After sending off Bei Kaiyuan and Fu Linshao, it was already past ten o’clock at night.
The dinner table grew a bit dull afterward, but Bei Kaiyuan was the best at livening up the atmosphere, chatting with Fulinxiao from work to personal life, and they managed to finish the meal in a harmonious manner.
Qiao Jin nodded.
Lu Pingzhang had no idea such a thing had happened.
Qiao Jin said, “This is my specialty. Have another piece.”
Lu Pingzhang felt a strange sense of unease.
Qiao Jin just looked at him.
Under his gaze, Lu Pingzhang picked up a piece and ate it: “It’s delicious. I remember telling you before that if I don’t come back by nine o’clock at night, you don’t have to wait for me.”
“I did.” This finally made up for that little bit of regret from before. Qiao Jin relaxed in his chair, “But you often came back at midnight, and I thought, what if you come back late? I’d better wait.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” Lu Pingzhang asked him. He had grown accustomed to keeping his emotions in check, but lately, in front of Qiao Jin, he was trying his best to be more expressive. However, it was difficult: “I was in the middle of a business meeting. By the time I saw your call, it was already late. I was worried you might have already gone to sleep, so I didn’t call you back.”
Qiao Jin nodded, saying with a broad smile, “ With that explanation, I feel much better.”
“I knew you’d like this.” Lu Pingzhang took his hand and rubbed it gently. “I’ll change, but you still don’t believe me.”
Qiao Jin looked into his eyes, the depth of his gaze unsettling: “Will you really change?”
Lu Pingzhang felt a bit uneasy for no apparent reason.
Qiao Jin continued to stare at him: “Are you hiding something from me?”
Lu Pingzhang had drunk two cups of wine and felt a bit tipsy. Under that gaze, he reached up and loosened his collar.
The doorbell rang. Qiao Jin thought Fu Linxiao had returned after forgetting something.
Lu Pingzhang opened the door first. He stood at the entrance, took the item, and walked back to the dining room, holding a bouquet of white lilies in his arms.
Qiao Jin watched him approach, raising his eyebrows slightly.
Lu Pingzhang placed the flowers on the table: “You said there were no white ones that day, so I ordered some. Where would you like to put them? Do you need a vase?”
Qiao Jin lowered his long eyelashes, which looked gentle in the warm light, but his tone was a bit cold: “I’m going to take a shower first.”
Lu Pingzhang opened his mouth, but Qiao Jin interrupted him: “Think about it for a moment. How should you talk to me?”
But Qiao Jin was too clever; he could easily feign such a look.
He fetched a vase, filled it with a large bouquet of fresh lilies, selected one that was half-bloomed, and placed it on the bedside table by Qiao Jin’s side in the bedroom.
The alcohol in Lu Pingzhang’s body had no effect at all. Listening to the sound of the water, he thought about facing Qiao Jin in a moment, and his mind became crystal clear.
The bathroom door finally opened, and Qiao Jin came out wearing a bathrobe, drying his hair as he walked toward the bed.
Lu Pingzhang looked at him.
Qiao Jin glanced at him with a towel draped over his shoulder, noticed the lilies on the bedside table, and looked away: “Your phone is ringing. Why aren’t you answering it?”
Qiao Jin waved the phone at him, but Lu Pingzhang showed no reaction.
There was a pause on the other end, as if they found it inhuman for him to still be busy at this hour: “Nothing urgent, just wondering if Mr. Lu is going out to play ball?”
Lu Pingzhang had already heard the voice on the phone and waved his hand.
Liu Chengxu didn’t wait for Qiao Jin’s reply. He searched his mind for the voice and broke out in a cold sweat.
He wasn’t sure and hesitated, “You’re not Secretary Yin, are you? Your voice doesn’t sound like hers. Are you Qiao…”
Qiao Jin’s eyes flickered, but before he could speak, Lu Pingzhang took the phone: “Liu, it’s me.”
“The person who answered the phone was my family member,” Lu Pingzhang said. “We were about to go to sleep.”
Liu Chengxu was suddenly at a loss for words.
At this time, in this place, for this matter, “family member” must refer to “wife”: “… Ah, yes, yes, I see. I shouldn’t have called at this time. Let’s talk another day…”
“It’s already this late,” Lu Pingzhang interrupted him again, glancing at Qiao Jin, “From now on, I won’t attend any activities after 9 PM. If there’s something important, we can discuss it during the day.”
Lu Pingzhang hung up the phone, placed it back next to Qiao Jin, paused for a moment, then leaned in to kiss him. Qiao Jin accepted it obediently.
He looked at him with that expression, and Lu Pingzhang couldn’t stand it for even a second.
“Misunderstand what?” Qiao Jin asked him. “Aren’t you that kind of person?”
They were close, but their words showed no connection. Qiao Jin even frowned slightly.
“What does it matter if I know?” Qiao Jin said.
Even though he said that, Lu Pingzhang didn’t want to tell him what he had done. He hadn’t reached his current position through simplicity and kindness alone.
He felt an inexplicable sense of apprehension.
First, he feared that Qiao Jin would be afraid of him after learning the truth, would look at him with suspicion, and would distance himself from him with distrust.
Second, he feared that the perfect image of Mr. Lu in Qiao Jin’s heart would shatter.
He paused, his eyebrows silently lowering: “How can I explain this to you? I can’t discuss with you what methods to use to eliminate our competitors one by one…”
“Why can’t you say it?” Qiao Jin interrupted him, gripping his hand. “Besides being able to contact you, nothing else about you needs to change.”
“If you can change, I’m happy. If you can’t, it’s okay.” Qiao Jin looked up at him, just as he had countless times before. Facing Lu Pingzhang, he couldn’t be firm: “You don’t have to tell me everything, but at least don’t deliberately hide things from me. If you must hide something, don’t let me notice, okay?”
Lu Pingzhang swallowed hard, looking down at Qiao Jin and feeling as though he was the one being looked down upon.
Lu Pingzhang said, “Okay.”
Qiao Jin didn’t move, asking him in the same position, “Is there anything you’re hiding from me?”
“What is it?”
Qiao Jin looked at him, and Lu Pingzhang reached out to cover his eyes.
Qiao Jin, with his eyes covered, showed no resistance or discomfort: “Is there any significance to it?”
This ring had been on Lu Pingzhang’s hand since the first time Qiao Jin had seen him, and he suspected it was far from the “no special meaning” Lu Pingzhang had claimed.
Qiao Jin reached out and grabbed the hand covering his eyes.
Lu Pingzhang obediently let go.
Qiao Jin squinted in the light, and Lu Pingzhang sighed, “I had my secretary talk to Sui Ran today about the company acquisition.”
Qiao Jin nodded.
“You’re already so thin, why do you need to lose more weight?” Lu Pingzhang touched his waist, and once his hand touched his skin, he couldn’t let go, wanting to linger and ponder, “If you think it’s not a good idea, I won’t buy it.”
Lu Pingzhang thought about it and decided it wasn’t a bad idea.
Qiao Jin saw right through his thoughts and couldn’t help but say, “Lu Pingzhang!”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you,” Lu Pingzhang said immediately. “If you don’t want me to buy it, I won’t. But can you stop working overtime every day?”
Qiao Jin looked at him skeptically.
Lu Pingzhang wanted to cover his eyes again.
Before he could act, Qiao Jin said, “Okay.”
Lu Pingzhang’s long-suppressed desire for control was satisfied, and he reached out to hold him tightly in his arms.
After holding each other for a while, Qiao Jin said, “You…”
“Understand,” Lu Pingzhang sighed, “I just had some drinks, and you just took a shower. It’s hard to control myself in this situation.”
Qiao Jin waited for him to continue.
Lu Pingzhang knew he had to go to work tomorrow and couldn’t bear to make his already aching body worse. He relied on distracting himself to barely control further developments.
Qiao Jin hugged his waist, rubbed against him, and adjusted to a comfortable position: “Can you accompany me to the cemetery to visit my mother the day after tomorrow? It’s the fifth day after her death.”
“The day after tomorrow is not possible,” Lu Pingzhang stroked his head and placed his hand on his back, patting him. “Hou Wude is still on bail pending trial. The case is not closed, so it’s not safe for you to go out with me.”
Qiao Jin nodded, showing no sign of disappointment.
Lu Pingzhang really wanted to go with him but couldn’t bear to ask him to postpone it: “Go by yourself. Have the bodyguard accompany you.”
Qiao Jin paused for a moment, then hugged him tighter: “After Hou Wude’s matter is resolved, you’ll accompany me. I’ll wait for you.”
Lu Pingzhang felt sorry for him, rubbing his back gently until his palms warmed his back: “Alright, from now on, we’ll go together every year.”
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