Chapter 58: A Stroll

“…You want to chase me?”

Song Linyu’s extremely solemn promise echoed in his ear, carrying his damp yet utterly pure sincerity.

But Fu Yanzong suddenly fell silent for a moment. Then, in a slightly peculiar tone, he repeated the sentence. Afterward, he cast a meaningful glance at the person who had unconsciously leaned their face dependently into his embrace.

Song Linyu naturally picked up on the implication in his words. He instantly tensed up, anxious and uneasy, as he lifted his eyes to stare at Fu Yanzong. He looked utterly terrified of being rejected.

Fu Yanzong leaned down, unfazed. He raised an eyebrow slightly. That handsome face suddenly loomed large right in front of Song Linyu. Then, unhurriedly, he smiled.

The expression carried Fu Yanzong’s usual teasing air.

This look made it impossible for Song Linyu to suppress his embarrassment. Even after seeing it many times, his heart still raced uncontrollably.

He nodded heavily.

Then, Song Linyu suddenly felt the panic of being unexpectedly questioned by a teacher back in his school days. He had no idea what to say. He was so tongue-tied that he almost wanted to report his entire pursuit plan to Fu Yanzong on the spot.

Fu Yanzong lifted his face and chuckled softly. “Pursuing me is very difficult. You can back out now—do you need me to pull some strings for you?”

Song Linyu refused with particular seriousness. “No need. That wouldn’t show my sincerity.”

“…”

Fu Yanzong seemed to think of something amusing. He smiled faintly and shifted his gaze away from the resolute Song Linyu. Then he rose from the chair. “Alright, since you’re so serious about it, I’ll let you have a taste.”

Song Linyu’s eyes followed him closely. The moment Fu Yanzong stood up, Song Linyu naturally rose as well and trailed after him.

Having just gone through the “reconciliation” phase, Song Linyu was clearly suffering from some touch starvation. After only two steps, he couldn’t resist anymore. He stealthily reached out and grasped Fu Yanzong’s wrist. Then, with practiced ease, he tried to slide his fingers between Fu Yanzong’s to interlace their hands.

But the instant his fingertips brushed that cool skin, Fu Yanzong deliberately stepped back several paces, putting some distance between them. With a wicked grin, he said, “Mr. Song, who starts holding hands right at the beginning of a pursuit? That’s no sincerity at all, is it?”

Song Linyu felt as if he’d been struck over the head with a bat. He deeply regretted having declared his pursuit too soon—too soon to have gotten his fill of closeness. Now they were back in this awkward, half-familiar stage.

But what was done was done. Song Linyu wasn’t the type to go back on his word. He could only apologize sincerely and then follow behind Fu Yanzong, hesitant and lost for words.

But he really wanted to…

Fu Yanzong held back his laughter and kept walking ahead.

He knew full well how clingy Song Linyu could get. He was so pleased that even the little mole at the corner of his eye curved upward slightly. Sure enough, just two minutes later, he heard a sound from Song Linyu.

…Even begging wouldn’t make him yield.

That was what Fu Yanzong thought. With cold determination, he mentally outlined steps one, two, and three for punishing Song Linyu’s past misdeeds. Then his wrist was gently tugged and shaken by the person who had caught up.

Fu Yanzong glanced silently at Song Linyu.

This business prodigy, President Song, had come up with a very straightforward exchange plan. In a small, pleading voice, he said to Fu Yanzong, “How about a trade? Let me hold your hand for a bit, and you can have anything you want.”

Fu Yanzong considered it for a moment before countering, “You first—what are you offering me?”

Song Linyu felt like he had nothing to his name except money. He hadn’t prepared any clever gifts, so with deep apology in his eyes, he lowered his gaze. He pulled out the phone he had gotten back from the production team and showed Fu Yanzong his answer through action.

Fu Yanzong still had the production team’s phone on him, which couldn’t receive bank transfer notifications. But after glancing at it twice, he could tell what Song Linyu was doing. He reached out directly. “Let me see.”

The next moment, the lit-up screen was handed over. Fu Yanzong eyed the long string of zeros in the transfer prompt and slowly tsked. In his mind, he thought, What a tyrannical emperor.

Plenty of people had pursued Fu Yanzong before. Sure, once you excluded those “back in the day, I chased the campus beauty” types, the line might not stretch from Shenlan all the way to France. But from the east side of the city to the west? More than enough. Plenty of investors had tried throwing money and resources at the young star, only to discover that their own fortunes might not even match Young Master Fu’s. They could only storm off in frustration.

But Song Linyu’s price tag? It took first place, hands down.

Smiling, Fu Yanzong tossed the phone back into Song Linyu’s lapel. He shook his head unhurriedly. “I don’t need it.”

Song Linyu pursed his lips and glanced dejectedly at the screen. In a soft voice, he defended himself. “I can buy whatever you want. If it’s not enough, I have more.”

His damp lashes were pitifully clumped together. This subtle grievance and helplessness really could soften anyone’s heart.

Fu Yanzong paused for a moment. Then he lazily lifted his hand and beckoned to him. “Come closer.”

They were already quite close, separated by only half an outstretched arm from Song Linyu. Now Fu Yanzong turned to face him directly. Any closer, and it would be a kiss.

Song Linyu’s breath hitched. He immediately leaned in obediently, so close that their breaths mingled and intertwined. When Fu Yanzong lowered his head, strands of his slightly drooping hair brushed across Song Linyu’s cheek.

Their shoe tips touched lightly. Song Linyu instinctively tilted his head up, anticipating the gift to come. But when that hot breath fell, there was no contact as expected.

Fu Yanzong let out a low, mischievous laugh. He turned his face aside. His slender fingers slipped lazily into Song Linyu’s pocket and pinched out a prettily wrapped stevia candy.

As expected, Song Linyu always remembered to prepare these for him. Fu Yanzong loved sweets, but as an actor, he couldn’t indulge in too much sugar and calories in daily life. That was why Song Linyu always carried these sugar-substitute candies.

Song Linyu stared, dazed, as Fu Yanzong smoothly unwrapped the candy. Then Fu Yanzong turned and walked away. Only then did Song Linyu realize that the earlier closeness had just been Fu Yanzong teasing him on purpose.

Fine… No holding hands, then.

Somewhat dejected, Song Linyu followed behind Fu Yanzong. He was still racking his brain for something that might satisfy him when he suddenly felt a familiar touch.

Knuckled fingers slid unceremoniously between his own. The web of the hand pressed against the protruding wrist bone and locked gently. In a very natural motion, their hands became perfectly interlaced, ten fingers entwined.

Song Linyu jerked his eyes up. The skin in his palm, which had tensed instinctively, was rubbed open casually. Then, in the next second, that beautiful hand had slid down along his fingers to the base, fitting together seamlessly.

“For the sake of the stevia candy, I’ll reluctantly trade with you.”

That was what Fu Yanzong said as he casually pressed the sweet candy to his teeth.

Song Linyu’s ear tips burned on instinct. The path back to the room wasn’t all that long, but Song Linyu wished it would go on forever.

A hint of a smile played at Fu Yanzong’s lips. His profile, bathed in moonlight and lamplight, was utterly mesmerizing. Song Linyu let his mind go blank and walked quietly back to the room with him.

/

Dealing with Su Tang had been exhausting, and talking to an idiot was even more draining. After a busy night, Fu Yanzong really was tired. Song Linyu, who had declared he would pursue him, behaved himself and returned to his own small suite. But before leaving, he gripped the door handle and muttered “good night” nearly ten times without realizing it.

“…I heard you.” Fu Yanzong turned off the shower with a chuckle, interrupting Song Linyu’s words. Then he pushed open the bathroom door and, without any qualms, dropped his bathrobe right in front of him to change into comfortable sleepwear.

His waist and abdominal lines were clean and sharp, his build balanced and tall. His skin, steamed pink by the heat, still had occasional water droplets rolling down from his damp hair… This temptation—look but don’t touch—shattered Song Linyu’s self-control in an instant. Without another word, the door slammed shut.

Fu Yanzong laughed out loud this time. He thought to himself that Song Linyu’s pursuit was truly entertaining.

The production team had already returned his phone to the nightstand. Fu Yanzong turned off the lights and picked it up for a glance.

The Heartthrob Game recording had been temporarily canceled. The things he had said during his confrontation with Su Tang were surely causing a massive uproar online by now. Everyone was scrambling for details, but Fu Yanzong couldn’t care less… After all, he could just leave it to Ji Cheng to handle. Someone would always take care of it.

He really was sleepy and had no urge to scroll before bed. But Song Linyu had clearly been rattled by Su Tang today and was acting a bit off. Even if he had seemed perfectly obedient in Fu Yanzong’s arms later, it still left him uneasy.

So he sent a message.

acqua: “Remember to take your medicine. Tell me if you feel off.”

Song Linyu replied almost immediately. There was no sign of discomfort—quite the opposite. He said “okay” very obediently, even happily, and sent a bunch of little dog rubbing-against-leg emojis that spun around in the chat box.

From the looks of it, there shouldn’t be any issues. Reassured, Fu Yanzong turned off his phone and, for once, fell into a deep sleep.