On the third day of the holiday, Lin Hui and He Jian Shan finally remembered something very important—Xue Pei.
“We really should treat Xue Pei to a meal. We owe our being together to him.”
He Jian Shan was trimming flowers when he said this. Yesterday, when they passed by a flower shop, Lin Hui mentioned that their home vase was empty and wanted to buy some flowers for the living room. They stopped the car to pick some flowers, but found that there weren’t many varieties and the quality wasn’t great. The shopkeeper said they would have fresh cut flowers delivered first thing in the morning, so early today, He Jian Shan received the flowers that Lin Hui had ordered.
Lin Hui continued working on his unfinished typewriter, looking for parts as he asked, “Why? Did he enlighten you?”
“Pretty much, and coincidentally,” He Jian Shan paused and looked at Lin Hui with a smile, “he was the one who strongly advised me to hire an assistant at the very beginning.”
Lin Hui stopped, seemingly surprised, “Really?”
He Jian Shan inserted a peony into the vase, nodding, “The position of a chief assistant is special—it requires me to establish a relatively close relationship with a stranger, even if it’s just for work, which I wasn’t used to. Honestly, I thought I’d always be alone.”
“It really would be inappropriate not to invite him for a meal. I’ll contact President Xue right now. Where shall we go?”
“Xiao Nan Xuan, it’s been a while since we went there.”
Lin Hui sent a message to Xue Pei via WeChat. Xue Pei quickly replied that he was available, and so lunch was set.
Xiao Nan Xuan was near their company, neither too close nor too far from the Emerald Cloud Mountain. Seeing that it was still early, Lin Hui continued building his LEGO, “I’m really curious, how did you and President Xue become friends? Didn’t you move abroad when you were 10?”
“I met him in the first grade, he was my desk mate. He brought snacks to class, and then both of us got sent out of the room by our teacher. My family didn’t say much, but his mom gave him a beating.”
Lin Hui almost died laughing, “You even had such a past.”
“If you hadn’t asked, I’d almost forgotten about it.” He Jian Shan also found it funny, “When I moved abroad, I didn’t even properly say goodbye to him. Later, he somehow found out my email address—seems I had written it in a book somewhere—and tried to email me, and that’s how we reconnected.”
“That’s nice. You must be a very important friend to him, for him to look for you so earnestly.”
He Jian Shan trimmed the stem of a rose shorter, “Do you remember the origin of the name ‘Honey Pot Plan’? ‘Honey Pot’ comes from a memory of chatting with a buddy when we were kids—that buddy was him. Back then, I loved hearing him talk about visiting his grandparents. Thinking about it now, maybe because I never had that, I envied what others had.”
Lin Hui put down the LEGO brick he was holding and looked at He Jian Shan, “Can I ask why you started this fund in the first place?”
He Jian Shan’s actions paused, “After taking over Wan Zhu, the mother and brother of Yao Qianyi, a lover who died in a car accident, came to me. They wanted money. I refused, and they sold the story to a magazine. Only then did I find out that my grandfather had given them money before. Now, with new management in place, they wanted to extort us again.”
“At first, Wan Zhu always claimed Yao Qianyi died in an accident, and her affair was covered up, her love story still seen as beautiful in the eyes of the public. When this was exposed, it wasn’t good for me or for Wan Zhu, and the public reaction was strong, so I set up the fund as a PR move.”
Even now, He Jian Shan couldn’t clearly articulate his true intentions when establishing the fund: he and Yao Qianyi were the closest blood relatives in the world, yet also the most twisted. He personally unveiled her affair and also personally delivered the blow that led to her death. Despite such a distorted relationship, he still had to perform the act of “she loves me” and “I love her” for everyone.
He fabricated a mother’s love, earning everyone’s sympathy, then went on to warm the hearts of those who truly lost their mothers.
It all sounded ridiculously ironic.
The design of the entire fund also cleverly masked his subtle intentions: applicants for the Honey Pot Fund had two choices, one was to receive a one-time fixed amount of gift money; the other was to choose a gift package provided by Wan Zhu Group. Every month, Wan Zhu would send a gift to the applicant. Twelve months, twelve gifts, ten of which were chosen by female staff of the company, and the last two were personally specified by He Jian Shan—what he couldn’t even admit to Lin Hui was that among the gifts he specified, there was a malice he was unwilling to acknowledge.
Over the years, however, those who applied for the fund almost always chose the gift money, and basically no one chose the gift package. But He Jian Shan felt that this was not necessarily a bad thing, letting those unspeakable things be forever buried.
Lin Hui had put down his LEGO entirely and stood up. He Jian Shan came back to his senses, “Is it about time? I’ll tidy up.”
Lin Hui just watched him for a while, then reached out and hugged him.
He Jian Shan had to put down the flowers he was holding, returning the embrace, then smiled, “What’s this, acting spoiled? Assistant Lin, I have to remind you, you’re already thirty.”
“Then tell me, would thirty-five-year-old you fall for this?”
He Jian Shan spread his hands, “The more, the merrier.”
When they arrived at Xiao Nan Xuan, Xue Pei hadn’t arrived yet. Lin Hui and He Jian Shan stood by the window and started discussing who should break the news—
“You should say it, technically, Xue Pei is your friend,” Lin Hui thought for a moment. “It’d be weird if you told Luo Ting about our relationship, right?”
“Don’t you think it’d be more interesting if you did it?”
Lin Hui laughed, “What’s so interesting about it?”
“Did you know, he once told me that if I ever got married, I should find someone with a personality like yours.”
“You guys even talked about this? I think President Xue could consider a new business—fortune telling.”
“He also said that if you and I were together, us eating and shopping together wouldn’t be called dating, it’d be called a meeting.”
Lin Hui shook his head in disagreement, “Then today, I must properly establish your reputation as a lover, there’s no one in the world better at romance than you.”
“Really?”
Lin Hui’s eyes shone, “Although I haven’t compared you to anyone else, in my heart, you always have been.”
Nothing is more thrilling than the recognition of a lover. He Jian Shan smiled and embraced Lin Hui—
Thud—
“Old He, downstairs is—”
Xue Pei stared at the two men hugging each other, mouth agape, completely stunned. A few seconds later, he snapped back to reality and the first thing he did was hurriedly close the door.
“Damn,” he uttered his second sentence upon entering.
No need for explanations now. Lin Hui seemed to see question marks floating above Xue Pei’s head, while He Jian Shan was quite composed, “Let me formally introduce you, my boyfriend, Lin Hui.”
During the meal, Xue Pei’s excitement had settled. Recalling what he had previously said to He Jian Shan, he couldn’t help but feel it was natural, that they were very suitable together.
“Isn’t that a bit of hindsight? Who was shocked just now?”
“I wasn’t shocked about you and Lin Hui per se, more about you actually being in love.” Xue Pei raised his glass, “Here, Old He, cheers, congratulations on finally having someone to push your wheelchair when you’re old.”
Xue Pei had complained about He Jian Shan before, saying he was all work and no desires, and would end up with no one to push his wheelchair when old.
He Jian Shan nodded, “Thanks, you won’t need to bring milk powder to the nursing home to see me anymore.”
Lin Hui couldn’t help but laugh, “Is this what you guys talk about when you drink that expensive wine in bars?”
Xue Pei was about to say something, then suddenly thought of something, “Wait, you guys don’t seem like this is just a one or two-day thing, have you been together for a while— that time at the seafood restaurant, my place, right?!”
Xue Pei reacted too quickly. Lin Hui and He Jian Shan looked at each other and admitted with a smile, “That was our first day together, I guess.”
“Well, damn!” Xue Pei also couldn’t help but laugh, “I thought you guys were acting weird that day, tsk, I’m just not bold enough to think that!”
The three chatted for a while longer, and He Jian Shan remembered something about He Jian Chuan, “He Jian Chuan has a band, they sound pretty good, see if you can arrange for them to perform at ‘Xu’.”
“He Jian Chuan is your brother? He has a band?”
Lin Hui pulled up a video of He Jian Chuan performing from his phone and handed it to Xue Pei, “I think he sings quite well.”
Xue Pei looked at Lin Hui, then at He Jian Shan, and lowered his head to open the video, jokingly saying, “You know what you two really resemble now? The kind of parents who work hard for their child and then pull strings for them.”
He Jian Shan ignored his teasing, “The atmosphere at some bars isn’t great, if he’s really going to sing, it’s best to stay in a better place.”
Xue Pei watched for a while, then exclaimed in surprise, “So this is your brother!”
“You know him?”
“You guys don’t know? ‘Haystack Poets’ had a strong presence on Jinghua’s local forums a long time ago, then just a couple of days ago, one of their singing videos suddenly went viral. Some company invited them to perform at their annual meeting, and lots of people were asking about him, and then gradually, videos of him singing at bars started popping up.”
Xue Pei took out his phone and searched for a He Jian Chuan video, the view count was indeed high. Lin Hui casually scrolled through the comments, most praising his handsome looks and good singing, but many were also curious about his real identity, suspecting it might be a company hyping him up, yet someone clearly stated the details about He Jian Chuan:
Star in the Sky: My treasure band Haystack Poets finally became famous, huh? To answer everyone, the little brother isn’t some celebrity, his real name is HJC, a second-generation rich kid, his family is super wealthy, those from JH city know, I won’t say more, just enjoy the music, enjoy the music.
Cecilie_072: What surname does H stand for? He, Huang, Hua, He? But it says he’s from JH, it can’t be He, can it?
XXX_Karina: Just, he doesn’t look anything like his brother…
User0233650: They are half-brothers from different mothers, it’s normal not to look alike
…
Lin Hui furrowed his brow, turning to He Jian Shan, “Is this really okay?”
Xue Pei, seeing what he was getting at, reassured him, “You know as well as I do, Old He’s family matters have been talked to death online, there’s nothing new to dig up, just treat it as getting used to having a celebrity in the family.”
But Lin Hui was still uneasy, “If I knew he was so high-profile, I wouldn’t have shown off like that yesterday. It should’ve been handled privately.”
“What show off?”
Lin Hui sighed, “Yesterday, some guy insisted on inviting He Jian Chuan’s band’s drummer for a drink, I ended up bluffing a bit, I couldn’t just watch them being bullied.”
He wasn’t worried about what would happen to him if he was caught on camera, but he feared dragging He Jian Shan into it. Four years ago, he had experienced the power of online opinion; when they really want to pick on you, even breathing can be a mistake.
Xue Pei swiped through his phone, opening videos one by one, eventually pausing on one. Immediately, Lin Hui’s voice came out from the phone, “…what’s the most expensive wine in your bar…”
Lin Hui immediately looked over.
Xue Pei glanced at the comments and said, “Don’t worry, I flipped through it for a while, just this one video, just a few seconds, not many comments.”
“Hope so.”
He Jian Shan squeezed Lin Hui’s hand, “I didn’t spend all that money on public relations for nothing, even if there’s a problem, PR will handle it well.”
“Then let’s talk to the PR department after we finish eating.”
He Jian Shan smiled, “It was you who said no work during the holiday, and now you’re starting to work overtime.”
“Regret it now, I should have just worked with you from the start.”
Lin Hui thought: Lately, being in love has made me a bit too complacent. I just hope this colorful holiday doesn’t catch the attention of those online over this trivial matter.
In the afternoon, back at home, He Jian Shan called the PR director. Although it probably wasn’t a big deal, it was still good to communicate in advance. After he calmly explained the whole situation, there was silence on the other end of the line.
Receiving a call from the boss during a holiday wasn’t exactly pleasant, but… the PR director was silent for a while before finally, hesitantly saying, “Regarding you and President Lin going to the bar to see your brother perform, and incidentally—spending a lot, the company really hasn’t prepared for this. However, I think the problem isn’t big, after all, it was a private act, legal and proper. But since Wan Zhu’s publicity has always portrayed you as low-profile, I suggest that in the future, if there are similar actions, they could be done more discreetly. I’ll also notify the department staff to be aware, please rest assured.”
Lin Hui frowned as he listened, understanding the implication: showing off isn’t illegal, but it’s best to flaunt wealth in private next time.
He Jian Shan hung up the phone, seeing Lin Hui’s expression, couldn’t help but laugh, “Feeling a bit more at ease now?”
“Better to have a plan, otherwise I always feel uneasy.”
Lin Hui said this and walked into the kitchen to place the fish they had just bought into the sink. When the two of them returned home, they had also stopped by the supermarket to pick up a fish, planning to have fish slice porridge for dinner. Lin Hui thought since he was free at the moment, he might as well prepare the fish now, marinate it a bit, so it could go straight into the pot later.
“I’ll do it.” He Jian Shan rolled up his sleeves and walked over.
Lin Hui shook his head, “No need, fish is too smelly, you’re sensitive to smells, just go help me with the LEGO.”
He Jian Shan stopped, asking, “How did you notice?”
“Notice what? That you don’t like smelling various scents?” Lin Hui was exasperated, “Every time we travel for work, the moment we enter a hotel you start frowning, can’t stand the scent in the lobby, right?”
At first, he thought He Jian Shan was dissatisfied with something, but after paying attention a few times, he realized he probably didn’t like strong scents, even the fragrance of ordinary toiletries.
“I’m getting used to it now, see if you can smell any fragrance on me?”
Before starting to handle the fish, Lin Hui turned around, looking at He Jian Shan with a smile, “What fragrance, isn’t it just the scent of shower gel and shampoo?”
“No, guess again.”
Lin Hui was curious, leaned in and sniffed, “Hmm, there’s also the scent of spices from Xiao Nan Xuan.”
He Jian Shan was amused by him, simply hugging Lin Hui, “Guess seriously.”
“Alright, alright,” Lin Hui sniffed seriously in He Jian Shan’s embrace, “Hmm—there’s a bit of sweetness, a hint of mint, and the smell of fish…”
Lin Hui muttered for a while, then gave up, “I really don’t know.”
“Smell what’s on your own body?”
“There’s mint, the sweetness of oranges from lunch at the restaurant, and fish—”
Lin Hui suddenly raised his head, staring at the person in front of him.
He Jian Shan laughed, “Assistant Lin, our scents are the same, collectively—”
“Home.”
Author’s Note:
Assistant Lin: Guess what scent I have on me?
President He: The scent of He Jian Shan.
It’s Friday again, but this Saturday Assistant Lin has to work overtime, oh well.
