Access card
When it comes to work, Mr. Haohao has always been the type who dives into it head-on. He would take the initiative to stay and work overtime after everyone else gets off work just to present the project results more perfectly.
The new intern in Lin Yang's group was full of enthusiasm, eager to learn and perform like a sponge. Seeing a senior like Gu Yansheng working so hard, he chose to stay and help, running around and working with great enthusiasm.
He liked Gu Yansheng's calm and reliable demeanor. During project discussions, when team members were arguing and the atmosphere was tense, Gu Yansheng would always smile gently, take the initiative to communicate and coordinate, and even do more work. With his unique tolerance and "taking a small loss" approach, he easily defuses potential conflicts. In Lin Yang's eyes, Gu Yansheng is the ceiling of emotional stability in the workplace.
Outside the institute's glass curtain wall, the night was as dark as ink, smearing the city lights into blurry patches of light. Gu Yansheng and Lin Yang were the only two people left in the large office. The clacking of keyboards and the rustling of papers were the only background sounds.
Gu Yansheng was concentrating on his computer screen, his slender fingers moving rapidly across the keyboard, his brow slightly furrowed, his eyes gleaming with the pure light of someone immersed in the logic of work. Several thick project documents lay spread out on the table, and next to them lay a half-eaten, long-cold loaf of bread.
"Teacher Gu, I have rechecked this part of the data and it should be fine." Lin Yang held his laptop computer, his voice filled with the youthful vigor and a hint of barely perceptible excitement, and approached Gu Yansheng's desk.
"Thank you for your hard work, Xiaolin. Leave it here while I take a look at the final rendering of the model." Gu Yansheng raised his head and gave Lin Yang a gentle but slightly tired smile, with a faint shadow of green in his eyes. His voice was as calm as ever, without a trace of impatience.
At that moment, the office door was silently pushed open. A cool breeze from outside, carrying the aroma of food, quietly poured in. Lin Yang subconsciously turned around and saw a tall man in a well-tailored black coat walking in.
The stranger had a stern face, deep brow bones, and eyes like ice-hardened blades. Just a casual glance around made Lin Yang feel the temperature around him drop several degrees. The man, holding a thermos bag, walked towards Gu Yansheng with a clear purpose.
It’s Jiang Lin.
Gu Yansheng sensed this unique presence almost instantly. His fingers paused on the keyboard, his gaze shifting from the cold screen to the newcomer. In that instant, Lin Yang clearly caught the change in Gu Yansheng's expression—not the irritation of having his work interrupted, but a strange sense of relief.
His furrowed brow relaxed, and the thin layer of concentration in his eyes, which had been icy from his work, melted away, replaced by a soft, almost dependent light that Lin Yang had never seen on his face before. He even unconsciously let out a light breath, as if he had unloaded some invisible burden.
"Why are you here? Didn't you say you didn't need to see me off?" Gu Yansheng's voice rang out, the tone more cheerful than Lin Yang had ever heard before, and the ending even carried a subtle, coquettish complaint.
Jiang Lin said nothing, simply placing the insulated bag on Gu Yansheng's desk, piled high with documents. His gesture carried a certain undeniable force. He swiftly opened the bag and pulled out two or three insulated lunch boxes. The aroma of food instantly became even more intense and alluring. He glanced at the pitiful, cold half-loaf of bread on Gu Yansheng's desk, his brows furrowed slightly, a hint of displeasure flickering across his eyes.
"Eat." Jiang Lin's voice was low and concise, like an order. He pulled out a chair next to Gu Yansheng and sat down. His eyes fell on Gu Yansheng's face. His eyes were focused and direct, as if Gu Yansheng was the only one in the office.
"Oh, okay," Gu Yansheng replied crisply, even a little obediently. He immediately pushed the computer screen away and hastily gathered the documents on his desk to the side, making room for his lunch box. The meticulous Gu, immersed in a complex model a moment ago, was gone. Now he looked like a child caught not eating properly, a mixture of a bit of embarrassment and a completely relaxed, dependent feeling.
This was the first time he had seen Gu Yansheng like this—no longer the senior who was always gentle and polite, and whose emotions were stable to the point of being almost impeccable. Instead, he would reveal small complaints, be obedient, and even exude a kind of... defenseless and relaxed aura that could be described as "cute."
This stark contrast was only due to the presence of Jiang Lin. An invisible, quiet magnetic field seemed to form in the air, belonging only to the two of them, isolating Lin Yang from the outside. He could sense Jiang Lin's powerful, cold, and absolutely controlling aura, and he could also sense Gu Yansheng's natural relaxation and dependence under his aura.
Lin Yang held the computer, as if nailed to the spot, completely immersed in the shock brought about by this huge contrast.
The air was filled with the aroma of food and an invisible, quiet aura belonging only to those two people, isolating Lin Yang from the outside. He was a little at a loss, not knowing whether to leave quietly or bite the bullet and say hello.
At this moment, Gu Yansheng, who had obediently picked up his chopsticks, seemed to finally withdraw his attention from the small world he had formed with Jiang Lin. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lin Yang standing stiffly at the table, holding his computer, looking particularly uneasy.
"Ah!" Gu Yansheng exclaimed softly, as if he had just remembered that there was a third person here. The embarrassment of being caught eating quickly faded from his face, and he returned to his usual gentleness, but the soft light in his eyes brought by Jiang Lin's appearance did not completely disappear. He put down his chopsticks and smiled at Lin Yang with an apologetic look.
"Xiao Lin, I haven't introduced you yet." He pointed at Jiang Lin, who was sitting next to him, his eyes still glued to him, and his aura was cold. "This is my childhood friend, Jiang Lin."
Then, he turned to Jiang Lin, his voice naturally becoming lighter and softer. "Jiang Lin, this is the new intern I mentioned, Lin Yang. He's very diligent and took the initiative to stay tonight to help me check the data."
Jiang Lin heard this and turned his gaze away from Gu Yansheng's face and cast his gaze on Lin Yang. His gaze was sharp and brief, with a sense of scrutiny. He only nodded very slightly as a greeting.
The invisible pressure made Lin Yang subconsciously straighten his back and quickly said, "Hello, Mr. Jiang!"
Lin Yang looked at Jiang Lin's stern face and powerful aura, and thought about how he could enter the core office area so casually. He almost blurted out his doubts: Who is this Mr. Jiang? How did he have the authority...
Gu Yansheng seemed to see through Lin Yang's doubts. With his usual gentle smile on his face, he explained in a relaxed tone, "Oh, Jiang Lin has a special access card here. The leaders are aware of it and have reported it."
His words were extremely concise, as if this was just a very ordinary matter and there was nothing to delve into.
However, when thinking about the story behind this access card, a sharp and glaring picture flashed through my mind uncontrollably:
Having just arrived at the institute, he tried very hard to adapt to the work. The new graduate, who had nothing to do, insisted on working overtime to adapt himself to the work faster. Mr. Hao was under a lot of psychological pressure. It happened that the weather forecast failed that day. It was said that there would be no rain at night, but there was a sudden heavy rain.
The cold rainstorm pounded against the huge glass curtain wall, making a heart-pounding roar.
The lights in the office were pale. He curled up in the chair, his fingers tightly gripping the armrests. The nerves under his skin felt like they were being pierced repeatedly by countless red-hot needles. Every breath was accompanied by a burning pain and a suffocating itchy feeling.
Jiang Lin's name was displayed on the phone screen, and from the receiver came the other party's voice, suppressed and tense to the extreme, "Wait for me, I'll be there soon!"
Then came the piercing alarm! The institute's sturdy access control system completely failed with a dull, teeth-aching sound of metal twisting and breaking, and debris flew everywhere.
At the end of the corridor, Jiang Lin's figure rushed in, engulfed in the wind and rain outside and a thunderous rage. When his icy eyes saw his painfully curled figure, they were instantly covered with a near-destructive crimson...
What followed was chaos and turmoil, with parents rushing in to deal with compensation and appease all parties, and whispered conversations and special approvals in the offices of senior executives... All this chaos and cost eventually condensed into the thin access card in Jiang Lin's hand, which represented special access rights.
These thrilling details were like flash films, tumbling and burning in Gu Yansheng's mind. But his expression did not change at all, remaining gentle and calm.
The advice that had been etched into Jiang Lin's bones since childhood was like a golden rule: "Yansheng, you can't tell others about your 'problem' casually."
Any information that might reveal his vulnerability and uniqueness must be strictly blocked.
So, all the heavy and complicated background information about the rainstorm, the pain of the hypersensitivity reaction, Jiang Lin's uncontrolled destruction and his parents' subsequent mediation... were perfectly compressed and sealed by Gu Yansheng under the light-hearted sentence "The leaders know everything and have reported it."
He didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention or curiosity and wanted to frame the matter as a simple, approved permissions issue.
Jiang Lin seemed to sense the turmoil in Gu Yansheng's mind. He placed his hand under the table, and gently, comfortingly, pressed it against Gu Yansheng's knee, lingering for a second.
The warmth and strength coming from the palm of his hand was like an invisible barrier, instantly dispelling the chaotic images in Gu Yansheng's mind and bringing him back to the safe present.
Gu Yansheng immediately came back to his senses and smiled at Lin Yang again, as if the slight pause just now had never happened. "It's okay, you should go back and rest. You've worked hard today, Xiaolin."
Lin Yang looked at Gu Yansheng's calm expression, then felt Jiang Lin's oppressive presence and the unspoken tacit understanding between them. Although he still had a huge doubt in his heart, he also keenly sensed the boundaries of this topic. Teacher Gu clearly didn't want to talk more, and the look in Mr. Jiang's eyes made him afraid to ask further questions.
"Okay, Teacher Gu! Mr. Jiang, I'll be leaving first!" Lin Yang tactfully held the computer and quickly left this corner shrouded in an invisible aura.
It was not until Lin Yang's figure disappeared at the door that Gu Yansheng let out a barely audible breath, completely relaxed, and picked up the chopsticks again.
Jiang Lin silently pushed the lunch box in front of him again, his eyes fixed on his face, as if silently confirming something.
Gu Yansheng gave him a faint smile that said "I'm fine" with a hint of dependence, and lowered his head to concentrate on eating.
The office was once again filled with the two of them, the aroma of warm food, and the unspoken silence. The thrilling events of the past were perfectly buried beneath the calm surface.
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