Chapter 15
After finishing his scenes, Lin Lu stayed home honestly for a week, taking care of his cold that had been tormenting him back and forth.
He originally wanted to do some extra work in the film and television city, but Xue Wensong disagreed. His reason was that he had already played prominent roles with names, and doing extra work would be a step back in his career. Lin Lu couldn’t argue with that, so he could only wait eagerly for opportunities to be cast as an actor.
Xue Wensong seemed busier than before, sometimes not returning home until eleven or twelve at night. Lin Lu often saw his classmates in the class group complaining about how inhumane their intern companies were and how hard it was to work like cattle, but Lin Lu subconsciously felt that the company’s boss was the one who had it the hardest.
After class on Tuesday, Lin Lu went to the cafeteria with Zhang Yihang to have lunch. Zhang Yihang had just been scolded by Lao Tang, and even his favorite steamed pork couldn’t cure him.
“I mean, Lao Tang just keeps saying ‘change, change, change,’ but he never tells me how to change. Do I have telepathy or something?” Zhang Yihang complained.
“If Lao Tang told you everything, then it would be like he wrote the thesis for you,” Lin Lu thought. Even his deity at home didn’t teach him how to write a thesis step by step.
“Hey—you little traitor, I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you submit your thesis so quickly?”
“I just…read a few useful books,” Lin Lu vaguely replied.
“How did you know what books to read? Did Lao Tang specifically guide you?”
“No, just got lucky finding them.”
Lin Lu suddenly remembered that Xue Wensong had said he was lucky, and now that he thought about it, he really was. He couldn’t help but smirk, with even a hint of a smile in his eyes.
“Look at you, so smug.” Zhang Yihang teased, “What did Lao Tang say about your first draft?”
“He asked me to make some changes.”
But in reality, their conversation was more like—
Tang Yi: “The theories you mentioned in the preliminary research are too deep. With only a few thousand words in your undergraduate thesis, it’s impossible to explain them clearly. You should stay away from those lofty ideas for now, just to be safe.”
Lin Lu: “But Xue Wensong said it’s okay to write like that.”
Tang Yi: “…” A polite yet embarrassed smile.
Lin Lu: “He also said if you have any questions, you can go directly to him.”
Tang Yi: “Interrupting, excuse me.”
Thinking about this, Lin Lu found it amusing. His thesis had already exceeded ten thousand words, but Xue Wensong still wanted him to continue adding content. Originally, writing a graduation thesis was an extremely painful experience for him, but now, as long as he heard a “not bad” from Xue Wensong, he didn’t feel so tortured.
“Oh, by the way,” Zhang Yihang interrupted Lin Lu’s thoughts, “Did you see the message Lao Tang shared on his Moments?”
“What’s up?” Lin Lu subconsciously picked up his phone and opened WeChat.
At the same time, he heard Zhang Yihang say, “Boss Xue’s new company won a government project.”
Lin Lu’s hand trembled, and he quickly opened Lao Tang’s Moments.
The most recent post was a repost from a major news portal, with a title consisting of only eight characters: “Immortal Legend, Vigorous Development.”
Lin Lu bit his lip, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and quickly read the news content. The news briefly mentioned the bidding results and then focused on reviewing the “love-hate relationship” between Xue Wensong and Future Wisdom. The news emphasized more than once that within ten minutes of the bidding results being announced, Future Wisdom’s stock price had dropped by 10%.
Zhang Yihang watched Lin Lu holding his phone with a puzzled expression, “What are you doing? Your smile looks so weird.”
“I don’t?” Lin Lu was just genuinely happy, but he didn’t want to be noticed, so his expression seemed a bit unnatural.
Zhang Yihang didn’t pay much attention, “Boss Xue is really amazing, silent for almost half a year, and then he comes back with a big move. There’s a saying for this, isn’t there? ‘Silent waters run deep, one thunder startles a hundred birds.'”
“He’s indeed amazing…” Lin Lu buried his head in his plate, suddenly remembering something, and sent a WeChat message to Xue Wensong: “Want to have dinner together tonight?”
Xue Wensong quickly replied: “I have a social engagement tonight.”
Lin Lu pursed his lips, and his joyous mood instantly diminished by half.
Lin Lu had unknowingly gotten used to being alone at home. When Xue Wensong wasn’t home, he would sit on the couch, writing his thesis or watching dramas. If Xue Wensong came back late, he would leave a small lamp in the living room and go to bed by himself first.
However, today was a bit different. He really hoped Xue Wensong would come home early, wanting to congratulate him and share his joy.
Unconsciously, the clock had already passed eleven o’clock. Lin Lu was leaning on a cushion on the couch, feeling drowsy, when he heard the sound of the keypad being unlocked. The sleepiness in his brain disappeared instantly, and he quickly dropped the cushion and hurried to the door, lifting his head to say to the man entering, “You’re back.”
Xue Wensong was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, “Still not asleep?”
“No.” Lin Lu took the suit jacket Xue Wensong handed him and hung it on the coat rack. “I was waiting for you.”
Lin Lu was wearing cotton pajamas with long sleeves and pants, emitting a pleasant fragrance of shower gel. The light in the living room was warm but not bright enough, and the moonlight outside the French window fell directly on Lin Lu’s body, making his eyes sparkle faintly in the dimness.
After a day of hard work, his body was thoroughly relaxed at this moment. Xue Wensong roughly guessed why Lin Lu was waiting for him, but he still rubbed his head and asked teasingly, “What were you waiting for me to do?”
Before Lin Lu could answer, he walked to the edge of the sofa and sat down, then patted the seat beside him, “Come over.”
Lin Lu obediently sat down next to Xue Wensong, “I saw the news.”
Lin Lu’s tone was very cheerful, like a little deer jumping in the forest, and anyone could see that he was in a good mood.
Xue Wensong raised the corner of his mouth, “And then?”
“Congratulations.” Lin Lu said cheerfully, “I knew you would be fine.”
“Is that so?” Xue Wensong chuckled, “You said before that if I couldn’t make it, you would be disappointed in me.”
“I was just…trying to encourage you,” Lin Lu said softly.
“Then I’ve achieved it,” Xue Wensong leaned back on the sofa and casually asked, “No reward?”
Lin Lu had originally planned to prepare a sumptuous dinner for Xue Wensong to reward him, but Xue Wensong didn’t come home for dinner that night, so the plan had to be shelved. Now, suddenly being asked about a reward, Lin Lu couldn’t come up with one.
Glancing at the man beside him, sunk into the sofa, with disheveled hair falling across his forehead and two buttons of his shirt undone at the throat, Xue Wensong’s eyes were as leisurely and lazy as ever, but they also revealed a hint of weariness.
Suddenly, Lin Lu felt a sense of clarity in his heart, as if he had faced a complex problem with no idea how to solve it at first, but in an instant, the solution became clear, and even the answer seemed within reach.
He reached out and grasped that answer, suddenly understanding that his unusual feeling was because he cared for this big tiger.
“Lu Lu?” Seeing Lin Lu lost in thought, Xue Wensong called softly, “I just said that as a joke, don’t take it seriously.”
“No…” Lin Lu shook his head, realizing the answer, his heartbeat involuntarily quickening. He sat up straight, one hand bracing against the back of the sofa, the other on the side of Xue Wensong’s leg, then leaned in slowly, pressing his lips lightly against Xue Wensong’s cheek.
As he pulled back, he whispered softly into Xue Wensong’s ear, “You’ve worked hard.”
It hardly counted as a kiss, but it was enough to make Lin Lu blush furiously.
Xue Wensong visibly paused for a moment, then suddenly sat up, pulling Lin Lu, who was attempting to escape, into his arms.
His voice was low and hoarse, “Baby, do you know what you’re doing?”
The warm breath sprayed against Lin Lu’s ear, and the arm around his waist seemed to tighten, as if trying to melt him through his shirt.
“I, I just… because you wanted a reward,” Lin Lu buried his head in Xue Wensong’s neck, unable to look at him.
Xue Wensong chuckled, and Lin Lu could feel the vibration in his chest against his shoulder. He said, “That doesn’t count.”
“Huh?” Lin Lu lifted his head in confusion. “How, how can it not count?”
“I said it doesn’t count, so it doesn’t.”
In the next moment, Xue Wensong lowered his head and kissed Lin Lu on the lips. The tender lips trembled slightly, and that slight quiver ignited a flame called passion. Xue Wensong freed his right hand to cradle the back of Lin Lu’s neck, and his tongue gently teased open the tightly closed lips, chasing after the tender tongue in the warm space.
“Mmm…” Lin Lu furrowed his brows slightly, his hands gripping Xue Wensong’s shirt in front of his chest as if holding onto a lifeline.
The relentless dominance made it difficult for him to bear, and the friction between fingertips and skin in his pajamas felt unfamiliar.
Sensing Lin Lu was too tense to breathe, Xue Wensong momentarily released the person in his arms, lightly kissing the misty eyes, “Baby, this is the reward.”
Lin Lu’s face flushed so much it was almost dripping blood. He had to admit that kissing Xue Wensong felt wonderful, even causing him to have an embarrassing reaction.
He struggled to stand up from Xue Wensong, “That reward is enough, I’m going to bed.”
Xue Wensong held onto Lin Lu’s waist, raising an eyebrow, “Who said it’s enough?”
Lin Lu was taken aback, then panicked, “What, what else do you want to do?”
Seeing the panicked look of the little deer, Xue Wensong chuckled softly. He leaned close to Lin Lu’s ear, his tongue slowly sweeping over the earlobe, then capturing the tiny earlobe, murmuring indistinctly, “Doing what adults do.”
The ticklish sensation spread from his ear to his heart, and Lin Lu couldn’t help but shrink his neck, “I, I’m still studying, I’m not an adult.”
Adults were so wicked, their minds filled with things that needed to be censored.
Xue Wensong looked amusedly at the twenty-one-year-old who shamelessly claimed not to be an adult, asking, “You’re not an adult yet?”
“I am, but I don’t know… anything…” Lin Lu lowered his head in shame, feeling like a disgrace to adulthood if eighteen was the boundary between child and adult.
The desire in Xue Wensong’s eyes deepened, his lips lightly parting, “I’ll teach you.”
Author’s Note:
The scene mentioned in the summary should be coming up soon, yes, it should =3=