MTY chapter 16

At eleven o’clock at night, they finally finished work and left the company.

Lin Yu hobbled along, only able to walk slowly with Lu Ziqing’s support, looking like a tottering old man.

At the entrance, Lu Ziqing nodded to the old security guard, “We’re leaving now.”

The security guard saw Lin Yu coming out and quickly stood up, “Ah, ah, take care!”

Lin Yu also nodded to him, “Thank you for your hard work.”

The security guard rubbed his hands and escorted them to the underground parking lot, “Not hard at all, not hard at all. You two are the last to leave. The intern left at around eight, he had come back rushing, saying he remembered he left his tablet at the office halfway through his meal…”

Lin Yu paused. “Intern?”

The guard said, “Yeah, the tall one, the boy in the white shirt.”

Lu Ziqing: “You mean Zhai Li, the new guy in the HR department.”

Lin Yu’s expression turned a bit uneasy, but he said nothing in front of the security guard.

After getting into the car, Lin Yu sat in the passenger seat and said, “I checked the attendance records around seven, and everyone had already left.”

Lu Ziqing: “What about it?”

Lin Yu: “To reach the HR department, you have to pass by my office door, but I didn’t see Zhai Li.”

Lu Ziqing caught on, “So…”

Lin Yu: “Around eight, you were helping me with the ice pack.”

They both thought the company was empty, not expecting Zhai Li to suddenly come back for something. He might have seen them in the office or even overheard their conversation.

For convenience in management, they had previously agreed to pretend to be strangers at the company.

Lu Ziqing was unconcerned, “He might not have heard anything. Besides, he’s only an intern for three months and will leave the week after next.”

Lin Yu nodded, but the worry in his heart remained.

Things seemed to be heading in a direction he didn’t want.

….

The next day, due to his leg injury, Lin Yu took a taxi to work.

He could walk on his own, but he limped, looking somewhat comical.

As soon as he entered the company, he ran into two young female employees.

The two girls had been chatting enthusiastically, but as soon as they saw him, they fell silent and greeted him respectfully, “Good morning, Director Lin.”

It didn’t seem unusual; employees would often greet him proactively.

But Lin Yu clearly noticed the meaningful glance they exchanged when they turned away.

He walked into his office, watered the spider plant on the balcony, then returned to his desk to start his daily work.

At 9:00 a.m., he held the routine morning meeting.

At 11:00, he attended a group meeting with department heads.

At 2:00 p.m., he reported the project progress of each department to the headquarters.

At 4:00 p.m., he listened to the quarterly report from the data analyst.

…

At 6:30 p.m., most employees had already left, and the office was quiet.

There was a knock at the door.

Without looking up, Lin Yu said, “Come in.”

Lu Ziqing stood at the door with his bag, leaning against the door frame, “Still not done?”

Lin Yu’s hand, holding the pen, paused for a moment: “You go ahead. I’ll head back later.”

Lu Ziqing frowned, “Your leg is hurt. How will you get back?”

Lin Yu: “I’ll take a taxi, just like this morning.”

Lu Ziqing: “You avoided being seen this morning. What are you worried about now? There’s no one in the office at night.”

Lin Yu stared at the data on the paper, speaking softly, “I still need to work for a while… You should go back. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Lu Ziqing: “I’ll wait for you here.”

Lin Yu quickly said, “I don’t like having people around when I’m analyzing data. You don’t need to waste your time. If you go home, you can play your favorite games or do something else.”

Lu Ziqing: “The office is full of people during the day, but I didn’t see you struggling with work.”

Lin Yu: “That’s different. The work during the day doesn’t require quiet thinking…”

The office fell silent.

“Lin Yu,” Lu Ziqing’s tone was unreadable, “What did I do to upset you this time?”

Lin Yu shrank back slightly, “Nothing…”

Another awkward silence filled the office.

A few seconds later, Lu Ziqing turned around and walked away, his footsteps heavy.

That night, when Lin Yu got home, Lu Ziqing was already asleep.

His bedroom door was closed tightly, not a sound to be heard.

In the kitchen, a teapot was brewing longan and lotus seed tea for better sleep, the gentle aroma lingering in the air.

Lin Yu’s hand gently rubbed the handle of the teapot, watching the amber liquid slowly swirl in the transparent glass pot. He sighed softly.

…..

The next morning at breakfast, Lu Ziqing still wore a sour expression.

Despite his displeased face, breakfast was still lavish and delicious. He thoughtfully set the spoon and chopsticks, placing the plates close to Lin Yu’s right hand.

Lin Yu whispered, “Thank you.”

Lu Ziqing huffed, “You don’t need to analyze data now. I won’t be a bother if I stay here, right?”

Lin Yu said, “Thank you for the effort. It must have taken you quite a while?”

Seeing Lin Yu’s good attitude, Lu Ziqing’s expression softened a bit. “It’s nothing. Just a few sandwiches. Small case.”

Lin Yu felt a bit embarrassed. “Next time, buying some buns or rice balls from outside would be fine. I’m not picky.”

Lu Ziqing: “You talk too much. Just eat.”

When they finished eating, Lu Ziqing began to clear the dishes. He said naturally, “Sit on the sofa and wait for me. I’ll help you to the underground parking lot in a bit.”

Lin Yu hesitated for a moment. “No need. I’ll just call a taxi…”

Lu Ziqing stopped what he was doing. “Here we go again.”

He washed his hands, pressed his temples, and sat down in front of Lin Yu. “Alright, tell me. What’s bothering you?”

Lin Yu avoided his gaze. “Nothing.”

Lu Ziqing looked straight at him. “You’ve been acting strange since yesterday at work. You’ve been avoiding me at the office, ignored me when I greeted you, didn’t reply to my messages. You said you’d ask me about the Hongye Art Museum project, but you switched last minute and sent Liang Zhi instead. Liang Zhi’s been sidelined for half a year. How could he know more about the exhibition’s progress than I do?”

Lin Yu remained silent.

“No answer, huh?” Lu Ziqing nodded. “If you don’t explain, then you’re not going to work today. We’ll sit here and see who loses patience first.”

Mentioning work made Lin Yu anxious. “I can’t skip work. I have so much piled up. I need to report the financial status to President Lu today.”

Lu Ziqing leaned back leisurely on the sofa, not the slightest bit worried.

Lin Yu had no choice. He closed his eyes briefly and said, “At noon, when I passed by the break room, I heard the girls making coffee talking. They said someone came to the office late at night and saw you in my office… with your hand on my foot.”

He thought Lu Ziqing would suddenly understand.

Instead, Lu Ziqing only looked at him calmly. “That’s it?”

“Didn’t we guess that already? Zhai Li came to the office but didn’t go back to his own office to get anything. He must’ve seen us and didn’t dare to come in.”

Lin Yu frowned at him.

Lu Ziqing said, “I told you from the beginning, pretending not to know each other at the office wouldn’t work. We leave the same house every morning, eat dinner at the same table every night. Over time, people are bound to find out.”

The “pretend to be unfamiliar” clause in their contract was Lin Yu’s idea.

As a manager/director parachuted into the company, he needed to maintain an equal distance from his subordinates to gain their respect.

Lu Ziqing had expressed his disagreement from the start, believing the truth would come out eventually.

Lin Yu had mentally prepared himself for this, but he didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

“So, what’s your plan?” Lu Ziqing raised an eyebrow at him. “Keep your distance from me from now on? Avoid me in every way? Not speak a word to me?”

Lin Yu: “For the sake of work…”

“Fine,” Lu Ziqing let out an incredulous laugh. “So, I’m just a tool to you, right? Make breakfast, act as your driver, serve tea, and in the end, I’m not even worthy of talking to you? Just so I don’t interfere with your work, I need to be kicked aside? Director Lin, no wonder my dad values you so much. You really are an elite talent.”

Lin Yu didn’t quite understand why he was so angry.

He was working, wasn’t it all for their Lu family?

Lin Yu thought for a moment, then decided to approach it from a different angle to persuade him. “I’m doing this for your own good too. This way, you’ll always maintain a single image in front of everyone. Think about it, keeping up this fake marriage with me, eventually, you’d get tired of it too. How about this, you can quietly find an omega to date in private. I’ll keep it a secret for you, promise not to tell President Lu.”

Hearing this, Lu Ziqing’s anger flared even more.

Oh, so the fox’s tail finally showed.

No wonder Lin Yu had been distancing himself. Turns out, he’d wanted to maintain a single image in front of everyone from the start.

Lu Ziqing said with a sarcastic tone, “Oh, I see. You want to appear single so you can go find that Dr. Xie, right?”

Lin Yu was baffled. “What does Dr. Xie have to do with this?”

Lu Ziqing: “Don’t even think about it. I won’t agree. Don’t forget, we have a marriage certificate. As long as we’re married, in front of others, you’re my spouse.”

Lin Yu: “I never denied that…”

Lu Ziqing: “During holidays, you’ll have to come back to my hometown and pay respects to my ancestors!”

“Huh,” Lin Yu asked, “Where is your hometown?”

Hearing Lin Yu ask about his personal life, Lu Ziqing’s expression softened a bit. He mentioned a province, far across the country from here.

Lin Yu did some mental calculations. “That’s a bit far. I’m not sure if my annual leave will be enough. If not, I’ll have to mention it to your father… Could we apply for a business trip on company expenses?”

Lu Ziqing: “…”

Their thoughts perfectly diverged in mid-air, heading in opposite directions.

Lu Ziqing was about to pass out from anger. “How did my dad find such a dummy to play my spouse?”

Lin Yu felt a little wronged. He’d always been an excellent student, consistently top of his class, and had never been called dumb before.

Speak of the devil.

Suddenly, Lu Ziqing’s phone rang. A video call displayed the name “Lu Zhaolin.”

So early in the morning, why was his dad calling via video?

With a sour face, Lu Ziqing answered, “Hello, Dad.”

Lu Zhaolin, despite his age, looked energetic and spoke cheerfully, “Ziqing, is Lin Yu with you? Call him over to let your grandparents see him.”

Lu Ziqing: “Huh?”

Lu Zhaolin: “Didn’t your grandparents go to France for a trip recently? They just returned to the country today and came straight to me.”

Before Lu Ziqing could react, a sweet and polite “Hello, President Lu” suddenly sounded in his ear.

He turned his head—

Lin Yu had already put on a professional smile, sweetly greeting the phone’s other end, “President Lu, Grandpa, Grandma, good morning. Have you had breakfast yet?”

Lu Ziqing: “…”

He was truly seeing something new.

It was his first time witnessing a real-life Sichuan opera face-changing performance.

Seriously, you wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it.

After living with Lin Yu for so long, he had never seen him smile this brightly.

One second, he was trying his best to keep a distance.

The next, he was standing by his side like a sweet little wife, greeting the elders.

That smile—damn, it was brighter than the morning sun, even more radiant than when he received a call from Dr. Xie.

…Is this what a top-tier “career brain” looks like?