Chapter 10
Xue Wensong spent five minutes flipping through the script of “Love in the Spring Campus,” feeling a headache coming on as he rubbed his brow. “So, your dream is to become an actor?”
The little deer shivered with excitement, nodding eagerly, his clear eyes looking at Xue Wensong expectantly.
Lin Lu realized that lying wasn’t suitable for him, causing both mental and physical distress. Xue Wensong had too strong a presence in his life, and he didn’t want to live every day in deception. Even if he could barely deceive him now, he didn’t believe he could successfully deceive him for a year or even a month.
Xue Wensong placed the script on the desk, his expression unreadable. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“I didn’t dare…” Lin Lu bit his lip. “I was afraid you would say I’m not focusing on my studies.”
Xue Wensong’s voice grew stern. “Knowing it’s not focusing on your studies, you still went?”
“But, but I don’t think it’s not focusing on my studies,” Lin Lu hurriedly defended himself. “I’m simply not suited for the computer industry, and I don’t like writing code.”
Xue Wensong furrowed his brow slightly. He suddenly remembered Tang Yi’s advice to Lin Lu to switch careers sooner, realizing that Tang Yi understood his little buddy better than he did. It couldn’t be helped; Tang Yi had known Lin Lu for over three years, while he had only entered Lin Lu’s life a week ago.
“You’re indeed not suited,” Xue Wensong said, lips lightly parting. “Too clumsy.”
The deer’s eyes flickered, seemingly surprised by such a direct statement.
“Do you really enjoy acting?” Xue Wensong asked.
Lin Lu vigorously nodded his head twice, wanting to show his determination.
Xue Wensong sighed helplessly. He was much older than Lin Lu, and naturally, his considerations were more long-term. Lin Lu was now a senior facing the problem of finding a job, and he originally wasn’t worried because his own company was in the IT industry. He could simply arrange for the little clumsy deer to join his company then.
However, Lin Lu didn’t want to pursue this career path, rejecting the path he had paved for him. Even though he knew people in the entertainment industry, it hardly amounted to a network. What if his little buddywas bullied in that circle?
Xue Wensong felt a headache coming on, but seeing Lin Lu’s hopeful eyes, he couldn’t bear to confine this beautiful little deer. He deeply felt for the first time that being a parent was not easy.
After a while, Xue Wensong’s Adam’s apple slid slowly. “…Don’t let it affect your studies.”
Lin Lu’s face immediately lit up with immense joy. He couldn’t believe it and asked, “Did you agree?”
“Mm,” Xue Wensong said lightly. “You still need to study and write your thesis well.”
“Okay!” Lin Lu happily picked up the script, flipping to the parts he had marked with a highlighter and showing them to Xue Wensong. “Look, I have lines!”
Xue Wensong glanced at the script, furrowing his brow slightly. “What does ‘being soaked by water’ mean here?”
“Oh, this…” Lin Lu explained, “Because I followed the male second lead to bully the female lead, but the male lead didn’t dare to confront the male second lead, so he could only retaliate against the male second lead’s lackeys.”
Xue Wensong was displeased. “The male lead doesn’t even dare to confront the male second lead?”
“Just at the beginning,” Lin Lu eagerly explained the plot. “At that time, the male lead didn’t like the female lead very much yet. He was a bit aloof by nature and didn’t want to cause trouble, so he just secretly helped the female lead retaliate.”
Xue Wensong thought for a moment. “Who funded this drama? When will it air?”
“I don’t know who funded it…” Lin Lu scratched the back of his head. “It’s just a small production web drama.”
That was fine.
Xue Wensong breathed a sigh of relief. Many web dramas ended up failing, so whether it would ultimately be aired was still a question. He couldn’t confine the little deer, but he selfishly hoped that not too many people would see it.
The entertainment industry was even harder to survive in than the IT industry. At the moment, it seemed that Lin Lu wouldn’t achieve much there.
Xue Wensong finally relaxed, thinking that if the kid wanted to struggle, let him. When he got tired, he would eventually return to seek comfort in his arms.
However, at this moment, Xue Wensong suddenly thought of a question. He furrowed his brow. “So, is this Lu Shaoyang really your goal?”
Lin Lu’s excited expression froze, and he shrunk his neck, saying guiltily, “I definitely can’t achieve the kind of achievements he has.”
Heh heh, Xue Wensong sneered inwardly. He asked, “According to what you said, isn’t someone who can’t surpass him unsuitable to be an idol?”
Lin Lu fell silent, knowing whatever he said would be wrong.
Xue Wensong reached out his hand to Lin Lu. “Give me your phone.”
Lin Lu obediently handed over his phone.
Xue Wensong raised an eyebrow. “Password?”
Lin Lu recited six ones.
Xue Wensong opened the front camera and then pulled Lin Lu into his arms again, taking a photo of them in an intimate pose. Lin Lu stared blankly at Xue Wensong’s slender fingers tapping on his phone, only to hear Xue Wensong say decisively, “No changing wallpapers.”
The phone was tossed back into Lin Lu’s hands, and he lit up the screen, seeing that the wallpaper he had used for over a year had been replaced with another image. The background was his familiar desk, and in the center of the screen were him, looking dumbfounded, and Xue Wensong with his chin resting on his shoulder.
Lin Lu’s face reddened, and he muttered quietly, “Fine, I won’t change it.”
The results of the XW programming competition came out over the weekend, and Xue Wensong and his team unsurprisingly won first prize.
On Lin Lu’s end, he completed the learning tasks assigned by Xue Wensong. He found that the books Xue Wensong chose for him were indeed helpful for his thesis. Therefore, in the rare absence of Old Tang’s urging, Lin Lu took the initiative to sit on the sofa with his computer, working on his thesis.
Encountering a theoretical difficulty, Lin Lu subconsciously glanced at Xue Wensong’s figure at the desk, but in the end, he bit his lip and opened a search engine to look for related academic papers.
At that moment, the phone on the coffee table suddenly rang, breaking the quiet afternoon. Lin Lu picked up the phone and saw that it was his father, Qin Zhengguo.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Lu slipped on his slippers and walked over to Xue Wensong. “Dad wants us to go home for dinner tonight.”
Xue Wensong wasn’t very surprised. He typed a reply and then flicked his fingers. “What time?”
“At 6 o’clock.”
The Qin family villa was located in the wealthy area of P City, about half an hour’s drive from their community. But around five or six o’clock was usually the peak traffic time, so they had to leave early. Xue Wensong checked the time and said, “I’ll call you after I finish.”
“Okay.” Lin Lu nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. “Do I need to meet your parents?”
Xue Wensong raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to?”
Lin Lu quickly shook his head. “I’m just curious…”
“They’re in Singapore.” Xue Wensong ruffled Lin Lu’s hair. “I’ll take you to meet them when they’re back.”
Imagining the startled expression on Lin Lu’s face, Xue Wensong couldn’t help but smirk.
Xue Wensong’s car was an Audi Q5, understated yet elegant. As Lin Lu sat in the car, he occasionally stole glances at Xue Wensong’s well-defined fingers, thinking that they looked good not only when typing but also when driving.
When a red light appeared ahead, the car slowed to a stop. Lin Lu glanced at the driver’s seat again, but this time, Xue Wensong reached out his right hand and pinched his cheek. “What are you looking at?”
“Um, it hurts,” Lin Lu subconsciously grabbed Xue Wensong’s wrist. It was then that he realized his fingers couldn’t wrap around Xue Wensong’s wrist.
Xue Wensong released Lin Lu’s cheek, casually pinched his earlobe, and then placed his hand back on the gearshift, waiting for the red light. “Sneaking a peek at me?”
Lin Lu rubbed his left cheek, feeling the pain from the pinch, and dryly replied, “I, I was just looking openly.”
Xue Wensong chuckled lightly. “What’s there to look at?”
“I just thought…” Lin Lu’s voice grew smaller. “You look quite handsome when driving.”
Xue Wensong turned his head to look at Lin Lu with a hint of amusement. If he didn’t know this little deer was so innocent, he would have thought the kid was inviting him for a drive thrill.
He loosened his tie, rolled down the window, and changed the subject, “Can you drive?”
“I wanted to learn.” Lin Lu said, “But driving school is too expensive.”
“I’ll enroll you…” Xue Wensong paused, then suddenly changed his mind. “Never mind, you don’t need to learn.”
“Huh?” Lin Lu was puzzled. “Why not?”
“The instructor works too hard.”
Lin Lu was stunned for two seconds before realizing that Xue Wensong was teasing him for being clumsy.
The little deer was unhappy, puffing up his cheeks. “Driving isn’t all about brains. My physical coordination is excellent.”
“Oh? Is it?” Xue Wensong replied casually, not paying much attention.
“Even the drama club teacher said I’m physically agile.”
Xue Wensong propped his chin up with his hand against the car window, looking at Lin Lu, who was self-praising. “Then why is it that whenever I hug you, you stiffen up like a log?”
Lin Lu froze and awkwardly replied, “I’m just not used to it yet.”
Xue Wensong grinned. “Looks like I’ll have to hug you more often.”
Lin Lu suddenly turned his head to look out the window, not saying anything. Xue Wensong glanced at the flushed ears and, feeling quite pleased, withdrew his gaze and stepped on the gas pedal.
When Lin Lu and Xue Wensong arrived at the Qin family villa, it was just ten minutes before six o’clock. The Qin family’s servants welcomed them into the living room. Lin Lu then noticed that besides his father, stepmother, and brother, his cousin Qin Chuan and several other older individuals whom he couldn’t name but had met at the wedding were also present.
Lin Lu vaguely felt something was strange, but Xue Wensong beside him seemed unperturbed.
As soon as Qin Zhengguo saw Xue Wensong, he greeted him with a smile, “I heard little Xue’s team won the prize?”
Lin Lu was startled by Qin Zhengguo’s expression, and then several people crowded around:
“The government project must have been prepared long ago, right?”
“The Xu family is putting in a lot of effort. Little Xue mustn’t be careless.”
“After finishing the government project, should we start working with Qin Ge?”
Lin Lu quickly got squeezed out of the crowd, and Qin Chuan casually circled around to Lin Lu’s side, lowering his voice, “Your husband is quite the catch.”
“Is he…” Lin Lu looked at Xue Wensong in the crowd with an expressionless face, feeling like the big tiger was being targeted by a group of hunters.
