MCL CH37

Chapter 37: How Come It Feels Like the Great Director Yan Is…

Lin Xi walked inside with his arm linked with Yan Xingzhou’s, a gentle smile making his eyes curve. “How should I put it? It still feels the same as before.”

Yan Xingzhou: “What feeling?”

“It’s just…” Lin Xi gestured around the room. “When I’m with you, I’m always the center of so much attention.”

Yan Xingzhou thought for a moment. “It’s different.”

Lin Xi cast him an inquisitive look. “Hm?”

Yan Xingzhou lowered his gaze, their eyes meeting. “Before, it was when I was with you that I was the center of attention. I was basking in your glow.”

Lin Xi blinked slowly. “If you insist on putting it that way, you’re not wrong.”

He smiled silently. “Then, I suppose we’re even.”

The attire the two wore to the banquet was all meticulously prepared by Ju Ze. The styles seemed different, but because of the completely identical fabric and exquisite craftsmanship, they looked indescribably well-matched in the same frame.

As they walked into the banquet hall, their unconcerned conversation made them seem all the more familiar with each other. But the act of a president of the Wanyuan Group attending a high-end banquet with a beautiful companion was enough to give people a sense of being bombarded by a dizzying onslaught of information.

The two, walking side by side, passed by without looking at anyone. Many guests at the scene, without even noticing it themselves, had their mouths agape in an “O” shape from excessive shock.

By the time people gradually came back to their senses and exchanged glances that were still full of shock, they all immediately lowered their voices and began to whisper among themselves.

When Lin Xi took a glass of champagne from a waiter, he didn’t forget to hand one to Yan Xingzhou as well.

He took a light sip, his peripheral vision glancing at a nearby corner. He asked with great interest, “Guess when Gu Beiqiu will come looking for you?”

The moment he had entered, he had already spotted the people from the United Administration.

Almost everyone who had attended the funeral before had come to today’s banquet. Given their manner of entrance, these people were clearly very curious about his identity. Otherwise, even Su Muyin wouldn’t have been surrounded by so many people, which just went to show the strength of the human heart for gossip. Otherwise, on a normal day, even if they worked together at the United Administration, very few people would want to have any contact with a gloomy and perverse man like Su Muyin outside of official business.

He might have been teasing Yan Xingzhou, but in his heart, Lin Xi was also very clear that even without Yan Xingzhou’s excessive attention on him, Gu Beiqiu would have learned about the recent events from Su Muyin after arriving in N-City. It was only a matter of time before he noticed his identity. The only thing to blame was the unfortunate timing of buying the identity information when it was out of stock, leaving his file with such an excessively awkward “age.” However, this problem that should have been an immense headache was no longer a problem at all after gaining such a large and incredibly useful shield like Yan Xingzhou.

In fact, Lin Xi was even feeling a little eager for what was to come.

Compared to Lin Xi’s desire to see the world in chaos, Yan Xingzhou was clearly not very concerned about Gu Beiqiu’s actions. “Anytime is fine. No matter when he comes, you just need to stay by my side.”

Lin Xi returned a smile. “Don’t worry, Director Yan. I’m well aware of the role I’m playing.”

Ever since the two had appeared, even though the scene had returned to a seemingly lively atmosphere, hidden gazes continued to follow them.

Then they watched as Yan Xingzhou, wine glass in hand, sat down on a sofa in the corner. The red-haired man who had attended with him sat down very naturally beside him, and even took Yan Xingzhou’s hand and placed it naturally on his own waist.

The guests: “…………”

Feeling the soft touch on his hand, Yan Xingzhou also glanced down at Lin Xi. His fingertips tightened slightly, but he did not withdraw his hand.

After a pause, with a casual exertion of force, he pulled the person directly into his arms.

Just then, he saw a waiter bring over a fruit platter. He swept his gaze over the fruits on it and asked, “What do you want to eat?”

“Grapes,” Lin Xi said. Seeing Yan Xingzhou reach for them, a flash of a smile crossed his eyes. “You’ll feed me?”

The waiter, noticing Yan Xingzhou’s movement, was thoughtfully handing it over. Caught off guard by this question, the hand holding the bottom of the platter trembled slightly, almost dropping the entire thing on the floor. “…”

Feed? Who’s feeding who? Director Yan—???

Before he could even digest the shock, the next second, he heard Yan Xingzhou let out a low “mm.”

A hand with long, slender fingers appeared in the waiter’s field of vision. Not daring to look up, he only glanced secretly out of the corner of his eye and saw Yan Xingzhou really pick a plump, juicy grape and bring it to Lin Xi’s mouth.

And in the process, he didn’t even forget to first take a tissue and wipe it meticulously clean.

The waiter was dumbfounded. “…”

Is this, is this… is this still the legendary Director Yan?!

“Is there anything else?”

It wasn’t until the cold, flat tone sounded that the waiter suddenly came back to his senses. He looked up and met Yan Xingzhou’s gaze.

In stark contrast to the tenderness just a moment ago, a single glance was enough to send a chill through his entire body and bring him back to reality in an instant. He hurriedly took back the fruit platter, apologized repeatedly, and then turned and ran.

Lin Xi leaned against Yan Xingzhou’s chest, not forgetting to adjust to a relatively more comfortable position. Seeing the scene, he let out a light laugh. “You scared him away.”

Yan Xingzhou looked at him. “Still want to eat grapes?”

“Mm,” Lin Xi replied, then chuckled softly. “But it doesn’t have to be grapes.”

He looked straight at Yan Xingzhou and blinked. “It’s a rare opportunity. I should take more advantage of it, so it’s not a loss to have Director Yan feed me a few more times.”

Yan Xingzhou was silent for a moment. “…You don’t need to find an opportunity. I’m available anytime.”

Lin Xi, perhaps not hearing clearly for a moment, asked, “What did you say?”

“I said,” Yan Xingzhou repeated with great patience, “whenever you want me to feed you, however you want it, you just have to say the word.”

Under their prolonged gaze, the smile in Lin Xi’s heterochromatic eyes deepened. “So good? Is there anything even better?”

Yan Xingzhou raised an eyebrow. “For example?”

“For example…” Lin Xi looked straight at Yan Xingzhou’s face, his eyes curving as he thought for a moment. In such a close posture, his breath almost grazed past the sensitive skin of his ear. “That’s something I’ll have to go back and, think about carefully.”

Not far away, the banquet was a scene of dazzling extravagance. From afar, the two figures here were pressed almost intimately together. From the way their heads were close together, one could feel the extremely ambiguous atmosphere in the corner even from over ten meters away.

The guests who had initially been in a gossip-watching mood: “…”

At the N-City action team’s dinner party, everyone stiffly withdrew their gazes, tremblingly brought a few bites of food to their mouths, and with lingering fear, looked at their own team captain with what could only be described as admiration. “It really has to be you, Captain Qi! You saw from the very beginning that Director Yan’s attitude towards this Mr. Lin was special, and established a friendly relationship early on. In the future, when our team continues to carry out missions in N-City, it should be much more convenient!”

Qi Xian had also just come back to his senses. Hearing this, he subconsciously straightened his clothes and maintained the smile on his face. “Of course! You guys weren’t there at the time. If you had seen the scene when Mr. Lin and Director Yan first met, you would know what was going on.”

Recalling it briefly, he also felt a little emotional. “Perhaps, this is fate.”

The people around him all stretched their necks at once. “Captain, elaborate?”

Qi Xian: “Actually, it’s nothing much. Just a hero-saving-the-beauty scenario. You all know about the accident in the quarantine zone. Mr. Lin, as the only survivor at the time, had just escaped death. When he saw Director Yan appear, he was, more or less, a little more proactive.”

The crowd, who had all stretched their necks in unison: “Ooh~~~!”

Lin Xi let out a soft sneeze.

Yan Xingzhou looked over. “Caught a cold?”

“It’s probably just too many people gossiping.” Lin Xi rubbed the tip of his nose, his peripheral vision glancing behind him. His body was still pressed against Yan Xingzhou’s. He had already poured another glass of wine, very much in line with his identity, and brought it to Yan Xingzhou’s lips with a smile. “Let’s not worry about that for now. The main event of today is finally about to begin.”

Speaking of which, he really hadn’t expected that after three years of tempering, Gu Beiqiu would have become so calm.

He had thought that such a high-profile entrance would be enough to make him come looking for them quickly. He didn’t expect him to wait for a full half an hour, schmoozing with other guests for a long time, before this current Executor of the United Administration very “conveniently” made his way to them.

A faint smile was in Lin Xi’s slightly lowered eyes. “Guess how far their investigation into my identity has gone?”

“It doesn’t matter how far it’s gone,” Yan Xingzhou said, taking a small sip of the wine Lin Xi brought to his lips. “As long as I’m here, no one can touch you.”

As Gu Beiqiu approached, what he saw was a scene that could be described as extremely voluptuous.

His usually natural expression stiffened for a moment.

The several Administration chiefs beside him also had somewhat blank expressions. Among them, Su Muye of the Ninth Administration was even more exaggerated, his mouth wide enough to swallow an egg, as if he had just seen a ghost.

These people had, more or less, worked with Yan Xingzhou for a period of time. With his current behavior of indulging in carnal pleasures, it was enough to make one suspect whether the man in front of them had been possessed.

Amidst the subtle, dead silence, it was Lin Xi, leaning against Yan Xingzhou, who slowly turned his head to look over, as if he had only just noticed their presence. He let out a surprised “uh?” and said, “Director Yan, it seems someone is here to see you?”

Yan Xingzhou glanced at the expression on Lin Xi’s face, which showed no trace of acting whatsoever, before finally shifting his gaze to Gu Beiqiu.

Meeting this gaze, Gu Beiqiu’s expression also returned to its usual composure. “I’m very glad you could come tonight.”

“I have your Administration to thank for sending two invitations,” Yan Xingzhou said. With a casual exertion of his relaxed hand, he naturally pulled the man leaning against him a little closer into his arms, his expression unreadable. “If he weren’t interested in today’s banquet, I probably wouldn’t have chosen to attend either.”

The moment his words fell, the air around them froze once again.

This time, before Gu Beiqiu could speak again, it was Su Muye, standing not far behind, who couldn’t hold back first. “Um, Execu… ah, Director Yan, I would like to sincerely ask, who is this?”

Lin Xi: “His lover.”
Yan Xingzhou: “My boyfriend.”

The two of them spoke almost in unison.

Su Muye: “???”

The crowd from the United Administration: “…”

Was it their imagination? These two terms, listening to them—how come it feels more like the great Director Yan is the one chasing after him??!