FI CH78: Then I Won’t Be Polite
The elegant back exuded a master-like comfort.
Lin Su looked at him for a few seconds and said, “Although I wished you a ‘Happy New Year,’ I didn’t expect you to be having this good of a year.”
The figure in front of him froze instantly! The wine glass stopped mid-air.
The butler seemed to be frozen for a long moment before slowly turning his head. Two figures came into view, and his pupils dilated.
“…Two living Kings of Hell have arrived.”
He Zhenling’s cold gaze swept over him.
The butler snapped back to his senses, immediately put down the wine glass, and did a carp flip to his feet! Thump, he knelt on one knee between the two of them. “The three-day period is up, I welcome your—”
Lin Su understood. “You’ve been messing around here for three days.”
He Zhenling’s eyelid twitched as he looked at him.
“…” The butler squeaked, “It was you, no… you, sir, who said I could be my own master.”
The snow-white creature on his shoulder whispered, [But he looks like he wants to be the master of your big house.]
Lin Su: Don’t make me play the ‘house’ pun again.
He glanced around again. The air conditioner was on, the floor heating was on, and a bottle of red wine was open. As he passed the kitchen just now, he thought he’d glimpsed some high-quality beef and pork belly…
He looked at the butler with admiration. “You really haven’t mistreated yourself one bit.”
The butler sophistically argued, “Actually, I calculated that you two would be back today and specially warmed the house and bought ingredients.”
The gaze lingered on him for several seconds.
Until the butler started to sweat faintly, Lin Su finally withdrew his gaze. Forget it, it’s the New Year. “I happen to be hungry, you can go cook.” He then looked at He Zhenling. “What do you want to eat?”
He Zhenling turned and sat down on the sofa. “Just make some casually complicated dishes.”
Butler: .
Lin Su cheerfully dismissed him. “Go on.”
The figure, having survived a close call, drifted into the kitchen with an air of resentment.
…
Lin Su withdrew his gaze. “He’s still too idle.”
He then saw the red wine on the coffee table. “Did he bring this himself? Weren’t his assets confiscated? Where did he get the money?”
He Zhenling said, “The school pays him a salary as a security guard.”
Lin Su suddenly understood. “A pity that job won’t last long either.”
The person beside him understood his underlying meaning and was silent for a moment. “How soon are you planning to go to the capital?”
Lin Su calculated. “In about two months.” His gaze shifted to He Zhenling. “Are you going to migrate with me?”
“What else?”
He Zhenling let out a short laugh, speaking slowly. “You know my ‘possessiveness’ is too strong, I can’t leave you.”
Having just brewed some hot tea, Lin Su picked up a teacup and took a sip, demurely lowering his eyes. “Alright, you… always saying things that whet one’s appetite right before a meal.”
“…”
He Zhenling said meaningfully, “Heh, you can only whet your index finger.”
Lin Su: .
He called out in his mind: Damn it, is he making a subtle dig at me?
The snow-white creature lapped at the tea from the side of the cup. [Gulp, who’s to blame for your “sympathy” being directed at the Ghost King?]
“…” Lin Su glanced sideways. He Zhenling was sitting opposite him, also drinking a cup of tea. His eyelashes were lowered, his nose bridge straight. His thin lips were reddened by the hot tea, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.
The scorching gaze from before resurfaced in his mind.
His heart felt as if it had been suddenly seared.
After a moment, he put down his teacup and spoke, seemingly calmly, “…Come a little closer.”
He Zhenling stopped at once.
He turned to look at Lin Su, their eyes meeting. As if sensing something, he put down his teacup and leaned in. A long arm supported him from behind, and the sofa beside him dipped—
Lin Su looked up and met He Zhenling’s gaze.
He Zhenling looked down, his breathing slightly tight. “What are you doing?”
Lin Su composed himself and carefully scanned his ear, neck, shoulder… As his gaze moved, the breath falling on him grew hotter. Finally, he fixed his gaze on the man’s prominent Adam’s apple:
This size, it should be just right for one bite…
He took a breath, parted his lips slightly, and leaned his head up—
The distance closed abruptly, and the Adam’s apple in front of him seemed to tremble violently. Lin Su trembled along with it. Just as he was about to bite down gently, the kitchen door suddenly slid open with a “whoosh”!
The butler appeared at the living room entrance holding pork belly. “Can you guys eat spicy food?”
“…”
Lin Su stopped short. They both looked up sharply.
He Zhenling didn’t speak, his eyes looking like they could kill.
The butler was startled for a moment. “!” He then retreated with the pork belly. “…Then let’s not have spicy food.”
The kitchen door slid shut again with a “whoosh—”.
The living room was quiet.
He Zhenling took a deep breath and turned to see Lin Su had already sat back, sipping his tea in small mouthfuls. A faint blush lingered on the side of his face. Seeing him look over, Lin Su cleared his throat.
He raised his hand and pinched his fingers together. “…Today is not a suitable day for amorous activities.”
He Zhenling, “…….”
After a long moment, he leaned forward and rested his forehead in his hand.
Lin Su swallowed and averted his gaze. He savored the moment in his mind, still feeling a little restless. Damn it, did you see that? I was especially…
[=.= zzZZZ…]
“.”
By the time they ate, it was already eleven at night.
The butler stood dutifully to the side with his hands clasped.
He looked at the table full of dishes and hinted, “I accidentally made a little too much.”
Before Lin Su could speak, He Zhenling said coolly, “It’s not much, just enough for him to eat.”
He, “…”
The butler swallowed his words, feeling humiliated and unwilling.
The meal was finished.
Lin Su, as expected, devoured everything cleanly. What he really couldn’t finish, he secretly fed to the snow-white creature.
The butler went to wash the dishes with a rumbling, empty stomach.
Once the figure disappeared behind the kitchen door.
He Zhenling withdrew his gaze. Lin Su squinted at his tangible silence, as if something was brewing.
“…What are you thinking about? A disaster forecast is appearing on your body.”
He Zhenling said calmly, “I’m thinking about whether to bring him to the capital. But leaving him here as a security guard is letting him off too easily.”
“…”
The snow-white creature whispered, [It would be much more convenient if the butler could take on the same form as the Ghost King.]
Lin Su covered its little mouth. You’ve become euphemistic too.
Just as they were talking, a chair was pushed back.
He Zhenling stood up and grabbed the jacket slung over the back of the chair. “It’s getting late, I’m heading back.”
Lin Su looked up at once. “Aren’t you staying here tonight?”
He Zhenling looked at him and let out a low laugh. “Stay here for what?”
Lin Su understood. “The moment I said it wasn’t a suitable day for amorous activities, you decide to leave.”
“…” He Zhenling’s gaze held a warning. “Don’t be lewd.”
As he spoke, he suddenly looked at Lin Su’s earlobe again. “Also, wear it properly.”
Lin Su had almost forgotten and raised his hand to touch it.
The small silver hoop was cool and hard to the touch, completely different from his tassel earring. He imagined, “What do you think if I string the two earrings together and wear them?”
It would probably look quite nice.
He Zhenling was silent for a moment, then said softly, “Does anyone string a spare key and their main key together?”
Lin Su suddenly understood. “Then I’ll just wear yours.”
He Zhenling’s lips twitched, and he said, seemingly casually, “Mhm.”
It was getting late.
Kong Fu sent a message saying he was already waiting downstairs, so Lin Su walked He Zhenling to the entrance hall.
The main door opened. Just before he left.
Lin Su suddenly remembered, “I’m wearing your magical artifact… I won’t get electrocuted when I’m stirring up trouble, will I?”
He Zhenling, who was stepping out the door, paused and turned his head.
The light from the corridor created a division of light and shadow from the doorway. He Zhenling looked at him from behind the half-open door for a few moments, then suddenly raised his hand, gently twirled the earring on his earlobe, and smiled.
“You can try.”
He then withdrew his hand and closed the door.
Thud! Lin Su stood behind the door, touching his earlobe for a few seconds. Damn it, he’s encouraging me to try.
[…Box! If you think so, then it must be so.]
Two days later, the holiday was over.
He Zhenling went back to being busy with association and company matters. Lin Su was bored and was contemplating what new trouble he could stir up when he received a message from Ge Lili—
Saying he needed to go to the association to update his celestial master license, as a new rating had been issued from above.
Snow-white creature: [From Little Bai?]
Lin Su nodded. “It should be for the Jishan Mountain case. Little Bai must have registered it for me.”
He tidied up a bit and went to the Xuncheng branch.
Returning to the association after a long time.
Lin Su went to the office with ease and saw Ge Lili already waiting inside. Upon seeing him, the other immediately wished him a happy new year.
“My lord, Happy New Year!”
The snow-white creature said benevolently, [He looks like a chihuahua.]
“…You probably mean a lucky doll.”
Lin Su pushed it down and nodded at Ge Lili. “You too.” He then handed over his celestial master license. “Scan it.”
Ge Lili took it and had Shu Yang scan it.
The next moment, two loud cries of “Holy crap!!” echoed in the office.
Shu Yang’s nostrils flared. “…S-rank!”
Ge Lili’s eyes widened. “Content, top secret!”
They both turned their heads in unison. “M-my lord. It’s the New Year, what great deed did you do again?”
Lin Su leaned over to look, not surprised. Whether it was the Ghost King of Jishan Mountain or the “secret art” that needed to be destroyed, neither was suitable for public disclosure. So it was classified as a “Top Secret File.”
He said gently, “Guess what ‘top secret’ means?”
The two of them: “…Oh.” 0x0
After scanning the license, Shu Yang returned it with reverence.
Lin Su looked at him with emotion and took it. His gaze flickered, and he suddenly saw a stack of brochures on the desk. He picked one up and saw it was for the post-New Year selection of prominent families—
After 17 years, “is it still this intense?”
Ge Lili came over to look and said, “Yes, after all, it’s not just about the reputation and status of the prominent families, it’s also directly linked to the allocation of resources. For example—the enrollment slots for April are related to this.”
Lin Su looked at him.
Ge Lili automatically added, “Ah, that is, the enrollment slots for the Capital Celestial Master Academy.”
Lin Su’s gaze returned to the brochure. “Mhm, I know.”
The Capital Celestial Master Academy, known publicly as the “Capital Institute of Folklore and Humanities,” was actually the highest officially certified institution of learning in the world of feng shui, a public university.
Enrollment was in April each year, earlier than regular universities.
This was to give those who didn’t meet the entry threshold a chance to go back and take the regular college entrance exam.
Lin Su vaguely remembered: due to resource advantages, the enrollment slots 17 years ago were almost monopolized by prominent families, making it equivalent to a “noble academy” in the feng shui world…
Now it seemed that the opportunities for “commoners” had also increased.
He held the brochure, thinking as he looked, one hand subconsciously touching the silver hoop on his earlobe.
Ge Lili saw it from the side and said, “Huh? My lord, you changed your earring? It looks quite nice.”
Lin Su came back to his senses. “Oh, this is…”
Just as he was speaking, his phone suddenly vibrated.
He stopped talking and opened it to see a WeiXin message from He Zhenling.
Lin Su: Speak of the devil, telepathy? But, what’s with the string of ellipses?
Lin Su: ??
What is He Zhenling doing, did he press a key by mistake?
He stared for two seconds, about to reply and ask, when two consecutive messages popped up.
[Ling]: I’m in a meeting
[Ling]: Stop touching and pulling it/
__
Author’s Note:
Su: Since you’ve said so, then I won’t be polite.
Big Bird He: …
*House pun: From Sheng Lingyu’s arc, “Plagiarists shouldn’t get a house (不得house)1, original creators deserve a house (該得house).”2
Wore a new magical artifact, WeiXin name changed back, don’t point it out.
TL Note:
- The phrase sounds like the common curse 不得好死 (bù dé hǎo sǐ), which means “to not have a good death” or “to die a terrible death.” ↩︎
- A clever way of saying that people who plagiarize deserve a bad end, while original creators deserve success and prosperity ↩︎
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