Li Yan went to the greenhouse, neither eager nor reluctant. The room felt especially humid, perhaps due to the cloudy, rainy weather.
Through the clear glass ceiling, he could see the gloomy sky. Raindrops falling on the glass blurred and distorted the view into a patchwork of mottled colors.
When the butler entered, he saw Li Yan lying motionless on a lounge chair. It wasn’t until he got closer that he realized Li Yan had his eyes closed. Although his fever had subsided, his complexion still looked poor.
The flowers in the greenhouse had only been watered halfway, leaving the remaining pots looking even more droopy.
The butler draped a thin blanket over him and quietly left.
–
A silver-gray Porsche was parked by the roadside and honked twice.
The sound startled Lao Yue as well as Li Yan, who was squatting on the curb.
The black car window rolled down, revealing Lin Sheng’s face. He looked at Li Yan with an indescribable expression. “Why didn’t you come to the city’s basketball finals?”
Li Yan raised his head and smiled sheepishly. “I’ve been sick for the past few days and have been staying home to rest.”
Lin Sheng’s expression changed slightly, as if his mind wandered elsewhere.
“Get in the car. I can’t park here.” Lin Sheng frowned as he noticed another car approaching from behind in his rearview mirror.
Li Yan was shocked to hear this. He thought Lin Sheng was just passing by and had stopped to say hello. Ever since that hasty exit from their last dinner with friends, he felt embarrassed thinking about it.
“Hurry up,” Lin Sheng urged when the car honked behind him.
With no choice, Li Yan opened the car door and got in.
Lin Sheng continued driving forward, picking up speed slightly. “I even asked someone to save a seat for you.”
“Huh?” Li Yan realized Lin Sheng was still talking about the city’s basketball finals. He looked a little uncomfortable. After that last incident, where the Alpha pheromones had leaked from his body, Li Yan wasn’t sure what Lin Sheng thought of him now.
But it seemed Lin Sheng still considered him a friend, and friends were a luxury for Li Yan.
“Thank you, but I’m really sorry.” Li Yan glanced at Lin Sheng, who was focused on the road ahead. He added, “And also, about last time. I’m sorry for ruining the fun.”
Lin Sheng replied, “It’s nothing.”
The car fell silent. After a while, Li Yan remembered to ask, “Where are we going?”
Lin Sheng answered succinctly, “To eat.”
Looking at Lin Sheng’s unreadable expression, Li Yan offered, “Let me treat you. I really feel bad about last time.”
At last, Lin Sheng slowly tilted his head, his hand pausing on the steering wheel. “Oh? You want to treat me?”
The suggestion seemed to pique his interest. “Sure, where do you want to take me?”
Just under 500 meters ahead was a newly opened, luxuriously decorated Sichuan restaurant that Lin Sheng had originally planned to take Li Yan. But at that moment, he changed his mind, decisively turning the car around and heading in the direction Li Yan indicated.
About twenty minutes later, they arrived at their destination.
To his surprise, it was the commercial snack street near his school. Lin Sheng had a hard time parking due to the heavy traffic.
The two of them walked through the street, which was relatively quiet at midday but would probably get busier in the evening.
As Li Yan guided him deeper inside, they eventually took another turn and found a tiny ramen shop.
Li Yan said sincerely as he stood there, “This ramen is really good and hard to find.”
Lin Sheng didn’t respond, quietly following him inside. The doorway was low, so Lin Sheng, being a tall Alpha, instinctively ducked his head as he entered.
Despite being in such a hidden spot, the place was quite popular. Li Yan scanned the room for a while and finally spotted a table where customers were about to leave.
He tugged on Lin Sheng’s sleeve. “Let’s sit over there.”
Lin Sheng, dressed in a black trench coat, glanced at the somewhat dirty stool and frowned.
Noticing his expression, Li Yan quickly grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped the stool before asking Lin Sheng to sit.
The small, crowded restaurant was very noisy. Lin Sheng sat there with a stern expression, thinking to himself that the ramen better be as good as Li Yan claimed!
Li Yan had always sensed that Lin Sheng’s family must be well-off—likely rich or noble—and he probably had never dined in such an environment before.
But Li Yan didn’t really have much money; the fifty yuan he had was what he managed to get from Lao Yue earlier that day after much badgering.
That was his beef ramen money for the next two weeks.
Li Yan looked at Lin Sheng, whose features were strikingly handsome at first glance, needing no further thought. The black trench coat made his complexion appear even paler, giving him a mix of both mature and youthful vibes. No matter how you looked at him, he seemed out of place here.
Lin Sheng noticed Li Yan opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something but then deciding against it. In this noisy environment, Lin Sheng doubted he would hear anything even if Li Yan did speak. But his worry was unnecessary.
Trying to make conversation, Li Yan said, “That coat of yours must be expensive… Do you want to… put it on a chair for now?”
Lin Sheng’s expression turned strange as he glanced at the jacket Li Yan was wearing, which was from the same brand as his. He uttered two words, “No need.”
Li Yan ordered two bowls of ramen. After about ten minutes, seeing how busy the staff was, he decided to get the bowls himself.
He handed Lin Sheng a pair of disposable chopsticks and then sat down, immediately starting to eat. After a few bites, he noticed that Lin Sheng hadn’t begun yet and urged him, “Try it; it’s really delicious.”
Lin Sheng broke open the chopsticks, making an effort to avoid letting his cuffs touch the table. The flavor was quite decent, and his stiff face somewhat softened.
Halfway through the meal, Lin Sheng put down his chopsticks and looked at Li Yan, probing, “Li Yan, what are you doing for work now?”
Li Yan nearly choked on his noodles. He turned away to cough a few times, then lowered his head as if he wanted to bury it in the bowl. “I don’t have a job.”
Lin Sheng continued, “You’re young and able-bodied. You can’t keep hanging around with that old beggar on the street and trying to scam people.”
Feeling guilty but also relieved, Li Yan glanced up, his face embarrassed. “But I don’t really know how to do anything.”
“Let me get you a job. My family’s hotel is short-staffed. Would you like to help out there?” Lin Sheng looked at him. “The work is easy. You’d just be at the front desk handling payments and bookkeeping.”
“Uh… I lost my ID recently.”
“It’s fine. You’re just there to help out, not as a formal employee. But you’ll still get paid,” Lin Sheng chose his words carefully.
“As for the hours… I need to be done by 7:30 PM…”
“The schedule is flexible. You’ll get paid according to the hours you work.”
Just as Lin Sheng finished speaking, his phone vibrated. He glanced at it and saw a news notification.
It was about the engagement of Lu Lianning from the Lu Group and Song Ruan from the Song family.
While rumors about Lu Lianning and Song Ruan were spreading like wildfire, Li Yan was shouting in the tiny restaurant, “Boss! Add two chicken feet, a plate of edamame, and two bottles of beer!”
