FI CH86: There’s a Treat Waiting for You!

The tour-leading teacher was still explaining eloquently: “Although the rating standards back then were different from today’s, his all-S rating at the time still claimed half of the entire Heavenly Master world—”

“Recorded here are some of the classic cases he handled. Students, please look this way…”

The students surged forward, discussing excitedly:

“All-S rating!?”

“That’s so awesome! Since there’s a rating, then big shots at the level of the president and the principal should have met him, right?”

“Hey… Teacher Lin is at the same level, maybe he’s met him too? I really want to go ask.”

“Hahahaha, no way, Teacher Lin is so young!”

……

The surrounding discussions rose and fell like a tide.

Lin Su had no mind to listen for the moment. His gaze slowly focused on the Heavenly Master certificate that was the center of attention: Damn, so the new addition was my stuff…

Xuenima also marveled: [The Bai family still loves to frame things so much.]

And it was always his things they were framing.

Lin Su stared for a moment and let out a sigh.

He then took out his phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to Bai Xinwen on WeChat:

[Su]: Old Bai. [smiling emoji]

[Bai-Xin-Ku]: ?

[Su]: Old Bai. [photo] [smiling emoji] [smiling emoji]

[Bai-Xin-Ku]: !!!

[Su]: I was wondering why I couldn’t find my certificate when I woke up. Turns out it’s on exhibition here. ^u^

The “typing…” indicator from the other side flashed intermittently: “Let me explain…” Halfway through typing, Bai Xinwen suddenly seemed to realize something: “Wait, what do you mean ‘when I woke up’?”

Lin Su automatically skipped that sentence and replied:

“No excuses. Come to my office tomorrow.”

“……”

Xuenima cackled: [The day has come for Old Bai to be invited for tea.]

Lin Su pocketed his phone: He brought it on himself.

After being forced to review half an hour of his own history, the teaching activity finally ended.

Lin Su left the school and went straight home.

When he arrived, He Zhenling hadn’t come yet.

He looked around with regret. “Damn, he’s not even enthusiastic about coming to eat the fruit.” He then took out his phone and sent a message:

I’m already at home, budding and waiting to bloom. [lotus flower emoji]

[Ling]: ……

[Ling]: Heh, you’d better be.

Lin Su gulped, exited the chat, and said as if it were natural, “Do you think I should go take a shower?”

[—Has gone offline—]

“……”

He sighed, put down his phone, and went to the bathroom.

By the time he finished his shower, the bright sun outside had weakened, leaving only a soft glow filtering into the room. He went back to the bedroom to change. Just as he was fastening the row of buttons on his waist, he heard the sound of the front door closing.

Lin Su peeked out from the doorway and saw He Zhenling walk in.

Their eyes met, and He Zhenling stopped.

He was still wearing his Inspection Association uniform, looking like he had come directly from the association. The high collar wrapped up to just below his Adam’s apple. His gaze deepened when it landed on Lin Su.

Lin Su walked out and asked calmly, “What is it?”

He Zhenling looked down at him, a hint of a smile on his face. “Didn’t you invite me to eat fruit?”

“……”

Lin Su’s throat tightened. He turned his head away. “Y-you can come.”

He then led the way to the living room.

After a second’s pause, long strides followed him.

…

In the living room, Lin Su sat down on the sofa.

He Zhenling stood before him and, with a clatter, unfastened his Tang knife and placed it on the coffee table to the side.

The two of them looked at each other, one above and one below.

Lin Su was the first to lower his eyes, propping his arm on the sofa. “You… aren’t you coming over?”

He Zhenling let out a laugh and leaned in. One hand slid around Lin Su’s waist, the other cupped the back of his ear, gently tilting his slightly flushed face up. “How should I come over?”

Lin Su was forced to meet his gaze, his eyes darting away. “Of course, it’s… up to you how you want to pluck…”

The hand holding him tightened, and the gaze from above locked onto him. “You said it.”

Just as he was about to say something, the pad of the thumb caressing his cheek slid down and pressed against the corner of his lips. There was a second of hesitation before a scorching, chaotic breath fell upon him. “…Open your mouth.”

Lin Su’s mind went dizzy for a moment, and he compliantly parted his lips.

The next moment, a clumsy yet plundering kiss captured him. A muffled groan was smothered by lips and tongue, swallowed into a wet, hot suction. One of his hands gripped He Zhenling’s shoulder, and just as his waist went weak, he was hooked by an arm and imprisoned in an embrace, being kissed demandingly.

He Zhenling’s kissing skills were inexperienced, but they were more than enough to be alluring.

He demanded his lips and tongue over and over, truly like he was harvesting fruit. Lin Su couldn’t swallow in time, his vision blurring in the swirling heat. He didn’t know when he had ended up lying on the sofa.

He lifted a knee, pressing it against He Zhenling’s strong waist.

He pulled hard on his clothes, tearing open a uniform button.

Pop… The collar loosened.

As if some restraint had been undone, the hand on his waist slid, and a fingertip pressed lightly, easily unfastening the buttons on his side. A palm pressed directly against his skin—

Lin Su suddenly shivered! He arched his back, pushed with both hands, and the man above him finally stopped.

Their lips parted, and He Zhenling propped himself up.

Only then did Lin Su get his breath back. He clutched the man’s sleeve and looked up.

Their eyes met. He Zhenling’s gaze was thick and dark, his thin lips reddened from the kisses. On this usually cold face, it looked exceptionally captivating.

He looked down at Lin Su for a few seconds and asked softly, “…Continue?”

His fingertips pressed on his waist, his breathing uneven.

Lin Su’s heart beat erratically under his gaze. After meeting his eyes for two seconds, he turned his head to hide the lower half of his face. “I already said, I’m yours for the taking…”

He Zhenling paused for a moment, then abruptly bent down.

The next moment, clothes bunched up, and a coolness spread across his front. Lin Su grabbed the man’s shoulders! He was so shocked he arched back and looked down, his eyes uncontrollably welling up. “He… He Zhenling…”

The name he called out was answered with an even more fervent kiss.

Lin Su muffled his sounds and clutched He Zhenling for a long time.

When the man finally pulled away, he let out a breath and fell back onto the sofa. He Zhenling propped himself up, taking a moment to recover. He looked at his bright, flushed face, and a fingertip touched the corner of his eye.

“……You were… kissed to tears by me?”

“……”

Lin Su turned back and said firmly, “How is that possible?”

They looked at each other for a moment, then he pursed his lips and said, “I said ‘up to you’, and you really didn’t hold back at all.”

He Zhenling suddenly smiled. “Didn’t I say I take everything seriously?”

Lin Su’s heart began to race.

He looked down and patted him. “O… Okay, you came with high spirits and are leaving fulfilled. You should get up now.”

He Zhenling glanced at him and pushed himself up. He knelt on the sofa for two seconds before saying, “I’m borrowing your bathroom. I need a shower.”

Lin Su glanced over: …Ah.

They both got up. As Lin Su sat on the sofa rustling and straightening his clothes, he heard the man ask, “You haven’t had dinner, have you? Do you want to eat out, or…”

Lin Su couldn’t help himself. “Haven’t I eaten my fill of you yet~”

After he spoke, a silence fell.

He looked up to see He Zhenling looking at him with a half-smile, not saying a word.

He became alert and said in a warm voice, “…You can’t get full in one bite. Let’s eat out. You go take your shower.”

After a moment, He Zhenling withdrew his gaze and let him off.

The bathroom door closed with a “thud” on the other side.

Lin Su curled up on the sofa for a while before pulling out Xuenima. His face was flushed, his lips were red and moist, and his clothes were loose. The moment Xuenima appeared, it was so shocked it almost exploded!

It trembled and peeked at him: [Are you… still a piece of white jade?]

Lin Su said shyly: “I have a slight flaw now.”

[!!!]

Xuenima shed fur rapidly: [How much of a flaw?]

“Quite a bit…” Lin Su recalled. “He Zhenling is so intense, he kissed me until I—” He stopped himself and softened his tone. “—kissed me happy.”

[………]

[Just kissing?]

Lin Su disagreed. “What do you mean ‘just’? You have no idea, when he kisses me it’s especially…”

Xuenima pinched his lips with a paw, saying coolly: [From now on, there’s no need to report on matters above the neck. You are dismissed.]

Lin Su: “……”

After dinner that night, He Zhenling stayed over.

There was a guest room in the apartment.

He Zhenling took a pillow from him. Lin Su had initially tried to be cheeky, but a subtle jolt of electricity made him freeze and sit back down on his bed.

He Zhenling turned his head at the doorway, his tone a warning. “Don’t get cheeky.”

Bang! He closed the door behind him.

Lin Su was incredulous. “Damn, in order not to kiss me, he chose to electrocute me.”

Xuenima curled up and yawned: [Either way, it makes you happy.]

“…True enough.”

Lin Su accepted it happily, patted it to turn on the sleep light, and went to sleep under the covers.

…

The next day was Saturday.

When he got up, He Zhenling was already sitting at the dining table. A simple breakfast was laid out. The other man heard the noise and looked over. “You’re awake.”

Lin Su sat down and took a sip of coffee to wake himself up. “Mm.”

He had changed into clothes for going out. He Zhenling glanced at them. “You’re going out today?”

“A trip to the school. I have a meeting with Old Bai.”

He Zhenling said coldly, “His family has so many issues.”

“……” Lin Su put down his cup. “Don’t be like that. Do you want to come along?”

He Zhenling thought for a second, then said casually, “I don’t have anything else to do anyway, so I’ll go.”

Lin Su knowingly retracted his gaze: Sigh.

The two left after breakfast.

It was a Saturday, so there were no classes at the school, but quite a few students were still strolling around campus.

Lin Su arrived at his office and pushed the door open.

Inside, two figures were already seated. Both Bai Xinwen and Bai Jiang were there. Bai Xinwen raised a hand guiltily. “Hi.” Bai Jiang was his usual sunny self. “Brother Teacher, I’m here~”

Then he glanced sideways and saw He Zhenling following behind: …Ah.

Lin Su walked in. “You guys are early?”

Bai Xinwen said gloomily, “It’s already ten. You’re the one who woke up too late.”

As soon as he said that, a faint voice spoke up from the side. “Mm, my apologies.” He Zhenling said, as if unintentionally, “I stayed over here last night, and then I made breakfast this morning.”

Now that he had an official title, he made a point of looking at Bai Jiang after he spoke.

Bai Jiang: ?

…▼皿▼ Huh? We were having a normal conversation, why did he suddenly start showing off? How weird.

Bai Xinwen was completely oblivious. “Oh, oh, it’s fine, it’s fine. It’s the weekend anyway…”

Lin Su took in the entire scene in the room, sighed softly, and moved past the topic, sitting down.

“The matter of the Heavenly Master certificate. Explain.”

Bai Xinwen immediately sat up straight. “Ahem… it was like this. When the incident happened back then, there was chaos both inside and outside the association. Your Heavenly Master certificate was left at the association and was taken out during the chaos by people from our four great families. We originally wanted to return it to you, but then you disappeared, didn’t you—”

“So, it was temporarily kept by our Bai family.”

“Later, you never reappeared…” Bai Xinwen rubbed the tip of his nose. “I figured, leaving it there was just leaving it there, so why not put it on display to inspire the future generations.”

Lin Su listened with great interest. “And then?”

Bai Xinwen said, “And then, you see, when you reappeared, you had a new identity. So we thought, of course we had to cooperate with you and keep your old identity under wraps! So we just left it in the museum and didn’t take it out.”

Lin Su praised him, “How thoughtful of you.”

Bai Xinwen: “Haha… ^o^”

Bai Jiang, sitting to the side with a grin, said bluntly, “Teacher, don’t listen to my dad’s nonsense. The truth is we just forgot about it, hahaha~ ^▽^”

Bai Xinwen slapped him. “Shush!”

Thwack! Bai Jiang: Ouch. >▽0

Lin Su, “……”

Bai Xinwen turned back, trying to save face. “So… do you still need it? It hasn’t been demagnetized, so it should still be able to be authenticated.”

Lin Su shook his head. “Not for now.”

The one he had now was good enough.

Bai Xinwen showed the faint smile of someone who had just saved a hundred million.

…

With the explanation over, the topic was closed.

Since none of them had anything to do, they stayed in Lin Su’s office for morning tea. Bai Jiang, being the youngest, conscientiously boiled water and made tea on the side.

Lin Su’s eyes were filled with gratification: Damn, the atmosphere of our family of four is getting more and more familiar.

[It’s a family of five, you forgot Dad.]

“My oversight.”

Just as they were talking, Bai Jiang said amiably, “Would President He like some? I remember President He said he doesn’t drink strong tea in the morning.” ^▽^

He Zhenling sat next to Lin Su, his long legs crossed. “My tastes are the same as his.”

“……” Bai Jiang.

“……” Lin Su.

Silence fell for two seconds.

Bai Xinwen suddenly looked left and right, then clapped his son on the back. “Oh! You’re quite concerned about President He, not bad.”

The three of them paused and turned their heads in unison to look at him.

Lin Su said softly, “Just drink your tea, Old Bai.”

Bai Xinwen, once again oblivious, lowered his head: Slurp, slurp.

He hadn’t taken two sips before there was a knock on the office door. A voice came from outside. “Principal Bai, are you in there?”

Bai Xinwen answered, “Yes, come in.”

The door opened, and a teacher stood outside.

She was first startled to see the room full of people, then got to the point. “The Yi family is here. The appointment was for ten-thirty. Are you… not done yet?”

Bai Xinwen slapped his forehead. “Ah, I almost forgot!”

He told the teacher to go on ahead, then stood up.

Lin Su looked over. “The Yi family is here?”

The Yi family, the last of the four great feng shui families.

Unlike the other three great families who were active in the public eye, the Yi family had always been immersed in academic research and the exploration of the “pinnacle of metaphysics,” having a somewhat detached air about them.

But relying on their academic status, they occupied an unshakable position among the four great families.

Lin Su reminisced, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them.”

He used to love traveling. With the other three families, it was all about enjoyment, but only at the Yi family’s place would he be dragged into intense academic research and then be “forcibly” given a large sum of money as payment—

It had once become a huge source of his income.

Bai Xinwen said, “Then do you want to go see them together? As it happens, you haven’t met the Yi family’s child, have you? The famous ‘child prodigy’ of the Heavenly Master world. Her talent is even higher than Xiao Jiang’s was back then.”

Lin Su glanced sideways at Bai Jiang.

Bai Jiang didn’t deny it, chuckling, “She’s actually a cute kid.”

Lin Su nodded and said to He Zhenling, “Let’s go take a look.”

The group walked out while talking.

Lin Su and He Zhenling walked at the back, their footsteps echoing through the clean corridor.

Lin Su asked, “Why do they call her a ‘child prodigy’?”

“Oh…” Bai Xinwen turned his head from the front. “She’s 14 this year and has already received an S-rating.”

Lin Su’s steps faltered slightly, a little surprised.

After the man turned back, he quietly leaned closer to He Zhenling. “Did you know about this?”

He Zhenling lowered his eyes. “I did.”

“Was it ‘without issue’?”

“It was compliant with regulations.”

Lin Su raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing more.

The group exited the administrative building and crossed the atrium.

From a distance, they could see a group of students curiously gathered at the other end. A group had just arrived outside the sports field. The Yi family’s entourage were all dressed in formal attire, with only one figure standing out slightly.

With the arrival of Lin Su’s group, another wave of “wows” erupted by the sports field:

“Wow wow wow, what a scene!”

“That’s the Yi family’s ‘genius girl’… Principal Bai and the two presidents are here, and Teacher Lin too!”

“Can anyone count how many S-ranks are on the scene!”

“Ahhh, what a high-stakes scene…!!”

Lin Su paid no attention to the surrounding noise, his gaze falling on the figure at the front.

They approached in a few steps and stopped.

Standing in the middle of a group of adults was a slender girl with translucent white skin, wearing a sleeveless long dress. Her long, light-colored hair almost enveloped her entire small frame, like a lingering cloud.

Her dense eyelashes were quietly lowered.

Her pupils were like a sky without sun or rain, a clean, smoky blue.

The two groups in front were shaking hands and greeting each other.

As Lin Su’s gaze was fixed on the girl, she seemed to sense it and looked up, her eyes meeting his.

The girl looked at him for two seconds, then her gaze moved to He Zhenling beside him. After a glance back and forth, she suddenly spoke:

“The two of you have—”

He Zhenling said calmly, “Yes, an engagement.”

The girl finished, “divinity.”

Lin Su, “……”

The group in front of him turned around: “……”

Author’s Note:

“Big Bird” He (casually): Yes, we have an engagement. We are together. We have kissed.

……

Support me on Ko-fi