The Complete Guide to the Use and Care of a Personal a.s.sistant
Translator: Jury
Editor: NomNom
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter Eighty-two
While they were waiting for Ji Linxi, Yan Li"s phone didn"t stop ringing. Su Yuyang couldn"t take it any more and picked up the phone. Yan Li glared at Su Yuyang and complained, "Let it ring. I"ll put it on silent."
"Lin-jie is worried about you. Also, if you and Ji Linxi coordinate your stories, you"ll have to coordinate with your manager and your company too, right? If your stories don"t match, it"ll invite even more gossip."
Yan Li took several deep breaths then answered the phone.
"Lin-jie." Yan Li controlled her frustration, but her tone was still cold.
Yang Lin exhaled loudly. She didn"t blame Yan Li for leaving on her own, or for getting herself onto headlines. She just asked consolingly, "The reporters haven"t found you yet?"
Hearing Yang Lin"s words, Yan Li momentarily was"t sure what to say. When Yang Lin didn"t get a reply from Yan Li, she continued, "I guess they haven"t. If they do, just tell them the woman in the photo isn"t you, just someone who looks a lot like you."
"He"s my boyfriend!" Yan Li said resolutely. "If reporters ask, that"s what I"ll say."
"Yan Li!" Yang Lin"s patience had run out and she said, "You"ve been in the public eye for many years and never had a hint of gossip."
"So, this time, it won"t be gossip! And the woman in the photo… anyone who knows me can tell that it"s me! Instead of insisting it"s someone else, I might as well admit it, and admit that the man is my boyfriend! Also, I"ve seen the reporter"s blog posts. Aside from photos, they even have a video. That"s clear evidence that the woman is me. How do you want me to explain?"
"You"re digging your own grave!" Yang Lin seemed to have given up trying to persuade Yan Li. She grit out through her teeth, "Come back at once!"
"I"m waiting for him," Yan Li whispered. Yang Lin didn"t know where Yan Li was, so she couldn"t do anything but fret and wait for Yan Li to come back of her own accord.
Yan Li was silent for a while before saying, "I"ll go back with him."
"Discuss it with him." Yang Lin had no recourse and could only helplessly agree with what Yan Li had planned. "Once you announce that he"s your boyfriend, you need to have the same story about how you met and how you started your relations.h.i.+p. In your life together in future, you can"t let the reporters get any leverage on you. Can you do that?"
"I will."
As Yan Li ended the call with Yang Lin, Ji Linxi arrived.
Ji Linxi"s hair was in disarray, black circles under his eyes. His clothes were disheveled, too. Looking at his pitiful state, Yan Li said apologetically, "Sorry. I brought you a lot of trouble."
Ji Linxi glanced at Yan Li and didn"t reply. Ling Miao quickly headed over to defuse the situation: "Linxi, drink some water."
Ji Linxi drank the water. His gaze swept over Yan Li, who plucked up the courage to meet his emotionless eyes. She asked in surprise, "Linxi, you don"t blame me?"
"I"m at fault, too," Ji Linxi said, as if blaming himself. "If I hadn"t said that, you wouldn"t have done it. In the end, if I"d cleared the air with you earlier, things wouldn"t have gotten to this state."
Ling Miao was thoroughly confused by Ji Linxi"s words. He tugged at Su Yuyang"s hand and asked in confusion, "What charades are they playing?"
"How would I know?" Su Yuyang said dismissively. "As long as they know, it"s fine. I forbid you from b.u.t.ting in blindly," Su Yuyang warned Ling Miao. Ling Miao huffed: "What "b.u.t.t in blindly?" Su Yuyang, you really don"t care about Yan-jie?"
"It"s not that I don"t care, but we need to settle our own matters." Su Yuyang dragged Ling Miao into his own room, then turned back to Yan Li and Ji Linxi: "Ling Miao and I have to reply to the well-wishes that have come in from all over the world. As for how to settle your matter, you two discuss it."
Su Yuyang opened the comments page of his blog and Ling Miao stared. "So many. How long will it take you to reply to them all?"
Su Yuyang laughed. "It"s me who has to type, not you."
Several hundred comments. Whether they were well-wishes or well-meaning advice, Su Yuyang patiently replied to each one. As he got to one of them, he suddenly began laughing: "This guy, Feng Ji! He says he"ll send us a big cake in the shape of a condom!"
"Eh…" Black lines ran down Ling Miao"s forehead. "If he dares send a condom-shaped cake, I"ll put up a profile for him on a dating site."
Hearing Ling Miao"s reply, Su Yuyang replied: Feng-zi, Xiao Miao @WriterZeroSecondsAgo says that if you dare send a condom-shaped cake, he"ll put your profile up on a dating site. Su Yuyang clicked reply, and by the time Ling Miao registered what had happened, the post had already been sent.
"Hey, Su Yuyang, why did you reply to Feng Ji with what I said?" Ling Miao pressed his hand over Su Yuyang"s own and moved the mouse, intending to delete the reply, but it was too late. Ling Miao opened the new message. Feng Ji had replied—I"m waiting.
"A lot of people wish me well." Su Yuyang replied to all his comments, then sighed. "But a lot of people think I"m kidding, too. Someone said I broke up his OTP."
"It"s your fault for always flirting with a certain other Great Author on your microblog," Ling Miao huffed. "No way. I"ve got to make a blog post to stake amy claim. Remember to reblog it."
"You need to stake ayour claim?" Su Yuyang grabbed the phone from Ling Miao, caught Ling Miao"s chin with his other hand, and landed a kiss on Ling Miao"s lips.
Click—
The shutter sounded. Su Yuyang had taken a picture of himself kissing Ling Miao.
Su Yuyang did a few things with Ling Miao"s phone, then returned the phone to Ling Miao. Looking at the top post on his blog, Ling Miao punched Su Yuyang"s chest and yelled, "Why did you post the photo?!"
Su Yuyang waved the phone. "Staking amy claim."
"Hey…" Ling Miao wanted to say, No matter how I look at it, this is you staking your claim. It should be me staking my claim, alright?
But he hadn"t finished speaking before Su Yuyang cut him off. "Let"s go out and see."
Ling Miao and Su Yuyang left the room and saw Ji Linxi and Yan Li sitting side by side on the sofa. Ji Linxi was moving a pen over a piece of paper, and Yan Li was giving him comments.
About half an hour later, Yan Li stretched lazily and said, "Finally, done."
"Done with what?" Su Yuyang"s voice was so quiet Yan Li almost didn"t hear it.
"I say…"
"Xiao Miao"s asleep," Su Yuyang reminded.
Yan Li glanced at Ling Miao sleeping in Su Yuyang"s arms and said enviously, "It"s really nice to have a human pillow."
"Let"s not talk about it." Su Yuyang"s gaze drifted to Ji Linxi, who was wearing a dark expression. "What are you two doing?"
"You"ll know once I make this blog post." Yan Li took out her phone and started snapping pictures of the paper in Ji Linxi"s hand.