Epiphanies of Rebirth Chapter 66 (Part 1)
Translated by Pure (ko-fi)
Chapter 66.1 Who made him this angry?
Lin Jingzhe took Xiao Chi to the most popular shopping mall in Yan City. He picked up the clothes and would hold it against Xiao Chi. They didn’t even bother to try anything on, he just bought almost anything expensive. The shelves were almost cleaned empty by them, alarming the management of the mall. From coats to sweaters to shirts and even shoes and socks, their shopping haul almost couldn’t fit into Xiao Chi's car. These new appeals were enough for him to go through the whole winter season.
Xiao Chi was a little angry at first, but after being coaxed all the way by Lin Jingzhe, there was an obvious delight in his faked aggravated expression.
He has been reticent and even his parents and relatives seldom saw his childish side. For the first time in his life, Xiao Chi tasted the novel feeling of acting like a spoiled baby. This had completely thrown off Lin Jingzhe, who had been so used to his capable self. During their trip at the mall, Xiao Chi would point at everything he saw. He even purchased two hats that he usually never would wear. While he watched Lin Jingzhe go to pay, Xiao Chi maintained a calm facade. However, the truth was that he was overjoyed while holding his partner’s completely emptied out wallet.
But there was no way he would let Lin Jingzhe know that he was already appeased!
And so, when Xiao Chi got home, his face was still full of displeasure and didn't bother to cook. After he took a shower, Xiao Chi walked out without drying his curly hair. He just sat cross-legged on the sofa, ready to watch the new broadcast of <Legend of Jianghu>.
Lin Jingzhe’s head was truly hurting now. He was holding the three leather jackets in his hands, carefully considering where to hide them; he didn’t want Xiao Chi to see them again and throw another tantrum.
Xiao Chi secretly kept an eye on his movements. When he saw Lin Jingzhe was about to leave with the evidence, he hurriedly cleared his throat to stop him, "Come here!"
"Okay, okay, okay." It was the first time Lin Jingzhe was so obedient to his command. Usually when he heard this type of bossy tone, he would get ready to give him a beating.
Xiao Chi stared at the three pieces of clothing. They were exactly the same style, the same material, and the same size. He only looked at one part and keenly recognized his own, and pulled it out of Lin Jingzhe's hand.
Lin Jingzhe studied his expression for a bit before he sat by Xiao Chi with other jackets in his hands.
With a grumpy face, Xiao Chi grabbed the two eyesore jackets and threw them to the side. He then stretched his fiery arms and grabbed hold of Lin Jingzhe’s waist and pulled him onto his lap.
Lin Jingzhe kissed his face, "Are you happy now?"
Xiao Chi cooperatively moved his face closer and reciprocated, "No."
"Still not happy?" Lin Jingzhe asked worriedly, "What would you like me to do then? How about I throw those jackets away?"
Lin Jingzhe stretched out his hand towards the leather jacket Xiao Chi was holding, but Xiao Chi shrewdly avoided it. His scowling face would definitely cause a commotion in the company, but Lin Jingzhe continued to look at him with a gentle smile. Even the corners of his mouth could hardly be suppressed, "You don’t want to throw it out? I'll buy a new one once we do."
Buying is buying, why throw my jacket away, it should be the other two!
Xiao Chi continued to look into Lin Jingzhe's eyes and after a while he asked in a solemn tone, "Other than Gao Sheng and Zhou Haitang..."
Lin Jingzhe laid in his arms. "Hmm?"
"Who else also has a jacket?"
Lin Jingzhe raised his hand and twirled a strand of Xiao Chi’s wet hair. After he readjusted a few stray strands, he replied, "Deng Mai has one more. I bought them all during the Lunar New Year. It’s only these three, I didn’t buy for anyone else."
Xiao Chi demanded unreasonably. "Take it back."
In between laughter and tears, Lin Jingzhe nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, of course!"
Then, he personally took the hair dryer and dried Xiao Chi's wet hair. Soon after, Lin Jingzhe was pressed on the sofa and forced to do it for a while.
Xiao Chi took advantage of this excuse to do whatever he wanted, and explored the positions that Lin Jingzhe did not allow before. After waking up the next morning, he felt refreshed, as if he was reborn. Now that he had tasted the sweetness, Xiao Chi was ready for a second hit.
Unfortunately, his dreams were soon shattered as Lin Jingzhe kicked him off the bed. The latter then dragged his exhausted body back to bed and went back to sleep.
Xiao Chi: "..."
Happiness was so fleeting! But at least it had blessed him once.
Xiao Chi silently got up from the ground, tucked Lin Jingzhe's thigh that was hanging on the edge of the bed back into the blanket. Of course, he didn’t forget to cop a feel before doing so. Afterwards, he went to mop the floor and cook breakfast as usual.
******
As soon as Lin Jingzhe arrived at the company in the morning, he received a call from the shopping mall in regards to his delivery. When he finally referred them to their property manager to take care of the delivery, Shi Nanxing’s call followed up.
Shi Nanxing didn't know where the news came from: "Mr. Lin, I heard that you and Mr. Xiao had some conflicts?"
Conflict? Lin Jingzhe couldn't help but recall himself coaxing Xiao Chi yesterday. The way they have interacted was quite a novelty for both him and Xiao Chi. He was only flustered for a short moment, and was soon immersed in the joy of how to coax Xiao Chi. He could also see that Xiao Chi wasn't really angry afterwards, but he still cooperated with his various unreasonable demands on the grounds of being wronged. There may be something wrong with his head, but Lin Jingzhe actually thought it was quite fun.
He meant it from the bottom of his heart.
But it’s fine to do it once in a while. Things were only good in moderation, too much was unhealthy, so they couldn’t always play like this.
Lin Jingzhe was happily reminiscing, but faced with Shi Nanxing's probing extensions, he maintained a profound indifference. "Where did Mr. Shi hear such a news from? Mr. Qi?"
What's this gotta do with Qi Kai? Shi Nanxing didn’t bother to delve into this question, but explained, "It's spread all over. People are saying that someone saw you and Mr. Xiao having a dispute outside, and that you two parted, still unreconcile."
Lin Jingzhe inwardly laminated: There really were no secrets in Yan City's real estate circle. It only happened a day ago, but now it seems everyone was made aware of their dispute. What left Lin Jingzhe baffled was the fact that Xiao Chi and his relationship was still undiscovered?
Since the cat was out of the bag, Lin Jingzhe admitted it directly; there were no detectable fluctuations in his voice, "We just didn’t see a couple matters in the same light."
Shi Nanxing was elated, but he pretended to be concerned, "Isn't it because of our cooperation on 2nd Middle Road? I was so worried when I heard of this event. If it's really because of it, then Qi Qing has committed a serious crime."
As Shi Nanxing spoke, Lin Jingzhe picked up a pen and wrote ‘April Wind Square’ on the paper. He then added ‘10%’ beside it and circled it.
"Don't overthink it. It’s not easy to predict the matters in the real estate business." Lin Jingzhe didn't answer his question directly, but continued after a pause, "When you get the chance, can you help me make an appointment with the person in charge of ‘TOBR’ again?"
Finally!
Shi Nanxing hung up the phone, there was an indescribable emotion in his eyes, and his whole body exuded an unfathomable aura.
He wasn’t close enough to eavesdrop closely to Lin Jingzhe and Xiao Chi yesterday. The parking lot they were in was almost empty, so he could not approach any closer to listen to the content of the dispute. But after combining what he saw with his own eyes and the information he had just gotten from Lin Jingzhe, Shi Nanxing was 80% sure that their dispute was over the business philosophy on 2nd Middle Road’s shopping mall.
This kind of collision of different ideas was not uncommon in business. If such a thing escalated, it may become the breaking point of the two parties' cooperation. This conflict was most likely not as small as Lin Jingzhe downplayed it to be. Otherwise, with Xiao Chi's monk-like attitude towards any event, it would be impossible for him to aggressively confront another person in public.
After Lin Jingzhe placed the receiver back onto the landline, he had someone summon Deng Mai into his office after a short moment of contemplation.
Deng Mai was in the middle of a meeting. Because he had thought that something important had happened, he immediately halted the project team meeting and rushed to the office, "Brother Lin, what happened?"
Lin Jingzhe sat behind the desk and looked at him with a serious expression.
Deng Mai seldom saw him like this, so he became more and more nervous, and couldn't help but start to think wildly. Was our company going bankrupt?
Lin Jingzhe cleared his throat amidst his various guesses, and asked solemnly: "Deng Mai, I bought you a leather jacket for Lunar New Year last year, do you still have it?"
Deng Mai was slightly taken aback by this unexpected question. Although puzzled, he answered with a nod, "Yes, I still have it. What's the matter?"
Lin Jingzhe seemed to be relieved and a smile emerged on his face, "Great, go home and find it, you can hand it to me at the company later."
For a few seconds, Deng Mai thought he had misheard. He scratched the back of his head, "...For what...why?"
Lin Jingzhe knew this request was very bizarre, but because it would be too difficult to explain to Deng Mai, he made up a random excuse, "I’m running out of clothes to wear, so I want to borrow it for a bit."
Deng Mai was dismissed with a question mark on his face. Lin Jingzhe continued to sit as he helplessly shook his head. He sweetly complained: He really couldn’t do anything but spoil that jealous little goblin.