Chapter 73
Lin Langyi woke up late that day due to some uncontrollable factors, so she didn't eat the breakfast that was left outside the door at home, but packed it up and ate it on her way to the company.
Cheng Yanjin was driving, and she was enjoying her meal in the passenger seat.
When she arrived at Yingshan Lake, she had just finished drinking the last sip of milk and wiped her mouth with a tissue.
"I'll be going now, I'll be quite busy lately, you—" She folded the used tissue and prepared to throw it away after getting out of the car. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cheng Yanjin, with a serious expression, staring intently at something through the car window.
She looked over blankly and saw a familiar black Bentley with two people talking beside it.
Lin Xiangshuo was facing away from this side, while Yuan Chuyu was leaning slightly against the car door.
The two seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation, especially Lin Xiangshuo. Even though his back was turned and his expression was not visible, his excited movements, such as bending forward and backward, showed his excitement.
With a "click," the seatbelt unbuckled, and Cheng Yanjin opened the car door to get out without even turning off the engine.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Lin Langyi grabbed him quickly.
It seemed like an illusion, but the moment Cheng Yanjin was stopped by her, his arm suddenly stiffened and bulged, like a hard rock.
He didn't turn his head, and his voice sounded normal: "What's wrong?"
Lin Langyi frantically searched for her mask: "Your face! Didn't we agree that you'd take a day off today and wouldn't come to work if you weren't around?"
"Oh...yes." His shoulders relaxed, and he turned to watch her remove her mask, glossing over the matter, "I forgot about that."
“My brother is still here.” Lin Langyi handed him the mask, peeked out, and met Yuan Chuyu’s calm and composed gaze.
Through the car window film, he shouldn't have been able to see her clearly, but the moment their eyes met, her heart skipped a beat, as if she were being precisely targeted by a sniper rifle through the thick fog.
She was the first to look away, and instead saw Cheng Yanjin staring at her silently.
“Well, so I thought I’d go down and say hello,” he said, his gaze intense, his eyes fixed on her. “Isn’t Brother Yu here too? There’s no reason for me to just walk away without showing my face.”
Lin Langyi couldn't dissuade him, so she could only go along with him and watch as he put on his mask properly before the two of them got out of the car together.
Cheng Yanjin got out of the car but didn't walk over first. Instead, he walked around to the passenger side to help her out, put one arm around her waist, closed the car door with the other, and then walked to the side together.
As they approached, Yuan Chuyu nodded to Cheng Yanjin across Lin Xiangshuo to greet him. Lin Xiangshuo abruptly stopped his rambling, turned around, saw his sister and brother-in-law, and also warmly greeted them with "Good morning."
After saying that, she saw Cheng Yanjin wearing a mask and asked with concern, "Yanjin, do you have a cold?"
Lin Langyi's gaze was firm, and her words were resolute: "Yes!"
"Brother Yu, you're here so early in the morning?" Cheng Yanjin didn't intend to reply, he just casually mentioned it.
"I have something to discuss with President Lin." Yuan Chuyu smiled slightly, without specifying whether President Lin was Lin Langyi or Lin Xiangshuo.
Lin Xiangshuo naturally assumed it was him, and rubbed his hands together nervously and excitedly, then smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
Cheng Yanjin shifted his gaze from Yuan Chuyu, but his arm tightened seemingly unintentionally, pulling Lin Langyi close to him, inseparable: "Let's talk about investment?"
Both of them had asked Lin Xiangshuo for funds before, so it wasn't surprising. Yuan Chuyu nodded, but didn't say whether he agreed or not.
Cheng Yanjin glanced at Lin Langyi out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was calm and composed, and did not seem to show any anxiety about the possibility that Lin Xiangshuo might receive investment.
Cheng Yanjin couldn't help but overthink.
There are two possibilities. One is that she doesn't publicly break ties with her brother, so she herself wasn't initially aware of the competition between her and Lin Xiangshuo.
Secondly, she knew perfectly well that Yuan Chuyu would not agree to invest, which is why she remained so calm and composed.
Cheng Yanjin stomped his toes on the ground, ignoring Lin Xiangshuo's life or death, and bluntly asked, "Really? Then, Brother Yu, are you going to vote?"
Lin Xiangshuo jumped, afraid that he had said something that would kill the conversation, and quickly waved his hand to separate the two of them, calling out, "Hey hey hey: We're still talking, we're still talking."
“I heard that the Zhuang family might invest a portion,” Lin Langyi suddenly said, her face natural and her smile sweet. “It’s all thanks to Yan Jin; Miss Zhuang Lan only agreed because of him.”
This news hadn't been revealed before, and Lin Xiangshuo was both surprised and delighted by this unexpected windfall: "Really?!"
“Yes.” Lin Langyi looked at him with a smile. “It seems that the investment amount is not low. Yan Jin felt embarrassed that his family did not invest, so he came to recommend them many times. Fortunately, he finally won over the bookmaker.”
She took the initiative to hug Cheng Yanjin's arm, feigning a shy and embarrassed look: "Brother, you don't know, Zhuang Lan and Yanjin have known each other since they were little. Now she has a say in the company, so this matter was successfully arranged through Yanjin's connections... Oh dear, he's tight-lipped. When you came to the house to talk to him, he was afraid that things weren't finalized and didn't dare to reveal anything. But I received news this morning that it's a done deal. I'm a big mouth, so congratulations in advance."
These words made Lin Xiangshuo ecstatic. In fact, asking Cheng's for investment was a last resort, because while catching his breath, there was also the possibility of distributing the shares to Lin Langyi. After all, husband and wife are one, and when it comes to closeness, the Lin-Cheng community of interests is definitely closer.
However, the big players are different; they operate on a completely independent line, making them the safest and most ideal investors.
He just needs to ensure that no single shareholder occupies too large a share, so as to prevent being sidelined and having control removed.
"When can I have a proper chat with Miss Zhuang?" Lin Xiangshuo was increasingly delighted. "Both of my companies are in G City, which is on the coast and has a suitable climate. If she's willing, she can come and give guidance and watch, or she can come to the beach to collect seashells and go diving in the sea."
Lin Langyi naturally understood Lin Xiangshuo's implication: Zhuang Lan's investment was large, so they should split it into two companies, each investing a portion, thus diluting the Zhuang family's voting power over a single company.
“Okay,” she said lightly. “Whenever you have time, brother, come to my house for a cup of tea. I’ll have Yan Jin Zuo Dong invite Miss Zhuang over.”
Lin Xiangshuo's excitement faltered, and he became somewhat embarrassed, saying awkwardly, "That day, I came at the wrong time; you weren't home."
"It's nothing." Lin Langyi seemed oblivious to the subtle, naive charm in her words. She smiled radiantly. "Our whole family needs to work together to prosper. I'll ask Yuan Fei later to see if she and her brother are interested."
Lin Xiangshuo was somewhat wary of Yuan Fei, who was a core figure and veteran of the design department in Ying Shan Lake, but then he thought that the Yuan family couldn't possibly come up with too much money, after all, this Yuan was not the same as that Yuan.
He glanced at Yuan Chuyu, who was standing quietly to the side, and thought to himself that, after looking at everything, Ying Yuan's food still tasted the best.
While I'm in City A these next few days, I should try to secure Ying Yuan's investment as soon as possible. Yuan Chuyu should still have a decent impression of me, considering I jumped in to save him after he fell into the water last time.
Moreover… Lin Xiangshuo looked at his sister and saw that half of her shoulder was leaning on Cheng Yanjin’s chest. The two looked very affectionate, and he swallowed back the words he wanted to say.
Lin Xiangshuo invited, "President Yuan, why don't we stop standing outside and come inside so we can sit down and talk things over?"
Yuan Chuyu straightened up, pulled his legs back, and took his hands out of his pockets to rest on the car door, politely declining: "I have a rather important meeting this morning, let's talk another time."
Knowing how busy his important friend was, Lin Xiangshuo was somewhat discouraged, but he still bid farewell to him warmly and followed the car all the way to the parking lot entrance to direct the security booth to let people through, in order to show his enthusiasm.
Lin Langyi nodded and said goodbye, her tone neither warm nor cold. Cheng Yanjin didn't need to say anything more; what kind of relationship did he and Yuan Chuyu have that required any formalities?
Normally, he would always beam and lean in to hook his arm around his good friend's shoulder and chat for a few minutes, or ask him if he wanted to have dinner together tonight. But today, he was unusually quiet and didn't say a word. He just wrapped his arms around Lin Langyi and acted as a human cushion.
After watching Yuan Chuyu's car leave, Cheng Yanjin turned his gaze back, leaned down, and whispered in Lin Langyi's ear, "Does Brother Yu always come to discuss matters in person?"
“Yes,” Lin Langyi answered frankly. “You don’t even know how close Ying Shan Lake’s cooperation with Ying Yuan is now. Yuan Chuyu is a workaholic, and he brought people to finalize many documents and contracts.”
Cheng Yanjin looked down and saw her long, curled eyelashes fluttering occasionally as she spoke. He said, "Oh? Is he so busy that he still has to do everything himself? If Yingyuan is this big, how many parts does he have to split it into to keep it running properly?"
Lin Langyi glanced at him with some surprise: "The close cooperation is because the individual order amount is large and the number of orders is also large. This is also because a win-win cooperation has led to a long-term cooperation. One contract is enough. Why do we need to come here to sign contracts every day?"
Seeing her composed expression, Cheng Yanjin loosened his grip on her arm slightly.
"Okay." He rubbed her wrist. "Then you go to work and I'll come pick you up tonight."
After the two separated, Cheng Yanjin got back into the car, started the engine, but didn't drive away immediately.
He sat quietly in the driver's seat for a moment, his arms crossed and resting on the steering wheel, before burying his head deeply in his arms.
The cold air blowing on his face from both sides gradually cooled his wildly beating heart. He felt very calm now, and the decision he made was made after careful consideration.
Although he had been detached from the Cheng family business for a long time and only recently took over, this did not prevent him from being immersed in this environment since childhood.
Lin Langyi had previously rejected Cheng's investment in Lin Xiangshuo's company because he wanted to take advantage of his illness and seize the opportunity to take a bite out of the company in G City.
Therefore, Zhuang Lan, who was suddenly mentioned today, should only be a nominal shareholder chosen by Lin Langyi, while the actual shareholder in power behind the scenes is Lin Langyi herself.
She is looking for a suitable "mask" to slowly erode the equity of G City.
This facade is hard to find because the names listed at the shareholders' meeting and the signatures on the shareholding agreement will be those of the nominal shareholder. Whether Zhuang Lan, as the nominal shareholder, can wholeheartedly attend the meeting on behalf of Lin Langyi depends entirely on their private agreement and the conscience of this nominal shareholder.
After all, if the two parties really fall out, legally speaking, the rights and interests of the nominal shareholder with complete formalities will inevitably be protected. As for the private contracts between the actual shareholder and the nominal shareholder, it is difficult for outsiders to judge, and their rights are difficult to be truly protected by law.
Lin Lang was struggling to find a nominal shareholder who was both trustworthy and appeared to be unrelated to her in front of Lin Xiangshuo.
Judging from Lin Xiangshuo's lack of interest when he heard Yuan Fei's name, he knew that none of Lin Langyi's close friends and sisters would be on the list.
Therefore, her strategy should be to put the majority of the money under Zhuang Lan's name, and then distribute the rest in smaller amounts to people like Yuan Fei.
Cheng Yangkang is very well-informed. He called me at around 6 a.m. this morning to say that he was already discussing investing in G City with Lin Liaoyuan.
Cheng Yanjin strongly opposed it at the time, but Cheng Yangkang ignored his protests. When he got impatient, he even said, "If you don't want to invest, then don't invest. It's not like the Cheng family gave you all of their assets. I'll invest, and then these shares can go to Xiao Ning and the baby in her belly."
"Tsk..." Cheng Yanjin scratched his head in frustration. At this moment, he regretted not taking power and establishing a firm foothold earlier like Yuan Chuyu. Otherwise, there would be no chance for others to bargain with him.
After much deliberation, Cheng Yanjin decided to make himself another nominal shareholder, "Yuan Fei".
He bit off a piece of flesh; it belonged to Lin Langyi. Once he got past Lin Xiangshuo, everything else would be fine.
He and Lin Langyi will definitely not face the dilemma of severing their rights; what's his is hers.
Cheng Yanjin lowered his head, turned on his phone screen, and then stared blankly as it went back off. He repeated this several times, and the last image that appeared in his mind was Yuan Chuyu.
Lin Xiangshuo was talking to Yuan Chuyu. If Yuan Chuyu succeeded in closing this deal, Lin Langyi's dream of taking over two companies in G City would be shattered.
Cheng Yanjin still had questions about the current relationship between Yuan Chuyu and Lin Langyi, but he was perfectly clear that Yuan Chuyu was a shrewd capitalist.
No matter what, Yuan Chuyu would never do something that would harm business interests for the sake of a few dollars.
Cheng Yanjin pressed the dial button, the call connected, and he said to Lin Xiangshuo in a calm voice, "Come to the parking lot, I want to talk to you about investments."
*
Lin Langyi only learned five days later that the Cheng family had invested in two companies in G City.
Caught off guard.
Cheng Yanjin didn't reveal a single word to her.
Lin Langyi was afraid that something might go wrong with the takeover of the shares, so she got information from Meng Hui and learned that the money from the Cheng family had already been deposited into their account.
Wow, that's incredibly fast!
Lin Xiangshuo didn't dare let his brother-in-law have too much of a stake, so the part of the investment that was finally agreed upon didn't make him the largest shareholder. But coincidentally, he was hesitating about the Zhuang family's investment, which was astonishingly high. So when another investment that seemed to be from his own family came out, it subtly balanced Lin Xiangshuo's unease.
Ideally, it should be like the imperial balance of power, where each party contributes a portion of the investment while also checking and balancing each other, preventing any one party from becoming the largest shareholder.
The first people Lin Xiangshuo kicked out were those nominal shareholders who had multiple burrows in Lin Langyi's plan, leaving only Zhuang Lan.
Lin Langyi was somewhat annoyed. Although, in the end, the shares held by Cheng Yanjin were nominally hers, she could try to formally transfer them to her hands. Moreover, Lin Xiangshuo did not want to accept investment from Yingshanhu-related parties in the first place, so the nominal shareholders of Yuan Fei and others in the original plan might not succeed. The shares held by Cheng Yanjin were also on her side.
The problem is that she had been preparing to sever ties for a long time, and the closer she became to the Cheng family at this stage, the more difficult it would be for her to extricate herself.
To outsiders, it looks like she got her brother's shares, but to her, Cheng Yanjin's shares are not as controllable as Zhuang Lan's and Yuan Fei's shares. If they can't reach an agreement when they break up, what's the difference between that and being bitten by the Cheng family?
She couldn't tell her family this yet. If she subtly hinted at wanting to prepare for the future, they would surely scold her, saying, "Who gets married thinking about divorce at every turn?"
After the matter was settled, Cheng Yanjin told her the whole story. Lin Langyi also learned that Cheng Yangkang and Lin Liaoyuan were the first to bring it up, and that Cheng Yanjin's approach was just a last resort.
But the deed is done, and the more you try to avoid entanglement between the two sides, the further you go in the opposite direction.
Because of this collaboration, the two families will have a meal tonight to strengthen their relationship. For the Lin family, it's an upgrade in their cooperation; for the Cheng family, it's a rise in the value of Ying Shan Lake, which has also boosted her own worth. So it's time to settle down on marriage.
At the dinner table, a group of people were laughing and chatting, clinking glasses. Lin Langyi didn't say much, and she ate her food absentmindedly, her mind always on her phone. She tapped all the red dots on every app, and even checked every message that wasn't there.
Cheng Yanjin sat beside her the whole time, paying attention to her mood. Seeing that she seemed listless, he asked her if the food was not to her liking.
"No," Lin Langyi said briefly. "I spent the whole day talking with Professor Humphrey, so I'm tired."
Lin Langyi stayed up for two nights to prepare the materials for this matter.
Cheng Yanjin knew this because he had been by her side serving her tea and water the whole time, and he said unhappily, "Bian Shu is useless at crucial moments. If he were capable enough, he could just win over the professor and everything would be fine."
She said, "Bian Shu has loosened his stance on the patent issue, but the professor is another connection. I can't always rely on Bian Shu's connection to take shortcuts. What if one day I cut ties with him forever? You have to leave yourself a way out."
This statement stunned Cheng Yanjin on the spot. After a long while, he asked:
"Would you see me that way too?"
She seemed to be stumped by the question, and her first reaction was that Cheng Yanjin had been acting strangely and being extremely sensitive lately.
What was her answer back then?
She seemed to brush it off with a smile, saying, "My relationship with you is definitely closer than Bian Shu's. He and I are just boyfriend and girlfriend."
I don't know if Cheng Yanjin believed it at the time, but looking at the smile he forced, there was always a hint of helplessness and anxiety about preparing for the worst.
He solemnly assured her, "We are one, and there will never be a day when we cut off all contact."
"If you're really tired, let's go first." Cheng Yanjin frowned slightly when he saw her chewing a shrimp for so long. He reached his left hand under the table, held her knee, and shook her from side to side. "Shall I go with you first?"
Lin Langyi glanced around, noticing everyone was having a good time. She knew that if she used the excuse of being "a little tired" to leave now, it would definitely cause dissatisfaction.
She shook her head.
“He’s finally getting married, so he’s focused on getting married now. Yan Jin is going on a business trip out of town in a couple of days to personally renew the contract.” Cheng Yangkang finished a small bottle of baijiu, grinned, and said with emotion, “Finally, I can see my son taking over after I retire… If he’s capable, I’ll hand over everything to him sooner rather than later, and I’ll be happy to have some peace and quiet.”
"It's good for them to get to know each other sooner rather than later. We parents will be retiring in the future, so if our children are capable, we can relax a bit." Lin Liaoyuan was extremely satisfied with the decision of the two families to arrange the marriage. He poured Cheng Yangkang a full glass of wine, and the two lowered their shoulders, clinked glasses, and smiled at each other.
"So, the wedding schedule should be arranged early, at least some of the engagement procedures can be put on the agenda."
The topic of happy events immediately brought a lively atmosphere to the table, with everyone beaming from ear to ear.
Lin Langyi used to put on a show and smile in these kinds of situations, but today, for some reason, she seemed to be going through a rebellious phase and just didn't want to cooperate.
Her mouth was still chewing unconsciously, and the more she listened to the laughter, the less taste she had. Eventually, she didn't even know what kind of food she was eating.
Lin Langyi swallowed the food in her mouth, and suddenly her disgust for this kind of occasion reached its peak.
You can't skip a meal when you're getting married, so why can't you skip it today?
She glanced at her phone again, sifting through her contacts, and finally texted Zhuang Lan: "Help! Call me and tell me to leave."
Less than a minute later, Zhuang Lan's urgent phone call came through.
The small-scale collaborative performance went incredibly smoothly. Lin Langyi went through a three-part sequence of surprise, frowning, and covering her mouth before finally grabbing her bag without stopping and repeatedly emphasizing that she would be there in "two minutes!"
After hanging up the phone, she apologized and said that she had to go back to the company quickly and had to leave first. Cheng Yanjin stood up when he saw that she was about to leave, but Lin Langyi pressed him back down.
“It’s rare for the family to get together, so I can’t leave first. You have to represent us.” She smiled and gestured toward her wine glass. “Besides, you’ve been drinking, and you can’t drive me home, so you should eat a few more bites for me.”
She could have simply stopped there and left, but for some reason, the strange emotions she felt while lying and performing in front of everyone at the table surged to their peak. The more she knew what she was about to do, the more she had to put on a respectable facade in public.
Her temples twitched slightly, a kind of feigned compliance that she found incredibly satisfying.
Lin Langyi's finger was still on the screen. Once it was unlocked, the list of names that appeared in front of her would immediately catch her eye. She was even tempted to display the name on the dining table, but if she did, everything would be ruined.
She knew it was wrong to vent all her impatience and emotions on Cheng Yanjin, but she was sorry, she was in a terrible mood right now, so she wanted to hit him indirectly.
Lin Langyi is like every fickle scumbag. She treats this meal like a social media post, posting photos and updates about her relationship, putting on a good front of a devoted lover, but then she plans to get back together with her ex-lover, even though she's still wearing her wedding ring on her ring finger and her phone alarm is set to pick up her child from kindergarten at 3:40.
Why would someone use work as an excuse to leave on their spouse's birthday and go to be with their lover? Because that's how they can hurt their partner's feelings.
Lin Langyi even touched Cheng Yanjin's face in front of everyone and said with a smile, "Just take good care of your parents."
Everyone at the table felt sorry for her, saying that she "hadn't eaten much" and "had to work overtime late at night"... Lin Langyi accepted all their kindness, smiled sweetly at them, and then turned around, her expression immediately turning somber.
Her fingers swiped back and forth on the phone screen; she was almost impatient, rebelliously wanting to choose this day to see someone.
As she left, Cheng Yanjin insisted on seeing her to the door. Seeing her hurrying, he asked, "Are you in a rush? What's wrong?"
She casually recounted, "The professor is about to return to his country and intends to discuss the situation of the experimental field in the United States with me... Hmm, I guess my performance during the day was really good, so it impressed the professor?"
Actually, the matter concerning the experimental field was settled during the day, and Lin Langyi was indeed happy. Even now, when this topic was brought up, she couldn't help but show a hint of pride on her face.
Seeing the cute dimples on her cheeks, Cheng Yanjin was also infected and smiled.
"Really? Mr. Lin is quite capable."
That's right.
The two walked quickly to the restaurant entrance to say goodbye. Lin Langyi walked straight out without even turning her head, but was suddenly stopped by Cheng Yanjin.
She turned her face away, a few strands of hair sticking to her face, which she carefully brushed aside with her fingers and tucked behind her ears.
Cheng Yanjin looked at her, wanting to say something, but seemed unable to.
A sense of panic and unease rose up for no reason. He didn't know why, after getting used to picking her up and dropping her off every morning and evening and watching her back gradually leave, he had a pessimistic premonition when she turned her back to him.
He suddenly realized that while he loved the most, another relationship was connected to his deepest fears. It was as if he could only watch helplessly as a relationship came together and then ended, and every real or fake turn was like a microcosm of the future separation.
Cheng Yanjin felt a pang of panic and involuntarily followed him out, finally managing to squeeze out, "I... I'll go with you to the garage."
"No need." Lin Langyi lifted the bag that had slipped to her arm and slung it over her shoulder. "I'm leaving."
Without the slightest hesitation, she walked into the night. Cheng Yanjin stood there watching her walk away, then suddenly raised his voice and called out, "Come back soon."
His response was a wave of the hand with his back turned.
*
Lin Langyi returned to Yingshan Lake, lay on the sofa in her office for a while to clear her mind, and then unlocked the screen to make a call to a contact.
The phone rang twice before being hung up, followed by a text message: "In a meeting, I will get back to you later."
Lin Langyi typed and sent a message quickly: 【Guess where I am right now. If you can find me before 10 o'clock, I'll go back with you today.】
She edited the text message smoothly and quickly. After seeing that the message was sent successfully, she set her phone, which was low on battery, to play videos on a loop, then tossed it onto the sofa and walked into the lounge.
As she walked, she took off her clothes, opened the wardrobe and pulled out several sets of clothes, then used her foot to open a drawer and randomly selected a few pieces of underwear, which she then put into her cycling bag.
Lin Langyi went around to the outside, picked out the key for his Kawasaki H2 from a row of keys, slammed the drawer shut with his knee, and left without taking any electronic devices except for a watch.
The phone was still playing a short video noisily behind me, and it would probably shut down automatically soon because it ran out of battery.
Lin Langyi ignored everything, went downstairs to the garage, got on her bike, and drove away from Yingshan Lake.
Racing is really stress-relieving. The wind hits her like waves and brushes against her body. She feels like she has become a battle flag, existing in the sky. Turning her head, she is surrounded by clouds and mist. The wind blows every strand of her hair towards freedom.
She wasn't sure how long she had been cycling in circles, but the few men and women who had initially tried to compete with her eventually left. Lin Langyi was having a great time on her own, just endlessly accelerating, turning corners, and returning to the starting point.
Until a streak of water flashed across her helmet visor.
One after another, they grew denser and denser.
Lin Langyi completed the round of laps. In the empty arena, she released the handlebars, planted her feet on the ground to stop the motorcycle from making its move, and then took off her helmet.
Her hair, which was covered inside the bag, was a little damp. She shook her hair and ran her fingers through it a few times. As she raised her hand, she glanced at her watch out of the corner of her eye; it was already 9:47.
These days, you can't get by without a mobile phone; if you want to lose contact, losing your phone is the first step.
She smiled, fearing that the summer night rain might eventually pour down, and turned to leave when a man standing at the far end of the audience suddenly appeared in her field of vision.
Behind him, the floodlights on the seats illuminated his well-dressed white shirt and black trousers. He stood quietly on the steps, blocking part of the light. The interplay of light and shadow, like a dividing line between dawn and dusk, obscured his face and expression, allowing only a vague sense of his serene and dignified aura.
He rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, revealing a small section of his smooth-lined arms, while his hands were casually tucked into his pockets. Standing tall and broad-shouldered, his slender and straight figure stood out elegantly in the night, as if he had been watching from the audience for a long time.
Lin Langyi held the helmet in her arms and silently looked him up and down for a long time. The little insects flying under the light seemed to be the only sound at that moment.
He finally moved, descending the steps from the top, getting closer to her little by little.
Lin Langyi still didn't turn the car around to meet him. The raindrops didn't get bigger or denser; they were sparse and scattered, as if playing a prank.
He walked up to her and stopped.
When Lin Langyi saw the two buttons undone at his collar, she suddenly remembered the night she and Bian Shu were attacked. Yuan Chuyu, who was standing at the corner of the hospital, had also messed up his meticulously fastened collar and even buttoned one button wrong.
She remembered his disheveled state back then, and suddenly burst out laughing, leaning forward and falling directly onto him.
He opened his arms and caught her steadily.
Lin Langyi pressed her face against his shoulder. There were one or two fresh, damp stains on the silky fabric. He had probably been in the rain for a while, so his clothes were wet no matter where he touched.
He's been overly obedient lately, or perhaps he's afraid to make any unnecessary moves. That night she suggested a temporary separation, but he didn't respond, only telling her to get some rest. For the next five or six days, Cheng Yanjin kept a watchful eye on him, but he knew his limits and didn't reveal a single clue.
Lin Langyi thought he would be the one to break down first, but unexpectedly, it was she who came to him.
"When did you arrive?" she asked.
"Twenty minutes ago."
"So early?" She lifted her head, saw his gaze lowered, and then rested her head back on his shoulder. "I underestimated you. If I had known this would happen, I would have said before nine o'clock."
“No matter what number you say, I will keep searching until I finally find you.” He remained unmoved, his voice deep and resonant, a deep tremor emanating from his chest as he spoke. “Whether you come home with me or not is not the most important thing; finding you is.”
Lin Langyi wrapped her arm around him and pressed it against his back. She noticed that the skin on his back was warm, and the thin fabric was even damper than the fabric on his shoulders. She asked, "How did you find it?"
Yuan Chuyu looked up at the still-drizzling rain, twisted his arm to turn her back onto the motorcycle and sit down, then grabbed her hand and pressed it onto the handlebars, accompanying him as he slowly drove the motorcycle to a place where the rain was sheltered.
"When I found out you'd taken your motorcycle and didn't have your phone, I went to check the roads in the city where motorcycles aren't restricted and a few venues." He briefly mentioned that he'd spent over three hours looking for her, adding, "It wasn't too hard to find her."
Not hard to find? She drove all the way to the border between City A and the neighboring city. This place isn't even a standard venue; it's a piece of land vacated after the relocation of nearby vocational schools. It can barely be considered an abandoned vacant lot, and hardly anyone comes to play there.
"Let's go then." She raised her hand and waved her watch in front of him, indicating that she kept her word and could get straight to the point.
Yuan Chuyu, without any expression, pressed down her waving hand, his fingers even touching her fingertips, which were slightly cold from the wind. Without saying a word, he led her back to the audience seats where he had been standing. There were takeout food seats on the aisle.
He placed his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her in, gesturing for her to sit further in.
Lin Langyi's gaze was still fixed on the fragrant insulated bag. She hadn't had an appetite earlier that night, but now that she was tired from playing, she felt like she could eat a whole cow.
She moved over to a seat, casually picked up the insulated food container, placed it on her lap, and began to unpack it, asking, "What's wrong—?"
“When you messaged me, it wasn’t even seven o’clock yet. I don’t think that busy CEO Lin would have finished eating by then.” Yuan Chuyu sat down next to her and saw her take a pair of chopsticks from her hands with a completely expressionless face. “Serves two.”
Yes, there's another very busy person here.
She took another pair of chopsticks and eagerly stuffed a piece of delicious fish cake into her mouth when a pair of hands reached out and gathered her disheveled long hair.
She glanced at him sideways, her mouth bulging, showing no intention of helping.
Yuan Chuyu had an open lunchbox lying on his lap, with chopsticks placed horizontally on it. He turned to the side, his gaze fixed intently on her hair. He repeatedly lifted her long hair with both hands, gathering it all together, and then took off the bracelet he always wore from his wrist and carefully tied her long hair up.
Because he was facing sideways, his braid was slightly off-center, noticeably tilted to the left.
He hesitated for a moment, then stubbornly bent his braid back to the center. As soon as he let go, the braid swung back over.
The meticulous, objective, and obsessive-compulsive Yuan Zong relentlessly moved the braid over, but when he let go, it was still crooked.
He frowned slightly.
Lin Langyi couldn't help but laugh out loud, and flicked his hand with the handle of her chopsticks: "As long as it's tied up so it doesn't fall off, that's fine. Eat."
The two of them sat in the old stands eating. The white ceiling above them had peeled paint, revealing patches of mottled gray. The raindrops hitting it sounded like a drumbeat, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
Although it was for two people, all the dishes laid out were her favorites. Lin Langyi felt that this "miserable" and drafty dinner was more to her liking than the elegant and high-end banquet in the upscale restaurant tonight.
She ate heartily, while Yuan Chuyu, even in such an environment, ate with his knees as a table in a very refined manner. She saw that he was supporting the bottom of his lunchbox with four fingers of one hand and his thumb on the top edge, while holding chopsticks in the other hand. He was sitting upright and didn't make a sound.
She snatched a large piece of beef from his bowl. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, lowered his arm, straightened the lunchbox he had been holding in front of his chest, and presented it to her, indicating that she could take some if she wanted.
After the two finished eating, they cleaned up the trash and prepared to go home. Yuan Chuyu put her motorcycle in the trunk of his car. Just as he sat in the driver's seat, Lin Langyi pushed away his hand, which was about to fasten his seatbelt.
He remained in the same sideways position, the seatbelt in his hand still snapping back, silently gazing at her, waiting for her next unexpected move.
The next second, she stepped over from the passenger seat and sat on his lap.
Perhaps it was because her arm touched his hand that he suddenly loosened his grip, letting the seatbelt, which was wrapped around his palm, slide past his fingers and bounce back to its original position, making a sound like the fluttering of wings.
The vehicle was running and waiting, with only a slight breeze from the air conditioning inside. The windshield wipers were off, and soon the windshield was covered with a layer of water, blurring the streetlights into irregular spots of light.
I can't see anything clearly.
It's so remote. At 10 p.m., there are almost no pedestrians in the abandoned venue.
She sat on his lap, looking down at him. After a moment, she softened her gaze, cupped his face, and leaned down to kiss him.
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