Chapter 54
Chi Suinian was still standing there in a daze when Lu Zhiyue suddenly knocked on the door from outside.
“All done?”
“…No. Why are you rushing me?”
Chi Suinian fumbled to take off the clothes he was wearing, about to change back into the old set, when he suddenly realized he had accidentally tossed them into the sink.
The shirt was completely soaked.
“…”
Outside, Lu Zhiyue said, “Alright, I won’t rush you. Take your time.”
Take your time, my ass.
Chi Suinian scowled, glaring at the sink as if it were the culprit, then resignedly put on the new clothes.
He stood in the bathroom for a few more minutes, stewing in frustration, before gritting his teeth and opening the door.
If Lu Zhiyue dared mention changing clothes even once, he’d beat him until he cried!
“All done?”
Lu Zhiyue was standing at the closet doorway, fastening his tie. When he heard the door open, he glanced over instinctively.
The moment he saw the person stepping out of the bathroom, his movements stilled, fingers frozen on the knot of his tie.
Chi Suinian clutched the door handle, feeling ashamed for a long while before forcing out through clenched teeth: “What are you staring at! My clothes got dirty, so I changed. What’s the big deal?”
Lu Zhiyue’s gaze dropped, sweeping over his outfit. Chi Suinian instantly bristled. “Look again and I’ll—”
Lu Zhiyue: “Looks good.”
“…”
“Really suits you.”
“…”
Did he need to say that?
Chi Suinian huffed coldly.
“And actually, looks like we have a good sense of coordination.” Lu Zhiyue smiled faintly.
“?”
“Haven’t you noticed? Our taste in clothes is pretty similar.”
Chi Suinian’s gaze flicked over to him, and then his brow twitched. “….”
They were similar.
Lu Zhiyue had switched from his usual old-fashioned suits and was instead wearing a dark blue casual outfit—relaxed, neat, with his hair casually falling over his forehead. With that faint smile, he looked like some university student who hadn’t yet graduated.
And Chi Suinian himself had, without realizing, almost perfectly replicated Lu Zhiyue’s style of dress—only his shirt was in a slightly lighter shade.
At first glance, it looked like a couple’s outfit.
Who the hell wears this on a date? Chi Suinian tugged at his hem in disdain. “I’ll go change again.”
“No need.” Lu Zhiyue lowered his eyes to him, his voice warm. “It looks really nice.”
Chi Suinian scowled. “It’s not about whether it looks nice or not—”
“Then what’s the problem?” Lu Zhiyue asked. “Are you scared of dressing like me?”
Chi Suinian shot him a sharp look. “What would I have to be scared of?”
Lu Zhiyue nodded lightly. “Oh. Then it’s fine. Let’s go.”
“…”
Fine, let’s go. Who’s scared of who.
If he chickened out even once, he might as well take Lu Zhiyue’s surname!
The two of them went downstairs, one after the other. The sunset streamed through the tall living room windows, gilding the floor with warm halos.
Uncle Zhang was tending to the indoor plants. Seeing them come down together, he quickly set aside his shears. “Mr. Lu, Young Master Chi, dinner isn’t ready yet—you’ll have to wait a little longer.”
“No need,” Lu Zhiyue waved a hand. “I’m taking Suinian on a date tonight—we’ll eat outside.”
“Ah…” Uncle Zhang looked momentarily surprised, his gaze flicking toward Chi Suinian’s face. “Alright, alright. You young people should go out and enjoy yourselves more. Go on, I’ll leave the lights on for you tonight.”
Chi Suinian’s lips parted, but in the end he said nothing—turning his head to watch the sunset glow instead.
At that moment, Aunt Chen came out of the kitchen carrying a pot of tonic soup. Seeing them, her face lit up. “You’re downstairs! Dinner’s almost ready. Go wash your hands first.”
Lu Zhiyue: “We’ll be eating out tonight, Aunt Chen. Don’t trouble yourself—we’re going on a date.”
Chi Suinian: “…”
Feeling the weight of his blazing gaze, Lu Zhiyue turned to him. “What’s wrong?”
Chi Suinian ground his teeth. “Are those two words glued to your lips?”
Everywhere they went, he just had to announce it?!
Lu Zhiyue chuckled. “No, I’m just too happy to hold it in.”
“…”
Chi Suinian clenched his fists, then forced them open again. With a frosty face, he strode toward the door, throwing back coldly: “Say one more word and I’ll bury you in the flowerbed out front!”
Lu Zhiyue: “…”
The car was already waiting at the door. Since he didn’t know the destination, Chi Suinian hadn’t driven himself—he got straight into the passenger seat with a blank expression.
Lu Zhiyue followed into the driver’s seat. “Let’s eat first.”
First?
Chi Suinian turned his head, baffled and a little alarmed. “What else after that?”
“Watch a movie.”
Chi Suinian blinked.
“Go to the aquarium.”
“…”
“See the sunrise.”
Chi Suinian arched a brow. “You copy-pasted that list from some website, didn’t you?”
“Hm?” Lu Zhiyue replied, “No, I thought of it myself.”
“…”
Well aren’t you rustic with confidence.
“Oh right, I forgot to ask,” Lu Zhiyue added. “Can we stay out overnight? Because we’ll need to see the sunrise.”
“Do what you want,” Chi Suinian answered carelessly. “Book two rooms.”
Then, as if remembering something, his ears quickly flushed. He added, “And when we’re outside, watch what you say. Don’t go spouting dirty stuff all the time.”
Lu Zhiyue looked puzzled. “When did I say anything dirty?”
Chi Suinian couldn’t even be bothered to answer.
This bastard had just tried to guilt-trip him into doing it once.
And now he’s acting all prim and proper?
Hmph.
Shameless.
Chi Suinian turned his face away to look at the evening glow again.
At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Lu Zhiyue leaning closer and closer, his head edging right into his line of sight.
Chi Suinian instinctively tensed. “Lu Zhiyue, we’re in the car—you dare—”
A hand reached past his chest and pulled the seatbelt across.
“…”
Click.
“…”
Lu Zhiyue lifted his eyes. “What do I dare?”
Chi Suinian’s face turned bright red. All this bastard’s fault—his head was full of dirty thoughts, and if you spent too much time around him, you’d get infected.
…Just now, for a second, Chi Suinian had actually thought this man was about to kiss him in the car.
Humiliating. He wanted to die.
“…Are we leaving or not?” Chi Suinian snapped his gaze forward again, covering his embarrassment with impatience. “What the hell are you dawdling for?”
Lu Zhiyue glanced at his reddened ears.
The more flustered Chi Suinian got, the easier he was to set off.
But today was a special day—better not to tease him too much, Lu Zhiyue thought to himself.
“Alright.”
All the way there, Chi Suinian didn’t speak on his own. Even when Lu Zhiyue tried asking him a couple of questions, he only replied with single-syllable sounds like “Mm,” “Oh,” or “Hmph.”
It wasn’t until the scenery outside the window started to look familiar that Chi Suinian realized something. “What are you doing at Chihao?”
Lu Zhiyue turned the steering wheel, made a turn, and pulled into the parking lot of a small alley restaurant.
“I booked a table here.”
Once the car stopped, Chi Suinian looked outside. He hadn’t been here in years, but some things stuck in memory.
It was a barbecue place hidden in an alley. Back when he had just inherited the company, in order to stabilize morale, he had to clock in at the office every day so everyone would recognize him as the new little President Chi.
But reading documents was boring, and playing games didn’t look good. So he’d often sneak out to kill time in the neighborhood—and ended up eating at this barbecue restaurant for a whole month straight.
How did Lu Zhiyue even know about this place?
The restaurant’s storefront looked small, but once inside, it opened up. It was located on the 18th floor, with two levels: the first floor was a hall full of walk-in guests, while the second floor had small private rooms with plenty of privacy.
As soon as they walked in, a server recognized him. “Mr. Lu, welcome.”
“Mm,” Lu Zhiyue replied. “I booked a private room.”
The waitress smiled and led them upstairs. “It’s already been cleaned and prepared. Please follow me.”
“Thank you,” Lu Zhiyue said.
“You come here often?” Chi Suinian found it curious.
This place wasn’t exactly known for amazing flavors, but the self-brewed alcohol was decent and the ingredients were fresh, so it stayed popular.
But Lu Zhiyue didn’t look like the type who cared much about food and drink.
Could it be that the owner was his friend?
Lu Zhiyue started up the stairs and said over his shoulder, “Yes.”
“This place is pretty out of the way. How’d you find it?” Chi Suinian followed him, asking.
“Well…” Lu Zhiyue paused for a while, then casually said, “A certain twist of fate.”
The private room was tucked away in the quietest corner of the second floor. “Quiet” was really just because it was so hidden that hardly anyone ever came here. The room itself wasn’t big, the furniture was a little old. To Chi Suinian, it all felt rather shabby.
He looked around curiously. “This is the private room you always come to?”
“Yes,” said Lu Zhiyue, pulling out a chair. “Sit.”
Chi Suinian sat and glanced through the menu. Nothing had changed—the same old dishes, just with higher prices now.
He casually ordered a few of his old favorites, then tossed the menu to Lu Zhiyue. “Why do you like this place so much?”
Lu Zhiyue was just about to answer when his phone rang. He picked it up and stepped aside. “I’ll take this call.”
Chi Suinian nodded, then turned his head toward the window out of boredom.
The little private room overlooked the alley—not exactly a lively city view. But to his surprise, from here, you could actually see a corner of Chihao’s office building.
From his angle, he could even see employees walking back and forth inside on the 18th floor.
Tch. Boring.
He turned away just as there was a knock at the door. A few waiters entered with trays. “Hello sir, here are the dishes you ordered.”
The table quickly filled with plates, large and small. Remembering how familiar the staff seemed with Lu Zhiyue, Chi Suinian suddenly grew curious.
“Does Mr. Lu… come here often?” he asked.
The lead waitress smiled, her eyes crinkling. “Yes, he comes about a few times every month. Pretty much all of us here know him.”
Chi Suinian tapped his finger lightly against the table. “Since when has he been coming here?”
“Hmm…” She thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. I joined three years ago, and he was already a regular back then.”
“Three years ago?” That caught Chi Suinian off guard.
What was it about this restaurant that kept drawing Lu Zhiyue back, year after year?
“Yes. But since last year, he hasn’t come as often.”
Chi Suinian thought a moment, then asked, “And he always books this same private room?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “The room is small. We tried arranging a bigger one for him, but Mr. Lu refused. Sigh, he really is such a devoted man.”
Chi Suinian’s breath caught. “…What? Devoted?”
“Yes. About three years ago, Mr. Lu arranged to meet someone he liked here. But he waited all night, and the person never came.” The waitress’s tone was tinged with pity. “He sat here the entire night. I was the one who called him a car the next morning.”
…
When Lu Zhiyue came back, Chi Suinian was sitting by the window with one leg crossed over the other, playing a game on his phone.
His lips were pressed tight, fingers jabbing the screen with such force that it made sharp tapping sounds.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Lu Zhiyue walked into the private room. The dishes on the table hadn’t been touched.
The grill was already hot, but Young Master Chi had his arms crossed, head turned to the window, showing no intention of cooking anything.
Lu Zhiyue rolled up his sleeves, picked out a piece of wagyu, set it on the grill, and after cooking it, cut a slice and placed it onto a plate. He handed it over. “Try it, the beef here is really fresh.”
Chi Suinian kept his lips pursed and said nothing.
Lu Zhiyue set the plate in front of him, but he didn’t even spare it a glance, his attitude downright cold.
Just as he was about to unleash some underhanded move in-game, two fingers suddenly pressed onto his screen.
Chi Suinian froze, and in the next second, his phone was snatched away by Lu Zhiyue.
“No phones while eating,” Lu Zhiyue said in a low voice.
Chi Suinian immediately snatched it back. “None of your business. Eat your own food and stop bothering me.”
Lu Zhiyue glanced at his expression. “So you’re not going to eat?”
Without looking up, Chi Suinian replied, “Tastes terrible. I’m not eating.”
Lu Zhiyue raised a brow. “You haven’t even tried it—how do you know it’s terrible?”
“Because you grilled it, so of course it’s terrible.”
“…”
Got it. He was mad.
Lu Zhiyue went silent for a moment. “Did I do something to upset you?”
Chi Suinian kept jabbing at the screen, slaughtering monsters as if they were Lu Zhiyue, completely ignoring the question.
Confirmed. He was upset.
But why?
All he did was take a phone call.
Could it be… the phone call?
Lu Zhiyue thought for a moment. “It was a business partner. A joint project with the Lu Corporation. They called to discuss contract details.”
Chi Suinian’s fingers paused for a beat. “What’s that got to do with me?”
Lu Zhiyue blinked.
So it wasn’t that?
Then what…
Chi Suinian suddenly moved, propping his elbow on the table and shoving the plate of beef back at him in the process.
Lu Zhiyue caught it just before it spilled, feeling both helpless and amused. “What’s really wrong?”
Chi Suinian finally looked up from his phone, eyes cold as ice. “If you want to play the attentive gentleman, go do it with someone else. Stop bothering me.”
Lu Zhiyue frowned in confusion. “With who?”
With whoever the hell you want, just not me. Chi Suinian lowered his gaze, resuming his game. “Go to your old flame, liar.”
This time, Lu Zhiyue was genuinely caught off guard. “What old flame? What are you talking about?”
Chi Suinian sneered. “Still trying to lie to me? The waitress said she knows you.”
Lu Zhiyue raised his brows. From Chi Suinian’s vague accusations, he gradually pieced things together. A moment later, he chuckled softly.
“…What are you laughing at?” Chi Suinian ground his teeth.
Lu Zhiyue laughed a bit longer, then finally fixed his burning gaze on him. “You’re jealous?”
Bullshit!
Chi Suinian instantly lost his composure, tossing his phone aside. “Get lost. You think I’d be jealous of you?”
“Sure looks like it.”
“Then you must be blind.”
Lu Zhiyue’s expression darkened slightly, his tone probing. “What did you just say? I’m a liar? What exactly did I lie about?”
How dare he bring that up?
Chi Suinian glared, mashing every monster on-screen into a puddle. “You know damn well.”
“I really don’t.”
Chi Suinian was about ready to explode. What did Lu Zhiyue take him for? Some toy to amuse himself with?
Say sweet words when in the mood.
And when not in the mood—go dine with some old lover outside.
And he had the nerve to call him a scumbag? Clearly, Lu Zhiyue was the shameless bastard who couldn’t keep to one man!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He was about to storm out when the door suddenly opened.
The waitress from earlier stepped in holding something, and walked straight over to Lu Zhiyue. “Sorry, Mr. Lu. A new staff member accidentally picked up your belongings while cleaning. I came to return them.”
Lu Zhiyue stiffened, his expression suddenly uneasy.
Chi Suinian: “?”
He lowered his gaze and saw the waitress holding a telescope.
A telescope?
“Ahem. Thanks.” Lu Zhiyue quickly took it, setting it down on the chair behind him.
Chi Suinian narrowed his eyes, turning to the waitress. “What does he even need a telescope for?”
“Uh… we don’t really know.” The waitress glanced at the window sill. “Mr. Lu just always liked to look out the window.”
Chi Suinian froze. A sudden realization struck him. He rushed to the window, counting the office windows one by one.
He’d worked at Chihao long enough to remember the general layout.
After a bit of counting, he found his old office.
From this very window, you could see the silhouettes inside crystal clear.
And with a telescope—it would be even clearer.
So… Lu Zhiyue had been sitting here, watching him?
Chi Suinian snapped back and slammed the table. “Lu Zhiyue, you’re such a pervert!”
Sensing the tension, the waitress quickly slipped out and shut the door.
For once, Lu Zhiyue actually looked embarrassed. “Sorry. Back then, when you refused to see me no matter what, I…”
“So you bought a damn telescope and spied on me every day?!”
“…”
That hadn’t been his intention. But those years, Chi Suinian had avoided him so completely that their relationship had become utterly hostile.
He had no choice but to find ways to at least see him from afar.
Then wait for an opening to get closer.
But it never worked. Not until Xu Lingtao found out and dragged him here, shoving a telescope into his hands.
“You want me to… spy?”
Xu Lingtao wagged his finger. “Nonono, it’s not spying. It’s just looking at the person you like from a distance. No photos, no recordings—just watching. What’s the harm?”
Lu Zhiyue had thought it sounded creepy. “No. If Chi Suinian finds out, he’ll rip me apart.”
Xu Lingtao tsked. “Please, with your current progress? You’re at minus eight million points already. There’s no way Chi Suinian will ever know.”
“…Forget it, I don’t care anymore. Anyway, the owner here is my friend. This private room is yours from now on, and here’s the telescope. Watch if you want.”
…
“I really didn’t use the telescope,” Lu Zhiyue said seriously. “I could see you clearly enough with my own eyes. I didn’t need it.”
Chi Suinian: “…”
You actually have the face to say that?
lu zhiyue, the man you are.. bro really love him