FI CH94: Masks, Dropping Fast

The elevator in front of them dinged.

The doors opened, and He Zhenling walked out, leading his subordinates.

Their gazes met from a few steps away. Lin Su’s eyes narrowed. “You…”

He Zhenling walked over. “What?”

The subordinates greeted them and walked past.

He Zhenling was also about to head in that direction when Lin Su stared at him and spoke, “I suddenly remembered something.”

The man stopped and looked over.

Lin Su set the scene. “Before I fell into a coma, I should have collapsed at the dragon vein of Mount Qi, but I woke up in bed.” He glanced sideways, testing the waters, and sighed. “Sigh… I don’t even know how I got back.”

He Zhenling suddenly let out a low laugh. “You probably sleepwalked back.”

“……” Lin Su closed in and asked directly, “Did you carry me back?”

He Zhenling looked at him with a smile, saying nothing.

The corridor light from above cast a circle of shadow from his long eyelashes, his eyes like a deep sea holding shattered light.

Lin Su’s heart wavered, and he reached out to poke his waist. “Tell me, tell me…”

The man before him jolted and grabbed his mischievous hand.

The heat in He Zhenling’s eyes deepened.

He looked at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled and leaned down to whisper, “Yes, I carried you back.”

Lin Su’s eyes widened in an instant!

“You…” His heart quietly sped up.

He remembered the world-shattering chaos, the flying sand and stones. Yet when he woke up, he was clean and fresh. He had always thought it was Ni Ma who had taken care of him. If his body was so clean—

Lin Su shyly clutched his robe. “Did you do anything to me…”

“Ha!” A laugh fell from in front of him again.

He Zhenling stared at him with an unreadable expression. “Who did what to whom…”

Lin Su was confused.

He wanted to press further, but He Zhenling straightened up and said calmly, “I just wiped you clean and changed your clothes.”

Lin Su’s face grew hot. Sigh… so he was already flawed this early on.

If he had known, he wouldn’t have been so reserved.

He leaned in, unwilling to give up. “You really didn’t secretly kiss me?”

He Zhenling laughed in exasperation. “…No.”

Lin Su was regretful. “You have no luck with food.”

“……”

After two seconds of silence, He Zhenling squeezed his fingers and said seriously, “I didn’t do anything. I just came to check on your condition from time to time. After all, your old house back then…”

He closed his eyes and took a breath. “…looked like it was about to be demolished.”

Lin Su felt regret on his behalf. “If I had been demolished along with it, you would have had to dig me out and wash me again.”

Hearing this, a vein throbbed on He Zhenling’s forehead. He looked at him deeply.

“What, you want—”

Just as he started to speak, a noise came from the other end.

Yi Daiming and the others had finished their conversation and were coming out of the conference room. He Zhenling let go of his hand, put it back in his pocket, and stood up straight.

“Chairman He, Brother Su, we’ll be heading back first.”

Yi Daiming and the others stopped in front of them.

He Zhenling nodded. Lin Su said, “As for the prominent families’ side, I’ll leave some of the procedures to you.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get it done.”

The group didn’t stay long. After saying their goodbyes, they went back to their own business.

Lin Su and He Zhenling also left the Association.

They got into the car to go home. The door closed with a thump, and their arms rested together. Lin Su’s arm touched He Zhenling’s, and his heart started itching again as he brought up the topic.

“So back then, when did you go back?”

He Zhenling’s side profile was reflected in the car window. “I sensed you were about to wake up, so I went back to prepare to take office.”

“Oh…” Lin Su savored the thought. “Then when we first met, you were still so cold and aloof.” He said shyly, “Even though you had already seen all of me…”

A hand covered his mouth, cutting him off.

He Zhenling took a breath, glanced at the front seat, then turned back and whispered, “…What nonsense are you talking about?” Their eyes met. The upward curve of Lin Su’s eyes was like a hook. He Zhenling looked for two seconds, his breathing slightly disordered, and mouthed, You want it…?

Lin Su’s eyelashes trembled, and he lifted his chin.

He Zhenling only hesitated for a moment before silently leaning in to kiss him. His lips brushed against his, then gently enveloped them. The tip of his tongue pried open the seam of his lips and, suppressing a hurried breath, deepened the kiss.

Soft moans and wet sounds were all sealed between their lips.

The kiss was silent, but their lips were ground together even more meticulously. Only when Lin Su’s lips were slightly swollen and flushed a vibrant color did the man in front of him give a light bite before pulling away…

He Zhenling looked down and whispered, “Enough?”

Lin Su supported himself on the seat with one hand, his waist almost entirely held by He Zhenling’s arm. He tried his best to pull his dazed thoughts back and licked his swollen lips. “…Barely.”

He Zhenling’s lips curved. “You’d better mean it.”

Lin Su straightened his robe and sat up properly.

He took a moment to recover, and the hand on the small of his back also withdrew. He Zhenling crossed his long legs and looked out the window, his lips pressed together.

The temperature that had risen in the silence quietly dissipated, leaving only a flow of ambiguity.

After a moment, Lin Su dragged Xuenima out to share. Ni Ma, do you want to know what happened while we were Su-ing (sleeping)?

Xuenima looked at his rosy lips and closed its eyes with worldly wisdom. […No need. My roe deer life is just a cycle anyway.]

Lin Su: ?

Xuenima curled up philosophically. [Every time I close my eyes, the world outside has changed.]

“……”

Lin Su’s “assembly order” was sent out.

Almost without hesitation, responses came from all sides.

He followed the order of his needs and contacted Fang Shuyu first.

Fang Shuyu had previously established a student aid fund.

It aimed to provide learning and living assistance to children from poor families. Naturally, she had a comprehensive list of students receiving aid.

Lin Su explained the idea of the alliance to her.

“We are now recruiting students. The alliance itself has an academy that offers specialized courses in addition to cultural classes, taught personally by the Yi family. I will first select some people who are fated to enter based on the birth dates on the list… and then I’ll have to trouble you to ask them about their willingness.”

Fang Shuyu agreed. “I will definitely handle it personally.”

Lin Su reminded her, “The entire screening process will be quite cumbersome and massive.”

“It’s no trouble.” Fang Shuyu’s voice was gentle but firm. “Having more suitable and higher-quality educational resources is a good thing in itself. Xiao Mister, just leave it to me.”

Lin Su was pleased. “Then I’ll be counting on you.”

The matter of the students was handed over to Fang Shuyu.

He then found a pleasant weekend and arranged to meet with Pei Jin and Zhou Li.

This time, they met near the university town.

Since coming to the capital, Lin Su had either been at the school or shuttling between the prominent families and the associations. He had never been to such a densely populated and lively place.

Pei Jin found a street-side coffee shop.

Lin Su pushed the door open, and a wind chime tinkled.

The two people sitting by the window looked up in unison.

Pei Jin’s posture was ramrod straight, his face calm, his features already showing a sharp edge. Zhou Li was still a large figure sitting behind the table, sipping coffee. Seeing him arrive, he waved excitedly.

“Junior! Over here, over here—”

Lin Su walked over and sat down. “Senior Pei, Senior Zhou.” He paused and looked at Zhou Li. “You are now…”

Zhou Li was carefree. “Oh, I’m still called Zhou Li. Changing my name would mean changing a lot of things at school, it’s too much trouble. I’ll change it back after graduation.”

Lin Su agreed. “True. Especially if it’s changed on the roll call sheet, it’s easy for the teacher to call your name.”

“……” The person in front of him froze.

Zhou Li was sharp. “Junior, your perspective is very unique.”

Lin Su also froze and changed the subject. “Let’s get down to business.”

He had already given the two of them a heads-up about the alliance.

Now, Pei Jin got straight to the point. “Junior, the website, system, information equipment… you can come to me for all of it. This is my major.”

He smiled. “In addition, the research team I’m a part of is developing the latest digital intelligence technology. Whatever you want, I can help you get in touch.”

Xuenima was pleased. [Xiao Pei has really grown capable~]

Lin Su held it down and nodded. “I’m not very good with information intelligence, so I need you.”

Pei Jin said, “Just provide the blueprints for the venue, and leave the rest of the design to me.”

Speaking of venue blueprints, Lin Su turned his head.

Zhou Li, resting on both arms, had been staring eagerly for a long time. As soon as he received the signal, he immediately perked up. “Right! Of the several venues I sent you, which one did you like? My parents said to pick whichever one you want.”

Lin Su took out the blueprints and pointed to one of them. “This one.”

Whether in terms of location, feng shui, or size, it was very much to his liking. Moreover, it formed a faint equilateral triangle with the Tianshi Association headquarters and the Supervision Association headquarters.

Zhou Li immediately agreed. “Okay!”

He quickly relayed the information back to Song Xiaotian and his wife. “Junior, my parents’ meaning is, since you helped our family so much before, you can just take the venue and use it…”

Lin Su shook his head. “No need. You’ve already helped a lot by providing a suitable venue.” Seeing that he was about to insist, he quickly added, “Anyway, Xiao He has more money than he can spend.”

At his words, the other side fell silent. “……….”

A blank look appeared on Zhou Li’s face. “Is this the world of the rich?”

Pei Jin reminded him, “…You’re in this world too now.”

Zhou Li closed his eyes to feel it. “I feel like I’m in it, but also not in it.”

“……”

The haggling over fees ended with He Zhenling being too rich.

The construction of the basic infrastructure was thus settled.

…

After coffee, the three of them got up and left.

It was a pleasant afternoon, the sky blue and clear, the sunlight falling softly on the ground.

The bustling pedestrian street was full of people coming and going.

All three of them were good-looking.

Especially Lin Su, dressed in a traditional Chinese outer robe with dark gold patterns, paired with a crimson tassel earring. His transcendent appearance was particularly eye-catching even between Pei Jin and Zhou Li.

They attracted many gazes along the way.

It was Lin Su’s first time near the university town. He carried Xuenima and was attracted by the street-side shops as they walked. Zhou Li also had a big, silly grin on his face, completely oblivious to the attention around them.

Only Pei Jin paused slightly. When he noticed someone raising a phone, he shifted to the side to block the view—

“Junior Lin.”

Lin Su turned his head. “?”

Pei Jin hesitated. “Do you… usually go out like this?”

Lin Su looked himself over. “Is it not grand enough?”

“……” Pei Jin replied, “No.”

He explained, “Your earring, didn’t it appear on the live stream before? Is it okay to just wear it out like this?”

Lin Su touched it in realization. Oh, right.

He thought for a moment. “It’s been so long, and I’m long past my prime. No one should be thinking about it.”

Zhou Li was surprised. “Huh? You’ve been on a live stream?”

Lin Su pointed. “See?” No one cared.

Pei Jin opened his mouth, and after a long moment, said, “…Maybe.”

Although he said that, they still headed towards less crowded areas.

Across the pedestrian street was a small square.

There weren’t many people around, making it seem a bit empty. The three of them stood in front of the square. Zhou Li had bought a large bag of snacks and was now sharing them with the other two.

“One for Pei Jin, one for me. One for junior, one for me…”

Xuenima popped its head out. […So familiar.]

Lin Su: You used to do the same thing to the butler.

As they were standing there, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind them. “Pei God!?”

Lin Su paused sharply. Pei Jin looked up.

Chen You didn’t expect to run into Pei Jin here.

He cried out in surprise and was about to go forward to greet him when he saw the figure next to him from behind. A traditional Chinese outer robe, a glimpse of a crimson tassel as he turned his head—

Chen You instantly held his breath, his gaze shifting back and forth. “Masked Big Shot!? Pei God? You know each other…”

Lin Su, holding his snacks, turned to look.

The voice from across the way died abruptly.

Chen You froze for a long moment, as if in a dream. “…I know him too.”

Author’s note:

Chen You: …I woke up too fast!

Kun’s (Sleepy’s) wish: You will meet the Masked Big Shot in the capital. (palms together)

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