BTMDY Chapter 98

The game on the screen was paused, and Xu Ziqian shifted his gaze toward the door.

 

The three of them stared at each other, the atmosphere a little awkward.

 

As his workload piled up, Lu Chengxuan hadn’t spent the night at school for a long time. He only returned for major classes or important lectures organized by the school.

 

Under such circumstances, it was natural that he and Xu Ziqian, from a different major, hardly ever ran into each other.

 

They hadn’t seen each other in ages, and at that very moment, neither had expected to meet here.

 

Lin Shen’s question slipped out naturally, and in his own mind, it was completely fine.

 

But to anyone else listening, it sounded… off.

 

From a human perspective, even couples married less than ten years would struggle to ask something like that so casually, without a hint of hesitation.

 

On top of that, it was hard to find any sentence that could carry accusation, complaint, and intimacy all at once the way this one did.

 

Anyone could feel the subtle tension underneath.

 

Yet the two involved seemed completely oblivious.

 

Lin Shen asked seriously, waiting for Lu Chengxuan to explain. But Lu Chengxuan, holding the takeaway, was speechless under the scolding. He stood there for a while before finally replying:

 

“Just dropped him off on the way.”

 

From the place they had lunch with Mr. Wang today to Lin Hong’s headquarters, it just happened to pass by Grandpa and Grandma Xu Suinian’s house. Dropping Lin Wangye off along the way made perfect sense, especially since the takeaway he ordered had been bought and brought by someone else anyway.

 

Lin Shen realized there was nothing to nitpick and immediately felt a little guilty.

 

But after years of perfecting his ‘right or wrong, I never back down’ style, he didn’t show it on his face. Seeing Lu Chengxuan standing frozen by the door, he couldn’t help but scold again:

 

“Why are you just standing there? Come in!”

 

Lu Chengxuan carried the food inside. Once near them, he exchanged a brief, polite glance with Xu Ziqian, then sat on the edge of the bed, putting the bags on the nightstand and taking out one box after another.

 

When he bought the food, he had already felt it was more than enough.

 

For someone who had just fainted from exhaustion and low blood sugar, waking up after resting wouldn’t let them eat that much. But since it was a list Lin Shen had made, he bought everything exactly as instructed.

 

Now opening it, it was basically enough for two-three people.

 

So when Lin Shen ordered the takeaway for Lin Wangye, it actually covered himself, Lin Wangye, and Xu Ziqian—three people.

 

Both Lu Chengxuan and Lin Shen rarely stayed at school due to work. By contrast, the less busy Lin Wangye attended every class like clockwork and mostly stayed at school.

 

That naturally meant he spent more time with Xu Ziqian, and their relationship had grown closer.

 

Xu Ziqian, with his matching major, had already helped Lin Wangye countless times over the past two years, making promotional posters for hotel events. For him, it was just an easy task—like an extra assignment.

 

Ahead, the projection screen still flashed the paused game warning.

 

It silently reminded Lu Chengxuan of one thing.

 

If he hadn’t shown up, Lin Shen, Lin Wangye, and Xu Ziqian would probably be sitting together eating their late-night snacks, maybe gaming as well.

 

And anyone with eyes could tell that Xu Ziqian clearly didn’t see Lin Shen as just a friend.

 

He wasn’t even trying to hide it.

 

This stirred something inside Lu Chengxuan — a man usually blind to these subtle relationship dynamics, someone who barely even realized he had a ‘close circle’ of his own.

 

It was a feeling he’d never experienced before.

 

Annoyance.

 

That raw, gnawing annoyance of someone else taking over what used to be his place.

 

While Lu Chengxuan was arranging the takeaway boxes, Lin Shen had already picked up his controller and unpaused the game. Since it was a co-op puzzle game, as soon as the pause was lifted, Xu Ziqian’s attention snapped back to the screen too.

 

Lu Chengxuan didn’t know much about games, but after watching for a moment, he more or less figured out the mechanics. He opened the food boxes one by one, keeping his voice calm as he asked, “You’re already gaming? Feeling better? The sound’s kinda loud.”

 

“It’s fine, not loud at all.”

 

Lin Shen didn’t even glance away from the screen. His fingers moved nimbly on the controller. “It’s just been a crazy few days, plus my blood sugar dipped a bit. Got an IV, slept a few hours. I’m full of energy now, nothing’s wrong.”

 

“You should rest a bit more.”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“You’ve only slept a few hours since the afternoon. After this round, don’t keep playing.”

 

Lin Shen hated being fussed over. After hearing it twice, he was already irritated and frowned.

 

“Don’t be like Lin Wangye, making a big deal out of nothing. I said I’m fine.”

 

Seeing that he was about to snap, Lu Chengxuan fell silent.

 

The late-night snacks had so many different dishes that the nightstand quickly ran out of space.

 

Lu Chengxuan stopped opening more boxes. Seeing Lin Shen clearly planning to finish this level before eating — but sneaking glances at the food’s smell anyway — he broke apart a pair of disposable bamboo chopsticks, picked up a shrimp dumpling from a box, and held it out to him.

 

Without thinking, Lin Shen leaned forward and bit into it.

 

“Sh*t… hot, hot, hot…”

 

The moment the dumpling burst in his mouth, he threw his head back, sucking in air and blowing it out like crazy. Sitting on the bed, he couldn’t spot the trash bin anywhere; he couldn’t spit it out, couldn’t swallow it either.

 

Lu Chengxuan was a beat slow to react. He instinctively held out his palm under Lin Shen’s chin to help him spit it out, but Lin Shen, head tilted back, didn’t even see it. He kept gasping to cool the dumpling down, and after a moment, he forced it down with a painful swallow.

 

“Lu Chengxuan!” Lin Shen’s face twisted into a mask of agony as he turned and yelled, “If you wanna kill me just say so! What did I do to deserve you testing ancient torture methods on me?!”

 

As soon as Lin Shen finished speaking, Xu Ziqian set down his controller and handed over a bottle of water.

 

Lu Chengxuan, to be fair, wasn’t exactly careless. He’d just never really fed anyone before in his life. Taking care of people wasn’t something he had much experience with. Seeing Lin Shen’s face flushed red and neck turning purple from the burn, he quickly apologized.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

 

After knowing each other for so long, Lin Shen’s temper usually had no real reason.

 

But this time, it was completely his own fault — he’d hurt Lin Shen and made him angry.

 

After apologizing, Lu Chengxuan slowly lowered his gaze, silently putting the chopsticks down.

 

Actually, the food had already cooled a lot on the way from the store, but some of the boxes had slight heat retention, and the shrimp dumplings had juice inside. Eating too fast made it easy to get burned by the residual heat.

 

Lin Shen took a sip of water, and immediately felt fine.

 

He turned his head toward Lu Chengxuan and saw him bowing his head, looking helpless like a kid who’d done something wrong, unsure how to act, too nervous to speak. For some reason, Lin Shen’s heart softened a little.

 

“You wouldn’t blow on it, huh.” Lin Shen sighed in exasperation, teasing him. “You just bite the dumpling and swallow it whole? Someone smart like you, handling a tiny thing like a pig.”

 

Noticing that Lin Shen’s tone didn’t carry much real blame, Lu Chengxuan breathed a small sigh of relief, reassured he wasn’t too mad. He lifted his head and explained seriously:

 

“I usually take one bite first.”

 

Lin Shen froze for a moment, then, unable to hold back, lightly tapped the side of his head, and in the next second, laughed angrily.

 

“Now you’re blaming me for eating it wrong!”

 

Lu Chengxuan’s head was nudged aside. He blinked for a moment, stunned, then lowered it again to apologize:

 

“Sorry, my fault.”

 

Not sure if it was just his imagination, but Lin Shen clearly thought the corner of his mouth twitched when he looked down.

 

He had no proof, and he wasn’t really mad anyway.

 

If anything, seeing the usually calm and composed Lu Chengxuan make a mistake like this was kind of amusing.

 

After that little incident, Lin Shen returned his attention to the screen and noticed the game was paused.

 

At that moment, Xu Ziqian quickly adjusted his expression and smiled at him. “Want to eat first?”

 

“Sure. This next level’s pretty long; I’ll starve if I wait.” Lin Shen glanced at the screen, tossed his controller aside, and threw back the covers to get off the bed. “I’ll wash my face first and move the food to the table.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Lu Chengxuan responded and bent down to put slippers by his feet.

 

While Lin Shen went to the bathroom, Lu Chengxuan and Xu Ziqian began moving the food from the nightstand to the dining table, both quietly, without a word.

 

Xu Ziqian could clearly see the obvious, subtle tension—maybe even more than tension—between Lin Shen and Lu Chengxuan. But to him, these two had known each other for years without being together, which meant there were probably some unspoken issues between them.

 

Ever since the day they first met and shared an umbrella, he could sense hints of something unspoken whenever he was around Lin Shen. And he was sure Lin Shen could feel it too.

 

Similar experiences had allowed the two of them to empathize with each other.

 

But after all these years, Lin Shen truly treated him with sincerity, though that genuine care had never crossed the line of friendship.

 

The hint of past tension—the subtle, unspoken closeness—was now like it had never existed.

 

Xu Ziqian had tried to reach Lin Shen’s heart through his quiet presence, but from the moment Lu Chengxuan appeared today, he realized maybe nothing had changed at all.

 

Perhaps Lin Shen had once crossed the boundary of friendship.

 

But for the person holding a certain place in his heart, Lin Shen had never wavered.

 

By the time Lin Shen finished washing his face, the late-night snacks were already set out on the table. These kinds of snacks weren’t particularly filling per portion, but their charm was in the variety.

 

Since they had been ordered for three people, Lu Chengxuan had eaten some as well. After finishing, the night had grown late.

 

The company only had one lounge, no extra space, so Xu Ziqian took the opportunity to say goodbye.

 

It was a bad time to hail a taxi. Out of courtesy, Lu Chengxuan decided to walk him partway, but luck was on their side. When they reached the company gate, a vacant taxi happened to be stopped at a nearby intersection.

 

While waiting for it, Xu Ziqian suddenly spoke. “Feelings don’t work on a first-come, first-served basis. I’ve never thought stepping in when the chance arises is wrong. But today… it feels a little weird.”

 

He turned to Lu Chengxuan.

 

“Why, even though you’re not together, do you give each other zero room? What exactly are you two doing?”

 

What exactly are you two doing?

 

The question, seemingly simple, suddenly stumped Lu Chengxuan. He stood there for a moment, and as usual, chose not to answer the question that couldn’t be answered.

 

Seeing no response, Xu Ziqian raised an eyebrow and got into the taxi.

 

Back at the company, Lu Chengxuan went upstairs and found the lounge door closed.

 

He looked puzzled and knocked, but there was no response for quite a while. Just as he pulled out his phone to call, the door cracked open, and Lin Shen peeked out, half his face hidden.

 

“Why are you back? Didn’t you leave?”

 

“I just walked him out,” Lu Chengxuan said, sensing something off. He studied Lin Shen closely, then realized something wasn’t right. “Why’s your face so red? Are you feeling okay?”

 

“I’m fine,” Lin Shen quickly explained, though his guilty glance didn’t escape Lu Chengxuan’s notice.

 

Lu Chengxuan pushed the door open and stepped in, first checking Lin Shen’s forehead to make sure he didn’t have a fever. Only then did he look around, noticing the room was pitch black and even the air conditioner had been turned off.

 

The lights in the corridor were still on, proving there hadn’t been a power outage.

 

Lu Chengxuan felt a jolt of curiosity. Using the faint light coming from outside, he glanced around and finally spotted the circuit breaker on the wall near the door, its tiny red light glowing dimly.

 

Without a second thought, he reached out and flipped it back on.

 

Lin Shen hadn’t expected him to find the breaker so quickly in the dark. Panic flared in his chest. By the time he tried to stop him, it was already too late.

 

As the power came back, all the appliances that had shut down flickered to life — including the projector mounted on the wall.

 

Lin Shen had thought storing the movie on the projector instead of the computer was a flawless plan.

 

But once the computer was forced to shut down, it could only be restarted manually.

 

The projector, however, defaulted to resuming playback once the power returned.

 

The relentless, steamy adult film lit up the screen.

 

High definition, uncensored, vivid.

 

Lin Shen’s silence was louder than the hasty gasps and low moans echoing from the speakers.

 

Five seconds later, Lu Chengxuan reached up and flipped the breaker back down.

 

“I can explain,” Lin Shen said seriously. “The movie was already here… I was just curious.”

 

“Who used this lounge before?” Lu Chengxuan asked.

 

Lin Shen remembered that the former chairman, Linhong, was his father. Worried that lying might backfire tonight, he pressed his lips together and swallowed the words. His brain raced faster than ever, and without showing a hint of panic, he came up with a story.

 

“Oh, I remember. Xiao Lin installed the projector.”

 

*

 

Lin Wangye: Yeah, yeah, that’s me… totally me… Emperor Qin? Yeah, I killed him too.

 

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