Translated by: Queen Dei Mos
It was a very simple men’s ring made of platinum with a small diamond.
In fact, the value wasn’t very high, but it was the best men’s ring that Yu Lan could buy with the money he had available.
When selecting the ring, there was indeed some hesitation on Yu Lan’s part.
Last night when he first heard the mention of a ring, he thought he got the wrong idea, which caused him to freeze and forget to answer. He wasn’t sure if Mr. Shao meant it in that way.
He wanted to give this gift, partially to eliminate the embarrassment of last night’s silence, and partially for his selfish motive.
——whether Mr. Shao meant it that way or not, at least when he presented the ring, he did.
Of course, it’s not that Yu Lan was unable to sense the ambiguity between him and Mr. Shao, but it was his first time experiencing such feelings so he was full of uncertainty about everything.
He couldn’t read Mr. Shao’s mind.
That’s why he believed that his motive was dark and selfish.
As a result, he also wondered if his feelings were wrong. Then if one day, Mr. Shao realized what the ring really meant to him, would the ring he gave him become inappropriate?
Yet all his hesitation was broken by his feelings.
Yu Lan wanted to be more daring, and he wanted to give a gift that represented his love.
Nevertheless, it was originally a secret. After the conversation just now, once the gift was given it seemed that it wasn’t such a secret anymore!
Shao Mingyu lifted his eyes, saw the youth was flustered and his breathing couldn’t help but slow down.
He clutched the ring box and abruptly asked, “Ah Lan, how are you doing in the store lately?”
Yu Lan’s heart was pounding as he was nervously waiting for the response of the man beside him. Yet he didn’t expect the other side to suddenly mention this so he froze for a moment and said, “What?”
Shao Mingyu said, “Wang Jialin?”
Yu Lan was stunned.
After regaining his senses, he lowered his hand and asked surprised, “Mr. Shao, do you know about it?”
The man looked at him silently.
Yu Lan recalled something and promptly answered, “I wanted to tell you, but I forgot about it yesterday! Mr. Shao, I remember everything you said!”
He looked at the man nervously, fearing that the other person was angry.
On the other hand, Shao Mingyu couldn’t help smiling when he heard the second half of his sentence.
Seeing Mr. Shao smiling again, Yu Lan breathed a sigh of relief and explained, “Mr. Shao, I had originally intended to tell you the day it happened, but at that time, considering that you were still away on a business trip, and the matter itself wasn’t very urgent, I thought I’d wait until you come back.”
“So considerate of me?” Shao Mingyu raised his eyebrows.
Yu Lan gently and cautiously replied, “I….shouldn’t I……do that?”
Shao Mingyu sighed, reached out and placed his hand on the youth’s head, and said in a gentle voice, “Ah Lan, I would be happier if you think about yourself more.”
Yu Lan bowed his head.
Shao Mingyu looked at the ring in his hand.
When he looked up again, his hand slid down to the youth’s cheek and lifted his face up.
He gently stroked Yu Lan’s cheek with his fingertips. This unusual and ambiguous action made Yu Lan shiver.
From the place where Mr. Shao stroked, the skin became burning hot.
“Do you know who did it?” He asked in a low voice.
Yu Lan whispered, “……Jian, Mr. Jian?”
Among the people Yu Lan had encountered, he was the only one who had the greatest likelihood, which was why Yu Lan’s first suspect was him.
“That’s right, but don’t worry.” Shao Mingyu slowly said, “He already has no energy to think about other things.”
Yu Lan was surprised.
In the driver’s seat, Lin Yu didn’t see what gift Yu Lan gave. He could only judge from the conversation between the two that the gift must be extraordinary. He, who was dying from eating melons1(吃瓜) – chī guā – Onlookers, often used humorously., heard this and was in a very complicated mood.
After the boss returned from the Luo family over half a month ago, he was instructed to deal with the Jian family.
Regarding that omega, Lin Yu believed that he might have a better understanding of him than the boss.
There were many people who admired the boss, and it was impossible for the boss to pay attention to them one by one. But from the very beginning, Lin Yu sensed that Jian Ling was definitely a troublemaker, only there was no one around the boss before, therefore he was unable to do anything.
As soon as Yu Lan appeared at the boss’s side, this person moved faster than what Lin Yu had expected.
Nevertheless, since he had made his move, it was impossible for him to slip away.
That omega should have expected the consequences of his first move.
The accident happened earlier today during the day.
That model agent named Fang Pingping revealed a few things they weren’t aware of.
Yu Lan encountered an “enemy”, but since Yu Lan didn’t say much, Fang Pingping didn’t know who the “enemy” was.
It wasn’t necessary to ask any more questions as from Fang Pingping’s words and after careful consideration they set their eyes on Wang Jialin. Lin Yu sent people to take advantage of the gap between the other party’s part-time job to get him into their car to “ask questions”, and only then did they know that there was a previous incident.
Jian Ling’s design company was revealed to have some problems. After he found out who was behind them, he went to a bar late at night to get drunk and met Wang Jialin. No idea how the two of them got into a conversation, the result was that Jian Ling had struck up a ridiculous agreement with Wang Jialin while he was drunk.
It was truly ridiculous.
Under the boss’s watchful eye, he didn’t have the courage to actually do anything but was unwilling to admit defeat in such a manner. As a result, he spent money to get a university student to take on such a ridiculous “assignment”——he probably also guessed that the boss couldn’t let people keep an eye on Yu Lan’s life 24 hours a day, and yet what was the point of doing so?
It was funny and sad at the same time.
He probably never thought that just by having someone harass Yu Lan that their entire Jian family would be destroyed in the next few days.
Lin Yu assumed a serious expression, recalling what happened after his report in the afternoon.
The man standing in front of the window was silent for a second and gave him another order.
Lin Yu hesitantly said, “CEO Shao, in that case, the entire Jian family will……”
If the previous move was considered a “warning”, then the man’s order at this very moment was intended to completely tear apart the Jian family.
Even though according to his understanding, the Jian family wasn’t innocent. After they learned what had happened so far, they attempted to confront the boss, unfortunately the boss didn’t answer a single phone call. While they helped Jian Ling clean up his mess, they also tried to subtly make a move on Yu Lan in recent days, but they were being closely watched by the boss and couldn’t act. However, it didn’t look like they intend to let it go.
As soon as the boss’s decision was made, and certain things were exposed, the Jian family was really finished.
When that time comes not to mention the reaction of CEO Shao’s mother, who had always been close to the Jian family, the entire high society would pay attention to this matter. This was the same as telling everyone that the Jian family had offended Shao Mingyu because of something, and it was something that they couldn’t afford to offend at all.
But after Lin Yu hesitated, he quickly figured it out again.
Boss was using Jian’s family to warn everyone else who was watching from the shadows.
So far, how many people have learned of Yu Lan’s existence, and how many people have some thoughts in their hearts? This man didn’t want to pay attention to them.
It was impossible for him to monitor Yu Lan’s life, and it was impossible to protect the other party as a dodder flower2(菟絲花) -tú sī huā-dodder flower means to be someone who can’t survive or withers easily without a stronghold (often represented by men)., so the simplest way was——
To warn everyone that the youth was someone they couldn’t afford to offend.
Yu Lan didn’t know what the man had done, but he could vaguely feel that something very big must have happened.
He trusts Mr. Shao, therefore, he wouldn’t question any decision Mr. Shao made. Only after some hesitation, he mentioned, “Mr. Shao, the store manager, told me that I don’t need to go to work starting tomorrow, so I won’t see Wang Jialin again. Before, I still went to work after finding out what Wang Jialin was up to, because I was afraid that it would be difficult for the store manager, and Wang Jialin also——”
The man interrupted him with a gentle voice, “I know you are considerate, Ah Lan. You’re twenty-two years old and have the ability to think independently. You are also very obedient, so I won’t question your judgment at will.”
Hearing this, Yu Lan nodded his head like a good boy.
Now, he already has a sense of proportion, he knows all that he can carry and what he can’t. He understands everything.
The man added, “But there is one more thing I have to ask. Since you can guess that it was Jian Ling, then something should have happened before. Was it the day they came to the manor as guests? Before leaving, did he say something to you?”
Yu Lan honestly said, “He told me to think about the matter with Mr. Chi……”
“Did he cause that headache the other day?”
Yu Lan paused, and was at a loss, “He mentioned something about the Silver Moon Clan, and I got a headache thinking about it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me what he said to you at that time?” The man asked again.
Yu Lan hesitated, “I, I thought he was your friend……”
Shao Mingyu slowly explained, “I’ve known him since we were kids, but there is hardly any friendship between us. In other words, Ah Lan, even if in the future, Song Ze or Chi Yan says anything that makes you feel as though they have gone too far, you can absolutely tell me.”
Yu Lan was stunned.
“You don’t have to worry about me, but you should think more about yourself, okay?” Shao Mingyu looked at him and said, “I hope you can live a little more for yourself.”
Yu Lan’s eyes widened.
Shao Mingyu understood that the youth was very obedient, and he was also constantly improving.
In fact, the youth was growing at an alarming rate.
Before, Shao Mingyu would tell the youth that if he endured his pain by himself again, he would get angry. But at this very moment, Shao Mingyu would no longer question the youth’s judgment
The little guy just needed some little guidance.
He wanted to peel off the other person’s outer shell layer by layer, so that he could learn to rely on him.
Shao Mingyu caressed the ring box in his hand and said, “Little Grapes, do you know what a ring represents?”
Yu Lan was frightened and his eyes dodged with a guilty conscience and his cheeks burning.
He, of course he knew, ah. That’s why he thought he got the wrong idea last night.
Now that Mr. Shao asked this question, was he actually uncertain when he sent the gift last night……
Shao Mingyu smiled, “After watching so many TV dramas, you should be well aware of it, right?”
So that’s why last night’s reaction was so sluggish, and why he chose this gift today.
Yu Lan anxiously buried his head.
A series of events that happened recently made Shao Mingyu come to a decision at some point this afternoon.
The best method to protect his beloved wasn’t to completely shield him, but to let everyone know that this was the person that he, Shao Mingyu, was seriously devoted to.
As such it was more or less done.
There were times when he felt uncertain because of the youth’s slow reactions, yet it was also the youth who often gave him clearer signals.
It was enough feeling him out.
He could feel that the youth still had some concerns, but it didn’t matter. They could take their time. There was only one thing left to be done.
Shao Mingyu asked, “So, do you have any idea which finger you should wear this ring on?”
At this moment, Yu Lan had clearly understood the man’s intentions.
His mind went blank for a moment, and when he came back to his senses, he looked at the man in amazement.
And the man’s eyes were calm, but also carried with it certain things that Yu Lan has been longing to see for a long time.
He swallowed hard as his heart beat faster.
Before buying the ring, Yu Lan……didn’t really expect this kind of development.
The gift may have been a little ambiguous, however, he had always subconsciously thought that it would take some time before certain things would become clear.
And in his heart, in fact, he secretly hoped that he could stand a little taller, a little more, and then walk to the man’s side with his head held high and chest out3(抬頭挺胸) – áng shǒu tǐng xiōng – head high, chest out (idiom); to keep up one’s spirits.
So, despite the longing and expectation for the man, Yu Lan wasn’t in a rush. He, himself, still had some hesitation and uncertainty in his heart.
It was a very contradictory feeling, about wanting but not daring to want.
Yet the man was so caught off guard that he expressed his intentions.
Yu Lan was a bit dumbfounded as if he was dreaming and his brain “buzzing”.
However, at this moment, the calmness in the man’s eyes promptly smoothed out all the shock, uncertainty, and concern in his heart.
He loves Mr. Shao.
Mr. Shao had taken the first step.
It made no sense for him to back out.
Shao Mingyu held the youth’s hand, passed over the ring box, and said, “Ah Lan, will you help me put it on?”
Yu Lan lowered his eyes and settled his gaze on the ring box.
He took a deep breath, raised his hand with a slight tremor, took out the ring, and held the man’s hand.
Mr. Shao’s palm was big. His fingertips were slightly cold yet his palm was warm.
He looked at the man again, his heart trembled, “Mr. Shao……”
The man gazed at him tenderly, waiting for him.
It was kind of a silent encouragement.
Yu Lan pursed his lips and settled down his heart, slowly pushing the simple ring onto the man’s ring finger.
It took a single push for it to reach the end.
It fit perfectly.
It was on……
Yu Lan stared blankly.
The man chuckled in a low voice, “The size is right.”
Yu Lan just then blushingly realized——when he was choosing the ring. He was subconsciously holding Mr. Shao’s ring finger! And surprisingly, the size was spot on……
He really wished to look for a hole to crawl into4(无地自容) – wú dì zì róng – ashamed and unable to show one’s face – can find no place to hide oneself for shame； feel too ashamed to show one’s face; make one doubly ashamed; wish to sink into the ground; look for a hole to crawl into right now.
He was annoyed at himself and tried to withdraw his hand, but the man latched onto his hand and squeezed it, entwining their fingers.
“Mr. Shao……” Yu Lan’s voice was as loud as a mosquito5extremely low voice.
The ice cold ring on the man’s hand touched him and was quickly covered by the body temperature of both men.
“The next time you get your reward, don’t buy such an expensive gift, save some for yourself.” The man’s words were full of joy.
Yu Lan’s heart was also “thumping” at this time, as if it was going to float to the sky.
He said softly, “Then, then I can buy something less expensive.”
Shao Mingyu thought for a moment and smiled, ” You can give me a gift without needing to buy one.”
The two looked at each other.
He joked, “You can give yourself to me.”
Yu Lan “!!!”
The author has something to say:
Shao Mingyu (smiling): I told you I understood.
Yu Lan (blushing): En……
Lin Yu: Does anyone remember me? I’m so sorry actually I can’t remember who I am myself.
T/N:
Good riddance for Jian Ling hmph! (o¬‿¬o )…☆ﾐ(*x_x)
Are the wedding bells coming? Let’s wait and see~
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