"You were having breakfast downstairs. I didn't see you come down, so I came up to check on you. Why are you sleeping on the floor?"
Aunt Wang helped Bai Yanfei up. After he washed up, he went downstairs, where he found the last person he wanted to see sitting at the dining table.
Su Yang greeted Bai Yanfei with a smile: "Good morning."
"morning."
During the meal, Bai Yanfei casually asked which room Su Yang would be staying in. Knowing that Su Yang was staying in a room far from Ling Zeyu's, Bai Yanfei felt much more at ease.
He was fine with anything as long as it wasn't near Ling Zeyu's room.
Upon returning to Ling's Company, with Su Yang's presence, everyone paid even more attention to him. More and more people knew about the arranged marriage, and many gossiped behind his back. Bai Yanfei seemed indifferent to it all, but Cheng Xiao called him to the balcony during her free time.
"What's your relationship like with Director Su?"
Director Su, that's right, Ling Zeyu gave Su Yang a director position, while he was just a small design assistant.
"Xiao Yang is a very nice person, and I treat him like a younger brother."
"My younger brother is interning at Su's. Could you put in a good word for him and help him get a permanent position?"
Cheng Xiao handed Bai Yanfei a small box.
"Sister Cheng, this really won't work. Xiao Yang isn't that kind of person; he'll get angry."
Bai Yanfei naturally refused. Putting aside the matter of helping, given his relationship with Su Yang, Su Yang would be doing him a favor by not skinning him alive. How could Su Yang possibly help him?
"You're not even willing to help with this little thing? I really misjudged you." Cheng Xiao angrily took back the small box. Bai Yanfei had no choice but to swallow his bitterness.
Bai Yanfei poured himself a cup of coffee and went back; the thing he learned most here was how to make coffee.
"Oh dear..."
Bai Yanfei stared blankly as everyone surrounded Su Yang, hot coffee spilled all over the ground, some of it splashing onto his thigh, but he felt no pain at all.
It's unclear who notified Ling Zeyu, but when he rushed over, he only saw that Su Yang's hand was red and covered in ointment. However, no one noticed that Bai Yanfei's pants were also stained with coffee.
"What happened?" Ling Zeyu looked at Su Yang's hand and breathed a sigh of relief after finding that it was just a burn.
"Brother Yan didn't do it on purpose. It's okay. He probably didn't hold the coffee properly and accidentally spilled it on the back of my hand."
Ling Zeyu looked at Bai Yanfei with reproach, unsure of what expression to make.
This happened time and time again, but Ling Zeyu still wouldn't believe him.
Su Yang's eyes were full of smugness. Bai Yanfei noticed that Ling Zeyu was looking at him, so he looked up and met Ling Zeyu's gaze.
To his surprise, Ling Zeyu squatted down in front of him and looked at his thighs.
"Doesn't it hurt?"
"I……"
Before Bai Yanfei could finish speaking, Ling Zeyu swept him up in his arms. Only then did everyone notice the coffee stains on Bai Yanfei's thighs.
The secretary nearly dropped her glasses when she saw Ling Zeyu carry Bai Yanfei to the president's lounge.
"Go get the blanket." Ling Zeyu examined Bai Yanfei's pants. "Didn't you even realize you burned yourself?"
After so many disappointments, Bai Yanfei already knew the outcome. But he still found joy in it all, cherishing even the briefest moments of tenderness.
I thought you would blame me.
After the secretary brought the blanket over, she left and thoughtfully closed the door behind her. Bai Yanfei thought Ling Zeyu's gentleness had ended there, so he took the initiative to pull down his pants, revealing a patch of bright red on his thigh, which looked quite creepy.
The door opened again, and Ling Zeyu quickly grabbed a blanket to cover his body.
"Why didn't you knock before coming in?" Ling Zeyu's slightly angry voice rang out, and Bai Yanfei pulled the small blanket tighter.
The secretary hurriedly put the burn ointment aside: "I'll go get the ointment, President, you can continue."
Ling Zeyu unscrewed the cap of the burn ointment, and his secretary peeked at it a few times before closing the door.
Before long, news of Ling Zeyu feeling sorry for Bai Yanfei spread throughout the company, and everyone used it as gossip about Ling Zeyu.
"My pants are all dirty, what am I supposed to wear?"
Bai Yanfei looked down at Ling Zeyu, who was applying medicine to him with his eyes lowered. Ling Zeyu's eyes were full of charm, and his movements were extremely gentle.
Whether it's a show or not, Bai Yanfei has already been captivated by Ling Zeyu.
"I'll have someone send over a few sets of clothes later."
"I didn't intentionally spill coffee on Su Yang."
After thinking it over, Bai Yanfei still wanted to defend himself. Although he disliked Su Yang, he wouldn't resort to such despicable means.
"I don't care." Ling Zeyu put the rest of the burn ointment aside. "You hurt Xiaoyang today, it's your fault. Go apologize to him later."
"good."
He should have known long ago that Ling Zeyu wouldn't care about any of this; all he saw was the result.
The new clothes were delivered, and Bai Yanfei changed into the new pants. Ling Zeyu led him to apologize to Su Yang. Su Yang had a sour look on his face, but because Ling Zeyu was there, he could only accept Bai Yanfei's apology.
He was clearly the victim, but he had to apologize to the perpetrator.
Bai Yanfei stayed by Ling Zeyu's side from then on, as this was the first time he had observed Ling Zeyu working up close.
Seeing Ling Zeyu focused on his work, Bai Yanfei felt a little dazed.
It's often said that a man who is serious about doing something is the most handsome, and that's certainly true. Ling Zeyu has always been outstanding. Although he only took over the company after retiring from the entertainment industry, the Ling Group's stock began to rise under his leadership, attracting more and more investors.
But none of this caused Ling Zeyu any major headaches. He handled every matter perfectly and gained recognition within the industry.
Ling Zeyu is so outstanding, he can't fall behind. Although he has suspended his studies, it doesn't mean he can't continue learning.
Bai Yanfei secretly resolved that he too would become an outstanding person, so that Ling Zeyu would look at him with new respect.
Ling Zeyu rubbed his temples. With so many things piling up lately, all he could think about when he went to bed at night was work.
Bai Yanfei brought over a cup of coffee, his favorite flavor.
"Let's take a break and then look at it again."
Bai Yanfei put down his coffee and went to the side to take out his tablet to start sketching. Ling Zeyu took a sip of coffee and looked at Bai Yanfei, who was concentrating on writing and drawing.
Ling Zeyu was a little curious. He knew absolutely nothing about Bai Yanfei, except for one thing:
Bai Yanfei loved him very much.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that Bai Yanfei was drawing jewelry design sketches.
"Did you design this yourself?"
Ling Zeyu was somewhat surprised; these pictures seemed to...
Chapter 33 Where else could he go if he's not here?
"Yes, I've been drawing for quite a while, but I haven't been able to get anywhere towards the end." Bai Yanfei spoke of his work with great pride.
This is something that brings him joy besides pursuing Ling Zeyu.
Ling Zeyu took Bai Yanfei's manuscript and began to read it. The more he read, the more he felt that this was the same manuscript that Su Yang had shown him before. Although there were some differences in the details, it was generally the same.
"Plagiarism is a terrible act, I never thought you could be so disgusting."
These words provoked Bai Yanfei, who suddenly stood up: "Plagiarism? This is my own design, I spent a long time drawing the draft, how can you say I plagiarized?"
"Don't you know the rules of the design industry?" Ling Zeyu didn't even look at Bai Yanfei. "You're not allowed to participate in the company's competitions anymore. Someone who plagiarizes doesn't deserve to participate in company events."
Ling Zeyu's words were like a knife stabbing him in the heart, then being pulled out again, leaving a gruesome, bloody wound. His heart was gaping, from which flowed the blood of his despair. His heart was riddled with holes, and he didn't know when it would crumble and collapse.
Bai Yanfei was disheartened. He really hadn't plagiarized; this was a design he had started drawing a long time ago. He had always liked traditional Chinese style and had been thinking about whether he could create a set of jewelry in that style.
He had finally completed more than half of the design, but the person he loved most pointed his finger at him and accused him of plagiarism.
"Who did I plagiarize? To date, I have not seen any work similar to my design drawings."
"You know perfectly well who you plagiarized. I never expected you to be so disgusting."
He must be the first person to be told he's disgusting by the person he loves most. Bai Yanfei stared blankly as Ling Zeyu slammed the door and left. He looked down at his manuscript, knowing best in his heart whether he had plagiarized or not.
This set of works took him a lot of effort. Whenever Bai Yan was inspired, he would get up in the middle of the night to continue drawing. He worked so hard to improve himself, but was left at a loss by the word "plagiarism".
Bai Yanfei felt extremely wronged, and he sat blankly on the sofa. After Ling Zeyu left, he had a cold face. The company employees all thought he was feeling sorry for Bai Yanfei, and none of them dared to approach him.
The fact that President Ling, who always wore a smile, changed his expression was enough to frighten everyone. No matter how approachable Ling Zeyu was, he was still the person in charge of the Ling Group. In addition, given his performance since taking over the Ling Group, he had already established a firm foothold within it.
Su Yang huddled in the lounge and cried. When Ling Zeyu arrived, Su Yang sulked and closed the door.
"Go and feel sorry for your fiancé. I'm not important to you anymore. You won't care if my hand is crippled." Su Yang sobbed as she pushed Ling Zeyu away.
"His thigh was also burned. He's at the company, so be careful." Ling Zeyu brought over a new burn ointment.
“My hand is injured too, and it was because of him that I got injured, but you only have him in your heart.”
He is my fiancé.
"But you clearly don't like him!" Su Yang's pent-up grievances exploded instantly. "Brother Ling, have you fallen for Bai Yanfei?"
No, that's impossible.
Ling Zeyu's decisiveness brought Su Yang back to his senses. He hugged Ling Zeyu's arm and said, "I knew Brother Ling wouldn't fall for that bitch. What makes him worthy of your affection? Bai Yanfei is useless. He's just a good-for-nothing who follows you around like a shadow."
“Useless…” Ling Zeyu considered Su Yang’s words carefully. He thought of the manuscript Bai Yanfei had just shown him. There were a few of his paintings on the tablet. He hadn’t looked at them closely, but he seemed to remember seeing that set of pictures on Weibo.
"Let me see your design drawings."
"What design drawings?" Ling Zeyu changed the subject so quickly that he didn't catch on for a moment.
"The jewelry design sketches you showed me before."
"I...I didn't bring it. I'll bring it this afternoon." Su Yang affectionately hooked her arm around Ling Zeyu's. "What do you think of my design drawings, Brother Ling?"
"It's good, I'd like to see the details."
A comparison would clearly show who plagiarized whom. Looking at Su Yang's youthful face, Ling Zeyu believed Su Yang wouldn't do something so disgusting. After all, Su Yang knew that a plagiarized drama had approached him before, which he had resolutely rejected.
Su Yang knows how much he hates plagiarism, and so do his fans.
Bai Yanfei left after a while; he didn't stay in Ling Zeyu's office any longer. It was just a minor burn, not very serious, and he could continue working. He didn't want his colleagues to think he was being dramatic.
After going outside, Bai Yanfei found that everyone was saying that Ling Zeyu was in a bad mood because of his injury. Upon hearing this, Bai Yanfei felt a mix of emotions.
If Ling Zeyu were ever unhappy because of his injury, he'd probably be overjoyed. Unfortunately, who knows when that day will come.