Thirsty Skin - Chapter 18

Chapter 18 -【Can you hug me for no reason?】

At around seven o’clock, they picked up Zhang Hengyan. Zhu Chizhou was responsible for driving on the way. Lin Wan reported to Zhang Hengyan in detail the progress of the entire project, the communication with the Chengdu Municipal Government, and the next plan.

Lin Wan spoke slowly and clearly, and explained things very thoroughly from every aspect.

Zhang Hengyan was a little tired from the long journey, but after listening to Lin Wan’s report, he felt much more relaxed.

“Okay, we’ll do as you say,” Zhang Hengyan decided. “I’ll call Wei Minghui, the secretary of the Chengdu Municipal Party Committee, when I get to work tomorrow and arrange a time to meet him.”

Lin Wan was surprised: “Do you know Secretary Wei?”

Zhang Hengyan smiled, “You don’t know yet, right? Wei Minghui also graduated from Peking University, in the same class as me. The three of us are alumni!”

Lin Wan blushed. He had been suffering from cravings recently and had forgotten to do such important background research. He smiled apologetically and said, “I was negligent in my work.”

After finishing the report, they arrived at Zhang Hengyan’s residence.

Zhu Chizhou parked the car outside the villa. Zhang Hengyan politely invited them to come in for dinner, but the two politely declined.

Lin Wan got out of the car with Zhang Hengyan and sent Zhang Hengyan to the door of his house. The two stood on the steps in front of the door and talked for a while.

Zhu Chizhou had been driving for too long, so he got out of the car to get some fresh air and stretch his muscles.

The coat was a bit thick, and he still felt stuffy even after unzipping it in the car, and wanted to take it off.

Standing beside the car, using the window as a mirror, he looked at himself. The shirt inside seemed to be blocked by the tie, but it didn’t touch the edge. He was holding the collar and hesitating when he heard Lin Wan call him, “Chi Zhou.”

Zhu Chizhou was startled and quickly put on his clothes.

“I’ll drive,” Lin Wan seemed in a good mood, “You take a rest.”

Zhu Chizhou told him that he was not tired. Lin Wan had already walked around to the driver’s seat and joked with him: “I have never driven a Maybach before. How about letting me try it?”

“Of course, no problem,” Zhu Chizhou said, “Then I’ll treat you to a midnight snack.”

The two stood very close to each other. Lin Wan looked up at the tall boy. He knew he should stay away from him, but he still couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows and asked, “What do you want to eat?”

Zhu Chizhou thought that Lin Wan didn’t want to eat potatoes and sweet potatoes anyway, so he recalled: “Let’s eat braised pork, grilled lamb chops, and pork.”

Lin Wan thought these dishes sounded familiar, but he didn’t think too much about it. He just thought the boy was greedy, so he laughed and said, “You won’t sleep well if you eat such greasy food at night. Come on, I’ll take you to eat something else.”

The two got back in the car, but they switched seats. Zhu Chizhou sat in the passenger seat, and Lin Wan sat in the driver’s seat.

The seat was too far from the brake and accelerator, so Lin Wan moved forward and the angle of the rearview mirror also needed to be readjusted. He fastened his seat belt only after he was ready.

“Some people don’t like others touching their cars,” Lin Wan thought after adjusting everything. “You don’t mind it, do you?”

Zhu Chizhou was in a good mood and spoke quickly, blurting out a sentence without thinking: “You even touch me, what’s the point in touching my car?”

Lin Wan paused, and the air in the car instantly froze to the point of freezing. 【Help…】

“Uh, what I mean is,” Zhu Chizhou quickly shouted to interrupt his inner cry for help, “I mean I don’t mind! I don’t mind at all!”

【Do you not mind if I touch you, or do you not mind if I touch your car? 】

The action resumed, the car engine roared, but Lin Wan didn’t say a word.

Zhu Chizhou almost bit his tongue and forced himself to hold back the words that he didn’t mind.

Lin Wan’s driving style was very different from this car, and it was steady and orderly. On one of the three straight lanes, there was an old car driving slowly, and he was not in a hurry at all, and had no intention of changing lanes to overtake. Zhu Chizhou, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was so itchy that he wanted to help Lin Wan move the car to another lane.

He was too impatient to look at the back of the car in front of him, so he had to turn his head slightly to peek at Lin Wan.

The interior of the car was dark, but the street lights on both sides of the road were bright and colorful neon lights shone through the windshield, flowing colorfully on Lin Wan’s handsome face.

Zhu Chizhou just stared at the other person, and it made his heart beat faster.

At this moment, Lin Wan’s heart was very calm, without a trace of distracting thoughts, and his heart was as quiet as a deep ocean.

As if he was afraid of disturbing him, Zhu Chizhou unconsciously lightened his breathing. Gradually, Zhu Chizhou calmed down, and the itchy feeling of complaining about driving too slowly also disappeared. Not only was his mood very stable, he even felt that driving slowly seemed to be a good thing.

The car passed through the bustling commercial district, turned into a quiet street, and parked in a roadside parking space.

Lin Wan unbuckled his seatbelt and said to Zhu Chizhou, “Get out of the car and walk in. There’s no room for parking there.”

Zhu Chizhou said “OK” and didn’t ask where they were going.

Before getting out of the car, he hesitated for a moment, but decided to take off his coat and leave it in the car to avoid feeling hot while eating later.

They passed through a dim alley and entered an old residential area. Suddenly, the lights came on and the strong aroma of food and fireworks filled their faces.

This is a hot pot restaurant opened in the courtyard of a family. The proprietress is from Sichuan and serves authentic spicy food. There are more than a dozen small tables in the courtyard and more than a dozen tables inside the house. It was still almost full at this time.

The red soup was boiling, and on the table were plates of freshly cut beef. The red and white textures looked extremely tender.

Zhu Chizhou found the food very tempting, and he didn’t forget to argue: “You thought the dishes I mentioned were too greasy, so you brought me here to eat beef hotpot?”

Lin Wan’s lips curled up into a faint smile, “You won’t feel greasy when you eat it later.”

Sitting down, Lin Wan asked him, “Do you want to order Yuanyang or Hongtang?”

Zhu Chizhou: “Red soup, please. Not too spicy.”

Lin Wan asked the boss for a slightly spicy hot pot base and ordered a dozen dishes, including meat and vegetables.

There are small bowls and plates on the shelf, each of which is small in portion, but the ingredients are fresh.

Zhu Chizhou said: “I didn’t expect you would bring me to eat hot pot.”

Lin Wan rolled up his sleeves gracefully and asked, “Why?”

“I saw you eating only salad for lunch in the cafeteria several times. I thought you only ate grass and drank dew when you were not socializing, and you would not eat such… worldly things.”

Lin Wan was amused: “That’s because I’ve been eating at the company for many years, and I’m tired of the taste. Sometimes I really don’t know what to eat so I just eat salad.”

Zhu Chizhou said straightforwardly: “What do you like to eat? I’ll ask the chef to make it for you.”

After saying this, both of them were stunned.

Zhu Chizhou could naturally interfere in the company’s logistical affairs, and did not mind using his status to help Lin Wan. This confirmed everyone’s guess- Zhu Chizhou’s family was an important limited partner of the company.

But Lin Wan counted on his fingers and couldn’t find a boss named Zhu.

Maybe he was not a direct relative, or maybe he was not born to a legal wife.

There are many secrets in rich families, and Lin Wan didn’t want to ask too much.

Zhu Chizhou almost couldn’t help laughing when he heard Lin Wan’s big, bloody drama about his father. Just as he was about to confess his family background, he heard Lin Wan thinking:

【It’s better not to know. If you know too much, the relationship will become complicated and we won’t be able to continue being friends.】

【At least it’s impossible to bring him to eat this kind of hot pot if I knew it.】

The words circled between his teeth and were finally swallowed back.

A thin slice of beef neck meat was blanched in eight seconds. Lin Wan picked up a piece and put it into Zhu Chizhou’s bowl, answering Zhu Chizhou’s question: “If you eat your favorite food as a work meal, you will get tired of it sooner or later.”

Zhu Chizhou understood: “That’s right, even if you like a song, you will get tired of it if you use it as your alarm ringtone.”

The thick soup was bubbling with a rich aroma, and the beef was tender and refreshing. No one was drinking, so the two of them chatted through the white mist, and the meal lasted until almost eleven o’clock.

Walking out of the alley, the street outside became even quieter, and the night wind rustled the leaves.

Zhu Chizhou tilted his head to take a look. Lin Wan’s face was flushed. The dim light of the street lamp fell on him, with a gentleness that was different from usual.

【It’s time to go home. Can he hug me for no reason?】

Zhu Chizhou’s heart skipped a beat. He took a deep breath, clenched his hands that were hanging on both sides of his body unconsciously, and pinched his palms with a little force to make himself less nervous.

Lin Wan lowered his head and walked quietly towards the parking space. Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side, and his shoulder hit a warm and solid chest.

“Be careful,” Zhu Chizhou said in a low voice, “You almost stepped on dog shit.”

“Huh?”

Lin Wan wanted to turn around, but Zhu Chizhou’s big hand pressed on his back and moved closer to his chest. “Don’t look at it anymore.”

Half of his body was pressed into the strong embrace. Lin Wan felt that the desire for skin contact was satisfied. A tingling sensation rose from the back of his head. He instinctively wanted to hold him tighter, but he quickly took a step back. “Oh, thank you.”

Zhu Chizhou was so nervous that he almost trembled when walking, and his ears were red: “No, you’re welcome!”

The two men walked to the car, Zhu Chizhou sat in the driver’s seat, and adjusted the seat distance and the angle of the rearview mirror.

Lin Wan picked up the passenger’s clothes and put them on his lap. Zhu Chizhou saw his actions and said, “Just throw it in the back seat.”

“It’s okay,” Lin Wan said calmly, grabbing his clothes, “I’m a little cold, I want to cover myself.”

Zhu Chizhou: “…”

You better just be a little cold!

【If I take the clothes with me when I get out of the car, will I be considered a thief? 】

Zhu Chizhou started the car, holding the steering wheel with his right hand, resting his left elbow on the car door, pressing his fist against the tip of his nose to block the upturned corners of his mouth, and said in a cool manner while turning the steering wheel: “I’ll lend it to you if you’re cold!”