Chapter 44
When Lin Langyi returned to Laoshan Temple, the rain had already stopped.
Zhuang Lan was waiting for her at the door of her room. As soon as she saw her, she started nagging, "Why are you so late? We thought you had already gone down the mountain."
Cheng Yanjin, also with a tense expression, leaned against the door with his arms crossed. Only when he saw that she had come down the mountain safely did his expression soften slightly. He said, "I wanted to call you for dinner when it was time, but I couldn't find you. I asked around and found out that your brother had just come down. He even said that you might have already come down the mountain. I scolded him for what? What do you mean, 'come down the mountain'? There's not a trace of you! You're so old and you can't even take care of your own sister."
Zhuang Lan chimed in with a sarcastic remark, "If you don't come down soon, Cheng Yanjin will come up the mountain to find you, and there'll be no stopping him."
Lin Langyi's clothes were almost dry; you could only feel a slight dampness when you touched them. She apologized, "Sorry, it was raining heavily, so we waited for the rain to stop before we set off."
“That rain was really heavy.” Zhuang Lan had already changed her clothes. “Looking at it this way, it’s good that we braved the rain to come back. If we had waited for the rain to stop, we would have had to stay on the mountain for an hour or two, just like you.”
Lin Langyi smiled and said yes.
Cheng Yanjin looked at her and suddenly said, "You've been caught in the rain, haven't you?"
Lin Langyi paused in her hand as she opened the door, but without turning around, she continued to push the door open and entered: "What?"
“Your hair is still a little damp. It was fluffy when you left this morning,” he said, casually spreading his fingers and stroking the back of her head. As he pulled away, he looked down and examined it closely. “There are still some wisps of hair stuck to it… Is that some kind of tree root?”
Zhuang Lan leaned closer for a look and said with certainty, "I've seen it before, a banyan tree, the aerial roots of a banyan tree."
Lin Langyi's expression was slightly subtle for a moment, but she quickly calmed down and ran her hand through her hair: "It's probably because when I was passing by a banyan tree, I didn't notice my footing and almost tripped. I caught myself, and rainwater from the canopy fell down and got me a little wet."
"You tripped?" Cheng Yanjin frowned, squatted down and lifted her trouser leg. "Are you alright? Don't let me fall and you fall too, ending up in the hospital staring at each other with casts on your arms."
He moved so fast that Lin Langyi didn't have time to react before she felt a chill on her ankle.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly took two steps back, her trouser leg falling down again just as it was lifted. Cheng Yanjin's vision blurred; he could only vaguely see some redness around her ankle, but he couldn't make out what it was.
“You…” He looked up, unsure, “You look like you’ve been bitten by an insect.”
"Hmm, maybe," Lin Langyi said hastily to dismiss him. "I want to wash up and then change my clothes."
“Okay.” Cheng Yanjin didn’t suspect anything and stood up decisively, leaving her alone. “Remember to come eat after you’re done changing. There’s not much left at this hour. Luckily, I saved you a box.”
He walked out, closing the door behind him, but just as he was about to close it, he suddenly stopped, pressing his palm firmly on the latch to stop the door from closing.
“By the way…” One of his legs was still stuck in the crack of the door, which was trembling slightly. “Have you seen Brother Yu? He hasn’t come down the mountain yet either.”
"He didn't go down the mountain?" Lin Langyi raised her eyebrows at the right moment, looking surprised.
Cheng Yanjin looked at her and nodded seriously: "You didn't know? Zhuang Lan just said that Yu Ge was still with you before you broke up."
"We broke up later." Lin Langyi took her phone out of her pocket and placed it on the table. "I needed shade from the sun, and he wanted to go further ahead and see more, so I never saw him again."
"Oh." He nodded, his double standards evident. "It's alright, what's there for a man to be afraid of? He'll definitely be back soon."
*
Since it was past mealtime, Lin Langyi wasn't in a hurry and planned to freshen up before eating.
Standing under the showerhead, she carefully examined her body and first noticed the fingerprints and hickeys on her ankles.
Not only that, but at the time, in a state of confusion and infatuation, both of them... She glanced around, and after washing up, with a tense face, she rummaged through her suitcase again and pulled out long-sleeved and long-legged clothes.
It's okay to sleep with the wrong person, but it's a bit hard to judge when the person you slept with is your fiancé's best friend.
Lin Langyi didn't want this little incident to affect her normal life, nor did she want to ruin her engagement with Cheng Yanjin.
Although this seemingly inevitable marriage ultimately didn't substantially help Ying Shan Lake escape its predicament, it was because she didn't want to resort to short-sighted measures and agreed to the Cheng family's investment through equity dilution. Even so, the very signal of the Cheng and Lin families' union served as an endorsement, preventing the Lin family's partners from abandoning Ying Shan Lake during its downturn.
As for Ying Yuan… Lin Langyi dried her hair while looking at herself in the mirror… Yuan Chuyu had initially agreed to provide timely assistance through a commercial loan, and later helped the Lin family turn things around on the major sales platform. She had thought it was because of Cheng Yanjin’s influence, and that it was because of Yuan Chuyu’s noble character. Now, thinking back, could it be…
She sighed softly.
To be honest, she has very conflicted feelings about Yuan Chuyu right now. She even feels that maintaining the status quo for the three of them is the most ideal situation.
If she can manage the relationship between the two, could she maintain a business alliance that is a good match in the conventional sense, and also use it to her advantage when she is climbing the ladder, so that she can part ways with Cheng Yuandu after she has officially taken over Yingshan Lake and is on the right track?
Lin Langyi seriously considered the possibility of abandoning her after using her hair. Only after her hair was completely dry did she put down the hairdryer and smile helplessly.
She's overthinking it. She's trying to balance things out. One of them is an uncontrollable, crazy idiot who goes berserk all the time, and the other is a cunning successor to the group. Putting them together won't mitigate the risks. If they blow her up together, how will she ever live?
Lin Langyi made up her mind. After packing up, she went straight to Cheng Yanjin's room, where he said he had left her a box of vegetarian fast food.
To everyone's surprise, after knocking twice, it was Yuan Chuyu who opened the door.
He still had a towel draped over his head, and water was still dripping from the ends of his hair. A few glistening water droplets clung to his collarbone, gathered in a small hollow on his shoulder bone, and swayed with every movement.
Lin Langyi looked at him, who was wearing a round-neck cotton T-shirt without a care in the world, with the scratches on his neck and collarbone clearly exposed to the air, and her forehead started to throb.
"Lin Langyi, you're so slow!" Cheng Yanjin called from inside. "Brother Yu has already finished showering and you're only just getting here. He came down half an hour later than you."
"It took a while to blow-dry my hair." Lin Langyi glared at the man who was slowly wiping the water droplets from his neck with the corner of a towel. He looked at her innocently and wiped the marks on his collarbone again.
She walked inside, ignoring him. Cheng Yanjin leaned back lazily in his chair. When he saw her coming, he waved and put his arm on the back of her chair: "I left the food for you two while it was still hot, but you both dawdled like that."
Lin Langyi sat down next to him, and seeing Yuan Chuyu slowly following behind her, she naturally took the remaining seat.
She disliked him, so she stood up and dragged her chair closer to Cheng Yanjin.
"What are you doing?" Cheng Yanjin was helping her take apart the chopsticks and gave her a strange look.
"It's okay, this spot is in the wind, it's cold." She made up an excuse on the spot.
Cheng Yanjin looked up at the air conditioner vent, then stood up and gestured for her to come over: "Why don't we switch places?"
"Okay." Lin Langyi readily switched seats.
Yuan Chuyu sat calmly opposite her. Seeing that she wouldn't even glance at him, he lowered his head and silently began to eat.
"By the way, didn't you say you were going to watch your match last time?" Lin Langyi's real intention was not what it seemed. She bit her chopsticks and looked at Cheng Yanjin. "If I'm free tonight, I can come a few more times to cheer you on."
Cheng Yanjin suddenly opened his eyes wide. His eyes were originally round, and when they were wide open, they were deep black and bright. His eyelashes were thick and hard, pressing straight down, making his eyes look particularly sincere.
"real?"
"Um."
He seemed to radiate light, and after a moment of quiet joy, he suddenly opened his mouth as if to speak but then stopped.
He hesitated for a long time, fidgeting in his chair, glancing at her several times, before finally saying, "When you come, remember to wear high heels. If you're tall, I can spot you in the crowd at a glance."
He thought for a moment and added, "You can also wear a headband, like one of those 'Look Here' signs. I'll be killing people up here, and you can be killing people in your friends and family down here. I'll look really cool."
This person can barely utter two sentences that sound human each day.
Lin Langyi said expressionlessly, "If I didn't come over on stilts and transform into Sun Wukong to smash your head with my staff, would that be conspicuous?"
He immediately became obedient, muttering with a dejected look, "Fine, I won't wear it then..."
Lin Langyi retorted, "I was about to say something to you too! You put on a tight-fitting outfit, tie your headband, and get first place. Dress up a bit, and then I'll wear beach shorts, flip-flops, and sunglasses and be a rich woman, okay?"
He felt a pang of discomfort and turned his head to say something, but Lin Langyi waved his hand dismissively: "Never mind, I know you can't get first place."
"How is that possible!" Cheng Yanjin suddenly became excited, dragged a chair over to her, and prepared to give her a proper lesson on his glorious history.
He had just sat next to her when he suddenly saw out of the corner of his eye a hand gently placing a bowl of teriyaki vegetarian eel in front of Lin Langyi.
Lin Langyi immediately turned her gaze in that direction.
Yuan Chuyu calmly withdrew his hand. A little sauce had gotten on the web of his hand when he picked up the bowl, and he was slowly wiping it off with a handkerchief.
Lin Langyi recognized it as the handkerchief he had used to wipe her sweat by the waterfall.
The handkerchief was still resilient and didn't look dry at all.
No, has he washed it or not?
"Brother Yu, what's wrong?" Cheng Yanjin looked down at the bowl in front of Lin Langyi, then looked up at Yuan Chuyu.
“I have a bit of an allergic reaction,” he tilted his head slightly, his smooth neck revealing a graceful line, making the already noticeable, slightly raised red scratches even more eye-catching. “I still need to avoid certain foods.”
After speaking, he calmly folded the handkerchief and placed it aside, then smiled politely at Lin Langyi: "I see you really like this, perfect."
Lin Langyi stared at him for a long time.
"Your allergy is really bad this time," Cheng Yanjin commented. "You've scratched yourself like this."
Yuan Chuyu's gaze was still fixed on her face. Upon hearing this, he slowly looked down at her fingers holding the chopsticks and lingered for a moment before looking back at her and nodding: "They are gripping them quite tightly."
"No, brother." Lin Langyi smiled kindly and tapped the peach wood bowl. "This is vegetarian eel, not real seafood. Are you allergic to it too?"
He parted his lips slightly, looking a little annoyed, and apologized, "I'm not feeling well, my head is spinning... It's okay, you eat, I don't have much of an appetite."
It broadened my horizons.
Lin Langyi could hardly believe what she had just heard.
This was the first time she had ever heard a man say he felt uncomfortable after sleeping with a woman, rather than a woman.
No, who is he trying to impress with that affected act?
Who was it that held her waist and wouldn't let go yesterday, using up her entire box of [something]?
Now you're here for tea?
“This is really delicious,” Cheng Yanjin said, taking the chopsticks from her hand when no one was eating, picking up a piece for himself and putting it in his mouth. He gave her a thumbs up. “It tastes good.”
The remaining two people looked at him simultaneously, their expressions inscrutable.
Cheng Yanjin was completely unaware. After swallowing, he searched everywhere for a tissue. He turned his head and saw Yuan Chuyu's neatly folded handkerchief. He reached out to take it.
The handkerchief was immediately pressed down, with Yuan Chuyu's four fingers on it. He lifted his eyelids and glanced at Chong Chengyanjin without any emotion, then moved his handkerchief away, raised his chin, and pointed to the tissue box next to him: "There."
Cheng Yanjin, who was never one to mince words, immediately changed direction and pulled out two sheets of paper. While wiping, he said, "By the way, Lin Langyi, there's something I forgot to tell you. My dad said he's planning to buy us a house. I'm thinking of choosing Dingpu Community. After the tunnel is completed, it will be closer to the industrial park. If you go out to meet clients at night, you don't need to respond to Shanhu."
Lin Langyi understood the implication: "Living together?"
His expression was a little unnatural. He coughed and lazily leaned back in his chair, turning his head away from her: "It's to give you more places to stay. It's fully furnished, so you can move in right away. If you want to change it, you can do whatever style you want. I won't be picky."
Lin Langyi recalled what Feng Congning had said to Yuan Pingran through the door last night, saying that the Lin family had really bought a promising stock after their turnaround, and that the marriage was a happy one for the whole family.
She lowered her head and chuckled, probably trying to prevent her from getting what she was after.
Why did you suddenly think of this?
Cheng Yanjin opened his bright eyes and said very smoothly, "Because it's more convenient there, right? It's convenient for you to go anywhere, don't you like it?"
Lin Langyi looked at him, her expression gradually relaxing.
Cheng Yanjin, that idiot, probably couldn't have imagined such a roundabout way of thinking. After making the suggestion, he secretly glanced at her a few times to see if she was satisfied with Dingpu Community. He must have really considered the surrounding facilities and transportation carefully, rather than seeing this house as a cage that bound her.
Lin Langyi picked up a piece of vegetarian eel from her bowl and chewed slowly. She saw the man opposite her put down his chopsticks after talking about living together and then fell silent.
She chuckled and nodded, "Yes, it tastes really good."
Then she raised her head, took out two tissues to wipe her mouth, looked straight into Yuan Chuyu's dark and calm eyes, and readily agreed: "Okay, let's go look at a house together another day. I'll move some things over and we can live together."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
