AGRCIW CH11

Chapter 11: Daddy listens to Uncle.

Lin Songyu got up, put on his clothes, and sent a voice message to Gao Yang, asking him to order a watch as a gift for Xu Youxiang.

Ten minutes later, he was in the garage, driving his car. After two kilometers, Lin Songyu saw breakfast stalls and pharmacies by the roadside.

He turned the steering wheel, drove back, and took the doctor’s medicine box that was left at home. Some of the medicines inside were hard to buy at pharmacies.

What Tang Huhu hadn’t finished saying was probably “can you take my daddy to the hospital?” But Xie Zhuo was stubborn. He definitely wouldn’t give up on the booked plane tickets unless he was told not to go back to his hometown for Chinese New Year.

Xie Zhuo lived in an old residential complex with many breakfast stalls at the entrance. Lin Songyu bought two twisted crullers for the little rascal.

He wasn’t sure which building Xie Zhuo lived in, so he called Yang He.

Yang He was a businessman, so his phone was usually on. Sure enough, it connected immediately.

“Where does Xie Zhuo live?”

“Building 2, 701… No, haven’t you been there before?” Yang He flinched, feeling like he was being tricked into revealing too much.

Lin Songyu: “I don’t think I have.”

Yang He: “Then why did you nod when I mentioned a ten-thousand-yuan silk quilt?”

Lin Songyu: “I’ll go see it later.”

His tone sounded as if he would go and pull off the quilt later. Yang He quickly warned his brother: This is bad, the rich guy is at your door. He’s in bed right now and truly can’t help.

After a while, he received a reply from Tang Huhu: “Huhu understands, Uncle Yang He.”

Yang He: “…” Does your daddy understand?

Lin Songyu couldn’t find the elevator and took a deep breath, beginning to climb the stairs.

Didn’t Xie Zhuo get into a car accident? His legs seem very capable of climbing.

Just then, Li Xiuyu called. He was in Lin Songyu’s office, asking him where a contract was, as he needed to take it.

“I took it home. Have the assistant get it.”

Li Xiuyu: “Aren’t you coming to the company? Bring it with you.”

Lin Songyu: “Not at home.”

Lin Songyu was observing his surroundings while on the phone, which slowed him down. This allowed two aunties carrying groceries behind him to overtake him.

“Excuse me, lots of stuff here.”

“Shrimp prices went up again today. Can’t even afford it. If it weren’t for my granddaughter loving it…”

“My son and daughter-in-law are sleeping in. I, an old lady, still have to go out to buy and cook food…”

Lin Songyu saw a bag of lively shrimp, looking as if water might splash out, and quickly stood straight to avoid them.

Li Xiuyu’s voice sounded distant and then close: “Hey, I hear your surroundings aren’t right? Where are you?”

At this hour, shouldn’t Lin Songyu’s background noise be reports or financial information scrolling? How is he listening to vegetable prices?

Lin Songyu: “Hiking.”

Li Xiuyu: “Who goes hiking to buy groceries?”

Lin Songyu shrugged: “Some people have to hike to buy groceries.”

Why did Xie Zhuo live on the seventh floor? Was it for leg exercise? Tang Huhu’s legs are so short; it must be tiring for the little one.

The only down-to-earth person Li Xiuyu could think of being around Lin Songyu was one individual. He said loudly: “You didn’t go to find Xie Zhuo, did you?”

Lin Songyu: “.”

Li Xiuyu had also encountered the sincerity of honest people. He felt that they should stay away from such individuals. Lin Songyu was currently infatuated with Xie Zhuo, but once the passion faded and he discovered that the other party was merely a widower with a dependent, he would withdraw completely, which would be quite unkind to the widower.

More importantly, the widower was a key talent their company wanted to recruit. If Lin Songyu caused him to switch jobs, who would compensate the company for the loss?

“Lin Songyu.”

Lin Songyu raised his eyes, “What.”

Li Xiuyu pinched his brow: “There’s something I originally didn’t want to say, because Auntie felt the whole thing was unlucky and forbade mentioning it, fearing it would frighten you.”

Lin Songyu slowed his steps, instinctively feeling that what Li Xiuyu was about to say was related to Xie Zhuo.

Li Xiuyu: “Do you remember your car accident two years ago? The perpetrator, dissatisfied that you removed him from the supplier list, deliberately hit you on the overpass.”

Lin Songyu had been in a coma for over two months. After he woke up, Tang Feizhu had already handled everything. He knew the perpetrator died on the spot and hadn’t looked back into the matter.

He still didn’t regret removing that supplier, because as a medical device supplier, the other party’s act of substituting inferior goods for quality ones crossed a line.

Li Xiuyu: “The accident caused a chain collision on the overpass. Fortunately, there weren’t many injured. In terms of severity, you were the most serious; in terms of external injuries…”

Lin Songyu blinked: “Xie Zhuo was the most serious, right?”

Li Xiuyu: “I think he’s quite unlucky, so if this is just a fleeting interest, don’t bother him. You have so much work waiting for you; you won’t be bored.”

“Does Xie Zhuo know?”

“Perhaps not? Because the news only reported that the culprit deliberately retaliated due to business disputes; your identity wasn’t revealed.”

“As for the responsibility for his temporary leave from school, we might bear 1% of it. He’s about to start working for our group, so can you, the CEO, keep your distance from my employee? Otherwise, the lab will think he became chief through nepotism.”

Lin Songyu clutched his phone. If Li Xiuyu had told him this half a month ago, he would only have thought the perpetrator was 100% responsible, and as a victim, he shouldn’t bear any blame.

But… he couldn’t help but think, if he had been wary of the perpetrator beforehand, and there had been no accident, Xie Zhuo wouldn’t have been injured.

If Xie Zhuo hadn’t been injured, he could have studied and worked part-time normally. Perhaps Tang Yu only wanted to earn money on the cruise ship because Xie Zhuo couldn’t earn money, which then led to his unfortunate demise.

Unknowingly, Lin Songyu stood in front of unit 701. The door was very clean, with a cartoon electronic house number attached, which probably glowed at night.

Lin Songyu stood at the door, kneaded his fingertips, and hung the bag on the doorknob.

Creak… The doorknob was pressed down from inside, and the bag almost slipped.

Tang Huhu stood on a stool, peering through the peephole for a long time, finally seeing Uncle.

He opened the door, leaned out, accidentally kicked the stool away, losing his support. His body, clad in a bear onesie, hung on the door: “Uncle!”

Lin Songyu quickly supported the little rascal’s backside and picked him up.

Tang Huhu hugged his neck and rubbed his cheek against Uncle’s: “Uncle, can you take my daddy to the hospital?”

Lin Songyu’s wind-chilled face was pressed against a warm, soft little cheek. This feeling was very new; since he could remember, he had never been so close to anyone.

“Why me? Why not your Uncle Yang He?”

Tang Huhu cupped both hands to Uncle’s ear and whispered: “Because Daddy listens to Uncle.”

Lin Songyu couldn’t help but chuckle: “Uncle brought medicine. You won’t need to go to the hospital after taking it.”

Tang Huhu nodded, half-understanding, because every time he got sick, Xie Zhuo would take him to a big hospital to see the doctor uncle. In his perception, there was no illness that could be easily dismissed.

Xie Zhuo cooked all the remaining fresh ingredients in the refrigerator, boiling four eggs, just enough for a quick meal before getting on the plane.

He saw the quickly arrived Lin Songyu and asked, “Have you had breakfast?”

Lin Songyu, holding the child, had only been looking at Tang Huhu since he entered. Hearing the question, he looked up, meeting Xie Zhuo’s face, which only revealed his eyes. The lower half of his face was covered by a dark blue medical mask, concealing the coldness of his other features. His jawline was sharp and clear, his eyelashes deep, reminding one that his work uniform was a white lab coat, which suited him well.

Lin Songyu looked away, putting Huhu down: “No.”

Xie Zhuo’s voice was a bit hoarse. He lowered his gaze and tidied up the house: “Please have breakfast with Huhu.”

Lin Songyu: “Is your cold very serious?”

Xie Zhuo: “No.”

Tang Huhu tugged at his daddy’s pant leg, his round eyes fixed on his daddy: “Daddy, you have to look at Uncle when you talk.”

If you look into their eyes, you won’t lie.

Xie Zhuo: “…” He just wanted to avoid seeing Lin Songyu and being reminded of Tang Yu. Excessive association was a subtle offense to others.

Strictly adhering to his son’s demands for social etiquette, Xie Zhuo looked at Lin Songyu and reiterated: “Thank you for your concern. I feel much better after taking the medicine.”

Tang Huhu looked up at Lin Songyu: “Uncle, is my daddy much better?”

He clearly trusted Lin Songyu very much, treating him like a doctor.

Lin Songyu and Xie Zhuo made eye contact. He actually thought Xie Zhuo wasn’t well at all; he always carried a faint bitterness, like the smell of being steeped in a Chinese medicine shop for too long. He looked down and told the little rascal: “Much better.”

Tang Huhu’s eyes lit up: “We can eat breakfast!”

At the same time, Lin Songyu didn’t remember to pair breakfast with financial reports, and Tang Huhu didn’t remember to ask Daddy for the grocery price broadcast.

On the table were eggs, steamed buns, and mixed soy milk—a very ordinary breakfast.

Normally, Lin Songyu would have said, “How can the baby grow tall just by eating these?”

Lin Songyu was preoccupied and had no appetite. He peeled an egg for Tang Huhu and mashed the yolk into his bowl: “You sit and eat. I’ll go to the balcony and talk to your daddy.”

Lin Songyu energetically pulled open the balcony door and said to Xie Zhuo, who was putting away clothes: “Do you know that your car accident back then was because a supplier wanted to retaliate against me, and you were implicated by me?”

Xie Zhuo’s expression was calm: “I know.”

Lin Songyu stood there, unsure what to say next.

Xie Zhuo: “Professor Zhou and the police told me.”

Lin Songyu suddenly came to his senses, realizing he had been fooled by Li Xiuyu. Yes, how could Xie Zhuo not know? Zhou Yong was resourceful and familiar with Yanshi Group. The perpetrator’s motive for murder might have been hidden from the public, but how could Xie Zhuo, the second victim, be completely unaware? The police weren’t just for show…

Lin Songyu: “Then you—”

Xie Zhuo: “You have no fault.”

Lin Songyu’s mood brightened. He hadn’t even excused himself or said “I was also in a coma for two months,” yet Xie Zhuo had given him the answer.

Only then did the surrounding light bring color into his eyes. Lin Songyu became interested in this small house, looking it up and down, seeing white walls, red bricks, green trees, blue… Xie Zhuo’s underwear in his hand.

Xie Zhuo was putting away underwear on the balcony.

He pulled open the sliding door and asked without thought, causing Xie Zhuo to have to hold underwear while answering his questions.

Lin Songyu should have retreated, but having experienced the same unfortunate car accident, he found it hard not to pay attention to Xie Zhuo’s leg injury.

The man in front of him had long, straight legs and was always meticulous. Lin Songyu seemed to have never seen Xie Zhuo standing in a lazy or dejected posture.

That car accident seemed to have left no lingering effects.

Lin Songyu pretended to look at the pine tree by his leg, making conversation: “This pine tree looks quite spirited.”

“Spirited?” Xie Zhuo also looked at the pine tree.

Lin Songyu’s gaze finally couldn’t help but fall on the few pairs of underwear in Xie Zhuo’s hand. He didn’t feel at all that he was being nosy: “Are you saving them to wash?” Washing so many at once?

Xie Zhuo: “…”

Lin Songyu offered his expert opinion: “If you don’t want to wash them, just throw them away. Don’t save them; it’s unhygienic.”

Xie Zhuo: “Tang Huhu poured milk into the drawer.”

Lin Songyu: “Ah?”

Xie Zhuo: “He saw someone spraying perfume on clothes and used milk as perfume.”

Tang Huhu, completely unaware of his mischief, interjected when he heard keywords: “Uncle smells nice!”

“Not me, I didn’t spray perfume when I went out!” He only sprayed a little. Xie Zhuo probably couldn’t smell it because of his cold.

Lin Songyu suddenly stood up straight, as if a secret had been exposed, standing inside and outside the balcony door frame with Xie Zhuo. No one noticed their almost identical stances.

Xie Zhuo indeed couldn’t smell the cedar scent wafting from his collar, but he could see the redness on his earlobe: “Mhm.”

It was the first time they stood face-to-face, close up, looking directly at each other. Xie Zhuo suddenly realized that Lin Songyu’s height was exactly the same as Tang Yu’s.

His downward gaze landed precisely on his lips.

Xie Zhuo turned his head away. Perhaps his judgment was off, as he had hardly ever stood upright in front of Tang Yu, so how could he presume to know his height?