Chapter 138: You Sure You Were Surprised and Not Shocked?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Even if she knew Yan Beicheng would never fall for Lu Weining, nor would he ever do something that would let her down, but this was still a matter that she needed to be jealous of. Not being actually worried was one thing, but appearances still needed to be kept up. Making her position clear must be done so that Yan Beicheng would be nervous, otherwise, he might think of incidents like this as nothing to be worried about in the future. What would she do if he were snatched away by another woman entirely because of incidents like this?
“My stomach still hurts, maybe because I drank a few glasses of beer tonight. I was already feeling better in the afternoon, but it suddenly started acting up again,” explained Yan Beicheng hurriedly. He was worried that Lin Chu might misunderstand, so he quickly put on a pitiful and painful appearance.
“I just couldn’t stand properly just now, I didn’t know that Lu Weining was staring at me so she noticed in time to help me up. My reaction was to shove her away, but Zuo Qiu suddenly mentioned you so I responded slowly, otherwise I would’ve long shoved her away.” As Yan Beicheng spoke, he carefully took her sleeve between his thumb and index finger to shake it in appeal.
This action was completely identical to Yan Ningbai whenever he wanted to curry favor with an adult!
Lin Chu was never angry to begin with, she just wanted Yan Beicheng to feel nervous, to learn a lesson as to never dismiss something like this as unimportant anymore. Seeing Yan Beicheng’s nervous behavior, she could not continue pretending anymore.
“Pfft” went Lin Chu before she extended her hand to pat at the part of his arm that Lu Weining had touched as if it were dirty and she needed to clean it.
Behind them, Lu Weining could see her actions clearly and she had a miserable expression.
Lin Chu patted his arm a few more times but was still unsatisfied. She felt that her man had been defiled so she pinched the same part of his arm tightly once.
Yan Beicheng’s expression immediately changed, yet he did not dare exclaim aloud in pain. He silently endured the pinch, letting Lin Chu enjoy herself.
“Let’s see if you’ll have slow reactions again in the future.” Lin Chu glared at him.
“I guarantee I won’t. Whenever I feel unwell, I’ll stay far away from women, I won’t give them the chance to come near me.” Yan Beicheng quickly continued, “I really was caught off guard just now. My stomach was hurting a lot so I couldn’t react in time.”
Lin Chu’s expression softened, her heart aching as she asked, “Does it still hurt a lot?”
Yan Beicheng sneaked a peek and immediately took the chance to take a few steps forward until he was practically stuck onto her. His slender fingers once again took her sleeve like a spoiled child, shaking it as he softly said, “It hurts so bad I don’t even have the energy to walk, I can’t even stand properly.”
As he spoke, his left hand pressed against his abdomen before he rubbed at it, though it was hard to tell if he was pretending or if it was real. His expression was tight with pain as well, eyebrows furrowed and face pale.
However, it did not matter if he was pretending or not, Lin Chu’s heart ached for him all the same. She quickly went to hold him. “Didn’t I tell you to drink less?”
“I didn’t drink a lot, a few glasses at most. Zuo Qiu was the one who drank most of it.” Yan Beicheng continued, “It was good President Quan wasn’t much a drinker too, so we didn’t drink much.”
“Miss Lin.” At this moment, Zuo Qiu came towards them and called out to her with a smile.
Lu Weining and Shu Yuxin came over as well. Shu Yuxin, who was standing to the side, said nothing to make her presence less known; she even felt slightly regretful to have followed Lu Weining today at all.
Lu Weining had embarrassed herself today, and Shu Yuxin had seen everything, so it was hard to guarantee Lu Weining would not bear a grudge against her.
After all, her entire career was in Lu Weining’s grasp right now.
Lin Chu thanked Zuo Qiu as she had driven over to pick Yan Beicheng, so the driver that was originally supposed to send Yan Beicheng home was now going to send Zuo Qiu home instead, as according to Yan Beicheng’s orders.
Once everything was taken care of, only then did Lin Chu look towards Lu Weining. “Miss Lu, what a coincidence, it’s like I’m seeing you everywhere.”
Lu Weining recovered from the embarrassment she had suffered because of Yan Beicheng before and, with an unyielding attitude, smiled and said, “I agree. I wanted to go grab a meal with Shu Yuxin, but I met President Quan. He and I are good friends, so he invited us to join him. Besides, I heard that D.N.Y is in the midst of preparing to open a theme park in B City, so since I met him today and I also know Beicheng, I thought about giving him a hand, even if it would only be a few words of praise. I never expected such a coincidence either.”
Lu Weining’s words seemed to carry a different meaning as if she was showing off that she could be of help to Yan Beicheng.
However, Lin Chu would not overthink things this time around. Yan Beicheng had a stomachache too, so she was in no mood to stay here and argue and Lu Weining.
Thus, Lin Chu merely nodded her head insincerely. “Beicheng isn’t feeling well right now, so we’ll be taking our leave. Take care on your way back, Miss Lu.”
Once she spoke those words, Lin Chu supported Yan Beicheng and left. Throughout the entire exchange, Yan Beicheng did not even glance at Lu Weining once.
Lu Weining could hide the bitterness she felt in her, her hands clenched into tight fists as she watched Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu leave.
Yan Beicheng winced audibly in pain, though his weak voice did nothing in covering his desire to be pampered, so his body went slack as he let half his body weight be supported by Lin Chu. At the same time, his left hand took the opportunity to wrap itself around Lin Chu’s shoulders so that he could lean his head against Lin Chu’s crown.
Lin Chu did not react. “…”
She turned her head and saw that he truly was in a lot of pain. His eyebrows were furrowed and his forehead was slick with sweat so Lin Chu said nothing and let him lean on her.
Fortunately, the car was parked right at the entrance to Sheng Yue, so it only took her a few steps before she was helping Yan Beicheng into the car.
Lin Chu went over to the driver’s side, got into the vehicle and was just about to fasten her seatbelt when she felt a weight against her shoulder. Yan Beicheng had propped his head against her shoulder and the weight made her sag to the side.
There was quite a distance between the driver’s seat and the passenger seat, not to mention the storage compartments as well, yet he did not mind at all.
“Fasten your seatbelt first,” said Lin Chu.
Yan Beicheng’s head dug into the curve of her neck a few times before he managed to straighten up. As he pulled the seatbelt from the side, he kept wincing audibly in pain.
Once the seatbelt clicked into place, he dropped his head upon Lin Chu’s shoulders once more.
Lin Chu had no other choice but to pass the vacuum flask to him. “This is warm honey. I was worried that your stomach would still be aching so I made it at home. I made it with warm water so try drinking some to see if it’ll help you feel better.”
She then started to drive back home.
Yan Beicheng lazily popped open the lid of the vacuum flask before straightening up to gulp down the warm honey.
Once the warm liquid entered his stomach, he did indeed feel better.
He hugged the vacuum flask and leaned against Lin Chu’s shoulder once more, his face glowing with happiness. “Did you come and pick me up because you were worried about me?”
“Hm, didn’t you have a stomachache this afternoon? I was worried it would become worse because you needed to drink tonight.” Lin Chu continued, “Do you feel better now?”
She did not turn his head but she did feel Yan Beicheng shake his head against her shoulder a couple of times. “The pain comes and goes.”
“Let’s go to the hospital to get it checked then,” suggested Lin Chu worriedly.
“No need, I’ll get better after eating some medicine once I get home. It worked pretty well this afternoon.” As Yan Beicheng spoke, he was worried that Lin Chu would disagree, so he quickly continued hoarsely, “I’m so tired, I just want to go home.”
As he expected, Lin Chu did not press the matter. “I made fish soup and it’s been boiling over a small fire ever since I left. You’ll probably feel better once you get some into you.”
“Hmm,” hummed Yan Beicheng in reply before he continued, “If you’re coming to pick me up next time, give me a call first so that I can give you a rough time estimate for you to arrive, lest you arrive too early and have to wait outside for me.”
He knew without asking that she had arrived early because she did not want to miss him but was also scared of bothering him, so she could only wait in the car.
Lin Chu “hmmed” an agreement and was quiet for a while before she said, “From tomorrow onwards, I’ll buy lunch and eat with you at Yan Hui.”
Yan Beicheng looked at her in surprise. Though Lin Chu did not turn her head, she could still feel his gaze on her.
Lin Chu felt a little embarrassed, afraid that Yan Beicheng might think she was being overbearing by caring too much.
“I never wanted to care so much when I started dating you. I know your status, I know you’re busy with work and that a man has things he is busy with that a woman should not interfere in. So I’ve never commented much about your work, and I’ve always felt that I knew my boundaries. However, you’re so busy you’ve completely messed up your stomach. You don’t even eat lunch properly. We’re together at night, so I can keep an eye on you, but once you get busy in the afternoon, there have been times where you didn’t even eat lunch at all, right?
“I leave you alone about it, so you didn’t realize it yourself.” Lin Chu pursed up her lips until the blushing-red color turned into a pale white line.
Since she did not hear Yan Beicheng reply, Lin Chu’s voice went tight as she continued, “If you don’t like it, then I won’t go and bother you.”
“I like it, of course I do!” Yan Beicheng replied quickly, his hands suddenly wrapping tightly around her waist.
Lin Chu was surprised. Her driving skills were mediocre at best, so with one hand on the steering wheel, the other went to pat quickly at Yan Beicheng’s arm in a bid to get him to free her.
“Let go of me quickly, I’m still driving!” Lin Chu exclaimed hurriedly, her expression had already changed. “It’s not like you don’t know how bad I am at driving, and yet you did it anyway! We need to be careful!”
Yan Beicheng laughed quietly, his laughter like pearls coolly falling against the curve of her neck. He released her as ordered, but his head still remained resting against her shoulder.
Yan Beicheng leaning on her made goosebumps grow across Lin Chu’s skin, from her collarbones to her crown. It was as if electricity was running through her, as it felt tingly and numb.
Yan Beicheng’s laughter subsided and he slowly raised his head, his lips millimeters away from her earlobe. His low, magnetic voice crooned, “I’m so happy that you care about me and want to eat with me. I’ve always wanted to eat lunch with you but I noticed that you were getting along quite well with your colleagues. I was worried that you wouldn’t want to eat with me because it’ll be stressful. I was scared you wanted your own personal space and wanted to spend time with your colleagues since it’ll help you with work too.”
Lin Chu would never admit to him that she did think this way before.
This man understood her too well!
He could even have such an accurate grasp of her thoughts!
“I would never think that way,” said Lin Chu without batting an eyelid. She would never admit the truth. “If I visit you in the afternoon, I won’t be bothering you too. If you need to work, you can eat and work at the same time, but that’s the most I’ll let you do. In short, you’re not allowed to not eat, nor are you allowed to eat it after it’s cooled. I won’t bother you at work, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you from the sidelines. If you have enough time to eat with me, then that’s the best.”
“Okay,” Yan Beicheng agreed quickly. He raised his head, and with glimmering eyes that carried a sense of anticipation, he asked, “And this is starting tomorrow.”
“This is starting tomorrow,” replied Lin Chu.
Yan Beicheng knew he could not disrupt her driving but he still could not resist lifting his head to kiss the corner of her lips, though he did not obstruct her view at all.
Despite so, Lin Chu was still shocked out of her wits, her face immediately turning pale with fright. She avoided an accident only because her grip around the steering wheel had tightened, but her heart was still hammering rapidly against her chest.
“You almost gave me a heart attack!” exclaimed Lin Chu
“I won’t do it next time,” said Yan Beicheng with a chuckle.
Lin Chu angrily rolled her eyes at him. “No more next times!”
Yan Beicheng smiled, his eyes turning in crescents, though he did not guarantee anything and was merely smiling.
Lin Chu could not do anything about him anymore and though she was shaking with indignation, she said nothing more.
Yan Beicheng no longer pulled any surprise stunts on her the rest of the drive and before they knew it, they had arrived safely in Ding City.
Lin Chu heaved a sigh of relief only when the car was parked safely in the garage.
Once she got out of the car, she subconsciously went over to hold onto Yan Beicheng. “How’re you feeling? Does your stomach still hurt?”
Though he did not know if it was because of the warm honey, his stomach did not hurt as much as it was hurting before.
However, once he heard Lin Chu ask, he immediately shifted his entire body weight against her and weakly said, “It does.”
With a hint of disapproval, Lin Chu asked, “You sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”
Yan Beicheng was already feeling much better, so he shook his head. “It’ll be better once I eat my medicine and go to sleep.”
In the house, Yan Beicheng went into the bedroom to change his clothes while Lin Chu went to fetch him a bowl of soup. Once she entered the bedroom, Yan Beicheng was already done changing.
“Drink some soup to warm your stomach first. Where’s your medicine?” asked Lin Chu as she watched Yan Beicheng empty the bowl of soup.
“In my bag.” Yan Beicheng took big gulps of soup, which was much hotter than the warm honey to the point that it scalded his mouth a little.
The fish soup did not have a fishy smell at all; the milky white soup that had been boiled over a small fire looked especially rich, and it even had a fresh and sweet aroma. The first sip of soup was refreshing and sweet, and the soup slid down his throat smoothly to warm his stomach as well as his heart. The sharp and sudden pains that had been plaguing his stomach eased significantly.
Yan Beicheng could not help but heave a long sigh.
Noticing that he was much more comfortable, Lin Chu was relieved as well and was finally a bit more at ease.
Pointing at Yan Beicheng’s bag, she asked, “Can I go through it?”
Yan Beicheng lifted his head as a fond smile graced his lips. “Feel free to, I don’t mind.”
Lin Chu chuckled, sneaking a glance at him. “You say it like I’m conducting a check. Which pocket is the medicine in?”
“Probably the pocket of the outer zipper,” said Yan Beicheng after a moment of pondering.
Lin Chu unzipped the bag and went through the bag before finally locating the box of medicine. She retrieved it to see that two pills were missing, which Yan Beicheng must have eaten in the afternoon. She removed two more pills from the box and had Yan Beicheng take them with the soup.
Once he was done, he went into the bathroom to take a shower while Lin Chu brought the bowl downstairs to wash. Aunt Zhuang had offered to help, but it was merely one bowl that Aunt Zhuang did not need to trouble herself with. It was nothing more than rinsing it a couple of times with water before putting it into the disinfection cabinet.
The dishes were usually washed in the dishwasher, but since it was only one bowl, Lin Chu felt that there was no need for such a troublesome process.
She pressed Aunt Zhuang into going back to bed, and after cleaning up, she went back to her room. Yan Beicheng was already lying comfortably on the bed, the blanket beneath his legs.
Noticing her presence, he put on a weak expression that asked for comfort and extended his hand towards her. “Why have you only just come back?”
Lin Chu said nothing. “…”
She was slightly taken aback at Yan Beicheng’s neediness, her entire heart had been completely turned to mush at his gaze.
She slowly crawled onto the bed before her soft palm pressed against his stomach through his cotton t-shirt. “Do you feel better? Do you want to massage it?”
Yan Beicheng could barely feel the pain now. Yet, he thought about it for a bit and said, “It hurts a bit still, so please massage it for me.”
Lin Chu did not suspect anything at all and started kneading at his stomach.
Although Yan Beicheng merely wanted to act affectionate, but as Lin Chu’s soft palm continued massaging his stomach, a warmth started growing within him with each knead. The warmth spread throughout his entire body until he felt like he was on fire.
Yan Beicheng abruptly took hold of Lin Chu’s hand and slowly moved it downwards.
Lin Chu blushed and her left hand smacked against his arm. “Don’t you have a stomachache? Yet you’re acting up!”
As she said this, she glared at him. It was her first time meeting someone so indecent.
“I’ve drunk some soup, eaten my medicine, and now you’re massaging it, so I feel much better.” As he spoke, Yan Beicheng did not loosen his grip on her hand and instead pressed her hand down further. As Lin Chu’s hand trembled, his face flushed as he heaved a gasping breath with his eyes closed.
Lin Chu wanted to snatch her hand back, yet she could not. Her face was heating up and she could not speak properly; it felt like her soft voice was caught in her throat as she exclaimed, “Stop fooling around!”
“I’m not.” Yan Beicheng seized the opportunity to shift the atmosphere. “It really doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Lin Chu’s hand was still pressed against the same area, so her other hand came up to push at his chest. Much to no avail, Yan Beicheng did not budge.
“I’m so happy you came to pick me up tonight, I never expected you to be so worried about me that you would come and pick me up yourself. I was surprised when I saw you.” As she spoke, Yan Beicheng could not help the smile that tugged at his lips. His black eyes folded into crescents and, with an intoxicating warm, he gazed at Lin Chu. Lin Chu was subconsciously pulled into his gaze until she felt like she was drowning in them.
Lin Chu was incredibly touched at his words, so she could not help smiling, but the smile disappeared quickly and she glared at him instead. “Were you really so happy? You sure you were surprised and not shocked? It seemed to me that you were enjoying quite some luck with a woman, even if I didn’t come, you would still have someone looking after you.”
“Zuo Qiu definitely possesses the ability to take care of me, but he isn’t as attentive as you and as thoughtful as you, no?” Yan Beicheng acted as if he did not understand her and pulled her in with his magnetism once more.
Lin Chu had not planned on mentioning Lu Weining since she was not somebody that she needed to be worried about, so why did she mention her when the atmosphere between both of them was so good?
If she mentioned Lu Weining all the time, then their relationship would only take a turn for the worse, but nothing would happen if she mentioned her once in a while.
Occasionally being jealous would actually improve their relationship as long as she did not act like she was unwilling to forgive him.
Once Lin Chu noticed the situation take a turn for the better, she pretended she had not realized Yan Beicheng had acted like he had not understood her, though she did not change her attitude right away. However, she kept the act up and “harrumphed” a couple of times before turning her face to the side.
Yan Beicheng eagerly pursued her face with his until he was so close their lips were touching. He spoke against them, “It really doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Lin Chu kept silent. “…”
Yan Beicheng kept pestering her, stubbornly taking off his belt so that he could guide her hand inwards while his other hand went to push her clothes up.
A while later, Lin Chu was rendered into a daze by him. She had but a little bit of reason left, still wondering if his stomach was still aching, but her thoughts collapsed into pieces once he collided into her.
The soft mattress beneath them jolted about, as if it were trying to separate all 215 bones in her body. Her body was tight against his, so she could not control herself as she swayed about him. She felt like she was both rising into the clouds as well as falling into a sea of fire.
Lin Chu’s gaze wavered, for there was a brief moment where all she could see and feel was a deep white.
…
The next day, Lin Chu confirmed that Yan Beicheng’s stomach no longer ached. She had already told Yan Beicheng to order takeout from Sheng Yue beforehand and that she would meet Yan Beicheng directly in his office.
Yan Beicheng had been very busy recently, so when Lin Chu arrived, he had just come out of a meeting room. She wondered if he had ended the meeting because it was already done or if he knew she was on the way.
She watched Yan Beicheng exit the meeting room, his face laced with exhaustion as his slender fingers tugged at his tie lightly to allow him a sigh of relief.
Behind him was Zuo Qiu, who saw Lin Chu first and had exclaimed in surprise, “Miss Lin, you’re here!”
Yan Beicheng instantly lifted his gaze and he felt all his exhaustion vanish once Lin Chu came into view. The weariness that lined his face disappeared as it lit up.
Chapter 138: You Sure You Were Surprised and Not Shocked?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Even if she knew Yan Beicheng would never fall for Lu Weining, nor would he ever do something that would let her down, but this was still a matter that she needed to be jealous of. Not being actually worried was one thing, but appearances still needed to be kept up. Making her position clear must be done so that Yan Beicheng would be nervous, otherwise, he might think of incidents like this as nothing to be worried about in the future. What would she do if he were snatched away by another woman entirely because of incidents like this?
“My stomach still hurts, maybe because I drank a few glasses of beer tonight. I was already feeling better in the afternoon, but it suddenly started acting up again,” explained Yan Beicheng hurriedly. He was worried that Lin Chu might misunderstand, so he quickly put on a pitiful and painful appearance.
“I just couldn’t stand properly just now, I didn’t know that Lu Weining was staring at me so she noticed in time to help me up. My reaction was to shove her away, but Zuo Qiu suddenly mentioned you so I responded slowly, otherwise I would’ve long shoved her away.” As Yan Beicheng spoke, he carefully took her sleeve between his thumb and index finger to shake it in appeal.
This action was completely identical to Yan Ningbai whenever he wanted to curry favor with an adult!
Lin Chu was never angry to begin with, she just wanted Yan Beicheng to feel nervous, to learn a lesson as to never dismiss something like this as unimportant anymore. Seeing Yan Beicheng’s nervous behavior, she could not continue pretending anymore.
“Pfft” went Lin Chu before she extended her hand to pat at the part of his arm that Lu Weining had touched as if it were dirty and she needed to clean it.
Behind them, Lu Weining could see her actions clearly and she had a miserable expression.
Lin Chu patted his arm a few more times but was still unsatisfied. She felt that her man had been defiled so she pinched the same part of his arm tightly once.
Yan Beicheng’s expression immediately changed, yet he did not dare exclaim aloud in pain. He silently endured the pinch, letting Lin Chu enjoy herself.
“Let’s see if you’ll have slow reactions again in the future.” Lin Chu glared at him.
“I guarantee I won’t. Whenever I feel unwell, I’ll stay far away from women, I won’t give them the chance to come near me.” Yan Beicheng quickly continued, “I really was caught off guard just now. My stomach was hurting a lot so I couldn’t react in time.”
Lin Chu’s expression softened, her heart aching as she asked, “Does it still hurt a lot?”
Yan Beicheng sneaked a peek and immediately took the chance to take a few steps forward until he was practically stuck onto her. His slender fingers once again took her sleeve like a spoiled child, shaking it as he softly said, “It hurts so bad I don’t even have the energy to walk, I can’t even stand properly.”
As he spoke, his left hand pressed against his abdomen before he rubbed at it, though it was hard to tell if he was pretending or if it was real. His expression was tight with pain as well, eyebrows furrowed and face pale.
However, it did not matter if he was pretending or not, Lin Chu’s heart ached for him all the same. She quickly went to hold him. “Didn’t I tell you to drink less?”
“I didn’t drink a lot, a few glasses at most. Zuo Qiu was the one who drank most of it.” Yan Beicheng continued, “It was good President Quan wasn’t much a drinker too, so we didn’t drink much.”
“Miss Lin.” At this moment, Zuo Qiu came towards them and called out to her with a smile.
Lu Weining and Shu Yuxin came over as well. Shu Yuxin, who was standing to the side, said nothing to make her presence less known; she even felt slightly regretful to have followed Lu Weining today at all.
Lu Weining had embarrassed herself today, and Shu Yuxin had seen everything, so it was hard to guarantee Lu Weining would not bear a grudge against her.
After all, her entire career was in Lu Weining’s grasp right now.
Lin Chu thanked Zuo Qiu as she had driven over to pick Yan Beicheng, so the driver that was originally supposed to send Yan Beicheng home was now going to send Zuo Qiu home instead, as according to Yan Beicheng’s orders.
Once everything was taken care of, only then did Lin Chu look towards Lu Weining. “Miss Lu, what a coincidence, it’s like I’m seeing you everywhere.”
Lu Weining recovered from the embarrassment she had suffered because of Yan Beicheng before and, with an unyielding attitude, smiled and said, “I agree. I wanted to go grab a meal with Shu Yuxin, but I met President Quan. He and I are good friends, so he invited us to join him. Besides, I heard that D.N.Y is in the midst of preparing to open a theme park in B City, so since I met him today and I also know Beicheng, I thought about giving him a hand, even if it would only be a few words of praise. I never expected such a coincidence either.”
Lu Weining’s words seemed to carry a different meaning as if she was showing off that she could be of help to Yan Beicheng.
However, Lin Chu would not overthink things this time around. Yan Beicheng had a stomachache too, so she was in no mood to stay here and argue and Lu Weining.
Thus, Lin Chu merely nodded her head insincerely. “Beicheng isn’t feeling well right now, so we’ll be taking our leave. Take care on your way back, Miss Lu.”
Once she spoke those words, Lin Chu supported Yan Beicheng and left. Throughout the entire exchange, Yan Beicheng did not even glance at Lu Weining once.
Lu Weining could hide the bitterness she felt in her, her hands clenched into tight fists as she watched Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu leave.
Yan Beicheng winced audibly in pain, though his weak voice did nothing in covering his desire to be pampered, so his body went slack as he let half his body weight be supported by Lin Chu. At the same time, his left hand took the opportunity to wrap itself around Lin Chu’s shoulders so that he could lean his head against Lin Chu’s crown.
Lin Chu did not react. “…”
She turned her head and saw that he truly was in a lot of pain. His eyebrows were furrowed and his forehead was slick with sweat so Lin Chu said nothing and let him lean on her.
Fortunately, the car was parked right at the entrance to Sheng Yue, so it only took her a few steps before she was helping Yan Beicheng into the car.
Lin Chu went over to the driver’s side, got into the vehicle and was just about to fasten her seatbelt when she felt a weight against her shoulder. Yan Beicheng had propped his head against her shoulder and the weight made her sag to the side.
There was quite a distance between the driver’s seat and the passenger seat, not to mention the storage compartments as well, yet he did not mind at all.
“Fasten your seatbelt first,” said Lin Chu.
Yan Beicheng’s head dug into the curve of her neck a few times before he managed to straighten up. As he pulled the seatbelt from the side, he kept wincing audibly in pain.
Once the seatbelt clicked into place, he dropped his head upon Lin Chu’s shoulders once more.
Lin Chu had no other choice but to pass the vacuum flask to him. “This is warm honey. I was worried that your stomach would still be aching so I made it at home. I made it with warm water so try drinking some to see if it’ll help you feel better.”
She then started to drive back home.
Yan Beicheng lazily popped open the lid of the vacuum flask before straightening up to gulp down the warm honey.
Once the warm liquid entered his stomach, he did indeed feel better.
He hugged the vacuum flask and leaned against Lin Chu’s shoulder once more, his face glowing with happiness. “Did you come and pick me up because you were worried about me?”
“Hm, didn’t you have a stomachache this afternoon? I was worried it would become worse because you needed to drink tonight.” Lin Chu continued, “Do you feel better now?”
She did not turn his head but she did feel Yan Beicheng shake his head against her shoulder a couple of times. “The pain comes and goes.”
“Let’s go to the hospital to get it checked then,” suggested Lin Chu worriedly.
“No need, I’ll get better after eating some medicine once I get home. It worked pretty well this afternoon.” As Yan Beicheng spoke, he was worried that Lin Chu would disagree, so he quickly continued hoarsely, “I’m so tired, I just want to go home.”
As he expected, Lin Chu did not press the matter. “I made fish soup and it’s been boiling over a small fire ever since I left. You’ll probably feel better once you get some into you.”
“Hmm,” hummed Yan Beicheng in reply before he continued, “If you’re coming to pick me up next time, give me a call first so that I can give you a rough time estimate for you to arrive, lest you arrive too early and have to wait outside for me.”
He knew without asking that she had arrived early because she did not want to miss him but was also scared of bothering him, so she could only wait in the car.
Lin Chu “hmmed” an agreement and was quiet for a while before she said, “From tomorrow onwards, I’ll buy lunch and eat with you at Yan Hui.”
Yan Beicheng looked at her in surprise. Though Lin Chu did not turn her head, she could still feel his gaze on her.
Lin Chu felt a little embarrassed, afraid that Yan Beicheng might think she was being overbearing by caring too much.
“I never wanted to care so much when I started dating you. I know your status, I know you’re busy with work and that a man has things he is busy with that a woman should not interfere in. So I’ve never commented much about your work, and I’ve always felt that I knew my boundaries. However, you’re so busy you’ve completely messed up your stomach. You don’t even eat lunch properly. We’re together at night, so I can keep an eye on you, but once you get busy in the afternoon, there have been times where you didn’t even eat lunch at all, right?
“I leave you alone about it, so you didn’t realize it yourself.” Lin Chu pursed up her lips until the blushing-red color turned into a pale white line.
Since she did not hear Yan Beicheng reply, Lin Chu’s voice went tight as she continued, “If you don’t like it, then I won’t go and bother you.”
“I like it, of course I do!” Yan Beicheng replied quickly, his hands suddenly wrapping tightly around her waist.
Lin Chu was surprised. Her driving skills were mediocre at best, so with one hand on the steering wheel, the other went to pat quickly at Yan Beicheng’s arm in a bid to get him to free her.
“Let go of me quickly, I’m still driving!” Lin Chu exclaimed hurriedly, her expression had already changed. “It’s not like you don’t know how bad I am at driving, and yet you did it anyway! We need to be careful!”
Yan Beicheng laughed quietly, his laughter like pearls coolly falling against the curve of her neck. He released her as ordered, but his head still remained resting against her shoulder.
Yan Beicheng leaning on her made goosebumps grow across Lin Chu’s skin, from her collarbones to her crown. It was as if electricity was running through her, as it felt tingly and numb.
Yan Beicheng’s laughter subsided and he slowly raised his head, his lips millimeters away from her earlobe. His low, magnetic voice crooned, “I’m so happy that you care about me and want to eat with me. I’ve always wanted to eat lunch with you but I noticed that you were getting along quite well with your colleagues. I was worried that you wouldn’t want to eat with me because it’ll be stressful. I was scared you wanted your own personal space and wanted to spend time with your colleagues since it’ll help you with work too.”
Lin Chu would never admit to him that she did think this way before.
This man understood her too well!
He could even have such an accurate grasp of her thoughts!
“I would never think that way,” said Lin Chu without batting an eyelid. She would never admit the truth. “If I visit you in the afternoon, I won’t be bothering you too. If you need to work, you can eat and work at the same time, but that’s the most I’ll let you do. In short, you’re not allowed to not eat, nor are you allowed to eat it after it’s cooled. I won’t bother you at work, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you from the sidelines. If you have enough time to eat with me, then that’s the best.”
“Okay,” Yan Beicheng agreed quickly. He raised his head, and with glimmering eyes that carried a sense of anticipation, he asked, “And this is starting tomorrow.”
“This is starting tomorrow,” replied Lin Chu.
Yan Beicheng knew he could not disrupt her driving but he still could not resist lifting his head to kiss the corner of her lips, though he did not obstruct her view at all.
Despite so, Lin Chu was still shocked out of her wits, her face immediately turning pale with fright. She avoided an accident only because her grip around the steering wheel had tightened, but her heart was still hammering rapidly against her chest.
“You almost gave me a heart attack!” exclaimed Lin Chu
“I won’t do it next time,” said Yan Beicheng with a chuckle.
Lin Chu angrily rolled her eyes at him. “No more next times!”
Yan Beicheng smiled, his eyes turning in crescents, though he did not guarantee anything and was merely smiling.
Lin Chu could not do anything about him anymore and though she was shaking with indignation, she said nothing more.
Yan Beicheng no longer pulled any surprise stunts on her the rest of the drive and before they knew it, they had arrived safely in Ding City.
Lin Chu heaved a sigh of relief only when the car was parked safely in the garage.
Once she got out of the car, she subconsciously went over to hold onto Yan Beicheng. “How’re you feeling? Does your stomach still hurt?”
Though he did not know if it was because of the warm honey, his stomach did not hurt as much as it was hurting before.
However, once he heard Lin Chu ask, he immediately shifted his entire body weight against her and weakly said, “It does.”
With a hint of disapproval, Lin Chu asked, “You sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”
Yan Beicheng was already feeling much better, so he shook his head. “It’ll be better once I eat my medicine and go to sleep.”
In the house, Yan Beicheng went into the bedroom to change his clothes while Lin Chu went to fetch him a bowl of soup. Once she entered the bedroom, Yan Beicheng was already done changing.
“Drink some soup to warm your stomach first. Where’s your medicine?” asked Lin Chu as she watched Yan Beicheng empty the bowl of soup.
“In my bag.” Yan Beicheng took big gulps of soup, which was much hotter than the warm honey to the point that it scalded his mouth a little.
The fish soup did not have a fishy smell at all; the milky white soup that had been boiled over a small fire looked especially rich, and it even had a fresh and sweet aroma. The first sip of soup was refreshing and sweet, and the soup slid down his throat smoothly to warm his stomach as well as his heart. The sharp and sudden pains that had been plaguing his stomach eased significantly.
Yan Beicheng could not help but heave a long sigh.
Noticing that he was much more comfortable, Lin Chu was relieved as well and was finally a bit more at ease.
Pointing at Yan Beicheng’s bag, she asked, “Can I go through it?”
Yan Beicheng lifted his head as a fond smile graced his lips. “Feel free to, I don’t mind.”
Lin Chu chuckled, sneaking a glance at him. “You say it like I’m conducting a check. Which pocket is the medicine in?”
“Probably the pocket of the outer zipper,” said Yan Beicheng after a moment of pondering.
Lin Chu unzipped the bag and went through the bag before finally locating the box of medicine. She retrieved it to see that two pills were missing, which Yan Beicheng must have eaten in the afternoon. She removed two more pills from the box and had Yan Beicheng take them with the soup.
Once he was done, he went into the bathroom to take a shower while Lin Chu brought the bowl downstairs to wash. Aunt Zhuang had offered to help, but it was merely one bowl that Aunt Zhuang did not need to trouble herself with. It was nothing more than rinsing it a couple of times with water before putting it into the disinfection cabinet.
The dishes were usually washed in the dishwasher, but since it was only one bowl, Lin Chu felt that there was no need for such a troublesome process.
She pressed Aunt Zhuang into going back to bed, and after cleaning up, she went back to her room. Yan Beicheng was already lying comfortably on the bed, the blanket beneath his legs.
Noticing her presence, he put on a weak expression that asked for comfort and extended his hand towards her. “Why have you only just come back?”
Lin Chu said nothing. “…”
She was slightly taken aback at Yan Beicheng’s neediness, her entire heart had been completely turned to mush at his gaze.
She slowly crawled onto the bed before her soft palm pressed against his stomach through his cotton t-shirt. “Do you feel better? Do you want to massage it?”
Yan Beicheng could barely feel the pain now. Yet, he thought about it for a bit and said, “It hurts a bit still, so please massage it for me.”
Lin Chu did not suspect anything at all and started kneading at his stomach.
Although Yan Beicheng merely wanted to act affectionate, but as Lin Chu’s soft palm continued massaging his stomach, a warmth started growing within him with each knead. The warmth spread throughout his entire body until he felt like he was on fire.
Yan Beicheng abruptly took hold of Lin Chu’s hand and slowly moved it downwards.
Lin Chu blushed and her left hand smacked against his arm. “Don’t you have a stomachache? Yet you’re acting up!”
As she said this, she glared at him. It was her first time meeting someone so indecent.
“I’ve drunk some soup, eaten my medicine, and now you’re massaging it, so I feel much better.” As he spoke, Yan Beicheng did not loosen his grip on her hand and instead pressed her hand down further. As Lin Chu’s hand trembled, his face flushed as he heaved a gasping breath with his eyes closed.
Lin Chu wanted to snatch her hand back, yet she could not. Her face was heating up and she could not speak properly; it felt like her soft voice was caught in her throat as she exclaimed, “Stop fooling around!”
“I’m not.” Yan Beicheng seized the opportunity to shift the atmosphere. “It really doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Lin Chu’s hand was still pressed against the same area, so her other hand came up to push at his chest. Much to no avail, Yan Beicheng did not budge.
“I’m so happy you came to pick me up tonight, I never expected you to be so worried about me that you would come and pick me up yourself. I was surprised when I saw you.” As she spoke, Yan Beicheng could not help the smile that tugged at his lips. His black eyes folded into crescents and, with an intoxicating warm, he gazed at Lin Chu. Lin Chu was subconsciously pulled into his gaze until she felt like she was drowning in them.
Lin Chu was incredibly touched at his words, so she could not help smiling, but the smile disappeared quickly and she glared at him instead. “Were you really so happy? You sure you were surprised and not shocked? It seemed to me that you were enjoying quite some luck with a woman, even if I didn’t come, you would still have someone looking after you.”
“Zuo Qiu definitely possesses the ability to take care of me, but he isn’t as attentive as you and as thoughtful as you, no?” Yan Beicheng acted as if he did not understand her and pulled her in with his magnetism once more.
Lin Chu had not planned on mentioning Lu Weining since she was not somebody that she needed to be worried about, so why did she mention her when the atmosphere between both of them was so good?
If she mentioned Lu Weining all the time, then their relationship would only take a turn for the worse, but nothing would happen if she mentioned her once in a while.
Occasionally being jealous would actually improve their relationship as long as she did not act like she was unwilling to forgive him.
Once Lin Chu noticed the situation take a turn for the better, she pretended she had not realized Yan Beicheng had acted like he had not understood her, though she did not change her attitude right away. However, she kept the act up and “harrumphed” a couple of times before turning her face to the side.
Yan Beicheng eagerly pursued her face with his until he was so close their lips were touching. He spoke against them, “It really doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Lin Chu kept silent. “…”
Yan Beicheng kept pestering her, stubbornly taking off his belt so that he could guide her hand inwards while his other hand went to push her clothes up.
A while later, Lin Chu was rendered into a daze by him. She had but a little bit of reason left, still wondering if his stomach was still aching, but her thoughts collapsed into pieces once he collided into her.
The soft mattress beneath them jolted about, as if it were trying to separate all 215 bones in her body. Her body was tight against his, so she could not control herself as she swayed about him. She felt like she was both rising into the clouds as well as falling into a sea of fire.
Lin Chu’s gaze wavered, for there was a brief moment where all she could see and feel was a deep white.
…
The next day, Lin Chu confirmed that Yan Beicheng’s stomach no longer ached. She had already told Yan Beicheng to order takeout from Sheng Yue beforehand and that she would meet Yan Beicheng directly in his office.
Yan Beicheng had been very busy recently, so when Lin Chu arrived, he had just come out of a meeting room. She wondered if he had ended the meeting because it was already done or if he knew she was on the way.
She watched Yan Beicheng exit the meeting room, his face laced with exhaustion as his slender fingers tugged at his tie lightly to allow him a sigh of relief.
Behind him was Zuo Qiu, who saw Lin Chu first and had exclaimed in surprise, “Miss Lin, you’re here!”
Yan Beicheng instantly lifted his gaze and he felt all his exhaustion vanish once Lin Chu came into view. The weariness that lined his face disappeared as it lit up.
