Thirsty Skin - Chapter 37

Chapter 37 – When Did I Say I Was Straight?

The next day was a sunny day. The curtains were half opened by someone who had gotten up early. The sunlight slipped in and fell on Zhu Chizhou’s eyelids, waking him up from his sleep.

What caught his eye was the milky white ceiling and the unfamiliar ceiling light. He turned his head and saw the glass water cup, the bottle of melatonin and the book “Demian” on the bedside table.

His consciousness gradually became clear. ‘Oh, this is Lin Wan’s room.’

Turning to look at the other side, the bed was empty and Lin Wan had already gotten up.

Zhu Chizhou lifted the quilt and sat up, then found that he was naked, wearing only a pair of underwear.

He quickly pulled the quilt to his chest again, and his memory returned, reminding him that he had taken off his clothes himself.

His clothes should still be on the sofa in the living room. He had taken off his pants and thrown them on the floor before going to bed last night…

When he looked over, the floor was clean. Where were his pants?

Because he had been drinking, his mind wasn’t particularly clear last night, so he suspected that there was something wrong with his memory and that he might have taken off his pants and left them outside.

Lin Wan took off all his clothes in the living room outside, right in front of him…

Pants, leg loops, socks, shirts…

‘Shit, I can’t recall it. It makes me feel like that the moment I think about it.’

Zhu Chizhou was still shy, and Lin Wan suddenly opened the door and looked inside. Seeing him sitting, he asked gently, “Are you awake?”

“Yeah,” Zhu Chizhou wrapped himself in the quilt and looked into Lin Wan’s eyes, his face flushed, “I’m awake.”

Lin Wan stood at the door and said, “I’ll wash your clothes for you and find you a new set of clothes.” After he said that, he stood at the door without moving, as if asking Zhu Chizhou’s opinion.

“Oh,” Zhu Chizhou said, “OK, thank you.”

Lin Wan walked in and went to the cloakroom to look for clothes.

It was only then that Zhu Chizhou realized why Lin Wan looked particularly gentle today, because Lin Wan was wearing a pair of black-framed glasses that he had never seen before.

White cotton home clothes and black-framed glasses, hair just washed and blow-dried, not carefully maintained, just clean but messy. His outfit looked very comfortable and casual, giving people a feeling of “I am staying at home today and not going out”, especially warm, soft and pure.

‘He must be very comfortable to hug,’ this sentence suddenly popped into Zhu Chizhou’s mind.

Then he quickly cursed himself in his heart – ‘it’s true that those who are close to vermilion are red, those who are close to ink are black, and those who are close to forests are colorful!’

Under Lin Wan’s influence, he had actually fallen to the point where his first reaction when he saw the man was whether or not it was comfortable to hug him!

Lin Wan quickly came out of the cloakroom and handed him a set of sportswear: “This should fit you well.”

Zhu Chizhou reached out to take it, then suddenly stopped, alertly realizing something. The hair on his body instantly stood up, and he blurted out, “Why do you have clothes that can fit me?”

‘Your size is at least two times smaller than mine!’

‘Which wild man put this in your house?!’

Lin Wan opened the shirt with a swish. “This was issued by the company last year. I got the size wrong. The shirt covers my buttocks, but the pants drag on the ground, so I think it should fit you.”

As expected, the logo of Gengyan Capital was printed on the left chest.

【If I wear this top, I can be naked from the waist down.】

Zhu Chizhou’s hair, which had just been smoothed over, suddenly stood up again, and his ears felt extremely hot: “Yes, that’s right.”

Lin Wan said gently, “Change and wash up. I ordered takeout. After you wash up, have breakfast.”

Zhu Chizhou said: “Okay.”

Lin Wan put down the clothes and left, and also closed the door for Zhu Chizhou.

The clothes really fit him well, the size and length were just right. There was a very clean smell on them, a bit like the smell on Lin Wan.

There were new toothbrushes, new cups, and new towels in the bathroom. After Zhu Chizhou finished washing up, he placed his things next to Lin Wan’s, making it seem like the two of them were living together.

The curtains in the living and dining room were drawn, and the layout was the same as the last time he came to Lin Wan’s house, cold, quiet, and very ancient.

But today, the aroma of coffee and food adds a touch of fireworks to this overly gloomy space.

Zhu Chizhou walked to the dining table to see what this man, who even ordered takeout for breakfast, had ordered.

Panini, egg tarts, cloud toast, American style.

No wonder the smell is so familiar. He could smell it in the elevator every morning when he went to work. It turned out to be KFC.

On the morning of the day off, Zhu Chizhou had the illusion that he was working overtime.

Zhu Chizhou couldn’t help but wonder, could it be that Lin Wan eats these every morning?

These days are too perfunctory.

Zhu Chizhou wanted to make something delicious for Lin Wan, but when he thought of Lin Wan’s empty kitchen and refrigerator, he felt helpless and had to give up.

Lin Wan was sitting at the dining table, looking at documents on his laptop. He had drunk half of the coffee at hand and had unwrapped the toast but hadn’t taken a single bite.

“Working overtime?”

Zhu Chizhou sat next to Lin Wan and leaned over to look at Lin Wan’s computer screen, which was the investment plan of Ri’an Xinke.

“Well,” Lin Wan pushed the computer away, picked up the toast and said, “Let’s have breakfast.”

It turned out that Lin Wan was waiting for him to join him.

The two ate in silence.

He ate a little slowly because Zhu Chizhou had to leave after eating. There was no reason to stay at his boss’ house on the weekend.

Zhu Chizhou took seven bites of the small egg tart and was thinking about what excuse would be more natural to ask Lin Wan out.

Shopping and watching movies seemed too ambiguous.

‘I’m playing cards, but I’m still short of two partners.’

‘How about playing badminton?’

Zhu Chizhou took a sip of coffee and glanced at Lin Wan secretly, who was also looking at him.

Zhu Chizhou blushed: “What?”

Lin Wan asked calmly, “At 9:30, Maxi will release their latest civilian robot, RoboPal. Do you want to watch the live broadcast of the press conference with me?”

Zhu Chizhou was wondering if it was a bit silly to ask someone to play ball so early in the morning, but before he could react, he said, “Huh?”

“RoboPal is the world’s first intelligent robot that combines a home assistant, an educational partner, and a health monitor. It is likely to become a benchmark for the entire civilian robot industry,” Lin Wan said in a tone of giving instructions. “I think this conference will be very inspiring for our future investment projects. It’s worth taking a closer look.”

After saying that, he looked away, took a bite of toast, and chewed very slowly with his cheeks slightly puffed up.

【Aaaaah, this excuse is so lame!】

Zhu Chizhou almost choked on his coffee, took a deep breath, and said calmly in a working tone, “Well, it is indeed very inspiring. Let’s learn from it together.”

After breakfast, Zhu Chizhou cleaned up the garbage and Lin Wan made two cups of black tea. The two of them sat at the dining table, facing each other…working overtime.

There was still more than half an hour before the press conference started. Director Lin was working against the clock, continuing to modify the investment plan of Ri’an Xinke on his laptop. Zhu Chizhou was embarrassed to sit there and play with his mobile phone, so he had to look through the project information that Lin Wan had brought home.

After reading for more than ten minutes, Zhu Chizhou received two new messages on his phone.

Yan Lu: 〖The operating manual for the thirsty skin disease has been sent to your email〗

Yan Lu: 〖I hope he can enter your soul soon.〗

Zhu Chizhou couldn’t help but raise the corner of his mouth:
〖Thanks, brother〗

Yan Lu: 〖I also wish you can enter his body soon〗

Zhu Chizhou slammed his phone on the table.

Lin Wan raised his eyes and looked over: “?”

“No, it’s okay,” Zhu Chizhou’s heartbeat accelerated wildly, “My hand slipped.”

Lin Wan lowered his head and worked without thinking too much. Zhu Chizhou opened his email app and saw that Yan Lu had sent him a PDF file of more than 400 MB. He was a little guilty and didn’t dare to click it. He turned off his phone and prepared to go home to download it.

The RoboPal press conference started on time at 9:30. Lin Wan turned on the TV and sat on the sofa with Zhu Chizhou to watch it.

The two of them sat far away from each other, keeping a distance between them that was both polite and unfamiliar. The intimacy they had shared the previous night seemed to only appear in dreams.

Zhu Chizhou was sitting in the same place where he had sat last night. All he could think about was Lin Wan lying naked on top of him. The founder’s passionate speech on TV did not attract him at all.

He would steal a glance at Lin Wan’s profile from time to time, wanting to get closer, but felt offended.

Because Lin Wan was watching very seriously, not only was he watching, but he was also organizing his thoughts in his mind: He had contacted several companies in the industry, and wondered which companies had technical strengths and R&D directions that could keep up with the market rhythm; which companies had outstanding single capabilities and might be suitable for strategic cooperation or technical integration; what were the technical highlights and market strategies of RoboPal that were worth learning…

In short, the brain that was born for work is never idle for a moment.

Zhu Chizhou held the tea that Lin Wan made for him, and wondered with a bit of heartache, is it because Lin Wan is too focused on work that he is so perfunctory about his life, or is it because he doesn’t love life enough that he puts all his energy on work?

The press conference lasted an hour and a half and it was exactly eleven o’clock when they finished watching it.

Zhu Chizhou put down his teacup and said to Lin Wan, “I wore your clothes, ate your breakfast, and watched your TV. Can I treat you to lunch at noon?”

Lin Wan turned to look at Zhu Chizhou, with a faint smile in his beautiful eyes behind his black-framed glasses: “Don’t you have to go back to spend time with your family on the weekend?”

“My parents are busier than me,” Zhu Chizhou said. “My mom just opened a new restaurant and is preparing for a trial run. She’s been so busy lately that I don’t even get to see her at home these days. My dad went to Shenzhen these days, so I’m alone when I get home.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Lin Wan nodded.

【It’s that kind of family after all.】

【But I still envy that his family is still around.】

Zhu Chizhou’s heart softened and he suggested, “Let’s go buy some groceries and I’ll cook for you, how about that?”

Last time in Rong City, he just made some semi-processed food for Lin Wan to make vital signs maintenance meals. Lin Wan was almost as greedy as a kitten. Since he took the initiative to offer to cook for him, Lin Wan should be very happy.

However, the smile in Lin Wan’s eyes faded, and he lowered his eyes and said, “Forget it, I don’t have anything here, it’s not convenient to do it.”

“That’s easy. Go buy them,” Zhu Chizhou said, fearing that he would find it troublesome. “I’ll go to the supermarket and buy everything for you. You don’t have to worry about anything. Just wait and eat…”

“No need!” Lin Wan quickly interrupted Zhu Chizhou, resting his hands on his knees and moving closer to him. “I’m going to change my clothes. Wait for me, and we’ll go out to eat.”

After saying that, he stood up and walked towards the bedroom, his intention to escape was very obvious.

Zhu Chizhou was stunned for a moment and said, “Okay.”

A few minutes later, a cell phone suddenly rang on the sofa. It wasn’t his own. Zhu Chizhou tilted his head and saw that it was Lin Wan’s phone, and the caller was Zeng Xubai.

He walked to the bedroom door with the cell phone, knocked on the door, and shouted inside: “Your phone call, Zeng Xubai is calling.”

Lin Wan responded from inside: “Help me answer it. I’m putting on my pants.”

Zhu Chizhou swiped to answer the call and turned on the speaker. Zeng Xubai called out, “Xiao Wanzi!”

“I’m Zhu Chizhou, Xiao Wanzi is putting on pants.”

There was silence for two seconds. “Where are you?”

Zhu Chizhou replied: “At Lin Wan’s house.”

There was silence for even longer: “Did you sleep at Lin Wan’s house last night?”

Zhu Chizhou still didn’t realize what was wrong and continued to answer calmly: “Yes.”

The door opened a crack from the inside, and Lin Wan reached out and took the phone.

Zhu Chizhou saw through the crack in the door that Lin Wan was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, with his pants not yet put on, and one hand was holding up the waistband of his pants.

Then the door closed with a click.

Zhu Chizhou realized belatedly that what he had told was a terrible thing. He stared at the bedroom door for two seconds, then walked away silently with a guilty conscience as if he had done something wrong.

Lin Wan got dressed and came out of the room. He went to the bathroom to style his hair in front of the mirror and changed his glasses from black-framed to half-framed ones with gold lining. His gentle and soft temperament instantly disappeared, and all his emotions were restrained.

He stood in front of Zhu Chizhou in a mature and steady manner: “I’m done getting ready, let’s go, I’ll take you home after lunch.”

Zhu Chizhou put his phone in his trouser pocket and stood up. He looked at the man who had regained his indifference and said, “Well, OK.”

Lin Wan drove his white Porsche Cayenne to take Zhu Chizhou to the restaurant.

【I don’t know how much Chi Zhou still remembers,】 Lin Wan thought carefully while holding the steering wheel, 【but I… I remember that I seemed to have done a lot of shameful things.】

【Help… I really hope Zhu Chizhou has forgotten everything!】

【I drank too much last night and I cried my eyes out.】

【But Zhu Chizhou is a straight man, so he probably won’t take this kind of thing to heart…right?】

Zhu Chizhou was stunned. ‘When did I say I was a straight man?’

After he thought about it, he immediately remembered the first time he went on a business trip to Rong City with Lin Wan, and what he said to Lin Wan after getting off the plane- ‘Damn, I really said that!’