Chapter 64

Two years later, on a Saturday morning.

Lin Yushu held a coffee in one hand and his phone in the other, looking stern, “Since we agreed on a time, please stick to it. We have other arrangements later. If it’s not delivered within ten minutes, don’t bother delivering it.”

Song Qiming, who had just come back from walking the dog, was wiping Wowo’s paws. He looked at Lin Yushu and asked, “Hasn’t it arrived yet?”

“They said it will be here in ten minutes,” Lin Yushu hung up the phone and said irritably.

“Don’t get angry over such a small matter, sweetheart,” Song Qiming said. “If you keep going like this, no one in the company will dare to talk to you.”

Indeed, Lin Yushu had been a bit stressed recently.

S-power’s high-end line had launched an SUV model, which sold exceptionally well, but the stores received many complaints about inadequate hospitality. The electric cars were expanding to third and fourth-tier cities and had received a large order from a ride-hailing company, causing some delays in delivery. Additionally, the StarJet Raceway was about to host its first international-level event, but many preliminary tasks were still unfinished.

Lin Yushu was on the verge of exploding, and even his assistant had to be cautious when talking to him.

“I don’t want to be like this either,” Lin Yushu took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm.

After a while, the delivery man with the safe finally arrived.

The installation took some time, but when it was finally done, Lin Yushu felt much relieved as he looked at the “new member” in the walk-in closet.

“The previous safe wasn’t big enough; we had to get a larger one,” he explained.

“One gold bar, two gold bars, three gold bars…” Song Qiming sat cross-legged next to Lin Yushu and asked, “Do you have to count them now?”

“Yes,” Lin Yushu stopped counting. “It’s the secret to keeping a good mood.”

He looked at the gold bars in his hand and furrowed his brow, “What number did I reach?”

“It’s a total of thirty-nine,” Song Qiming checked their relationship contract, and occasionally, the paper brushed against the ring on his ring finger, as if indicating some connection.

“You’re depriving me of the joy of counting gold bars,” Lin Yushu took the relationship contract from Song Qiming’s hand and placed it in the safe. “So, don’t look at it either.”

“Alright,” Song Qiming smiled. “Fair enough.”

Lin Yushu checked the time and asked, “Are we leaving now?”

“It’s about time,” Song Qiming stood up and took out two custom-made suits from the nearby coat rack, handing one to Lin Yushu. “Let’s go in ten minutes.”

As the GTR didn’t have a back seat, they took Wowo with them, and both of them drove Lin Yushu’s Civic.

Wowo was also dressed in a suit, wearing a pet-specific safety belt on his back. Despite this, he kept scratching at the window, excited beyond measure.

“You’re already a mature big dog,” Song Qiming turned around, rubbing Wowo’s head. “Don’t act like you’ve never seen the world.”

Of course, Wowo couldn’t understand what Song Qiming was saying. He continued to bark excitedly.

Not long after, the family of three arrived at a well-known pet photography studio.

Today was Wowo’s fifth birthday, and Lin Yushu had specially arranged for them to take a family photo at this studio.

The store manager, a friendly woman, was waiting at the entrance. When she saw them, she immediately greeted them, “Mr. Lin, Mr. Song, is this Wowo?”

She squatted down and tentatively reached out her right hand. Wowo sniffed it and found no threat, so he relaxed his guard.

“You’re so handsome,” the store manager scratched Wowo’s chin, and Wowo seemed to understand, sticking out his tongue in satisfaction.

Lin Yushu suddenly felt something was not right. He said Wowo hadn’t seen much of the world, so he ignored Song Qiming’s earlier praise. But when praised for being handsome, his proud demeanor couldn’t be hidden.

“Your son has become a smart one,” Lin Yushu said to Song Qiming.

“It’s because you spoil him,” Song Qiming embraced Lin Yushu’s waist and whispered in his ear, “If you allow him on the bed again, he’ll interrupt us again midway…”

Seeing the store manager suddenly standing up, Lin Yushu quickly nudged Song Qiming with his elbow, reminding him to be careful. Then he asked the store manager, “Can we start shooting now?”

“Sure,” the store manager said, “Did you bring some snacks?”

Pet photography isn’t as easy as photographing people, especially when Wowo had been mischievous since he was young and couldn’t stay in one place for even two minutes. After half an hour and hundreds of shots taken, there were only a few usable ones.

Finally, Wowo looked at the camera, but at this moment, Lin Yushu’s phone suddenly vibrated.

The store manager suggested temporarily stopping the shoot and letting Wowo play for a while. After he got tired, maybe it would be easier to take more photos.

Lin Yushu walked to the side to answer the call, “What’s the matter?”

“Mr. Lin,” his assistant’s voice came through the phone, “I sent you the revised version of the race trophy design on WeChat. It seems that… the designer didn’t change much.”

Lin Yushu furrowed his brows, kept the call connected, and opened WeChat to check. Instantly, anger surged to his head.

“Didn’t I say not to make the wings so exaggerated?”

“The designer said this proportion looks better…”

“Who will fund the race, him or me?” Lin Yushu said, “Tell him to make the changes, and if he can’t, find someone else!”

Annoyed, he hung up the phone, and then he heard Song Qiming’s voice beside him, “Darling, you’re upset again.”

Lin Yushu let out a sigh; he knew he was being harsh on his assistant and said apologetically, “Sorry.”

“Why don’t you take a break from work for a while?” Song Qiming suggested, “After all, Xi Xi has finished her college entrance exams, and your brother doesn’t seem to have much going on. Maybe you can delegate some work to him.”

“He’s already thinking about early retirement,” Lin Yushu sat down on the sofa, feeling tired, and rubbed his eyes, “It’s okay, I’ll adjust.”

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself,” Song Qiming sat next to Lin Yushu, embracing his shoulders and asked, “Shall we go for a run tomorrow?”

Lin Yushu was about to explain that there were other tasks to be done tomorrow, but he stopped himself and changed his mind, “Okay.”

No matter how busy they were with work, they couldn’t let go of their hobbies. It was their agreement.

Moreover, their hobbies were indeed helpful in relieving stress.

Feeling more relaxed, Lin Yushu leaned on Song Qiming’s shoulder and asked, “By the way, did you see the news? Yu Xiu won an award overseas.”

“I saw it,” Song Qiming said, “But Fang Lan didn’t come to me. It seems she doesn’t care much.”

“She’s dating a guy twenty years younger than her and showing off their love on social media every day. She doesn’t have time to care about Yu Xiu’s affairs.”

Caring about Yu Xiu ultimately meant caring about Shao Hexu. When she genuinely stopped caring about her ex-husband, many things became insignificant to her.

The store manager finished playing with Wowo, and finally, Wowo stopped running around. He obediently stayed in the studio and took several sets of “single dog photos.”

Finally, they took a family portrait of the three of them.

At first, Lin Yushu and Song Qiming sat on the sofa, each holding Wowo. But later, they chose to stand, with Wowo squatting between them.

In the camera lens, two handsome and elegant men stood side by side, and a majestic Czech wolfdog crouched in the middle.

The photographer said, “Great, hold that pose!” and quickly pressed the shutter.

The glaring flash flashed, and it seemed to take Lin Yushu back to an afternoon many years ago.

In a quiet teaching building, he knocked on Zhou Xian’s office door and asked, “Teacher Zhou, did you need me?”

“Well,” Zhou Xian looked at Lin Yushu kindly and said, “I received a pretty good job offer. Would you like to join me?”

At that time, Lin Yushu had already decided on his job, but when he heard Zhou Xian’s offer, he didn’t hesitate and immediately agreed.

Leaving Zhou Xian’s office, Lin Yushu opened the Instagram app and clicked on his only following.

Looking at the man leaning against the racing car in the photo, he murmured to himself, “Working for you at your place, we’ll surely meet someday, won’t we?”

— The End —

 

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