The Complete Guide to the Use and Care of a Personal a.s.sistant
Translator: Jury
Editor: NomNom
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter Sixty-one
Ling Miao expended herculean effort to haul Su Yuyang upstairs.
"f.u.c.k you, Su Yuyang, you should lose weight." Ling Miao laughed as he put Su Yuyang on the bed and pulled a thick blanket over him.
Ling Miao tucked Su Yuyang in and laughed, "Su Yuyang, I haven"t seen anyone who dislikes the cold as much as you do. It"s raining today, so I"m tucking you in. Don"t say you"re cold! Or should I pull the blankets off and let you freeze? Maybe if you"re freezing, you"ll wake up?"
Ling Miao caressed Su Yuyang"s icy cheek. He couldn"t hold the smile on his face any longer. Tears glistened in his eyes and he said softly, "Su Yuyang, Feng Ji says you might be running away from something and that"s why you chose to fall unconscious. Su Yuyang, I thought about it over and over, and there"s only one person you might be trying to avoid: me. Maybe, like me, you don"t know your own heart, and in the midst of that struggle, you chose to hide instead. If you"re awake, you"ll think stray thoughts, so you decided to sleep instead.
"I don"t know how long you"re going to sleep. I don"t know how long you want to sleep.
"Su Yuyang, please wake up."
Ling Miao leaned over and kissed Su Yuyang. It was like kissing an ice cube.
After settling Su Yuyang, Ling Miao called Feng Ji to report that all was well. Then he called Ji Linxi and asked him to bring some things over.
Several minutes later a knock came at Su Yuyang"s door. Ling Miao glanced at Su Yuyang lying on the bed, saw he hadn"t woken up from the noise, and was disappointed.
Ling Miao opened the door. Ji Linxi stood outside the door, looking thoroughly pitiful.
In his left hand he held a suitcase. His right arm was around a board.
"I"ve brought your books and desk. If you need anything, call me. I"ll be ready for instructions 24/7," Ji Linxi said as he panted for breath.
Ji Linxi hadn"t said anything too pa.s.sionate, but "I"ll be ready for your instructions 24/7" made Ling Miao"s nose ache. The tears that had wanted to fall but couldn"t now finally left his eyes. Ling Miao buried his head in Ji Linxi"s chest and started crying loudly. "Linxi, why are things like this?! Why did I figure it out only after he went into a coma? Linxi, did you see from the beginning that I liked him more than a fan likes an idol? Linxi, why didn"t you tell me?"
Ji Linxi let Ling Miao wipe his tears on his clothes and consoled gently: "I had suspected for a while that your feelings for Su Yuyang had changed. But then you made me question my suspicions again. Ling Miao, I"m very happy that you now see your own heart clearly. Even if Su Yuyang can"t hear you now, he"ll wake up someday."
"If…"
"What nonsense are you saying?" Ji Linxi"s tone suddenly grew severe, as if he were a teacher lecturing a student. "Ling Miao, I think you"ve been scared silly."
"I"m silly even when I"m not scared. It"s been so long and I couldn"t even see my own heart clearly. If I"m not silly, who is?" Ling Miao half-laughed, half-cried. Ji Linxi huffed, pointed at the person lying on the bed, and said: "Of course there are people sillier than you. Isn"t Su Yuyang one of them?" Su Yuyang couldn"t see his own heart clearly, and couldn"t see your feelings, either. Ah, both of you are silly.
Don"t blame Su Yuyang for not sensing Ling Miao"s feelings. Ling Miao hadn"t expressed them at all, and without any indicators, how would Su Yuyang know? Ling Miao had only figured out his feelings for Su Yuyang due to an external stimulus.
A fan"s like for his idol and the love for his lover—Ling Miao had finally distinguished the two different feelings, but the other main character, Su Yuyang, had now fallen into a coma.
Perhaps Heaven felt that their love hadn"t yet been tested and so had laid down this little trial. As for whether, once the trial had pa.s.sed, they"d experience the joy of lovers becoming family or the tragedy of a love not meant to be—all that would come later.
Ling Miao looked at Su Yuyang and agreed: "He"s pretty silly. He just couldn"t find an exit. Did he need to try to avoid it in this silly way? If he wakes up, I"ll have to have a good laugh at him so that he never treats me this way again." As Ling Miao spoke, the tears he had tried very hard to stop now started flowing again.
Ling Miao"s body gradually sank downward. Ji Linxi looked at his shaking shoulders and listened to his dry sobs. Ji Linxi couldn"t think of any words to console Ling Miao, so he watched Ling Miao quietly and waited for Ling Miao to come back to life.
"Linxi, I"m so scared." Ling Miao sat on the floor hugging his knees. "I"m afraid of spilling my heart to Su Yuyang. I"m afraid he"ll reject me. Linxi, what do you think? If Su Yuyang knows I like him, will he still keep me by his side?"
Ji Linxi thought for a while and said, said in a deliberately happy voice: "Maybe after he finds out you like him, he"ll want to keep you even more. Even if he doesn"t like you, if he keeps you, love may grow over time and that isn"t bad either."
"Love may grow over time?" Ling Miao laughed, a carefree and satisfied sound.
Ji Linxi noticed Ling Miao"s change in expression and knew that Ling Miao had come to a decision. He took a breath and said faux-casually: "Dumb cat, you finally did the smart thing for once!"
Ling Miao angled his head and asked: "Then can we get rid of the "dumb" part now?"
Ji Linxi huffed: "I just said you were smart, but now you"re dumb again. Dumb cat, take care of yourself!"
"I will. And what about you? What are your feelings toward Yan-jie? Feng Ji said she"s someone who takes action." Ling Miao changed the thrust of the conversation and turned the topic directly to Yan Li.
Ji Linxi inwardly cursed Ling Miao but his face was still a cool mask. He said in a low voice: "My feelings toward Yan Li? No feelings. I just don"t want to make entertainment mag headlines."
Ling Miao said hopefully: "Making entertainment mag headlines isn"t so bad! And I think Yan-jie"s a pretty good person. You can think about it!"
Ji Linxi didn"t understand. He looked Ling Miao over from head to toe, as if verifying that the person in front of him indeed was the Ling Miao he knew. Feeling Ji Linxi"s gaze sweep back and forth over him, Ling Miao pretended not to understand, but he was secretly joyful.
Ji Linxi asked: "Ling Miao, how much did Yan Li pay you?"
"Not a cent!" Ling Miao said somewhat resentfully. "She will give me me ten thousand in salary, but I"ll only get it when she leaves. So she hasn"t given me a cent."
"Then why are you so enthusiastic about matchmaking her?" Ji Linxi looked at Ling Miao with some disdain but Ling Miao seemed not to feel it. Ling Miao put a hand on Ji Linxi"s shoulder, put his foot up on the chair and shook his leg, and continued to give advice: "Didn"t your mother force you to go on blind dates? Now a ready-made one has arrived at your door. Not taking it would be a waste."
Ji Linxi batted away Ling Miao"s hand and violently jumped back, only stopping when his back was to the sofa.
"Ling Miao, are… you all right?" Ji Linxi asked worriedly.
Ling Miao cursed: "f.u.c.k, what would be wrong with me?"
Ji Linxi narrowed his eyes at Ling Miao. At first he hadn"t noticed anything, but now he figured out what was wrong.
Ling Miao"s mood had changed too quickly. At first, he had seemed half dead. Now, not only was he lively, he seemed to have endless energy.
Ji Linxi took a deep breath then slowly exhaled. He repeated this motion several times then opened his mouth: "Ling Miao, take care of yourself. I"ll come again tomorrow."
"There"s nothing to do here. Why would you come? Stay at home and finish your design!" Ling Miao said resentfully.
Ji Linxi gave an "Mm" of agreement.
"If there"s nothing else, I"ll go."
"Get out~" Ling Miao made a dismissive motion.
The door shut with a slam.
Ling Miao picked up the things Ji Linxi had brought and went into Su Yuyang"s room.
Ling Miao nudged Su Yuyang to onethe side of the bed, then climbed on and set up the bedside desk.
"Su Yuyang, I"m not sleeping on the floor any more," Ling Miao turned on his laptop and said affectionately. "So, loan me half your bed for now. If you don"t say anything, I"ll take it that you agree."
The laptop started up and the first thing Ling Miao did was open a browser and go into Su Yuyang"s author"s dashboard.
He glanced at the scheduled chapters, then looked at the unscheduled chapters. Going by Su Yuyang"s twice-daily update schedule, the drafts would last until the 14th.
Two weeks. Ling Miao wasn"t sure if Su Yuyang would wake up.
"Su Yuyang, if you don"t wake up, who"ll write Ma.s.sacre for me to read? Hey, wake up, quick!" Ling Miao stuck his foot under the blanket and kicked Su Yuyang.
Su Yuyang didn"t react. Ling Miao laughed: "Su Yuyang, you"re like a scarecrow. you can"t speak and you can"t move, but it"s pretty fun like this, no? You can"t hear what I say, so I can say everything I want to say. I won"t say good things twice, so if you don"t hear it, you"ve missed it for good." But Su Yuyang, if you want to hear it, there are things I could say for a lifetime. As long as you ask. As long as I am able to say them.