Chapter 33
On the way home, it was still Song Qiming who was driving because when Lin Yushu hurriedly came downstairs, Song Qiming was already sitting in the driver’s seat, holding his beloved car hostage.
For a moment, Lin Yushu did consider being stubborn and taking the subway or a taxi home today. But he found it difficult to accept that Song Qiming would take his “wife” away while he had to find another way home.
It felt like his wife had been abducted.
During the entire journey, Lin Yushu wore a gloomy expression and ignored Song Qiming’s attempts at conversation.
It wasn’t until they arrived at their doorstep and saw a large plastic bag hanging on the doorknob that Lin Yushu finally spoke up. “What’s this?”
“Ingredients,” Song Qiming took off the plastic bag, entered the password for Lin Yushu’s house, and nonchalantly opened the door. “I’ll cook tonight to make it up to you.”
Watching this person confidently enter his own home, and the fact that he knew the password Lin Yushu willingly shared with him, made Lin Yushu lose his temper.
“Are you trying to poison me?” He followed Song Qiming into the hallway and changed into slippers.
“You’re sick, you need rest,” Song Qiming took off his denim jacket and walked into the kitchen, putting on an apron. “Leave dinner to me.”
After taking off his jacket, Song Qiming’s upper body was only covered by the tight black turtleneck sweater.
He rolled up the sleeves to his elbows, revealing his strong forearms. Following his forearms upward, one could catch a glimpse of his arms and the well-defined chest concealed beneath the black sweater.
…Well.
In fact, Lin Yushu knew that Song Qiming had asked him to leave work early because he was still recovering from a cold and wanted him to rest more.
After all, at other times, if Lin Yushu really needed to work overtime, they didn’t have to leave together.
Lin Yushu stole another glance at Song Qiming busy in the kitchen and, with an attitude, asked, “Are you sure you don’t need my help?”
“No need,” Song Qiming shook his phone. “I have an assistant.”
Just casually searching online would yield a bunch of recipes, so Lin Yushu subconsciously thought that the “assistant” Song Qiming mentioned would be the internet. However, when he changed into his home clothes and returned to the living room, he saw Song Qiming holding his phone, having a WeChat video call with someone.
“He’s here,” Song Qiming turned the phone screen toward Lin Yushu. “I’m cooking for him.”
Lin Yushu was instantly stunned in place because the person on the phone screen was none other than Shao Zhenbang’s youngest daughter, Shao Wenqian.
“Hello,” the person in the video leaned closer to the screen and waved at Lin Yushu. “I’m Qiming’s mom.”
How should he address her?
In Lin Yushu’s mind, there was a moment of confusion.
Most people in the Shao family held positions, and even if they didn’t, addressing them as “Mr.,” “Miss,” or “Mrs.” would suffice.
But should he call Song Qiming’s mother “Mrs. Song”? That seemed too formal. “Aunt Shao” seemed too familiar, after all, she was someone from the boss’s family, so it didn’t seem appropriate either.
And Shao Wenqian introduced herself as Song Qiming’s mom, so how should Lin Yushu introduce himself?
The investment manager of the Shao family’s business?
That wouldn’t be appropriate for the occasion.
These thoughts only lingered in Lin Yushu’s mind for a short moment. He spoke up, “Hello, I’m Song…”
The word “boss” got stuck in Lin Yushu’s throat. “…Qiming’s…”
“Colleague” or “neighbor”?
Using “colleague” in this situation doesn’t seem quite appropriate, but if he says “neighbor,” would it be okay to reveal this secret between him and Song Qiming?
“…Neighbor,” he finally chose the latter.
While introducing himself, Lin Yushu stumbled over his words. He glanced down and realized that he was still wearing his home clothes.
If he had known he would be meeting Song Qiming’s mother, he wouldn’t have bothered changing his clothes. It seems that Song Qiming didn’t inform him in advance.
“He caught a cold,” Song Qiming turned back to his phone screen, seemingly explaining why he was cooking, but he didn’t delve into discussing Lin Yushu any further. He smoothly changed the topic, “Take care of yourself over there.”
“Is it that simple?” Shao Wenqian’s voice contained a suppressed laughter as she redirected the conversation, “You’ve met so many people, but you’ve never cooked for anyone.”
Song Qiming’s speech suddenly quickened, as if he wanted to end the topic quickly. “Have you forgotten that I fried an egg for you?”
“And you call that cooking?” Shao Wenqian giggled and then restrained her laughter, lowering her voice, she asked, “So, is he your boyfriend?”
On the other side, Lin Yushu huddled on the sofa. Although he knew it was not right to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations, he couldn’t help but listen attentively.
Song Qiming, while washing the ingredients, fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, he answered in German, “Noch nicht” (Not yet).
Shao Wenqian burst into laughter again, while Lin Yushu furrowed his brows—what did this person say?
Subsequently, the two on the video call switched to speaking in German. Lin Yushu had heard Song Qiming speak in a foreign language on social media before, but it was always in English. This was the first time he heard Song Qiming speak German.
The pronunciation seemed to resonate deep in his throat, and when spoken by Song Qiming, it was pleasing to the ear to the point of being seductive.
But Lin Yushu was becoming increasingly annoyed. Wasn’t this person bullying him for not understanding German?
Under Shao Wenqian’s guidance, they managed to produce a dish that was passable in taste.
However, the side dishes, seasonings, and the overall style differed somewhat from typical home-cooked meals. Shao Wenqian had made some adjustments, likely due to her years of living abroad.
“How does it taste?” Song Qiming took off his apron and sat across from Lin Yushu.
“It’s okay,” Lin Yushu gave a neutral evaluation, “edible.”
Hearing this backhanded compliment, Song Qiming smiled and said, “Don’t expect too much from a beginner.”
Having someone cook was a good thing, and Lin Yushu didn’t want to discourage Song Qiming’s enthusiasm. He added, “It’s pretty good, actually.”
Song Qiming started eating with his chopsticks. “What do you think of my mom?”
Lin Yushu couldn’t help but feel a little puzzled. “She seems nice.”
Shao Wenqian was Shao Zhenbang’s youngest daughter, so why would he be evaluating her?
If he had to say, Shao Wenqian didn’t seem like a wealthy lady like Fang Lan. She didn’t wear heavy makeup and appeared more approachable.
“That’s good,” Song Qiming said, and then he shifted the conversation to work, chatting with Lin Yushu about their jobs. “I’ve been thinking today, if we can’t acquire the land, perhaps we can consider buying the racetrack from Lu Zibo’s family.”
“Lu Zibo?” Lin Yushu was slightly surprised that Song Qiming would consider targeting a friend. After thinking for a moment, he said, “First, Lu Zibo’s family might not be willing to sell; second, the area of that racetrack is not sufficient, so we might need to acquire the surrounding land, which would be troublesome; third, the original purpose of that racetrack was for the adjacent car modification factory to test cars. If we want to acquire the racetrack, we’ll probably have to buy the modification factory as well, which would be a significant expense.”
As Lin Yushu reached this point in his analysis, Song Qiming let out a sigh and said, “You’re right.”
The path through Fang Lan seemed unworkable, and acquiring the land wasn’t a suitable option either. Lin Yushu couldn’t think of any other solutions.
“I’ll think about it some more,” Song Qiming said. “Help me delay the divorce proceedings.”
Lin Yushu didn’t immediately respond, and Song Qiming seemed to sense something was off. He stopped eating and looked at Lin Yushu.
“Do you think if they can successfully divorce,” Lin Yushu paused, “I can get promoted?”
On this matter, Lin Yushu didn’t want to keep dragging it on. Their interests clashed, so he dropped the casual tone and assumed the negotiation stance.
“If I still have my home clothes on, then I am currently negotiation-ready Lin Yushu.”
“Can we do it in two weeks?” Song Qiming switched to a business tone, no longer as casual as usual. “Give me two weeks, and I’ll handle this.”
Two weeks, not just a pure delay, but to actually resolve the matter.
Lin Yushu initially expected the two of them to complete the divorce proceedings within the year, so when Song Qiming asked him to delay it, he assumed it would be until next year, which he naturally wasn’t happy about.
But now Song Qiming proposed resolving it within two weeks, which meant that regardless of whether they could acquire the land or not, there would be a result after two weeks.
“Why two weeks?” Lin Yushu set aside his resistance and asked.
“I’m going back to Germany for the next two weeks,” Song Qiming said. “There are some matters in the team that need my attention, and I also need to bring two engineers over to provide training for the S-power employees here.”
Even though S-power had been acquired by Yong Xing, the racing team was still in operation.
“What about the press conference?” Lin Yushu asked.
“We’ll hold it when I come back,” Song Qiming said.
So, they wouldn’t see Song Qiming for two weeks… Lin Yushu thought to himself.
Moreover, Song Qiming referred to going to Germany as “returning” to Germany, indicating that he still considered Germany to be his home.
“Also, I need a favor from you,” Song Qiming’s voice interrupted Lin Yushu’s thoughts.
“Hmm?” Lin Yushu put away his untimely thoughts and asked, “What favor?”
“Take care of Wowo for me during these two weeks.”
Take care of a dog?
This touched upon Lin Yushu’s knowledge blind spot.
Perhaps his expression revealed his concern, and Song Qiming continued, “It’s very simple, just take him for walks in the morning and evening, and feed him once a day.”
“What if he doesn’t behave?” In Lin Yushu’s impression, that Czechoslovakian Wolfdog seemed mischievous.
“He won’t,” Song Qiming said calmly, “Wowo is well-behaved.”
Is that so? Lin Yushu expressed doubt.
But it wasn’t a big favor, so he agreed without thinking much about it.
However, on the first day of walking the dog, Lin Yushu regretted it.
Early in the morning, he was dragged around the residential area by Wowo, and even the property manager passing by was extremely surprised, as they had never seen him in such an ungainly state.
“Wowo! Stop!” With great difficulty, he managed to stop Wowo from charging forward, and he turned back to pick up the slipper he had dropped while running, scolding in an annoyed tone, “Didn’t your dad say you’re well-behaved?”
But as soon as he put the slipper back on, Wowo seemed to receive a signal for “ready to run” and pulled Lin Yushu along for a sprint once again.
Lin Yushu had done some research beforehand. An adult Czechoslovakian Wolfdog weighed several tens of kilograms. As it was a breed resulting from a mix between a German Shepherd and a wolf, it had the appearance of a wolf.
Who knows how much money Song Qiming spent to buy Wowo, but if it were in China, a dog with such looks would cost at least a hundred thousand yuan.
And yet, this precious breed had no awareness of its value when it was having fun.
“Now I finally understand how your dad maintains his good physique,” Lin Yushu supported his knees with his hands, gasping for breath, and said, “Turns out he runs with you every day.”
Mr. Wowo left a large pile of feces on the lawn, finally tired from playing and no longer charging forward.
Lin Yushu took out the prepared waste picker and cleaned up the pile of feces. Finally finding an opportunity, he took out his phone, intending to complain about Wowo to his dad.
The phone screen showed two unread messages sent five minutes ago.
After Lin Yushu unlocked the phone, he saw a night view of the airport sent by Song Qiming, along with a greeting.
[Song Qiming: Are you feeling better from the cold?]
Germany is seven hours behind China, so considering the time, Song Qiming must have just landed.
[Lin Yushu: I’m fine.]
After replying, Lin Yushu began typing in the chat box: “Do you know how mischievous your dog is…”
Before he could finish typing, the chat box suddenly disappeared, and a video call request popped up.
Besides work-related matters, Lin Yushu wasn’t accustomed to video calls with people. He hesitated for a moment, then used his hand to tidy his hair, which was blown out of place by the wind, before pressing the answer button.
The screen immediately showed two frames, one in the night and one in the daytime.
“What are you doing?” Song Qiming asked. The background behind him kept moving, indicating that he was already in the car picking him up.
“Taking the dog for a walk.” Lin Yushu got annoyed as he mentioned it, and he aimed the phone screen at Wowo, who was sticking his tongue out nearby. “I really can’t see where he’s well-behaved.”
Song Qiming suppressed his laughter and said, “You can’t spoil him; you have to give him commands.”
Lin Yushu sighed helplessly, knowing he had to take care of this little tyrant for two weeks, and said, “I’ll try it next time.”
“Do you miss me?” Song Qiming suddenly asked.
“Huh?”
Lin Yushu was taken aback and began subconsciously pondering the question, but Song Qiming continued, “I’m asking Wowo.”
As he said this, there was a strong smile on his lips, as if he knew Lin Yushu would misunderstand but still deliberately asked in this way.
What kind of dog, what kind of owner. They were all equally mischievous.
“I can’t understand him. I can’t help you convey the message. How about you bark at him a few times?” Lin Yushu said.
“This time, it’s for you to hear,” Song Qiming put away his playful smile, and his deep eyes looked through the screen without a trace of joking.
For… him to hear?
Lin Yushu was once again stunned, wondering what this German guy was up to…
___________________________
Wowo: I’m a rare breed.
San Bai Shui: I have a mom.
Wowo: Woof woof woof, Dad, where’s my mom?
