“What’s going on?”
Lin Zhiyu’s hand, which was about to push Xie Youzhou away, gently turned and landed on Xie Youzhou’s head, rubbing it like a pet.
“Did you eat something bad at lunch?”
“Maybe… the takeout I ordered was a little dirty,” Xie Youzhou replied, blinking innocently.
If Cao Chengfei, who has met countless people, were here, he would have thanked Youzhou on the spot.
Phew, this guy is a green tea type!
When Lin Zhiyu heard this, his expression turned serious. “Which store? Show me the takeout list. You’re probably not the only one who has been affected by this unscrupulous business. It needs to be reported to the Food Safety Supervision Bureau.”
“I… Ahem, I’ve already reported it,” Xie Youzhou said quickly.
“That’s good. Do you still have diarrhea? Should we go to the hospital later to check if it’s not just an upset stomach but mild food poisoning?”
“No, no, no, no need, brother. I don’t have stomach pain anymore. I haven’t… um, gone to the bathroom in the past two hours.”
Xie Youzhou felt increasingly embarrassed, worried that he had no image left in front of his brother…
No wonder it takes countless lies to cover up one!
Fearing that his brother might make some unexpected suggestions again, he hurriedly said, “Brother, my stomach is empty, and I’m starving. Let’s eat quickly. Where should we go?”
“Let’s go home for dinner today. My dad said he made a big meal and asked me to come back. It just so happens that you can join us and make up for it.”
Lin Zhiyu said, patting Xie Youzhou on the shoulder. “Okay, let’s get started. You drive.”
After the two of them returned to the community, Xie Youzhou suddenly felt something was off as soon as they arrived downstairs at Lin Zhiyu’s house.
As they reached the door and smelled the rich, spicy aroma of hot pot, Xie Youzhou couldn’t help but salivate.
“Hey, Xiao Xie is here too? Come in, come in! Uncle bought a lot of vegetables today; you can’t eat less!”
Lin’s father cheerfully invited them inside. Lin Zhaoqiu, lying on the sofa calculating financial statements, jumped up and rushed over with a chicken coop on her head.
“Brother, you’re back!”
Her brother usually researched late into the night and often missed dinner. She hadn’t had a meal with him in a long time.
“Qiuqiu, why is your hairstyle so unruly?” Lin Zhiyu smiled, looking at his sister’s messy hair. “It looks like it’s time to hatch some chicks!”
“Brother, you’re making fun of me!”
Lin Zhaoqiu removed the hair covering and carelessly ruffled her hair a few times.
“Okay, okay, brother is wrong.” Lin Zhiyu smiled and handed her the durian in his hand. “Brother bought this for you.”
“Ah, long live my brother!” Lin Zhaoqiu exclaimed, happily accepting it. Then she looked at Xie Youzhou and clicked her tongue. “Has Xiaoyou grown taller again? He was already a head taller than me before, and now he’s even taller!”
“He’s only eighteen, but he is tall,” Lin Zhiyu replied.
However, Xie Youzhou added seriously, “Gege, I will celebrate my nineteenth birthday next month, so the missed years count as twenty.”
He didn’t want his gege to treat him like a little brat all the time.
“Yo yo yo, you’re speaking like an adult!” Lin Zhaoqiu laughed, treating Xie Youzhou as one of her own. She pulled on her slippers and took out a measuring tape from a drawer. “How tall are you now? Come on, let me measure you.”
Xie Youzhou: “…”
“Come on!” Lin Zhaoqiu urged.
Lin Zhiyu smiled and said, “Come on, Xiaoyou, let’s see how tall you are.”
Xie Youzhou walked over helplessly.
Lin Zhaoqiu tried her best to stretch out her arms. “Hey, you are 1.93 meters tall!”
“I probably won’t grow any taller,” Xie Youzhou said seriously.
He was this tall in his previous life and never grew any taller until his death.
“You’re already tall enough! But if you grow any taller, you might have trouble finding a wife,” Lin Zhaoqiu teased.
She was in a really good mood today; Lin’s Home Decoration Company had reopened and was finally on the right track. All the efforts she and her father made had paid off.
And now her brother was back for dinner!
“By the way, what type do you like? Let me introduce you to someone. There are many good girls around me. You’re a young man of 18 or 19 years old with such excellent looks. Why don’t you want to fall in love? It’s a waste not to take advantage of your good conditions.”
Lin Zhaoqiu narrowed her eyes.
Lin Zhiyu wanted to wash his hands, but for some reason, he suddenly felt something stir in his heart, and he frowned.
What’s going on with him? Why does he seem so uninterested in what Xiao Yao is saying? Is he worried that this kid might talk about a bad relationship?
“I like…” Xie Youzhou glanced at Lin Zhiyu from the corner of his eye, his voice softening. “I like people who are tall and well-educated.”
“How tall do you need them to be?” Lin Zhaoqiu asked. “1.65 meters? 1.7 meters?”
“More than 1.8 meters,” Xie Youzhou replied.
“Ahem!” Lin Zhaoqiu almost choked on her saliva. “1.8 meters?!!”
“Well, I want to be able to kiss him just by lowering my head,” Xie Youzhou said, his eyes incredibly gentle.
Lin Zhaoqiu: “…”
“Then what level of education do you want?” Lin Zhaoqiu felt increasingly uneasy.
“Should at least be a doctorate holder,” Xie Youzhou said calmly.
Lin Zhaoqiu’s face was one of utter disbelief. “I think you should just stay single!”
No wonder this guy has such a good situation but has never had a girlfriend—his standards were impossibly high.
“I think you’ll be a bachelor for life; I haven’t seen anyone who could meet your requirements,” Lin Zhaoqiu rolled her eyes and then turned to her brother.
“Oh, my brother meets the criteria! He’s 1.82 meters tall, has a doctorate, and is a professor—far beyond your standards!”
Lin Zhaoqiu pouted. “But my brother is a man, and he can only be brothers with you in this life.”
Ahem! Lin’s father, who had been listening, cleared his throat. “What are you talking about, Qiuqiu? Can you not tease your brother? Come here and grab the chopsticks so we can eat!”
Lin Zhaoqiu stuck her tongue out at Xie Youzhou, teasing, “You’re destined to be alone!”
Just then, Lin Zhiyu emerged from the bathroom and noticed Xie Youzhou looking a bit uncomfortable as if his sister’s words had made him somewhat embarrassed. But it didn’t seem like just embarrassment…
Lin Zhiyu couldn’t figure out what was going on with himself; his face felt a bit hot, uncontrollably.
When he saw his father offering Xie Youzhou a large piece of meat from the spicy pot, Lin Zhiyu instinctively said, “Dad, Xiaoyou can’t eat spicy food.”
“What’s going on? I remember this kid could always handle spicy food,” Father Lin paused.
“He’s had diarrhea all afternoon and can’t eat spicy food,” Lin Zhiyu replied. He then asked Xie Youzhou to get a new bowl, pour water in it, and rinse the peppers before eating.
Xie Youzhou, who wasn’t happy at all, silently swallowed all the saliva in his stomach and obeyed.
He had dug a hole for himself…
However, despite it tasting bland in his mouth and almost forcing himself to swallow, Xie Youzhou felt a little happy inside.
His brother cares about him so much.
It’s so sweet when he cares about him seriously!
He wanted to hold such a brother in his arms and kiss him.
After dinner, Xie Youzhou lingered in Lin Zhiyu’s bedroom for a while before leaving. He didn’t notice Father Lin standing on the balcony, watching him go and letting out a long sigh.
How could a man in his fifties not understand the thoughts of these kids who have little love experience?
At first, he thought he was overthinking it, but today he could no longer deceive himself.
Xie Youzhou could hardly hide his feelings. He likes his son, Lin Zhiyu…
But what could he say? This child has sacrificed so much to help the Lin family. There’s no way he could be ungrateful and push him away.
What’s more, Zhiyu didn’t even realize that Xie Youzhou liked him.
If he brought it up out of nowhere, it would be very awkward. He saw that Xie Youzhou didn’t dare to say anything openly, probably fearing that Zhiyu wouldn’t reciprocate his feelings. If he made everything too clear, he might lose him as a friend altogether.
So…
he pretended he hadn’t seen anything and didn’t understand anything.
If one day Xie Youzhou makes a decision, he believes that his Zhiyu will choose with clarity and careful consideration.
No matter how his Zhiyu chooses to treat Xie Youzhou—even if he agrees to be with him—he will… accept it.
His child, Zhiyu, has been shouldering too much on his own. As a father, all he hopes for is that this child can find happiness.
That’s enough for him.
But… how can two men live together for long? What if Xie Youzhou bullies his precious Zhiyu in the future? What if society is not tolerant?
Even though the future had not yet been written, Father Lin was already worried.
He was so anxious that his heart was racing and his brows were furrowed. He took a deep breath to feel better.
“Dad, what are you doing?”
Lin Zhaoqiu approached, holding a durian in her hand.
Father Lin was so overwhelmed by the smell that he didn’t have time to feel uncomfortable. He quickly walked away from Lin Zhaoqiu.
Lin Zhaoqiu: “…”
She didn’t understand why her father disliked such delicious food.
Little did Xie Youzhou know that not only had he captured his brother’s heart, but he had also unconsciously won over his future father-in-law!
He returned home in a joyful mood. As soon as he opened the door, he sent a voice message to Lin Zhiyu before turning on the lights.
“Gege, I’m home.”
Then he clicked on the entrance light, and the next second, he saw his mother sitting on the sofa, her face pale under the dim light, yet the corners of her mouth were curled up in a way that looked both weird and unsettling.
Xie Youzhou was startled.
“Mom, why are you back today?!”
“Did I delay your pursuit of Lin Zhiyu?” Mother Xie’s faint voice came in response.
Xie Youzhou felt something was off, so he turned on the overhead light in the living room and saw his mother sitting on the sofa, smiling at him.
Xie Youzhou: “…”
Why did he feel a little panicked?
“Mom, don’t act like this; I’m not used to it.”
“Look at how promising you are! Don’t I deserve to give you a surprise? I just got home,” Mother Xie said cheerfully, her good mood buoyed by finally finishing a recent research task.
She didn’t have to return to the institute for the next week, and she and her colleagues were set for ten days of real vacation.
“I’m going to visit your dad and your older brother tomorrow. You stay at home and take care of yourself.”
Mother Xie was keenly aware that she needed to ask her eldest son who he had been secretly in love with. Why? Hurry up and pursue her so she can arrange a wedding for them!
He was already thirty-two and not worried about getting married.
“I won’t tell your dad about Lin Zhiyu for now, but you have to build your capital as soon as possible; otherwise, you won’t be able to resist whatever your dad decides.”
Mother Xie sincerely hoped that her children would find happiness. She spoke earnestly, wanting the best for them.
Xie Youzhou smiled and opened his arms to hug his mother. “Thank you, Mom. I know.”
“Just wait until your son becomes the richest man!”
Mother Xie wanted to comment that her son’s goals were a bit lofty, but seeing his determination, she couldn’t bring herself to discourage him.
“Okay, Mom believes in you! When the time comes, you can buy me a villa, and I’ll take your dad to walk the dog and grow vegetables,” she said with a smile.
Xie Youzhou grinned and replied, “No problem!”
—
Xie’s mother left early the next morning, and Xie Youzhou personally took her to the airport.
Then he rushed back to the company.
The IT website belonged to Nianzhi Co., Ltd., which Xie Youzhou had founded. It was currently their main business and served as the first and most important cornerstone of the Nianzhi Company.
Xie Youzhou had created and developed the JT website by himself. The code he wrote was nearly perfect and required minimal modifications, allowing daily maintenance to be efficient and low-cost.
Once the project stabilized, he gradually assigned the original staff to a newly developed game project.
Xie Youzhou remained the leader, overseeing a significant portion of the key code.
One person, not to mention three—to ten senior programmers working together would be easily outmatched by Xie Youzhou.
Everyone who had initially been skeptical of his age gradually became completely convinced, viewing Xie Youzhou as their idol.
“Why does the boss leave right at dinner time? We can’t even treat him to a meal. Is he in love?”
At lunch that day, another gossip session unfolded in the office.
“What are you talking about? The boss is going to pick up his brother. He wants to have dinner with him,” Qiao Qingqing, the only long-haired girl in Group A, replied, holding a chicken drumstick in one hand and a Coke in the other.
“What?!”
Baldy Wen could hardly believe it.
“How can he drop everything to have dinner with his brother? This is unbelievable!”
No matter how good a relationship the brothers had, it was unlikely to be this close. Most brothers would be “disgusted” with each other…
Just looking at his brother again almost made him feel ill.
“I also find it strange,” Qiao Qingqing admitted.
She didn’t know the details either.
“Oh, it doesn’t matter. We can’t postpone team building in our company. I suggest we make strong proposals to our boss after the meeting this afternoon! Let’s get him to agree to it.”
“I agree with what my son said,” chimed in a chubby guy in a plaid shirt.
“Bah! You should call me ‘dad,’ son!” Baldy Wen rolled his eyes.
The group bantered back and forth, but their camaraderie was still strong. After all, Xie Youzhou had chosen them not just for their abilities, but also for their character. A group of people with good character naturally grew to become friends.
They discussed team building and reached out to other groups, which also expressed interest. As the first batch of “seniors” to join, even when divided into different groups, they still felt a special bond.
When Xie Youzhou returned and heard the commotion, he naturally agreed to the idea.
Team building was beneficial for fostering relationships and deepening employees’ sense of identity and belonging to the company. He had no reason to reject it, especially since the employees were enthusiastic about it.
However, Xie Youzhou didn’t make a direct decision about the location. Instead, he asked everyone to vote on where to hold the team building, and ultimately, they chose the famous Sichuan Huanian Hot Pot City in the capital.
Food wasn’t enough; there would also be games. The group had a heated discussion, and some even excitedly shouted, “Is there a chance to invite the boss’s brother to join us for dinner? I’m really curious about what he’s like!”
“I’m curious too!”
“Curious +1!”
Xie Youzhou didn’t notice any of this. He was in his private office, receiving funds from country M through an anonymous account.
The corners of his lips curled up slightly, feeling satisfied.
“Hello, employer, I have sent all the evidence you asked for. Please check it.”
