Chapter 15
Lin Langyi noticed that Yuan Chuyu's aggressiveness seemed to have subsided considerably after the start of the second quarter.
During several passes and tug-of-wars, she kept a close watch on him, and physical contact was inevitable during the scramble for the ball. However, he, who was so aggressive and ruthless in the previous quarter, was noticeably more restrained in this quarter.
When Miao Yuanju passed the ball to her, Lin Langyi misjudged the height and failed to catch it properly; the ball flew over her and landed on the water behind her.
She clearly saw Yuan Chuyu reach out and grab the ball, but because she suddenly darted away, he missed his grasp.
She almost fell into his arms, but he seemed to be under a spell, subtly stepping back and avoiding the ball.
"Go, Ayu!" Yuan Pingran on the shore was still watching the game with a smile. "Score a few more points."
Xiao Pucheng received the ball and, facing the assembled blue team wall, made a long, angled shot, gradually closing the gap in the first quarter.
Lin Langyi felt a little strange, but she could touch the ball eight out of ten times in Yuan Chuyu's hands, with a success rate even higher than Xiao Pucheng's when facing him. She didn't know whether it was because her stamina was too excellent and she could last too long, or because Yuan Chuyu was fighting alone and his stamina was too depleted, so he couldn't keep up.
Once again, the two reached out to intercept the ball at the same time. Lin Langyi was focused on the ball in the air. By the time she realized that she had gotten too close, Yuan Chuyu had nowhere to retreat. He could have simply used his body to knock her away as she rushed towards him due to inertia, but he chose to sacrifice the timeliness of catching the ball and use his arm to block her.
The two transformed the game from a "wrestling match" into a social dance for gentlemen and ladies. When he made a move, he even made a gentlemanly gesture of holding hands, avoiding any impropriety.
The ball rolled across the water, but fortunately, Yuan Chuyu, with his long arms and legs, flicked it diagonally to the right, feeding the ball directly to Zhuang Lan.
"Well played! Such great teamwork!" Yuan Pingran clapped and exclaimed under the parasol.
Zhuang Lan was exhausted, her oval face flushed. Tao Shu was in the red team's defensive void to her right, waving her arms and calling for the pass. But Zhuang Lan gave her a disdainful look and still passed the ball to Wen Yuyang, who was further away.
Unfortunately, the pass wasn't far enough, and Yuan Fei intercepted it first, then passed it back to Lin Langyi.
Lin Langyi leaped into the water with force, not intending to catch the ball at all, but instead used the momentum of the parabola to send the ball into the goal with ease.
"Great shot!" Xiao Pucheng clapped loudly and winked at Yuan Pingran.
Lin Langyi finally had a sudden realization in those short four minutes.
Since Yuan Pingran came to watch the game, Yuan Chuyu seemed to have lost interest in winning or losing. He devoted himself to playing the role of a behind-the-scenes messenger and setter, frequently feeding the ball to Zhuang Lan and Tao Shu. Regardless of whether they could score or not, as long as the ladies were happy.
Lin Langyi, who is also a woman, was very happy.
I'm so happy!
If things continue like this, they might even pull ahead by three or four points in the second quarter. She didn't have time to marvel at Yuan Pingran's powerful ability to change the course of the game, nor did she have time to praise Yuan Chuyu's strict and admirable male virtue of keeping his distance from all women during the game.
She only wanted to take advantage of his illness and win the game in one fell swoop, so that she could use the promise he made before the game to ask for a way out.
Lin Langyi stopped holding back and, taking advantage of Yuan Chuyu's reluctance to touch her, launched a reckless attack, scoring three goals in a row.
Chu Hong and Zhuang Lan seemed to get anxious. First, they looked down on Tao Shu, who was also a girl, and refused to pass the ball to her. Then, they deliberately bumped into Yuan Fei several times, grabbed her arm and dragged her into the water. All their little actions were aimed at the girl who seemed easier to bully.
Finally, we arrived at Lin Langyi.
The formation changed, and Chu Hong and Zhuang Lan began to surround her, blocking her with menacing eyes.
Lin Langyi was twice secretly grabbed by the hair and nearly drowned, and three times her arms were pulled down. Her calves and waist were also pulled hard several times. Although she managed to crawl into the water and score a goal, she was still angered by these little tricks.
Underwater actions are not very clear from the shore, and referees will only notice them if it is a long and obvious foul.
When someone illegally grabbed her shoulder from behind and tried to steal the ball again, Lin Langyi didn't even look behind her. Without hesitation, she grabbed the other person's hand with one hand and pulled them into the water together.
Forcibly pressing down on an opponent over their shoulder and affecting their possession of the ball is a general foul. Correspondingly, in a game, there are also responsive fouls that occur when this happens. That is, when the opponent commits a general foul, the fouler uses methods such as grabbing their hand or underwater control to prevent them from pulling away in time, thus turning it into a serious foul. ①
He didn't expect that his hand was locked tightly by Lin Langyi. He wanted to pull it back but couldn't. He kicked his leg and was about to kick Lin Langyi's waist.
But Lin Langyi reacted faster, sinking directly into the water and quickly straightening her body to float, kicking back before He could kick her.
The man was forced to straighten his body because of that kick. Lin Langyi pulled him hard so that he could raise his hands high above the water to signal. To onlookers, it looked like he was swimming with his entire torso on top of Lin Langyi, which was against the rules. After three or four seconds, the referee finally blew the whistle.
The timer stopped, and Lin Langyi was pulled up from underwater with great force. As soon as she came out of the water, before she could even steady herself, a ball came flying towards her with the wind.
Lin Langyi was startled and subconsciously turned her head to step back. Her bun was in jeopardy, making her look rather pitiful.
The person who supported her was even faster. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pressed her against his body. With a quick movement of his long legs, he swung her back two meters.
The ball grazed past him and slammed into the water with a "bang," sending up a spray of water.
"You!" Zhuang Lan was supported by Chu Hong, who was shrinking back and feeling guilty and short of breath. Seeing that the ball she threw had not hit anyone, she became even more furious and pointed at Lin Langyi, cursing him angrily.
"It was clearly you who pinched and dragged me, which was a foul," Yuan Fei actually mustered up the courage to stand in front of Lin Langyi and whisper her defense. She raised her arm, which also had scratch marks from her fingernails. "You even pushed me into the water and wouldn't let me float. My nose is sore from the water."
“Yuan Fei…” Lin Langyi’s heart softened immediately. She knew how difficult it was for an introverted person to stand up and say something, so she gently pulled Yuan Fei’s hand, which earned her a shy smile.
“Serious foul, time penalty, plus a penalty kick.” The person behind Lin Langyi suddenly spoke up, his tone heavy. “Of course, swearing isn’t a serious foul, that’s a matter of manners.”
Lin Langyi froze, pausing for two seconds in disbelief before turning her head to look behind her.
Yuan Chuyu's hand was still firmly on her shoulder, making her lean most of her weight on his arm, for fear that she would lose her strength and be unable to stand after "drowning".
How could it be him?
Lin Langyi was a little confused. When she dragged others down with her, the person closest to her should have been Yuan Yinghe, while Yuan Chuyu was clearly some distance away.
Besides, even if he could swim fast enough to get there immediately, since he and Zhuang Lan were intertwined, he should have helped the one on the surface first, not gone over to try and rescue her from underwater.
Zhuang Lan was so angry that her head was spinning, but Wen Yangyu said, "We're all girls, don't take it so seriously."
"Are you kidding me?" Zhuang Lan immediately flared up. "When we're competing, I don't care if she's a man or a woman. I'd kick a stone if she were one. So what if she's a woman? Does that mean I can't let women get away with it? If she thinks she's easy to bully, then isn't it just the law of the jungle? Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I can't go after other women?"
Tao Shu retorted, "But you say that male and female stones are the same and that you treat them equally in the face of competition. In reality, you only bully those who are weaker than you. When you encounter a strong boy, you don't fight back at all. You only passed the ball to the boy just now!"
"It's all just for fun, why are you being so strict, Ayu?" Yuan Pingran spoke up at the right moment, shifting the blame for the argument onto Yuan Chuyu, and then gently brushed it off. "Xiao Lan doesn't understand all the intricacies, she's just playing along with everyone."
Yuan Chuyu ignored her and only held Lin Langyi's shoulders tightly. She struggled a few times before he suddenly snapped out of his daze and let go.
Even after releasing her, he was still worried and stared intently at her face, as if assessing her condition.
Lin Langyi shook her head: "I'm fine."
Yuan Chuyu's gaze lingered on her arm, where nail marks had been left, for a moment before he nodded slightly, turned around to receive the ball, and decided to let one of the team's best players take the penalty kick.
This penalty kick should have been a sure thing for Yuan Chuyu, but unexpectedly, whether it was a loss of touch or a mistake on the spot, the ball deviated greatly from its angle, and with a sharp momentum, it hit the goal frame and bounced straight towards the boundary.
Chu Hong was standing there with his head drooping when the ball hit him squarely on the water less than half an arm's length away, giving him quite a fright.
The ball bounced a second time and went directly out of bounds.
It really took a lot of effort.
Only then did Lin Langyi truly grasp the meaning of Xiao Pucheng's statement, "He can throw 25 meters."
Yuan Chuyu flicked his wrist, looking slightly disappointed, as if he was annoyed by his mistake.
He then greeted Chu Hong with a gentle and apologetic expression, his face showing genuine concern, as if whether he had just reprimanded Zhuang Lan or was now facing Chu Hong, he was addressing the issue, not the person.
"It's okay, I wasn't hit." Chu Hong was still shaken.
“Is that so…” Yuan Chuyu nodded casually, smiling faintly, “Then pick it up.”
Chu Hong was taken aback: "Huh?"
Yuan Chuyu pointed the ball out of bounds from afar, his smile vanishing completely, and said casually, "I said, pick it up."
Chu Hong's expression changed several times. He shrank back, not daring to say another word. He dejectedly went to retrieve the ball. After that, he became much more discreet and stopped making those sneaky moves.
Yuan Chuyu seemed tired of frequently feeding the ball to create a good show, and no longer passed the ball to Zhuang Lan as often as before. However, he himself seemed to lack interest. Even though he still had points in his hands, he only seemed to have half the energy he had in the first quarter.
With one minute left in the second quarter, the red team has two more balls. They just need to maintain the score until the time runs out.
The ball was passed to Lin Langyi again. She stuck to the tactic and stayed close to Yuan Chuyu. As usual, he blocked her while she was dribbling and swimming. The moment his hand covered her wrist, Lin Langyi's alarm bells went off.
What... the barrier that prevents physical contact has failed?
Yuan Chuyu, as expected, no longer held back. He pressed his palm against her arm, and the ball was about to obediently roll towards him. In her haste, Lin Langyi went along with it and pushed the ball completely into the water.
She used the momentum to roll and sink, and the ball was blocked by her body and couldn't float up for a while. She quickly spun around in the water, and the ball slid past her from behind.
She bumped into someone's chest again, not hard, and both of them pulled back their strength, but her already precarious bun finally came undone.
Yuan Chuyu followed her and bent down to sink underwater.
He saw her close her eyes, nimbly turn over in the water, and float on her back. Sunlight refracted through the water onto her face, shimmering like broken gold, as if a summer downpour was about to follow a comet down, but instead burned out a whole expanse of scorching fire.
Her long hair spread out, swaying with the bubbles in the water, wrapping around him like supple seaweed, making him feel like a dizzy insect caught in a spider web, unable to break free.
He saw her slowly open her eyes in the water, with a hint of surprise.
Her eyes were so bright that he could hardly bear it. A strand of hair floated on her face, like a tiny water snake crawling across his cheek, its lines twisting and turning, drilling straight into his flesh and bone, causing him to lose his mind.
He reached out and grabbed her wrist, as if bewitched or surrendering, but let the ball float to the surface and drift away.
She was pushed upwards by the buoyancy of the water, rising with the ball, but he didn't want her to leave. He just kept his head down and stared at her without blinking. A water nymph who could bewitch people should live in the water.
He saw that she was flustered, her eyes following the ball. She was flustered because the ball had gone out of control, but he was also flustered because he had completely lost control of himself.
The sun was as hot as a heart, invisible to those on the shore. The blurry underwater reflections both concealed and magnified everything, allowing him to recklessly and unrestrainedly hold onto her.
She wanted to regain control of the ball as soon as possible, and raised her chin to try to surface for air, but Yuan Chuyu kept his head down to prevent her from running away. He also wanted to regain control, even if it was just for a second underwater.
During the tug-of-war, the tip of her nose lightly bumped against his chin, and an even lighter, softer touch brushed against his cheek.
The momentary blankness silenced all the sounds around him, his breathing stopped, as if his heart had been pierced, the fire could not burn it out, could not kill him, his throat was blocked, and all his senses were instantly drained away.
"Beep beep—"
A long, drawn-out whistle, a judgment across the water.
"Foul! Brother Yu hit the wall while stepping on the ground!"
"Time's up! Congratulations to the red team for winning!"
*
Yuan Chuyu did not surface from the water even after the whistle blew.
Lin Langyi didn't notice the little incident just now at all, or rather, she didn't even realize whether she knocked Yuan Chuyu down with her hand or bumped into him with her head; it didn't matter at all.
From beginning to end, her eyes were completely focused on the ball, and she was silently counting down the attack time in her mind. Only when she saw Yuan Fei score with her own eyes did she shout excitedly.
She excitedly thought about the bet they made before the competition. After finally pulling herself out of the joy of victory, she turned around and searched for Yuan Chuyu with her eyes, only to see him just emerge from the water with a "splash," while Xiao Pucheng was still shouting, "You fell asleep in the water?"
As soon as Yuan Chuyu got out of the water, he started coughing. He covered half of his face with his hands and coughed so hard that his shoulders were shaking. His skin was fair, but the side of his face and neck that wasn't covered by his hands were flushed red as if he had drunk a glass of strong liquor. His ears were even redder and bleeding.
"Did you choke on water?" Xiao Pucheng was very surprised, staring at him as if he were looking at some earth-shattering mystery. "Or did you get a cramp? But that doesn't make sense. After two rounds of warm-up, that should be enough. How could you have choked on water?"
Yuan Chuyu had no time to answer him; his cough made Lin Langyi's heart, liver, spleen, and stomach tremble.
She finally remembered that she might have bumped into him while dribbling. Could it be that he was knocked underwater by her and accidentally drowned a couple of times?
"I'm sorry." She quickly swam over to apologize, but before she could reach him with her outstretched hand, Yuan Chuyu suddenly turned his head and gave her a sharp look.
His eyes were misty with tears, and the corners of his eyes were red, as if they had been stimulated by the water, causing physiological tears to mix with the pool water and making them difficult to see clearly.
His wisps of hair, soaked through, clung to his forehead, partially obscuring his eyes and giving his clear, bright eyes an indescribable quality with every glance.
Lin Langyi was stunned for a moment, but noticed that even his eyelids were tinged with a thin layer of crimson, making him look extremely beautiful.
Is his cough...that bad?
"I'm fine." Yuan Chuyu turned around quickly after just one glance, completely turning his back to Lin Langyi. His voice was hoarse and his neck was tense, probably a temporary aftereffect of coughing.
On the shore, Yuan Pingran seemed a little worried and asked several times. Yuan Chuyu covered the lower half of his face with one hand and waved the other hand to say it was alright.
He swam towards the shore, intending to go directly ashore. He stretched out his arm and grabbed the handrail next to the escalator, but just as he was about to get ashore, he suddenly stopped and asked someone for a towel.
The towel was quickly thrown down, along with the T-shirt he had previously pulled over his head. He casually wiped his face and hair, and put on the clothes while still wet, without even drying himself off on the shore.
He tugged at the hem of his loose clothes, frowned almost imperceptibly, and remained in the water asking for a towel until he finally came ashore wearing a bathrobe that covered his calves.
"Ah Yu, are you alright?" Yuan Pingran asked with concern, but didn't check his condition carefully. She only tugged at his bathrobe sleeve to stop him from leaving. "Should we ask Zhuang Lan—"
"mom."
Yuan Chuyu was tying the belt of his bathrobe with his head slightly lowered. He stopped coughing, and the vulnerability he had just shown was like a ray of sunlight occasionally leaking through the clouds, which quickly returned to normal.
He took a step to the side, brushed her hand away through the soft bathrobe, and said indifferently, "The game is over. Zhuang Lan and I are not teammates."
He looked up at his adoptive mother, as if he were talking about Zhuang Lan, but it seemed he was talking about more than just Zhuang Lan:
“I’ve made this clear a long time ago, more than once: I cultivate my own land and don’t work as a farmhand for others. You’re a smart person, you understand, right?”
Yuan Pingran's dignified and serene smile disappeared. Her elegant face was as beautiful as a painting even when she wasn't smiling, but at this moment she looked somewhat cold.
"I'm going back to my room to shower." Yuan Chuyu left, leaving Yuan Pingran with an unreadable expression.
The rest of the people dispersed in small groups. Yuan Fei had been waiting for Lin Langyi with a large bath towel. The two walked through the garden, intending to go back to their room to freshen up. When they passed the pavilion, they found that the desserts on the tea table had been replenished.
Lin Langyi would have been fine if she hadn't seen it, but once she did, she felt so hungry that her stomach was practically sticking to her back. The two games she had just played had exhausted her.
She turned and headed straight for her favorite lychee mousse. There was only one serving left on the plate, which she had reluctantly given up, but now the plate was full.
The cream was icy cold, and the lychee flesh was very sweet and fresh; you could tell it was incredibly fresh the moment you tasted it.
“We got the most lychee mousse,” Yuan Fei gestured and whispered in Lin Langyi’s ear, “We added a little of everything else, but we made a whole plate of lychee mousse.”
"It must be because the pastry chef has the same taste as me." Lin Langyi agreed wholeheartedly, his mouth bulging.
*
Back in her room, Lin Langyi finished washing up thoroughly and checked her phone while drying her hair. She was carefully considering how to start a conversation with Yuan Chuyu when she noticed several messages on her phone. Yuan Chuyu had sent her a WeChat message fifteen minutes earlier:
I'll be waiting for you in the room later; we can discuss the pearl wholesale market.
Lin Langyi abruptly turned off the hairdryer, ignoring the fact that her hair was still damp, changed her clothes, and went to knock on the door next door.
The door opened after the second knock.
Yuan Chuyu changed into a new bathrobe. His hair was not dry at all, and it lay obediently down. Water droplets rolled down and spread into light round spots on the bathrobe, and his whole body was shrouded in water vapor.
"Please come in." He stepped back two paces to invite her in.
As Lin Langyi passed by the bathroom, she noticed it was still steamy and felt a little embarrassed: "Am I disturbing you? Are you still washing up?"
"No disturbance, just right." Yuan Chuyu habitually locked the door after closing it, but only realized something was wrong when he heard the lock tighten. He immediately turned the lock around and opened it.
Lin Langyi laughed: "So Brother Yu takes so long to take a shower."
He was clearly the first to return to his room, but now his hair was wet and the bathroom was steamy, indicating that he had just finished showering.
Yuan Chuyu lowered his eyelashes and looked up, saying, "I'm not usually this slow."
He led her into the reception room, and instead of sitting on the double couch, he moved a single leather sofa over from the other side. The heavy chair legs rustled against the carpet until they were facing each other. This almost knee-to-knee distance made the conversation more equal, casual, and private.
Seeing that she was becoming somewhat reserved again, he didn't say anything. Instead, he placed a soft cushion behind her to make her more comfortable, trying to help her relax from her guarded and tense state.
Snacks and clean cups were prepared on the coffee table in advance. He picked up a pot of warm flower tea, and the steam from the pot wafted up, emitting a rich and full aroma.
He asked, "Would you like some tea? It's good to replenish fluids after strenuous exercise."
"Oh, thank you."
He turned to pour her tea, his every move elegant and refined, his actions skillful and graceful, flowing smoothly and naturally, truly giving one the pleasant feeling of leisurely brewing tea to while away the time.
He asked casually, "You're still so young, why are you engaged so early?"
"Is it early?" Lin Langyi sniffed the fragrant tea. "I heard that people of your status started getting to know each other back in high school because of family connections."
"I don't."
“You have high standards, and Yingyuan is no ordinary person either, so of course he will be even more cautious.”
Yuan Chuyu ran his long, jade-like fingers along the inside of the cup a few times, then turned to look at her with a smile on his lips: "It is quite tall."
Lin Langyi tried to get to the point, carefully saying, "Mr. Yuan, I—"
"What did you call me?" he suddenly interrupted her.
Lin Langyi's mental draft was interrupted, and before he could reply, he tapped the rim of the cup with his long finger, released it, and leaned back in his chair: "Yan Jin and I have been friends for over ten years, closer than brothers. He calls me 'brother,' and you..."
He paused for two seconds, then smiled faintly: "Of course I'll treat you as one of my own."
Lin Langyi breathed a sigh of relief and closed the distance between them: "Thank you, Brother Yu."
Hearing her call him that, his smile deepened, his eyebrows arched slightly, and he slowly finished the second half of his sentence: "However, Lin's Pearl is quite capable. Even if you weren't Yan Jin's fiancée, I would still cooperate with you."
He emphasized the words "not his fiancée" with extra force, but Lin Langyi didn't think much of it and was instantly delighted.
Her face flushed with excitement, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. She leaned half her body against the sofa armrest to get closer to him, thanking him several times.
Yuan Chuyu smiled gently as well. He casually placed one arm on her armrest, moving closer to her with a more approachable yet subtly possessive gesture.
He said slowly, “Although the price of pearls has risen and your products are of superior quality, they are still lower in value than sea pearls, and your brand effect is also average. I am thinking of taking advantage of the online transaction’s advantage of ‘one point to the whole country’ to combine production and sales.”
He glanced at her and said, "Whoever can establish the benchmark and reference price in the industry on this platform will strengthen their pricing power and influence."
"In addition, all pearls on the platform will be centrally stored in a standardized warehouse, with financial institutions, exchanges and other third parties jointly providing endorsement. If a holder urgently needs financing, he/she can obtain a low-cost loan directly from a bank with the warehouse entry certificate."
He gazed intently at her face, coaxing her, "It suits the current Lin family perfectly... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it solved their immediate crisis."
Lin Langyi excitedly scratched at the leather of the armrest, completely unaware that their little fingers were almost touching. The slight skin contact made the man opposite her breathe slightly erratically, his eyelashes trembled a few times, and a light blush began to spread across his ears.
He was considering whether to be more direct: if she rejected the arranged marriage, everything would—
Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door.
"Lin Langyi, do you have my room key too?"
Yuan Chuyu was suddenly startled, and the smile on his lips froze, as if he had been rudely shaken awake from a deep dream by an uninvited guest.
"Ah, coming." Lin Langyi immediately got up to open the door. The little fingers of the two of them, which had been huddled together like small animals seeking warmth, immediately fell into an empty loneliness as she withdrew without a second thought.
As soon as the door opened, Cheng Yanjin strode in. Before even glancing inside, he hurriedly poured out his grievances to Lin Langyi: "Cheng Yangkang is really quick to act. He and your parents leaked the news that our two families are going to get married. It's all for the sake of the stock price—."
Lin Langyi, with her back to the room, pinched him hard with her fingernails.
Cheng Yanjin jolted when she pinched him, immediately swallowing the rest of the sentence, "They'll stop at nothing to boost the stock price," and yelled at her, "What are you doing...?"
Lin Langyi loosened her nails, her fingers sliding down his arm as if nothing had happened, and took his hand with practiced ease, as if she had done it a thousand times before.
Cheng Yanjin immediately pulled his hand back as if he had been electrocuted, his face turning red instantly: "What, what are you doing...?"
Lin Langyi grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.
As Yuan Chuyu just said, these are brothers. Considering they are brothers, and given the strength of the Lin family pearls themselves, wouldn't that be icing on the cake? Announcing the marriage is a good thing; it will convince Yuan Chuyu that she is truly family.
Lin Langyi half-pulled, half-draggled Cheng Yanjin in front of Yuan Chuyu. Their hands were intertwined, and she stood close to him, suddenly appearing petite and dependent in front of his tall and strong body.
Despite his muscular physique, Cheng Yanjin was verbally abusive, but physically weak and easily pulled inside by her.
He was startled when he first saw Yuan Chuyu, but the next second he habitually greeted him warmly, "Brother Yu."
After calling out that, Cheng Yanjin noticed Yuan Chuyu's damp hair and the loosely draped bathrobe, and for some reason, a strange feeling arose in his heart.
He asked in surprise, "What are you doing in my room?"
Yuan Chuyu's gaze fell lightly on the ten fingers clasped together in front of him. He had already withdrawn his arm from the armrest of the sofa where Lin Langyi had been sitting, and his handsome and clean face had a natural coldness at this moment.
Lin Langyi smiled broadly: "Brother Yu was talking to me about a collaboration just now."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Yanjin breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know why he had been so anxious just a moment ago... Ah, it turns out it was about the bulk commodity market.
However, he stood high above, while Yuan Chuyu leaned casually against the back of the chair. From the angle above, one could see the smooth lines of his shoulders and neck and the sharp curve of his collarbone, with a few water stains still visible in the hollow.
Cheng Yanjin felt that strange thought rising in his mind again... Yuan Chuyu used to be very proper and generous when he was doing business, even if he wasn't dressed in a suit and tie. He had never seen him talk about serious matters in such a casual and homely manner, as if he were talking to his own people.
This must be the first time Lin Langyi has met Yuan Chuyu, right?
Cheng Yanjin grasped Lin Langyi's hand in return, inexplicably enveloping her entire hand in his palm, and pulled her back a step.
He even turned his head and glanced at her quickly, trying to see if she noticed the faint outline of Yuan Chuyu's skin beneath his loosely closed bathrobe.
Lin Langyi had nothing but business on her mind, and excitedly emphasized, "Brother Yu said you two have a very close relationship, so he considers me one of his own."
Seeing how happy she was, Cheng Yanjin nodded and teased her, "That's right, she's even calling him Brother Yu now."
He stepped to the side, blocking half of Lin Langyi's shoulder, and said to Yuan Chuyu, who had been sitting on the sofa without saying a word, in the posture of a protector and leader: "She's been nagging me for days, it's really annoying. Brother, if you think her family's business is viable, why don't you take care of it for her?"
Yuan Chuyu remained silent, unusually expressionless.
He didn't laugh, but he still nodded and said calmly, "Listing a product on the bulk market is not like putting a cake in a shop window, something you can put on the day you think of it... I started preparing for this several months ago."
He looked at Lin Langyi and said calmly, "It was only officially confirmed more than half a month ago."
Lin Langyi was taken aback, recalling that it was the day Yuan Chuyu visited the Lin family more than half a month ago.
He had planned to cooperate with the Lin family from the very beginning, and he was well aware of the gill rot incident. However, he did not intend to discard the Lin family as a pawn, but rather to continue to support them.
Lin Langyi felt a mix of emotions. To be honest, she always kept her distance when she was with Yuan Chuyu because she always thought that scions of noble families could be elegant and well-mannered in front of strangers who were not involved in any conflicts of interest. But when there was a conflict of interest, or behind the scenes, who knew what the situation was like?
She hadn't expected that Yuan Chuyu was truly a magnanimous gentleman. Perhaps, as his driver, who spent every day with him, praised, he was indeed upright and honest.
Lin Langyi said sincerely, "I'll contact you again about the relevant procedures later, okay? I invited you to the aquaculture pond before, but you haven't had time."
Yuan Chuyu looked at her, knowing she was referring to his continued silence on WeChat. This matter could have been brought back to the forefront.
But, but...
He gave a slight, faint smile: "It's you again?"
"Brother Yu."
"Hmm." He lowered his eyes and calmly looked away. "I'll have the managers in charge of this project contact you later."
"Okay!" Lin Langyi smiled, her eyes crinkling. The matter was successfully concluded, and she planned to take the next ferry to leave. After finishing this cup of flower tea, she would go back to her room first.
The two brothers were left in the room. Since Cheng Yanjin had arrived, Yuan Chuyu intended to return the room to him. The two sat idly for a while, and Cheng Yanjin still couldn't hold back his words: "Brother Yu, what are you doing in this room? Are you tired of staying in the long-term presidential suite?"
Yuan Chuyu lifted the lid of the porcelain-white soda-glazed teapot, and slowly scooped out the white tea, rose petals, hawthorn, and dried tangerine peel one by one with a thin-handled spoon, drained them, and then discarded them. He then carried the teapot by the handle to the washroom and poured out the light purplish-red tea in one gulp.
Cheng Yanjin followed, crossed his arms, and leaned against the door frame, watching him slowly and methodically wash the teapot. His expression was somewhat strange: "When did you start drinking flower tea? Isn't this something women drink?"
Yuan Chuyu did not answer, continuing to concentrate on his work. Cheng Yanjin, unable to contain his impatience, began to inquire about what had happened that day.
The washroom was cramped, and any sound would echo. Yuan Chuyu's ears were ringing, and he finally frowned slightly and reached out to turn off the water.
The clattering noise abruptly stopped, and Cheng Yanjin paused in his remaining words, leaving the room eerily quiet for a few seconds.
Yuan Chuyu placed one hand on the marble countertop, his half-arm, with its sleeve rolled up, was covered in water, which was dripping down.
He kept his slightly bowed posture and glanced at him sideways: "I'm here because you asked me to take care of Lin Langyi."
He straightened up slowly, his posture as upright as a pine tree, his calm and indifferent face without a trace of a smile, and his soft white bathrobe made him look even less aggressive.
But his tone was somewhat harsh: "Chu Hong and Zhuang Lan were not very friendly to her. Cheng Yanjin, it's your fault. You slighted her without her noticing, which forced her to spend so much time and effort dealing with them."
Cheng Yanjin was stunned, never expecting this sudden accusation. The inexplicable unease in his chest was interrupted, and his thoughts were forced to follow it.
He felt deeply wronged: "What does this have to do with me?"
Yuan Chuyu withdrew his gaze, drained the water from the cleaned pot and lid, and strode out of the bathroom.
As they passed each other, he lowered his eyes and whispered, "You should treat her better."
Cheng Yanjin's mind was in turmoil. He stood by the door for a long time before suddenly turning around as if he remembered something, his tone becoming fierce: "What did that brat Chu Hong do? And why is Zhuang Lan at odds with Lin Langyi?"
He bombarded her with questions like a firecracker, and without waiting for Yuan Chuyu's reply, he impatiently turned around and went straight to Lin Langyi: "Forget it, I'll just go ask her."
Cheng Yanjin left in a hurry, and after opening the door, he flung it open, causing the door to slam heavily against the doorstop and vibrate a few times.
Yuan Chuyu sat back down on the single sofa, staring blankly at the untouched desserts on the coffee table, his gaze unfocused and drifting aimlessly into the air.
He felt a little tired, and he told himself it was probably because he hadn't played water polo in a long time. After sweating it out, being alone all by himself would inevitably lead to a huge emptiness.
Yuan Pingran's call came as no surprise. He snapped out of his dazed state and pressed the answer button.
She got straight to the point as always: "I was too hasty today. Zhuang Lan's family is just in the hotel industry, it's just that they've become quite influential. If you don't have any ideas, I won't bring it up again. But don't forget to maintain the proper appearances."
Yuan Chuyu pressed his temples: "I'm afraid that if we just keep doing the bare minimum, you'll end up being fooled too... I told you from the beginning not to waste your time on this, didn't I?"
Yuan Pingran softened her tone, taking a conciliatory approach: "Mom is only anxious because Xiao Jin has settled down. He's two years younger than you."
After laying the groundwork, her tone suddenly changed: "You and that young lady from the Lin family seemed to get along quite well today."
Yuan Chuyu's fingers, which were loosely resting on the armrest, twitched slightly. The fog that had been obscuring his vision vanished instantly, as if someone had suddenly pressed a dagger against his throat, and everything tensed up.
He blinked slowly, his voice turning cold: "Am I crazy?"
"Leaving aside my relationship with Yan Jin, why would I like his fiancée? Besides, the jewelry business that Cheng's company is involved in has a symbiotic relationship with Ying Yuan, so do you think I'm crazy to do something so harmful and without any benefit?"
He spoke these words without the slightest hesitation; all the reasons for his denial poured out like water, as if he had drafted these arguments a thousand times in his mind, so much so that when he actually spoke them, his mind was blank and chaotic, and he didn't need to consider or rehearse them at all.
Yuan Pingran added another question, showing that she still cared most about tangible benefits: "Then why did you suddenly decide to include the Lin family in that bulk commodity market platform you created?"
“If your secretary were still useful, she should have reported this to you half a month ago,” Yuan Chuyu said calmly. “I’ve been to Yingshan Lake. Even if her family can’t rise to the top overnight, they will make a remarkable comeback. I’m just doing business.”
“But I heard that there’s been some trouble at Yingshan Lake. This deal you’re making is really unlike your usual style. It’s more like gambling or doing someone a favor.”
Yuan Chuyu remained silent for two seconds, and inexplicably recalled the scene when he asked Lin Langyi for a reason. At that time, he said that even if it could not be used to persuade him, it should at least be used to appease others.
He tilted his head back and laughed silently, leaning against the sofa back. In the end, Lin Langyi couldn't come up with a reason for him, and he tried to think for many days but still couldn't come up with a clumsy excuse.
"Because of Yan Jin's sake," he said casually. "Haven't you heard? The Cheng and Lin families have announced their marriage alliance."
This reason was indeed the most appropriate. Yuan Pingran was reassured and praised with a smile, "Yes, you have always been very good at social maneuvering and know how to handle interpersonal relationships. Very good."
After hanging up the phone, Yuan Chuyu sat wearily for a while before typing on his phone, intending to have his project manager meet with Lin Langyi on a later date.
He thought that helping her was just out of friendship, and just to lay the groundwork for the future Cheng Lin alliance. He had no other intentions. He was just a little distracted and had a vague feeling of liking her. It didn't matter. He could sort things out quickly and get everything back on track.
Life is always like this: rational yet passionately crazy, elegantly and soberly insane. But as time goes by, those once breathtaking moments will eventually fade, and those cries that were thought to be swan songs may very well be proven to be failures in the end.
He was able to make the most self-interested and correct decisions in every choice, and he could foresee that getting entangled with Lin Langyi would inevitably be a mistake.
So this is for the best. Yuan Chuyu wanted to be glad that he hadn't said that sentence just now, and tried desperately to curl the corners of his lips and remain indifferent, but in the end he could only stare blankly into space.
Just do it the way it was before. I haven't replied to her messages before, and I'm trying to let them sink to the bottom of the list so I can't see them and won't toss and turn at night.
As long as this is maintained—
A message popped up on the phone he was holding in his palm. He paused for a second, his thoughts coming true.
A message popped up from a seashell and pearl icon from a fairy tale, and that little red notification had never been so eye-catching.
He held back for a long time, his finger hovering over the red dot, wanting to swipe it away but hesitating. The message before the unopened message read, "Brother Yu, I really..."
Is it really that good?
He conjured up many answers in his mind, making something as simple as clicking to find the answer incredibly complicated, and deriving a strange pleasure from this guessing, as if he had really been chatting with her for a long time.
Yuan Chuyu eventually clicked in; as long as he didn't reply, it would be fine.
Pearl: [Brother Yu, I'm really happy, thank you for your hospitality today. Next time you come to Yingshan Lake, I'll take you boating to collect pearl oysters, open them up on the spot and make them into jewelry, it's a lot of fun.] (14:31)
Okay. (14:37)
Yuan Yinghe also sent five or six photos, all taken while playing water polo. Judging from the angle, they were probably taken by Yuan Fei from the shore. He probably selected the ones that were relevant to him and sent them to him.
Yuan Chuyu flipped through the pages a few times, finally stopping at the fourth one. In that picture, he raised his hand and held the ball high, while Lin Langyi stretched her body and arms, trying her best to reach it but couldn't. When he looked down, he saw her trying so hard, and the image of her confidently stating 171cm came to mind. He couldn't help but laugh.
The two were very close, their heads touching when they looked up and down, the comet on her swimsuit almost brushing against him.
In the photo, Lin Langyi is facing away from the camera, so his expression is not visible. However, the camera captures his relaxed expression and radiant smile, so vibrant that even he himself was unaware of his own joy at that moment.
Yuan Chuyu's fingers gently traced the comet pattern on the girl's waist in the photo, and he thought of the remaining two swimsuits. He felt that Chu Hong had made a very good point today:
You would definitely look good in this sparkly dress.
Yes, it's inlaid with small seashells and pearls. In Persian mythology, pearls are said to be the tears of the gods, which suits her perfectly.
He chose this outfit at first sight, but fearing that the white veil over his swimming cap would make his intentions too obvious, he chose two other outfits in an attempt to blend in.
Unfortunately, just as she didn't choose him, she also didn't choose that dress.
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