Chapter Forty-Seven: The Designer That He Admired
The young man instantly paled as he stammered out his words: “Then why…”
Yan Jin seemed to know what that young man was trying to ask. The chairman replied without hesitation: “I went to meet you in order to bring the three ridiculous years between us to a conclusion.”
“R-Ridiculous?”
“You fell into bad company, slept around, gambled, and even threw your life in the gutter. As for me – I didn’t know you better.” Yan Jin explained in a clear manner: “Those were the past three years between us.”
The young man’s complexion paled even further. He did not think that as a chairman, Yan Jin would know so much. Even more so, the young man couldn’t believe that mature and tolerating Yan Jin would say such harsh words to him.
“But, I know I’m in the wrong…” the young man stuttered as if trying to insist on something. In the end, Yan Jin’s cold-blooded gaze pierced through his defensive shields.
He once thought that his young age would redeem every mistake that he made. But now, he knew that even if he truly repented on his mistakes, all that forgiveness was just a comforting lie.
How could there be traces of the love that he once received in those eyes that were looking at him?
The result of being too opinionated had left him bare naked without any armor to shield him from embarrassment, leaving him nowhere to hide.
……
The young man eventually left.
Perhaps he understood that there was no return after things had developed to this point. No matter how close their relationship was, it would have been erased by those repeated betrayals. Furthermore, they were already at the point of no return.
Yan Jin’s condition was not very good. After all, he did drink a fair bit. Even though he was not ridiculously drunk, the uncomfortable drowsiness was torturing his senses.
“Squeakk.” The stranger’s absence allowed Xiao Yu to feel relieved. The hamster was now enthusiastically trying to highlight his existence.
Xiao Yu never would have thought that he would unknowingly peep into Yan Jin’s darkest secret in such a sudden and surprising manner.
This secret was so heavy that it almost took Xiao Yu’s breath away.
Even in the usual gossip, many people would say that Yan Jin’s charisma was powerful enough to attract both sexes. However, not many of those people would accept the fact that YL’s chairman, the Yan family’s Yan Jin, was actually gay.
Nowadays, society was more open-minded. People no longer treated homosexuals as lunatics. Despite that, the deeply-embedded mindset would not be eradicated so easily. If such things were to occur with a commoner, it probably would not change anything – no blessings, no other thoughts.
A path that was difficult for a normal person would mean that it was even more dangerous for Yan Jin.
This person possessed things that a normal person could only look up to – wealth, status, identity and even looks and fame that rivaled any idol.
These were the things that countless people could only pray for. But at this moment, they had revealed the sharp fangs that they were hiding.
If this secret was ever exposed, Yan Jin’s situation would immediately become more dangerous than walking on thin ice. Those wild beasts who harbored malicious intentions were all lurking at the bottom, with their jaws wide open, quietly waiting for Yan Jin to fall into their trap.
Xiao Yu was quite accepting of such matters due to the experience from his youth. Even so, he was also shocked beyond words. No matter how they put it, learning that the Yan family had lost their qualified successor to carry on the business would not be a happy topic. Also, logically speaking, Xiao Yu thought that there was a higher possibility that Yan Jin was a bisexual instead. From the conversation the two of them had earlier, it seemed like the young man wasn’t a good person, so Yan Jin was probably not that serious about him. People do make mistakes in their younger days – It was perfectly normal for a person to fall deeply for the wrong person.
However, at least for a brief moment, Xiao Yu was confused – He wasn’t sure how he should treat Yan Jin in the future.
Then again, such thoughts were in fact just fleeting musings. No matter what situation Yan Jin would be in, it couldn’t be worse than not even having a physical human body.
As for future treatments… Hm, that would have to wait until the day if he ever turned back into a human. Whether or not that would happen was still unknown.
“Fishy?” Yan Jin heard Xiao Yu’s voice as he got up while rubbing his temple.
“Squeakkk.” Xiao Yu stretched his paws out for a hug.
Yan Jin went along and scooped the hamster up to his chest and even lowered his head to give him a kiss.
Xiao Yu pushed Yan Jin away while he blushed.
Hn, I shall not be calculative with a drunkard.
Yan Jin obviously was not bothered by such weak retaliation. While he continued pressing kisses on the little hamster, he asked softly: “Did I wake you up, hn?”
That last ‘hn’ was like the sound of an enchanting devil, making Xiao Yu’s legs go weak.
Help! Someone’s teasing the hamster!
The human and hamster continued ‘whispering sweet nothings to one another’ for a while. Then, Yan Jin gave Xiao Yu’s head a little rub as he spoke gently: “It’s very late now, go catch some sleep.”
Xiao Yu squatted weakly on Yan Jin’s forearm with his paws covering his messy head as the hamster shook his head with determination.
“Squeakk.” No way.
Apparently, Yan Jin could not think of any reason why Xiao Yu would refuse to sleep, so the chairman kissed the little hamster and spoke again: “Goodnight kiss. Would you be willing to go to bed now?”
Xiao Yu blushed deeper as he shook his head, staring intently at Yan Jin’s face.
Under the numbing effects of the alcohol, Yan Jin’s reaction was slower than usual, but he eventually noticed the problem.
He moved Xiao Yu onto his palm before using one of his hands to touch his face, feeling the sting from it.
“I’m fine.” Yan Jin smiled, showing that he was not worried about his own wound: “It’ll be fine after a nap.”
Xiao Yu did not budge as his little doe eyes continued to stare at Yan Jin.
Zzzzzz –
Eventually, the one who gave in was undoubtedly Yan Jin. The chairman took out the first-aid box that Chu Ge had left behind, tore open an adhesive bandage, and covered the subtle scratch mark.
Earlier, after the two of them ended their discussion, the young man insisted on sending Yan Jin home because he shouldn’t drive drunk. Yan Jin, who was indeed tipsy, ended up agreeing while spaced out. It was quite late by then, so when Yan Jin reached his bedroom, he was already feeling sleepy. Who would had thought that before the chairman could even shut his eyes, that young man had already followed him onto the bed and started unbuckling his belt.
Anger flared at that untimely moment. Amidst the dramatic struggles, the bedside cabinet was toppled over and Yan Jin was scratched by the young man’s ring.
Thankfully, the edge was not very sharp. Otherwise, Yan Jin would probably be disfigured from that swing.
After tending to his wound, Yan Jin looked at Xiao Yu as he helplessly asked: “Satisfied?”
Xiao Yu actually felt that it would be better to call Chu Ge over, but the hamster understood that he should not go overboard in this situation. Hence, he wrapped himself onto Yan Jin’s finger and planted a small kiss as a form of reward.
It was about three in the morning, yet neither the hamster nor the human felt sleepy. Yan Jin did drink quite a bit, but the alcohol content wasn’t that strong. After what happened earlier, the lightheaded feeling and sleepiness had diminished.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have abandoned you today.” Yan Jin apologized sincerely: “I didn’t plan on meeting him anymore, but he suddenly mentioned that he found the cufflink that he had taken away back then. I had to go.”
Xiao Yu did not plan on letting Yan Jin treat him like a listener to his love problems at this hour. He was very interested in gossip regarding Yan Jin, but without a doubt, he was more concerned about the chairman’s body – After all, pulling an all-nighter was the first sign of sudden death.
Instead, the hamster was planning on making Yan Jin go to bed early to nurse him back to health. However, when he heard the word ‘cufflink’, Xiao Yu chose to put those thoughts aside and sat upright to listen.
At this moment, Xiao Yu finally understood that curiosity was always prioritized over anything else.
Yan Jin took out a pair of cufflinks from his pocket and placed them on the table.
It had a sliver base decorated with emerald colored gemstone fragments. Despite its inexpensive exterior, it also revealed the expensive and classy feeling that only custom-made items had.
One of the cufflinks was in good condition. It looked like it was brand new. The other cufflink had one of its edges chipped off and looked slightly damaged. The patterns on this pair of cufflinks were different, with three alphabets evenly aligned. It was an extremely simple pattern that formed a perfect sentence when placed together.
YES I DO.
Xiao Yu stared at it for a long time.
“Is it pretty?” Yan Jin revealed a satisfied smile.
Without waiting for Xiao Yu to nod his head vigorously, Yan Jin already answered his own question as if minding his own business.
“I think it’s gorgeous.”
“I’ve never seen such gorgeous cufflinks. It was like an abnormal love that had no ending, more so than any other couple rings.”
Time stopped for a second, as if Xiao Yu’s heart had come to a stop at that moment.
Every strand of fur on Xiao Yu’s body stood up as the hamster quickly bent his body over, using those tender white paws to cover his eyes as he became a ball of grey fluff.
Even so, Xiao Yu could not be sure if he had successfully concealed his blushing red face.
This was the first time Xiao Yu realized that there could be such a chemical reaction that would make him feel embarrassed to death when someone else praised him for his own work.
Especially when that person was Yan Jin.
“Fishy?” Yan Jin was taken aback by Xiao Yu’s reaction. He promptly reached out to scoop up the hamster and raised Xiao Yu to his eye level to take a closer look.
The hamster maintained his ball shape and refused to let go of his two little paws no matter how Yan Jin tried to pry them off.
Very quickly Yan Jin gave up on Xiao Yu’s paws and changed his tactic to tickle the little white belly.
“Squeakkk!” Xiao Yu, who could not hold back the ticklish sensation, surrendered almost immediately. He flopped to his side and rolled around on Yan Jin’s palm. He tried to conceal the fact that he was embarrassed and prayed that the blush on his face would quickly evaporate.
“Squeakk.” I’m fine.
Sensing Xiao Yu’s joyous feelings, Yan Jin’s worries quickly disappeared as he continued to talk about the cufflink.
“SI’s SHIP said that this was his design. But I know it’s not him.” Yan Jin played with the cufflinks that were on the table. Yan Jin’s words and the clinking sounds emitted when those metals collided with each other were more beautiful than anything he had ever heard before.
Xiao Yu perked his ears upright – SHIP probably refers to Lin Zhou. So that means that Yan Jin knew Lin Zhou had been lying to him the whole time?
“Some time ago, I received a work from this designer. It’s a pity that I did not have the chance to meet him in person. SHIP insisted that this designer no longer works in the field. But when I received these cufflinks, I knew that he was lying.”
“The works from this designer… Once you’ve come in contact with them, you will never ever forget about them. I know that these cufflinks must have been created by that designer, they must be.”
That sentence felt a little exaggerated.
Xiao Yu mentally ridiculed: You can’t even recognize the works of SI’s chief designer, only a ghost would believe in you.
Furthermore, those designs that Yan Jin mentioned (the carpet for example) were all his earlier works. There was already a big change in Xiao Yu’s design philosophy and style from the time he spent overseas. Even his standards were raised tremendously. Yet these cufflinks were something that he had designed about two years ago – Xiao Yu did not think that it was possible that Yan Jin could recognize them.
If Yan Jin really insist on saying that, then the chairman should not have been a stranger to FISH’s designs over the past two years no matter what, and he would have come to acknowledge Xiao Yu’s presence long ago.
