Chapter 18
Lin Shengwen hung up the phone and put down the book in his hand.
He got up and left the study, holding a heavy paper bag in the entrance hall in his arms, went downstairs and drove out.
Inside the paper bag was a copper ornament, handmade by a famous artist. His brother Lin Yunshen sent it to his home and asked him to give it to Pei Ning, who had just moved out of his parents' home, as a housewarming gift.
He drove onto the highway. The distance was not short. Pei Ning's newly purchased villa was in the west of Ting City. Lin Shengwen drove from the east and it took almost forty minutes to arrive.
Pei Ning had already greeted the housekeeper, but the three parking spaces that Pei Ning bought in the indoor garage were all full. Lin Shengwen had no choice but to park the car in front of his house, get out of the car, open an umbrella, take the ornaments out of the trunk, and carry them into Pei Ning's house.
When he entered the room, he found Xu Yiming there too. This could explain why Pei Ning only had two cars but the three parking spaces he bought were full.
Lin Shengwen handed the ornament to Pei Ning. Pei Ning took it out and looked at it. He thought it was beautiful, but it was too heavy. He casually placed it on the table in the aisle between the living room and the dining room.
Perhaps thinking of the three of them getting together and chatting for a while, Pei Ning asked the servants to go home from work today, but he asked the chefs to prepare some dishes. He found three chefs, one of whom was a chef specializing in Japanese food. Pei Ning fell in love with Japanese food when he was studying in Country B, and brought this habit back with him when he returned.
They ate and chatted, mainly talking about the recent investment sectors. Lin Shengwen was not very interested in these and just briefly talked about his ideas about the future big health and silver economy sectors.
When they were almost done eating, Xu Yiming got up and went to the kitchen to wash some fruit. He then found a glass basin to put the fruit in and brought it over for Pei Ning and Lin Shengwen to eat.
Lin Shengwen suddenly asked Pei Ning: "Was Liang Xun this thin before?"
Pei Ning popped a Qingwang grape into his mouth and thought for a moment, "I think so. I remember he was very thin in high school. The Kangfu school uniform is a sports uniform, which is naturally loose. It feels like the empty space on him could fit two more of him in it."
"But why are you asking this? He hasn't gained any weight yet." Pei Ning wondered.
"Let me find out." Lin Shengwen said.
Pei Ning thought to himself, "You're the only one who can understand others." His jaw dropped, but he pretended nothing had happened. He asked Lin Shengwen, "Are you living together now?"
"Well," Lin Shengwen continued, "he doesn't eat much."
"Yes, he has always been like this, but Liang Xun said he has an iron stomach, and he has been skipping meals for such a long time without any problems." Pei Ning shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he had no other choice.
Pei Ning had just finished speaking when Xu Yiming fed him another piece of honeydew melon. He swallowed it without suspecting anything, then said to Xu Yiming in a somewhat annoyed tone, "No more, I'm too full. You should take a break."
Lin Shengwen didn't know what he was thinking about. After a while, Pei Ning asked him again: "You are a good cook, why don't you make a few more meals for him?"
Lin Shengwen told Pei Ning about the targeted dietary management he was doing for Liang Xun. Pei Ning widened his eyes and pointed at him for a long time without being able to speak. It was Xu Yiming who took over the conversation.
“Is it effective?”
"It's hard to say," Lin Shengwen said with a helpless expression, "maybe he just has a high metabolism."
"Hold on for a while." Xu Yiming said.
Pei Ning recovered. He looked at Lin Shengwen and felt that he was such a good friend to Liang Xun. He had been hiding his secret crush on Lin Shengwen for him. As long as Liang Xun didn't confess, he would never let it slip. Pei Ning was touched by himself and nodded. He leaned back a little, almost falling into Xu Yiming's arms.
He remembered something and continued, "But Liang Xun used to have a bit of baby fat, with chubby cheeks. I remember it was... I think it was around the time he was about to graduate from university, when the baby fat completely disappeared and he looked very thin."
Pei Ning pinched the soft flesh on his cheek again after he finished speaking, and said angrily: "I don't need it anymore. It's so annoying. I'm always mistaken for a little kid." Xu Yiming reached out his hand as if he wanted to pinch it too, but Pei Ning waved his hand away.
Lin Shengwen was about to say something when Pei Ning's cell phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and jumped up from the sofa after a while.
"Fuck, my dad asked me to go back. He said there's something he wants me to sign, and it's urgent. I have to go back," Pei Ning glanced at Xu Yiming, "You can go by yourself later."
Pei Ning slammed the door and left, but Lin Shengwen did not get up and leave immediately.
A typhoon hit and heavy rain hit Ting City. Even though Pei Ning's house was extremely soundproofed, he could still hear some rain.
Xu Yiming lit a cigarette and asked Lin Shengwen: "...How are your parents?"
He only asked half a question, but Lin Shengwen knew what he meant. He didn't say anything, and his silence was already the answer.
Xu Yiming asked again: "Can you keep it secret?"
Lin Shengwen didn't say anything. After a long while, he finally said, "There shouldn't be anyone who's nosy."
Xu Yiming dusted off the ash from his cigarette and smiled bitterly.
"Don't be like me."
Lin Shengwen replied quickly at this moment: "It's different." Seeing Xu Yiming's face was very gloomy, he guessed what was going on between him and Pei Ning, and added another sentence.
"Liang Xun and I don't have the kind of relationship you think."
Xu Yiming smiled faintly, as if he had seen through her already. He asked without any hesitation, "Then why did he tell me last time that he only likes you?"
"What is your relationship with Liang Xun? Tell me about it." Xu Yiming glanced at Lin Shengwen leisurely.
While Liang Xun was on a business trip, he would receive messages from Lin Shengwen every day reminding him of his three meals a day. Liang Xun would send Lin Shengwen photos of what he had eaten every day, just like writing a daily report.
After a few days on the business trip, Sheng Biao and he had almost reached an agreement with the stone company. After reporting to Chen Min, they confirmed the cooperation and completed the work one day earlier than previously scheduled.
He and Sheng Biao spent an extra day sightseeing at several scenic spots in Jingzhou. However, due to the rain, they were unable to visit any of the natural attractions. They chose to visit a few man-made ones. The next morning, they packed their luggage, checked out, and went to the airport.
Liang Xun told Lin Shengwen his flight number and arrival time at the airport. When the plane was about to land, he suddenly remembered that he should have taken a taxi with Sheng Biao back to Mingsheng first. While he was struggling with whether to tell Sheng Biao the truth, the plane had already landed.
As he hesitated, he missed the best opportunity to talk to Sheng Biao.
Sheng Biao walked ahead of him on his own. When he walked out of the arrival hall and was about to go to the taxi queue, Liang Xun stopped him.
Liang Xun thought about it and realized he couldn't delay any longer, so he said, "Someone's here to pick me up."
Sheng Biao glanced at him suspiciously, then suddenly realized something. He thought about it and said, "It's the weekend anyway, so I don't have to go back to the office yet. Next Monday..."
Before he could finish his words, a black Mercedes-Benz S480 stopped in front of him.
Lin Shengwen lowered the car window and told Liang Xun to get in, but he noticed that Liang Xun was looking at the man next to him, hesitant to speak. It was probably at this time that he noticed Sheng Biao and instantly understood Sheng Biao's identity, so he said, "Come along, I'll take your colleague."
Lin Shengwen took Sheng Biao along for the ride. Sheng Biao probably felt embarrassed and said "thank you for the trouble" and then said nothing more. He was silent, and Liang Xun was silent too. For a moment, the atmosphere in the car was quite tense.
In the end, Sheng Biao couldn't bear it anymore and took the initiative to break the ice.
"Liang Xun's boyfriend...what does he do? How did he know our Liang Xun?"
"A friend introduced me to this," Lin Shengwen said, a sure answer—which was pretty much the same. He then added, "I'm a doctor."
Sheng Biao made a "cow" gesture and winked at Liang Xun, but unfortunately Liang Xun was sitting in the passenger seat and pretended not to see it.
Lin Shengwen sent Sheng Biao to the gate of his community, but did not take Liang Xun directly to buy a ring. Instead, he took Liang Xun to eat a hot pot in a villa first.
The food was delicious, but Liang Xun felt it was too expensive and was embarrassed to let Lin Shengwen treat him. As a result, when he left, he found out that Lin Shengwen had already paid the bill.
"You haven't gained any weight at all." Lin Shengwen said this on the way back.
Liang Xun pinched the slightly thickened skin on the back of his hand, and couldn't think of any words to refute Lin Shengwen.
When the typhoon passed, the weather cleared up, but the temperature also rose without limit. Liang Xun would sweat profusely in the subway every morning when he went to work. He bought some deodorizing spray to prevent himself from smelling sweat when he entered the office.
He returned from a business trip and was dragged to work by Chen Min the same day. He was given a project. Technically, it wasn't a new project. The previous person in charge had been hospitalized due to an acute illness, and serious problems had been discovered. There was a large vacancy, so Chen Min, after careful consideration, decided to transfer the project to him.
This project was commissioned by a sailing club. The site had been selected, the design and engineering drawings were complete, and even the foundation was almost finished, leaving only the main building work to begin.
The client was a well-known wealthy businessman in Jingzhou. Liang Xun had heard of him before, but after actually meeting him, he discovered that he was quite picky. Liang Xun understood that the sailing club was the result of the businessman's painstaking efforts, so his nitpicking about details was understandable.
The only drawback is that he has been getting off work later recently, and most of the time he is not sitting in the office, but going in and out of the construction site under the scorching sun.
Liang Xun discovered that since Lin Shengwen took over his three meals a day, he had worked less overtime in the hospital. He would basically come home around eight o'clock, wash his hands, cook soup, and have dinner with Liang Xun.
He used to get off work much earlier than Lin Shengwen, but recently they happened to be on the same wavelength.
In addition to the call from the rosewood customization factory that day, he also called Lin Shengwen and asked him to go back early to sign the inspection form for the rosewood sofa, eat some snacks and wait for Lin Shengwen.
He waited until Lin Shengwen and he finished their meal before asking Lin Shengwen.
"So, when is your Vice President Yu going to come visit? What if it's revealed that your marriage to me is fake? Do we need to rehearse it in advance?"
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