Chapter 114#
Yan Heqing’s eyelashes fluttered. “Even for my exams?”
Lu Lin hugged him tighter. “Even then.”
Lu Lin kept his word and followed him into the bedroom that night like a shadow.
However, since Yan Heqing had final exams the next day, he only pressed him down for a few kisses before pulling him into his arms and holding him. “Goodnight.”
Just like eating candy, having gotten used to Lu Lin’s embrace, Yan Heqing fell asleep before long.
The pale orange light from the bedside lamp fell on Yan Heqing’s sleeping face. Lu Lin watched quietly for a long time before pulling him closer into his arms and closing his eyes to rest.
After breakfast in the morning, Lu Lin drove Yan Heqing to his exam.
The campus was deserted and quiet during finals week. While Yan Heqing was taking his exam, Lu Lin waited outside for him.
After finishing his paper, Yan Heqing looked out the window. Through the layers of green trees, he couldn’t see Lu Lin.
But he knew Lu Lin was there.
During the two days of the college entrance examination, parents crowded outside the exam hall like a sea of people. That was only last June.
This year, someone was also waiting for him outside the exam hall.
Yan Heqing withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and carefully checked his answers.
For the next few days, Yan Heqing focused on his exams. After finishing the last one, he handed in his paper early.
Just as he met up with Lu Lin, his phone rang.
It was a call from Mother Lin.
From her voice, her emotions had calmed down a lot. “Heqing, I’m boarding the plane soon.”
Yan Heqing’s brow twitched slightly. “Where are you going?”
“Switzerland.” Mother Lin smiled. “Fengyi chose it. He said the mountains and water are good there, and it’s quiet. After living there for two or three years, the illness will naturally be cured.”
“What time do you take off?”
“Boarding now, you don’t need to come.” Mother Lin had deliberately chosen this time. She paused for a few seconds, then said, “He’s still hiding in the treehouse. Now only Fengxian is left at home. He has a steady personality and is reliable in handling things. He will take care of future matters. Auntie is really sorry for these days, and thank you.”
The polite greeting of a flight attendant sounded in the background. Mother Lin smiled again. “Goodbye, Heqing. Next time we meet, I hope you will be happy.”
Mother Lin hung up. Yan Heqing put away the phone. Before his thoughts could move, he was interrupted by Lu Lin.
“Exams are over. Relax properly tonight. Go wild fishing?”
It was the same place as last time. They deliberately didn’t eat dinner. Lu Lin brought a tent and outdoor tools, planning to catch fish to make fish soup and barbecue for dinner.
As a result, the two unexpectedly came up empty-handed today. It was almost nine o’clock when Yan Heqing finally caught a snakehead fish, weighing four or five catties.
Lu Lin chuckled lightly and put down his fishing rod. “I’ll go cook.”
Before leaving, he ruffled Yan Heqing’s hair heavily.
They had made a bet that whoever caught a fish first would be the hands-off boss.
Yan Heqing looked back. The tent was pitched not far away. They were the only ones fishing in this lake. Under the vast starry sky, only their tent had a light on.
Bird calls came from the distance from time to time.
Sometimes it was the Indian cuckoo, sometimes the hawk cuckoo or the red-billed leiothrix.
A canopy was set up in front of the tent, some distance away. The light wasn’t good, and he could only see Lu Lin processing the fish. After frying it for a while, he put it on the firewood to stew.
Soup stewed over a wood fire was always more delicious.
Charcoal fire was also lit. Yan Heqing liked beef, so Lu Lin brought all beef skewers.
A large handful of beef skewers covered the grill. Lu Lin also put a few sweet potatoes on. Before long, the air was filled with fragrance. Yan Heqing couldn’t eat spicy food, so Lu Lin sprinkled some barbecue powder and sesame seeds, then gathered them onto a plate.
The fruits were king blueberries and small fragrant pineapples. The fish soup stewing on the wood fire was also ready. Lu Lin brought it to the table, went back to the car to get a few cans of cold beer, and then called Yan Heqing to eat.
Yan Heqing caught a crab.
Just one.
When Lu Lin came to call him for dinner, he looked at it for a few seconds, then put the crab back into the lake.
Maybe in the lake, there was another crab waiting for it to come home for dinner.
The lakeside on a summer night was very cool. Both were hungry and didn’t chat much, filling their stomachs first. “Drink beer?” Lu Lin opened a can of cold beer with one hand but didn’t give it to Yan Heqing immediately.
Yan Heqing nodded, and Lu Lin gave it to him.
After drinking half a can, Yan Heqing’s cheeks were terribly red, but he clearly wasn’t drunk and was still quietly eating blueberries. Lu Lin looked at his face, his throat itching. After finishing the last sip of beer, he proactively asked, “Do you want me to drop you off tomorrow?”
Tomorrow was Saturday, the day of the wine tasting.
Yan Heqing swallowed the blueberry, looked up at him, a shallow light flowing in his clear eyes. “Not following like a shadow anymore?”
“Chu Ziyu has something going on, I’ll go over and take a look.”
Yan Heqing fell silent and continued eating blueberries. After finishing, he spoke again, “I’m going to a wine tasting tomorrow. Do you like wine? I’ll bring some back for you.”
Lu Lin smiled. “I don’t need wine, but when you come back after finishing your business, you can mix me a Negroni.”
Yan Heqing looked at him deeply and agreed.
They fished for a while longer at night and even cast a net before returning to the tent to rest. After Yan Heqing fell asleep, Lu Lin left the tent again.
The signal in the mountains was unstable. It took almost half an hour for Lu Lin to receive the group messages.
Chu Ziyu: “Old Boss Lu, you want to drink red wine? Just asked my friend, there’s a wine tasting at Luo Pu Winery tomorrow.”
Xie Yunjie: “Luo Pu? That place where you need an acquaintance to bring an acquaintance?”
Chu Ziyu: “Yo, Old Xie, you know this place too. It’s not fun, the wine is average, and they do some limited invitation thing. I can’t be bothered to go.”
Xie Yunjie: “What about Boss Lu? If you want red wine, I have a few bottles of Romanée-Conti here. Whenever you want, I’ll have someone send them to you.”
Chu Ziyu: “Old Boss Lu called people out and then went silent again. Are you with your big treasure? @Lu Lin @Lu Lin @Lu Lin…”
Lu Lin first replied to Xie Yunjie in the group, then privately messaged Chu Ziyu, “Get two invitations for Luo Pu Winery.”
Chu Ziyu was a night owl and replied the next second, “????? Old Boss Lu, what do you want to do! That winery is very complicated, not suitable for someone with a family to go.”
“Have business.” Lu Lin replied briefly.
Chu Ziyu: “When are you going?”
“Tomorrow.”
Lu Lin dropped Yan Heqing off at his residence and left. Yan Heqing took a shower, changed clothes, and then turned on his phone. There was a missed call and a text message from Lu Muchi.
“Not awake yet?”
Zhao Weifang had told Lu Muchi about Yan Heqing’s final exam schedule early on. Lu Muchi thought Yan Heqing needed a good rest after finishing his exams and was sleeping in today.
Yan Heqing dialed Lu Muchi’s number.
Lu Muchi answered instantly. “Hungry? Should I have someone send you some food?”
“What time are we leaving?” Yan Heqing went straight to the point. He added calmly, “I have to come back early, can’t stay too late.”
Lu Muchi planned to take Yan Heqing to the mountaintop to propose after the wine tasting. Yan Heqing wouldn’t be able to come back tonight no matter what. He glossed over it vaguely, “Three o’clock, I’ll come get you.”
At three o’clock, a Ferrari stopped downstairs at Yan Heqing’s place.
This was the new car Lu Muchi bought. He got out of the car and went straight to the apartment building.
Across the flowerbed, a low-key Land Rover was parked in the distance. Watching Lu Muchi enter the apartment building, Lu Lin raised his hand to check his watch.
The second hand ticked away.
Before it completed a full circle, Lu Muchi came out again, followed by Yan Heqing.
Unlike Lu Muchi in a suit and leather shoes, Yan Heqing wore a black T-shirt and jeans. Lu Lin’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly. He took his phone and dialed Chu Ziyu’s number. “Get up, I’m coming to pick you up.”
When Chu Ziyu got in the car, his eyes weren’t fully open. He had dark circles under his eyes. He threw down two invitations, got in the car, and curled up to catch up on sleep. “Wake me when we arrive!”
After sleeping for a while, Chu Ziyu finally woke up. He opened his eyes and rummaged through the armrest box looking for something to eat, only to realize that Lu Lin had changed cars, and it was… Chu Ziyu looked around, his face full of surprise. “Boss Lu went bankrupt?”
Chu Ziyu squinted. “You’re not disguising yourself to do something bad, are you?”
He was joking, but unexpectedly, Lu Lin didn’t refute.
On the other side, Yan Heqing drove behind Lu Muchi’s car. They drove out of the city all the way, and after driving for almost another hour, they arrived at Luo Pu Winery.
The winery was halfway up the mountain. There was a security booth at the entrance up the mountain.
Going up the mountain required inspection. Phones, cameras, and other recording equipment were not allowed up the mountain.
Once, a reporter sneaked in and exposed scenes from the wine tasting, causing quite a stir. Since then, inspections have been strict. Invitations were required, and no one was allowed to bring phones into the winery.
Of course, this didn’t include Lu Muchi.
The owner of Luo Pu Winery and Lu Muchi were good friends. Luo Pu’s fame in the wealthy circle was partly due to Lu Muchi’s help.
The guards were all shrewd. Seeing Yan Heqing following Lu Muchi, they didn’t search his car at all and pushed it to the second security checkpoint.
For today’s wine tasting, there were many more security guards than before, and the inspection was stricter. When it was Lu Muchi and Yan Heqing’s turn, several security guards smiled and didn’t move, except for a new security guard who held a device to scan Yan Heqing.
Lu Muchi’s face immediately turned cold. He pushed the security guard away. “What are you? You dare to search him?”
The security guard quickly bowed and apologized. Yan Heqing glanced at the security guard. He was only in his early twenties, very young, and his face had turned pale from fright. He said to Lu Muchi, “He’s just doing his job. He didn’t know I know you.”
Lu Muchi’s eyes darkened.
He knew Yan Heqing was speaking up for the security guard. After what just happened, this security guard was destined to be fired, but—
Yan Heqing was kind.
Lu Muchi was very jealous. Yan Heqing was friendly even to a strange security guard who offended him, but was cold to him.
But he asked for it.
Who told him to have such an unpleasant start with Yan Heqing.
Lu Muchi put away his temper and smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t make things difficult for him.”
The security guard gratefully stole a glance at Yan Heqing.
Entering the winery, it was just as described in the original text, exuding extravagance everywhere, filled with faces often seen on TV. Those stars sought after by thousands were now holding wine glasses, lowering their posture and mingling among the wealthy and famous.
Lu Muchi’s appearance attracted all the attention in the hall.
Then it fell on Yan Heqing.
There was amazement, surprise, and jealousy.
Lu Muchi and Cheng Jian fought over a man, and Lu Muchi even gave Cheng Jian a 12-year gift package. It had long spread in the circle.
Could it be him?
Gazes from all directions surged towards Yan Heqing in unison.
A young man approached first. His features were exquisite, and his lip shape somewhat resembled Lin Fengzhi’s. As they passed each other, his fingertips ambiguously pinched Lu Muchi’s waist before he raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Young Master Lu found such a stunning beauty. You’re quite lucky with love.”
He sized up Yan Heqing with hostility.
Yan Heqing looked back calmly.
Lip shape like Lin Fengzhi. That was Lu Muchi’s little lover, the one who slapped him in the original text.
Lu Muchi’s face changed instantly. He didn’t expect to run into Xia Yang today. Before knowing Yan Heqing, Xia Yang was the one who resembled Lin Fengzhi the most. He had slept with Xia Yang for a while. He quickly said to Yan Heqing, “Qingqing, wait for me here, I’ll be right back.”
He dragged Xia Yang away.
Yan Heqing didn’t move from his spot. He observed his surroundings calmly.
He quickly locked onto his target.
Zhao Weifang knew Yan Heqing had arrived immediately. Relying on the fact that they were both students of Beijing University, he held a wine glass and took the initiative to walk quickly towards him, his face piled with an ingratiating smile. “Junior, you’re here! Do you remember me? We met at school before!”
Yan Heqing revealed a smile. “I remember.”
He remembered quite clearly.
At the same time, at the winery entrance, the security guard finished checking the invitations, collected Chu Ziyu and Lu Lin’s phones, and let them in.
Chu Ziyu complained, “With so many checks, it must be messy and unsightly inside.”
After complaining, he wanted to seek Lu Lin’s agreement, but there was no sound for a long time. He turned his head and saw Lu Lin walking towards the long corridor on the left.
Chu Ziyu knew Lu Lin definitely had business, so he didn’t follow. He loved to play, but he had absolutely no interest in this kind of purposeful wine party. So he turned back to leave the winery, intending to get his phone back and catch up on sleep in the car.
From a distance, Lu Lin saw Lu Muchi dragging a man away from the hall. He glanced at the hall where cups were clinking and lights were flashing out of the corner of his eye, and followed the two unhurriedly.