MTY chapter 54

It was clear that in the entire company, Wu Yu had no intention of listening to anyone.

To him, even Lin Yu, the highest-ranking person at the branch company, was just a humble assistant. Everyone else was beneath notice.

Only when Lu Ziqing spoke would Wu Yu quiet down for a while.

But that peace never lasted long.

Before long, Wu Yu would be propping his legs up, scrolling through shopping websites, taking glamorous selfies by the window, admiring his new manicure, and repeating these actions in an endless cycle.

Aside from that, he constantly clung to Lu Ziqing, calling him “gege” every other sentence.

…..

At lunchtime, Wu Yu left with his girl gang, giving Mi Lan a rare chance to vent her frustration. She put her hands on her hips and interrogated Lu Ziqing, “Ziqing, spill it. Where did you pick up this walking disaster?”

Lu Ziqing didn’t stop sketching, his long lashes casting faint shadows under his eyes. “He’s my dad’s friend’s son.”

“Did he really join the company just to pursue you?” Mi Lan exaggeratedly made a gagging motion. “How did he even pass the recruitment process? It’s been a whole morning, and he hasn’t done a single bit of work—just kept fiddling with his manicure. Who pulled strings for him to get in?”

Liang Zhi couldn’t help but add, “The strangest thing is… even Director Lin can’t do anything about him.”

Director Lin was famously fair, impartial, and unyielding.

Lu Ziqing said flatly, “He won’t last long. Don’t worry.”

……

That afternoon, Wu Yu strolled back to the office, right in the middle of work hours, carrying an assortment of desserts and coffee for his colleagues.

The desserts were all custom orders from a five-star hotel—expensive and exclusive.

With their mouths full of free food, Mi Lan and Liang Zhi felt too embarrassed to complain any further.

Wu Yu held the most exquisite swan cake, blushing as he handed it to Lu Ziqing.

“Ziqing-gege, do you remember the first time we met? I was still in middle school back then. I fell while playing tennis, and you helped me up. When you saw me crying nonstop, you fed me cake…”

Lu Ziqing: “I don’t remember.”

Wu Yu looked a little disappointed but quickly smiled again. “It’s okay, as long as I remember…”

Although Lu Ziqing remained indifferent, under Wu Yu’s relentless persistence and flattery, his attitude gradually softened.

Wu Yu visibly brightened up.

…..

Wu Yu had been in the company for two weeks now.

In just a dozen days, he had become familiar with everyone in the office.

Although he had an eccentric personality and was flamboyant, his generosity attracted quite a few people to flock around him.

Even Lu Ziqing seemed to be gradually lowering his guard, and their interactions were increasing.

One Friday evening, Lu Ziqing and Liang Zhi had a business dinner with a project client.

Wu Yu pestered them relentlessly, insisting on tagging along. No one could dissuade him.

Lin Yu could hear Wu Yu causing a commotion outside the office, almost flipping the roof with his tantrum.

This was getting out of hand, Lin Yu thought. It wasn’t just about having a nepotism hire anymore—if this continued, the entire company culture would be ruined.

He stood up, about to step in and put a stop to it, when he heard Lu Ziqing say, “Alright, just make sure to behave at the dinner and don’t say anything inappropriate.”

Wu Yu immediately lit up. “Got it! Mission accepted!”

Lin Yu’s steps faltered.

After a brief silence, he turned back to his office and sat down.

He stared blankly for a while before picking up his pen and poking at the succulent plant on his desk.

That little succulent had been on his desk for over half a year. Man and plant had coexisted peacefully without incident.

Under his repeated poking, the leaves remained firm and unshaken.

Lin Yu poked again.

Then a third time, a fourth, a fifth…

Until one of the leaves finally wobbled, then fell off with a soft “plop,” reaching the end of its life.

….

On his drive home, a light drizzle began to fall outside.

Feeling a bit stifled in the car, Lin Yu turned on his music player.

The first song started playing: “Let the heavy rain fall…”

…

He swiftly skipped it.

“Why did the passion fade first, while the slow burn lingers, still boiling over…”

Lin Yu remained silent and skipped again.

“What’s wrong? Are you tired? What happened to the happiness we promised…”

Lin Yu, now thoroughly annoyed, shut off the music player entirely.

He decided to force himself to focus on something else.

What should he eat tonight? He concentrated on the thought. Maybe hotpot? He could buy some fresh beef rolls, lamb rolls, bamboo shoots, Cantonese mini sausages, enoki mushrooms, juicy meatballs, and mix up a delicious sesame dipping sauce…

Lin Yu finally felt a little better.

Back when he first started working, money had been tight. His happiest moments were on weekends when he could take his modest savings to the supermarket, buy a bunch of fresh vegetables and meat, and enjoy a lively hotpot meal with friends at night.

As the years passed, those friends gradually left. Some quit their office jobs due to exhaustion, some went back home to take civil service exams. Only he had stayed.

Lin Yu took a detour to the supermarket, humming a tune as he carefully picked out ingredients for half an hour before heading home, satisfied with his haul.

He focused entirely on washing the ingredients, setting up the cooker, and watching as the meat rolls and meatballs tumbled in the boiling broth.

The house was warm, filled with the rich aroma of food. Steam fogged up the windows in a thick white haze.

Yes—winter was meant for hotpot.

Wu Yu? Lu Ziqing?

What did they have to do with him?

They could all go to hell.

……

When Lu Ziqing opened the door, he was immediately hit by the strong scent of alcohol.

He removed his wool coat, frowned, and stepped inside.

The dining table was a mess, bottles of liquor were scattered across the floor, and one had even shattered. Broken glass reflected the harsh light.

Lin Yu was slumped over the table, eyes closed, his face flushed red—completely out cold.

Lu Ziqing tensed up, quickly walked over, and checked him. Finding that he was only drunk, he sighed in relief.

The cooker was still bubbling away, though the broth had almost completely evaporated, nearly burning the pot.

Lu Ziqing unplugged the cooker.

He carefully stepped around the glass shards, fetched a broom and dustpan from the kitchen, and quickly cleaned up the broken pieces, tying up the trash bag and leaving it by the door.

After washing his hands, he returned to the table and bent down, scooping Lin Yu up into his arms.

The motion stirred Lin Yu awake.

His eyes cracked open, half-lidded and unfocused.

His voice was hoarse and slurred, murmuring from his throat: “…Lu Ziqing?”

Lu Ziqing: “Yeah, it’s me.”

Lin Yu: “…You’re back.”

Lu Ziqing: “Mm.”

Lin Yu looked just as he always did—serious and composed, his expression calm, as if he were giving an employee a lecture.

That is, if one ignored the fact that he was currently being princess carried.

“Why are you eating hotpot alone at home and drinking so much?” Lu Ziqing asked softly. “Is there something to celebrate today?”

Lin Yu just stared at him blankly: “…”

Lu Ziqing lowered his head to look at him. “It’s okay. If you’re drunk, we can talk another day.”

Lin Yu stared at him for a while, his brows slowly furrowing. “You… why did you come back?”

He suddenly struggled violently, refusing to let Lu Ziqing hold him.

Lu Ziqing was caught off guard: “…”

Lin Yu was struggling so hard that Lu Ziqing was afraid he might drop him, so he had no choice but to put him down on the sofa midway.

Pressing his temples, Lu Ziqing knelt beside the sofa. “What’s wrong? Of course, I had to come back.”

Lin Yu was so drunk he could barely sit up, yet he still insisted on weakly pointing a finger at him. “You—you guys went to the dinner party… had a great time, didn’t you…”

His voice carried anger, slightly hoarse.

His eyes were a bit red.

Lu Ziqing was baffled. “What’s so great about that?”

Attending a dinner party late at night, dealing with those bloated, self-important project partners—how could that be pleasant?

Lin Yu stared at him in a daze, then, without warning, tears fell down his cheeks.

Lu Ziqing had never seen Lin Yu cry before.

In fact, Lin Yu rarely even sighed. Most of the time, he was serious and calm, his emotions restrained, never revealing his happiness or anger.

Lu Ziqing panicked. He reached out to wipe Lin Yu’s tears, but Lin Yu harshly swatted his hand away.

Lin Yu: “If you’re not coming back, then don’t. Who cares about your messages?”

Lu Ziqing was stunned. “Messages? What messages? My phone ran out of battery earlier, so I left it in my pocket… Did you message me?”

Lin Yu turned his face away, his eyes red.

Lu Ziqing hurriedly plugged in his phone to charge it. When it turned on, he saw over a dozen unread messages, all from Lin Yu.

At first, they were polite and restrained.
“What time will you be back?”

Then, about an hour later, they started losing control.
“What time.”
“I’m asking you, when??! @Come back.”
“Liar.”
“If you’re not coming back, then don’t. It’s none of my business.”
“Never come back.”

…

Lu Ziqing was still reading through them when, suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.

Lin Yu had lunged at him, sinking his teeth into his shoulder.

Even through the wool sweater, the bite stung.

Lu Ziqing winced in pain and held him tightly. “Lin Yu…”

“Liar.”

Lin Yu spat the word out, then moved to another spot and bit down again.

He buried his head in Lu Ziqing’s neck, rubbing against him, his hair becoming a tangled mess.

From his shoulder to his collarbone, each place he bit left deep teeth marks.

“You said you liked me… but it was all a lie.”

“You were having dinner with him, and you didn’t even bother replying to my messages.”

Tears streamed down, like pearls falling one by one onto the sofa.

“You’ve already fallen for Wu Yu, haven’t you? He treats you so well. His family is rich. Even your dad would rather you be with him.”

“You… you two belong to the same world.”

“…So why did you have to drag me into it?”

Lin Yu sobbed uncontrollably, his tears soaking into Lu Ziqing’s clothes.

He pulled at Lu Ziqing’s shirt, then bit directly into his skin.

“You told me you didn’t like him… So why are you talking to him so much? Why are you smiling at him?”

“Liar.”

“Stop… stop hurting me…”

Lin Yu cried so hard he could barely breathe.

He vaguely heard Lu Ziqing saying something, but he couldn’t make out the words, couldn’t understand.

All his grievances surged like a deep lake, waves rising violently, crashing into the sea.

Then, Lin Yu turned his head and bit down on Lu Ziqing’s lips.

Salty.

Bitter.

The taste of iron spread between their lips, mingling with tears, forming a small storm within the room.

From the television came the weather forecast:
“The meteorological station predicts that cold air will continue to move in from the 19th to the 21st. Due to the influence of this cold front and continued precipitation, temperatures will keep dropping, reaching the lowest point on the 21st. Affected by the remnants of a weakened typhoon, some areas will experience prolonged heavy rainfall…”