Chapter Two Hundred and One: He’ll Be Back
Four Seasons Manor.
“Ahh, this is the life of a king.” Xiao Yu rolled on the carpet with a ball of yarn. He stopped next to Yan Jin’s foot and closed his eyes contentedly.
“Go to bed if you want to sleep.” Yan Jin prodded Xiao Yu in the stomach using his toe.
“Don’t wanna. The carpet is much bigger, and I can play with Faye here.
“*Meow*.” The white cat next to him meowed in unison and made off with the yarn ball.
“You could have done this at home too.” Yan Jin was still annoyed at Xiao Yu’s choice for their honeymoon.
Yan Jin sat down cross-legged next to Xiao Yu and snapped his fingers at Faye. The white cat grouchily passed Yan Jin the yarn ball, which Yan Jin stuffed into Xiao Yu’s grasp.
“Why are you stealing her toys?” was what Xiao Yu said, but he’d already accepted the yarn ball and had begun fiddling with it.
Faye stared at this contradiction, then looked at the threat hidden behind Yan Jin’s smile. Affronted, she went to a corner to play by herself.
“There’s no way home can compare to this. There’s plenty to eat and drink, servants are at your beck and call, and it’s a wide expanse in a nice environment with a view that looks digitally enhanced. If this place were open to the public, it would be run over with people in no time. Are there any tourist spots in all of China like the Four Seasons Manor? I don’t think I’ve heard of any place as good as this…”
“The Four Seasons Manor isn’t a tourist spot. If you want, you can consider this as home,” Yan Jin reminded him.
“Oh, right! I forgot about that. But, maybe we shouldn’t. It’s too far from the city and would make our commute very inconvenient. Also, I have some attachment to that villa after living there for so long. I don’t want to switch.”
Thwump. Xiao Yu rolled backwards.
“You look like you like it here more though.” Yan Jin stuck his arm out to bring Xiao Yu back.
“Once in a while is fun, but every day… would be too extravagant.” Xiao Yu rested his head on Yan Jin’s legs and shifted into a comfortable position before closing his eyes.
There truly was a difference in experiencing the Four Seasons Manor as a hamster versus as a human. The perspective alone was worlds apart; only a human could fully appreciate its god-like architecture. Hamsters also couldn’t eat human food, so he hadn’t had the opportunity in the past to savor the culinary skills of the world-class chefs Yan Jin invited. Now that he’d finally had a taste of it, he ended every meal so stuffed he could only roll on the carpet. He didn’t have the words to describe his happiness.
Just like Xiao Yu had said, Four Seasons Manor was great as an occasional vacation spot, but living there long term wasn’t necessary.
Furthermore, all of his happiness and fortune were dependent on one basic thing: Yan Jin’s presence.
To Xiao Yu, no matter how stunning the scenery was or how heavenly the food was, none of that could compare with lazing around for an afternoon with his beloved.
“Alright, whatever you say.” Yan Jin indulgently caressed Xiao Yu’s curls. “It doesn’t sound bad to retire here after we grow old either…”
“Wow, so obedient. Are you up to something again?” Xiao Yu felt bored and wanted to start something.
“Mhmm, I’m listening to my wife.”
“…” Xiao Yu’s entire body felt sluggish. He subconsciously swatted Yan Jin’s troublemaking hands away. “…What?”
“Embarrassed? It’s clearly the truth.” Yan Jin took the opportunity to squeeze Xiao Yu’s cheeks.
“Rubbish, when did I become your wife? Aunty Fang told me that she only agreed after you said you would become a part of our family… Stop squeezing, they’ll be permanently deformed!”
Xiao Yu felt like his entire face was on fire, either from his embarrassment or Yan Jin’s squeezing.
“Really? Let’s find out.” Yan Jin pressed his entire body onto Xiao Yu’s.
“Hey, what are you doing? Oi…. at least let’s go on the bed…”
“Didn’t you prefer the carpet? It’s spacious.” Yan Jin countered with Xiao Yu’s own words, then left a light kiss on the side of Xiao Yu’s neck.
Faye disdainfully looked at the two male animals who seemingly could be horny twenty-four hours a day. She haughtily walked out of the room and was even considerate enough to close the door on the way out.
……
“Hey, have you talked to Chu Ge recently?”
Yan Jin blinked his eyes and casually replied, “Why?”
“No real reason. I just felt that he hasn’t come online to play games for a long time now…”
They had spent the last month at the Four Seasons Manor in complete leisure. In his online game, Xiao Yu had been happily trolling other gamers and had quickly noticed that Chu Ge hadn’t appeared online for a very long time.
As far as Xiao Yu knew, Chu Ge liked the game quite a bit. On top of that, since patients needed to make prior reservations, Chu Ge should have had a lot of free time. Normally, Xiao Yu could find Chu Ge online two out of three times. On the weekends, Xiao Yu would often help Chu Ge climb the ladder rankings using an alternate account. Now, Xiao Yu found it a little strange that Chu Ge never came online anymore.
It wasn’t that big of a deal though since it was just a game. Every day tens of thousands of people escaped their gaming addiction, so he could understand if Chu Ge suddenly decided to stop playing.
Thus, the game itself wasn’t the main point.
Xiao Yu was brooding over the fact that after Chu Ge had skipped their wedding to take care of Nan Chan, a month had passed without any message of congratulations from him. It didn’t fit Chu Ge’s personality.
All in all, Xiao Yu felt that Chu Ge was more interested in what his friends were up to than Yan Jin was. It wasn’t his prejudice against Yan Jin’s apparent perfection.
Anything abnormal happening had to be the result of strange processes. Though he wasn’t sure why, Xiao Yu felt an ill premonition.
“He might be too busy for games since he needs to take care of both Nan Chan and the Nan Family,” Yan Jin said.
“Is that really it?” Yan Jin’s explanation didn’t assauge Xiao Yu’s doubts. “You mentioned that he broke off from the Nan Family, right? After meeting with the Nan Family, he’ll come back, right?”
“No matter how unreasonable the Nan Family is, they won’t kill someone to silence them.” Yan Jin indicated his helplessness. “They’re an influential family that is highly scrutinized by the public. They wouldn’t do anything like that.”
“That’s not what I was saying…” Xiao Yu mulled over the best way to express his thoughts. In the end, the words he chose were quite abstract. “When he comes back to us, he’ll still be Chu Ge, right?”
Yan Jin was stumped.
He knew what Xiao Yu was referring to.
For a moment, he felt ashamed for deliberately misinterpreting Xiao Yu earlier.
This was like last time when he and Chu Ge tried to hide the truth from Nan Wei. They had thought their act was flawless. Little had they expected that their audience had seen through their act from the start and had quietly watched it to the end.
“Yes.”
Yan Jin met Xiao Yu’s eyes.
“No matter what happens, he’ll always be Chu Ge. He won’t change from the way he was the last ten years.”
“Is that so? That’s a relief.” Xiao Yu let out a heavy breath and his entire body felt more relaxed.
He hoped everything went smoothly for Chu Ge and that they could all live peacefully and happily.
Xiao Yu felt that the current him was so hedonistic even he himself was surprised. But, he had to admit that he really enjoyed the endless material and immaterial pleasures.
“Want to take a nap? We’ll wake up just in time for dinner,” Yan Jin suggested.
“…Nah.” Xiao Yu pushed himself off of the carpet and began throwing the rumpled clothes from the ground onto himself without a care for whose clothes they were.
“What’s up?”
“I got a sudden inspiration. Let me redesign the last work in the ‘Riptide’ series.”
“Ehh?? Wait, at this time…” Yan Jin felt like his plans were interrupted and wanted to bring Xiao Yu back. But, Xiao Yu was already sitting motionless in front of the computer with his headphones on.
Well, it was hopeless.
Yan Jin was all too clear on his lover’s working state. Even if the sky fell down, Xiao Yu might not move. Earlier, he’d wanted to nap until dinnertime. Forget the nap, it looked like they would skip dinner too.
Chairman Yan sadly lay back onto the carpet and began toying with the yarn ball Xiao Yu had left behind. It really was a pitiful sight.
Yan Jin had discarded YL in the face of all of his employees’ wails and had scheduled a month and a half honeymoon for Xiao Yu had himself. He had shamelessly had Shao Yue fill in for him without significant preparation. But, Xiao Yu’s habits couldn’t be eliminated so easily. There was no way Xiao Yu could forget the upcoming Autumn Conference and the looming threat of the new SI. Even for their honeymoon, Xiao Yu had brought his work laptop and lots of other documents.
Speaking of which, Xiao Yu had taken up the trunk space previously meant for hamster-related accessories. When Yan Jin had protested, Xiao Yu had mercilessly overruled him, saying, “If the computer’s coming, I’m coming. If the computer’s not coming, you can go on the honeymoon by yourself.” It had been Yan Jin’s utter defeat.
Compared to Yan Jin legendary affinity for shirking responsibility, Xiao Yu’s professionalism was at the other extreme. Not only had Xiao Yu continued designing, but because of the Four Seasons Manor’s exquisite architecture, the inspiration had driven Xiao Yu to complete what he normally completed in two to three months. He had completed an entire series of works called “Riptide”.
This series was so outstanding even a layman like Yan Jin could feel it. Whether it would sell well was another question, but to Yan Jin, “Riptide” was proof that Xiao Yu had become even stronger.
Now, he was far better than when he had been under heavy pressure as the chief designer at SI. He was even better than the Mr. Mystery of a year ago.
No wonder Master Andy could sing a hundred praises for Xiao Yu. The current Xiao Yu already had the strength and experience of a top-tier designer. Without a doubt, he would drive the future of the design world.
Chapter Two Hundred and One: He’ll Be Back
Four Seasons Manor.
“Ahh, this is the life of a king.” Xiao Yu rolled on the carpet with a ball of yarn. He stopped next to Yan Jin’s foot and closed his eyes contentedly.
“Go to bed if you want to sleep.” Yan Jin prodded Xiao Yu in the stomach using his toe.
“Don’t wanna. The carpet is much bigger, and I can play with Faye here.
“*Meow*.” The white cat next to him meowed in unison and made off with the yarn ball.
“You could have done this at home too.” Yan Jin was still annoyed at Xiao Yu’s choice for their honeymoon.
Yan Jin sat down cross-legged next to Xiao Yu and snapped his fingers at Faye. The white cat grouchily passed Yan Jin the yarn ball, which Yan Jin stuffed into Xiao Yu’s grasp.
“Why are you stealing her toys?” was what Xiao Yu said, but he’d already accepted the yarn ball and had begun fiddling with it.
Faye stared at this contradiction, then looked at the threat hidden behind Yan Jin’s smile. Affronted, she went to a corner to play by herself.
“There’s no way home can compare to this. There’s plenty to eat and drink, servants are at your beck and call, and it’s a wide expanse in a nice environment with a view that looks digitally enhanced. If this place were open to the public, it would be run over with people in no time. Are there any tourist spots in all of China like the Four Seasons Manor? I don’t think I’ve heard of any place as good as this…”
“The Four Seasons Manor isn’t a tourist spot. If you want, you can consider this as home,” Yan Jin reminded him.
“Oh, right! I forgot about that. But, maybe we shouldn’t. It’s too far from the city and would make our commute very inconvenient. Also, I have some attachment to that villa after living there for so long. I don’t want to switch.”
Thwump. Xiao Yu rolled backwards.
“You look like you like it here more though.” Yan Jin stuck his arm out to bring Xiao Yu back.
“Once in a while is fun, but every day… would be too extravagant.” Xiao Yu rested his head on Yan Jin’s legs and shifted into a comfortable position before closing his eyes.
There truly was a difference in experiencing the Four Seasons Manor as a hamster versus as a human. The perspective alone was worlds apart; only a human could fully appreciate its god-like architecture. Hamsters also couldn’t eat human food, so he hadn’t had the opportunity in the past to savor the culinary skills of the world-class chefs Yan Jin invited. Now that he’d finally had a taste of it, he ended every meal so stuffed he could only roll on the carpet. He didn’t have the words to describe his happiness.
Just like Xiao Yu had said, Four Seasons Manor was great as an occasional vacation spot, but living there long term wasn’t necessary.
Furthermore, all of his happiness and fortune were dependent on one basic thing: Yan Jin’s presence.
To Xiao Yu, no matter how stunning the scenery was or how heavenly the food was, none of that could compare with lazing around for an afternoon with his beloved.
“Alright, whatever you say.” Yan Jin indulgently caressed Xiao Yu’s curls. “It doesn’t sound bad to retire here after we grow old either…”
“Wow, so obedient. Are you up to something again?” Xiao Yu felt bored and wanted to start something.
“Mhmm, I’m listening to my wife.”
“…” Xiao Yu’s entire body felt sluggish. He subconsciously swatted Yan Jin’s troublemaking hands away. “…What?”
“Embarrassed? It’s clearly the truth.” Yan Jin took the opportunity to squeeze Xiao Yu’s cheeks.
“Rubbish, when did I become your wife? Aunty Fang told me that she only agreed after you said you would become a part of our family… Stop squeezing, they’ll be permanently deformed!”
Xiao Yu felt like his entire face was on fire, either from his embarrassment or Yan Jin’s squeezing.
“Really? Let’s find out.” Yan Jin pressed his entire body onto Xiao Yu’s.
“Hey, what are you doing? Oi…. at least let’s go on the bed…”
“Didn’t you prefer the carpet? It’s spacious.” Yan Jin countered with Xiao Yu’s own words, then left a light kiss on the side of Xiao Yu’s neck.
Faye disdainfully looked at the two male animals who seemingly could be horny twenty-four hours a day. She haughtily walked out of the room and was even considerate enough to close the door on the way out.
……
“Hey, have you talked to Chu Ge recently?”
Yan Jin blinked his eyes and casually replied, “Why?”
“No real reason. I just felt that he hasn’t come online to play games for a long time now…”
They had spent the last month at the Four Seasons Manor in complete leisure. In his online game, Xiao Yu had been happily trolling other gamers and had quickly noticed that Chu Ge hadn’t appeared online for a very long time.
As far as Xiao Yu knew, Chu Ge liked the game quite a bit. On top of that, since patients needed to make prior reservations, Chu Ge should have had a lot of free time. Normally, Xiao Yu could find Chu Ge online two out of three times. On the weekends, Xiao Yu would often help Chu Ge climb the ladder rankings using an alternate account. Now, Xiao Yu found it a little strange that Chu Ge never came online anymore.
It wasn’t that big of a deal though since it was just a game. Every day tens of thousands of people escaped their gaming addiction, so he could understand if Chu Ge suddenly decided to stop playing.
Thus, the game itself wasn’t the main point.
Xiao Yu was brooding over the fact that after Chu Ge had skipped their wedding to take care of Nan Chan, a month had passed without any message of congratulations from him. It didn’t fit Chu Ge’s personality.
All in all, Xiao Yu felt that Chu Ge was more interested in what his friends were up to than Yan Jin was. It wasn’t his prejudice against Yan Jin’s apparent perfection.
Anything abnormal happening had to be the result of strange processes. Though he wasn’t sure why, Xiao Yu felt an ill premonition.
“He might be too busy for games since he needs to take care of both Nan Chan and the Nan Family,” Yan Jin said.
“Is that really it?” Yan Jin’s explanation didn’t assauge Xiao Yu’s doubts. “You mentioned that he broke off from the Nan Family, right? After meeting with the Nan Family, he’ll come back, right?”
“No matter how unreasonable the Nan Family is, they won’t kill someone to silence them.” Yan Jin indicated his helplessness. “They’re an influential family that is highly scrutinized by the public. They wouldn’t do anything like that.”
“That’s not what I was saying…” Xiao Yu mulled over the best way to express his thoughts. In the end, the words he chose were quite abstract. “When he comes back to us, he’ll still be Chu Ge, right?”
Yan Jin was stumped.
He knew what Xiao Yu was referring to.
For a moment, he felt ashamed for deliberately misinterpreting Xiao Yu earlier.
This was like last time when he and Chu Ge tried to hide the truth from Nan Wei. They had thought their act was flawless. Little had they expected that their audience had seen through their act from the start and had quietly watched it to the end.
“Yes.”
Yan Jin met Xiao Yu’s eyes.
“No matter what happens, he’ll always be Chu Ge. He won’t change from the way he was the last ten years.”
“Is that so? That’s a relief.” Xiao Yu let out a heavy breath and his entire body felt more relaxed.
He hoped everything went smoothly for Chu Ge and that they could all live peacefully and happily.
Xiao Yu felt that the current him was so hedonistic even he himself was surprised. But, he had to admit that he really enjoyed the endless material and immaterial pleasures.
“Want to take a nap? We’ll wake up just in time for dinner,” Yan Jin suggested.
“…Nah.” Xiao Yu pushed himself off of the carpet and began throwing the rumpled clothes from the ground onto himself without a care for whose clothes they were.
“What’s up?”
“I got a sudden inspiration. Let me redesign the last work in the ‘Riptide’ series.”
“Ehh?? Wait, at this time…” Yan Jin felt like his plans were interrupted and wanted to bring Xiao Yu back. But, Xiao Yu was already sitting motionless in front of the computer with his headphones on.
Well, it was hopeless.
Yan Jin was all too clear on his lover’s working state. Even if the sky fell down, Xiao Yu might not move. Earlier, he’d wanted to nap until dinnertime. Forget the nap, it looked like they would skip dinner too.
Chairman Yan sadly lay back onto the carpet and began toying with the yarn ball Xiao Yu had left behind. It really was a pitiful sight.
Yan Jin had discarded YL in the face of all of his employees’ wails and had scheduled a month and a half honeymoon for Xiao Yu had himself. He had shamelessly had Shao Yue fill in for him without significant preparation. But, Xiao Yu’s habits couldn’t be eliminated so easily. There was no way Xiao Yu could forget the upcoming Autumn Conference and the looming threat of the new SI. Even for their honeymoon, Xiao Yu had brought his work laptop and lots of other documents.
Speaking of which, Xiao Yu had taken up the trunk space previously meant for hamster-related accessories. When Yan Jin had protested, Xiao Yu had mercilessly overruled him, saying, “If the computer’s coming, I’m coming. If the computer’s not coming, you can go on the honeymoon by yourself.” It had been Yan Jin’s utter defeat.
Compared to Yan Jin legendary affinity for shirking responsibility, Xiao Yu’s professionalism was at the other extreme. Not only had Xiao Yu continued designing, but because of the Four Seasons Manor’s exquisite architecture, the inspiration had driven Xiao Yu to complete what he normally completed in two to three months. He had completed an entire series of works called “Riptide”.
This series was so outstanding even a layman like Yan Jin could feel it. Whether it would sell well was another question, but to Yan Jin, “Riptide” was proof that Xiao Yu had become even stronger.
Now, he was far better than when he had been under heavy pressure as the chief designer at SI. He was even better than the Mr. Mystery of a year ago.
No wonder Master Andy could sing a hundred praises for Xiao Yu. The current Xiao Yu already had the strength and experience of a top-tier designer. Without a doubt, he would drive the future of the design world.
