that day.
When Chen Chao saw Lin Yu carrying a lunchbox and walking into the office with high spirits, his eyes were filled with undisguised doting affection.
“You look very happy today,” Chen Chao said.
"Yeah, I made a few new friends." Lin Yu said as he unpacked the takeout food and placed it on the high table on the right side of the office. "We played basketball together."
"You like playing basketball?" Chen Chao walked out from behind his desk and sat down at the high table.
"I didn't know I liked this before today," Lin Yu said with a smile as he sat down next to Chen Chao.
Thirty minutes passed quickly, flying by as Lin Yu chattered on. When Trot called to remind Chen Chao to prepare for the conference call in ten minutes, a clear reluctance flickered in Chen Chao's eyes.
"Boss, you go ahead with your work. I'll pack up my things and we can continue our conversation tonight."
"Okay." Chen Chao gently kissed Lin Yu, sat back down at his desk, and sent the information on the people Lin Yu had just given him to the relevant personnel for investigation.
If the tests show no problems, then Lin Yu can finally begin to truly enjoy the ordinary life he has worked so hard for.
The background check results came back quickly, proving that these individuals had no issues.
These young men who play basketball are college classmates, and they have maintained the habit of playing a game whenever they have free time after they started working.
They usually play together in groups of eight, but they can usually get six people together to play whenever they have time. Occasionally, when everyone is available, the extra people take turns playing on the sidelines.
The last time I encountered Lin Yu was because someone had to cancel at the last minute, so I had to randomly pick someone from the sidelines.
After confirming that these people were all okay, Lin Yu finally felt relieved and allowed himself to experience a whole new world through these new friends.
During their game, they talked about their jobs. Lin Yu lied and said he was a teacher at a foreign language training institution, teaching Migal, and that his class hours and schedules were quite flexible.
Later, since he had nothing better to do, Lin Yu actually found a job as a teacher at a training institution.
He never had trouble finding a job, given his abilities, and Tean could provide any resume or background he wanted.
During the day, he attends classes and occasionally plays ball; Lin Yu seems to have truly integrated into the lives of ordinary people.
He tries his best to come home and cook dinner every day. If Chen Chao has to work overtime, he will deliver the food directly to Te'an.
He liked to share everything about his new life with Chen Chao during meals.
He was Chen Chao's eyes, and he promised to experience the world of ordinary people for Chen Chao.
Chen Chao was also completely absorbed in listening to Lin Yu's sharing. He always smiled easily at the dinner table, occasionally asking simple questions to satisfy his curiosity about that world.
Everything Lin Yu said was new and exciting to him.
"I only realized how normal people learn languages after reading the textbook! It seems incredibly inefficient, and it's so boring for me to just read from the book to teach them," Lin Yu told Chen Chao after returning from his first day at the training institution.
"How did you all learn languages back then?" Chen Chao asked curiously.
"While doing a 3,000-meter obstacle course, I listened to headphones. After crossing the finish line, I immediately had a foreign language quiz with the instructor. If I couldn't answer a single sentence, I had to do 50 push-ups."
Lin Yu's answer almost made Chen Chao choke on his food. He couldn't help but think that it was more abnormal for them to be like this.
"No wonder the training camp has such a high dropout rate. If you don't train people from a young age, an ordinary person wouldn't be able to survive a single day there," Chen Chao sighed.
Lin Yu pursed his lips, as if seriously recalling his days in the training camp: "Actually, I didn't feel it was hard back then. As long as you had a goal and worked hard to achieve it, it was very pure."
“I’m different from you. I’ve known I’ll suffer since I was a child. I just choose to endure it.”
Chen Chao's words startled Lin Yu. He suddenly realized that Chen Chao's lucidity would make his childhood even more difficult than his own.
"So, boss, how did you learn languages back then?"
"It's similar to yours. During my language learning period as a child, no one spoke to me in Nutrag. At that time, whatever language I was learning, my life was enveloped in that language. After learning several languages, my language system became very chaotic. Then my father would assign me a language to speak to each day and force me to distinguish between them. If any other language was mixed in during the day's communication, I would get ten slaps on the hand for each sentence."
"Corporal punishment?" Lin Yu asked in surprise. He couldn't imagine Chen Chao being physically punished, nor could he bear to think of Chen Chao suffering any harm.
"Hmm." Chen Chao nodded calmly. "Are you surprised? What child isn't forced into something, especially people like us? Compared to you, the corporal punishment I suffered shouldn't be that much."
“That’s different,” Lin Yu retorted instinctively.
In Lin Yu's mind, they were special agents, and they should be physically trained. This was a responsibility to them, so that they could survive as long as possible on the real battlefield.
But Chen Chao was different. In his mind, Chen Chao should be cherished and pampered from a young age. Even if his studies were heavy, Chen Chao should not be physically oppressed.
Corporal punishment, such a horrific thing, should never be applied to Chen Chao.
Chen Chao smiled and reached out to cover Lin Yu's palm: "What's the difference? I'm just in a different position than you, but essentially we're no different. You're doing it for your faith, and so am I."
"Boss, but you are..."
"Am I a god standing before you?" Chen Chao took the initiative to continue Lin Yu's words. "I once thought so too. I felt that I had to think things through carefully and not make any mistakes, because your lives are in my hands."
But the truth is, I'm human too. I get sad, I break down. You, as my source of comfort, know that best, don't you?
Lin Yu silently pondered Chen Chao's words, seemingly lost in thought.
Yes, he always knew that Chen Chao was also a human being and had pressure that needed to be released, but he never felt that Chen Chao needed to step down from his pedestal because of that.
"During the last mission, I almost had an emotional breakdown after talking with Raman. Because I had to calmly explain to Raman how to use you as a bargaining chip to gain the greatest benefit. At that time, you were being tortured by Karim. I started vomiting as soon as I hung up on Raman and couldn't recover for a while."
Later, my father told me that it is precisely because we are in a position where we cannot make mistakes that we need to leave ourselves room for maneuver and not break down.
So now I allow myself to show all my vulnerability in front of you, and I no longer force myself.
In front of others, I do need to be a god; I need to be perfect, steadfast, and never make a mistake.
But Lin Yu, I hope I can be a human being in front of you. I want to enjoy life with you as much as possible. Chen Chao's voice was calm and sincere.
"Boss." Lin Yu gripped Chen Chao's hand in gratitude. "I will always be your outlet and your support when you need it."
"I know." Chen Chao raised his hand and gently brushed away the stray hairs on Lin Yu's forehead, his eyes as tender as an angel's.
He always knew that Lin Yu would accept him no matter what he looked like.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com