MTY chapter 15

Amidst the pouring rain, the office building late at night resembled a dormant beast, with only one office at the end of the top floor dimly lit.

Lu Ziqing parked the car and encountered the night-shift security guard at the entrance.

The old man cheerfully accepted the cigarette Lu Ziqing handed him. “What brings you here in such heavy rain? Did you leave something at the company?”

Lu Ziqing replied, “Come on, I could be here to work overtime.”

The old guard looked surprised. “This new boss must be something. Not only does he work overtime himself, but he also managed to get a lazy guy like you to work late too. No wonder he became a leader at such a young age.”

Lu Ziqing said, “I’m not that lazy, am I?”

“You are,” the old guard said seriously. “A person like you, who doesn’t like to work, would never find a wife in our village. You should thank your leader—he’s turned you into a whole new person in such a short time.”

Lu Ziqing sighed, “Alright, you take a rest, old man.”

Whistling, Lu Ziqing headed upstairs, carrying an insulated bag.

The door to the director’s office was open, with a cool silver light spilling out from within.

Lu Ziqing walked straight in and set the insulated bag on the desk. “Eat.”

Lin Yu stared at the computer screen, muttering, “Thanks…”

Then, realizing what was happening, he looked up sharply. “What are you doing here?”

After hours of overtime, Lin Yu looked pale, his lips dry, and he appeared utterly worn out.

During their phone call earlier, he had clearly told Lu Ziqing to eat and get some sleep, not to wait for him.

Lu Ziqing shrugged. “I don’t even like this stuff. Leaving it at home would just be a waste.”

Lin Yu said, “But there was no need to make a special trip…”

Lu Ziqing huffed, “It wasn’t special. The rain was too loud for me to sleep, so I just went out for a walk.”

Who in their right mind would “just go for a walk” all the way to the office?

Lin Yu opened the takeout and took a sip of the warm pumpkin congee.

“Is it still a bit cold?” Lu Ziqing muttered, testing the temperature of the takeout container with his hand. He promptly took it to the break room to heat it in the microwave.

“That should be better now.”

Lin Yu held the steaming bowl of congee. “Um, about what happened at noon…”

Lu Ziqing cut him off, “Alright, I’m not that petty. You’re the boss. It’s only natural to assert your authority in front of subordinates. No need to keep apologizing.”

From Lin Yu’s perspective, if he hadn’t enforced discipline at the time, no one would take him seriously in the future.

Management is, in fact, a difficult job—it requires a balance of kindness and discipline, strict adherence to rules, and maintaining principles while showing humanity.

Lin Yu said, “You could have explained to me at the time.”

He had only realized afterward that the takeout Lu Ziqing ordered was most likely for him.

A few days ago, when he was busy at home, he could only manage to eat congee. Lu Ziqing must have noticed.

Lu Ziqing replied, “Wouldn’t that have been even more awkward? If others knew I ordered takeout for you, they’d either think I was sucking up to the boss or…”

Lin Yu asked, “Or what?”

Lu Ziqing sat on the edge of the desk, smirking, “They’d think I was courting you.”

Lin Yu said, “Ah…”

He hadn’t considered that possibility.

To avoid gossip, the two of them had always maintained a distant superior-subordinate relationship at the office, with no sign of anything unusual to outsiders.

Lin Yu felt a bit at a loss. “W-would they really think that? Maybe you should head back quickly…”

Lu Ziqing chuckled, “What are you afraid of? It’s the middle of the night, and besides the old security guard, there’s no one else here. What, are you worried he’ll go home and gossip about us to his wife?”

Lin Yu also found his earlier overreaction amusing. “You’re right.”

“Alright, hurry up and eat,” Lu Ziqing urged. “Once the rain stops, we’ll head home. Leave that report for tomorrow. It’s not like it’s urgent.”

Lu Ziqing sat at the edge of the desk, playing a card game on his phone. After a while, feeling bored, he turned to look at Lin Yu, who was focused on his congee, and suddenly said, “Let me have a taste.”

Lin Yu looked up. “Huh?”

“You look like you’re enjoying it. I’m curious,” Lu Ziqing leaned forward. “It’s just rice cooked in water—how good can it be?”

He had intended to take the bowl and try it himself, but to his surprise, Lin Yu straightforwardly scooped a spoonful and held it up to his mouth.

Lu Ziqing was taken aback. “…”

Seeing him hesitate, Lin Yu looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

Lu Ziqing said, “You just used that spoon, and you’re letting me eat from it?”

A bit embarrassed, Lin Yu pulled back his hand. “You can have it, you can have it.”

Actually, Lu Ziqing wasn’t particularly fussy.

When playing basketball with friends, he had shared the same bottle of water with them—it wasn’t a big deal.

But for some reason, when it came to Lin Yu, even the smallest intimate gesture felt awkward.

He could casually slap Xu Yunyi’s butt and thighs, share a bowl of food with him, but when it came to Lin Yu, he just couldn’t do it.

Perhaps because Lin Yu was an omega?

But he had omega buddies too…

After finishing the congee, Lin Yu contentedly cleaned up the takeout containers and stood up to throw them away.

He hadn’t expected that sitting for too long would make his legs go numb. When he stood up abruptly, he nearly lost his balance.

Lu Ziqing reacted quickly and caught him. “What, are you Lin Daiyu?”

“My leg fell asleep,” Lin Yu knocked on his leg and muttered, “Looks like I need to get up and move around more often.”

He bit his lip slightly, a few beads of sweat trickling down his temple.

Lu Ziqing keenly noticed, “Did you twist it?”

Lin Yu: “Mm, I just sprained it…”

Lu Ziqing directly lifted him up, gently placing him on the sofa. He rolled up Lin Yu’s pant leg, raised his left foot, and carefully examined the ankle under the light.

Perhaps due to his lack of exercise, Lin Yu’s skin was smooth and delicate, glowing a cool white under the light, like a piece of moist white jade.

Lu Ziqing stared at Lin Yu’s ankle for a few seconds before looking away.

“It’s a bit swollen, it seems to be sprained,” he said, looking at him. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Lin Yu, feeling a bit uncomfortable with his ankle being held, stared at the ground and said, “…Probably not. It shouldn’t be that serious.”

Lu Ziqing nodded, “I’ll get a cold towel to ice it. Wait for me.”

Lin Yu: “Oh…”

Lu Ziqing said this but didn’t stand up immediately.

His hand was still holding Lin Yu’s ankle, warmly enveloping his tired and chilly left foot.

This gesture was gentle yet carried a bit of a soft but firm restraint, a kind of dominance that couldn’t be resisted.

Lin Yu felt puzzled, but somehow, he didn’t dare make a sound.

A strange atmosphere spread throughout the room.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later that Lu Ziqing released his ankle.

“I’ll go get the towel. Call me if it hurts.”

Lin Yu let out a breath, “…Okay.”

 

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Author’s Note

Shivering, but feeling very safe ( )

T/N:

Lin Daiyu is a well-known character from the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin. She is portrayed as a delicate, frail, and emotionally sensitive young woman. Hence why Lu Ziqing teased Lin Yu with that.

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