Chapter Fifty-One: Autumn Waters in Spring
After dinner time, Yan Jin fulfilled his promise to bring Xiao Yu to soak in the hot spring.
Before they entered the hot spring, there was a change room. The helpers left as Yan Jin placed Xiao Yu aside before he removed his bathrobe.
Xiao Yu was stunned for at least three seconds until that fine-quality bathrobe was thrown onto the chair by Yan Jin. That was when Xiao Yu’s body switched on again – he jumped and immediately turned around, sticking his gaze onto the wall, not saying a word.
Before the heat on Xiao Yu’s face could even dissipate, he was grabbed by a big hand.
“Let’s go.” Yan Jin said.
That was the first time Xiao Yu had seen Yan Jin completely naked, and he was positive that it would not be the last time.
It did not matter whether Xiao Yu would get used to it, but at least for this moment, Xiao Yu felt that all the heat in his body was rushing towards his head. He could hear his heart thumping out loud in his chest, refusing to calm down. There seemed to be an alarm going off in his head, spinning and wailing, as if it would explode any moment.
AAAHHH! NOT WEARING SWIMMING TRUNKS IS ONE THING, THIS FELLOW DOESN’T EVEN WRAP A TOWEL OVER IT!
POLICE! THAT’S THE PERSON!
Yan Jin could not be more wronged than Dou E¹ this time. If they had gone to those public hot springs, Yan Jin would have most definitely put on a swimming trunk. However, this hot spring was his private property – to be fully armed in such a private environment was simply too weird.
Xiao Yu tried to shift his attention elsewhere. Yet for some inexplicable reason, when he finally tore his gaze off Yan Jin’s gorgeous pectoral muscles, he couldn’t help but accidentally move his gaze onto the chairman’s lower half.
“……squeak.” Unexpectedly bigger than his.
Xiao Yu swallowed his saliva weakly.
“Hm?” Yan Jin stopped walking: “What’s wrong Fishy? What did you just say?”
“Squeakk.” Go away, I’m not talking to you.
Yan Jin did not realize that something was amiss with his hamster. He paced off with his long legs and arrived at the outdoor area.
The dense vapors slowly rose, bringing out the faint smell of sulfur. It was a natural hot spring cut out by workers, with a shore that could be comfortably leaned on in any position. The water was at waist-level height and reaching chest-level when seated. The entire hot spring was clean and neat, gentle and clear. The steam hung in the air as fallen petals and maple leaves floated on the surface, gradually drifting further away along with the ripples.
The sun had yet to set as the scattered traces of the blood-red setting sun poured its remaining warmth onto the earth. The maple leaves danced along with the wind, more bright and beautiful than any other time.
Yan Jin leaned contently against the shore with half his body soaked in the hot spring. He had one hand propped on the shore and his other hand scooped out a certain Xiao Yu from the wooden basin that served a few small sake glasses as it floated on the surface.
Yes, scooped out a certain Xiao Yu.
Rewind to five minutes ago.
Xiao Yu stood at the side of the hot springs as he watched the clear water surface underneath the warm vapor. He looked cold and detached.
Indeed, the hot spring was not too deep for a human, but for a hamster like him, not even seven Xiao Yus stacked on top of each other would be enough.
Yan Jin had also noticed the problem and he apologized sincerely: “Your pool ring is still on the way. You have to tolerate it for today.”
Xiao Yu felt very complicated and did not know where to begin his ridicule.
Customizing a pool ring for a hamster – you have so much money that you can’t finish spending it?
Actually, sorry, he should not suspect Chairman Yan’s financial ability.
In short, that was how Xiao Yu ended up covered with the white towel that the helpers prepared for Yan Jin as the hamster laid on the wooden basin, playing raft in the hot spring.
Xiao Yu did not feel that anything was bad. He was quite happy as he entertained himself.
That was the first time Xiao Yu ever visited a private hot spring. Most of the things that had the ‘private’ tag were things that he could only wish for but never obtain. Those hot spring swimming pools were even more so a place that he had only seen through television dramas or movies.
After working for so many years, Xiao Yu did not even own a private residence. His expectations weren’t that high either – he just wished for a hundred square meter apartment that was located outside of the city area, but he could not even fulfil that wish with his last breath.
To outsiders, Xiao Yu’s career seemed to earn a lot, but the truth was not that nice. Also, Xiao Yu did not have the best luck. Due to his young age, which made his years of service in the company shorter, he was not well regarded in the beginning. His salary was even the same as an assistant’s. Later, when he advanced in his career to become the chief designer, just as he was prepared to show off his capabilities, the mystery designer appeared. Xiao Yu was suppressed in every way. On the surface, it seemed like his limelight was stolen, but in private, there were salary deductions and bonus cuts, which made life even harsher than before.
Then, just when he received an honorable grand award with much difficulty, just when he thought that he was just one step away from achieving meteoric success in his career, he became a hamster.
That was a certain Xiao’s unfortunate life.
He wondered if it was compensation from the Heavens, but on the contrary, after he turned into a hamster, he ended up enjoying things that he didn’t dare to think of in his previous life.
In the wooden basin, other than the liquor that was prepared for Yan Jin, the helpers also prepared a bowl of water and a dish of snacks like peanuts, chestnuts, and dried fruits for Xiao Yu.
After Xiao Yu had a few bites of the snacks, he laid down on the spot.
It was warm underneath his belly, and it was full in his belly. Every pore on his body was screaming at how comfortable it was.
Xiao Yu almost felt like reciting poetry.
Ah, life ar-
Aaahhh!
Xiao Yu was half way through sighing about life when the entire hamster was lifted off the ground.
You could easily guess that it must have been that little demon Yan Jin who was behind it.
“Squeak squeak squeak!” What, what, what!
Yan Jin lifted Xiao Yu above his head as the edge of his lips curved slightly.
Suddenly, Xiao Yu closed his mouth.
A person like Yan Jin rarely revealed his smile in front of outsiders. To be honest, at least in front of Xiao Yu, the chairman had never been stingy with his smiles. However, this was the first time that Xiao Yu had ever seen such a harmless, innocent smile on Yan Jin’s face.
In Xiao Yu’s heart, Yan Jin had never shaken off that image of an iceberg chairman who had daggers hidden in his smiles. No matter which situation he may be in, no matter how close a person was to him, Yan Jin had always maintained an impenetrable defensive exterior.
It was probably something that even Yan Jin himself was not consciously aware of.
Yet at this very moment, Yan Jin seemed to have taken off all his armor and revealed his gentle and fragile interior. The soft evening glow colored the side of his face golden. His smile was filled with gentleness and contentment that he had never shown before.
Yan Jin smiled as he watched Xiao Yu flailing his limbs around like a fool, then gently placed the hamster back onto the wooden basin.
Xiao Yu sighed in relief as his gaze continued to stick to Yan Jin’s body.
With the steam around them, Yan Jin’s expression did not seem to be real. Even so, the overflowing warm gentleness made Xiao Yu soften up completely.
“I didn’t sell off the Four Seasons Manor, nor grandfather’s inheritance…”
Yan Jin began to talk about the past out of the blue. The hamster pancake immediately perked his ears upright.
“In the future, if my lover prefers to live in the secluded mountains like the people from the ancient past, compared to the fast-paced lifestyle of modern society, then we will sell the villa in the city and move here together.”
Xiao Yu could feel his blood clogging up his throat.
That’s not how you use ‘secluded mountains’! They refer to the mythological days where there was no fixed residence with plain tea and simple food. But this lifestyle of yours is comparable to how an emperor would have lived, get it?!
That sentence should be corrected to ‘if my lover prefers living like an emperor in paradise on earth, compared to living like an all-powerful super tycoon in the modern city, then we will move to the Four Seasons Manor’.
However, somehow or another, Xiao Yu was unable to successfully raise a protest.
Perhaps it was because of how serious Yan Jin looked at that moment – He was so serious that it made Xiao Yu feel sad.
It was like a child telling an adult about fantasy-like pleasant and romantic dreams. The expression on Yan Jin’s face was of pure and innocent anticipation.
He seemed to be anticipating a word of praise, or even lying acceptance.
Xiao Yu simply could not imagine that one day he would witness such an expression on Yan Jin’s face.
“If he prefers a busy daily life, then we could come here for a holiday once in a while. If he prefers living abroad over staying in the country, then we’ll sell this place and build another villa overseas.”
At this point, Yan Jin seemed to look a little troubled: “It might be better to rent this place out instead. But nobody would rent this place long term.”
Xiao Yu was speechless at how far Yan Jin thought ahead – it was so complete. Yan Jin had covered almost every scenario. What else could Xiao Yu say? Should he give Yan Jin applause?
Come to think of it, all that seemed logical. Xiao Yu had both his front paws raised up. Just when he was about to clap, he heard Yan Jin’s next sentence.
“It would be really nice if such a person could really appear.”
That sentence made an extremely strong turn in the conversation. It was so powerful that it overthrew all the possibilities that were mentioned before this.
It turned every beautified thought into unrealistic rosy views.
Who was that person?
Did that person really exist?
Had anyone ever entered into your world, turned everything on its head, and then left free and easy?
Or perhaps, there wasn’t even a single person that had ever gotten close to this fort that seemed to be surrounded by an impenetrable steel defense……
At this moment, Xiao Yu knew that this person who was known to be a winner in life, the Yan Jin of the platinum nobility, had another secret aside from liking men. Yet Xiao Yu did not feel achieved and delighted like he imagined he would. Instead, he felt his heart clench.
How nice this man was. He had money, looks, talent, and everything else on the surface…
How could he be missing out on this tiny bit of love?
Was it because Heaven was fair? If a person was given something, then something else must be taken away?
But… he’s such a nice person.
How could he… Can’t he just have that tiny bit of love?
“Fishy, when do you think that person will appear? One year, two years?” Yan Jin looked at Xiao Yu with a serious expression, as if he was truly seeking an opinion from a hamster.
Xiao Yu replied coldly: “Squeakk.”
What if he doesn’t ever appear?
It was as if Yan Jin understood the conclusion that was not intended to contain malice. His body stiffened a little and quickly relaxed again.
“If he never appears, then all those preparation… I’ll let my Fishy take advantage of it.”
Let my Fishy take advantage of it.
The joke that seemed neither real nor fake continuously echoed in Xiao Yu’s ears, along with a sudden destructive gale, which carried the maple leaves off the ground, rippling the limpid autumn waters.
