Translator: Shunraiki
Editor: Naeda
Chapter 22: This is not ‘love’?
Because Yan Mu's mobile phone had rung several times, he was forced to park the car by the side of the road. When he brought the car to a stop, he took out the wireless headphones and finally answered the persistent phone call.
"Fuck, Mu ge, why didn't you call when you said you were going to call?" Zhuang Yu's voice blasted through the speakers, his tone was quite angry.
"Sorry, I had something to do. You guys just go to the afternoon party without me," Yan Mu said. He glanced at the Lu Chengyu beside him. "I'll treat you tomorrow."
"Alright." Zhuang Yu knew that Yan Mu had something to settle with Yan Jia. Normally, Yan Mu was not the type of person to leave without saying anything in advance. "Okay, I'll tell them. You take care of yourself."
"Thank you." Yan Mu hung up the phone, frowning. What happened to him today? He left early without telling his friends; he stopped at the door regardless of the hotel rules. This was not in line with his usual style. These disrespectful acts violated his years' worth of education.
Although Lu Chengyu was half drunk, he was still able to tell that there was something wrong with Yan Mu's expression, so he shifted his gaze away quietly. Sometimes, a person had to know when not to ask questions.
The car gradually moved along. Lu Chengyu leaned back on his comfortable chair and listened to the soothing sound of Guqin music. Slowly, he fell asleep.
Taking advantage of when the lights turned red, Yan Mu covered Lu Chengyu with his suit coat. This was the second time he had to send the drunk Lu Chengyu home.
As a boss, he knew that his concern for Lu Chengyu was exceeding the emotional line between a supervisor to his staff. As the lights turned green, he started the car and drove steadily forward. Maybe, there were some things he should think about seriously.
When the car entered the community, Yan Mu half-hugged Lu Chengyu back to his apartment.
After settling the man into the **, Yan Mu half squatted down, taking off the other party's shoes. He put the door keys on the bedside cabinet, opened the window, and silently looked at the sleeping Lu Chengyu.
The first time he saw Lu Chengyu's interview resume, Yan Mu had thought that he might be a very energetic young man. Who would've known that he would happen to meet the real person at Baiweixuan the next day and, by chance, also pick up the younger man's wallet. If Yan Mu hadn't walked fast enough, Chengyu's wallet would've been picked up by another person.
At that time, Lu Chengyu had turned around and said 'thank you' with a smile adorning his face. For some reason, Yan Mu recalled the clean and smooth white shirt Chengyu had wore. It made the people who look at it want to move closer, but at the same time, also reluctant to reach out to touch for the fear of wrinkling and dirtying the pure shirt.
After a long time in his thoughts, Yan Mu suddenly frowned. His friends had said that he was dull and boring. Does Lu Chengyu, a man who never lacked attention in the company, think so, too?
Walking out of the master bedroom, Yan Mu went to the kitchen and found that the mung beans he had bought were still in the refrigerator. Seeing that the bag of mung beans had not moved, he knew that Lu Chengyu seldom cook for himself.
He placed the mung beans in the bowl to soak them. Then, he circled around the room and found that the garbage bin was almost overflowing with trash. It was full of snack packages and peels, as well as wrappers for instant bread. There wasn't that much garbage when he was here the last time.
Bending over to collect all the garbage, Yan Mu turned back to the room, took away the key, and carried the trash out of the door.
Xiao He was hired as the CEO's driver, but because Yan Mu often liked to drive by himself, he usually did odd jobs in the company. Due to his honesty and diligence, his wages increased by 5% during this period.
However, right now, this honest, diligent young man felt that there was something wrong with his eyes.
He had just parked Assistant Lu's car and was ready to take the keys upstairs. As a result, he saw his boss coming out with several garbage bags, the garbage bags in which were incompatible with his elegant clothing.
Poor Xiao He was stunned for several seconds before he ran toward Yan Mu, reaching for the bulging trash bags in his boss's hands. "Boss, why are you here? Let me carry these."
"No need," said Yan Mu, avoiding Xiao He's hands. "I'll hold it. Are you here to deliver the car keys to Assistant Lu?"
Xiao He nodded. When he saw that the boss really didn't need his help, Xiao He just scratched his head and smiled. "I've parked the car, but when I called Assistant Lu's phone just now, nobody answered. So, I decided to go upstairs to give him the car keys."
"No, just give me the keys." Yan Mu took the keys from Xiao He's hand and let him go back.
On his way home, Xiao He thought of a couple reasons why his big boss suddenly appeared downstairs of Assistant Lu's apartment. Using his own knowledge and self-awareness, the most logical reason for his boss' appearance was that he had property here in this neighbourhood; the most illogical reason was that the boss was helping Assistant Lu clean his room.
Although the boss was good, he was not good enough to help his subordinates clean their rooms. Even if Xiao He put this on the internet, he bet that no one would believe him. He felt that he was thinking too much, and, as a driver, one thing he had to do was hold his tongue. So, this matter was secured tightly in his heart.
Yan Mu didn't care about what Xiao He thought. After he threw away the garbage, he went to the nearby supermarket to buy fruits and vegetables. When he came back to Lu Chengyu’s apartment, the young man was still sleeping.
After Yan Mu handled the ingredients, he threw them in a pot to cook slowly over a mild fire. Yan Mu knew that there was a study room in Chengyu’s apartment, but it was too impolite to enter without the owner’s consent. In the end, he decided to sit on the sofa and turn on the TV to kill time.
"You say you don't love her, but you always look at her, pay close attention to her, even going as far as to ignore your identity and do things you normally won't do for her. If you're saying that you don't love her, are you lying to me or fooling yourself?"
Yan Mu, who had originally wanted to change the station to the news channel, suddenly stopped his movement. He stared at the grieving woman crying and shouting at the man in the television, his eyebrows tightly furrowing. In the end, he took out his cell phone and dialled his friend's number.
Zhuang Yu was playing tennis with his friends. When the bodyguard brought his mobile phone into the court, he wiped his sweat and took the phone. Seeing that it was Yan Mu calling, he immediately laughed. "What is it, Mu ge? Do you have time to come and play now?"
After Zhuang Yu heard the following unexpected remarks from Yan Mu, his expression became strange. "You've done that much for this person, but you don't know why?"
There was silence from the other end of the line. Sighing helplessly, Zhuang Yu said, "Congratulations Mu ge, your spring is here. What kind of beauty can make a person like Mu ge bow down? Bring that person over tonight…" Before Zhuang Yu could finish his sentence, he heard a beep coming from his phone. Did Yan Mu just hang up on him?!
"He's a 28 years old man yet still so shy," Zhuang Yu threw his cell phone to his bodyguard. "Even people like Mu ge have someone to pursue. Aren't I pitiful?"
"Sir, you broke up with Miss Yang two days ago," the bodyguard said in a flat tone. He caught Zhuang Yu's phone. "Miss Yang also said that she never wants to see you again."
"As a bodyguard, you have excellent skills and brains; but for an employer, you can be quite annoying." Zhuang Yu frowned at his bodyguard.
The bodyguard was silent for a long time, but finally, he stood up to the pressure and said, "If a bodyguard doesn't have a brain, he isn't suitable for this line of work. Nowadays, work isn't easy." A few days ago, he heard a brother, who had worked for Master Yan San, said that because he rushed to the door on impulse, he was beaten and thrown to the wall in one blow by a gentle-looking young man. The brother had then change his job, now selling kebabs at the night market.
Zhuang Yu glanced at his bodyguard. Movies with powerful bodyguards dressed in black were fucking deceptive because, in reality, none of the bodyguards he hired were reliable.
When Lu Chengyu woke up, he could tell that it was already evening from the turned on lights in his room. He smelled the aroma drifting from outside the door and swallowed his saliva. After changing out of his alcohol-stained clothes, Chengyu went to the living room and saw Yan Mu sitting on the sofa watching a movie. Even though he was sitting on an ordinary sofa, the man's back was as straight as a ruler, and he exuded an indescribable aura from head to toe.
Chengyu touched his chin. Don't tell me, is this the legendary exquisite threatening aura?
"Awake?" Seeing Chengyu walk out of his room, Yan Mu wanted to give the younger man a smile. The corner of his lips, however, only quirked up by a little. Suddenly, he stood up and paced quickly into the kitchen, bringing out the mung bean porridge [1] and pork foot soup [2] he had already cooked that morning.
[1]
[2]
Lu Chengyu looked doubtfully at the kitchen door. Was it just him or was the boss walking with both his hands and feet swinging in the same direction? Is my mind not sober yet because I just woke up? [T/N: walking with same hand and feet: Yan Mu swing his left hand and leg at the same time, like the kind of nervous type of walking]
Just when Chengyu was about to head into the kitchen to help, Yan Mu came out with the dishes in his hands. The soup in the insulated bowl was steaming with white smoke. Looking at Yan Mu's expressionless face as the man held two bowls of porridge, Lu Chengyu's lips curled up to a smile. He went to the dining table and said, "What did you stew, boss?"
After handing Lu Chengyu a spoon and a pair of chopsticks, Yan Mu went back to the kitchen and returned with a plate of pickles and two empty bowls. He placed them on the table. "You have drunk wine before, so eating these will be good for your stomach." He looked at Lu Chengyu but quickly averted his eyes. Holding the soup ladle, Yan Mu added, "I saw fresh pork feet at the supermarket this afternoon, so I bought some."
A bowl filled with soup was given to Lu Chengyu. He picked up a spoon and scooped some, blowing on it twice before stuffing it into his mouth. Although the soup was hot, it was tasty. Lu Chengyu nodded eagerly. "It's delicious. I heard from my friends that when a person whose ten fingers do not touch the sun and spring water [3] go abroad, they will come back with cooking skills. Is that true?"
[3] ten fingers do not touch the sun and spring water: spoiled, a pampered person who does not have to work hard for housework.
"It's not that exaggerated." The corner of Yan Mu's lips slightly bend up as he watched Lu Chengyu blow on the soup and stuff it in his mouth. "But it's true that many people go abroad to learn simple □□’s cooking by themselves.”
Lu Chengyu nodded. "Being away from home is the best exercise to temper one's self, ah," he sighed ruefully.
When Yan Mu recalled that Lu Chengyu lived in this empty **** house by himself, he squeezed his chopsticks tightly and changed the topic to work.
Looking at Lu Chengyu seriously discussing his work while drinking soup, Yan Mu thought that, in fact, talking while eating was not an unacceptable behavior.
After dinner, Yan Mu accompanied Lu Chengyu and sat together with him for a while. When he made sure that Chengyu didn't have any discomfort from his excessive drinking last night, Yan Mu stood up and said his farewells.
Lu Chengyu tried to persuade Yan Mu to stay, but when the latter refused, he escorted the older man to the elevator. He didn't leave as the elevator doors closed and, instead, watched as the numbers on the elevator's panel descended to the ground level. Only then did he return to his apartment.
Opening the refrigerator, Chengyu saw the fresh fruits and vegetables neatly arranged inside and couldn't help laughing. Meeting such a good boss–he would be embarrassed to face this pile of fresh fruits and vegetables if he didn't do a good job to job Yan Mu.
Lu Chengyu then took a snow pear from the refrigerator, washed and gnawed it.
More than a week later, Lu Chengyu received a call from Director Zhang. They had finished filming《Soaring Birds》and were now beginning on the last stage: get approval from above and finish everything within a month.
Lu Chengyu hung up the phone and looked at the calendar on his desk. No wonder there were always mooncake advertisements on TV recently. It turned out that the Mid-Autumn Festival was coming soon.
He drew a circle on a certain date of the calendar. On this happy day, families will celebrate the festival. Wouldn't it be a little more lively if Liang Company's housing problems were to be exposed early?
He liked excitement and lively surroundings the most. On behalf of the traditional □□ reunion’s holiday, how could there be no gossip to liven things up?
Translator and Editor rambling section:
Naeda: Flustered Yan Mu is honestly my bias.
Shunraiki: I just want to know what brand of comforter/blanket Chengyu use. ** didn't help me to get any kind of hint at all…