Thirsty Skin - Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – 【Were you too tired last night?】

Zhu Chizhou was woken up by the heat in the middle of the night.

Ji Xun, this grandson, not only didn’t help him take off his clothes, but also covered him with a huge thick quilt, causing him to dream that he almost died in a sea of fire.

He got up, took a shower, lay down again feeling refreshed, and slept until dawn.

The next morning, when he met Lin Wan in the restaurant, Lin Wan seemed to have returned to his previous coldness. He just nodded to him, ate breakfast and left without waiting for him.

Zhu Chizhou was confused, not knowing how he had offended Director Lin. Before his body could even give in, Director Lin gave in first.

Sitting in the car, Zhu Chizhou saw Lin Wan’s hand on his thigh clenched into a fist, and heard:

【He has work to do today, but he brought a woman over last night. Is this his true nature?】

Zhu Chizhou looked at Lin Wan in surprise. Lin Wan was looking out the window with a calm expression.

【I didn’t expect him to be this kind of person!】

Zhu Chizhou: ???

Zhu Chizhou sent a message to Ji Xun: 【Didn’t you send me back to the hotel last night?】

Ji Xunhui: 【Yes.】

Zhu Chizhou gritted his teeth: 【You brought a woman with you?】

Ji Xun: 【Get lost! Am I sick to bring a woman to your room?】

Zhu Chizhou: 【How the hell did my boss see me coming back with a woman?】

Ji Xun: Hahahaha Ji Xun: 【That’s He Jianxing.】

Zhu Chizhou wanted to curse: 【Who?】

Ji Xun: 【That handsome guy with long hair.】

Ji Xun: 【How the hell can I move you by myself? I found a helper. He was still on the set, and didn’t even have time to change his clothes. He made a special trip for you and personally sent you back to your room.】

Zhu Chizhou’s fingers trembled: 【Don’t tell me he is playing a cross-dressing role.】

Ji Xun: 【Haha, let me give your leader a little shock.】

“Pah”, Zhu Chizhou lost his grip and his phone fell onto the seat. Lin Wan heard the sound and turned his head slightly to take a look.

【Were you too tired last night? You couldn’t even hold your phone steady. You feel so weak at such a young age.】

Zhu Chizhou:?

‘Come and try if I am weak or not!!!’

Zhu Chizhou called Ji Xun, who was still gloating over his misfortune, grinning like a duck. Zhu Chizhou said, “Thank you for sending me back last night.”

Ji Xun’s laughter stopped abruptly: “Fuck, what’s wrong with you? Did you drink too much to make your brain go crazy?”

Zhu Chizhou said seriously: “And that long-haired brother, please thank him for me. He took the trouble to come here especially during his filming.”

He emphasized the words “long-haired brother” as if he was afraid that Lin Wan might not hear clearly.

Ji Xun: “Are you possessed?”

Zhu Chizhou: “I’ll buy you guys a drink when I get back, and tell him not to wear women’s clothes next time, it’s creepy.”

Ji Xun: “You fucking…”

Zhu Chizhou hung up the phone at the right time.

Lin Wan slowly stretched out the fist on his thigh, and rubbed his fingers on the fabric of his pants. 【Oh, I blamed him wrongly.】

Zhu Chizhou breathed a sigh of relief and felt relaxed all over.

Before turning away, he suddenly heard another sentence:

【But I have no right to control him. If that’s the case, I’ll just have to stay away from him.】

Zhu Chizhou felt a pain in his chest. He turned his head to look out the window and couldn’t help but feel his eyes getting hot.

He felt wronged, disappointed, and betrayed, as if there was no point in him clarifying this ridiculous misunderstanding.

Lin Wan not only did not trust his character, but was also ready to stay away from him at any time.

In the next two days, their cooperation with Xinrong Development went unexpectedly smoothly. Qiuge Industrial was also very cooperative, and the detailed plan of joint investment was basically finalized, and the two companies were just waiting to go through the process of signing the investment agreement.

On the afternoon of the last day, Pan Min personally drove Lin Wan and Zhu Chizhou back to the hotel.

The car took them to the hotel entrance, and the weather forecast on the radio said that there would be thunderstorms in Chengdu within 24 hours.

Pan Min asked politely: “Do you have an umbrella? If not, you can take the umbrella in my car.”

Lin Wan was pushing the door and getting out of the car. He turned back with a smile and said, “No thanks, Ms. Pan.”

There was nothing to do next, so Lin Wan planned to take Zhu Chizhou for a stroll on the street, eat some local food, and show his hospitality.

The work schedule these two days was too tight, leaving them no time for leisure and entertainment. Lin Wan discovered that Zhu Chizhou was so tired that he became a little autistic.

Apart from work, Zhu Chizhou hardly communicated with him, and didn’t even look at him when he spoke to him. Lin Wan felt that he hadn’t looked Zhu Chizhou in the eye for a long time.

After entering the elevator, Lin Wan said to Zhu Chizhou, “Put your things away and come out. I’ll be waiting for you at the elevator entrance.”

Zhu Chizhou was chatting with someone on WeChat. Hearing this, he asked without even looking up, “Where are we going?”

Lin Wan was in a good mood: “I’ll take you to eat something delicious and have some fun.”

Zhu Chizhou paused for a moment and stared at the phone screen: “I’ll go back to the room, pack my luggage and leave. My flight is at 7:30.”

“Huh?” Lin Wan was slightly surprised. “Aren’t we leaving the day after tomorrow?”

Zhu Chizhou turned off the screen of his mobile phone, looked up at the elevator door and said, “You said you wanted to go home and stay for a day, so I bought you a ticket for the day after tomorrow. But I don’t have any relatives or friends here, and it’s boring to stay here, so why not leave today.”

The mirrored door reflected Lin Wan’s face, delicate, beautiful and expressionless.

“Oh,” Lin Wan nodded and said to Zhu Chizhou in the mirror, “That’s right.”

Zhu Chizhou turned his face away and did not talk about personal matters, but only talked about work: “I will go back to the company tomorrow to organize the project materials and prepare the PPT for the report.”

Lin Wan: “Yeah.”

The elevator door opened and everyone went back to their rooms to pack their luggage.

Lin Wan had a vague feeling that Zhu Chizhou was angry about something, but looking back on the experiences of the past few days, he couldn’t find any reason for Zhu Chizhou to be angry.

If he calculated the time carefully, Zhu Chizhou’s bad mood started when he had a nightmare and knocked on his door in the middle of the night.

Afterwards, Zhu Chizhou went to the bar to meet Ji Xun, and his mood became even worse the next day.

Lin Wan pondered for a long time, but could not figure out the answer. He could only attribute it to the fact that this 1.80-meter-tall kid was emotionally unstable.

Lin Wan lives in a government compound in the south of the city. It was his grandparents’ house. He moved in after his parents passed away. It has been twenty years now.

In order to take care of the elderly, Lin Wan’s aunt bought a house opposite the government compound and went to have dinner with the elderly almost every night.

When Lin Wan arrived home with his suitcase, his grandfather was alone at home reading a book. Lin Wan asked, “Where’s grandma?”

Grandpa looked at me from his reading glasses: “You knew it, grandma. I’m an outsider?”

Lin Wan smiled: “Grandpa, where is my grandma?”

Grandpa snorted, “You called and said you were coming back for dinner, so she went out to buy groceries with your aunt.”

Lin Wan glanced out the window and saw that the sky was already covered with dark clouds. “It’s about to rain, and they’re still out. Did Aunt drive?”

“No,” Grandpa nodded his chin towards the coffee table, “Look, the car keys are still there.”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud thunder, and then big drops of rain hit the window glass.

Grandpa closed the book, stood up and said, “Oh, close the window quickly.”

Lin Wan grabbed the car keys and walked out, “I’ll go pick them up.”

In the car, Lin Wan called Zhu Chizhou and asked him if the flight would be delayed due to rain.

Zhu Chizhou said: “We have not received any notice of delay and the aircraft is still taking off and landing normally.”

Lin Wan glanced at the time on the dashboard: “Well, there is still some time before departure, so it may not be affected.”

Zhu Chizhou also said, “Yeah.”

The two were speechless again.

An inexplicable emotion lingered in Lin Wan’s heart. He said, “Then be careful and send me a message when you arrive.”

Zhu Chizhou said, “Okay,” and hung up the phone.

When he picked up my grandma and aunt at the market entrance, it was raining heavily. Fortunately, they both brought umbrellas with them.

Lin Wan saw that they had bought fish, shrimps, crabs, and a lot of fruit. It seemed that Lin Wan was not just coming back for a day, but to celebrate the New Year.

While grandma and aunt were cooking, Lin Wan chatted with grandpa and brought up the topic they always talked about.

Grandpa reiterated: “I won’t go. It’s not comfortable to live in a big city like Shenhai.”

Lin Wan urged again: “You have never lived in Shenhai before, how do you know it is uncomfortable? Come and try living there for a while, if you feel uncomfortable, I will send you back.”

“How could I not have been there? I have been there countless times for meetings and business trips, but you had never been there at that time!”

Lin Wan: “Is going on a business trip for a day or two the same as living there?”

Grandpa said, “It’s different. Just one or two days is enough for me.”

At this time, his aunt came out of the kitchen and said, “I’m leaving soon. How can I feel at ease leaving you two old people here?”

Grandpa is determined: “I can still take care of myself now. When I can’t, you can send me to a nursing home. I won’t leave Chengdu anyway. Don’t feel burdened. This kind of thing is very common now. Others won’t say you are unfilial.”

Lin Wan: “Who cares what others say? I just want to take care of you and grandma.”

Grandpa glared and said, “I don’t need you to take care of me. Just take care of yourself.”

Lin Wan said angrily: “Why don’t you want me to take care of you? I will. If you really don’t want to go, I will resign and come back!”

Who knew that his grandfather was so perceptive: “Don’t use moral blackmail on me! Don’t come back in disgrace after failing in Shenhai and say it’s for me!”

Lin Wan: “…”

His aunt had called Lin Wan before and had told that Grandpa’s arterial embolism had reached a dangerous level and that he must not be left alone.

Grandma is old and needs someone to take care of her. If grandpa really didn’t want to go to Shenhai, his aunt could only give up going to France.

But Lin Wan’s cousin is going to give birth in a few months. If his aunt doesn’t go, everyone would miss her very much, so now they are in a dilemma.

The family was still discussing this matter while having dinner, but no conclusion was reached until the end of the meal.

His grandfather has always made decisions based on the principle of “the minority obeys the majority” all his life, but this time he became the only “critical minority” with a veto power.

A long flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the dark world outside the window for a second. Then there was another violent thunderclap, which made the glass buzz.

The heavy rain whipped the windows like canes, showing no sign of stopping.

Lin Wan glanced at the time. It was already half past seven. He wondered whether Zhu Chizhou had taken off smoothly.

Due to the massive flight delays, there were so many stranded passengers that even the VIP lounge was overcrowded.

Zhu Chizhou was annoyed by the noise of the two little kids running around and playing, and wearing headphones was useless. Just as he was getting annoyed, another airline staff member came to him and told him that the flight that was originally scheduled to take off two hours later was cancelled.

Zhu Chizhou had a lot of complaints to vent, but the weather was force majeure, and the staff had to work harder because of it. He didn’t say anything and just asked, “Should I change my ticket or get a refund now?”

The staff member said, “You can change your flight to tomorrow. We have arranged a hotel nearby for you and will send a car to take you there later.”

Zhu Chizhou asked: “What time is tomorrow’s flight?”

At this time, Lin Wan called.

Lin Wan asked, “It didn’t take off, did it?”

Zhu Chizhou: “Yeah.”

Lin Wan: “When will it fly then?”

“It won’t. I just received a notification that the flight was cancelled.”

“So where are you now?”

Zhu Chizhou: “Still at the airport.”

Lin Wan’s voice became softer: “I’ll pick you up.”

“No need,” Zhu Chizhou said, “I’ll stay in the hotel for one night and take a flight tomorrow.”

Lin Wan was silent for a moment, then asked, “Have you eaten?”

The VIP lounge provided food and beverages, but Zhu Chizhou had no appetite just by looking at the food and didn’t want to eat. He didn’t say anything.

“I’ll pick you up,” Lin Wan made a quick decision, “I’m leaving now.”