After speaking, Lin Yu stuffed the bag into Lu Ziqing’s arms and considerately closed the door.
He didn’t say a word, yet it felt like he’d said everything.
Feel free to indulge yourself; I won’t disturb you.
Lu Ziqing was at a loss for words.
He looked at the large bag of clothes in his arms with a dark expression, utterly speechless.
He couldn’t take it, nor could he throw it away.
….
That night, the house was exceptionally quiet.
Lin Yu slept peacefully, determined not to disturb Lu Ziqing’s “nesting.”
Lu Ziqing on the other hand, quietly stared at the night sky all night, wondering what kind of misdeeds he’d committed in his past life to end up marrying such an idiot in this one.
…..
On Monday afternoon, Lin Yu left work early for once.
He had finally managed to get the company somewhat back on track, dealing with old issues and resolving long-standing problems.
He had even cleaned out a batch of freeloaders who were taking salaries without doing any work. While there were some grumbles among the staff, the noise died down in a few days.
Quite a few of the dismissed employees were actually related to Zhou Youyu.
Lin Yu had given Zhou Youyu a heads-up, saying, “Mr. Zhou, you hold a respected position in the company. Lately, many people have been using your name to slack off, take bribes, and steal projects. As a senior, your lifetime reputation shouldn’t be ruined by these petty people.”
Zhou Youyu ground his teeth but could only force a smile and say, “Of course, of course. I’ve long been unhappy with the company’s atmosphere. Many thanks to you Director Lin for taking bold action to push for reform!”
With his workday over, Lin Yu packed his briefcase and headed out.
Lu Ziqing sat at his desk for a while. When he saw Lin Yu enter the elevator, he followed close behind.
In the large elevator, only the two of them were there. They could clearly hear each other’s breathing.
Lu Ziqing: “Leaving work so early? Aren’t you afraid of what the employees will say?”
In the enclosed space with no one else around, Lin Yu seemed much more relaxed than when he was outside.
He pursed his lips and smiled. “I’ve been working overtime for so many days. Leaving on time once isn’t illegal, right?”
Through the elevator mirror, he saw Lu Ziqing beside him and couldn’t help but think—kids these days sure have good nutrition. They grow so tall. Even though he’s a few years younger, he’s at least ten centimeters taller than me.
At some point, Lin Yu’s gaze toward Lu Ziqing had shifted—from careful caution to a touch of paternal affection.
The initial caution was because he knew Lu Ziqing was, in a way, his “client,” someone he needed to serve carefully.
But after spending time together, he found that although Lu Ziqing wasn’t very ambitious, his personality was quite good. He didn’t have many of the bad habits of spoiled rich kids.
Especially after taking care of him during the last nesting period, Lin Yu’s fatherly instincts overflowed even more. He felt that although this kid sometimes had a bit of a grim face, he was essentially a simple-hearted little boy.
As an older person, he felt it was his duty to take extra care of him.
Lu Ziqing didn’t understand why Lin Yu always wore a mysterious smile lately, especially when looking at him.
It was strange.
Lu Ziqing: “Why are you smiling so happily?”
Lin Yu: “Not having to work overtime makes me happy.”
“That doesn’t sound like something you’d say,” Lu Ziqing snorted. “Aren’t you known as a workaholic?”
Since the nesting period incident, Lin Yu was full of fatherly love, while Lu Ziqing’s attitude had become rather strange.
The frequency of his retorts decreased, and his sulky expressions became less frequent.
But most of the time, he maintained a strange, half-awkward, hesitant expression.
When Lin Yu spoke to him, he could respond normally, but for some reason, his gaze always avoided Lin Yu, as if he felt guilty.
Lin Yu thought the kid might be feeling shy. After all, what happened during the nesting period wasn’t exactly something easy to bring up.
Lin Yu, being thoughtful, never mentioned it again, just pretending that his clothes had been snatched away by a stray dog.
Ding.
The elevator arrived at the B1 parking lot.
The two of them exited the elevator one after the other, tacitly agreeing not to speak further as they walked to their respective parking spots.
Lin Yu slowly drove out of the parking lot.
A few minutes later, Lu Ziqing followed behind him.
This was an unspoken rule between them—to keep a certain distance to avoid unnecessary gossip.
To avoid suspicion, they even took different routes home. Lin Yu would take the left road, while Lu Ziqing would take the right, ensuring nothing could go wrong.
At the intersection, Lin Yu encountered a red light and slowly stopped.
He rolled down the window for some fresh air, and suddenly, through the rearview mirror, he caught sight of a familiar car approaching quietly from dozens of meters behind him.
Lin Yu became alert immediately.
He had seen that car before. Though it wasn’t particularly eye-catching, its older model and the three ‘8’s in its license plate made it memorable—he had noticed it a few times in the parking lot.
It belonged to a small security team leader.
Zhou Youyu probably thought Lin Yu didn’t know, but Lin Yu had already checked the records. That small team leader was Zhou Youyu’s vocational school classmate and joined the company around the same time as Zhou Youyu.
After joining the company, Zhou Youyu had completed an adult college degree, trying to cover up his vocational school background.
Most managers wouldn’t look so closely, but Lin Yu was different. From the start, he had set his sights on Zhou Youyu.
Lin Yu did not change his original route. He kept his composure, drove his car back to the underground parking lot of their complex, and returned home as usual.
When Lu Ziqing got home, Lin Yu signaled with his eyes for him to close the door.
“I was followed,” Lin Yu said, “It’s almost certain Zhou Youyu is behind it. I just don’t know what he’s up to.”
Lu Ziqing frowned slightly, “Could it be because you let go of his people, and he’s feeling dissatisfied?”
Lin Yu responded calmly, “Whether he’s upset or not doesn’t change the fact. There’s no way I’ll let those people back in.”
Lu Ziqing asked, “Could he be trying to do something to warn you not to take further action?”
“Possible, but I don’t think Zhou Youyu has the guts. It might be someone behind him giving the orders,” Lin Yu raised his chin, “Perhaps they’ve suffered too much, and now they can’t hold back any longer.”
…..
The next day at work, Zhou Youyu greeted Lin Yu with his usual enthusiasm, “Good morning, Director Lin!”
Lin Yu nodded indifferently, “Morning.”
Zhou Youyu showed no signs of unusual behavior. He even seemed more well-behaved than before, spending the entire day at his desk revising proposals.
Employees joked privately that the old vulture had his wings clipped and finally couldn’t flap anymore.
But Lin Yu felt it wasn’t that simple.
After returning home from work, he asked Lu Ziqing what Zhou Youyu had been doing all day.
“Isn’t it strange?” Lu Ziqing stroked his chin, “Not only did he not sneak out to drink and gamble today, but he also stayed obediently at his desk all day. When someone from logistics tried to curry favor by inviting him to dinner, he even sternly refused.”
“This afternoon, Mi Lan asked me when I’d change my car. I said with my current salary, there’s no money for that, so I’ll just make do. Usually, at this time, Zhou Youyu would eavesdrop and dig into my family situation. But today, he didn’t say a word, as if he hadn’t heard anything.”
Just from this, Lin Yu understood.
Lin Yu said, “He knows.”
Lu Ziqing: “Knows? Knows what?”
Lin Yu replied calmly, “Knows that your father is the company’s CEO, Lu Zhaolin.”
[mfn]Author’s Note
Lin Yu: Xiao Lu is so cute; I can’t help but feel fatherly love.
Lu Ziqing: Thanks, but I don’t really need a second dad.[/mfn]
