AMTWPICL Chapter 5

The ward where Tan Yue was staying was very spacious, and it was in the form of a suite with a living room and balcony. The decoration was luxurious, and there was no smell of disinfectant that was typical of hospitals. It didn’t feel depressing like ordinary hospitals, which are usually bleak and white.
When his mother was sick, Song Linchu almost lived in the hospital as if it were his home. He was used to that environment and suddenly walking into a different one made him a little uncomfortable.

Those who didn’t know would have thought it was a hotel, even a super luxurious one.

Everything can be summed up in three words: evil rich people.

“Sir, someone is here.” The young man – Tan Yue’s personal secretary Cheng Bin said.

Tan Yue was replying to an email and looked up when he heard the words, meeting the gaze of the young man walking in.

Although the other party used his photo as the avatar, the feeling of seeing the real person was different from that of seeing the photo.

The young man had a gray cashmere scarf around his neck, and his beautiful and charming face was exposed from the thick scarf. Because of the heating in the ward, his were cheeks were red and his eyes were clear and bright, making him look lively and vivid.

It had to be said that his grandfather still understood him a bit and knew that he liked boys who appeared inexperienced and had no schemes.

Song Linchu was also looking at Tan Yue.

His first reaction was disbelief.

He had seen a photo of Tan Mingqing’s father in his circle of friends– a man in his forties who looked like he was in his thirties, tall, handsome, and good-looking.

So he guessed that Tan Mingqing’s uncle should be in his thirties. With Tan Mingqing and his father being handsome men, this uncle with a close blood relationship shouldn’t be too ugly.

But the man in front of him, wasn’t he too young and handsome?

Tan Mingqing was considered a universally acknowledged handsome man, but his little uncle was several levels more handsome than him. His face and waist were going straight to the ceiling in terms of looks.

Moreover, although he was Tan Mingqing’s uncle, he looked only a little older than them, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He had a sickly pale complexion, and looked like a seriously ill person.

So how can it be said that heaven is fair? The old man gave Tan Yue an advantageous family background and outstanding looks but wanted him to die young.

It was miserable, really too miserable.

Song Linchu looked at the man’s sickly pale face with sympathy.

Even in this state, he couldn’t enjoy the last bit of time in peace, he had to work hard to earn money, and then leave the money he earned to Tan Mingqing to buy luxury goods for Su Zhan. The thought made him sick again.

Little green tea, wait, I’ll turn you into a little fork soon.

Thinking like this, Song Linchu lifted the thermos lunch box in his hand and said, “Mr. Tan, I made some medicinal chicken soup for you and brought it over.”

Although Tan Yue looked only a few years older than him, his aura was too strong, causing Song Linchu to unconsciously use an honorific title.

Tan Yue’s expression was indifferent as snow, making it hard to guess his likes and dislikes.

He said emotionlessly, “Put it aside.”

Tan Yue did not have any intention to eat.

He had a professional nutritionist and chef, and all three meals were carefully prepared. His superior background made his appetite very picky, and ordinary food couldn’t easily satisfy him.

However, Song Linchu did not put away the lunchbox as imagined. Instead, he persuaded, “I also stir-fried some vegetables. If we wait any longer, they will turn yellow and the taste won’t be good. It’s almost time for lunch, so you can eat now.”

Song Linchu knew that Tan Yue was just being polite to him, and maybe he would throw away the food he had carefully made all afternoon after he left.

How could he allow that?

He had come this far, and he was determined to let the other person taste his cooking.

Seeing that Tan Yue was indifferent, Song Linchu lowered his eyes and his voice was noticeably subdued: “I spent the whole afternoon making it, and I also endured the cold and squeezed on the subway for an hour to bring it to you. Please try it.”

Although Song Linchu was not as cunning and pretentious as Su Zhan, his good looks and pitiful appearance had an infectious power and Tan Yue’s fingertips moved slightly.

After a while, Tan Yue’s cold voice said, “Bring it over.”

Song Linchu gave himself a mental pat on the back for his acting skills. Cheng Bin heard Tan Yue’s words and quickly took the laptop away, and then set up a small table. Song Linchu placed the lunchbox on the table and opened the lid.

Tan Yue did not have any expectation for this meal, especially the one that the person in front of him claimed to have cooked, so he planned to just take a few bites and be done with it.

However, when the lunchbox was opened, Tan Yue’s nose twitched.

It smelled amazing, very amazing.

The aroma of the chicken wafted out of the container. Although it was called medicinal chicken, there was no medicinal smell. It was the rich aroma of an old hen that had been stewed for a long time, with a complex and rich flavor that seemed to mix the herbal aroma with the chicken flavor, making it even more intense.

Cheng Bin was washing his hands and getting the dishes and plates ready when he smelled the fragrance in the air and couldn’t help but salivate.

It smelled so delicious!

Cheng Bin brought over a pile of plates and bowls. As Tan Yue was particular, the food from the lunch box had to be transferred into the plates and bowls, so Cheng Bin poured the medicinal chicken soup into a large soup bowl. The chicken meat was golden in color, and the soup was a rich golden color with a sprinkle of finely chopped green onions. Just looking at it made one’s mouth water. What’s more, it smelled so good.

Cheng Bin had been with Tan Yue for several years, and had seen all kinds of high-end restaurant dishes, but this was the first time he had been so tempted.

Tan Yue took the soup that Cheng Bin had served, picked up a spoon, and tasted it. He tried to make the action look elegant and not too eager, but the fresh taste that spread on his tongue made him unable to resist and he drank a second and a third spoonful.

When the chicken soup entered his mouth, he could taste a light bitter taste that belonged to Chinese herbs, but it did not spoil the taste of the soup at all. On the contrary, it added flavor to the chicken soup, just like salt.

Cheng Bin silently took the lunchbox to wash. He would die of hunger if he stayed any longer.

There were only the two of them left in the ward. Song Linchu asked, “Does it suit your taste?”

Tan Yue’s hand that held the soup spoon paused for a moment, then he nodded reservedly and said calmly, “It’s very delicious.”

Song Linchu immediately smiled happily. It was worth the trouble he went through all afternoon.

He continued, “If you like it, I can make something else for you when I have time?”

In fact, Song Linchu was only in his junior year of college, and he wasn’t busy with schoolwork. He could have free time every day, but he knew that everything became more precious when it was scarce. If he came every day, what would be the difference between him and the butler?

Moreover, he couldn’t afford to do it every day either.

Today, the old mother chicken, herbs, and vegetables cost him more than 200 yuan, plus the lunchbox, which made his heart ache.

Tan Yue’s hand holding the spoon paused for a moment, but he finally murmured, “Mm.”

Song Linchu’s smile deepened a bit.

Great, he finally found a way to get this straight guy to open up a bit.

After Cheng Bin washed the lunchbox, he waited outside for a while, estimated that Tan Yue had finished eating, and then brought the lunchbox back to the ward.

As expected, Tan Yue had finished eating and Cheng Bin was surprised to see that there was hardly any food left on the table.

Perhaps because of the operation, Tan Yue’s appetite had not been very good lately, and sometimes he would stop eating after a few bites. Butler Zhong, who was responsible for delivering the food, was also very worried.

Unexpectedly, the meal Tan Yue had just eaten was more than he usually ate in a day.

So it was not that Tan Yue had a poor appetite, but that the chefs in his family who earned nearly six figures a month did not cook food that met his taste.

Cheng Bin felt like he was in a dream.

Song Linchu was sitting on the sofa playing with his phone and when Cheng Bin returned his lunch box, he stood up and said, “I won’t disturb your rest. I’ll leave first.”

In fact, according to his plan, Song Linchu should have taken the opportunity to talk to Tan Yue more, and use the tricks on WeChat to flirt with him. However, flirting on WeChat was completely different from reality.

In reality, Tan Yue’s aura was too strong, and his long-time high status gave him a sense of oppression, making him feel like he was being stared at by a hundred professors at the same time. It made him want to straighten his back and practice a hundred exam papers, let alone chat and flirt with the other person.

He admitted that he was scared.

Tan Yue was wiping his hands with a wet towel and when he heard Song Linchu say he would take the subway, he paused for a moment and then said to Cheng Bin, who was cleaning up the leftover food, “You can drive him.”

“Okay, sir. I’ll call the caregiver to come and clean up.”

“No, it’s not necessary. It’s rush hour now, and driving would be too congested. I’ll take the subway, it’s more convenient,” Song Linchu quickly said.

There were not many people taking the subway near the starting station of this front line, so Song Linchu felt that taking the subway was more convenient.

He picked up his lunch box, waved to Tan Yue, and smiled slightly, “See you next time, Mr. Tan.”

Cheng Bin thought to himself that this was just a one-time exception, and it was only for the sake of his grandfather. How could there be a next time?

Just as he was thinking this, he heard his boss say lightly, “See you next time.”

Cheng Bin’s hands shook as he was cleaning the table, almost spilling the leftovers on the table.

There really would be a next time!

The boss was not the kind of person who would easily toy with someone. Even if Song Linchu’s cooking was delicious, if he had no interest in him, he would definitely restrain his appetite and not give him any illusions.

He couldn’t help but look at Song Linchu a little more and decided to treat him differently in the future.

Song Linchu left the hospital in a good mood. As expected, he conquered Tan Yue from his stomach, and the difficulty level of the task dropped from hell mode to hard.

He believed that if he came a few more times, he would definitely conquer Tan Yue completely.

On Sunday, Song Linchu was going to attend a birthday party.

The birthday party was for a senior in college who was responsible for introducing part-time jobs. He had a very wide network of people and had introduced several good part-time jobs to Song Linchu, including the line with Xu Youran.

The birthday party was held at a KTV in Jiagang City. The senior had a good social circle, and many people came. Song Linchu had a limited social circle and didn’t know anyone, he couldn’t even remember the names of the few people he recognized. But he couldn’t deny that his reputation in school was high, and others knew him.

The birthday party had only been going on for half an hour, and Song Linchu had already been approached by several people asking for his WeChat. He felt like a lamb trapped in a wolf’s den and quickly found an excuse to go to the bathroom and catch his breath.

The private room had Its own bathroom, but Song Linchu chose to go to the public one outside to avoid people.

“Look at the kind of people you’ve found. I’m not a garbage dump. I don’t want all sorts of people.”

As Song Linchu was about to leave the restroom, a man walked in talking on his phone. The man wasn’t looking where he was going and almost ran into Song Linchu, but Song Linchu reacted in time and quickly dodged him.

Even though they didn’t collide, the man still turned with a glare, until he saw Song Linchu’s face.

“Oh, it’s you.”

The man’s glare turned into a smile, and he hung up his phone and said, “What a coincidence. We bumped into each other in the restroom. You came with Tan Mingqing, right? Come with us for a drink.”

Song Linchu wrinkled his nose slightly from the man’s breath and said, “No, I already broke up with him.”

This man in front of him was Tan Mingqing’s friend, and he had met him before when he was dating Tan Mingqing.

“Broke up?” The man paused for a moment before breaking out into an even bigger smile. He looked Song Linchu up and down and said, “That Tan Mingqing is out of luck. Come on, let me introduce you to someone better.”

Song Linchu was uncomfortable with the way he was being looked at and said, “I’m sorry, my friend is still waiting for me. I don’t want to disturb you guys.”

“How is that disturbing us? Are you not giving face, huh? You only call me when you need help, and then you won’t even have a drink with me.” The man put on a sour face and pretended to be displeased.

Song Linchu was momentarily speechless.

Indeed, the man had helped him out with a big problem before. When Tan Mingqing took him to a bar, he accidentally lost his phone, which had pictures of his deceased mother that weren’t backed up and he was extremely anxious.

Fortunately, the bar was owned by the relative to this man named Brother Dong. He immediately contacted the bar’s security department, obtained the surveillance footage of everywhere Song Linchu had been, and carefully searched for his phone. They finally found out that a drunk had picked it up and they asked the bar’s security to help locate him. They found him in an alley and retrieved the phone.

Although Tan Mingqing had treated brother Dong to a meal afterwards, he had indeed helped Song Linchu, so he had to give him face if he asked him to have a drink.

Song Linchu’s alcohol tolerance was not great nor terrible, and if he just had one drink, it would be fine, but he was afraid that they would keep finding excuses to make him drink and not let him go. Tan Mingqing’s wealthy friends had this tendency.

Song Linchu really didn’t want to get drunk in an unfamiliar place.

He pursed his lips, took out his phone, and said, “Let me tell my friend.”

“Okay, tell him.”

This Brother Dong was supposed to go to the bathroom, but he didn’t even go because he was afraid that Song Linchu would run away. He just stood next to him.

However, Song Linchu didn’t inform the senior as he had already been made to drink until his eyes were blurred.

He opened Tan Yue’s WeChat.

Little Songlin: [Ge, if I haven’t contacted you in ten minutes, can you give me a voice call and pretend that you have an urgent matter to discuss with me?]

He could actually look for Li Chang and the others, but he hadn’t contacted Tan Yue all day and happened to have an excuse to find him.

This time, Tan Yue responded quite quickly.

Tan Yue: [?]

Little Songlin: [QAQ My friend here wants to drink with me, but I can’t drink, so I want to find an excuse to leave.]

If Tan Yue dares to say anything like “If you can’t drink, why make friends who drink,” he’ll never look for him again!

Even a licking dog has dignity!

Fortunately, Tan Yue wasn’t that crazy and only replied with one word: [Okay.]

It was not “mm” or “Oh” this time.

Although “Okay” was only one word, it had more warmth than those interjections.

After reading it, Song Linchu couldn’t help but feel amused.

It turns out that when a “licking dog” receives a cold response from a goddess, this is how they console themselves.

Little Songlin: [Thank you, ge.]

Little Songlin: [(Little fox kissing gif)]

After sending the message, Song Linchu put away his phone and said, “It’s okay, let’s go.”

Brother Dong had also just sent a message. When he saw the person on WeChat respond with “received,” a slightly malicious smile crossed his eyes as he said, “Let’s go this way.”