The Complete Guide to the Use and Care of a Personal a.s.sistant
Translator: Jury
Editor: NomNom
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter Fifty-eight
Old Su?
To Ling Miao"s recollection, Su Yuyang was the only person Yan Li called "Old Su."
Su Yuyang is here?
Shock exploded like a clap of thunder in Ling Miao"s mind as his body froze to the spot. Ji Linxi seemed to think that Ling Miao"s reaction wasn"t strong enough because he remarked: "Su Yuyang"s here. Your ex-boss."
He"s an ex-boss, not an ex-husband! Ah, pfeh pfeh pfeh! What ex-husband?! I bought a watch last year!¹
Ling Miao glared fiercely at Ji Linxi as if trying to turn Ji Linxi to mincemeat with his eyes, but Ji Linxi had put up his s.h.i.+elds so Ling Miao"s glare had no effect on him. Taking advantage of Ling Miao"s skill cooldown time, Ji Linxi twisted the knife: "Actually, bosses can become husbands too, right?"
d.a.m.n, Ji Linxi, can you read minds? How do you know what I"m thinking? f.u.c.k it!
Ling Miao"s heart was about to burst, but he couldn"t display this emotion or he"d be tormented by Ji Linxi until he went red in the face even if he hid in a crack in the earth.
Yan Li"s shout had not only aroused the attention of Ling Miao and the others but also attracted many curious gazes. Yan Li strode steadily toward the door as if the curious gazes all around weren"t directed at her. Whether it was because she had no makeup on or because n.o.body in the shop knew of her, n.o.body called out Yan Li"s name.
Yang Lin heard Yan Li"s voice and silently grimaced. As she stepped out of the car she threw a gaze backwards, and she inwardly broke into a cold sweat as she saw the shadow in the corner.
The person mightn"t have heard Yan Li"s words, but Yan Li"s expressions didn"t lie. Just as she worried about what to do next, a man jumped out of the car—this was Yan Li"s official a.s.sistant, and if Yang Lin remembered right, his surname was Su!
Su Cheng hurried to Yan Li and said with a smile, "Yan-jie, it"s getting late. We should go."
As Yan Li reached the door, Su Yuyang stood aside to let them pa.s.s. Yan Li walked by as if she hadn"t seen Su Yuyang at all.
As Yan Li left without much fanfare, a weight lifted off the hearts of several people present. Only Ling Miao"s heart seemed to have had an even bigger stone put on it.
Having sent Yan Li off, Su Yuyang raised his head and looked in Ling Miao"s direction. Ling Miao was originally watching the doorway, but now that Su Yuyang glanced over he quickly averted his gaze and turned his face a little to the side so as to not let Su Yuyang see his face.
Ling Miao didn"t try to conceal his actions at all. This reaction left Su Yuyang with a bad taste in his mouth— as if he had drunk a large cup of bittergourd juice, his mouth, stomach, and heart were all full of bitterness,
Ji Linxi seemed to be in a good mood. He was smiling and also gave Su Yuyang a friendly nod and h.e.l.lo. The corner of Su Yuyang"s mouth twitched in response to Ji Linxi"s greeting.
The two had only exchanged glances, but Feng Ji felt that they"d already been in a hundred-round fight. Su Yuyang and Ji Linxi"s relations.h.i.+p seemed to resemble that of two straight lines drawing closer together—they looked like they might cross, but in reality they didn"t. Of course, if someone were to build a bridge between the two lines that would be another matter altogether.
Feng Ji was inwardly shocked but he maintained a calm expression. He walked to Su Yuyang"s side, put his hand on Su Yuyang"s shoulder and hooked his arm around Su Yuyang"s neck. In the manner of a rascal hara.s.sing a girl he asked, "Yuyang, you had time to come over here today?"
"I"m hungry." Su Yuyang glanced toward Ling Miao as he said this, his tone both helpless and frustrated.
Feng Ji warned: "Don"t think you can eat and drink for free because you"re here. Give me an autographed book in exchange." Feng Ji said the last sentence into Su Yuyang"s ear.
Su Yuyang glared at Feng Ji as if asking: "Did you get out of the wrong side of the bed today?"
Feng Ji jumped back as if he"d been shocked and said haltingly: "Don"t glare at me. I can"t cook if my hands are shaking."
With these words, Feng Ji disappeared from Su Yuyang"s sight like a rabbit fleeing a tiger.
Su Yuyang laughed lightly: "This guy."
Feng Ji went to the kitchen to work. Su Yuyang glanced about the room, then walked resolutely toward Ling Miao"s table.
Ling Miao saw the shadow gradually approach and his body reflexively shrank inward.
Su Yuyang"s eyes were fixed on Ling Miao so he took in Ling Miao"s every move. Seeing Ling Miao"s childish actions, Su Yuyang didn"t know what kind of expression to face him with, or what tone he should take to say what he was about to say.
There were a lot of things Su Yuyang didn"t know, so he chose to remain silent instead.
His footsteps stopped about 1 meter (3.25 feet) from Ling Miao and he stood there like a pillar. Ling Miao had watched Su Yuyang the whole time, so he noticed when Su Yuyang stopped, and he stopped his own movement too.
Ji Linxi saw Ling Miao"s tantrum-like actions and could not help saying: "You two are a farce. One doggedly pursues, one dodges and avoids. I"m saying it now—Su Yuyang, if you like Ling Miao, then you"d better knock him out, take him away, and do what can"t be undone. If you"re just toying with him, then quickly get out of his sight. That"s better for you, for him, and for me."
Su Yuyang"s neck rotated stiffly as he turned to face Ji Linxi. Ji Linxi was smiling, but his tone remained chilly, and within the cold there was also a hint of teasing. It made Su Yuyang really want to hit him, so much so that Su Yuyang had already tightened his hand into a fist.
But it was undeniable: Su Yuyang was in absolute agreement with some of the things Ji Linxi had said.
Su Yuyang seemed to be ill. His voice was weak, as if he"d drop dead at any point. He said: "Ji Linxi, I don"t understand a lot of things, but I just don"t want Ling Miao to leave. I want to keep being his boss." Having responded to Ji Linxi, Su Yuyang returned his gaze to Ling Miao and asked: "Xiao Miao, after Yan Li leaves, are you willing to keep being my a.s.sistant? I swear, I really, really will not provoke you on purpose any more!"
Su Yuyang"s expression was grave, his tone certain and sincere. Before, Ling Miao would already have had been moved.
But, heh heh.
Ling Miao put one hand on the table as he walked around it. He raised one eyebrow and looked at Su Yuyang, his proud expression decorated with a mocking smile: "Su Yuyang, do you think I"m stupid? I fell for the trick once, do you think I"ll fall twice?"
"Who"s the trick?" A cursed voice came from behind Su Yuyang as Feng Ji appeared holding food.
Su Yuyang and Ling Miao"s conversation had weighed down the atmosphere in the whole café, but the moment Feng Ji"s words came out the weight not only intensified, it now also contained something Ling Miao didn"t dare examine.
Ling Miao didn"t show it and instead used a cold smile to cover his speechlessness. Ji Linxi stopped mid-drink, then pretended he didn"t hear anything and continued drinking his water.
Su Yuyang just ignored Feng Ji"s presence. Seeing Ling Miao"s stubbornness made him think the situation was unsalvageable. He didn"t continue begging Ling Miao to stay. He stepped forward so that he was in front of Ling Miao and looked down on Ling Miao from above.
Ling Miao raised his head to meet Su Yuyang"s glistening silver eyes. He saw the sorrow Su Yuyang hid beneath his smile, and the source of Su Yuyang"s sorrow happened to be him.
Ling Miao forced himself to turn around so he wasn"t looking at Su Yuyang, but Su Yuyang chose that moment to speak: "When Yan Yan leaves, you will, too?"
"Of course I"ll leave," Ling Miao said, leaving no room for discussion.
"And what if you haven"t found a job by that time?" Su Yuyang asked. His tone and expression both revealed his anxiety.
Ling Miao thought about it and said, "You"re cursing me?"
"I"m mentioning a possibility," Su Yuyang explained. "You can"t rule it out."
"Then I"ll keep looking!" Ling Miao said self-righteously, then added: "If you keep saying stuff like "you can"t find one," I"ll punch you—I"ll punch you in the face!"
"But you can"t rule out the possibility," Su Yuyang said with a faint smile. "Also, it"s fine if you hit my face. I don"t rely on my face to eat."
f.u.c.k, forgot this guy"s skin is so thick it could be used to mend the Great Wall, Ling Miao silently complained.
Su Yuyang"s words left Ling Miao speechless. He sighed and pleaded: "Su Yuyang, can you please stop pestering me like a haunting ghost? I really, really have no interest in being your a.s.sistant. If you want to find another a.s.sistant, I"m sure your fans will be very happy to sign up."
"But… I don"t want anyone other than you."
"I…" Ling Miao had no reply and could only say viciously: "I said I"m not going back and I"m not going back!"
"Not even today?"
"Yan-jie"s not there."
Su Yuyang didn"t say anything more. He took the food from Feng Ji and walked to a different table, sitting back to back with Ling Miao.
Ji Linxi saw Su Yuyang"s dejected silhouette. He thought he understood, but many things couldn"t be understood just on a feeling. Yet, many other things were understandable only on a feeling.
Feng Ji shook his head with pity. Ji Linxi happened to see Feng Ji"s face, and the two exchanged a look before Feng Ji walked upstairs. Ji Linxi found an excuse to leave his seat. If Ling Miao were to turn his head, he would discover that Ji Linxi had followed Feng Ji upstairs.
"What did you want to say about Ling Miao and Su Yuyang?" Feng Ji got straight to the point.
Ji Linxi said in a low voice: "Su Yuyang doesn"t understand the situation because he"s looking at it from the inside."
"What are you going to do?"
"It"s none of my business. Why would I interfere?"Ji Linxi turned the question back on him.
Feng Ji understood why Ji Linxi would do this, but he was also confused. "Ling Miao"s your close friend. Aren"t you going to help him in secret?"
"Both of us can tell that Su Yuyang"s interested in Ling Miao, but can you tell Ling Miao"s feelings toward Su Yuyang? It"s not nearly as strong as Su Yuyang"s reaction—it isn"t even flirtatious. In sum, I"m not going to get my friend in trouble for someone I have nothing to do with."
"Get him in trouble?" Feng Ji"s sensitivity made him wary.
Ji Linxi slapped Feng Ji"s shoulder and explained: "Don"t think about s.e.xual orientation. I just don"t want Ling Miao to be led astray only to realize he isn"t romantically interested in Su Yuyang. You and Yan Li are trying to bring them together, but do you know what Ling Miao thinks? We all know he"s running away from Su Yuyang. Even if he had even a little interest in Su Yuyang, after being chased around by Su Yuyang like this, any goodwill he might have had has long since been squashed."
Ji Linxi"s words were like a bat to Feng Ji"s head and cleared his thoughts. He and Yan Li were on Su Yuyang"s side so they wanted the best for Su Yuyang, but Ji Linxi was standing on the other side of the problem and was looking at it from the other direction, so he clearly saw many things they hadn"t thought about.
Feng Ji took a deep breath and asked, "Ji Linxi, can I ask you a favor?"
Translation notes:
[1] bought a watch: @#$%&*@#%$^