FI CH38: Hidden Surprises

The dining table fell silent for a few seconds.

Facing the sparkling eyes opposite them.

Lin Su and He Zhenling couldn’t communicate verbally, so they could only subtly convey through their peripheral vision:
Now, what do we say?
Heh… don’t ask me.

Xuenima popped its head up from the plate: [If you two refuse to post it the moment you see the “喜” character, will rumors of a marital crisis start?]

“…”

Lin Su gathered his thoughts for a moment, about to pretend nothing had happened and casually take the lanterns back, glossing over it. But Sheng Lingyu let out an “ah” and, with great tact, cleared the clutter from the table.
“I’ll do it!”

He cleared a space in two moves and even turned the lanterns at an angle, so the “喜” characters directly faced He Zhenling and Lin Su.
After arranging them, he looked up. “Like this?”

Lin Su, “…”
Incredible, he’s so sharp now.

The person in front was still looking at them with expectant, shining eyes.

Lin Su paused, then spoke in a soft voice, “It’s acceptable, but with a slight flaw.” He said, reaching out to turn the two lanterns inward. “These two ‘喜’ characters are too far apart…”
He pressed his lips together and lowered his eyes. “Our distance… is much closer.”

The two “喜” characters were immediately pressed face to face, with only the paper corners showing.

He Zhenling, “………”

Sheng Lingyu: 0.0!
He covered his slightly flushed face. “I was inconsiderate.”

Lin Su had already taken out his phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to He Zhenling with a swipe of his fingertip. “It’s nothing.”

The phone beside him vibrated. He Zhenling: .

Lin Su turned his head, tenderly, “The rest… I’ll leave it to you.”

He Zhenling lowered his eyes and met his gaze for two seconds, seeming to let out a very light chuckle. “…Distance.” Then he picked up his phone, logged into the official account, and began to edit.

Xuenima savored the moment: [This scene of single-handedly holding up the situation is so familiar…]

Lin Su sipped his tea. “It’s probably from a skit.”

Soon, a Weibo post was sent out with a swoosh from his side.
@Lingsheng Group V: Handmade lanterns, thank you. @Singing Jade V [Image]

Lin Su peeked out hopefully. “…They’re probably all praising the lanterns, right?”

He Zhenling lowered the phone slightly, his fingertip hovering over a comment for a second before tapping on it.

A sea of comments had already flooded the section below:
—Such beautiful lanterns! Absolutely gorgeous!
—Xiao Sheng gave the little boss another gift [cute]
—It’s the bamboo-strip lantern that appeared in the behind-the-scenes. He gave a pair. Eh…? A pair?

Not half a minute later, a netizen with eagle eyes spotted it:
—Wait, a pair of lanterns! What’s pasted on them? Two red paper corners [peeking through the door]
—We have those in my hometown. A pair of lanterns with red paper, usually with the character “喜” (happiness/wedding) on them.
—Speaking of which, don’t you feel the tone of this post is different from the previous ones?
—…Could it be? [elements detected]
—My, my wifey is newly married? [sunflower seeds drop]
—……Hap-happy wedding!?

The two people in front of the phone: “…”

Lin Su moistened his lips, swiped a finger to exit the comment section: It’s fine, as long as we don’t respond…

The next second, the homepage refreshed:
@Singing Jade V: Glad you guys like them~ [peeking] [scatters flowers] //@Lingsheng Group V: Handmade lanterns…

At the same time, a well-behaved voice came from across the table, “Little senior, Mr. He, I’ve reposted it.”

The newly reposted comment section instantly flooded:
—”You guys”!
—”You guys”——!!
—Melon-eating Sheng Sheng has certified it! [springs up]
—Holy crap! Happy wedding!!
—Happy wedding!!
—Happy wedding, may you have a hundred years of happiness [heart]
—[heart][heart] [heart]
…

A message popped up at the top of the screen. The assistant carefully emerged: “…Boss, happy wedding?”

The two people in front of the phone: “………”

Sheng Lingyu put his phone away after reposting and went with his manager to pay the bill.

In the private room, the two sat in silence for a moment.

Lin Su reached out and gently pressed the screen off, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. “Natural-born lethality is indeed strong.”

He Zhenling put his phone away, his voice soft and slow. “You, who are clearly impure, are not much better.”

“…”

Lin Su looked back. “My point of impurity is?”

The person in front stood up and scooped them up with a long arm.
He Zhenling lifted the two happily-facing lanterns together and turned to look at him. “How come I didn’t know we were at this kind of ‘distance’?”

Lin Su, “…”
He reached out and took one of the lanterns, slightly embarrassed. “Then now, let’s both restrain ourselves.”

Xuenima was used to it: [Heh, heh heh. Restraint.]

…

After dinner, the two parties went their separate ways.

Lin Su still took He Zhenling’s car back.

Kong Fu had sent that “master” off somewhere and was now back in the driver’s seat.

The two sat in the back seat. One lantern was placed beside him.

Lin Su turned his head: ?

He Zhenling propped his cheek on one hand, his handsome profile looking straight ahead. “You take both of them back.”

“It’s Xiao Sheng’s kind gesture. Aren’t you taking it?”

“I have no place to hang it at my place.”
He Zhenling paused for a second, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Besides, have you ever seen a single ‘great happiness’ lantern?”

Lin Su had an epiphany and took both lanterns. “True.”
He said in his mind: Nima, he’s quite particular.

Xuenima lay down and yawned, numbly: [He probably doesn’t want to have a marital crisis with you.]

Lin Su, “…”

Back home.

Lin Su hung the lanterns by the window next to the living room.

The golden bamboo-woven lanterns cast intersecting patterns of light and shadow on the floor. Ignoring the large red “喜” characters, they looked quite elegant.

He admired them for a few moments, then left, satisfied.

Having resolved Sheng Lingyu’s matter, he could laze around for a while longer.

He didn’t bother with Bai Xuanrui’s side anymore.
Fate had been set back on its right track. Everything that didn’t belong to him would eventually be returned.

Lin Su lazed around like this for a few days.

He heard the next piece of news in the WeChat group.
It was a weekend afternoon. His phone vibrated wildly. He clicked on it and saw Ye Yuzhu arriving with a melon.

[Zhu]: Vocal! Bai-works-for-nothing is now completely working for nothing!
[Zhu]: [Link—Suspected labor dispute, popular celebrity has sulfuric acid thrown on him in the street!]

The group instantly erupted with: Holy crap!!!

Lin Su followed the scent of the melon and clicked in. It was a social news article, which reported:
『A certain celebrity surnamed Bai was suddenly attacked with sulfuric acid by an unknown person while leaving his company. He suffered severe burns, resulting in facial disfigurement. It is understood that the person is an employee of the same company and claimed to have taken the fall for Bai’s plagiarism lawsuit, resulting in severe debt.
The person has been controlled by the police and is suspected to be mentally unstable. Interrogation will be scheduled for a later date.』

The comments below were almost instantly decoded:
—Holy crap! It’s BXR, right!?
—He made someone else take the blame for plagiarism. No wonder he was retaliated against. What goes around comes around.
—What goes around comes around, new definition: refers to a vicious person being retaliated against by another vicious person.
—BXR has no talent and no character. Now he doesn’t even have his face. What else can his fans like about him? A broken version of him? [thinking]
—This is the consequence of a plagiarist framing the original creator. He deserves it. [heh heh]
…

Lin Su praised: Netizens are still as eloquent as ever.

Exiting the link, he saw the group chat had also exploded.

[Ke Xinxin]: As far as I know, Bai Xuanrui also signed a valuation adjustment mechanism agreement. Now he’s not only infamous but also disfigured. His future is pretty much ruined. [Sigh]

[Chen Keqing]: What about his manager?

[Ke Xinxin]: Who in the industry would dare to hire such a manager? He can fend for himself.

Ye Yuzhu then tagged Sheng Lingyu in the group: By the way, how is your lawsuit going? @Singing

[Singing]: It’s in progress, I can win. [fist]

[Zhu]: [Go for it!]

Perhaps because it was in a group chat, Sheng Lingyu didn’t go into too much detail. He just said that after withdrawing from the “I Sing My Heart” program, he had accepted a spot on a high-quality singer-songwriter music variety show.

Lin Su took a look and had just exited.
A private message suddenly popped up.

[Singing]: Little senior, I passed the audition for Director Cen’s movie! I’ll be playing the main character, and they also bought the theme song. I’m expected to join the cast in two or three months. Thank you for your encouragement!

Xuenima happily popped out: [Xiao Sheng is really reaping what he sowed.]

A hand pinched it. “Speak properly.”
Then Lin Su’s gaze softened, and he replied:
“No need to thank me. You are also reaping what you sow.”

[Singing]: [little doggo flowering]

…

Fortunately, joining the cast in three months was just enough time for him to finish recording the two variety shows he was on.

Sheng Lingyu’s music variety show aired half a month later.

The WeChat group once again rallied to cheer him on.
“Go, Xiao Sheng, go!”
“If Xiao Sheng doesn’t get popular, heaven and earth will not tolerate it! [gritting teeth]”

Lin Su also turned on the TV to watch from the front row.

The camera cut to Sheng Lingyu’s entrance, showing his back.
The shot panned up from below. His originally youthful figure had now transformed, becoming tall and straight. Sheng Lingyu walked through the corridor towards the stage, the dazzling lights from the front enveloping him.

Lin Su watched for a while, then took out his phone and sent a message:
“Wishing you a bright and starry path.”

Time flew by, and the holiday was about to end.
Lin Su was now a prospective third-year high school student.
According to the requirements, he needed to attend school ten days in advance.

Behind the desk in the living room, two more figures of middle-aged men were diligently writing.
They were busy like this for five days.

After sending the butler away, Xuenima finally turned back into a ball of light and duang flopped back onto the table:
[You’re going back to school so soon?]

“I’m idle anyway, might as well go back to school and find some fun.”

[…What fun can there be at a school with only third-year remedial students?]

Lin Su shook his head. “Sometimes, life is always full of hidden surprises. Like the congee we bought downstairs yesterday. You thought it was purple sweet potato and oatmeal, but you didn’t expect to find preserved egg and lean pork at the end.”

Xuenima: [.]
He concluded, “Don’t underestimate the seemingly calm surface.”

Xuenima commented: [The main thing is that after drinking it, my heart is not calm.]

“…”

The butler had been severely overdrawn these few days and couldn’t cook.
Thinking of the occasional surprises from takeout, it agreed: [Let’s go back to school then. The school cafeteria is not bad.]

Lin Su rubbed it with a straight face. “Right?”

…

Back to school after a long time.
After a holiday apart, the classroom was bustling with excitement.
Lin Su walked back to his seat, greeting people along the way.

Just as he sat down, the class president, Chen You, glided over like a small bird. “Lin Su—”
Probably ravaged by the remedial classes, he had even lost some of the baby fat on his face.

Lin Su looked up. “Class president, you look like a wilting flower.”

“I think so too.”
Chen You lovingly stroked his face, then asked, “How was your holiday? By the way, didn’t you go to some ancient village to play before? Sigh… I’m so envious of you. I was dragged to remedial classes.”

Lin Su’s hand, which was taking out his homework, paused.
That’s right, he had sent the class president pictures of his trip to the ancient village.
His online identity had already been revealed. If the class president found out that his itinerary completely overlapped with the “masked boss” he was so fond of…

Chen You: “Hmm? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Lin Su paused, then said casually, “I was thinking, haven’t you been following the supernatural show?”

The person in front immediately looked miserable. “Don’t even mention it! At school, I could still play on my phone. At home, I’m being watched even more closely. Besides replying to you guys, I’ve practically been cut off from the internet!”

“…”

Lin Su was relieved. “Less internet, more studying.”

“Wuwuwu, even you are saying that.”

Xuenima glanced at him: [Heh heh heh, you’re the one who can’t say that.]

A book smacked it with a “squeak.”

Lin Su’s seat was by the window, with a view of the entire sports field. As he was talking to someone, a figure flashed by downstairs in his peripheral vision.

He turned his head. A group of people had just entered the school building. He only saw that the last person seemed to be the dean.

Xuenima popped its head out: [What are you looking at?]

“A string of school leaders came. Is there a board meeting today?”

[Translation: Is Xiao He here today?]

Lin Su retracted his gaze. “You’re being sensitive.” He added righteously, “We are currently restraining ourselves from each other.”

Xuenima flipped over: [Heh, maybe.]

…

It was noon now, which was reporting time.
Classes hadn’t officially started yet.
In the classroom, some were collecting homework, some were moving books, and they were also cleaning the classroom, a noisy scene.

Lin Su sat back down, preparing to take a short nap amidst the noise.

Suddenly, a voice came from the doorway: “Big news!!!”

He looked over along with the rest of the class.
A classmate rushed back in, full of excitement, and said, “A rich boss in his forties is in the principal’s office, flashing a gold card, insisting on donating 8 buildings to our school!!”

After he finished.
The whole class fell silent: “……………”

Lin Su’s sleepiness vanished. He was quiet for a long moment, then said, “Nima… where did this new-age Jingwei come from?”
He turned his head to look at the school’s only open space.
“Is he trying to fill up the sports field?”

It just so happened that he had nothing to do. Lin Su was intrigued and stood up:
The fun is here. Let’s go take a look.

__

Author’s Note:
Xuenima: It’s here! The preserved egg and lean pork in the purple sweet potato and oatmeal congee!
Lin Su (following the scent of the melon): Fun, fun, new fun…
He Zhenling: Guess if I’m here or not?

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