AMTWPICL Chapter 40

As someone stared at Tan Yue with innocent clear eyes, his throat became even drier. He cleared it twice and avoided Song Linchu’s gaze before saying, “The weather here is too dry, and I’m not used to it.”

This place was inland, and the humidity in the air was not as much as that of the seaside of the city. This reason was quite reasonable.

“But,” Song Linchu was puzzled, “Didn’t it rain last night?”

Tan Yue: “…”

Song Linchu believed that Tan Yue was being secretive about his illness and said, “Gege, small illnesses left untreated can become serious illnesses, and even a cold can be deadly! You can’t be secretive about your illness.”

Tan Yue: “…”

“I’ll just check your temperature. If it’s just a slight fever, taking some medicine will be enough.”

Tan Yue was never good at explaining himself. Seeing that someone wouldn’t give up until they touched him, he could only stand there and let him try.

Song Linchu touched his forehead for a while, then touched his own forehead for a while, and then put his forehead against Tan Yue’s forehead. He wanted to make sure.

Tan Yue: “…”

He was going to die.

This action was too intimate. The two could feel each other’s warm breaths and their temperatures blending together. In the quiet air, it was as if they could hear each other’s heartbeats.

One beat faster than the other.

Song Linchu had initially only wanted to check Tan Yue’s temperature. However, Tan Yue suddenly tightened his grip on Song Linchu’s wrist, causing him to instinctively look into Tan Yue’s eyes, meeting his dark and deep pupils.

The man’s eyes were no longer indifferent; they were churning with obscure emotions, like a dark abyss that wanted to swallow him whole.

For some reason, Song Linchu’s heart skipped several beats.

It was ambiguous, too ambiguous.

“Y-you don’t seem to have a fever,” Song Linchu said, feeling as though he had just been electrocuted. He quickly stepped back and his ears had turned red. “You should change your clothes. I’ll go down first.”

Without waiting for Tan Yue to say anything, Song Linchu broke free from his grip and ran away as fast as he could.

Tan Yue: “…”

Tan Yue stared at Song Linchu’s back as he fled in a hurry, and chuckled in resignation.

Some people have more tricks than a sow carrying a litter. But when it comes to the critical moment, they run faster than anyone else.

Tan Yue returned to the room, hesitated for a moment, and then turned to the bathroom.

The fake mutton had a bit too much power…

It wasn’t until he ran downstairs that Song Linchu held his hot face and panted slightly, hating himself for being so weak.

Why did he run? The old man’s eyes were clearly a sign of interest, he should have taken the opportunity to seduce him and make him unable to resist. Why did he run away!

So angry!

However, Tan Yue still hadn’t come down, and when Song Linchu couldn’t help but go up to call him again, the other party finally came down from the stairs.

The man had obviously taken a shower, his hair was slightly damp, and his eyes had returned to their usual indifference. However, his gaze towards Song Linchu was somewhat unnatural.

Song Linchu opened his mouth and wanted to ask something, but Tan Yue was afraid of what he was going to say. He stuffed a steamed bun that Ah Yong bought from the town into his mouth and whispered, “Eat.”

Song Linchu, who was fed by Tan Yue, immediately smiled and said, “Okay.”

Tan Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

After finishing breakfast, they set off for the city and took a flight back to Haikou.

Auntie would come over to help him clean up, so there was no need to worry.

Auntie was stunned by the red envelope that Tan Yue gave her yesterday. They were already in the car when she called to say that they couldn’t accept it. When Song Linchu heard the amount from Auntie, he was also shocked. On the other hand, Tan Yue said it was just a small amount of money and thanked them for taking care of Song Linchu. Song Linchu could only tell them that this was Tan Yue’s intention and asked them to accept it.

In fact, he also gave red envelopes to his cousins, and the red envelopes were quite large as well. Auntie had lent him 40,000 yuan for so long, and the money had depreciated. He knew that she would definitely not accept mire, so the red envelopes for cousins were all very large.

But compared to Tan Yue’s, they were simply small fry.

They arrived back in Haikou in the afternoon.

Due to his situation, Tan Yue had been delayed for several days, and the workload had piled up like a mountain. After returning home and changing his clothes, he went straight to the company. Song Linchu felt both distressed and guilty. If it weren’t for him, Tan Yue wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble.

However, his profession was of no help to Tan Yue. The best way to help him was to not cause any trouble. Therefore, Song Linchu stayed at home most of the time. He also took on an order so he focused on working on it at home.

The client who placed the order was a young lady who wanted Song Linchu to design a brooch for her boyfriend as a Valentine’s Day gift. Perhaps because of the progress in his relationship with Tan Yue recently, Song Linchu had a particularly smooth time designing this order. He completed the first draft in just one day and sent it to the young lady, who expressed great satisfaction.

Song Linchu then drew the complete design and sent it to her. She had no comments on it and was completely satisfied. She paid the final payment promptly and even blew Song Linchu some rainbow farts.

Sister Zhishi: [You are so good at designing!]

Sister Zhishi: [My boyfriend will look so handsome wearing this brooch!]

Sister Zhishi: [Your hand is not a hand, but a willow tree by the riverbank!]

Little Songlin: […]

Little Songlin: [As long as he likes it.]

Sister Zhishi: [Must Like!]

Sister Zhishi: [I envy your object of affection. He will surely receive a super beautiful piece of jewelry for Valentine’s Day (if there is one, dog head.jpg).]

Little Songlin: [I suspect you have installed a camera in my house.]

Little Songlin: [Otherwise, how would you know that I’m planning to give him a super beautiful piece of jewelry for Valentine’s Day (dog head.jpg)?]

Song Linchu originally planned to give Tan Yue a Lego set for Valentine’s Day, but Tan Yue had already given him one. Giving him a Lego set would seem uncreative, so he had to think of something else.

Giving a self-designed piece of jewelry as a gift was, of course, the best option.

Before, Song Linchu was so poor that he couldn’t even afford to send a gift to Tan Yue, despite his wish to do so. With his professional eye, he observed that even small items such as cufflinks or tie clips on Tan Yue started at a price of six figures. If he were to give something costing only one or two thousand, it would damage Tan Yue’s face.

Now, with the “salary” that Tan Yue had advanced to him, Song Linchu had the money to send him expensive gifts.

It felt a bit like taking advantage of Tan Yue’s money to make something to give back to him, like knitting a sweater for a sheep using the sheep’s own wool.

After finishing his chat with his Sister Zhishi, Song Linchu closed his computer, stretched lazily, and stood up. Outside, the sky had already turned dark, and a black car drove into the courtyard under the warm yellow streetlights.

Song Linchu recognized it as Tan Yue’s car, which was a bit surprising.

Since returning home from Song Linchu’s house, Tan Yue had been working overtime and rarely came back at this time. Song Linchu happily ran downstairs, and Tan Yue happened to be entering the door and changing shoes.

“Gege,” Song Linchu walked over with a smile and asked, “Why are you back so early today?”

Tan Yue paused in his shoe-changing motion and whispered, “For the sake of family harmony.”

Um…

Because Tan Yue had been working overtime these past few days and even came back last night at almost midnight, Song Linchu was a little unhappy about his lack of self-care.

After all, he was a terminally ill patient!

But Song Linchu didn’t say anything. Tan Yue was in a position where he had to be responsible for so many employees and partners, just like how an emperor had to diligently review memorials and handle government affairs even if he didn’t want to.

He had stood at the door of Tan Yue’s room for a while last night, watching him return at midnight. Tan Yue, that damn man, even teased him for being like a husband-watching stone. This made Song Linchu so angry that he just closed the door and went back to his room.

Unexpectedly, this old man actually took it to heart.

Song Linchu was a little happy.

He walked over to Tan Yue and, replacing Butler Liu, took off his coat and hung it up. “Actually, if you could come back before 9 o’clock, the family would be harmonious.”

Tan Yue had no idea what Song Linchu was thinking and took all of this as Song Linchu being clingy, thinking that he was dissatisfied with him for prioritizing work over their relationship and neglecting him.

In Tan Yue’s eyes, work always came first, and no one was allowed to cross that line.

However, after seeing the dissatisfaction in the eyes of the boy last night, not only did not object to Song Linchu’s behavior, but also instructed his assistant to free up his time and leave work on time tonight.

“I’m almost done with work,” Tan Yue said nonchalantly. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll be on holiday.”

“That’s great!” Song Linchu did not hide his joy at all. “This way, you can rest well.”

Tan Yue shook his head on seeing the youth’s smiling eyes.

He was too clingy, this was not good.

The two of them didn’t even notice that they were chatting across servers as they walked to the dining hall.

The butler had already instructed the kitchen to prepare the food and set the table. After washing their hands, the two of them sat down.

As Tan Yue sat down, he thought of something and asked in a casual tone, “There’s a company annual meeting tomorrow. Do you want to attend?”

Song Linchu paused with the chopsticks in his hand.

He blinked his eyes and asked, “Then what’s my status going to be?”

“Naturally, my partner,” Tan Yue said matter-of-factly.

“…”

Tan Yue’s invitation and answer were beyond his expectations.

He thought that their agreement to get married was just a play for his grandfather’s sake. Now, with this situation, did Tan Yue want the employees of his company to know about his existence?

Wasn’t this play becoming too real?

However, Tan Yue must have his own considerations. Moreover, he agreed to marry him not only to please his grandfather but also to have someone who could be publicly announced and help him block some peach blossoms.

This was his job, and Song Linchu said, “Alright, do I need to prepare anything? Can I wear the same suit as last time?”

“No need to wear a suit.”

“Huh? Don’t need to?” Song Linchu was a little surprised. He thought that an annual meeting for a large corporation would be a grand event, just like his birthday party last time.

Apparently, it wasn’t. It was probably just a regular banquet.

‘Even better,’ Song Linchu thought. ‘I smiled all night at the last party and my face was stiff. I had to keep up my posture and couldn’t eat a lot of delicious food. If it weren’t for Tan Yue asking someone to cook some food for them on the side, I would have starved on the spot.’

Tan Yue was not only the CEO, but also the protagonist of the annual meeting, so he probably wouldn’t have had much spare time to take care of him.

It had been a long time since Song Linchu had dinner with Tan Yue, but because of psychological reasons, he felt that tonight’s dinner was especially delicious and ended up eating half a bowl more of rice.

As soon as he put down his chopsticks, his phone, which he had placed beside him, vibrated a few times.

It was his roommate Li Chang sending him a WeChat message.

Li Chang: [Linchu, I just checked the school’s official website. The final exam results are out.]

Li Chang: [Guess what? You’re number one again!]

Li Chang: [You scored more than 20 points higher than the second place. You’re too strong!]

Little Songlin: [Really?]

Their major had a girl who did exceptionally well in exams. Song Linchu used to be busy working to support himself and pay off his debts, and didn’t study seriously for mid-term exams, which resulted in being surpassed by her a few times.

There was a scholarship offer for the final exams, and although he managed to get the first place, he scored a few points higher than her. He didn’t expect to score more than 20 points higher than her this time, which was unbelievable.

Li Chang: [It’s true. See for yourself!]

Li Chang: [(picture)]

The picture Li Chang sent was a screenshot of his grades, which Song Linchu enlarged.

He did exceptionally well this time, all scores were above 90/100, and he scored full marks on two subjects.

Although it was not surprising that he came in first, Song Linchu was still very happy to score so high. It was worth his sleepless nights of studying.

“What are you so happy about?” Tan Yue, who was sitting opposite him, asked as he put down his chopsticks and wipes his mouth with a napkin.

“I came in first in the final exam!” Song Linchu said happily. “Isn’t that amazing?”

Tan Yue made a sound of agreement and said, “Very impressive.”

After a pause, Tan Yue probably felt that his praise was not strong enough, so he added, “You’re little genius.”

Song Linchu smiled, about to say something when his phone vibrated again.

Li Chang: [However, ahem, you failed your elective swimming class, so… you know.]

Song Linchu: “…”

Song Linchu’s smile stiffened.

As the saying goes, there are strengths and weaknesses. Song Linchu certainly wasn’t good at everything.

He was especially bad at sports.

He didn’t get the one he wanted in this year’s elective class, and accidentally clicked on a random selection, so the evil system assigned him a swimming class.

Song Linchu was a “dry duck”, for whom physical education courses were a torment. Thinking that he could always take them next semester, and since elective courses did not count towards the final grades, he happily chose to give up.

However, their school had a twisted rule that required parents’ signatures on failed report cards…

Li Chang was the class monitor of their class, and his main purpose was probably to inform Song Linchu of this.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing Song Linchu’s smile suddenly freeze, Tan Yue asked again.

“Nothing, hehe.”

How could he let Tan Yue know about such an embarrassing thing as failing a class!

Absolutely not!

Their report cards could be directly downloaded from the student background system using their student ID, and all they had to do was print it out and have their parents sign it. In fact, most would forge the signatures nowadays. It was a loophole that they didn’t know how to close and had been around for a long time.

Tan Yue’s house had a printer, and Song Linchu’s computer was connected to it because sometimes he needed to print some design drafts.

The printer was in the study, and since Tan Yue was starting his annual leave soon, he would probably be at home all the time. This printing task had to be done in the dead of night!

At midnight, Song Linchu was crouched at the door, listening to the sounds outside. He waited until he was sure that Tan Yue had returned to his own room before walking to the computer and connecting to the printer.

After thinking for a while, he still couldn’t rest easy and took out his phone.

Little Songlin: [(Your little cutie suddenly appears.jpg)]

Little Songlin: [Gege, are you sleeping?]

Tan Yue: [Getting ready to sleep, why?]

Little Songlin: [Nothing, I just miss my gege~\(≥▽≤)/~]

Little Songlin: [Gege, go to sleep! I’m going to bed too, good night~]

Little Songlin: [(Little fox kissing.gif)]

Tan Yue: [Okay.]

After Song Linchu finished gathering intelligence, he printed out the results and snuck downstairs cautiously. The lights had been turned off, except for a few small wall lamps to guide the master in case he needed to descend at night.

Song Linchu silently made his way to the study, where he retrieved the report from the printer. He then tiptoed back upstairs and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that Tan Yue’s door was tightly shut.

Ha, it’s as if I’m deceiving the heavens and crossing the ocean!

Song Linchu walked quickly and lightly back to his room.

Then, he saw Tan Yue standing in front of his computer in pajamas, amd his eyes landed on the report card lying on his desk…

Song Linchu stumbled for a moment and almost fell flat on his face. Damn it! I took every precaution, but the enemy still managed to steal the crystal!

Ah, tui! This is not ethical!

He tried to control his facial expression to make it less twisted and said, “Gege, I thought you were asleep?”

Tan Yue had indeed been planning to sleep, but he hesitated upon hearing the coquettish tone in his words. He eventually opened the door and came out, only to hear a beeping alarm coming from Song Linchu’s room.

Worried that something had happened, Tan Yue entered without permission and discovered that the alarm was being emitted by the computer. Apparently, there was an issue with the printer’s connection that caused the system to constantly alarm.

Tan Yue hadn’t intended to check Song Linchu’s report, but it was right there in plain sight on the desktop. The school had even marked it in bold red font for those who failed with a score of zero, making it impossible to ignore.

Tan Yue lifted his gaze and saw the young man’s face turn red. He said, “I thought the underlying message in your WeChat was asking me to come and find you.”

Song Linchu: “….”

God damn it, when did I tell you to come find me!

This despicable man, who usually couldn’t read the atmosphere until people were itching to punch him, now suddenly had emotional intelligence.

He must have been sent by God to torment him! Right? Right!

Song Linchu’s mentality collapsed.

No, he couldn’t be embarrassed. As long as he wasn’t embarrassed, it would be Tan Yue who was embarrassed.

Song Linchu tried his best to act as if nothing had happened and placed his report card on the table. He winked at Tan Yue and said, “Gege, you are suddenly so considerate. Could it be that you have a budding love for me? How about not going back tonight and spending the spring night with me?”

Seeing Song Linchu becoming so embarrassed that he was spouting nonsense, a hint of a smile flashed in Tan Yue’s eyes.

If he were to say “okay” now, would a certain someone with thieving intentions but lacking in courage just jump out of the window and commit suicide?